...and now the BBC has a preview of tomorrow's game here.
Friday, August 31, 2001
High-flying Colchester come to the County Ground tomorrow, sitting joint top of the table having notched up four wins and one draw so far.
Town, as we know, have yet to win at home this season, and although Monday's win up at Bury gives us some hope, those present for last week's dismal home defeat at the hands of Oldham know the despair-inducing depths Town can plumb.
Not surprisingly, Colchester fans are pretty cocky, and all reports suggest they play attractive, attacking football. They didn't do much in the close season by way of transfers to bolster a squad which finished 17th last time, so here's hoping we can burst their bubble, and that their attacking play opens up a few spaces we can exploit.
For Town, Neil Ruddock is expected to make his first team debut because Alan Reeves is suspended, and that's got to be something of a concern. Ruddock has not been in sparkling form for the reserves and has needed a lot of work to get fit - Colchester could be quite a test for the big defender tomorrow. Word has it their front men have plenty of pace between them.
Roy Evans at least has a full squad to choose from, apart from Reeves, with Steve "Turbo" Robinson and Mark Robinson both available again after yet more injuries. And, according to today's Adver the team's even going to have a pre-match meal before tomorrow's match. Previously, remarkably, the team just turned up around 1pm on home matchdays. Now they're going to arrive earlier, and go through more of a pre-match routine, perhaps in an attempt to avoid the half-dead first 45-minute performance of last week. Here's hoping…
The Colchester Rivals site has an amazingly complete match preview, if you fancy reading just how confident they are about this one… part one is here, part two is here, including a meet the Swindon players section.
Town, as we know, have yet to win at home this season, and although Monday's win up at Bury gives us some hope, those present for last week's dismal home defeat at the hands of Oldham know the despair-inducing depths Town can plumb.
Not surprisingly, Colchester fans are pretty cocky, and all reports suggest they play attractive, attacking football. They didn't do much in the close season by way of transfers to bolster a squad which finished 17th last time, so here's hoping we can burst their bubble, and that their attacking play opens up a few spaces we can exploit.
For Town, Neil Ruddock is expected to make his first team debut because Alan Reeves is suspended, and that's got to be something of a concern. Ruddock has not been in sparkling form for the reserves and has needed a lot of work to get fit - Colchester could be quite a test for the big defender tomorrow. Word has it their front men have plenty of pace between them.
Roy Evans at least has a full squad to choose from, apart from Reeves, with Steve "Turbo" Robinson and Mark Robinson both available again after yet more injuries. And, according to today's Adver the team's even going to have a pre-match meal before tomorrow's match. Previously, remarkably, the team just turned up around 1pm on home matchdays. Now they're going to arrive earlier, and go through more of a pre-match routine, perhaps in an attempt to avoid the half-dead first 45-minute performance of last week. Here's hoping…
The Colchester Rivals site has an amazingly complete match preview, if you fancy reading just how confident they are about this one… part one is here, part two is here, including a meet the Swindon players section.
Thursday, August 30, 2001
In the Adver today: it's Trust Day on Saturday, and the organisers plan to use some shock tactics to try and whip up some interest among Swindon Town fans. They'll be handing out leaflets covered in gloom 'n' doom headlines, and the matchday magazine will include a spread on the trust's aims. If you want to find out more about how trusts are a great thing, handing a little power to the fans, check out this link (from the Guardian, first listed here on August 8).
More on the free tickets for Saturday's match - down at the County Ground buying a ticket for Mrs Gaffer for Saturday's match, I spotted someone handing over a programme to confirm he had been at the game on Monday. Better still, it's not just a seat on the Stratton Bank or something - the bloke in front of me picked one in the centre of the Nationwide. Peter Rowe, we take it all back.
Wednesday, August 29, 2001
Today's Adver reports that the rival consortium looking to take control of Swindon Town (y'know, the one with Willie Carson and "Captain" Clive at the helm) are close to securing the backing of three multinational "development" companies.
We can safely assume they're housebuilders, and rivals to the ones already signed up by the exisiting Town management to put up the cash for any front-garden development. That's what chief executive Peter Rowe suggests, darkly, in his comments at the end of the piece.
What should we, the fans, make of it? Well, if the rival consortium gets the developers to pony up, it's good news. After all, as I've said before, it seems a matter of when - not if - they'll be taking over. It looks like developers' cash is going to be key to Town's long-term survival. And, as fans, do we really care which developer is digging deep so long as they do, and we still have a footie club to watch?
We can safely assume they're housebuilders, and rivals to the ones already signed up by the exisiting Town management to put up the cash for any front-garden development. That's what chief executive Peter Rowe suggests, darkly, in his comments at the end of the piece.
What should we, the fans, make of it? Well, if the rival consortium gets the developers to pony up, it's good news. After all, as I've said before, it seems a matter of when - not if - they'll be taking over. It looks like developers' cash is going to be key to Town's long-term survival. And, as fans, do we really care which developer is digging deep so long as they do, and we still have a footie club to watch?
As the Adver reported yesterday, free tickets for Saturday's match are being issued to fans who travelled north to Bury on bank holiday Monday.
That has provoked a few wry smiles around the place. On the Swindon Town mailing list one fan points out that the hardy few hundred who travelled up would, most likely, already be season ticket holders. Of the rest, he suggested, many would be Robins in exile, living nearby and taking advantage of the game to see Swindon at first hand.
Worse, more than a few fans have pointed out that no tickets were issued after they paid at the turnstile in Bury.
What proof does Town need? Receipts from lunch in the town? Petrol receipts? Descriptions of the goals?
Er.. on the other hand, that might not work. The otherwise appalling new official Swindon site has footage of the goalmouth action from Saturday, in the unlikely event you want to relive that day, and we can assume the Bury goals will go up eventually too. There's a report on Monday's action here too.
That has provoked a few wry smiles around the place. On the Swindon Town mailing list one fan points out that the hardy few hundred who travelled up would, most likely, already be season ticket holders. Of the rest, he suggested, many would be Robins in exile, living nearby and taking advantage of the game to see Swindon at first hand.
Worse, more than a few fans have pointed out that no tickets were issued after they paid at the turnstile in Bury.
What proof does Town need? Receipts from lunch in the town? Petrol receipts? Descriptions of the goals?
Er.. on the other hand, that might not work. The otherwise appalling new official Swindon site has footage of the goalmouth action from Saturday, in the unlikely event you want to relive that day, and we can assume the Bury goals will go up eventually too. There's a report on Monday's action here too.
Tuesday, August 28, 2001
Bury 0 Swindon 3
Oh happy day. Town once again turned it on away from home to run out bank holiday winners, scoring their first two league goals from open play and getting another penalty thanks to Eric Sabin's pace and Keith O'Halloran's nerve.
All the reports suggest that what was missing on Saturday against Oldham was present and correct against Bury. That means solidity at the back - including a good save or two from Bart - movement and hard work from the midfield - and skill up front. New boy Jo Osei-Kuffour scored the first and troubled the Bury back line all afternoon.
Good win that it was, it can't erase all our worries, though. Bury - as I suggested earlier - are probably the worst team in the league. If we can't beat them, we'd struggle anywhere. And some things were still not right - our distribution from the back was none too clever, as seen at the County Ground three days ago. And we're still using 3-5-2… but I've bored everyone enough with that.
Colchester visit us on Saturday, and that will prove much more of a test. They're top of the league - won three, drawn one, lost none, scored 11 lost 5. Nobody expected Colchester to be doing so well (most see them as fellow relegation dodgers) but, given the circumstances, a win against them would help us begin to forgive and forget.
Links-o-Rama
The loyal fans who went to Bury get in free for the Colchester game. Hey - shouldn't all of us who endured the Oldham match get in for nowt too?
We can still get better, says Roy Evans.
The Bury Rivals site is drooling over our Eric's pace and skill - although they think it wasn't a penalty.
Meanwhile, on the Town discussion board things are a bit divided - one fan says he's pleased David Duke got a goal, because he could be a great player. Others pour cold water on that, saying teams with any quality will cause our midfield problems…
… while others, perhaps realistically, point out Bury is likely the worst team in the league
Oh happy day. Town once again turned it on away from home to run out bank holiday winners, scoring their first two league goals from open play and getting another penalty thanks to Eric Sabin's pace and Keith O'Halloran's nerve.
All the reports suggest that what was missing on Saturday against Oldham was present and correct against Bury. That means solidity at the back - including a good save or two from Bart - movement and hard work from the midfield - and skill up front. New boy Jo Osei-Kuffour scored the first and troubled the Bury back line all afternoon.
Good win that it was, it can't erase all our worries, though. Bury - as I suggested earlier - are probably the worst team in the league. If we can't beat them, we'd struggle anywhere. And some things were still not right - our distribution from the back was none too clever, as seen at the County Ground three days ago. And we're still using 3-5-2… but I've bored everyone enough with that.
Colchester visit us on Saturday, and that will prove much more of a test. They're top of the league - won three, drawn one, lost none, scored 11 lost 5. Nobody expected Colchester to be doing so well (most see them as fellow relegation dodgers) but, given the circumstances, a win against them would help us begin to forgive and forget.
Links-o-Rama
The loyal fans who went to Bury get in free for the Colchester game. Hey - shouldn't all of us who endured the Oldham match get in for nowt too?
We can still get better, says Roy Evans.
The Bury Rivals site is drooling over our Eric's pace and skill - although they think it wasn't a penalty.
