Swindon Town

Swindon Town crest
Full name	Swindon Town Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Robins, The Reds, The Spartans, The Town
Founded	1879; 133 years ago  (1879) (by Reverend W.B. Pitt)[1]
Ground	The County Ground Swindon (Capacity: 15,728)
Chairman	Jeremy Wray
Manager	Paolo Di Canio
League	League One
2011–12	League Two, 1st (promoted)
Home colours Away colours
Current season

Swindon Town Football Club (Formerly known as Swindon Spartans) is an English football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, UK. The club participates in League One, the third tier of English football. They play their home games at The County Ground, which has a capacity of 14,700 and has been home for over 100 years.

Since turning professional in 1894, the club has enjoyed periods of success, most notably during the period 1968–1970 when they won the 1969 League Cup (defeating Arsenal at Wembley Stadium) securing promotion to the Second Division. League Cup success earned the club its first invitations to European competitions, but they were not eligible to participate because they played in the then Third Division. So as compensation they were entered into the 1969 Anglo-Italian League Cup and the 1970 Anglo-Italian Cup, with Swindon winning both. These wins were led by the club's talisman winger Don Rogers. He has had the South Stand named after him from the 2007–08 season. The club's two best wins were 10 goals to 2 over Norwich City on 5 September 1908 and 10 goals to 1 over Farnham United Breweries F.C. in the season of 1925–26 but the club's worst loss was 10 goal to 1 down against Manchester City in 1930.

Swindon Town won promotion to the Premier League during the 1992–93 season, the only time the club has played in the top level of English football. Swindon was the second team to win promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs, beating Leicester City. This proved to be Swindon's only ever season in the top flight to date, in which they conceded 100 goals. However, based on all results during their time in the Premier League and Football League up to 2010–11, Swindon are ranked as the all-time 49th most successful English football club domestically.^[2]

History[link]

Early history[link]

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] During this period Septimus Atterbury played for the club.

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.^[3] In 1912 Swindon Town reached the semi finals of the FA Cup for a second time in 3 years, losing to Barnsley F.C. after a replay 1–0.

Swindon's exploits at this time owed a lot to the skilful forward H.J. Fleming who was capped by England 11 times between 1909 and 1914 despite playing outside the Football League. Fleming remained with Swindon throughout a playing career spanning 1907 and 1924 and went on to live in the town for his entire life.

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

After the outbreak of the 2nd World War the War Department took over the Stadium in 1940, where for a while POWs (Prisoners of War) were housed in huts placed on the pitch, for this the club received compensation of £4,570 in 1945. The 2nd World War affected Swindon Town more than most other football clubs and the club was almost disbanded, the club needed a large amount of time to recover and for this reason it failed to make any real impression in the league and would not climb into the second division until 1963 when they finished runners up to Northampton Town. The club was relegated back into Division Three in 1965 but it was about to create a sensation.

1969–1990[link]

In 1969 Swindon beat Arsenal 3–1 to win the League Cup for the first and only time in the club's history.^[4][5] 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.^[6] 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.^[7]

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 second club to score over 100 points in a season, York City having totalled 101 two years earlier.^[8] A year later they won the Third Division play-offs to achieve a second successive promotion.^[9] 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,^[10] 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 Town being allowed to stay in the Second Division.^[11]

Since 1990: Highs and Lows[link]

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

Ardiles remained in charge until March 1991, when he departed to Newcastle United and was succeeded by new player-manager Glenn Hoddle.

