Swindon Town F.C.
| Badge of Swindon Town | |||
| Full name | Swindon Town Football Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | The Robins | ||
| Founded | 1881 | ||
| Ground | The County Ground, Swindon | ||
| Capacity | 15,728 | ||
| Chairman | Willie Carson | ||
| Manager | Dennis Wise | ||
| League | League Two | ||
| 2005–06 | League One, 23rd (relegated) | ||
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Swindon Town Football Club are an English football team.
In 2005–06, they played in Football League One but, after being relegated, will play next season in Football League Two. They play at the County Ground, Swindon, which has an all-seated capacity of just over 15,000.
History
1881–1945
Founded in 1881, though some earlier records suggest the club may have been founded two years earlier in 1879, the team turned professional in 1894 and joined the Southern League which was founded in the same year.
The most notable early player was Harold Fleming who scored 202 goals in 332 games for Swindon between 1907 and 1924 and was capped nine times for England. Today in Swindon there is statue of the footballer and the stretch of road Fleming Way is named in his honour.
In the 1909–1910 season Swindon reached the FA Cup semi-finals, losing to Newcastle United who subsequently defeated Barnsley in the final. Barnsley and Swindon were invited to compete for the Dubonnet Cup in a match played at the Parc des Princes Stadium in Paris. The result was a 2–1 victory for Swindon with Harold Fleming scoring both of the Town’s goals. One of football’s larger trophies, the Dubonnet Cup weighs in at nearly a hundredweight.
In the following season, 1910–1911, the team 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. Swindon scored four goals, while United managed eight.
In 1911–1912 the team again reached the FA Cup semi-finals, this time being knocked out by Barnsley after a replay.
Swindon became Southern League champions for the second and last time in 1914.
In 1920 Swindon entered the Football League 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 1921 the Third Division became the Third Division South: a division from which Swindon was never to be promoted or relegated, although it did have to apply for re-election at the end of the 1932–1933, 1955–1956 and 1956–1957 seasons.
During World War II a number of players were enlisted into the army, and the County Ground was used as a Prisoner of war camp.
1945–1979
The post-war era saw Swindon competing in the lower divisions of the English League. Though in 1963 the club was promoted to the Second Division after finishing 2nd in Division 3, season 1962-63. The club was relegated two years later. However the club found shrewd managers in Bert Head and Danny Williams. In 1969 Swindon beat Arsenal 3-1 to win the League Cup for the first and only time in the club's history. This year also saw Swindon go back to the second division after again finishing 2nd in the 3rd division on goal average with Watford and Swindon joint on 64 points. The scorer of two of the goals in the League Cup final, Don Rogers, was also in form to help Swindon beat SSC Napoli 3-0 to win the Anglo-Italian Cup in 1970. Swindon also beat AS Roma 5-3 over two legs to win the inaugural Anglo-Italian League Cup Winners' Cup.
1980–1991
Swindon reached their lowest ebb in 1982 when they were relegated to the Fourth Division, and did not leave the league's basement division until 1986 when they were Fourth Division champions. A year later they won the Second Division relegation/Third Division promotion playoffs to achieve a second successive promotion. Manager Lou Macari left in 1989 to take charge of West Ham United. Veteran midfielder Ossie Ardiles replaced Macari and in his first season they were Second Division playoff winners. But Swindon later admitted 36 charges of breaching league rules (a scandal which saw their chairman Brian Hiller being given a six-month prison sentence and chief accountant Vince Farrar being put on probation) and were relegated to the Third Division — giving Sunderland promotion to the First Division and Tranmere Rovers to the Second Division. An appeal saw Swindon being allowed to stay in the Second Division. But their form dipped in 1990–91 and by the time Ossie Ardiles moved to Newcastle United in March 1991, they were just above the Second Division drop zone. Former Tottenham midfielder Glenn Hoddle, 33, was named as Swindon's new player-manager and helped the Robins crush any remaining relegation fears.
1991–1999
Swindon progressed well during Hoddle's first full season as manager and just missed out on the Second Division playoffs. A year later they beat Leicester City 4-3 in the new Football League Division One playoff final to achieve promotion to the Premiership — bringing top-division football to the club for the first time.