Meanwhile, on the Town discussion board things are a bit divided - one fan says he's pleased David Duke got a goal, because he could be a great player. Others pour cold water on that, saying teams with any quality will cause our midfield problems…
… while others, perhaps realistically, point out Bury is likely the worst team in the league
Monday, August 27, 2001
Finally, we learn the reasons for Town's dire display on Saturday. Today's Adver reveals that Alan Reeves "said he would tolerate complacency in the camp". Typo or alarming new tactic? I think we should be told.
Meanwhile, John Ritson gets stuck in. "This was either a totally shambolic performance or an eerie re-make of the sci-fi classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers," he writes. "Although the eleven names on the team sheet to face Oldham Athletic were unchanged from Town’s midweek heroics at Wolves, it seemed as though those same players had been replaced by soul-less replicas."
Meanwhile, John Ritson gets stuck in. "This was either a totally shambolic performance or an eerie re-make of the sci-fi classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers," he writes. "Although the eleven names on the team sheet to face Oldham Athletic were unchanged from Town’s midweek heroics at Wolves, it seemed as though those same players had been replaced by soul-less replicas."
The post-mortem continues on Saturday's performance, even as we get ready for kick-off against Bury in a few hours' time.
Dave Hanley has posted his match report over at rivals.net - it's a detailed analysis of what happened, for those not already sick of chewing it all over. For the very keen there's the Oldham view here.
Let's hope a decent performance against Bury this afternoon can help us forget Saturday. Defeat would send out a terrible signal; if there's one team in this league everybody expects us to finish above, it's Bury. They finished four places above us last term, but most expect them to end bottom of the pile come May.
Dave Hanley has posted his match report over at rivals.net - it's a detailed analysis of what happened, for those not already sick of chewing it all over. For the very keen there's the Oldham view here.
Let's hope a decent performance against Bury this afternoon can help us forget Saturday. Defeat would send out a terrible signal; if there's one team in this league everybody expects us to finish above, it's Bury. They finished four places above us last term, but most expect them to end bottom of the pile come May.
Sunday, August 26, 2001
Pretty depressed debate continues between fans, on and offline, about what comes next after yesterday's dismal display. Even the team's management seems a bit lost - Teamtalk reports Roy Evans as saying he doesn't really understand why the team can play well one day, and so badly three days later. "I need my players to be far more consistent than this," he said.
So what was the problem? Too relaxed (laughing and joking before the game)? Or too tense (usual post-crap performance excuse)?
There was more likely a combination of reasons. Oldham refuse to allow us to play, by closing us down too quickly. We continue to be crippled by playing three at the back, instead of a back four. Surely it won't take too long for Evans and Ruddock to realise there isn't a wing back at the club.
And there's a serious problem when the ball is pumped forward to the forwards, when we all know the team's missing a target man to make that kind of route one approach work.
Consensus over at the myonlyswindon.com seems to be that we need a good passing midfielder in the style of Iain Woan to make things better.
It'll certainly help - but we need more than a short-term loan to get us out of trouble. A couple of signings, including that much-needed striker, wouldn't go amiss, along with the rest of the side getting its collective act together - game in, game out, starting at Bury tomorrow.
So what was the problem? Too relaxed (laughing and joking before the game)? Or too tense (usual post-crap performance excuse)?
There was more likely a combination of reasons. Oldham refuse to allow us to play, by closing us down too quickly. We continue to be crippled by playing three at the back, instead of a back four. Surely it won't take too long for Evans and Ruddock to realise there isn't a wing back at the club.
And there's a serious problem when the ball is pumped forward to the forwards, when we all know the team's missing a target man to make that kind of route one approach work.
Consensus over at the myonlyswindon.com seems to be that we need a good passing midfielder in the style of Iain Woan to make things better.
It'll certainly help - but we need more than a short-term loan to get us out of trouble. A couple of signings, including that much-needed striker, wouldn't go amiss, along with the rest of the side getting its collective act together - game in, game out, starting at Bury tomorrow.
Saturday, August 25, 2001
Swindon 0 Oldham 2
Two superb strikes sank Town at the County Ground today, but the Oldham team was aided and abetted all the way by some criminal Town displays, especially in the first half.
All the pre-match talk - and training - around a passing game was forgotten as the ball was lumped front to back. When the Town midfield was involved - as Oldham pressed forward - they failed to close their opponents down, and it wasn't much of a surprise when Oldham went one up just after the quarter hour mark.
Oldham won a free kick just outside the box and John Sheridan stepped up to send a superb free kick over the wall and beyond the reach of Gremink.
Town was being stretched by a hard working Oldham side, with David Duke struggling at right wingback and Matthew Hewlett lacking bite in the middle. The game was made worse by another nit-picking performance from a referee - SG Tomlin - who even forced the kick-off to be taken twice because he adjudged David Duke to have been across the half way line.
Tomlin later denied us a stonewall penalty after Danny Invincible was made meat in an unpleasant Oldham sandwich inside the box, as he raced through on goal.
Oldham went two up when they won a throw ten yards from Town's goal line, and the ball reached Stuart Balmer, unmarked in the box, who rifled a superb volley home from 15 yards out.
The second half performance was much improved - Roy Evans told Wiltshire Sound after the game that he had "politely asked the team to play better" in the second half. The bollocking seemed to work.
Bobby Howe - building on his starring role on Wednesday - was Town's best midfielder (disgracefully booed when he was substituted) and he began to pull a few strings. Thanks in part to that, and a willingness from the rest of the team to pass the ball around, there were three good chances for Town to score.
There were free headers on two separate occasions for Reeves and Heywood, both of which should have been buried. But, worst of all, Sol Davies steamed in at the back post only to send the ball over from less than a yard out after Sabin had scuffed a guilt-edged chance to get one back.
As the half wore on Town's play disintegrated again, with only the appearance of Jo Osei-Kuffour to cheer us up. He showed sensational skill to beat two Oldham defenders in the box, only to have his powerful shot deflected, and we can expect him to bag a few in the three months he's with us.
But, in the end, we did little to trouble Gary Kelly in the Oldham goal, and there's got to be a bit of concern among the management at Town's abject first half performance. They don't have many squad options, and little if any cash to bring in someone new. Any improvements will have to come on the training ground - and then be shown on the pitch.
Two superb strikes sank Town at the County Ground today, but the Oldham team was aided and abetted all the way by some criminal Town displays, especially in the first half.
All the pre-match talk - and training - around a passing game was forgotten as the ball was lumped front to back. When the Town midfield was involved - as Oldham pressed forward - they failed to close their opponents down, and it wasn't much of a surprise when Oldham went one up just after the quarter hour mark.
Oldham won a free kick just outside the box and John Sheridan stepped up to send a superb free kick over the wall and beyond the reach of Gremink.
Town was being stretched by a hard working Oldham side, with David Duke struggling at right wingback and Matthew Hewlett lacking bite in the middle. The game was made worse by another nit-picking performance from a referee - SG Tomlin - who even forced the kick-off to be taken twice because he adjudged David Duke to have been across the half way line.
Tomlin later denied us a stonewall penalty after Danny Invincible was made meat in an unpleasant Oldham sandwich inside the box, as he raced through on goal.
Oldham went two up when they won a throw ten yards from Town's goal line, and the ball reached Stuart Balmer, unmarked in the box, who rifled a superb volley home from 15 yards out.
The second half performance was much improved - Roy Evans told Wiltshire Sound after the game that he had "politely asked the team to play better" in the second half. The bollocking seemed to work.
Bobby Howe - building on his starring role on Wednesday - was Town's best midfielder (disgracefully booed when he was substituted) and he began to pull a few strings. Thanks in part to that, and a willingness from the rest of the team to pass the ball around, there were three good chances for Town to score.
There were free headers on two separate occasions for Reeves and Heywood, both of which should have been buried. But, worst of all, Sol Davies steamed in at the back post only to send the ball over from less than a yard out after Sabin had scuffed a guilt-edged chance to get one back.
As the half wore on Town's play disintegrated again, with only the appearance of Jo Osei-Kuffour to cheer us up. He showed sensational skill to beat two Oldham defenders in the box, only to have his powerful shot deflected, and we can expect him to bag a few in the three months he's with us.
But, in the end, we did little to trouble Gary Kelly in the Oldham goal, and there's got to be a bit of concern among the management at Town's abject first half performance. They don't have many squad options, and little if any cash to bring in someone new. Any improvements will have to come on the training ground - and then be shown on the pitch.
Just the pick-me-up Town needs before today's home match against Oldham. Billboards around town advertising the fact that Town is being taken to court over the absence of any annual general meetings at the club for two years.
It's just the latest, badly timed shot in the increasingly nasty war between the current chairman and the rival consortium, led by majority shareholder Sir Seton Wills, who want to regain control.
At the moment, it looks like a takeover by the consortium is a certainty - a case of when, not if, because it owns most of Town's shares, and Sir Seton is also a major creditor.
More of a question mark hangs over the plans for a new stadium on the Front Garden (a stupid name for a strip of land between Swindon and the M4). Chairman Donegan was in talks yesterday with the council, presumably explaining when he's going to pay back the £87,000 the club owes the council. They will likely withdraw the preferred developer status he has if the club fails to stump up.
It's just the latest, badly timed shot in the increasingly nasty war between the current chairman and the rival consortium, led by majority shareholder Sir Seton Wills, who want to regain control.
At the moment, it looks like a takeover by the consortium is a certainty - a case of when, not if, because it owns most of Town's shares, and Sir Seton is also a major creditor.
More of a question mark hangs over the plans for a new stadium on the Front Garden (a stupid name for a strip of land between Swindon and the M4). Chairman Donegan was in talks yesterday with the council, presumably explaining when he's going to pay back the £87,000 the club owes the council. They will likely withdraw the preferred developer status he has if the club fails to stump up.