Swindon progressed well during the 1991–92 season, Hoddle’s first full season as manager, and just missed out on the Second Division play-offs, having briefly led the table in the autumn. A year later they beat Leicester City 4–3 in the new Division One play-off final to achieve promotion to the FA Premier League — bringing top-division football to the club for the first time.^[12]

Hoddle moved to Chelsea before the 1993–94 Premier League season began, and was replaced by assistant John Gorman, but Swindon never adjusted to the pace of Premier League football.^[13] They were relegated after recording only five wins and conceding 100 goals — the latter record yet to be broken — and have never returned to the top flight. One of the few successes of the season was a 2–2 draw against champions Manchester United in the league.^[14][15]

The following year, Swindon were relegated for the second consecutive time and slipped into Division Two. Gorman had been sacked as manager in November 1994, and although his successor, player-manager Steve McMahon, was unable to avoid relegation he did take Swindon to the semi-finals of the League Cup.^[16] McMahon then succeeded in getting Swindon back into Division One on his first attempt, winning the Division Two championship in 1996.^[17]

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 then went through five managers in five years (Andy King was appointed twice), during which time they were again relegated into Division Two. The highlight of the next few seasons was a 5th-place finish in 2003–04 as financial troubles persisted. A first-round [1] loss to Brighton on penalties meant Swindon extended their stay in the 3rd tier, now renamed League One.

The club has been beset by financial difficulties throughout its recent history, having been placed into administration twice^[18] and also twice fought off winding-up orders from Her Majesty's Customs and Excise over unpaid tax-bills.^[19] The board currently have to make yearly payments of £100,000 to creditors (2% of the yearly turnover),^[20] and only managed to begin the 2006–07 season after sourcing £500,000 to pay for players' wages.^[20]

In 2006, caretaker manager (and former player) Iffy Onuora was unable to save Swindon from relegation to League Two^[21] meaning they became the first ever former Premier League team to be relegated 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.^[22] After a good start to the season, the pair moved to Leeds United in October. Veteran defender Adrian Williams and Barry Hunter took temporary charge until Paul Sturrock was appointed on 7 November. Sturrock guided Swindon to promotion back 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.^[23]

Town fans celebrating promotion on the county ground pitch after the draw with Walsall 2006–07 season

In 2008 Swindon Town was taken over by a consortium, fronted by local businessman Andrew Fitton, with plans to clear all club debts by the end of the 2007/08 season.

Paul Sturrock having departed for Plymouth Argyle, the consortium appointed Sturrock-recommended Maurice Malpas manager, and Swindon finished their first season back in League One in 13th, helped by 15-goal signing Simon Cox. However, the 2008–09 campaign started badly and Malpas was sacked on 14 November 2008, with David Byrne taking over temporarily. Danny Wilson was unveiled as the new manager on 26 December 2008.^[24] Wilson helped maintain Swindon's League One status and finished in 15th position, though only 4 points from the relegation zone, in his first season in charge.

The 2009–10 would prove a vast improvement, despite the sale of League One top-scorer Simon Cox. The club maintained a play-off position going into the new year, and were at one point in second place with automatic promotion in their own hands. However, a slight slip in form towards the end of the season saw Swindon finish 5th, entering the play-offs against Charlton Athletic. Swindon won the tie on penalties and went on to play in the Football League One play-offs final against Millwall at Wembley for a place in the Football League Championship. However, they lost 1–0 in what was their 1st defeat in 4 appearances at Wembley.

After losing the final Swindon lost their top scorer Billy Paynter who joined Leeds United on a free transfer, and sold club captain Gordon Greer. Still, many bookmakers had Swindon as one of the favourites for promotion to the nPower Championship going into the 2010–11 season. Inconsistent form left Swindon in mid-table for much of the season; however, a 4–2 win at Charlton Athletic in January left fans hoping for a late-season surge.^[25] Instead, top-scorer Charlie Austin was sold to Burnley FC and the team did not win again for 19 matches. When Danny Wilson resigned on 2 March, Paul Hart was brought in but failed to save the Robins, and on 25 April 2011 Swindon were relegated to Npower League 2 after losing 3–1 to Sheffield Wednesday FC. Paul Hart was replaced for the last two games of the season by former player and current reserve and youth team coach Paul Bodin.^[26]

