Happy memories of Swansea

Last updated : 04 September 2002 By Dave Burgess
Swansea - if you've ever had the 'pleasure' of a trip to South Wales you'll know that the ground is near both the prison and the beach :-)

I have very happy memories of my two trips down to Vetch Field.

The first time was my very first trip on the Wolves supporters club coaches as organised by Albert and Muriel Bates.

I was 15 at the time and I went with my mates from school on one of the 2 coaches that we took there!

Wolves at the time were more or less on there way to relegation to the 'Old Division 4' and Swansea were also fighting a battle they would eventually lose.

Wolves were as bad as you could get at that time back in January 1986.

In the match at the Molineux in September, Swansea had beaten us 5-1 and my mate went out at Half Time for a bag of chips at 4-0 down and the stewards wouldn't let him back in (probably for his own sanity)

So there we were on the beach about 1 hour before kick off and it was absolutely freezing.

I remember a young Tim Flowers chatting to us as the players warmed up.Wolves had to borrow Swansea's white shorts as our black ones clashed with their home kit. Floyd Streete was nearly bursting out of the shorts that they had given to him.

Amazingly we actually won the match 2-0.

Goals from 'Sir Floyd' Streete and Ian Cartwright (down our end) made the long trip well worth while.

The Wolves team that day was:
Tim Flowers
Geoff Palmer
Rickie Herbert
'Sir Floyd' Streete
Peter Zelem
Ian Cartwright
Roger Eli
Mickey Holmes
Derek Ryan
Dean Edwards
Jon Purdie

I remember on the way home the team coach drove past us and we all gave the team a rousing ovation across the motorway lanes!

My second trip there was in September 1988 when we had turned the corner and were on our way back up through the leagues.

There was a major traffic jam getting across the bridge in the City centre and so we missed the first 15 minutes and when were already 2-0 up.

We went on to win 5-2 with goals from Phil Chard, Phil Robinson, Bully 2, Robbie Dennsion.

The team that day was:
Mark Kendall
Bellamy
Thommo
Veno
Nicky Clarke
Phil Robinson
Micky Gooding
Phil Chard
Bully
Mutchy
Robbie 'Roberto Carlos in disguise' Dennison

This constituted, as far as I can find, our last visit there.

The end of this season ended on a much better note as we won promotion to Division 1 with Sheffield United.

Perhaps if we can stick 5 past them next week we can get the same lucky omen and get promotion out of the division as well!!

Here's hoping.

e-mail me with any feedback to:dave@wolves-mad.co.uk