Worthington Cup draw...
Swindon missed out on the big guns in the draw for the Worthington Cup second round this lunchtime. Having dismissed Wolves on Wednesday, we'll travel to the Midlands again, this time to play first division West Bromwich Albion. WBA, who narrowly avoided being relegated with Swindon in 1999-2000, came sixth last season.
Unlike last season, this term the second round is a one-off match.
Swindon missed out on the big guns in the draw for the Worthington Cup second round this lunchtime. Having dismissed Wolves on Wednesday, we'll travel to the Midlands again, this time to play first division West Bromwich Albion. WBA, who narrowly avoided being relegated with Swindon in 1999-2000, came sixth last season.
Unlike last season, this term the second round is a one-off match.
Friday, August 24, 2001
We've made a signing! The new lad is Jo Osei-Kuffour - a 19-year-old Arsenal striker who's here on a three month loan. He has, apparently, "been scoring goals for fun" in the reserve and youth sides. Soccernet has a little profile here, and you can see a picture of the lad at Gunnermania.
There's just a little bit of optimism creeping into Town's preparations for tomorrow's match against Oldham at the County Ground. The first team is still buzzing after the Wolves win on Wednesday night, and even the reserves are up after beating Bristol City at the County Ground yesterday (although those at the game say that was a minor miracle, so bad was our defending).
Now Roy Evans is calling on Town fans to give their team a break tomorrow. In today's Adver Evans says he needs the players to be able to go out and play - and make the odd mistake without getting a roasting from the crowd. We'll see how much the crowd heeds this tomorrow - Bobby Howe, goal hero midweek but County Ground fall guy most of the time, is likely to start.
Alan Reeves says pretty much the same thing - show us patience, and we'll play. He admits coming into work wasn't pleasant last season as the tension grew.
Meanwhile, my training ground mole tells me the players are being taken through plenty of two-touch pass and move sessions by Roy Evans, which helps explain the improvement we've seen in our passing the ball over the last couple of weeks.
We'll need to be at 100% for the visit of Oldham. Their manager - Andy Ritchie - is under pressure after a disappointing season last year. Some fans are calling for major changes should Oldham slip up in either or both games this bank holiday weekend...
Prediction? 2-1 to Town (and what's the betting on Sabin earning another penalty, I wonder?)
Now Roy Evans is calling on Town fans to give their team a break tomorrow. In today's Adver Evans says he needs the players to be able to go out and play - and make the odd mistake without getting a roasting from the crowd. We'll see how much the crowd heeds this tomorrow - Bobby Howe, goal hero midweek but County Ground fall guy most of the time, is likely to start.
Alan Reeves says pretty much the same thing - show us patience, and we'll play. He admits coming into work wasn't pleasant last season as the tension grew.
Meanwhile, my training ground mole tells me the players are being taken through plenty of two-touch pass and move sessions by Roy Evans, which helps explain the improvement we've seen in our passing the ball over the last couple of weeks.
We'll need to be at 100% for the visit of Oldham. Their manager - Andy Ritchie - is under pressure after a disappointing season last year. Some fans are calling for major changes should Oldham slip up in either or both games this bank holiday weekend...
Prediction? 2-1 to Town (and what's the betting on Sabin earning another penalty, I wonder?)
Thursday, August 23, 2001
Welcome to the topsy turvy world of Swindon Town. Away in the Worthington Cup to Wolves, and Bobby Howe's hitting 25-yard screamers while, at the other end, Reeves is getting unlucky with deflections and Bart's still flapping about as soon as the ball leaves the ground. And we still win, thanks to Sabin being fouled in the box (third game in a row!) and O'Halloran netting the penalty (second in a row). Oh happy day.
There are all sorts of positives to come out of the game last night. We ended with 11 men, despite Sol Davies' best efforts to get sent off in his first start of the season. We're knocking the ball around more and more confidently, with every game that passes, and even David Duke was putting in the tackles last night.
All that we look to be missing is a decent target man to play up alongside Sabin…
And yet there are some serious questions to ask this morning. One: how do we handle the inevitable starting place for Bobby Howe on Saturday at home? Can us boo-boys really boo him after his starring role last night? Will this lead to a crisis of confidence in the stands? Or will he get the biggest cheer of the day when his name is announced?
Two: does a cruel deflection/own goal off Reeves automatically mean we win the match?
Links-o-rama
Adver reaction from the the team and the management.
Rection from a Wolves point of view.
The Western Daily Press didn't bother to put their match report online, just this this back page story…
while the BBC Sport website has a brief report…
…but Moncur's more partisan report on MyOnlySwindon is a much more entertaining read.
Meanwhile, a Wolves fan writes to tell the MyOnlySwindon folks "we were embarrassingly bad and you lot had your tails up", and then he wishes us the best of luck.
A funny moment came last night when the Wiltshire Sound guys realised they hadn't checked when the second round draw was going to be, such was their lack of confidence in our chances of getting past Wolves. The station found out for this morning: it's taking place on ITV on Saturday lunchtime. Let's hope we can bring a Premiership side to the County Ground!
There are all sorts of positives to come out of the game last night. We ended with 11 men, despite Sol Davies' best efforts to get sent off in his first start of the season. We're knocking the ball around more and more confidently, with every game that passes, and even David Duke was putting in the tackles last night.
All that we look to be missing is a decent target man to play up alongside Sabin…
And yet there are some serious questions to ask this morning. One: how do we handle the inevitable starting place for Bobby Howe on Saturday at home? Can us boo-boys really boo him after his starring role last night? Will this lead to a crisis of confidence in the stands? Or will he get the biggest cheer of the day when his name is announced?
Two: does a cruel deflection/own goal off Reeves automatically mean we win the match?
Links-o-rama
Adver reaction from the the team and the management.
Rection from a Wolves point of view.
The Western Daily Press didn't bother to put their match report online, just this this back page story…
while the BBC Sport website has a brief report…
…but Moncur's more partisan report on MyOnlySwindon is a much more entertaining read.
Meanwhile, a Wolves fan writes to tell the MyOnlySwindon folks "we were embarrassingly bad and you lot had your tails up", and then he wishes us the best of luck.
A funny moment came last night when the Wiltshire Sound guys realised they hadn't checked when the second round draw was going to be, such was their lack of confidence in our chances of getting past Wolves. The station found out for this morning: it's taking place on ITV on Saturday lunchtime. Let's hope we can bring a Premiership side to the County Ground!
Wednesday, August 22, 2001
Back in time
A colleague was flipping through some old files and found a newspaper cutting from, of all obscure titles, the International Herald Tribune of January 24 1990.
And who should be featured on the torn out page than Swindon Town? There's a tale of hopes, fears - and trouble looming on the horizon. The more things change, they say...
The difference is we know the - disastrous - outcome of this story. When football journalist Rob Hughes was penning his words for the Tribune, he could only reflect on the tragedy of Swindon Town playing like "eleven men trying to be Ardiles", scoring more goals than any other team in England, third in the second division, but still facing relegation to the third for malpractice under a previous management. Who knows where Town would be if Ardiles' side had managed to get into the top flight that summer.
I've scanned in the cutting - I'm afraid it gets cut off half way down, and no record of the full piece exists on the web (this was, after all, in pre-web times) but it still makes a fascinating, if slightly sad, read.
A colleague was flipping through some old files and found a newspaper cutting from, of all obscure titles, the International Herald Tribune of January 24 1990.
And who should be featured on the torn out page than Swindon Town? There's a tale of hopes, fears - and trouble looming on the horizon. The more things change, they say...
The difference is we know the - disastrous - outcome of this story. When football journalist Rob Hughes was penning his words for the Tribune, he could only reflect on the tragedy of Swindon Town playing like "eleven men trying to be Ardiles", scoring more goals than any other team in England, third in the second division, but still facing relegation to the third for malpractice under a previous management. Who knows where Town would be if Ardiles' side had managed to get into the top flight that summer.
I've scanned in the cutting - I'm afraid it gets cut off half way down, and no record of the full piece exists on the web (this was, after all, in pre-web times) but it still makes a fascinating, if slightly sad, read.
Tuesday, August 21, 2001
And so the talk gets darker.
Roy Evans is reported to have been asking within hours of arriving at the County Ground: "What the hell is going on?", having heard all about the bitter battle for control of the club, and the front garden project.
He must have been asking the same again last night as the Adver reported that Town could have as little as 28 days left before being closed, with a meeting of creditors called within that time to discuss the chances of Town's hefty debts being repaid.
In reality, a winding-up order is only the worst thing that could happen to the club, and the other option available remains much more likely.
That is for the creditors to give more time to the current regime to pay back their debts. Given some money has already been paid back, and the club is clearly a going concern, they might be willing to do that. Chairman Danny Donegan tells the Adver today that he plans to "get it all sorted".
That includes calling an annual general meeting to present accounts - none have been seen for two years. And there will also be the opportunity for the major shareholders (the biggest - Sir Seton Wills - isn't even on the board at the moment) to elect a management team for the club.
Donegan is being quite dismissive of Carson's claims over the weekend that he "loves the club" and adds his consortium has put in £2m since taking over the running of the club.
But what is becoming clear is that the setup at the County Ground is very odd indeed. We have the majority shareholder sidelined while others run things. Worse, the chairman has apparently little time for the major shareholder's wishes. Meanwhile, there are fears that the club's entire future hangs on getting permission to develop the front garden. What happens if the council says no?
Also counting against the current board is Sunday's revelations in the News of the World (see yesterday's entry) that previous chairman Terry Brady left because of a lack of investment. Today Danny Donegan confirms that was the reason Brady left. Combined with the £80k + rent money owed to the council for the County Ground since the spring, and a worrying picture emerges.
