Thetownend.com

The opponent:  Yeovil Town

“Elks Stolen From Farm”, not the normal phrase you would begin a matchday thread with, but if its good enough for the headline from The Yeovil Express, then its good enough for me.  Apparently someone has stolen 6 elks from a Yeovil farm, local bobby, PC Jackie Poole says, “I am particularly interested in speaking to anyone who has been approached about elks or elk meat”.  After a bit of investigation, I have established eating elk is not a Yeovilian tradition. Although with just under 40’000 people calling Yeovil home, you really can’t rule anything out.

So, The Glovers, named after  the booming glove making industry of the 1800’s, make their way to North Wiltshire, the first part of a rather tricky away day double header against ourselves, and the mighty Crawley Town.  Some fans of Yeovil will find having a beer in Swindon a bit of a luxury, as back in April 2006 Yeovil became the first town in Britain to introduce a somewhat controversial system of biometric fingerprint scanning in nightclubs. Clubbers wanting to gain access to one of the town's nightclubs were asked in the first instance to submit their personal details for inclusion in a central system. This included a photograph and index fingerprint. Thereafter, each entry to one of the participating premises will require a fingerprint scan. The idea was if it proved a success, other local authorities would do the same.

Back in 2007, Yeovil made the league 1 play off final, and if there is ever such thing as a good day to do a burglary it would have been that day, as 35’000 made the trip to Wembley, ultimately to lose, but still, a very impressive turn out considering the population is just a shade over 40’000. Some of those in attendance that day could have well been Olympic Pentathlete, Sam Weale (his brother Chris plays for Shrewsbury Town) and fellow Olympian, gold medal winning rower, Heather Stanning. Some would say that Yeovil’s most famous product would have to be ex-cricketing legend and charity walker extraordinaire, Ian Botham.

What are they saying about us? –   Not a great deal it must be said. The only forum with any activity is known as The Green Room, which requires membership just to browse their forum. Very little is being said apart from the usual who is driving etc. Sounds like they have done some homework though as apparently Gary Roberts is the one to watch.
 “I just hope Sir Gary is not planning to roll out Smith and D Johnson on sat. Based on the last three halves played we will get mullered if he does. Garry Roberts is a good player and will not take any prisoners. Worried”

There is a bit of the anti Swindon drivel that we seem to have became accustomed to now -
" Re: So thats why they are stinging us £25.....
The thing that truly grates on this one is that they're freely admitting that they're overspending. And they don't care. Di Canio even moaned as if it was an injustice when they got put under a transfer embargo.
Sometimes clubs do get royally screwed by corrupt owners and then there's a bit of a "what if" moment where you reflect upon what opportunities their fans had to spot that being on the cards, and what they could have done about it. But if Swindon land in financial trouble on the back of this, then they will deserve zero sympathy including their fans, because they watched it happen, and were happy to lap it up"

Yeovil Last 6 – WWWLLW (Currently sat 11th on 25 points)

The Threat – Former Cherries hitman, James Hayter currently leads the way in the goalscoring charts for Yeovil. Back in 2004, Hayter came on as a 82nd minute substitute for Bournemouth and hit an incredible 140 second hat trick!

The irrelevant stats – Yeovil have picked up 4 wins and 4 defeats on their travels, scoring 16 and conceding 13. Although they are currently 3rd in the league 1 form guide, they have only managed 3 clean sheets all season, the record for the most currently being held by ourselves, with 9.

Head to Head – We have only played The Glovers on 11 occasions, with STFC currently edging it with 5 wins, 4 defeats, and 2 draws.

The Odds –   Swindon 4/6     Draw 5/2    Yeovil 9/2 (odds from Bet365) Fancy a bet on our new signings?  Chris Martin is currently at 9/2 and Danny Hollands at 11/1. If you think Yeovil are going to open the scoring, Hayter is currently at 11/1, and Reuben Reid (I wondered where he ended up), is at 10’s. Its worth pointing out Hayter is 7/1 and 15/2 everywhere else, so 11’s is a massive price at Bet365.

Sid Says –  I have treated the old boy to some ivy leaves this week, and he has looked on form ever since. 1-0 home win.

The Prediction –  Not been the worst week ever, the e*****o is gone and forgotten, a couple of decent signings in Danny Hollands and Chris Martin (I won’t bother adding to the list of Coldplay puns). Our form has picked up a bit over the past couple of weeks, and with the greatest of respect to Yeovil, if we have any serious thoughts of promotion, then a 3-0 victory is on the cards, goals from Williams (2) and a Zlatan-like rocket from Martin, sending the crowd of 7’723 home in Para, Para, Paradise. Sorry.

And Finally – The first recorded vaccination in the world was carried out at Yetminster near Yeovil in 1774. A farmer there, Benjamin Jesty, as was the case with Jenner two decades later, reasoned that inducing cowpox (whose sufferers were known not to suffer from smallpox subsequently) would bring immunity to the deadlier disease. He scratched the arms of his wife and two sons with pus from a neighbour’s cowpox-infected beast, using a darning needle. It worked – though his wife’s arm became infected, probably due to the needle being dirty. * This practice is still thought to be carried out in The Blackbird Leys area of Oxford and St Paul’s in Bristol (*-All true up to this point, although that’s probably true too).

COYR COYR COYR

I have had a few beers and been to a gig tonight, so feeling good about the world in general. 3-0 to STFC.

Well done Rosso, best one yet :clap: Yeovil are a bit of a bogie side for us but we will have to much for them tomorrow(just)
Williams has to score, surely :please: and a debut goal for Martin ending with a 2-1 win.