Soon after the season ended, the board revealed that high-profile former player Paolo Di Canio would take his first management position at the club.^[27] After losing seven of his first thirteen games in charge, Swindon went on an fifteen-match unbeaten run which put them into promotion contention by the mid-point of the 2011–12 season.^[28]

After a defeat on Boxing Day 2011 to Torquay United, Swindon broke a club record by winning ten consecutive league games, and by March they were well clear of the chasing pack at the top of League Two. Moreover, they have enjoyed success in both the FA Cup, beating Premiership side Wigan Athletic in the 3rd Round before losing to Championship side Leicester City in the 4th Round, and reaching the Johnstone's Paint Trophy Final at Wembley, where they were runners-up to League One side Chesterfield. Swindon currently lead the NPower League 2 table, and had promotion guaranteed after losing 3–1 away to Gillingham on 21 April 2012. They became Champions of League Two after a 5–0 drubbing of Port Vale at home on 28 April in Paolo Di Canio's first season as a manager.^[29]

Crest[link]

Swindon Town have used at least five different kit badges since their inception.^[30] 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.^[31] 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'.^[31] This motto is also that of the town of Swindon itself.^[32]

During the 1970s the club changed the badge to one referred to as the "ST arrow" or "traffic sign" badge.^[33] 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.^[31]

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.^[31]

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 new fresh image.

"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."^[31]

On 5 April 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.^[34] 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.

On 23 April 2007, it was announced that option three of the logo vote was the winner of the poll (it can be seen on the far right of the picture).^[35] 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 has been in use since the beginning of the 2007–08 season.

Colours and kits[link]

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.^[36] 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.^[37]

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.^[38] 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,^[39] 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.^[40]

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.^[37]

In 2008-09 they returned to the dark blue away kit that was used previously for the 2006-07 season but this time they had white shorts instead of a whole dark blue strip. In 2009-10 they returned once again to the all white kit, but compared to the home kit who showed 'FourFourTwo' on the front, they showed 'FIFA10' on the front as a part of sponsorship with EA. They also this year has a all blue third kit which was featured for the FA Cup and also the play-off away game to Charlton.

In 2010-2011 they had an all black third kit. The all black kit became the clubs away kit for the 2011-12 season with an all white kit as a third kit used for the FA Cup run. This kit caused controversial issues for some fans, because it had the sponsors 'the people' in printed on the shirts.

For 2012-2013 they have a blue and yellow away kit which a lot of the fans are in dismay of because they are the same colour as Swindon's close rivals Oxford.

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 also included 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."^[41]

On 7 June 2007 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 included both shirt and stand sponsorship.^[42] This contract was terminated on 17 March 2008 following Kingswood's financial problems and failure to pay the club,^[43] with Swindon Town Chief Executive Nick Watkins commenting "We had to withdraw from Kingswood because they had not paid their money and going forward under new ownership we don't want to work in any past uncertainty."^[43]

In June 2008 it was announced that FourFourTwo Magazine would be the club's new sponsors after signing a three year deal with the club.^[44]

Stadium[link]

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.^[45] 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.^[45]

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.^[45]

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.^[45]

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.^[46]

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,^[47] 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"^[48] including the proposed upgrading of the adjacent Cricket Club to County standard and Athletic Club to Olympic standard.

Supporters[link]

Average home attendances since 1889. In more recent years, attendances have gone up, giving Swindon town one of the highest attendances in league 1

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),^[49] more people work in the town than live there and so are unlikely to support the team.^[50] 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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[51] Only 37% of the grounds seats were occupied at a game on average.^[52] This rose to 5,950^[53] (37.8%)^[54] in 2005–06 and was reported as 7,109 (45.2%)^[55] for the 2006–07 season.^[56]

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"^[57] 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.^[58] 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.^[59] 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.^[60] 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.^[61] 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.^[62] 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 support. Swindon Town were placed 5th out of all 92 League clubs,^[63] with the report stating –

"It's only just over a decade ago that Swindon were a Premier League 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 Premier League. We bet Robins' fans can hardly believe it."^[63]

With the dwindling support during matches in the 2004–05 season, another fans' group "Red Army Loud and Proud" was formed.^[64] Red Army Loud and Proud is 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",^[64] the group sponsors players and also provides large colourful flags to the matches.

