'The Swansea City Alphabet'

'The Swansea City Alphabet'

S...for...Swans on the brain

Given that their first ever goalscorer ended up as a bishop, it is maybe no wonder that modern day Swans fans are sometimes prone to praying for good fortune.
The Swansea City Alphabet, published this month by St David's Press, contains many more anecdotes, collected by author and life-long Swans supporter Huw Richards.
A book for Swansea City fans as well as followers of football in general, The Swansea City Alphabet not only looks at much that is well known in the history of the club such as the careers of Ivor Allchurch and Lee Trundle, the extraordinary ascent to the top under John Toshack and the times when the club was close to going out of the league or even out of existence, but also the unusual but true…
* The Swans have beaten all league opponents - except Everton.
* How a famous terrace anthem answers the question asked by a teenage Dylan Thomas.
* The remarkable impact that holding the National Eisteddfod in Swansea has on the team's performances.
The Swansea City Alphabet evokes the experience of supporting the Swans, the highs and the lows, the good times and the bad. It is copiously illustrated book, with more than 80 photographs and items from the author's own collection of memorabilia, and includes the club greats - and not so greats - as well as events, themes and experiences in the club's eventful past and present.
The author sees supporting the Swans as a hereditary genetic defect passed down through his father - who remembers seeing his first match in 1946 - and his grandfather before him. Although Huw never grew up in the 'ugly lovely town' listed under U in the book, he resisted playground taunts in England to stay with the team. He even found himself lucky enough to be a student only 40 miles away in Cardiff when the Swans reached their first division zenith in the 1980s.
Huw said: "I wanted to write a book which was a personal look at the Swans seen in the context of the town, culture and its people. I try not to see the club through rose-tinted spectacles. I'm bored by the anti-Cardiff fixation which only serves to tell Cardiff how important they are. But among the vast majority you'll find a warmth and a sense of humour that is a welcome antidote to a game that increasingly takes itself too seriously.
"Like most supporters we think of our club as bigger than it is reality. The Swans - and Swansea - have produced some fantastic players, particularly in the 1950s, but for most of my lifetime as a fan we've been a not very good, lower division team.
"I had great fun writing The Swansea City Alphabet and I hope fellow fans get as much fun from reading it. Happily it is coming out with the Swans going well under Paulo Sousa - perhaps it won't be too long before we get another shot at beating Everton!"

The Swansea City Alphabet is written by Huw Richards and published by St David's Press.