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. They went down with a dismal record of just five wins, as well as having conceded 100 goals — the latter record has yet to be broken. Gorman was sacked in November 1994 with Swindon struggling near the foot of Division One. 33-year-old Manchester City midfielder Steve McMahon took over, and despite a run to the League Cup semi finals Swindon suffered a second successive relegation and slipped into Division Two. They might have survived if high scoring Norweigan striker Jan Åge Fjørtoft had stayed, but he was sold to Middlesbrough on transfer deadline day.
McMahon succeeded in getting Swindon back into Division One at the first attempt, as they won the Division Two championship in 1996. But the club's financial state was getting more precarious and Swindon could not afford to build a side which might be able to win promotion to the Premiership; his only significant summer signing the underwhelming Gary Elkins from Wimbledon. McMahon was dismissed in September 1998 with Swindon battling against relegation back to Division Two. He was replaced by Jimmy Quinn, who had taken Reading to the Division One playoff final in 1995.
Swindon's financial problems continued throughout the 1999-2000 season and their future was safeguarded just before the end of the campaign, thanks to a takeover by Terry Brady. But it was too late to save Swindon's place in Division One — they had already been relegated in bottom place. The club's new owner sacked manager Jimmy Quinn and appointed Colin Todd — who had won promotion to the Premiership with Bolton in 1997 — as manager, in hope of getting the club's fortunes back on track.
2000–2006
Swindon had a dismal start to the 2000–01 season and Todd quit in November to take the assistant manager's job at Premiership side Derby County. Todd's own assistant, Andy King, stepped up to the manager's seat and remained there for the rest of the season. He achieved survival in Division Two but his short-term contract was not renewed at the end of the season. Former Liverpool manager Roy Evans was brought in as Director of Football, with 33-year-old former Liverpool defender Neil Ruddock being employed as player-coach. But the pair had both left by Christmas, with Andy King beginning his second spell as manager. He made a shrewd new signing in Chelsea reserve striker Sam Parkin, whose 26 goals in 2002-03 saw Swindon finish tenth in Division Two.
Parkin was joined by former Birmingham and Watford striker Tommy Mooney for the 2003-04 season, and their prolific goalscoring combined helped Swindon achieve a place in the Division Two playoffs, but they lost on penalties to eventual winners Brighton in the playoff semi finals.
Swindon failed to make the playoffs in 2004-05 and Parkin was transferred to Championship side Ipswich Town. Andy King drafted in QPR forwards Jamie Cureton and Tony Thorpe, but neither player made much of an impact and it was soon clear that Parkin would be a very difficult player to replace successfuly.
A mixed start to the 2005–06 League One campaign cost Andy King his job, and youth development officer Iffy Onuora took over at least until the end of the season.
It was reported that Ron Atkinson was being brought in to support Onuora in December 2005, and Atkinson and the club appeared to confirm this. However it later transpired that Atkinson's] role was simply as part of a Sky One documentary about the club being filmed at the County Ground. Filming has now been stopped due to excessive demands on the managment team.
Onuora was unable to save Swindon from relegation and they were relegated on 29th April 2006 after failing to win their penultimate game of the season.
Their relegation meant that they became the first ever former Premiership team to be demoted to football's basement league division, although they were joined by Milton Keynes Dons (previously Wimbledon) on the final day of the season.
On May 18th 2006 Dennis Wise agreed to become the new Swindon Town manager. Former boss Iffy Onuora was offered the chance to stay in a reduced capacity but it is understood he turned down that offer and will leave the club. Gustavo Poyet became his assistant.[1]
Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Players out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Notable former players
Famous fans
Rivalries
Local derbies
- A.F.C. Bournemouth
- Bristol City
- Bristol Rovers
- Cheltenham Town
- Oxford United
- Plymouth Argyle
- Reading
- Yeovil Town
Other rivalries
External links
- Official website – registration compulsory
- The Townend Forums – Lively discussion forum.
- Swindon-Town-FC.co.uk – a fansite with extensive historical information as well as current news and views.
- This page discusses the slightly vexed question of when the club was formed.
- Swindon Advertiser – Local Newspaper
- This is Swindon Town FC
- Vital Football – News, Stats, Match Previews, Interviews, and Travel information for Swindon Town supporters.
- TrustSTFC – Swindon Town Supporters' Trust - fans' organisation campaigning for greater supporter involvement in running of the club, and generally campaigning on behalf of STFC supporters.
- Red Army Loud & Proud – Supporters group whose aim is to try and introduce additional colour and fun to the match-day experience.