I've got a good feeling about this.  2-1 Swindon  COYR

Yes it seems like it, the last season we met them in League 1 we lost 0-1 at home and drew 3-3 away

Been on the port tonight, so I higly doubt my prediction is accurate.

3-0 Town. Ritchie, Martin, Williams.

Could go one of 3 ways imo.

We'll win this easily. 3-0.

Williams x 2 and Bostock.

As I'm shitfaced I can do 2. if we score first 10 it will be a 4-1 win. If 0-0 at Ht 0-0. Ft

Quality post Rosso. Been on the Penderyn Welsh Whisky-lovely drop-but now not in a rational state. Fuck it, 4-0 to town, the green coat marches on!!

I'm glad I'm not the only one who found it impossible to get a Yeovil view without difficulty on t'internet. I don't much like them.

James Hayter though is an STFC specialist, so prepare for the worst. I still have occasional nigtmares about Lloyd Owusu, head heavily bandaged, nodding in unmarked, in a game where we'd apparently been sold to a Jim Little/Portugeezer consortium, because Mr Whippy, had been brought in to set up a deal.  :suicide:

Tough match,like Yeovil as a club.
Done well for a smaller club and Johnson seems made for them....a tight affair with us edging it.........just.

We. Will. Win.

Bit of a shit this game this as Yeovil aren't a bad team away and we've been a bit erratic at home. I can't stand Gary Johnson but that aside I feel a 2-0 in my waters with Williams getting 2.

2-0 Williams, Ritchie

3-1, we'll stuff em.

I think we'll do em! 4-0

Agree with Batch 3-1

1-0 HT

8,211

422 away fans

Always surprised when we don't do well against Yeovil.

Not going to be around to listen today, but hoping to come back to a win following a Andy Williams hattrick, set up by Hollands and Martin.

2-1 defeat.

No bad feeling about this one?? ???

2-1

ATT. 7582

Nice post Rosso, good to get all the info in one place. Going for a 3-1 win for the town.(Williams 2, Martin)
                                                                                                                     att: 7658 away 462

Whenever my brother goes along to watch Town we play awfully, so as he's going today it means a victory is off the agenda.  Don't think we'll lose but a disappointing 1-1 draw.

Expecting fresh energy from us today. Something we haven't seen at home for a while.

Same team as v walsall i hope, with mccormack, hollands and martin brought in on the bench.

If there's minimal head tennis i think we'll win 2 or 3-0.

If it's another hoof and hope like the last few home games  :suicide: then 0-0 or 0-1.

We seem to have sorted ourselves out at the back and will be happy with a comfortable 2-0 Martin and Storey with the goals.Good luck to Paul Benson at Pompey,really nice bloke and always gave his best

My thoughts exactly, would be very harsh on Devera and Bostock especially. Both superb at Walsall.

Off to Swindon shortly with three other Calne based Reds, 6/7 beers pre match as i'm not doing the driving  :pint: Love days like this.

3-0 Town, 8,798 (831 Yeovil)

That's my prediction too, will definitely win as otanswell's not going. 8538 attendance.

Happy with a 1-0 just to get our home form back.

8321. Att.

Macc aside, we've played well at home recently against Cov, Sheff Utd and Villa with no reward.

Today I think we get the result to go with it, and Williams nailed on to score after Johnson's comments in the week.

Good whisky that, sampled some in Wetherspoons, Merthyr Tydfil a few weeks back.

Home form makes this unpredicatable - Hayter is a player that I reckon we should have signed.....heart says home win. Head and previous record says a draw of some sort....

i'm also in this camp.  my last game of the season, well certainly till may - off to france on monday

1-1

Its about time we dicked someone at home. 4-1 Town
Crowd 8,444

For some reason I've got a dull ache in me gonads

So it's 4-0

1-0 to us

Will be interesting to see what team we put out today. 3 games in 7 days suggests some serious squad rotation, I'm thinking Williams and Collins to start today with Martin introduced shortly after half time. There is goals in our forward line, they just need to start putting some chances away.

We really could do with a win today to get the confidence back when playing at home.  Slightly unfortunate that we're playing a team we historically don't do that well against, so we therefore probably won't win.  1-1.

Town: Foderingham; McCormack(capt), Devera, Ward, McEveley; Ritchie, Ferry, Bostock, Roberts; Collins, Williams #STFC

Substitutes: Bedwell(GK), Archibald-Henville, De Vita, Hollands, Martin, Rooney A, Thompson N #STFC

Would have liked to have seen Martin starting today.

Very happy to see Bostock still there

And disappointed for Nathan Thompson too.

Yeah, but he's got plenty of time on his side

That's some great logic right there :hmmm:

when can i start blaming the Adver for Storey not starting?

After the match.

If we don't win it's because Storey wasn't on the pitch to score a hat-trick and therefore definitely the adver's fault

For those of us west / south west of Bristol, live on BBC Bristol radio on 95.5fm. Strong signal too. Just said what an impressive midfield we've got on paper.

I'm estimating that STFC Player is roughly 56 seconds behind this afternoon

Ah, that will be why Ed Hadwin is commentating then.

How we doing?

Goallllll

Andy Williams .... Woo hoo

excellent

Lovely Jubbly

Stick that in your pipe, Johnson.

Winning

sweet.....scorer?

Up to second I believe.

2-0!

That one came as a surprise as I wasn't paying attention to twitter!

Devera sets up Collins for 2-0. lovely.

Williams. And Collins has just scored a second

Get in!!!!

Fortress CG starting again.

New striker comes in - existing strikers pull finger out

Just how it should be

Williams injured again

Williams injured.

Everyone thinks he's coming off but now trying to run it off.

