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Swindon Town F.C.

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Swindon Town
File:Swindon Town FC 2007 badge.PNG
Full nameSwindon Town Football Club
Nickname(s)The Robins
Founded1879[1]
GroundThe County Ground
Swindon
Capacity15,728
ChairmanScotland Willie Carson
ManagerScotland Paul Sturrock
LeagueLeague One
2006–07League Two, 3rd
(promoted)

Swindon Town Football Club is an English football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire. Swindon currently play in League One; the team's home ground is the County Ground, which has an all-seated capacity of 15,728.

Since turning professional in 1894, the club has enjoyed short periods of relative success, most notably, during the period 1968–1970 when they won the 1969 League Cup (defeating Arsenal at Wembley Stadium) and also won promotion to the Second Division. League Cup success earned the club its first invitations to European competitions, the 1969 Anglo-Italian League Cup and 1970 Anglo-Italian Cup, with Swindon winning both. Swindon Town also spent the 1993-94 season playing in the Premiership, the only period the club has played in the top level of English football thus far.

Swindon Town are also experienced at playing in the lower leagues, having been relegated to the Fourth Division in 1982, the lowest professional division of The Football League at the time. They eventually left as Champions in 1986 under manager Lou Macari.

Swindon were promoted to League One in 2007, their current manager is former Scotland international Paul Sturrock who took up the post on November 7, 2006.

History

Main article: History of Swindon Town F.C.

Swindon Town Football Club was founded by Reverend William Pitt of Liddington in 1879.[1] The team turned professional in 1894 and joined the Southern League which was founded in the same year.[1]

The Swindon Town team for the 1909–10 season

Swindon reached the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in the 1909–10 season, losing to eventual winners Newcastle United. Barnsley F.C. and Swindon were invited to compete for the Dubonnet Cup in 1910 at the Parc des Princes Stadium in Paris. The result was a 2–1 victory for Swindon with Harold Fleming scoring both of the club's goals.

The following season, 1910–11, Swindon Town won the Southern League championship, earning them a Charity Shield match with the Football League champions Manchester United. This, the highest-scoring Charity Shield game to date, was played on 25 September 1911 at Stamford Bridge with Manchester United winning 8-4. Some of the proceeds of this game were later donated to the survivors of the Titanic.[2]

Swindon entered the Football League in 1920 as a founding member of Division Three and defeated Luton Town F.C. 9–1 in their first game of the season. This result stands as a record for the club in League matches.

In 1969 Swindon beat Arsenal 3–1 to win the League Cup for the first and only time in the club's history.[3][4] As winners of the League Cup, Swindon were assured of a place in their first European competition: the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. However, the Football Association had previously agreed to inclusion criteria with the organizers which mandated that only League Cup winners from Division One would be able to take part. As the team were not eligible, the short lived Anglo-Italian competitions were created to give teams from lower divisions experience in Europe. The first of these, the 1969 Anglo-Italian League Cup, was contested over two legs against Coppa Italia winners A.S. Roma. Swindon won 5–2, with the scorer of two goals in the League Cup final - Don Rogers - scoring once and new acquisition Arthur Horsfield acquiring his first hat-trick for the club.[5] The team then went on to win the 1970 Anglo-Italian Cup competition in a tournament beset by hooliganism. The final against S.S.C. Napoli was abandoned after 79 minutes following pitch invasions and a missile barrage, with teargas being employed to allow the teams to return to the dressing room.[6]

Following management changes, Swindon had a long unsuccessful period culminating in them being relegated in 1982 to the Fourth Division, the lowest professional Football League at the time. They were eventually promoted as champions in 1986 with the club achieving a Football League record of 102 points, the first club to score over 100 points in a season.[7] A year later they won the Second Division play-offs to achieve a second successive promotion.[8] Promotion campaign Manager Lou Macari left in 1989 to take charge of West Ham United with veteran midfielder, and former Argentine international, Ossie Ardiles replacing him. In his first season Swindon were Second Division play-off winners,[9] but the club later admitted 36 charges of breaching league rules, 35 due to illegal payments made to players, and were relegated to the Third Division — giving Sunderland promotion to the First Division and Tranmere Rovers to the Second Division. The scandal saw then chairman Brian Hillier being given a six-month prison sentence and chief accountant Vince Farrar being put on probation. A later appeal saw Swindon being allowed to stay in the Second Division.[10]

Swindon Town's victory parade around the town on winning promotion to the Premier League in 1993

Swindon progressed well during the 1991–92 season, Glenn Hoddle's first full season as manager, and just missed out on the Second Division play-offs. A year later they beat Leicester City 4–3 in the new Football League Division One play-off final to achieve promotion to the Premiership — bringing top-division football to the club for the first time.[11] The club are one of the few domestic football teams never to have lost a game at Wembley Stadium.[12]

Hoddle moved to Chelsea during the summer of 1993 and was replaced by assistant John Gorman, but Swindon never adjusted to the pace of Premiership football.[13] They were relegated after recording only five wins and conceding 100 goals — the latter record has yet to be broken. The following year, Swindon were relegated for the second successive time and slipped into Division Two.[14]

New manager Steve McMahon succeeded in getting Swindon back into Division One on his first attempt, as they won the Division Two championship in 1996.[15] McMahon remained as manager until September 1998, when he left by mutual consent after Swindon had lost 5 of the 9 opening games of the 1998–99 season. The club has then had eight managers in nearly eight years (Andy King was appointed twice), during which time they were relegated back into Division Two. They fully finished 5th in the 2003–04 season but failed in the promotion play-off stage and stayed in the same league, now renamed League One.