We should not, at least, fear the very worse. Town should still be around for a while yet, not least because Sir Seton says he's ready to underpin the club if the current management walk out, or are replaced.
But it's not really the settled environment Roy Evans must want to build a team capable of getting promoted. He could be asking what the hell is going on for a while yet.
Roy Evans is reported to have been asking within hours of arriving at the County Ground: "What the hell is going on?", having heard all about the bitter battle for control of the club, and the front garden project.
He must have been asking the same again last night as the Adver reported that Town could have as little as 28 days left before being closed, with a meeting of creditors called within that time to discuss the chances of Town's hefty debts being repaid.
In reality, a winding-up order is only the worst thing that could happen to the club, and the other option available remains much more likely.
That is for the creditors to give more time to the current regime to pay back their debts. Given some money has already been paid back, and the club is clearly a going concern, they might be willing to do that. Chairman Danny Donegan tells the Adver today that he plans to "get it all sorted".
That includes calling an annual general meeting to present accounts - none have been seen for two years. And there will also be the opportunity for the major shareholders (the biggest - Sir Seton Wills - isn't even on the board at the moment) to elect a management team for the club.
Donegan is being quite dismissive of Carson's claims over the weekend that he "loves the club" and adds his consortium has put in £2m since taking over the running of the club.
But what is becoming clear is that the setup at the County Ground is very odd indeed. We have the majority shareholder sidelined while others run things. Worse, the chairman has apparently little time for the major shareholder's wishes. Meanwhile, there are fears that the club's entire future hangs on getting permission to develop the front garden. What happens if the council says no?
Also counting against the current board is Sunday's revelations in the News of the World (see yesterday's entry) that previous chairman Terry Brady left because of a lack of investment. Today Danny Donegan confirms that was the reason Brady left. Combined with the £80k + rent money owed to the council for the County Ground since the spring, and a worrying picture emerges.
We should not, at least, fear the very worse. Town should still be around for a while yet, not least because Sir Seton says he's ready to underpin the club if the current management walk out, or are replaced.
But it's not really the settled environment Roy Evans must want to build a team capable of getting promoted. He could be asking what the hell is going on for a while yet.
Monday, August 20, 2001
Town fans will have been amazed to open up their News of the World yesterday morning to find a page lead on Willie Carson's ambitions to "rescue" Swindon.
It was surprising enough to see the NoW so interested in lower-league action. But it was even more of an eyebrow-raiser to see Carson speaking out after so long, given his silence in the local media.
As you would expect, the NoW piece is a little skimpy on the financial nitty-gritty of any attempt to revive the club. It says Carson and his consortium - the other members of which we'll just have to guess at - are willing to "pump £1 million" into the "financially crippled" side. But the story does not go on to explain if this money would go into the kitty at the County Ground, or into the pockets of the current chairman by way of payment for his shareholding.
Let's not forget: according to the most recent claims from the club management, Town is losing around £2m a year. One million would not go far, even if it was all pumped into the side.
Indeed, it's safe to say that running a division two football club is only for rich individuals with money to burn, and/or very good businessmen who can keep things so disciplined the team can enjoy enough success to keep the fans coming in, without spending the silly money that has projected - say - Fulham into the Premiership.
The current chairman, Danny Donegan, points out Carson and Co had two chances to get it right and blew it (the online version linked to above contains fuller, much more vehement, criticism of the consortium than that which appeared in print).
More interesting was ex-Chairman Terry Brady's comments - again, shown more fully online than in print. He strongly suggested he had serious doubts about what is going on at the club under Donegan.
That, perhaps more than anything, is enough to cause us concern… Brady was an insider until the summer, known to be a football man as well as a businessman, and he possibly knows far more about what the future holds than anyone else outside the club.
It was surprising enough to see the NoW so interested in lower-league action. But it was even more of an eyebrow-raiser to see Carson speaking out after so long, given his silence in the local media.
As you would expect, the NoW piece is a little skimpy on the financial nitty-gritty of any attempt to revive the club. It says Carson and his consortium - the other members of which we'll just have to guess at - are willing to "pump £1 million" into the "financially crippled" side. But the story does not go on to explain if this money would go into the kitty at the County Ground, or into the pockets of the current chairman by way of payment for his shareholding.
Let's not forget: according to the most recent claims from the club management, Town is losing around £2m a year. One million would not go far, even if it was all pumped into the side.
Indeed, it's safe to say that running a division two football club is only for rich individuals with money to burn, and/or very good businessmen who can keep things so disciplined the team can enjoy enough success to keep the fans coming in, without spending the silly money that has projected - say - Fulham into the Premiership.
The current chairman, Danny Donegan, points out Carson and Co had two chances to get it right and blew it (the online version linked to above contains fuller, much more vehement, criticism of the consortium than that which appeared in print).
More interesting was ex-Chairman Terry Brady's comments - again, shown more fully online than in print. He strongly suggested he had serious doubts about what is going on at the club under Donegan.
That, perhaps more than anything, is enough to cause us concern… Brady was an insider until the summer, known to be a football man as well as a businessman, and he possibly knows far more about what the future holds than anyone else outside the club.
Sunday, August 19, 2001
There's some interesting (no, really!) thoughts on yesterday from a Bristol City fan here
And as Dave Hanley quite rightly points out, the highlight of the day - and possibly the biggest Town cheer - was for Funky Fledgling, the bushy-eyebrowed Town mascot. He legged it the full length of the pitch to tackle the City mascot. There was a massive roar as he showed, again, a turn of pace missing from much of the Town side.
And as Dave Hanley quite rightly points out, the highlight of the day - and possibly the biggest Town cheer - was for Funky Fledgling, the bushy-eyebrowed Town mascot. He legged it the full length of the pitch to tackle the City mascot. There was a massive roar as he showed, again, a turn of pace missing from much of the Town side.
Bristol City 3 Swindon 1
Our first gubbing of the season, and the inquest begins. First, the bones of what happened yesterday at Ashton Gate. A reasonable Town crowd stood (yes, stood) at the pretty crappy Wedlock end, and watched a game dominated by the slippery conditions and - worse, much worse - a dire display from referee Dowd.
He reduced what little spectacle there was to a slog in the rain through a potent mix of constant stoppages, wayward decisions (for both sides) and use of cards. To top off the whole crappy cake with a big gob, he sent off our captain for two petty fouls (although Reeves should have been more sensible for the second booking, for tugging a shirt near their corner flag).
The first City goal in 33 minutes was a cock-up by Town goalie Gremink. Tinnion played the ball into the box, into the path of Tony Thorpe. Thorpe's poor touch had given the keeper a chance to dive and collect the ball at his feet, but Gremink was both slow and unconfident. He eventually came to meet Thorpe beyond his near post, arms limp at his side while standing in a bizarre half crouch, but Thorpe was able to play the ball back to Tinnion on the penalty spot, and he had a simple enough job to blast it into the other corner of the net.
Bart's earlier uncertainty had allowed him to be lobbed earlier (Reeves headed off the line) and he would later spill a cross, with only O'Halloran's alertness stopping a quick-fire second goal. There now has do be a big question mark over his continued starting place; from the sharp words being exchanged during the match it was clear our defenders have as little confidence in him as the rest of us.
The second goal did come, however, in 66 minutes, minutes after Reeves had been handed his marching orders. Mickey Bell was allowed to break unchallenged, he put it wide to Aaron Brown (again, we looked weak on the wings), and his cross was nodded home at the back post by sub Lee Matthews.
City sealed the win in 76 minutes, when Gurney failed to clear Town's lines and Steve Jones capitalised with a good finish.
Town's goal came when the referee gave a pretty soft penalty (after two or three much stronger claims) after Sabin had gone down. O'Halloran, despite the consternation of many of the Town fans after last week's miss at home, made a decent job of the spot kick.
It was perhaps a measure of how poorly Town played that we looked at our best after Bobby Howe came on. He put together a few neat passes - we had been a little reluctant to get the ball down until then - and Sabin forced an excellent save in the dying minutes.
So what went wrong? There's a lot of blame flying around on the Town online forums, as there was on the terrace yesterday. Alan Reeves, predictably, got a lot of stick for his silly second yellow (for shirt pulling), but I still think he's needed in our back line, and must come ahead of Ruddock or Willis, the two other options.
No, the problem lies further up the pitch: the midfield was pretty anonymous, and the wing back system continues to fail. David Duke does not merit a place in the side: he's not good enough going forward, and he can't defend. Danny Invincible continues to underwhelm, and Robinson got booked in seven minutes, which meant he was walking on eggs for the rest of the match.
Up front, Graziloli doesn't have it: Berti Brayley looks a more likely player, full of energy and good touches, and I'd like to see him sieze his chance next week, when Graz begins his three match suspension.
There are folk saying this is already a worse start than last season (because last year we got better results against the two sides we've now played). But, in this case, City were clearly a better side than last time: they've got to be going up this season after making a few good signings.
The more real test for Swindon will be against Oldham next Saturday at the County Ground. Anything less than three points would suggest we've got a struggle on this season - they finished 15th last term, and we beat them 3-0 at home in March.
Our first gubbing of the season, and the inquest begins. First, the bones of what happened yesterday at Ashton Gate. A reasonable Town crowd stood (yes, stood) at the pretty crappy Wedlock end, and watched a game dominated by the slippery conditions and - worse, much worse - a dire display from referee Dowd.
He reduced what little spectacle there was to a slog in the rain through a potent mix of constant stoppages, wayward decisions (for both sides) and use of cards. To top off the whole crappy cake with a big gob, he sent off our captain for two petty fouls (although Reeves should have been more sensible for the second booking, for tugging a shirt near their corner flag).