Not wanting to sound sexist but that Bianca Westwood who has started reporting live on games for Sky is dreadful

Boooo

Good to get the inevitable Hayter goal in while we're ahead.

3-1 twitter informs me early doors.

YAY

Don't Panic :D

yay.

Yeah!!! :clap:

3-1

Coldplay on for Williams

Up to 3rd as things stand!

Not too shabby

Here's some ska

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyeG5Vp5j00

To celebrate a good lead at half time, i'm going to finish last nights kebab.

ah, the good old days of Mark O'D.

here's my halftime entertainment effort

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHiTeml3W0s

Good finish by Williams after a great turn on the half way line.

Nice finish by Collins, but much of the credit must go to Devera for a great run & cross.

Not sure that Hayter's goal crossed the line, but was a clear free kick to Town in the build up.

The third was a bit of a scramble.

Ref is having a shocker, ignoring most fouls by Yeovil & giving them almost everything. Reckon Gary Johnson has promised to suck him off after the game.

We will miss Williams as his pace was causing them no end of problems, although Ferry has made some great runs from midfield too.

I miss Mark O'D too :(

rightyo, cup of tea brewed and ready for the second half.

the weather has been 'orrible today so this match is providing so much needed relief

Well there you go. I pop out for a few minutes at 0-0 and come back and it's 3-1 :clap:

Martin goes close ???

Who did Martin come on for? Williams and Collins both scored didn't they?

Williams. Injury.

Right, fair enough. Yeovil sound quite lively.

Do we know what the problem is with Williams?

The ref sounds horrendous.

This is possibly the most appalling refereeing performance I have ever seen.

Williams & Ritchie have both been taken out off the ball & he didn't give a free kick for either.

Yet he has given a string of free kicks against us for nothing.

And there #5 has just kicked Martin while he was on the floor & only got a yellow card.

Hollands for Bostock

Today's attendance - 8,112 (433 from Yeovil) #STFC

soapy tit wank Slave traders just conceded in last minute! :Ride On Fatbury's Lovestick:

Decent attendance - bloody hell it's quiet on here!

4-1


I may have to send a complaint about STFC Player, it is SO FAR BEHIND

4-1 Collins!

It's "their" not "there" you Illiterate fool

how are Yeovil our Somerset neighbours?

Get in!!  :clap:

I'll have boasting rights down here in Dorset on Monday (share office with part time Yeovil fan)...

Slave traders and scum conceding in the last minute as we score!

Happy fucking days.

And Oxf**d concede last minute goal to lose!!!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH  :pint:

Yellow tossers lose in last minute!!

4-1, two goals for Collins, a home win, third in the league and all is well with the world.

The score line not a true reflection of the game but Swindon deserved the win according to Ed.

Excellent result even if it wasn't as one sided as it suggests.

Great to win well at home again.

I like it when we win.

It's so much better than losing :nod:

Come on NMH ;) I just listened to the PdC interview and could make out hardly anything!

All I made out was that he was upset at Alan Mac for fucking up in the lead up to their goal.

I missed that warm home win feeling. We were good today, not brilliant, but miles above Yeovil.

Ferry was outstanding, as was Williams before his injury. Collins had his best home game in a Swindon shirt. Devera and Ward looked solid at the back. Jay Mac's best game for a while too.

The ref was shit. Not a clue. Did anyone else notice he booked Collins for holding, even though he had his back to the defender. I didn't think their goal went over the line but can't be sure. And who the fuck allowed a ginge to run the line? It was obvious he'd want to be centre of attention  :D

I laugh in the face at all those who left 5 minutes before the end and missed the best goal of the day.  :Ride On Fatbury's Lovestick:

My Yeovil supporting mates are very fucking quiet tonight! :D

I love it, I can't believe it was the end of September the last time we won at home!

Impressive  :clap:

Though we were comfortable from the moment we scored until the final whistle. It helped that when their goal was given that we just went up the other end and scored. But I suppose their goal must have been one, the lino flagged straight away.

Ref was a dick.

Great win today, thought we played well and back on form at home! Happy to see both Collins and Williams on the scoresheet! Martin looks as though he puts himself about up top and Hollands looked assured with some of the passes/touches he made! Happy days and a few bevs tonight!  :pint:

Not as impressive as your intros to the matchday thread. Keep it up.

Thought Martin looked like he had a quick footballing brain. I liked the look of him, think he'll be good when he sharpens up.

The way the season is panning out is spookily mirroring the last

Let's hope it carries on doing so

I've just got home! I'll see if the interview is still on Player and provide a transcript!

Pleased with today's efforts, I thought Devera and Ferry were class throughout and Darren Ward seems to be growing on me, not literally though. Glad the strikers got on the score sheet today, they both put themselves around well, despite Yeovil's best efforts to kick anyone in a red shirt off the pitch. Paolo said after the game that Chris Martin needs to eat less, which was what I thought when he ran on the pitch. Don't worry Chris, we will fix you.

Chuckle of the day has to go to the lads in the middle of the Town End who sang "now he knows his left from right" to the imbecile near me. Thing is, he was so pissed last time it was well and truly lost on him, he didn't have a clue  :)

Special mention has to go to the referee, absolute dog shit of the highest order.

3 points gained, 3rd in the league and things are looking promising

Looking forward to my first home game in 10 years in January

and BTW why are Peterborough still allowed standing terraces

The Anti Di Canio idiots are a bit quiet today.
 

Can't say i've seen much anti Di Canio stuff on here.

PdC has an uncanny knack of assessing quickly what sort of level a player can play at.