Caretaker manager Iffy Onuora was unable to save Swindon from relegation to League Two in 2006.[16] Their relegation meant that they became the first ever former Premiership team to be demoted to the lowest Football League division. Dennis Wise agreed to become the new Swindon Town manager in May 2006 following the relegation, with Gustavo Poyet joining the coaching staff.[17] The pair left in October when it was announced that they had agreed to move to Leeds United. Adrian Williams and Barry Hunter took temporary charge until Paul Sturrock was appointed on November 7. Sturrock guided Swindon to promotion to League One in his first season with the club, earning the third automatic promotion place in a 1–1 draw with Walsall in the last game of the 2006–07 season.[18]

The club has been beset by financial difficulties throughout its history, having been placed into administration twice[19] and also twice fought off winding-up orders from Her Majesty's Customs and Excise over unpaid tax-bills.[20] The board currently have to make yearly payments of £100,000 to creditors (2% of the yearly turnover),[21] and only managed to begin the 2006–07 season after sourcing £500,000 to pay for players' wages.[21] The club is campaigning for the redevelopment of the County Ground to help finance the team[22] and a takeover bid by a Fans' Consortium was launched in December 2005.[23]

Crest

The 1970 "Steam Train" crest

Swindon Town have used at least five different kit badges since their inception.[24] The original badge depicted a Robin inside a shield with the letters STFC in the four corners, this changed to the "Steam Train" badge which was a coat of arms for the club based heavily on the coat of arms used by the local council.[25] The "Steam Train" badge was in the form of a traditional shield, bisected with the club's name, a train (as Swindon is a Railway town), a football and with a Robin sitting on top. Beneath the shield was a motto on a scroll - 'Salubritas et Industria' - meaning 'health and industry'.[25] This motto is also that of the town of Swindon itself.[26]

The "traffic sign" badge used from the mid–1970s until 1986

During the 1970s the club changed the badge to one referred to as the "ST arrow" or "traffic sign" badge.[27] This was circular and had the letters 'S' and 'T' interlocked, which both ends of the letter 'S' being made into an arrow. Also shown was a simple football and the club name.[25]

Following the 1985–86 season, the "Steam Train" badge was re-introduced onto the kits. The crest was re-styled and the text "Division Four Champions 1985/1986" replaced the motto.[25]

A diamond shaped crest for Swindon Town was introduced at the beginning of the 1991–92 season following a series of financial problems for the club. The idea behind the new crest was to give the club a 'brand new' and 'fresh' image following a difficult period in its history.[25]

File:Swindon Town FC Badge.png
The 'diamond' crest unveiled in 1991
"The 'travelling' football represents the club that is looking to the future with successful progress. The diamond shape clearly has the letter 'S' (for Swindon) running through it, while a green section was also introduced to match a new 'green trim' on the team's home (red and white) shirts."[25]

On April 5 2007 the club unveiled plans to change the badge claiming the diamond badge was correct for the time but did not represent or show any of the clubs heritage or history.[28] Swindon offered fans the chance to vote on-line for the three new choices, which were all similar to the original steam train design, and a fourth option of keeping the 1991 design.

The three designs which were voted on by supporters in 2007

On April 23 2007, it was announced that option three of the logo vote was the winner of the poll.[29] Winning the vote with 68 per cent in favour, the new badge includes the club name, a Robin, a train - the rail industry being an important part of the Town's heritage - a football, and re-introduces the town's motto - 'Salubritas et Industria'. It will be used from the beginning of the 2007–08 season.

Colours and kits

Original Home kit
1894 Home kit
1897 Home kit
1901 Home kit
1902 Home kit
Home Kit

Originally playing in black and white with the addition of blue sash for away games,[1] the club changed to black and red quarters on entry to the Southern League in 1894.[1] The club changed again in 1897 with the Swindon Advertiser reporting:

"The new colours of the Swindon Town F.C. are to be green shirts, with white sleeves. Good-bye to the old well known red and black."[1]

With problems obtaining green dyes, the kit was short-lived and Swindon Town changed their shirts to the more familiar red in 1901.[1] Initially a dark maroon, a lighter shade was chosen for the start of the 1902–03 season and also resulted in the club's nickname "the Robins" appearing in print for the first time in programme notes for the first game.[30] The nickname is a reference to the former name of the European Robin - "Redbreast".

Swindon Town have played their home games in variations on the red and white theme since then, wearing a red shirt with white collars and white or red shorts for much of their history which has led to the team being known as the "Red and White Army". For example; the kit worn during the 1985–86 Division Four Champions season consisted of a red shirt with white pinstripes, white shorts and red socks and chants of "Lou Macari's Red and White Army" were heard from the supporters at the final stages of the season.