The first City goal in 33 minutes was a cock-up by Town goalie Gremink. Tinnion played the ball into the box, into the path of Tony Thorpe. Thorpe's poor touch had given the keeper a chance to dive and collect the ball at his feet, but Gremink was both slow and unconfident. He eventually came to meet Thorpe beyond his near post, arms limp at his side while standing in a bizarre half crouch, but Thorpe was able to play the ball back to Tinnion on the penalty spot, and he had a simple enough job to blast it into the other corner of the net.
Bart's earlier uncertainty had allowed him to be lobbed earlier (Reeves headed off the line) and he would later spill a cross, with only O'Halloran's alertness stopping a quick-fire second goal. There now has do be a big question mark over his continued starting place; from the sharp words being exchanged during the match it was clear our defenders have as little confidence in him as the rest of us.
The second goal did come, however, in 66 minutes, minutes after Reeves had been handed his marching orders. Mickey Bell was allowed to break unchallenged, he put it wide to Aaron Brown (again, we looked weak on the wings), and his cross was nodded home at the back post by sub Lee Matthews.
City sealed the win in 76 minutes, when Gurney failed to clear Town's lines and Steve Jones capitalised with a good finish.
Town's goal came when the referee gave a pretty soft penalty (after two or three much stronger claims) after Sabin had gone down. O'Halloran, despite the consternation of many of the Town fans after last week's miss at home, made a decent job of the spot kick.
It was perhaps a measure of how poorly Town played that we looked at our best after Bobby Howe came on. He put together a few neat passes - we had been a little reluctant to get the ball down until then - and Sabin forced an excellent save in the dying minutes.
So what went wrong? There's a lot of blame flying around on the Town online forums, as there was on the terrace yesterday. Alan Reeves, predictably, got a lot of stick for his silly second yellow (for shirt pulling), but I still think he's needed in our back line, and must come ahead of Ruddock or Willis, the two other options.
No, the problem lies further up the pitch: the midfield was pretty anonymous, and the wing back system continues to fail. David Duke does not merit a place in the side: he's not good enough going forward, and he can't defend. Danny Invincible continues to underwhelm, and Robinson got booked in seven minutes, which meant he was walking on eggs for the rest of the match.
Up front, Graziloli doesn't have it: Berti Brayley looks a more likely player, full of energy and good touches, and I'd like to see him sieze his chance next week, when Graz begins his three match suspension.
There are folk saying this is already a worse start than last season (because last year we got better results against the two sides we've now played). But, in this case, City were clearly a better side than last time: they've got to be going up this season after making a few good signings.
The more real test for Swindon will be against Oldham next Saturday at the County Ground. Anything less than three points would suggest we've got a struggle on this season - they finished 15th last term, and we beat them 3-0 at home in March.
Friday, August 17, 2001
Looking forward to tomorrow's game versus Bristol City at Ashton Gate. On paper we have a good chance of doing well - despite their reasonable league position last season, City are one of the few sides we managed to get four points against last season, thanks to a great win away at the start of the season, and a respectable home draw later on.
But, in reality, it's clear we'll need to play a lot better than last week against Peterborough even to get a draw. City are on a roll after their 3-0 opening day win away to Northampton. Although Boro had a player sent off in 34 minutes, City were already three goals to the good, and their fans seem with the way things went.
Despite that, City manager Danny Wilson is saying all the expected things about not peaking too soon, and being more clinical up front.
For Swindon, hopes must be high that Bobby Howe is dropped in favour of Steve Robinson, who should now be fit to start. That will, at least, bring a little more industry to our midfield.
Here's hoping for a 4-4-2 formation that'll allow Danny to get forward a bit more, and anchor down their wingers too...
But, in reality, it's clear we'll need to play a lot better than last week against Peterborough even to get a draw. City are on a roll after their 3-0 opening day win away to Northampton. Although Boro had a player sent off in 34 minutes, City were already three goals to the good, and their fans seem with the way things went.
Despite that, City manager Danny Wilson is saying all the expected things about not peaking too soon, and being more clinical up front.
For Swindon, hopes must be high that Bobby Howe is dropped in favour of Steve Robinson, who should now be fit to start. That will, at least, bring a little more industry to our midfield.
Here's hoping for a 4-4-2 formation that'll allow Danny to get forward a bit more, and anchor down their wingers too...
Thursday, August 16, 2001
Ahem... after the log's excitement over Lavety last time, his appearence in our reserve line-up yesterday was a bit of a let down. Put charitably (which seems only fair for a player trying to get back into the game), it seems our lad is somewhat short of match fitness after his long layoff through injury. I'm not holding my breath for his getting a deal - in true Swindon fashion I'd think we're looking for short-term gap filling, rather than long-term building. Still think he could do a job for us, though... just maybe after Christmas, and a few sessions down the gym.
Update I've just heard he's been released, which means my scouting career is probably over. Christian Lee, a 6ft 2in forward who used to play for Bristol Rovers, gets another chance to impress in training.
This will cheer you up... Town fan Mark James (well, I assume he's a Town fan) is doing a remarkable job of bringing the joys of Swindon Town to a European audience, through his work at the Eurosport website. There's a big story on the appointment of Ruddock and Evans as our new management team, and you'll also find links off that page to a five minute interview, in Realaudio format, with Danny Invincible.
"All my French, Italian and German work mates have now heard of Danny," Mark tells me. So go give him lots of hits, so French people can be bemused by the sequal: "Bobby Howe - my battle with the boo boys", or something - maybe Paris St Germain could accidentally sign him up for lots of cash.
Update I've just heard he's been released, which means my scouting career is probably over. Christian Lee, a 6ft 2in forward who used to play for Bristol Rovers, gets another chance to impress in training.
This will cheer you up... Town fan Mark James (well, I assume he's a Town fan) is doing a remarkable job of bringing the joys of Swindon Town to a European audience, through his work at the Eurosport website. There's a big story on the appointment of Ruddock and Evans as our new management team, and you'll also find links off that page to a five minute interview, in Realaudio format, with Danny Invincible.
"All my French, Italian and German work mates have now heard of Danny," Mark tells me. So go give him lots of hits, so French people can be bemused by the sequal: "Bobby Howe - my battle with the boo boys", or something - maybe Paris St Germain could accidentally sign him up for lots of cash.
Wednesday, August 15, 2001
The news that Barry Lavety is playing for Town reserves as a triallist today is exciting - he could be the answer to our striking problems.
Lavety, 26, is a tall former Scotland Under-21 international forward who scored quite a few goals in St Mirren's successful first division promotion campaign, before he moved to Hibs, where he also did quite well as Alec McLeish began to turn around their fortunes.
He hasn't played many games since - a serious pelvic injury has seen to that - and he's been involved in a few scrapes too. Soccernet has an interesting, and recent, profile of Lavety here.
The only worry is he is unlikely to be match fit - a recent trial with Icelandic side KR Reykjavik saw him packing his bags after just two days, apparently because he wasn't ready to play.
But if Roy Evans - or any Town fans - want evidence of his pedigree, check out this Teletext interview from 1998, or this St Mirren fan site which awarded him a few man of the match awards.
It's funny - I remember reading about Lavety in the summer, and thinking he'd be ideal for Town, but I assumed two things: that we'd not have the money to sign him, and that he must have been signed up already. I for one am really hoping he impresses tonight - he's a player with a point to prove, and a good track record. And I'm sure the Razor Ruddock Diet ™ will get him fit!
Meanwhile, Town has also signed a new player on a one year deal - former Man City trainee Paul Edwards. He's a winger who comes on a free after time with non-league sides Leigh RMI and Altringham. He'll also play tonight.
Lavety, 26, is a tall former Scotland Under-21 international forward who scored quite a few goals in St Mirren's successful first division promotion campaign, before he moved to Hibs, where he also did quite well as Alec McLeish began to turn around their fortunes.
He hasn't played many games since - a serious pelvic injury has seen to that - and he's been involved in a few scrapes too. Soccernet has an interesting, and recent, profile of Lavety here.
The only worry is he is unlikely to be match fit - a recent trial with Icelandic side KR Reykjavik saw him packing his bags after just two days, apparently because he wasn't ready to play.
But if Roy Evans - or any Town fans - want evidence of his pedigree, check out this Teletext interview from 1998, or this St Mirren fan site which awarded him a few man of the match awards.
It's funny - I remember reading about Lavety in the summer, and thinking he'd be ideal for Town, but I assumed two things: that we'd not have the money to sign him, and that he must have been signed up already. I for one am really hoping he impresses tonight - he's a player with a point to prove, and a good track record. And I'm sure the Razor Ruddock Diet ™ will get him fit!
Meanwhile, Town has also signed a new player on a one year deal - former Man City trainee Paul Edwards. He's a winger who comes on a free after time with non-league sides Leigh RMI and Altringham. He'll also play tonight.
Tuesday, August 14, 2001
Swindon's financial troubles don't go away just because the close season has ended. It feels like the problems off the pitch are just as much of a menace as any opposition striker.
Last night's Evening Advertiser (sorry, no web link, they expire too quickly) reopened the debate over Town's finances. There is nothing new in the Adver report - students of Town's troubles over the summer will recognise the main claims. But it does gather together all the concerns that have brewed over the summer, and it marks a change in the Adver's previously docile line.
First, it's not clear who is in charge of the club. Terry Brady, who resigned as chairman of the club in some controversy during the summer, is still listed as a director of Swindon Town Properties Ltd (STPL). That is despite saying he had also quit from that company, set up to steer through the Front Garden property deal which would see a new ground built for the club.
