Quote Originally Posted by Dorcus View Post
I'm old enough to remember the '70s and at that time, as has been said, Cardiff and Bristol City were regular rivals in League Division 2 ( as it was then) and, apart from the Welsh Cup, Swansea and Cardiff seldom clashed because they were stuck lower down the League. Because Swansea were then an irrelevance it was probably quite natural back then to view Bristol City as our derby rivals. Note, however, for the same reason as Swansea, Bristol Rovers were never considered in the same way.

Return to the present day and since Swansea, let's face it, have actually surpassed us on football success in recent years, Swansea have become our main rivals for a majority of fans and particularly those under 50, I'd say.

My own opinion is that Cardiff - Swansea is a real derby in the sense of what traditional football rivalries have always been throughout the world. The Bristol City one is contrived just like Man Utd - Liverpool and Barca - Real Madrid for example.
Traditional rivalries are with your nearest and (definitely NOT) dearest. For big cities it's those clubs sharing the same city, for even bigger clubs it's those sharing the same area of the city (Spurs - Arsenal); for smaller cities and towns it's neighbouring cities and towns within the same region. Norwich - Ipswich for example fighting over bragging rights in East Anglia.

Therefore for us, Swansea ticks all the boxes, they are our nearest neighbours on the same region: Bristol City have nothing to do with us, they're in a separate region altogether so no bragging rights are on offer.

I've actually seen some people even locally (I live in Caerphilly) supporting Swansea and though not diehard fans they are often Rugby supporters too and view Swansea with some affection because of their strong Welsh identity. I think that also explains as someone else has written that years ago Swansea were many Cardiff fans' "second team"

Maybe because of the hooliganism period things have changed now and our rivalries have been adjusted more in line with the customs of the majority of football fans. For me, Swansea are our true rivals because we are both Welsh clubs and not despite it. It's all about bragging rights for your local city or region and having civic pride.


Very revealing post.
In fact it's ridiculous muddled thinking. It's about the team you happen to be facing , wherever they're from, and how to beat them.
" Bragging rights " only really exist if you're in the team, and I should hope most professional footballers have got better things to be doing with their time.

I can see what you and your mate Bob are saying about a mental hierarchy of teams - I still find it strange to see Swansea as a serious team or the likes of Ipswich as strugglers , but we all know really that the world has moved on. Personally I'd bracket Bristol City as the derby game , but then I can remember when Swindon was looked at in that way.

None of it matters at all really though. Each game is a task to be completed successfully and irrespective of the antecedents of the opponents - that is the ethos which brings success in football and many other aspects of life.