No matter if he is a fan's favourite - the fucker shows no mercy

Quite a few Town fans wondered why the Torquay keeper made the League 2 Team of the Year instead of Wes

And after watching him against Blackburn it makes it even more baffling - what a tame effort at saving Blackburn's 3rd

Wonder how many more Peterborough players will go on the transfer list after today!

What exactly happened during the week at Posh

Oh come on mate, there's been plenty following his interviews. Nothing on here about what he's said today but then we won so who cares. Pretty much what I've been thinking all along.

I have certain views on Di Canio, some of which are positive and some less so. They don't change based on one result. For a couple of weeks he was getting right up my nose and I wouldn't have cared if he'd fucked off. The last couple of weeks have been much better though and I don't feel like that now. Am I an 'anti-Di Canio idiot'?

Your view is bending with the results obtained.

PDC interview:
- First 20 mins we have to be better
- Showed more guts today
- Dont want to be arrogant but we need to be more nasty and do much better
- We need to do much better job of killing games and be greedy in front of goal
- Good win after some poor performances at home
- We improved tactically individually, although we did play tippy tappy which I dont like
- Worried when Williams went down. Fortunately initial tests show its not ligament damage
- He's starting to recover which is a good sign. He will be checked properly in 24 hours
- Angry with Macca for losing the ball, which led to a goal
- When you are a defender you have to defend. Its only when you have space and time that you can do more. Its difficult though as it was his first game back
- Darren Ward looked strong: He won everything in both boxes despite them being a bigger side. Took his goal like Gary Lineker
- Because we were focussed and determined we were able to come out on top
- Ward and Devera did a fantastic job
- Ward's toe poke came at a good time as they were dangerous having come back to 2-1
- Collins took goals well. I will kick his bottom as he could have worked harder for the team. When he scores early in the game he thinks he's done his job. Pleased he scored twice
- Happy with Hollands and Martin. Hollands has greater fitness which was known. We will need his skill in the middle in the future
- Martin needs to eat a little bit less and work a bit harder. We can joke about this. He is a good footballer and he needs the type of environment we have to improve himself
- Looking forward to Tuesday in a positive way. We now have the quality in the squad to be able to cope with quick turn arounds now
- PDC needs help from the more experienced players. We have to be strong when playing teams around us
- Very pleased with today.

Not really, but your views are dependent on results. Pretty much like everyone else's (including mine). Just think some of it has been pretty OTT, especially based on where we were when he took over and where we are now.

Top man :)

Really good performance, with the spine of he team particularly strong: Ward and Devera were solid, Ferry and Bostock (surprisingly, with Bostock playing the deeper of the two) used the ball well throughout - Bostock must stay in this side. Collins (taking two very good finishes aside) was the best I've seen him. He showed touches that suggest his confidence is returning. I loved Willams goal too....there are very few goals that you know are coming...that was good fun.

Paolo's post match huddle in the centre circle was new. I like it. I liked today....bring on Tuesday.

Williams:
- Knock is sore. Tried to stay on but was giving him pain
- Knock on knee from jarring when keeper clipped his ankle
- Disappointed as things were going well at the time.
- Tend to struggle when he has more time to think about it. Probably not the nicest finish in the world but was pleased to see it go in
- Been a while since he scored last. More concerned about overall performance.
- Doesnt know whether he'll be fit for Tuesday

Collins:
- Pleased with 2 goals. Long time coming
- Devera set him up for the first one. Working in training on getting across the defender. Worked out.
- DeVita set up for second goal
- Top scorer with 8: Great honour. Lads create so many chances, so thanks to them.
- Want to concentrate on climbing the table
- Competition for places going to be tough with Martin there. Can see that he is a great player. Competition keeps you fresh. Sorry to see Benson go as he is a good friend of Collins
- Martin is a very clever player. Enjoyed playing with him
- PDC said if we keep going with same determination with the quality we have we'll keep moving up the table and be there or thereabouts at the end of the season

People need to realise that picking up on-not liking the things Di Canio has done and said doesn't make them anti the bloke.

Cheers NMH.

For the record - some of PDCs interviews and actions irritated me last year and this. That's not the same thing as being anti-DiCanio. I can't think of anyone I'd rather have as manager.

Fair enough. Hard to do that sometimes when there's about 3 pages slagging this, that and the other about the bloke though.

As Paolo would say though, you don't have to like him, just follow him.

Ward:
- PDC described Ward finish as like Gary Lineker. First time Ward has been compared to him!
- Didnt think goal crossed the line. Also, Wes (and others) thought it was hand ball
- Goal was free kick that has been practised in training
- Pleased to have scored as he's had lots of chances and not taken them
- Hardest he's worked in his career. Feeling as fit as wever even though he is 34. Hoping that he can help younger players develop
- Want to get into a position that other teams have lost while they are in the tunnel ie Become hard to beat at home

Of course it does, results are everything. But that's far better than having a fixed view and never changing it no matter what.

Spot on my friend. I'm not anti-anyone, just pro-Swindon. :nod:

Great afternoon on the beer with friends.  My post-match summary arrives right on cue from my brother at full time.  Very, very happy with that.  We've kind of crept up under the radar again.  League form over the last 4 or 5 games is actually pretty impressive.

Happy days.

Really enjoyed that match...great game of footy.

Devera was ace today closely matched by Ward.

Fair play to Yeovil...they fought hard(to hard at times) and i reckon they were a better team than Colchester or Orient who we dropped points to...one thing though Reuben Reid...how much weight was he carrying....he was quality on the ball when he came on and should take a good look at himself because i reckon he could still be a decent player.

As it is i thouroughly enjoyed today...a win on Tuesday and i reckon the  e,i e,i e,i oooooooogh could be raising its a head a bit more regular.
On another positive note over 8,000 today was a great attendance.