However in more recent years 2010/11 Swindon has rapidly increasing attendances with an 8,400 average attendance for the 2010/11 season despite relegation. If the 2009/10 form had been kept up attendances could have easily reached an average over 10,000^{[citation needed]}

Hooliganism[link]

Swindon Town has had problems with hooliganism since the 1970s, with the first known group being called the Swindon Town Aggro Boys (STAB).^[65] In a home game against Wrexham in March 1978, STAB were responsible for pelting the opposing goalkeeper with carrots.^[65] Club chairman Cecil Green later proclaimed: "We intend to stamp out this thuggery. The incidents were diabolical."^[65] A new hooligan gang emerged in the 1980s; the Swindon.Southside.Firm (SSF) who were named after the area of terracing they occupied.^[65] 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".^[65]

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.^[65] In September 1998, 19 SAS members were arrested at the home match with Oxford.^[65] A fracas at an away game versus Bournemouth on 18 December 2004 resulted in the arrest of seventeen and the imposition of banning orders on those found to be guilty.^[66][67] 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."^[66] 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."^[68]

On 16 December 2006, Swindon recorded one of their highest attendances of the season: 10,010 at a home win against rivals Bristol Rovers.^[69] The game was marred with supporter trouble which resulted in 11 arrests and saw an area of seating in the Arkell's Stand damaged,^[70][71] with the Western Daily Press reporting – "the incident [...] ended with damage to 60 seats after they were used as missiles between opposing fans".^[72] 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.^[73]

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".^[65]

Swindon Town has 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.^[74] 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.^[75] 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.^[76] 33 Swindon fans were also banned from travelling to the 2006 FIFA World Cup.^[77]

Rivalries[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2009)

In 2003, a poll of supporters of all Football League clubs to find out which teams they see as their main rivals was conducted by the Football Fans Census, the results of which put Swindon in joint 13th place on the list of teams with most rivals.^[78] This was calculated from the number of other clubs that consider Swindon to be their first, second or third biggest rivals. Historically, Swindon's main rivals are the other West Country teams of Bristol City and Bristol Rovers with rivalries also with Thames Valley teams Reading and Oxford who joined the list in the 1960s following their election to the league.

Rivalry with Oxford United[link]

• Oxford United (35 miles) – 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. In the 2011/2012 season Oxford was the only team to completed the double over Swindon winning 1–2 & 2–0.

Rivalry with Reading[link]

• Reading (40 miles) – 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.

Rivalry with Bristol Rovers and Bristol City[link]

• Bristol Rovers (35 miles) – 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.

• Bristol City (40 miles) – 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.

Minor rivalries[link]

• Gillingham (117 miles) Many Gillingham fans consider Swindon as their club's biggest rivals, stemming from bad-tempered matches between the two teams in the past.^[79] While Swindon fans generally do not consider Gillingham their biggest rivals, there was violence when they met at Priestfield in the 2005–06 season (stemming from Swindon fans attacking the exit of the Gillingham section), their first meeting since a promotion play-off match in 1987.^[80]

Statistics and records[link]

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.^[81] 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.^[46] 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 match against Arsenal.^[82] 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 second team (after York City in 1983/84) 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. They also hold the FA Premier League Record for most goals conceded in a season, 100 in 1993–94, though several teams have finished with a lower points tally.

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, during their history, played a League game at home and away against every team who, in the 2006–07 season, were in the FA Premier League, Championship, League One and League Two.

