It's been a crazy week for Swansea City. But one new and one old striker have calmed FanZoner Matthew Phillips' nerves.
New signings ease the pain of Tuesday's reffing hell
It's been a busy time for Swansea City, topped by the 'one of the worst referees' FanZone correspondent Matthew Phillips - an amateur official himself - has seen. But improved displays and extra firepower have given him something to take his mind off Mr Linington...
What a crazy couple of days in Swansea this week! No-one can say this season has been dull and boring so far.
First there was the strangest game of football I have ever seen and the worst referee I have ever had the displeasure of watching. Now the news has just broken that we are about to sign Craig Beattie from West Brom on a three-year deal and ex striker Lee Trundle is returning on loan untill January.
Firstly I'll talk about the last two league matches, at home against Reading I felt we were really unlucky, we created chance after chance but just didn't have the luck in front of goal.
But it was a much-improved performance, with youngster Kerry Morgan impressing on his league debut, but I think most fans left the Liberty a little more optimistic - but also realising that Mark Gower will never ever score for Swansea City, after missing a penalty! (47 matches and counting without a goal for us).
Last Saturday we were sent to Coventry, who had an unbeaten start and we were looking for our first league win. It was a decent performance to be fair, one of those gritty games that we had to grind out a result in - which we did.
There weren't many chances for either team but we had the luck this time (Cov missed from a penalty). Central defender Ashley Williams popped up with the only goal of the game to become our top league goal scorer this season.
Blatant
Now to Tuesday's game, a League Cup fixture between Swansea and Scunthorpe in the second round - a match that will be talked about (for the wrong reasons) for years to come, I'm sure.
I have to say that the referee, James Linington, from the Isle of Wight, was one of the worst referees I have ever seen. As a part-time, amateur ref myself I tend to look at refs a little closer than maybe most fans do and he isn't one I'll be taking tips from.
He missed blatant fouls for both teams, he let Scunthorpe fouls go unpunished, he may or may not have been correct with the three red cards - these things are always open to debate - but as soon as he sent off captain Garry Monk for an off-the-ball incident he seemed to be against us from that point on.
It seemed strange that no action was taken against the Scunthorpe player for the dive seconds before or the fact he got involved with Monk and in extra-time striker Dobbie was kicked in the ribs and had to go off injured, again no action was taken against the offending Scunthorpe player.
So, an unusual situation of playing with nine men, as we had used all of our subs, but the ref then gave a harsh penalty which Scunny duly scored and the match then started to turn into a farce. We had two more players sent off within a minute of each other and our new Austrian signing (Besian Idrizaj) left the field injured.
Abandoned
The referee then pondered what to do. As we only had six players on the field, the laws of the game state a match has to be abandoned in that situation, he made Idrizaj (no I can't say it either) stand injured on the pitchside and then added on just a minute of additional time when there should have been much, much more.
He was, in my opinion, a terrible referee who seemed out of his depth and one who lost total control of the game. I very rarely criticise referees, as it is a difficult job as whatever decision you give someone will give you grief, but sometimes you do wonder how some officials pass their referee's exam and assessments. But it's something we have become used to over the years, Stuart Attwell is another official who seemed inept at his job.
The only other downside to Tuesday, apart from losing, was the fact the FAW will most definitely investigate the events against Scunthorpe and will almost definitely fine us, (they'll need funding for their Christmas do) especially as we were charged for 'failing to control our players' against Reading.
One further point regarding Tuesday is I couldn't believe how poor Scunthorpe were against seven men! The only shot they had in extra-time was the penalty, they seemed scared to attack.
Rumours
Now onto the new signings. Craig Beattie has agreed terms from fellow Championship outfit West Brom. He has been highly rated by some but has never really produced at the highest level as yet - injuries have set him back a little. But he is only 25 and has experience of Champions League, Premier League and international football for Scotland. I think he'll do well.
The second signing is ex-striker Lee Trundle who has returned to his spiritual home on loan after two seasons away from South Wales. It was a surprise signing, despite countless rumours every transfer window that he would return.
It's ironic in a way, as when Trundle was at Swansea first time around he was always rumoured to be leaving and when he left he was always rumoured to be returning!
But with 85 goals in four seasons and countless assists, albeit at a lower level than the Championship, he did certainly raise the profile of the club. His silky skills, superb goals and dodgy haircuts certainly made him a favourite with the Jackarmy.
If he continues a similar scoring form second time around, I'm sure not many Swans fans would complain too much. I just hope he finds those Magic Daps once more, as disappointingly for him, it hasn't worked out as he would have liked since leaving for Bristol City.
Bolster
Fans have expressed their worry in recent weeks for the lack of signings, fingers crossed that our new number nine and 19 can bolster our attack and our season will be back on track.
Watford arrive at the Liberty onSaturday, they have lost top scorer Tommy Smith to Portsmouth and may lose defender Matt Williamson too. We have three players suspended plus Stephen Dobbie to add to the ever-growing injury list. Thank God the International break is upon us.
That will give us some much-needed extra time to get some players back fit and ready to go, namely Bodde, Pratley, Allen and Dobbie. I'm a little more positive for Saturday now we have new signings, fingers and toes crossed that the lack of strength-in-depth at the back doesn't hamper us too much.
Who are we!?
Will Lee Trundle be able to weave his magic at Swansea second time around? And what about Craig Beattie? Will he get goals in South Wales? Let us know what you think by filling in the feedback form below...