"Oxford are well and truly finished with injury to Craddock
Wilder won't go for youth but will persevere with Constable and Pittman
I think we are pushing for top of the bottom half"

:D

Top of the bottom 2 would do me

Really enjoyed that. Devera MOM for me - quality run and delivery for the 2nd goal. Yeovil were a big dirty side who had fuck all up front. Their no 17 absolutely excelled at fucking things up. Their no 7 was handy though.
A very comfortable win and Yeovil wrre lucky to just conceed 4, it could have been 6 or 7.
I thought everybody had a decent game but Macca really must stop giving away stupid, unecessary fouls.
The ref was complete arsehole.

I think that goes for the majority of people on here including me.

Di Canio reminds of a big fucking creamy cake or that delicious fuck of pizza......you eat it and drool at the mouth untill you feel a tad sick...and you think fuck it i have ate to much...actually it dont tast that good...........then you wake up the next day and realise you have a bit left and it tastes better than other.

We've crept under the carpet because everyone (our own fans included) have paid little to no attention to results and just talked about Di Canio's media antics and the embargo and you've all fallen for it hook, line and sinker.

Say what you like - but he's deflecting the attention completely away from our results and performances.

I overheard two Town fans yesterday who were slagging the bloke off no end - dont like him, novelty has warn off, has talked himself out of a better job, hasnt done a great job only a good one, my nan could have got us promoted, wont miss him if he walks tomorrow, someone else will take over and do the same job, blah blah media blah blah.

horseshit.

Been having lessons with Garth Crooks, Lee ?

Wes on Twitter "Gonna have to give big Sep Blatter a call to sort this goal line technology out!"

 :no: :no: :D

Jesus, he almost seems happy with a performance!

I wouldn't be surprised if he and the board have a right proper giggle about some of his interviews.

I know I do.

A couple of the players that were transfer listed got into a fight in a club.

As for today's game I thought we played well, every single player put in a good performance, especially the two centre halves.


Ref was absolutely fucking useless, and fortunately didn't cost us any points as we were much better than Yeovil.

Wiltshire borders Somerset (Fromey bastards), Yeovil is in Somerset.......Somerset neighbours.

Di Canio is doing a good job. I don't like him at times due to his arrogance and the way he talks to the press.

No chance. I understood it!

I missed the Sheff U and Macc games. Was Ferry bombing forward as much as today? I'd have thought it would be Bostock that pushed on, but nope.

Rueben Reid and his clan play for Bristol West Indians CC. He is (or was) an incredibly talented cricketer. So good, that Glos CCC organised a Millfield scholarship for him and he played in the Glos CCC youth and 2s. Apparently, it was when he got his phone out at square leg and started texting his mates during a 2s game that they realised he perhaps wasn't particularly focused on his cricket. He turned up half way through a match I played at their place a couple of years ago, and (being a pro footballer) he acted as if he was royalty coming back for the grand homecoming. It was equally embarasssing and hilarious for those of us watching on. We collapsed to 70 odd all out, so I suppose he had the last laugh. Fat bastard.

He might have been useless, but at least he got the crowd going - the atmosphere was like a morgue for the rest of the time. It's been poor all season but today was really quiet considering how much action there was.

Enjoyed today....fully deserved that 4-1 win and I would of been gutted if we had only won 3-1

Yeovil enjoyed the efforts of piss poor reffing to lay the boot in at will but for once we out played them and it didnt matter.

I really enjoyed the second and fourth goal. Excellent.

Hopefully we can get a similar result against the Brentford.

More importantly did I won the attendance competition on my debut Flash?

It is amusing how upset and antagonised some get with PDC's media sound bites.

I ignore a hell of a lot of them, works a treat.

As I've said before the bloke is a stereotypical Italian, and as such most of what he says in the heat of the moment should be ignored.

Wouldn't swap him for anyone else right now, long may he reign over the club.

The little difference between the price of the Town End and Don Rogers meant alot of the singers relocated. The atmosphere has really suffered as a result.

Board need to make the Town End much cheaper next season to encourage them to move back.

Was Craddock the guy that burnt his nipples with boiling baby milk ?

Apparently, it hurt so bad he cried

Terrible, terrible stuff.............

Just seen it on SSN, didn't think it had crossed the line at the time, still don't now.  Luckily it was irrelevant in the end and we won comfortably with a margin that could have been bigger.

A really good team performance from the defence right through to the forward line.  Nobody had a bad game and I would say Devera, Ward and Collins played as well as I've seen them play.  Bostock was excellent, some of the passes he made were superb and he was good in the tackle as well.  Ferry is usual busy self as well and it seems to be going forward a lot more know? Pleased to see Collins get a full 90 minutes, I thought he worked hard and the goals will help his confidence no end.  Hope Williams isn't out for long either, although Martin looked quite classy and should prove a good signing.  Hopefully the goals will continue to come in.

Really enjoyed today, despite the referee doing his utmost to spoil the game.  We've had some poor referees this season, but he's certainly up there towards the top.  Some of the decisions were an absolute joke.

Good to see us win again at the CG and the huddle at the end was nice to watch.  Looking forward to Brentford on Tuesday.

Very well put

Great afternoon on the beer with friends, and my post-match call arrives right on cue from my brother at full time.  Love days like this.  Not at the game, but buzzing none the less.  Delighted for Williams (goal, not the injury) and also for Collins.  About time our strikers started scoring.  We seem to have crept up unnoticed after our indifferent spell...last 4 or 5 League games now looks quite an impressive record.  Happy.