Following the club being re-branded in 1991, green elements were re-introduced onto the Home Strip and badge to represent the team's short-lived kit from the turn of the century. These were removed in 2007.[31]

Away Kit

The club's away kits have only begun to change since the 1990s and the advent of the lucrative replica kit market. Swindon's original away kit (that was entirely separate to the home kit) consisted of an all-blue strip, this was not used for the club's 1969 League Cup Final victory where they elected to wear an all-white strip.

For a period in the 1980s the club changed their away kit to white shirts and black shorts and introduced a new third kit of yellow shirts and blue shorts.[32] The club alternated between these two schemes as its away kit for the 1980s.

When the club re-branded in the 1991 close season, it introduced a new away strip; the white and green "potato print" shirt with dark blue shorts,[33] this remained in use until its replacement in 1993 with another yellow and blue strip, integrating the new colour scheme by adding a green collar.[34]

A special third kit was added for the 1996–97 season and was coloured "Petrol green" in honour of the then sponsors Castrol.

Swindon wore black and gold striped away shirts for the 2003–04 season with an all-white third kit, following this with variants on the blue theme until returning to all-white in 2007.[31]

Shirt sponsors

Nationwide announced that after the revelation of more financial problems within the club, they were to terminate the sponsorship deal at the end of the 2006-07 season, this will also include the cessation of Stadium Sponsorship. Swindon Town finance director Sandy Gray said on 24 November 2006 – "We are in negotiations with someone already. They are very keen to do a sponsorship deal in the football league."[36]

On 2007-06-07 it was announced that Kingswood Construction, a local development company, would undertake a five year sponsorship of the club. The £100,000 a year contract will include both shirt and stand sponsorship.[35]

Stadium

Main article: County Ground, Swindon
The County Ground showing the Town End and North Stand

Swindon Town's original pitch was located south of Bath Road, in the region of Bradford Road, adjacent to the Okus Quarry.[37] After a young spectator fell into the quarry the team decided to move first to Lansdown Road and then to a pitch near The Croft where they were to remain for the next eleven years.[1]

Swindon Town have been playing at the County Ground since 1896. They played their games on the site of the adjacent cricket pitch also called the County Ground from 1893 until the ground opened.[1]

Thomas Arkell of Arkell's Brewery donated £300 to finance the construction of a stand on what was then known as the 'Wiltshire County Ground', this investment was enough to begin development of a purpose built football ground. Since its original construction, the ground has been periodically updated with new features or fittings. A cover on the Shrivenham Road side was erected in 1932, followed by the current roof at the Town End. This cost £4,300, which was raised by the Supporters Club, and was opened on 27 August 1938 by local MP, W.W. Wakefield.[37]

The War Department took over the ground in 1940, where for a while POWs were housed in huts placed on the pitch. For this the club received compensation of £4,570 in 1945.[37]

The addition of floodlights in 1951 at a cost of £350, gave Swindon the honour of being the first League club to do so. These were first tried out v. Bristol City on 2 April 1951 beating Arsenal by six months. These original set of lights were supplemented by lights on both side stand roofs, which were sufficient for the County Ground to stage its first floodlit league match on 29 February 1956 v. Millwall. (7 days after Fratton Park became the 1st ground to stage a floodlit league fixture). The present pylons date from 1960.[37]

The ground currently contains elements constructed between the period 1950–1995, with the latest addition being the large sponsored stand on the south side. The County Ground is also the only football stadium in the world with a Rolex watch acting as its timekeeper, the clock on the Stratton Bank stand featuring its name was erected to celebrate promotion in 1963.[38]

The ground itself is on land owned by Swindon Borough Council to whom the club pay rent. Swindon have in the past considered a move to a club owned stadium to generate more revenue, but have not had the financial backing to do so. In 2006 a redevelopment campaign for the County Ground began,[39] with the club and TrustSTFC (the supporters' trust) raising a petition to 'Save Our Home' urging the Borough Council to "facilitate the redevelopment of the stadium and do everything they can to keep the club within the Borough"[22] including the proposed upgrading of the adjacent Cricket Club to County standard and Athletic Club to Olympic standard.

Supporters

Average home attendances since 1889

As an expanding railway town, the club had attendances of up to 32,000 on match days until the early 1970s. Due to Swindon's low unemployment rate (one of the lowest in the United Kingdom),[40] more people work in the town than live there and so are unlikely to support the team.[41] In addition; poor team performances, the financial instability in the club and the change to an all-seated stadium following the Taylor Report have led to attendances at the County Ground dropping.