Current squad[link]

As of 22 March 2012.^[83]

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

No. Position Player 1 GK Mattia Lanzano 4 DF Aden Flint 5 DF Joe Devera 7 DF Paul Caddis (club captain) 8 MF Simon Ferry 9 FW Paul Benson 10 MF Matt Ritchie 12 MF Alan McCormack 13 MF Oliver Risser 15 DF Nathan Thompson 16 MF Lee Cox 17 FW Alan Connell

No. Position Player 19 MF Luke Rooney 23 FW Raffaele De Vita 24 MF Jonathan Smith 27 DF Alessandro Cibocchi 28 FW Miles Storey 29 FW Lukáš Magera 30 GK Leigh Bedwell 31 FW Billy Bodin 32 DF Chris Smith 35 GK Wes Foderingham 37 DF Louis Thompson 38 FW Mehdi Kerrouche

Other teams[link]

Reserves and Youth[link]

For the reserve and youth squads, see Swindon Town F.C. Reserves and Youth

Swindon Town Ladies F.C.[link]

Established on 28 September 1993, after breaking away from the established Swindon Spitfires Women's and Girls' Football Club^[84] 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.^[85] Swindon Town Ladies currently play their home games at the Weir Field in Wroughton, on the outskirts of Swindon. In addition to the senior squad, the club also runs three full strength junior teams for those aged 10 and above.

Personnel[link]

Club officials[link]

Paolo Di Canio started his management career with Swindon Town in 2011.

Position	Name
Chairman	Jeremy Wray (interim)
Directors	Jeremy Wray, Russell Backhouse, Andrew Black, Nick Watkins
Chief Executive	Nick Watkins
Manager	Paolo Di Canio
Assistant Manager	Fabrizio Piccareta
Goalkeeper Coach	Domenico Doardo
Fitness Coach	Claudio Donatelli
Youth Team Manager	Paul Bodin
Centre of Excellence	Jeremy Newton
Physio	Paul Godfrey

Managers[link]

Ossie Ardiles managed Swindon Town between 1989 and 1991.

Glenn Hoddle led Swindon to the Premier League in 1993.

As of 26 April 2012. Only competitive matches are counted

Name	Nat	From	To	Record
				P	W	D	L	F	A
Sam Allen		1902	1933	1127	487	248	392	1988	1660
Ted Vizard		1933	1939	285	108	63	114	455	481
Neil Harris		1939	1940	33	10	10	13	69	73
Louis Page		1945	1953	369	135	95	139	515	570
Maurice Lindley		1953	1955	93	26	25	42	114	134
Bert Head		1956	1965	426	160	108	158	660	637
Danny Williams		1965	1969	222	104	58	60	377	237
Fred Ford		1969	1971	122	50	34	38	175	140
Dave Mackay		1971	1972	45	14	13	18	58	66
Les Allen		1972	1974	62	13	20	29	61	94
Danny Williams		1974	1978	227	87	61	79	340	328
Bobby Smith		1978	1980	132	63	25	44	208	169
John Trollope		1980	1983	121	43	33	45	161	153
Ken Beamish		1983	1984	68	26	17	25	99	87
Lou Macari		1984	1989	285	138	67	80	449	340
Osvaldo Ardiles		1989	1991	106	40	33	33	163	140
Glenn Hoddle		1991	1993	120	51	32	37	202	162
John Gorman		1993	1994	72	15	20	37	90	148
Steve McMahon		1994	1998	204	75	49	80	245	277
Jimmy Quinn		1998	2000	85	19	21	45	84	141
Colin Todd		2000	2000	18	4	6	8	16	29
Andy King		2000	2001	36	12	10	14	43	43
Roy Evans		2001	2001	26	10	6	10	30	35
Andy King		2001	2005	193	71	48	74	265	263
Iffy Onuora		2005	2006	40	10	15	15	40	56
Dennis Wise		2006	2006	17	9	5[86]	3	24	14
Paul Sturrock		2006	2007	52	26	11	15	71	51
Maurice Malpas		2008	2008	42	13	11	18	59	61
Danny Wilson		2008	2011	120	43	40	37	173	160
Paul Hart		2011	2011	11	1	4	6	6	12
Paolo Di Canio		2011	present	57	36	7[87]	14	91	45