It's like you got hold of a load of letters and threw them in the air, then typed out what landed............whatever the order

But like all good letters and bad as well you noticed them...or you wouldn't have commented on them....some people call that art Nice Bloke

Nice one

Certainly was like that last week at Walsall.
Bostock always seems really calm and often appears to create time to deal with any danger.  I think he's been great the last 2 matches and the partnership with Ferry really works well.  With Hollands and when Miller is fit again we have plenty of class options in midfield.

one word sums them up - TINPOT!

 :smugfu:

Great to get back to winning at the CG and thought we looked comfortable throughout, not even the ref could get them back into the game. It says something when we win 4-1 and still take time out of applauding our players off the pitch to boo the ref.
I thought Ward just shaded man of the match especially with a goal thrown into a real solid proformance but Devera was quality today so good on him. Their number 3 and captain was a horrible little shit and didn't realise Flint had a brother who played for Yeovil.

I've taken this approach since the Stevenage game when PDC had stated that the Villa game was far more important. On that basis I wrote that game off as a 4-0 defeat and we all know what happened there. At that point it occured to me that what he said to the media and what he says to the players are not necessarly the same thing.

Since then I have been taking his comments with a lorry load of salt (plus the Mbongo has been lifted and he's getting his own way again and he's been a lot less annoying.)

The fact is though, he's quite a prickly character (to say the least) who polarizes opinion and whilst results are going well the 'anti Di Canio idiots' will be quiet but like it or not, it will only take a few bad results for people to be on his back again. Because he is such a prickly character and because not everyone likes his methods he will be cut less slack than other more 'easy going' managers. That's just how it is.

Last 15 mins Yeovil back four were dead on their feet. Once again our fitness was showing at the end stages of the game. We were swarming all over them.
They were trying to leave the boot in a few times ref bottled it.

Winning at home was just what we needed and PDC is and always will be a legend..........great times watching Swindon home and away.

.....and of course the ultimate Cherry. One more loss by those shite tinpot lot down the road will equal our 11 total losses last season. Always enjoyable driving home past that non-football City.
Poor Eric.

Di canio just speaks how he feels at the time. No mind games, no deflecting attention, no protecting the players or board etc, just honesty. People read too much into it. He is the manager, has strong views and aint  shy in sharing them. That is it

When you meet him you realise his passion simply overtakes his brain.

Just accept that he gives 100% to STFC and knows what he is doing........then think the likes of Paul Hart.............He has put following STFC fun once again.

The day he leaves will be a sad day and one difficult act to follow.
He was my first choice of our new Manager and so glad we have him.

Think that is spot on arriba and just the way it is.

Yes spot on.

Unbelievably like him wasn't he, height, stance, hair, the way he ran.  My 9 year old was convinced it was Flint initially and he'd left Swindon.

My friends little lad was saying the same. Their Flint lookalike is Dan Burn a loanee from Fulham. Reuben Reid did ok when he came on, a tricky little player. Did anyone like their kit? I thought it was more suited to a motorway maintenance team.

I'm loving it mate, don't worry about that. As far as I'm concerned, there's never been a better tine to be a Town fan. ;)

92/93?

That was good of course it was but I wouldn't say it was better than now.

92/93 was just waiting for the inevitable with a few decent performances thrown in along the way

Now we are a club on the up again - much more enjoyable than being canon fodder

86-91 were the best set of years yet. Mind you we started futher back so this still has the potential to be better.

Agree with Sonic (with 92/93), being at the top end of the championship, getting to and winning a classic play-off final at Wembley was better than now. Even the football we played then (under Hoddle) was great to watch.

That season was much better than the following year (in the premier league).


Ironically, the last year and a half are very similar to the feeling in 85/86 & 86/87 when we won Div 4 at a canter & then spent the next season at the top of Div 3, eventually winning the play-off final against the Pikeys.   Although, for the most part, the type of football is better now the sense of being on the brink of something really good is the same.

We had top players back then. Not the odd one either. Pisses all over anything since. Not even close

No offence, but that comment has such a hindsight slant on it it makes it complete bullshit. There was no way we were waiting for the inevitable to happen that year.

Watched SSN - Looks like the ball did bounce over the line, whether it was 100% over you can't see.  Doesn't matter anyway.

86-94 were just fab years.

Who made the pass to Collins for the 4th goal ??

Think it was De Vita

Cheers.

I had a chance of either coming up for today's game or Tuesday's. I chose Tuesday so put money on it being dire 0-0.

No chance, they will be thrashed and Douglas ridiculed off the pitch  :nod:

So come Xmas you still thought we'd stay up??

Probably got wires crossed - I'm on about the PL season

you're getting your season wrong kerry, 92/93 we went up

Just realised - not much of an historian!!

The year we went up, the first time I had an inkling we would do well was early on when I saw us thrash Ipswich away on a Tuesday night.

Was it 4-1??

That was 91-92. We didn't go up that season.

We have our best sucess with controversial managers -
Macari - financial
Ardiles - caught up in someone elses finacials (bit hard on him, but I need to back up my assertion)
Hoddle - the disability thing
Di Canio - speaks his mind and wins games

Fuck me!!

It was 1969 when I saw them at Wembley - tell me it's true

Ha ha, no worries wires definitely crossed. I was on about the year we went up, 92-93,  unbelievable year, with plenty of good football on show that season.

Hoddle was a only really controversial after he had left. If you ignore Eilleen Drury and the signing of Terry Gibson.

Actual facts can spoil a good observation

Yes, sorry. He was always a bit "odd" though, early doors and all that

Back in Calne and all is good in the World. Fantastic day. Must agree with a few others, the atmosphere was oddly muted in the Town End, hope this can be rectified.