With an all-seated capacity of 15,728 at the County Ground, Swindon averaged a home attendance of 5,839 for the 2004–05 season.[42] Only 37% of the grounds seats were occupied at a game on average.[43] This rose to 5,950[44] (37.8%)[45] in 2005–06 and was reported as 7,109 (45.2%)[46] for the 2006–07 season.[47]

A core group of fans has inhabited the Town End of the stadium since the 1980s, producing past fanzines such as "The 69'er", "Bring the Noise" "Randy Robin" and "The Magic Roundabout"[48] amongst others. Supporters call the team "The Town", "The Reds", "STFC" and also the "Red and White Army". The red and white army is a term the supporters use to identify themselves as well. The Junior Robins is the children's supporters club which operates to provide lower ticket prices, away game activities and transport to young fans.[49] Membership of the club also allows them to be nominated as game mascot and gives them the opportunity to train in one of the many Football Schools run by the club.

Swindon Town supporters with banners provided by Red Army Loud and Proud

The supporters' trust, TrustSTFC, was established in 2000. This organisation is a democratically elected group of fans who raise funds for the club and aim to give supporters access and input into decisions made by the club's board.[50] The group run a number of schemes including the "Loan Note Scheme", the aim of which is to buy shares in the club and assist with investment.[51] Another scheme is the Red Army Fund, the money raised by this fund is given to the club to contribute towards the purchase and wages of new players.[52] TrustSTFC also take part in the Fans' Consortium, who aim to place a supporter with a large stake-holding in the club onto the Board of Directors.[23] The trust is also currently campaigning with the club for the re-development of the County Ground.

The "Football Fever Report" published by statisticians of the Littlewoods Football Pools was released in January 2007. This report researched those teams that were the most stressful to become a supporter of, Swindon Town were placed 5th out of all 92 League clubs,[53] with the report stating -

"It's only just over a decade ago that Swindon were a Premiership side, but the past 10 years have been tough going for fans at the County Ground. Relegation from the top flight in 1994 was followed by a second successive drop, and although promotion from Division Two was secured a year later, the team struggled in Division One in the next three seasons, finishing 19th, 18th and 17th. In 2000 came relegation, and a year later Swindon avoided another 'double relegation' by just one point. A glimmer of hope came when the play-offs were reached in 2004 - ending in a semi-final loss to Brighton - but last term Town became the first club to drop into the bottom tier of the Football League having once been in the Premiership. We bet Robins' fans can hardly believe it."[53]

With the dwindling support during matches in the 2004–05 season, another fans' group "Red Army Loud and Proud" was formed.[54] Red Army Loud and Proud are a small group of fans attempting to bring back the atmosphere and fun to match days. With the stated aim of being "the 12th man on the pitch",[54] the group sponsor players and also provide large colourful flags to the matches.

Hooliganism

Swindon Town have had problems with Hooliganism since the 1970s, with the first known group being called the Swindon Town Aggro Boys (STAB).[55] In a home game against Wrexham in March 1978, STAB were responsible for pelting the opposing goalkeeper with darts, stones and a golf ball.[55] Club chairman Cecil Green later proclaimed: "We intend to stamp out this thuggery. The incidents were diabolical."[55] A new hooligan gang emerged in the 1980s; the Southside Scuffing Firm (SSF) who were named after the area of terracing they occupied.[55] In a match at Northampton Town, then manager Lou Macari walked straight into a group of more than 100 SSF members chasing Northampton fans up the street. Macari said the incident was "worse than a Celtic-Rangers game".[55]

In the 1990s, the Swindon Active Service (SAS) came to prominence and it is believed they were at the centre of several hostilities with fans of local rivals Oxford and Reading.[55] In September 1998, 19 SAS members were arrested at the home match with Oxford.[55] A fracas at an away game versus Bournemouth on December 18 2004 resulted in the arrest of seventeen and the imposition of banning orders on those found to be guilty.[56][57] The fighting, involving more than forty supporters, occurred in a busy shopping centre before the game, "District Judge Roger House said it had been a 'frightening and terrifying' experience for scores of Christmas shoppers who witnessed the scenes."[56] With the Swindon Advertiser reporting that "The area was packed with Christmas shoppers, who watched in horror as pub windows were smashed and fans traded insults."[58]

On December 16 2006, Swindon recorded one of their highest attendances of the season- 10,010 at a home win against rivals Bristol Rovers.[59] The game was marred with supporter trouble which resulted in 11 arrests and saw an area of seating in the Arkell's Stand damaged,[60][61] with the Western Daily Press reporting - "the incident [...] ended with damage to 60 seats after they were used as missiles between opposing fans".[62] On the day of the return game in Bristol, twenty Rovers' fans attacked a number of Swindon supporters with baseball bats at a local pub.[63]

Nick Lowles, author of Hooligans 2: The M–Z of Britain's Football Hooligan Gangs, has said "If you look at Swindon, the police have been very proactive in the last five years in terms of stopping hooliganism".[55]

Swindon Town have imposed Banning Orders on those supporters who cause disruption, criminal damage or are violent when attending games. There were 29 banning orders in place in 2006, which was an increase from a total of 11 in 2005.[64] The increase in banning orders has resulted in a reduction of arrests at games, with only 22 people being arrested attending games in 2005–06 compared to 39 arrests in 2004–05.[65] Of the 22 arrests in 2005–06; 11 were for Public Disorder, 5 for Violent Disorder and the rest were made up of offences relating to missile throwing, racist chanting, pitch invasion, alcohol related offences and one incident of being in possession of an offensive weapon.[66] 33 people were also banned from travelling to the 2006 FIFA World Cup.[67]