Meanwhile, the new chairman of the club, Danny Donegan, is not even listed as a director of the football club. In fact, the only registered director (and we used to have 15, until very recently) is Ian Blatchley. Neither Donegan nor Blatchley is listed as a shareholder of STPL.
It gets worse. The club has not responded to requests for information from the council over who does what, and there has also been a dispute over club minibuses which have since been repossessed by the leasing company. The club also owes £87,000 in unpaid rent for the council-owned County Ground.
The club has not commented on the claims, and the Adver's report leaves a lot of worries.
First, if we are losing around £2m a year as has been reported, who's paying the bills? We can't have that elastic an overdraft, and as we don't own the County Ground using the ground as security can't happen.
Two, how likely is it the Front Garden development will actually go ahead? It seems there are a host of hurdles - planning, council, financial - to be overcome before that could happen. In the meantime, every day, every week, Town is losing more money.
Three, it's clear solutions are also thin on the ground. Supporters of TrustSTFC would say a supporters' trust would help - but the £500,000 they want to raise (and that will take quite an effort) would go on buying a stake in the club, not covering expenses or buying new players. Even if the money went to the club, rather than existing shareholders, it wouldn't last long at the rate it's burning cash.
Last night's Evening Advertiser (sorry, no web link, they expire too quickly) reopened the debate over Town's finances. There is nothing new in the Adver report - students of Town's troubles over the summer will recognise the main claims. But it does gather together all the concerns that have brewed over the summer, and it marks a change in the Adver's previously docile line.
First, it's not clear who is in charge of the club. Terry Brady, who resigned as chairman of the club in some controversy during the summer, is still listed as a director of Swindon Town Properties Ltd (STPL). That is despite saying he had also quit from that company, set up to steer through the Front Garden property deal which would see a new ground built for the club.
Meanwhile, the new chairman of the club, Danny Donegan, is not even listed as a director of the football club. In fact, the only registered director (and we used to have 15, until very recently) is Ian Blatchley. Neither Donegan nor Blatchley is listed as a shareholder of STPL.
It gets worse. The club has not responded to requests for information from the council over who does what, and there has also been a dispute over club minibuses which have since been repossessed by the leasing company. The club also owes £87,000 in unpaid rent for the council-owned County Ground.
The club has not commented on the claims, and the Adver's report leaves a lot of worries.
First, if we are losing around £2m a year as has been reported, who's paying the bills? We can't have that elastic an overdraft, and as we don't own the County Ground using the ground as security can't happen.
Two, how likely is it the Front Garden development will actually go ahead? It seems there are a host of hurdles - planning, council, financial - to be overcome before that could happen. In the meantime, every day, every week, Town is losing more money.
Three, it's clear solutions are also thin on the ground. Supporters of TrustSTFC would say a supporters' trust would help - but the £500,000 they want to raise (and that will take quite an effort) would go on buying a stake in the club, not covering expenses or buying new players. Even if the money went to the club, rather than existing shareholders, it wouldn't last long at the rate it's burning cash.
Monday, August 13, 2001
Not too much to add after yesterday's splurge... apart from two things:
I'm afraid to say my employer, the Guardian, somehow felt compelled to predict that Town will go down this season in their pre-season magazine today. They didn't even try to spare our feelings by couching things in soft language. "Avoided relegation thanks to the deficiencies of others... the only way is down". Boo, hiss. The Independent, meanwhile, failed to mention Town in its Division Two preview on Friday, suggesting nothing too exciting is going to happen. Which is a good and a bad thing, I suppose.
Meanwhile, Teamtalk tries to convince us that "Neil Ruddock remained on the bench for the duration of [Saturday's] match". Like hell - he spent all of it standing, most of it pacing anxiously around the technical area. Maybe it was part of his pre-season training...
I'm afraid to say my employer, the Guardian, somehow felt compelled to predict that Town will go down this season in their pre-season magazine today. They didn't even try to spare our feelings by couching things in soft language. "Avoided relegation thanks to the deficiencies of others... the only way is down". Boo, hiss. The Independent, meanwhile, failed to mention Town in its Division Two preview on Friday, suggesting nothing too exciting is going to happen. Which is a good and a bad thing, I suppose.
Meanwhile, Teamtalk tries to convince us that "Neil Ruddock remained on the bench for the duration of [Saturday's] match". Like hell - he spent all of it standing, most of it pacing anxiously around the technical area. Maybe it was part of his pre-season training...
Sunday, August 12, 2001
Well, the Charity Shield's on the telly, and while Liverpool and Man U slug it out in what is certain to be a dull draw we have a chance to mull over the flowing moves, silky skills and deadly finishing of yesterday's opening league game at the County Ground... or... eh... am I getting mixed up?
It might be something to do with Roy Evans being on the box - he's a Sky pundit this afternoon - and saying a lot more than he managed yesterday during the nil nil draw with Peterborough. He left the traditional managerial screaming from the touchline to Razor Ruddock (perhaps Evans was protecting his voice for today's TV work). That was just as well - Ruddock had a fair bit to get upset about.
For a start, Town has a way to go before we'll be emulating the sweet passing of Liverpool. Gremink, Reeves and Howe were all guilty of some astonishingly poor distribution, which disrupted the entire team and undoubtedly helped make sure we weren't going to trouble the Peterborough goal too often. Added to that, Danny Invincible carried his mediocre pre-season form into this game, and although he and David Duke worked hard and looked eager enough they couldn't offer any penetration down the flanks.
Keith O'Halloran missed a penalty, which was a shame - he was one of Town's more effective players, and he shone alongside the hapless figure of Bobby Howe.
I never like to see players (especially at this level) lampooned by crowds. But Howe really did have a terrible game, hanging on to the ball too long when he needed to release quickly (or just release the ball at all) and passing too rashly when he had a little time. Evans said the side looked nervous, and maybe that was what was wrong with Howe - he knew this was his big chance to secure a first team place - but he blew it, as the huge cheer for the decision to substitute him told. Let's hope Steve Robinson - who came on as a sub and really added a lot to the midfield - starts next week in Bristol.
Our other shortcoming was up front. Andy King's comments that we needed a target man were proved right - especially given the number of balls lumped forward from the back . Erik Sabin had an excellent game, creating our best chances with his touch and pace. But it's clear Grazioli is not suitable as his strike partner. He lacks the height, physique and touch to make a decent foil.
Worse, he got sent off for a (by all accounts utterly stupid) serious foul, although it was so late I missed it - my eyes were following the ball, which was far, far away. I'd be interested to see Danny up front when Graz is suspended... we certainly wouldn't want for pace up front, and the big Aussie was getting more than a few headers in yesterday.
At the back we looked pretty secure, but against a pretty crappy Boro forward line. Gurney played as a sweeper and did not look comfortable when man on man with a big forward (he can't mark very well). But his passing and running with the ball was excellent. I'd quite like to see him in midfield if/when Razor appears in the side.
Reeves and Heywood looked comfortable, although someone really needs to take the ball short from Reeves and make passes for him. Gremink flapped at the high balls as usual, and his kicking was awful: it won't be long before McKinney gets a chance if he continues in that form. Better sides will take advantage of his mistakes.
Plus points? Well, we know several players can play better, and Gurney and Sabin look like excellent signings. With the addition of one player - a target man - and a bit of form, we could be not a bad side. The disappointment comes from it being a nil nil draw, like last year, which doesn't exactly offer the hope of the respectable season were are all longing for. Let's hope we do better in our first local derby, next week, than we did last year, when we were well beaten away by Reading.
It might be something to do with Roy Evans being on the box - he's a Sky pundit this afternoon - and saying a lot more than he managed yesterday during the nil nil draw with Peterborough. He left the traditional managerial screaming from the touchline to Razor Ruddock (perhaps Evans was protecting his voice for today's TV work). That was just as well - Ruddock had a fair bit to get upset about.
For a start, Town has a way to go before we'll be emulating the sweet passing of Liverpool. Gremink, Reeves and Howe were all guilty of some astonishingly poor distribution, which disrupted the entire team and undoubtedly helped make sure we weren't going to trouble the Peterborough goal too often. Added to that, Danny Invincible carried his mediocre pre-season form into this game, and although he and David Duke worked hard and looked eager enough they couldn't offer any penetration down the flanks.
Keith O'Halloran missed a penalty, which was a shame - he was one of Town's more effective players, and he shone alongside the hapless figure of Bobby Howe.
I never like to see players (especially at this level) lampooned by crowds. But Howe really did have a terrible game, hanging on to the ball too long when he needed to release quickly (or just release the ball at all) and passing too rashly when he had a little time. Evans said the side looked nervous, and maybe that was what was wrong with Howe - he knew this was his big chance to secure a first team place - but he blew it, as the huge cheer for the decision to substitute him told. Let's hope Steve Robinson - who came on as a sub and really added a lot to the midfield - starts next week in Bristol.
Our other shortcoming was up front. Andy King's comments that we needed a target man were proved right - especially given the number of balls lumped forward from the back . Erik Sabin had an excellent game, creating our best chances with his touch and pace. But it's clear Grazioli is not suitable as his strike partner. He lacks the height, physique and touch to make a decent foil.
Worse, he got sent off for a (by all accounts utterly stupid) serious foul, although it was so late I missed it - my eyes were following the ball, which was far, far away. I'd be interested to see Danny up front when Graz is suspended... we certainly wouldn't want for pace up front, and the big Aussie was getting more than a few headers in yesterday.