Collins was the really bright spark today. Think he has lit the blue touch paper today and his confidence will have sky rocketed. Don't agree with Paolo that he lacked endeavour at times. He'd bust a gut for the cause.

12 pints, a designated driver, a good old sing song in Wethers, emphatic victory = good day had by all.

Onwards and upwards.

Have to say it is prety hard to see from the TV replay whether the whole of the ball crossed the line. It could well have done, but if it did I reckon the lino got lucky making the call..

Who was their number 3? He was a cunt.

mcallister, from bristol city. i thought there could've been fireworks at the end between him n ritchie.

That explains it.

I was hoping ritchie wouldve smacked him when they squared up

Their goal definitely crossed the line, can see it on the fls highlights.

Really enjoyed the game yesterday, good to see us back in form at the CG.

Devera deserved MOM, Ward was also very good. Thought Bostock looked very good again, he can really control a game.

Yeovil were shite, as was the ref.

12 pints???

Amazed you saw anything!!!

Johnson gave an honest assessment:
http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11729/8255641/

A good foot and a bit over the line!

Did not rate ward at all when he first arrived,but he has improved so much now and is first choice every time for me in defence .He is turning into a Gorden Greer mark2 which is what we have been missing.Devera also superb yesterday as he was last sat against walsall .

Paolo was going mental at the fourth official after that challenge. Their guy didn't even get carded. I was just waiting for the punch up during that game. The way the ref handled it, you could see it comming. Lots of niggling fouls going unpunished.
I thought there seemed to be a lot of tension in the Townend over the expectation of a win but not knowing if we were going to get it after recent home performances. Second half I thought we would have all been a bit more relaxed about it.

My MOM was definately Ward. Had a stormer and dealt with the arial threat with such confidence. Best game I've seen him have this season.

But i thought they replaced Andy Williams ;)

Oh wait.

Good game...great result. Especially good to get rid of the Yeovil jinx that has been developing over last few meetings. Didn`t hear the DiCanio interview so perfect day......

Why do our FL highlights always look like they've been recorded on a camera phone?

Because the club had to sell the camera to get us out of the M'Bongo.

Was a good shout from the Lino, shame the ref had such a poor game. You could feel the tension yesterday so hopefully now Tuesday will be noisier.

the ref certainly didn't help what with him stopping the game every time a yeovil player went down, every two minutes any sort of chanting was interrupted by groaning at the ref.

Thought it was funny when they chanted what a waste of money williams was then he banged one in, av it. Also that bloody bell. First 15 mins it was hoofball and people around me including myself were frustrated at the prospect of another 90mins of shite football. Then we got the goals so at least we were winning. The ref for me helped us in a funny way as second half everyone was shouting more all be it at the ref. it was when the stadium was at its noisiest and Ritchie was having a ding dong with one if their players that we started to play some nice football capping it off with a great goal from Collins. I think we got a great chance of winning this league especially as it looks like we could be moving up a gear just at the right time. Martins looked great for me a big like a younger benson, held the ball up well and brought other players around him into the game and could have scored.

Missed our 1st goal as I was having a piss in the Town End, so I won't be doing that again for a while! Managed to see it on FLS and Williams takes it well! I can add that to the 3-1 Win I saw to make it 4-1  :D

Swapping ends didn't help the atmosphere either - it seems away teams are swapping whenever they get the chance now, more so than in years gone by.

That's why I no longer frequent the Town End.

Used to have their own fans on the bank didn't they.

Just a concrete desert now!

Yeovil fans claiming that Williams went over the top in celebrating his goal, one even saying he did it in front of them!!  Given the goal was scored at the Townend, that seems highly unlikely!  And it was certainly not what I saw, which was that he was quite quiet, although surrounded by celebrating Town players.

Was very glad to get the chance of a quick conversation with Don Rogers on the 50th anniversary of his first game for Town.  What a gentle-man.  Was able to tell him how, as a lad in the late sixties/early seventies I used to stand and gaze through the window of his shop but didn't dare to go in because he was such a hero of mine and I didn't know what I would say to him!!!  Still running the shop after 44 years....

Enjoyed yesterday apart from the 4th as I had a bet at 3-1 Williams first scorer.

As much as I gave Ward some stick when he first came he's looking better every game and Devera at centre back is superb at the moment and one of the most consistent performers over the past months, when he's played. I couldn't believe my eyes with him popping up on the left flank and delivering a peach of a cross left footed.

The defence is looking good again and with the new players I see a really decent push to Christmas with some difficult games.

i had 3-1!! sods law isn't it!

I was debating this with a mate yesterday, I'm sure a couple of weeks ago I saw the ref ask Macca, and it was his decision to change ends. Maybe because we have been so much better after scoring first attacking our favoured end first half is our choice. Years ago it was a done deal at most grounds that the home team just chose their end and we always attacked the Town end 2nd half. Just a thought and If this isn't the case we must of lost the toss pretty much every week.

We have a better record in the games than they do.

You can always tell if you've lost the toss as you will be kicking off. I think all toss winners prefer to chose ends.

Funny you mentioned about Macca chosing to kick toward the Town End first half. One home game I'm sure first half we kicked towards the Town End yet the opposition still had kick off.  :hmmm:

He needs to be asked on Twitter. I hate attacking the Town End first half!

If you win the toss you are only given the choice to choose an end you can't choose to have kick off

Automatic that the loser gets kick off then.