Rivalries

In 2003, a poll between supporters of all Football League clubs into the teams they see as their main rivals was conducted by the Football Fans Census, the results of the poll put Swindon in joint 13th place of the teams with most rivals.[68] This was calculated on the amount of other clubs that consider Swindon Town to be their first, second or third main rivals. Historically, Swindon's main rivals are the other West Country teams of Bristol City, Bristol Rovers and Reading. Oxford joined the list in the 1960s following their promotion to the league

Local Rivals
  • Oxford United - The subject of Swindon fans' most intense rivalry. A large number of terrace chants from both Oxford and Swindon refer to this, whether they are playing each other or not. The survey of 2003 revealed that amongst other names, Swindon fans called Oxford United "Poxford"[68] whilst Oxford called Swindon Town "moonrakers".[68]
  • Bristol City - Although both sets of clubs have bigger rivals this is a rivalry that intensifies when the two clubs are in the same division, especially around fixture time. Bristol City dub Swindon, "Swindle" or "Swinedon" whereas Swindon fans see City as above their station in the sense that many City fans feel they are a bigger club than they probably are.
  • Bristol Rovers - The club's second oldest rivals. Swindon first played competitive football against Bristol Rovers in the Western League in 1897. Rovers' election to the Southern League in 1899 saw the two clubs playing against each other in the same division until 1953.
  • Reading - The club's oldest rivals. Swindon first played competitive football against Reading in 1892. Due to Reading's movement through the leagues the rivalry has abated and they are not considered to be a constant target for terrace chants.
Other Rivalries
  • Gillingham - There is an ongoing feud between fans dating back to 1979,[69] when several Gillingham players were arrested and taken to Swindon police station for questioning after a post-match fracas at the County Ground.[70] Seven Swindon fans appeared in court following match day violence in 2006.[71]
  • MK Dons - Milton Keynes Dons fans consider Swindon to be their biggest rivals as they were the most vocal against football franchising and addition to this both teams are contenders for promotion to League One in the 2006–07 season after being relegation rivals the previous season. Swindon Fans do not seriously consider them as rivals, although there is a lot of ill feeling towards them.
  • Leeds United - When Dennis Wise and Gus Poyet left the County Ground for Elland Road it sparked a hatred of Leeds. The two teams will face each other in League One during the 2007–08 season (the first time since May 7 1994 in the Premiership and for the first time ever in the third division).

Statistics and records

Further information: [[:Swindon Town F.C. records]]

John Trollope holds the record for Swindon Town appearances, having played 889 first-team matches between 1960 and 1980. Trollope also holds the English Football League Record of most appearances by a player at one club, having played in 770 League games.[72] Central defender Maurice Owen comes second, having played 601 times. The record for a goalkeeper is held by Sam Burton, who is third with 509 appearances.

Harry Morris holds all of Swindon's goal records, having scored 229 goals for the club between 1926 and 1933.[38] Harold Fleming is second with 203, with Don Rogers third with 178. Morris scored the most goals in a season with 48 during 1926–27, 47 of which were in League games which is another club record. The most goals scored by an individual is also held by Morris and Keith East, who have both scored 5 against League opposition (Morris having achieved this in 1926 and 1930).

The highest attendance at the County Ground of 32,000 was recorded on 15 January 1972 in a FA Cup Third Round replay match against Arsenal.[73] The capacity of the ground is now 15,728 so it is unlikely that this record will be broken in the foreseeable future.

Swindon Town have also set records in English football, being the first team to score over 100 points in the League when they became Fourth Division champions in 1985–86. The total of 102 that the club scored has since been beaten (although a perfect score of 138 has not yet been achieved). They also hold the FA Premier League Record for most goals conceded in a season, 100 in 1993–94.

On 20 February 2007 the club played in a landmark League game away to Barnet, a 1–0 loss. The completion of this match meant that Swindon had played a League game at home and away against every current team in the FA Premier League, Championship, League One and League Two.

Players

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK England ENG Phil Smith
2 DF England ENG Jack Smith
3 DF England ENG Jamie Vincent (vice-captain)
4 MF Scotland SCO Lee Peacock
5 DF England ENG Jerel Ifil
6 DF Wales WAL Adrian Williams (club captain)
7 MF Wales WAL Christian Roberts
8 MF Scotland SCO Craig Easton
9 FW Republic of Ireland IRL Barry Corr
11 DF France FRA Sofiane Zaaboub
12 GK Slovakia SVK Peter Brezovan
14 DF Guadeloupe GLP Miguel Comminges
No. Pos. Nation Player
15 DF England ENG Andrew Nicholas
16 DF England ENG Hasney Aljofree (team captain)
17 DF England ENG Chris Blackburn
18 MF England ENG Steve Adams
19 MF England ENG Michael Pook
20 FW Wales WAL Kaid Mohamed
21 FW Scotland SCO Blair Sturrock
22 FW Spain ESP Ibón Pérez Arrieta
24 MF England ENG Chris Allen
25 FW England ENG Andrew Caton
26 MF England ENG Alex Rigley
27 DF England ENG Ben Tozer

Notable former players

Further information: List of Swindon Town F.C. players

Personnel

Club officials

Managers

As of August 11 2007. Only competitive matches are counted.

