However fickle some Swansea City fans might appear to their fellow fans, one thing is for certain and that is that the Jack Army are a loyal, devoted bunch whom follow their team wherever they may go.
Despite the 2017-2018 Season being a truly miserable and dour spectacle as a whole, it hasn’t stopped thousands of Travelling Jacks venturing across the roads and motorways of the UK to watch their beloved team.
In fact, Swans fans would have clocked 7,999 miles to watch their team play in all of Premier League away games last season, a figure only topped by Newcastle fans, whom would have racked up a staggering 9,075 miles!
Given the way the season panned out, it is probably hardly surprising that the Swans biggest away following was for the first away game of the season at Southampton, when 3,352 Jacks watched Paul Clement’s team park the bus in a dour 0-0 draw. A theme which sadly was to become a rather familiar one as the season unfolded.
Another visit to Wembley (temporary home of Spurs) was the attraction for many fans, as 3,007 watched yet another defensive performance from a Clement team, but one which – once again – yielded a point in a drab 0-0 draw.
The lowest away following for the Swans was for a live ‘Sky Monday Night Football’ game against Everton on Monday 18 December (with an 8pm kick-off), when just 334 hardy souls made the trip to Goodison Park just days before Christmas.
Here is the full list Swansea City away followings last season:
Southampton = 3,352
Tottenham Hotspur = 3,007
Arsenal = 2,955
West Bromwich Albion = 2,717
Manchester United = 2,510
Brighton & Hove Albion = 1,850
Notts County (FA Cup) = 1,482
Liverpool = 1,481
Watford = 1,350
AFC Bournemouth = 1,295
Crystal Palace = 1,253
Chelsea = 1,229
Wolves (FA Cup) = 1,203
West Ham United = 1,200
Huddersfield Town = 1,159
Newcastle United = 1,096
Sheffield Wednesday (FA Cup) = 1,079
Reading (League Cup) = 968
Manchester City = 897
Leicester City = 703
Burnley = 656
Stoke City = 605
MK Dons (League Cup) = 384
Everton = 334
The Total Swans away following for the 24 away games played during the 2017-2018 season was 31,758 – an average of 1,323 per game.
The breakdown for each competition was as follows:
- Total Swans away following in 19 Premier League games was 26,642 – an average of 1,402 per game.
- Total Swans away following in 3 FA Cup games was 3,764 – an average of 1,255 per game.
- Total Swans away following in 2 League Cup games was 1,352 – an average of 676 per game.
How these figures stack up against other clubs of a similar size is a bit of an unknown, but when you consider that the Swans have only scored 11 goals and won twice in 19 away games in the Premier League, then an average away support of 1,402 is rather impressive – especially when you consider the travelling distances involved too!
It is interesting to note that even after the Swans highest Premier League finish of 8th in the 2014-2015 season, that the average Swans away support that season was 1,597 – only 195 less than this relegation season!
Now that, if nothing else, just goes to show how loyal the Jack Army is – regardless of the team’s league position.