Let’s Hear It For The Girls!

Anyone who was there that night will tell you it was a moment they will never forget. The night Tommy Smith welcomed the Argentinian World Cup winner Ossie Ardiles to Swansea and ‘English Football’. 

The arrival of John Toshack to Swansea in 1978 had turned a team that regularly flirted with relegation into the glamour side of the lower leagues.   His move to become player manager of what was then, and let’s be honest about this, a pretty unfashionable, unremarkable team couldn’t have come at a better time. Tosh was still in his early thirties with a few years and lots of goals still in those legs and he had come from working with one of Football’s greatest managers Bill Shankly.

Having said that the ground work had been done by the man he would replace at the Club, local lad Harry Griffiths.  Harry had assembled a group of extremely talented young players including Alan Curtis, Robbie James and Jeremy Charles. 

Toshack saw that raw talent and then added experience and football know how by bringing in some of his old pals from Anfield. These weren’t just his old mates coming to the seaside to pick up one last pay check before going off to run a pub somewhere like Preston or Blackpool.  No, only a few years earlier Ian Callaghan and Tommy Smith had been the corner stones of a Liverpool team that dominated British Football and that would soon go on to do the same in Europe. What’s more they brought star quality to my home town team.  This team was going places.

Whilst we were used to visits by the likes of Halifax and Doncaster Rovers, Cup competitions opened up the chance of playing one of the ‘big boys’.  I still remember the hurt of being told I was too young to go with my brothers to see Arsenal at the Vetch in the fourth round of the FA Cup in 1968. Ten years later I was big enough to buy my own ticket to see the Swans take on Tottenham Hotspur in the second round of the League Cup.

Tottenham have always been one of the glamour teams of the game.  They won the double in 1961 with 2 Swansea boys in the side, Terry Medwin and Cliff Jones. If I’m honest I have always had a bit of a soft spot for them.  They arrived in Swansea with a team full of stars.  In the weeks following the 1978 World Cup they had added 2 Argentinean World Cup winners to a side that already boasted the likes of England Internationals Glenn Hoddle and Steve Perryman.

That summer I had watched Ossie Ardiles on TV win the World Cup. Now he was coming to the Vetch field and was to be joined by Argentinean squad member Ricky Villa too. After all of the glory years we have had in Swansea in recent times I don’t think you can imagine how mind blowing all of this was to your average Swansea fan.

We drew the game 2-2 and would go on to win the replay at White Hart Lane 3-1 where, as the song says, ‘you could hear the cockerel cry when the Swans scored number three’.  The thing is I can’t remember much about the game or the goals, all I can remember is that tackle by Tommy Smith on Ossie Ardiles.

To be frank I think you could feel it coming in the build up to the game.  Smith had the reputation for not taking any prisoners.  I once heard Leighton James tell the story that he was being marked by Tommy Smith in a game between Burnley and Liverpool.  Apparently Leighton went around Tommy Smith with ease and probably enjoyed making Smith aware of his skills and scored a goal.  As they lined up for the restart Tommy Smith said to Leighton James that if he did that again he would break his legs.  Leighton was stunned that Tommy Smith would say something like that, out loud, within earshot of the referee.  Leighton turned to the ref and asked him what he was going to do about it. Apparently the referee said ‘Nothing, but if I was you I’d go and play on the other wing!!‘

It’s hard to describe the feeling of excitement and anticipation as the teams lined up for kick off. I was stood at the centre of the North Bank with my mates. It all happened so quickly but it all seemed to happen in slow motion.  Barely had the game kicked off than the ball arrived at the feet of the Argentinean wizard Ardiles.  This provided the perfect opportunity for Tommy Smith to make a challenge or what I think used to be known in the game as a ‘leveller’.

What sticks with me is 2 sounds.  The sound of the crack of Tommy Smith’s tackle on Ardiles and then the sharp in take of breath from everyone around me.  We knew it was possible but to see a ‘master’ at work was unbelievable.  It’s not that Ardiles was unused to such treatment.  He had been warned by his Spurs team mates that Tommy Smith was a ‘bad man’, but he had played in Argentina with the likes of Daniel Passarella.  Even if he had seen it coming there was nothing he could do to avoid it. After making sure Ardiles was still alive apparently Tommy Smith went up to him and said, ‘Welcome to English Football’.

To his credit Ardiles eventually returned to his feet and carried on for another 50 minutes or so but Tommy had made his point and literally left his mark.

One of the observations made by older football fans is that football today is too sanitised, too safe, passionless.  In the good old days derbies up and down the country were littered with the broken bodies of opponents who would then go on to shake hands and share a pint after the game.  The game has changed.  Well maybe in some corners it hasn’t…

Last Sunday I went to see a proper old fashioned derby at the Swansea.com Stadium.  Swansea were hosting bitter rivals Cardiff in an evening kick off.  The excitement in the stands was tangible as the young voices screamed their encouragement to their idols on the pitch.

Over the past few years it has been amazing to see the growth in the Women’s game.  Whether or not you were an England fan it was remarkable to see the joy of the faces of those girls who saw The Lionesses with the UEFA Championship in 2022. This weekend sees the Wales team in action against Slovakia as they try to reach the UEFA finals next year. The game is now ‘Her Game Too’.

Anyway back to the derby.  The pitch was wet and the emotions high and there was definitely no taking of prisoners from either side.  Slide tackles left their mark as players fought for the bragging rights. And then it happened, I mean there had been plenty of challenges in the game but the ferociousness of this one I’m sure would have made Tommy Smith smile.  I felt myself wince and travel back to the Vetch Field in 1978.

Here’s the other thing I noticed about the game.  The tackles were more full bloodied than anything I had seen at the Swansea.com for years, probably since Ferrie Bodde.  But it was the reaction that surprised me.  There was no rolling around and screaming or a crowding around the referee asking for a red card.  No, the trainers came on with a magic sponge and after a little attention the player got up and got on with the game. I was surprised by how little reaction every tackle got.

By the way Swansea won one nil and you should have seen the celebrations at the end.

If you miss some of the ‘passion and spice’ of the old game maybe you should try the ‘new’ game in town the next time Swansea Ladies are at home. You won’t be disappointed.