Name Nat From To Record
P W D L F A
Sam Allen England 1902 1933 1127 487 248 392 1988 1660
Ted Vizard Wales 1933 1939 285 108 63 114 455 481
Neil Harris Scotland 1939 1940 33 10 10 13 69 73
Louis Page England 1945 1953 369 135 95 139 515 570
Maurice Lindley England 1953 1955 93 26 25 42 114 134
Bert Head England 1956 1965 426 160 108 158 660 637
Danny Williams England 1965 1969 222 104 58 60 377 237
Fred Ford England 1969 1971 122 50 34 38 175 140
Dave Mackay Scotland 1971 1972 45 14 13 18 58 66
Les Allen England 1972 1974 62 13 20 29 61 94
Danny Williams England 1974 1978 227 87 61 79 340 328
Bobby Smith England 1978 1980 132 63 25 44 208 169
John Trollope England 1980 1983 121 43 33 45 161 153
Ken Beamish England 1983 1984 68 26 17 25 99 87
Lou Macari Scotland 1984 1989 285 138 67 80 449 340
Ossie Ardiles Argentina 1989 1991 106 40 33 33 163 140
Glenn Hoddle England 1991 1993 120 51 32 37 202 162
John Gorman Scotland 1993 1994 72 15 20 37 90 148
Steve McMahon England 1994 1998 204 75 49 80 245 277
Jimmy Quinn Northern Ireland 1998 2000 85 19 21 45 84 141
Colin Todd England 2000 2000 18 4 6 8 16 29
Andy King England 2000 2001 36 12 10 14 43 43
Roy Evans England 2001 2001 26 10 6 10 30 35
Andy King England 2001 2005 193 71 48 74 265 263
Iffy Onuora Scotland 2005 2006 40 10 15 15 40 56
Dennis Wise England 2006 2006 17 9 4 4[74] 24 14
Paul Sturrock Scotland 2006 Present 33 18 7 9 41 30

Achievements

Further information: [[:Swindon Town F.C. seasons]]
Cup Honours
League Honours

English Football Hall of Fame

The following have either played for or managed Swindon and have been inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame

Other teams

Swindon Town F.C. Reserves

The Reserve team currently play in the Football Combination Wales & West League. They were formed as a separate team in the 1890s and won the Wiltshire Cup twice before 1900,[30] although on two occasions they lost in the final to the Swindon Town first team (2–0 in 1891 and 13–0 in 1892). The side was entered into the Western League in 1902 and remained there until 1949.[30] The reserve side have also won the Wiltshire Premier Shield on 27 occasions during the period 1927–92.

Swindon Town Youth F.C.

Swindon Town's Youth Team were FA Youth Cup finalists in 1964, where they were beaten over two legs by a Manchester United side containing George Best.[76] The team did not appear in the final stages of the competition again until 2004 where they lost 3–0 to Chesterfield in the Quarter-final.[76]

Managed by David Byrne, the Youth team reached the Quarter-finals of the FA Youth Cup again in 2007 before being knocked-out of the competition by Newcastle.[77][78][79]

Swindon Town Ladies F.C.