Another aspect of yesterday that nobody has mentioned yet is PDC's decision to play Alan Mc at right back, and Devera in the middle, rather than the other way around. It has to be the right way around to play them both: Devera looked far more comfortable in the middle where he isn't made to get forward (ironic that he did for the 2nd goal, better than at any time whilst he was a full back), whilst McCormack has more opportunities to bomb forward and support Ritchie. It also balances the squad better: Devera is not a natural right back and I wouldn't be happy with him as the first alternative to Nathan Thompson. Having McCormack and Thompson battle it out for the right back slot and then Ward (agree with everything said about him on here - he was a rock yesterday), Devera, Flint and TAH battle for the middle makes more sense. Even if one of those 4 left, we've got a lot of cover back there.

You're completely correct, thought at the time it was a bit strange.  I think it was the Scunthorpe game?

I understand what you say Moonraker but I see TAH more as a midfielder than a centre back to be honest.  :suicide:

It looks like we may be going against traditions in that case, would still prefer to attack the Town end 2nd half but not at the expense of wins so I'll take it as it comes.

Yep and I had Ward as last scorer at 25-1. I was 'delighted' when Collins put that last minute goal away, and trust we will now win the championship by one goal difference.

Good game, we were totally in control. Still can't see from the the highlights if the Yeovil goal was definitely over he line but it doesn't matter anyway. Totally forgot how shit the ref was until I watched the highlights. My personal "You Don't Know What You're Doing" moment of the week was when Collins had a double shot near the end of the second half and was flagged offside.

Genius.

Great view of the first Collins goal (with Devera assist) here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giGEqBM4WEY

Really amazing cross, and Joe did a Macca-style run from CB.

He's come on light years since we signed him, just like De Vita. The number of great youth players in the team is also testament to Paolo's (and please let's not forget Paul Bodin's) efforts with training and drilling. It's really great to see. The thing at the club I'm most happy about is that we've not only got a good present, but are shaping up to have a good future too. I don't expect it to last forever, but when Di Canio does leave god knows we'll be in better shape than we were when any other manager of recent times left.

And unless we have been living massively beyond our means (which frankly, despite the sour grapes from other fan forums, this board would not allow- hence Wray leaving), there shouldn't have to be a firesale when Di Canio does go, meaning we retain our key players. Apart from Ritchie. I can see Di Canio taking him with him. He'd probably fit in a suitcase after all...

There were some saying Devera is a non-league player and should never wear the shirt again after Villa.

They tended to be people for whom that was their first (possibly only) game of the season.

Anyone who has seen him on a at least a semi-regular basis knows he is decent at this level.

He's had his bad days, but so has Ward. He was fucking dire, much worse than Devera has ever been when he arrived.

People getting all worked up after the Villa match was fucking ridiculous. He's not a 'proper' Right Back (if that cross is anything to go by perhaps he should have been a bloody left back instead), and he was up against Premier League (albeit probably not for much longer) opposition. Most Championship, and pretty much all League One standard Right Backs would probably have not had the best of days against them.

I think Alan Mac and Thompson are the natural choices for Right Back now, and probably should have been after Caddis left. Still not overly happy with our left back situation, but then I haven't seen Jay Mac play much.

I saw it coming mainly from seasoned fans.

Think he's come on leaps and bounds this season - playing alongside an old head in Ward won't have hurt either. Telling that it was Macca that played RB on Saturday rather than Devera.

Amazing given how crucial he was last year, but given a fully fit squad I don't think I'd pick McCormack in my first XI at the moment.

I agree that the ref was absolutely horrendous but I think in that situation Collins had his first shot saved and then his second one actually hit Roberts who had slipped and was lying on the floor, who was in the offside position.

But I could be wrong.

That's quite worrying

I enjoyed the match on Saturday.

I was surprised how many times Ferry was the man getting on the end of balls in the box, making great forward runs, if anything I thought it would be Bostock doing this. That said, Bostock was calmness personified on the ball. He does look like he takes too long on the ball, but is very composed. One pass out to McEveley on the left where I thought he had taken too long and was going to get tackled just oozed class. When he gets fully fit, he's going to be a real asset.

Defensively we looked quite solid. Ward is proving to be a no nonsense player at this level who keeps things simple and with Devera, who also played well, they look like a good partnership.

Williams flick for the first to send him clear was superb and I thought Collins bust a gut for the side. He chased absolutely everything and deserved his 2 goals.

On another day we could have had 6 or 7 easily. The Yeovil keeper made 2 saves which were probably a little close to him and a good height, and there were a number of crosses which just didn't find a red shirt.

The only negative for me was Roberts, who although not terrible by any stretch, just has been a bit below expectation levels.

Looking forward to Donny Rovers on the 8th now!

Devera was Barnet player of the year twice and fairly solid after a shaky start last year. Personally I don't think he has come on leaps and bounds, more that he's always been pretty good once he hit form.

The biggest "issue" was that he was a mobile right back and we lost a bit in attack with him playing there. Fair comment in my opinion.

I think Roberts will come good. He looked like he's been lacking in confidence lately and has had a stuttering start to his career here because of two injury lay offs already.

I think he had a good chance that he hit too close to the keeper who made a smart parry. I guess had that gone in his confidence would soar. Just needs something to go in off his arse and he might be a different player.

Agree. He has shown glimpses of his quality at times, I think once he gets his confidence back he will turn into one of our best players.

He's a non-league fullback, but a brilliant centreback!

Sorry to drag this thread back up but i don't suppose anyone has got a programme from this game they wouldn't mind flogging do they?

Good price paid and all that shit. PM me if you do.

Whats so special about the programme paolo69?

You bastard, I thought for a sec we had a game tonight

Ditto !!!!

Nowt, other than it's the only game I've forgotten to get one (and I'm a bit of an anorak like that).

Apologies for giving people a heart attack.

Me too, Cunt

You bastard - I was trying to get to 1,000 posts before someone called me a cunt.

I have no doubt a few have been tempted mind.