At the back we looked pretty secure, but against a pretty crappy Boro forward line. Gurney played as a sweeper and did not look comfortable when man on man with a big forward (he can't mark very well). But his passing and running with the ball was excellent. I'd quite like to see him in midfield if/when Razor appears in the side.
Reeves and Heywood looked comfortable, although someone really needs to take the ball short from Reeves and make passes for him. Gremink flapped at the high balls as usual, and his kicking was awful: it won't be long before McKinney gets a chance if he continues in that form. Better sides will take advantage of his mistakes.
Plus points? Well, we know several players can play better, and Gurney and Sabin look like excellent signings. With the addition of one player - a target man - and a bit of form, we could be not a bad side. The disappointment comes from it being a nil nil draw, like last year, which doesn't exactly offer the hope of the respectable season were are all longing for. Let's hope we do better in our first local derby, next week, than we did last year, when we were well beaten away by Reading.
Saturday, August 11, 2001
Final score:
Swindon 0 Peterborough 0
A big County Ground crowd got its first glimpse of Roy Evans' Swindon Town this afternoon - and most will agree he's got a bit of work to do. Keith O'Halloran missed a penalty and Giuliano Grazioli was sent off as Town struggled against an organised, but uninspired, Boro.
Swindon 0 Peterborough 0
A big County Ground crowd got its first glimpse of Roy Evans' Swindon Town this afternoon - and most will agree he's got a bit of work to do. Keith O'Halloran missed a penalty and Giuliano Grazioli was sent off as Town struggled against an organised, but uninspired, Boro.
12.30pm
First, thanks to the amazing number of people who have looked in on Swindonlog since it started on Wednesday. There have been hundreds of you - and there's been a fantastic response. Thanks for tuning in, and thanks for giving your feedback. One of the suggestions I'll be acting on is making it easier to comment on blog entries - I'm told some systems don't like the contact link on the left hand toolbar... bear with me!
So, here we are: the start of a new season. I remember the start of the last one very clearly (which is quite something for someone who forgets the line-ups five minutes into half time). After the disappointments of the previous season, it was great to be heading into a new campaign: a new manager, new board, new money, new players, new hope.
What a crushing disappointment the day turned out to be, and what a horror the season itself was. It was a nil-nil draw with Colchester, and we showed all the problems in that game which would go on to dog us for the rest of the season - a defense which caused itself more worries than the opposition (although we didn't lose a goal, at least), a pretty ineffectual midfield and a blunt attack.
At the time we all believed Colin Todd when he said it was going to take time for the team to gel, and that things would get better, but in fact that result pretty much summed up how things were going to go: Colchester only finished with five more points than us at the end of it all.
Today? Well, it's impossible to not feel that burst of optimism as you approach the ground for the kick off. But it's difficult not to see the similarities between now and then... a big crowd, hoping for signs that things are getting better, mediocre opposition who really, really should get beaten. And, looking at the team sheet for that first game of 2000-01, you'd have to say there will not be many changes today...
Maybe it just comes down to blind faith - and hope that new manager Roy Evans can get something extra out of these players. Please let them win... I don't think any of us can face another season like last season (or the season before)... come on yoooouu reeeddddsss!
First, thanks to the amazing number of people who have looked in on Swindonlog since it started on Wednesday. There have been hundreds of you - and there's been a fantastic response. Thanks for tuning in, and thanks for giving your feedback. One of the suggestions I'll be acting on is making it easier to comment on blog entries - I'm told some systems don't like the contact link on the left hand toolbar... bear with me!
So, here we are: the start of a new season. I remember the start of the last one very clearly (which is quite something for someone who forgets the line-ups five minutes into half time). After the disappointments of the previous season, it was great to be heading into a new campaign: a new manager, new board, new money, new players, new hope.
What a crushing disappointment the day turned out to be, and what a horror the season itself was. It was a nil-nil draw with Colchester, and we showed all the problems in that game which would go on to dog us for the rest of the season - a defense which caused itself more worries than the opposition (although we didn't lose a goal, at least), a pretty ineffectual midfield and a blunt attack.
At the time we all believed Colin Todd when he said it was going to take time for the team to gel, and that things would get better, but in fact that result pretty much summed up how things were going to go: Colchester only finished with five more points than us at the end of it all.
Today? Well, it's impossible to not feel that burst of optimism as you approach the ground for the kick off. But it's difficult not to see the similarities between now and then... a big crowd, hoping for signs that things are getting better, mediocre opposition who really, really should get beaten. And, looking at the team sheet for that first game of 2000-01, you'd have to say there will not be many changes today...
Maybe it just comes down to blind faith - and hope that new manager Roy Evans can get something extra out of these players. Please let them win... I don't think any of us can face another season like last season (or the season before)... come on yoooouu reeeddddsss!
Friday, August 10, 2001
Swindon v Peterborough - preview
Town have a great chance to get their league season off to a flyer against Peterborough United on Saturday. Fingers crossed we'll have a big crowd for Roy Evans' first home game in charge. We all remember the last time these two teams met - in the last league match at the County Ground, in fact, when we got a vital 2-1
victory.
Gary Alexander had put us ahead, but Alan Reeves scored a disastrous OG late on in the second half. Only a brilliant volley from Danny Invincible, minutes before the final whistle, won the match - and secured our second division status.
The side will look a little different on Saturday, although much depends on how the new manager plans to play things. Eric Sabin should make his league debut up front, and Andy Gurney is expected to recover from injury too. Steve "Turbo" Robinson hopes to be fit in time, but Mark Robinson is certainly out of
contention. I'd be horrified, and surprised, to see Neil Ruddock start - although he played midweek against a non-league side, he's still short of full match fitness. Hopefully the Adver's terrible website will have a clearer idea of what's going on this afternoon.
But if we think our injury situation is bad, take a look at Peterborough's.George Clooney could well be drafted in to watch over things from the bench, next to Barry Fry, so bad is their casualty list. The Posh had 20 players - count 'em, 20 - out injured last weekend (although they still managed a respectable enough 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest).
There will still be quite a few first team regulars, and new signings, struggling to make the Saturday kick-off. One name certain to be out is ex-Forest striker Jason Lee, who has an injured knee, and capable left back Dennis Pearce, who needs an operation for a hernia. Posh boss Barry Fry is waiting to hear about striker Leon McKenzie, who hasn't featured in the pre-season, and Icelandic international Helgi Danielsson. Watch out for a young striker called Neale Fenn, just signed from Spurs, who could pose a real danger up front.
Prediction? 2-0 to Town.
Town have a great chance to get their league season off to a flyer against Peterborough United on Saturday. Fingers crossed we'll have a big crowd for Roy Evans' first home game in charge. We all remember the last time these two teams met - in the last league match at the County Ground, in fact, when we got a vital 2-1
victory.
Gary Alexander had put us ahead, but Alan Reeves scored a disastrous OG late on in the second half. Only a brilliant volley from Danny Invincible, minutes before the final whistle, won the match - and secured our second division status.
The side will look a little different on Saturday, although much depends on how the new manager plans to play things. Eric Sabin should make his league debut up front, and Andy Gurney is expected to recover from injury too. Steve "Turbo" Robinson hopes to be fit in time, but Mark Robinson is certainly out of
contention. I'd be horrified, and surprised, to see Neil Ruddock start - although he played midweek against a non-league side, he's still short of full match fitness. Hopefully the Adver's terrible website will have a clearer idea of what's going on this afternoon.
But if we think our injury situation is bad, take a look at Peterborough's.George Clooney could well be drafted in to watch over things from the bench, next to Barry Fry, so bad is their casualty list. The Posh had 20 players - count 'em, 20 - out injured last weekend (although they still managed a respectable enough 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest).
There will still be quite a few first team regulars, and new signings, struggling to make the Saturday kick-off. One name certain to be out is ex-Forest striker Jason Lee, who has an injured knee, and capable left back Dennis Pearce, who needs an operation for a hernia. Posh boss Barry Fry is waiting to hear about striker Leon McKenzie, who hasn't featured in the pre-season, and Icelandic international Helgi Danielsson. Watch out for a young striker called Neale Fenn, just signed from Spurs, who could pose a real danger up front.
Prediction? 2-0 to Town.
Thursday, August 09, 2001
There's been a lot of attention focussed on the (shabby) way Andy King was got rid of to make way for Roy Evans and Neil Ruddock. But now we have to look to the future, and one question that's yet to be answered is: what kind of manager is Evans?
We all know, of course, about his time at Liverpool, about how he was described as the last of the bootroom era. And he's still held in some kind of regard at Anfield, if the profile of him on the club website is anything to go by. His track record, as you can see, is impressive - and his legacy lives on, in the form of players like Robbie Fowler, Steve MacManaman and Michael Owan (oh, that he could find *one* of those at Town). There's quite a touching, and detailed, record of Evans' time as manager here, which notes that he restored "dignity" to Liverpool after the turbulent times of Souness, as well as the side's traditional passing game.
Of course, not everyone is so charitable. There is this slightly eccentic verdict from overseas, or this overview from another fan. Both point out that Evans brought only one (minor) trophy back to Anfield in his time as boss. But this abandoned home page, and its comment that the players should "hang their heads in shame" for letting Evans down, also says a lot - and echos what the other sites all suggest too: that Evans was unlucky in his managerial time at Anfield.
It's possible he simply lost control of a talented but wayward young squad - and that he could have gone on to do great things had they been more responsible.
So what about Swindon Town? He's not going to have much money, that's for sure. It's going to be his undoubted talent for spotting and bringing on youngsters that will be the key: good news, perhaps, for the likes of Danny Invincible and Alan Young.