Established on 28 September 1993,[80] the current Swindon Town Ladies Football Club (STLFC) first team play in the South West Combination Women's Football League and reached the first round proper of the FA Women's Cup for the second time in their history during the 2006–07 season.[81] Swindon Town Ladies Reserves currently play in the South West League, Division 1 North and both squads play their home games at the ground of Aldbourne Football Club.[82] Over 150 female players represent the club in local football leagues, with the club running seven full strength junior teams for those aged 8 and above in addition to the two senior squads.[83]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "In the beginning..." swindon-town-fc.co.uk. Retrieved 2007-01-14.
  2. ^ "Medals to be sold". Salisbury Journal. 1999-04-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ "League Cup Final 1969 Match Report". football-england.com. Retrieved 2006-11-16.
  4. ^ "Swindon Town 1969 TV Archive". BBC. Retrieved 2006-11-16.
  5. ^ "Anglo-Italian League Cup Winners' Cup Winners 1969/1970". Achievements. swindon-town-fc.co.uk. Retrieved 2007-01-14.
  6. ^ Wheeler, Sam (2000). "Cup Glory in Europe". Swindon Advertiser. Retrieved 2007-02-06.
  7. ^ "Division Four Champions 1985/1986". Achievements. swindon-town-fc.co.uk. Retrieved 2007-01-14.
  8. ^ "Division Three Play-off Winners 1986/1987". Achievements. swindon-town-fc.co.uk. Retrieved 2007-01-14.
  9. ^ "Division Two Play-off Winners 1989/1990". Achievements. swindon-town-fc.co.uk. Retrieved 2007-01-14.
  10. ^ "Season 1989-1990". Archive. swindon-town-fc.co.uk. Retrieved 2007-01-14.
  11. ^ "Division One Play-off Winners 1992/1993". Achievements. swindon-town-fc.co.uk. Retrieved 2007-01-14.
  12. ^ "Guardian.co.uk Knowledge Unlimited Football trivia". football.guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 2006-11-16.
  13. ^ "Season 1993-94". Archive. swindon-town-fc.co.uk. Retrieved 2007-01-14.
  14. ^ "Season 1995-96". Archive. swindon-town-fc.co.uk. Retrieved 2007-01-14.
  15. ^ "Division Two Champions 1995/1996". Achievements. swindon-town-fc.co.uk. Retrieved 2007-01-14.
  16. ^ "£200,000 - That's the price of relegation as Town take drop at Ashton Gate". News Headlines. Swindon Advertiser. 2006-05-01. Retrieved 2007-01-15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. ^ "Swindon confirm Wise as Manager". BBC Sport. 2006-05-22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. ^ "Swindon 1-1 Walsall". Football. BBC News. 2007-05-05. Retrieved 2007-05-05. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  19. ^ "Swindon out of administration". BBC Sport. 2002. Retrieved 2007-02-15.
  20. ^ "Club is saved after paying bill". BBC News. Retrieved 2007-02-08.
  21. ^ a b "Interview with Mike Diamandis". Where I Live - Swindon. BBC. Retrieved 2007-02-08.
  22. ^ a b "Keep It Up!". Stadium Development. Swindon Town Football Club. Retrieved 2007-01-15.
  23. ^ a b "Swindon Town Fans' Consortium". TrustSTFC. Retrieved 2007-02-14.
  24. ^ "Badge History" (jpg). swindon-town-fc.co.uk. Retrieved 2007-01-15.
  25. ^ a b c d e f "Swindon Town FC". footballcrests.com. Retrieved 2007-01-15.
  26. ^ "Borough of Swindon Coat of Arms". Heritage. Swindon Borough Council. Retrieved 2007-02-07.
  27. ^ Dave Hanley (2000). "STFC programmes 1985". My Only Swindon. Retrieved 2007-01-15.
  28. ^ "Swindon's crest set to change". Swindon Advertiser. 2007-04-05. Retrieved 2007-05-01. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  29. ^ "Town decide on new badge". Swindon Advertiser. 2007-04-23. Retrieved 2007-05-01. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  30. ^ a b c Mattick, Dick (1989). The Robins - The Story of Swindon Town Football Club. Buckingham: Sporting and Leisure press. ISBN 0-86023-460-6.
  31. ^ a b "Swindon Town in Lotto until 2009". footballshirtculture.com. Retrieved 2007-08-08.
  32. ^ "Season 1984-1985". Kits. swindon-town-fc.co.uk. Retrieved 2007-01-15.
  33. ^ "Season 1991-1992". Kits. swindon-town-fc.co.uk. Retrieved 2007-01-15.
  34. ^ "Season 1993-1994". Kits. swindon-town-fc.co.uk. Retrieved 2007-01-15.
  35. ^ a b Steve Butt (2007-06-07). "Town set to unveil their new sponsor". Swindon Advertiser. Retrieved 2007-06-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  36. ^ "Swindon Town seeks new bail out". BBC News. 2006-11-24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  37. ^ a b c d Inglis, Simon: "Football Grounds of Britain.", page 358. CollinsWillow, 1996.
  38. ^ a b "STFC Facts & Figures". Swindon Town Football Club. swindonweb.com. Retrieved 2007-01-15.
  39. ^ "Stadium Development". Swindon Town Football Club. Retrieved 2007-01-15.
  40. ^ "Swindon North". Vote 2001: Results & Constituencies. BBC News. 2001. Retrieved 2007-02-15.
  41. ^ "Response to the Call for Proposals - Introduction to Swindon - 1.3" (PDF). Vote 2001: Results & Constituencies. Swindon Borough Council. 2006. Retrieved 2007-02-15.
  42. ^ "2004-2005 Division 2 Attendances". soccerstats.com. Retrieved 2007-07-19.
  43. ^ Calculation - (5,839/15,728)*100=37.125
  44. ^ "2005-2006 Division 2 Attendances". soccerstats.com. Retrieved 2007-07-19.
  45. ^ Calculation - (5,950/15,728)*100=37.83
  46. ^ Calculation - (7,109/15,728)*100=45.1996
