Cup Final Farce
By Robert Stock
April 17 2009
The FAW have yet again infuriated and frustrated Welsh Premier supporters by naming both a venue and date for this season's Welsh Cup Final that is about as welcome as a fart in a spacesuit.
It was a few days before the Welsh Cup Semi-Finals and the FAW intelligently announced the venue for the Final as Parc Y Scarlets, Llanelli, under the ridiculous pretence that they were actually helping clubs and supporters by deciding the location there and then.
I wrote at the time that Llanelli would seem a highly inconvenient venue for a Bank Holiday weekend if the finalists turned out to be Bangor v Aber, and lo and behold!...
If dragging a team from North and Mid Wales down the full length of the A470 wasn't mad enough, all previous stupidity levels were surpassed when the FAW announced the date to be the Bank Holiday Monday - in contrast to the original date of Sunday, 3rd May.
'Well it can't get any more stupid', I hear you cry?! Think again - Kick-off time is still to be confirmed by the FAW. For what it's worth they may as well announce it to be 7:30 p.m, just to ensure as few Bangor supporters make the trip south as possible, which would avoid the need to arrange decent security arrangements - arrangements that could have again made Newtown's Latham Park the sensible and safe venue it was considered only earlier this month for the Loosemore's Cup Final between TNS and...Bangor!
It should be noted that theses frustrations do not stem from any dislike for the Parc Y Scarlets stadium or the town of Llanelli itself. Indeed, had the final turned out to be a Carmarthen v Bridgend it would have seemed an ideal venue. Undoubtedly, the recent Wales U21 match at the 14,780 capacity stadium was a huge success and is sure to prove a more than fitting venue for many key sporting events in the future. Rather, it's the FAW's complete disregard for the supporters - who can make a cup final such a passionate and exciting affair that the country can enjoy and be proud of.
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You'll always be in the the shadow of the Scarlets.
Llanelli = Swansea fans...classic.