This was the only Swans home game over this year’s festive period and it was disappointingly ruined after only 17 minutes by referee Anthony Taylor.
Taylor took it upon himself to controversially send off the Swan’s Albert Serran for an “alleged elbow” – which later TV footage showed clearly wasn’t the case. This decision was just one amongst a raft of other bizarre and often dubious ones made throughout the game.
Consequently, the largest home gate of the season (to date) endured a frustrating afternoon at the official’s hands and spent most of the time jeering him as opposed to cheering the Jacks!
Full credit to the Swans though as they battled hard and earned a useful point considering all that had happened. Dorus DeVries in particular made some great saves in the 2nd half and fully deserved his man of the match award.
I also hope that Tommy Butler either finds a new club or stops being so bloody lazy! I thought wingers were meant to try and beat the man on the outside? As well as giving the full back the option of a pass when counter attacking? Must you really cut back inside EVERY time Thomas? Rant over.
Whilst watching proceedings I also came to several other conclusions – based on ALL of the various home and away games I’ve witnessed this year and not just this game…
- Home crowds generally don’t appear to make much noise, unless (a) you’re playing local rivals and/or (b) there is a large away following present;
- MOST away fans make some noise for the majority of the game (likewise for the Swans away games I’ve attended);
- The standard of refereeing is definitely getting worse and there is NO consistency whatsoever from one week to the next, regardless of the standard being played;
Anyway, I think I’ll sign off by saying that the loudest chant of the afternoon pretty much summed up the game as a whole – “Your not fit, Your not fit, Your not fit to referee”.