  47. ^ "2006-2007 Division 3 Attendances". soccerstats.com. Retrieved 2007-07-19.
  48. ^ "New fanzine a good read". Swindon Advertiser. 2000. Retrieved 2007-02-07.
  49. ^ "Junior Robins". Swindon Town Football Club. Retrieved 2007-02-07.
  50. ^ "Aims of the Trust". TrustSTFC. Retrieved 2007-02-14.
  51. ^ "Loan Note Scheme". TrustSTFC. Retrieved 2007-02-14.
  52. ^ "Red Army Fund". TrustSTFC. Retrieved 2007-02-14.
  53. ^ a b "Top Ten Clubs". Football Fever Report. Littlewoods Football Pools. 2007. Retrieved 2007-02-07.
  54. ^ a b "About Us". Red Army Loud and Proud. Retrieved 2007-02-14.
  55. ^ a b c d e f g h "Not so beautiful". Swindon Advertiser. 2006-06-21. Retrieved 2007-08-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  56. ^ a b "Swindon fans up in court". Swindon Advertiser. 2005-04-13. Retrieved 2007-08-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  57. ^ "'He could have caused a riot'". Swindon Advertiser. 2005-11-25. Retrieved 2007-08-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  58. ^ "17 arrests made after soccer fight". Swindon Advertiser. 2005-05-26. Retrieved 2007-08-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  59. ^ "Swindon 2-1 Bristol Rovers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2007-02-08.
  60. ^ "Probe after fans ripped up seats". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2007-02-08.
  61. ^ "Starnes vows 'severe' action". TEAMtalk. Retrieved 2007-02-08.
  62. ^ "Swindon set to ban thugs". Western Daily Press. Retrieved 2007-02-08.
  63. ^ Kevin Burchall (2007-04-30). "Thugs' baseball attack on Town fans". Swindon Advertiser. Retrieved 2007-08-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  64. ^ "Football Banning Orders by club supported (10 October 2006)" (PDF). Statistics on Football related arrests & Banning Orders - Season 2005-6. Home Office. 2006-10-21. pp. page 4. Retrieved 2007-07-25. {{cite web}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  65. ^ "Football related arrests - 2005/6 season, Arrests of supporters of Football League Division One and Two clubs" (PDF). Statistics on Football related arrests & Banning Orders - Season 2005-6. Home Office. 2006-10-21. pp. page 8. Retrieved 2007-07-25. {{cite web}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  66. ^ "Arrests by club supported & type of offence - League One 2005/6 season" (PDF). Statistics on Football related arrests & Banning Orders - Season 2005-6. Home Office. 2006-10-21. pp. page 11. Retrieved 2007-07-25. {{cite web}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  67. ^ Gareth Bethell & Mark Hookham. "Cup ban for 'fans'". Swindon Advertiser. Retrieved 2007-08-04.
  68. ^ a b c "Rivalry Uncovered" (PDF). The Football Fans Census. 2003. Retrieved 2007-02-07.
  69. ^ Eccles (2004). "Swindon Town: 25 years of hate". The Swindon Saga. Gills365. Retrieved 2007-02-07.
  70. ^ "Town fans get blame for match day disorder". Gazette and Herald. 2006-01-19. Retrieved 2007-07-27. There has been bad feeling between the two clubs since 1979, when several Gillingham players were arrested and taken to Swindon police station for questioning after a post-match fracas at the County Ground. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  71. ^ "Town set to pay price for crowd trouble". Swindon Advertiser. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
  72. ^ "John Trollope". Legends. Swindon Town Football Club. Retrieved 2007-02-15.
  73. ^ "Stadium Info". Welcome to the County Ground. Swindon Town FC. Retrieved 2007-02-01.
  74. ^ The 2006–07 League Cup game against Brentford in which Swindon lost on penalties under the management of Dennis Wise has been marked as a loss.
  75. ^ Following successful prosecutions against the club and chairman for breach of League rules, the club remained in the Second Division and the losing team (Sunderland) took their promotion place (see History of Swindon Town F.C.)
  76. ^ a b "Pook the star of previous memorable campaign". Swindon Town. Swindon Advertiser. Retrieved 2007-02-13.
  77. ^ "Cup heartbreak for Town youngsters". Swindon Town. Swindon Advertiser. Retrieved 2007-02-13.
  78. ^ Ritson, John. "Hold your heads high". Swindon Town. Swindon Advertiser. Retrieved 2007-02-13.
  79. ^ "Swindon knocked out of the FA Youth Cup". Where I Live - Swindon. BBC. Retrieved 2007-02-13.
  80. ^ "Club Photos". This is Wiltshire - Communigate. Swindon Advertiser. Retrieved 2007-02-13.
  81. ^ "Results". The FA Women's Cup. The Football Association. Retrieved 2007-02-13.
  82. ^ "Where do STLFC play?". This is Wiltshire - Communigate. Swindon Advertiser. Retrieved 2007-02-13.
  83. ^ "Welcome to Swindon Town Ladies Football Club". This is Wiltshire - Communigate. Swindon Advertiser. Retrieved 2007-02-13.

References

  • Mattick, Dick (1989). The Robins - The Story of Swindon Town Football Club. Buckingham: Sporting and Leisure press. ISBN 0-86023-460-6.
  • Mattick, Dick (2002). Swindon Town Football Club 100 Greats. Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2714-8.
  • Mattick, Dick (2004). Swindon Town F.C.: 50 Classic Matches. Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2866-7.
  • Hayes, Dean (2001). Swindon Town Football Club: An A-Z. Aureus. ISBN 1-8997-5006-1.
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