Caretaker managers[link]

As of 7 July 2011. Only competitive matches are counted

Name	Nat	From	To	Record
				P	W	D	L	F	A
Danny Williams				-	-	-	-	-	-
Tony Galvin		1991	1991	-	-	-	-	-	-
Andy Rowland		1994	1994	3	1	1	1	4	4
Mike Walsh		1998	1998	2	0	1	1	1	2
David Tuttle		2006	2006	0	0	0	0	0	0
Ady Williams		2006	2006	2	0	0	2	1	3
David Byrne		2007	2008	8	2	3	3	9	14
David Byrne		2008	2008	8	1	4	3	12	14
Paul Bodin		2011	2011	2	1	0	1	2	2

Player awards and recognition[link]

Player of the Year winners[link]

2004 Player of the Year award winner, Tommy Mooney.

Year Winner 1991 Duncan Shearer 1992 Shaun Taylor 1993 Paul Bodin 1994 John Moncur 1995 Shaun Taylor 1996 Shaun Taylor 1997 Fraser Digby 1998 Fraser Digby 1999 George Ndah 2000 Frank Talia

Year Winner 2001 Steve Mildenhall 2002 Matthew Heywood 2003 Sam Parkin 2004 Tommy Mooney 2005 Sam Parkin 2006 Rhys Evans 2007 Lee Peacock 2008 Miguel Comminges 2009 Simon Cox 2010 Jonathan Douglas

Year Winner 2011 Matt Ritchie 2012 Alan McCormack

Most appearances[link]

Competitive, professional matches only. Appearances as substitute (in parentheses) included in total.

	Name	Years	League	FA Cup	League Cup	Other	Total
1	John Trollope	1960–1980	767 (3)	61 (0)	47 (0)	11 (0)	886 (3)
2	Maurice Owen	1946–1963	555 (0)	39 (0)	7 (0)	0 (0)	601 (0)
3	Fraser Digby	1986–1998	403 (0)	21 (0)	33 (0)	20 (1)	504 (1)
4	Sam Burton	1945–1961	467 (0)	27 (0)	6 (0)	9 (0)	509 (0)
5	Don Rogers	1961–1972 1976–1977	411 (1)	31 (2)	34 (0)	11 (0)	487 (3)
6	Jimmy Allan	1971–1985	371 (0)	32 (0)	33 (0)	0 (0)	436 (0)
7	Billy Tout	1905–1920	377 (0)	28 (0)	12 (0)	16 (0)	433 (0)
8	Joe Butler	1965–1976	355 (7)	25 (0)	29 (1)	11 (0)	420 (8)
9	Garth Hudson	1948–1960	401 (0)	26 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	427 (0)
10	Colin Calderwood	1985–1993	341 (1)	17 (1)	35 (0)	19 (0)	412 (2)

Top goalscorers[link]

Competitive, professional matches only, appearances including substitutes appear in brackets.

	Name	Years	League	FA Cup	League Cup	Other	Total
1	Harry Morris	1926–1933	215 (260)	14 (19)	0 (0)	0 (0)	229 (279)
2	Harold Fleming	1907–1924	183 (293)	19 (36)	1 (6)	1 (1)	204 (336)
3	Don Rogers	1961–1972 1976–1977	149 (412)	12 (33)	17 (34)	3 (11)	181 (490)
4	Maurice Owen	1946–1963	150 (555)	15 (39)	0 (7)	0 (0)	165 (601)
5	Archie Bown	1902, 1904 1906–1919	125 (253)	10 (21)	7 (14)	0 (3)	142 (291)
6	Steve White	1986–1994	87 (254)	2 (11)	11 (29)	11 (18)	111 (312)
7	Andy Rowland	1978–1986	79 (287)	11 (24)	8 (28)	0 (6)	98 (345)
8	Duncan Shearer	1988–1992	79 (164)	7 (9)	11 (19)	1 (7)	98 (199)
9	Freddy Wheatcroft	1904–1905 1905–1906 1909–1917	86 (216)	9 (25)	0 (2)	3 (2)	98 (245)
10	Ernie Hunt	1960–1965	82 (214)	6 (12)	0 (11)	0 (0)	88 (237)

Swindon Town Legends XI[link]

Throughout the 2009–10 League One season the readers of Swindon Advertiser and visitors of their website were able to vote for a Swindon Town Legends XI.