There are two worries, however. First, he's no experience of the second division, where a passing game can be beaten by kick and rush when the match is being played on a muddy bog of a pitch. Second, will his lack of control over players return to haunt him? On Saturday, we begin to find out... Comment?
We all know, of course, about his time at Liverpool, about how he was described as the last of the bootroom era. And he's still held in some kind of regard at Anfield, if the profile of him on the club website is anything to go by. His track record, as you can see, is impressive - and his legacy lives on, in the form of players like Robbie Fowler, Steve MacManaman and Michael Owan (oh, that he could find *one* of those at Town). There's quite a touching, and detailed, record of Evans' time as manager here, which notes that he restored "dignity" to Liverpool after the turbulent times of Souness, as well as the side's traditional passing game.
Of course, not everyone is so charitable. There is this slightly eccentic verdict from overseas, or this overview from another fan. Both point out that Evans brought only one (minor) trophy back to Anfield in his time as boss. But this abandoned home page, and its comment that the players should "hang their heads in shame" for letting Evans down, also says a lot - and echos what the other sites all suggest too: that Evans was unlucky in his managerial time at Anfield.
It's possible he simply lost control of a talented but wayward young squad - and that he could have gone on to do great things had they been more responsible.
So what about Swindon Town? He's not going to have much money, that's for sure. It's going to be his undoubted talent for spotting and bringing on youngsters that will be the key: good news, perhaps, for the likes of Danny Invincible and Alan Young.
There are two worries, however. First, he's no experience of the second division, where a passing game can be beaten by kick and rush when the match is being played on a muddy bog of a pitch. Second, will his lack of control over players return to haunt him? On Saturday, we begin to find out... Comment?
Wednesday, August 08, 2001
Tonight there's a meeting which could be vital to our club's future - by determining how much we, the fans, get to say about its running. Fans will discuss setting up a supporters' trust for Swindon Town, with the aim of buying a seat on the club board.
God knows Town has been badly run through the years. Most league clubs can point to financial folly at some point in their histories, but few can find as much red ink and suspicious Tippex as a Swindon fan looking back over the years.
From the building of the Arkell's stand (which cost so much it sparked a decline that saw Town fall into the bottom division in the mid-80s), through the scandals which enveloped the club in the early 90s and saw it have promotion so wrongly snatched from its grasp, through to huge losses and voluntary administration in the late 90s... our boardroom has had more than its share of crisis meetings.
The thinking behind the new TrustSTFC appears to be that if a fan is on the board, these acts of folly are less likely to happen. Even then, if things are going horribly wrong the fans will find out. Compare and contrast that with this last summer of silence as we were all forced to speculate on what was happening inside the County Ground.
Perfectly timed, there's a big piece in today's Guardian about how these supporters' trusts are springing up all over the league. It's all about mutual ownership, removing the boardroom dictatorships and replacing them with a little bit of democracy. The government has even set up an organisation to help it happen.
It would be lovely to think fans could be entrusted to run the clubs they love... Chesterfield fans have already bought their club, and are embarking on their first full season in charge.
Now we have the chance to get a little control ourselves, too.
--The meeting is at 8pm tonight, in the Winners' Lounge at the County Ground.
God knows Town has been badly run through the years. Most league clubs can point to financial folly at some point in their histories, but few can find as much red ink and suspicious Tippex as a Swindon fan looking back over the years.
From the building of the Arkell's stand (which cost so much it sparked a decline that saw Town fall into the bottom division in the mid-80s), through the scandals which enveloped the club in the early 90s and saw it have promotion so wrongly snatched from its grasp, through to huge losses and voluntary administration in the late 90s... our boardroom has had more than its share of crisis meetings.
The thinking behind the new TrustSTFC appears to be that if a fan is on the board, these acts of folly are less likely to happen. Even then, if things are going horribly wrong the fans will find out. Compare and contrast that with this last summer of silence as we were all forced to speculate on what was happening inside the County Ground.
Perfectly timed, there's a big piece in today's Guardian about how these supporters' trusts are springing up all over the league. It's all about mutual ownership, removing the boardroom dictatorships and replacing them with a little bit of democracy. The government has even set up an organisation to help it happen.
It would be lovely to think fans could be entrusted to run the clubs they love... Chesterfield fans have already bought their club, and are embarking on their first full season in charge.
Now we have the chance to get a little control ourselves, too.
--The meeting is at 8pm tonight, in the Winners' Lounge at the County Ground.
Tuesday, August 07, 2001
It's pre-season prediction time, and the only predictable thing about the pundits is... most are predictably wide of the mark.
The BBC tries hard to piss all over our hopes of survival in its second division guess work. The losses of Mildenhall and Alexander are thought to be big blows which will be enough to send us down, despite a new manager and fresh faces in the team. Is it possible they just decided changing the prediction in the face of Evans' arrival, and the promised new funds for signings, was too much hassle? Even with the red glasses off, it's hard to see this squad go down - even last season's team was, really, not so bad it should be relegated (blame a horrific start under Todd, and the division's unique four down format - our points total was pretty respectable, as was our mid-season form).
The other three for the drop are Bury, Cambridge and - amazingly - Oldham. Equally strangely, Brentford are tipped as "surprise relegation candidates", while division two new boys Blackpool are expedcted to survive, despite only making the huge jump from three to two via the playoffs. These could be tips I enjoy coming back to at the end of the year.
Mind you, there's no jinx like the Ron Atkinson jinx, and in last Sunday's News of the World (sorry, no web links) he tipped Swindon to not only stay up, but win the play offs! "Swindon's new boss Roy Evans will ensure they do well," is all he says by way of explanation, but that really would be the greatest water into wine trick in 2000 years. Let's hope the Curse of Atkinson doesn't send us down by Christmas.
Meanwhile, Teletext has tipped us for a quite reasonable 16th, perhaps thanks to Town mailing list regular Chris Phillips, who wrote the service's predictions... and that's a guess I like the sound of.
The BBC tries hard to piss all over our hopes of survival in its second division guess work. The losses of Mildenhall and Alexander are thought to be big blows which will be enough to send us down, despite a new manager and fresh faces in the team. Is it possible they just decided changing the prediction in the face of Evans' arrival, and the promised new funds for signings, was too much hassle? Even with the red glasses off, it's hard to see this squad go down - even last season's team was, really, not so bad it should be relegated (blame a horrific start under Todd, and the division's unique four down format - our points total was pretty respectable, as was our mid-season form).
The other three for the drop are Bury, Cambridge and - amazingly - Oldham. Equally strangely, Brentford are tipped as "surprise relegation candidates", while division two new boys Blackpool are expedcted to survive, despite only making the huge jump from three to two via the playoffs. These could be tips I enjoy coming back to at the end of the year.
Mind you, there's no jinx like the Ron Atkinson jinx, and in last Sunday's News of the World (sorry, no web links) he tipped Swindon to not only stay up, but win the play offs! "Swindon's new boss Roy Evans will ensure they do well," is all he says by way of explanation, but that really would be the greatest water into wine trick in 2000 years. Let's hope the Curse of Atkinson doesn't send us down by Christmas.
Meanwhile, Teletext has tipped us for a quite reasonable 16th, perhaps thanks to Town mailing list regular Chris Phillips, who wrote the service's predictions... and that's a guess I like the sound of.
Monday, August 06, 2001
Rarely has the Swindon Town mailing list been so busy... there have been well over a hundred messages posted since Friday, when Roy Evans and Neil Ruddock were confirmed as the new Swindon management duo (well, Malcolm Crosby's in there too, as assistant manager, but it's not altogether clear how he fits in this management axis. Probably as someone to tell Evans how to spell the team sheet on Saturday, and to do the introductions over drinks at the Thursday night squad number-issuing evening).
But funniest posting of the lot goes to the subscriber Bob Ballard, who writes today... "Just back from a week's hols. Did I miss anything?"
Another replies... "Not really. Just that [Andy] Kingy's been sacked and Evans and Ruddock have joined the club."
Yup. Another quiet week at the County Ground.
But funniest posting of the lot goes to the subscriber Bob Ballard, who writes today... "Just back from a week's hols. Did I miss anything?"
Another replies... "Not really. Just that [Andy] Kingy's been sacked and Evans and Ruddock have joined the club."
Yup. Another quiet week at the County Ground.
Sunday, August 05, 2001
So if I just kick this server and bang the monitor a bit... oh. Blimey. We're on. Well hello. Welcome to the diary. There's a week to go until the new season, Swindon Town is in turmoil, and a close season of fiddling around with code and Photoshop has resulted in this. If you want to read more about the hows and whys of swindonlog.com, look here.
If you want to read about the forthcoming Swindon Town season, through the eyes of a fanatical Town fan, with the latest Town news and links around the web, stay tuned. Evans and Ruddock in charge, confusion surrounding the club's finances, the great unknown of how we'll do... it could be relegation or promotion - and many would say the best that could happen is mid-table security. Oh well... why not bookmark swindonlog.com now... it's bound to be an interesting ride.
If you want to read about the forthcoming Swindon Town season, through the eyes of a fanatical Town fan, with the latest Town news and links around the web, stay tuned. Evans and Ruddock in charge, confusion surrounding the club's finances, the great unknown of how we'll do... it could be relegation or promotion - and many would say the best that could happen is mid-table security. Oh well... why not bookmark swindonlog.com now... it's bound to be an interesting ride.
Links
Previous Posts
- Swindon Town 2001-2003
- Swindon Town 2 Luton Town 1
- Final farewells
- Looks like Eric's off
- Big changes to the league for next season
- Plymouth No 2 slams his players
- Do two Juniors make a senior?
- Swindon Town 2 Plymouth 0
- Looking forward to tonight's big game
- What the hell happened there?
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