Starting XI[link]

All competitive appearances included

No. Pos. Name Appearances 1 GK Digby, FraserFraser Digby 505 2 RB Thomas, RodRod Thomas 355 3 LB Bodin, PaulPaul Bodin 297 4 CB Taylor, ShaunShaun Taylor 259 5 CB Calderwood, ColinColin Calderwood 414 6 CM Hoddle, GlennGlenn Hoddle 75 7 RW Summerbee, MikeMike Summerbee 244 8 CM McLoughlin, AlanAlan McLoughlin 136 9 FW Fjørtoft, Jan ÅgeJan Åge Fjørtoft 87 10 FW Shearer, DuncanDuncan Shearer 199 11 LW Rogers, DonDon Rogers 490 Coach Macari, LouLou Macari (1984–1989)

Digby Thomas Taylor Calderwood Bodin Summerbee Hoddle McLoughlin Rogers Fjørtoft Shearer .

Swindon Town Hall of Fame[link]

On 15 December 2011, local newspaper the Swindon Advertiser announced that the club were to launch the Swindon Town 'Hall of Fame'. Former players Don Rogers, John Trollope and Paul Bodin were the first three confirmed inductees with the others announced during a BBC Wiltshire Radio broadcast on 30 December 2011.^[88]

Hall of Fame (in alphabetical order)[link]

• Paul Bodin (inducted 2011)
• Don Rogers (inducted 2011)
• John Trollope (inducted 2011)

English Football Hall of Fame[link]

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

Swindon Town players at World Cups[link]

The following players were chosen to represent their country at the World Cup while contracted to Swindon Town.;

• 1990 FIFA World Cup
  • Alan McLoughlin
• 1994 FIFA World Cup
  • Jan Åge Fjørtoft

Statistics[link]

Seasons and Honours[link]

League honours[link]

• Football League 2nd Tier (Currently Football League Championship):
  • Playoff Winners (2): 1989–90, 1992–93

• Football League 3rd Tier (Currently Football League One):
  • Winners (1): 1995–96
  • Runners up (2): 1962–63, 1968–69
  • Playoff Winners (1): 1986–87

• Football League 4th Tier (Currently Football League Two):
  • Winners (2): 1985–86, 2011–12

• Southern League:
  • Winners (2): 1910–11, 1913–14
  • Runners up (4): 1897–98, 1908–09, 1909–10, 1912–13

• Western League:
  • Winners (1): 1898–99

Cup honours[link]

Swindon won the League Cup in 1969.

• Football League Cup:
  • Winners (1): 1968–69

• FA Youth Cup:
  • Runners-up (1): 1964

• FA Charity Shield
  • Runners-up (1): 1911

• Football League Third Division South Cup:
  • Runners-up (1): 1935–36

• Anglo-Italian Cup:
  • Winners (1): 1969–70

• Anglo-Italian League Cup:
  • Winners (1): 1968–69

• Wiltshire Cup:
  • Winners (10): 1986–87, 1887–88, 1888–89, 1889–90, 1890–91, 1891–92, 1892–93, 1896–97, 1903–04, 1919–20

• Dubonnet Cup:
  • Winners (1): 1909–10

• Wiltshire Premier Shield:
  • Winners (28): 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1972, 1974,1975, 1976, 1977, 1980, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 2010

• Milk Cup Junior Section
  • Winners (1): 2006

• Milk Cup Northern Ireland Trophy
  • Winners (1): 2007

Notes[link]