Thetownend.com

The morning after.  Feels brilliant, and I wasn't even there.  Trying to step back for a moment and to piece together where this puts us now.  A few things stand out.

We're a Cup Side
I never thought I'd hear myself say this.  This month alone, we have beaten roughly the same number of sides from higher divisions in competitive games than we did in the first 20 years that I supported the club.  No exaggeration.  And to Brighton and Stoke, we can add Wigan, Huddersfield and Bristol City from last season.  A fantastic record.  What a turn around from the days, not so long ago, when we were cup dunces.

Keep our Feet on the Ground
Impressive though we have been so far this season, it is still very early days.  We need to stay grounded now, and turn this in to something that can last a season.  If it all falls apart, these early games are going to seem like a distant memory in May.  Oxford next week, in particular, is a potential 'banana skin'.  (And they like their bananas in Oxford.)  Steady as she goes.

From here?
I never like to jump the gun, but I think 7 points from 9 in our first three league games and two very impressive cup wins again higher division opposition signals that we are contenders now for automatic promotion to the Championship.  And this trumps everything else for me.  Before this week, I was hopeful that we could challenge.  I now expect a challenge.  We have to build on this momentum.

We can all think of countless teams in the last 20 years or so who rode a wave, surged up the leagues and built a platform for themselves for better things...used the momentum to become bigger clubs.  Last night's opponents are a good example, as are Reading, Swansea and a number of others.  My point here is we have to capitalise on this momentum and build our own platform for sustainable Championship football.  The redevelopment and expansion of the County Ground will be a key part of this process.

Amen, brother.

Good post Ardilles. You also missed Colchester from last season who were a higher league team as well.

Exeter were above us when we beat them in the JPT too!

We will piss this league like we pissed the last one and anyone who thinks differently is wrong :)

Thanks fellas.  I had a feeling I may have missed a few!

and Chesterfield

I love you, Ardiles.

We haven't done any giant killing since the Macari years and that was with a team in the ascendancy. The similarities with that era and this are spookily unparralled and long may it continue.

Its good to stamp our mark on these competitions and show we are a force to be reckoned with but I'd give them all up for promotion.

I've got a feeling we may be heading for Wembley in the JPT.

Great post, Ardilles. Only trouble about being a cup team is we're more likely to have to go to Wembley again. Ergh.

Last season before we played shitty I though to myself "Best just to keep the score respectable"

I said the same thing to myself before we played Huddersfield
Then Wigan
Brighton
And now Stoke

Where should the line the drawn? At which point would it be wrong to think we may just get something?

Good post Ardiles.

Having seen so many ups and downs over the years, whenever anyone asks me how I think the Town are going to do I always tend to err on the side of caution. This season I have said that "we will be there or thereabouts" but have got to say that even at this relatively early stage I think that we could do what Charlton did, get into the top three and stay there. It would make for another stressy old time but I can put up with that if PdC and the players can work the magic again. A couple more judicious signings would be helpful and results like last nights can only help on that score.

 :clap:

 

Great result for Swindon against Stoke City last night.  Well done!  Stoke played the Gulls in a pre-season friendly at Plainmoor (1-1) and they looked a pretty good side then, as did Torquay, though both teams made many substitutions as was to be expected. So that's an excellent result for you yesterday.  Might put a little bet on Swindon for promotion again!

Hopefully Torquay, after two seasons in the play-offs, will follow you into League One this season. I think we're a better attacking force than we were last time, with Billy Bodin doing well and Rene Howe having lost weight even more effective, alongside Danny Stevens, and an impressive debut Saturday by eighteen year old winger Niall Thompson, a young man to watch.  We just need another centre back to add to the squad.  So a little bet on the Gulls for promotion too!

Anyway, best of luck for the season ahead..!!

yesterday was a great result. Lets bask in the sunshine of victory. But lets not get the sunburn of being self proclaimed champions by christmas. Its a long old season and yes the signs are good, but last year showed how the first couple of months don't a season make.

Indeed, wise words.

Fuck that. Give us the title now.

I hope that that was not the impression given by my earlier post.  I think we showed our hand last night.  It was a demonstration of what we're capable of.  The tricky bit (as I mentioned) is then sustaining the challenge.  Managed correctly, we could be on to bigger & better things, which is exciting...but we need to stay grounded for there to be a chance of that happening.

Our biggest challenge and one I think we can achieve is becoming sustainable. So bigger attendances and more money generated off the field. Then we can all look forward to higher league football year after year. We are certainly going the right way and good times are certainly here.

I guess Sunday will be a significant test of the teams stature.  How often do we see abysmal results following on from a great victory? I cannot imagine that every member of the team is anything but exhausted; and Preston (as one of the fancied, but so far unimpressive League 1 teams) will be specially up for beating us.  How we deal with all of that will be a real sign of the depth of commitment and passion there is in the team; and I suspect (and hope) that this will be the moment when PdC really comes into his own because he won't allow the halos to become dead weights!!

We need to jettison the JPT asap - even if it is Oxford

I think the JPT can be a nice distraction, it is about having the winning habbit though and being consistent but we owe the pox though - be nice to hammer them and I think PDC will realise that

 I'm very much in the keep your feet on the ground camp....
 
 Last night was a great one off, sort of thing us older fans were raised on, but in the bigger picture that's all it is... a one off.     
 
 Batch has got it about right...

 Reality is, we're roughly back to where we were 3 years ago...when we mounted an ultimately fruitless campaign on Div 3 promotion....ground situation is still no more than talk.

 The one advantage we may have this season compared to that, is that Div 3 does appear to be weaker, of course that may ultimately not be the case.

Think with one off's, they should just be enjoyed, because doubtless, there's some shit just round the next corner.

A one off in the way that Shitty, Udders, Wigan and Brighton were also one offs?

The more successful and high profile we become the more teams will want to knock us off our perch. We reacted really well after defeats or set backs last season and if we can emulate that throughout this season we won't be too far away come the end of this campaign.

I think there's a lot of Town fans like that (and I'm including myself).
Really enjoyed last night's result, just as I've enjoyed 99% of the football we've been playing since PdC took charge.
BUT, but  (said ala Paolo) I'm experienced in the crushing disappointment that comes with following STFC. After the euphoric feeling wears off I can't help reverting to slight pessimism. It can't carry on, can it? Something's bound to go wrong, wont it? I suppose that's part and parcel of supporting a lower league side; you become so used to let downs you begin to expect them.
I'll enjoy the good times, but I can't shake off years of disappointment in just over a season, been here before....

Not putting a dampner on it but I find myself agreeing with every word.

Still enjoying the ride no matter what.

It's ingrained in all of us. Even us youngsters in our mid 20s.

At 2-0 we were saying that we just couldn't shake the feeling of it going a bit Elland Road all over again.

Exactly...take as an example Northampton, couple of seasons ago they dumped Reading and the Scousers at Anfield in the LC, by end of September.  I daresay their fans thought it might be a sign of a useful outfit, but they finished 16th in Div 4, only stayed up by 5 or 6 points, and struggled badly last season.

You just cannot build an edifice on a couple of results...

Hardly a couple of results. We haven't lost at home for over a year.

There's perspective, there's pessimism, and there's out and out negativity.

I was going to add or a couple of seasons...if the Board's aim of Championship football is to be achieved, then much has still to be done. 

Take Brighton as an example, about 3 and a bit years back, we beat them at the Withdean, and just about avoided our drop, and seemed to have consigned them to Div 4, yet here we are further on in time and they're now seen as viable Prem contenders.

This is the sort of serious progress, that we've got to aspire to. It could have happened in the Brighton span, essentially the same people were running the club...it didn't.  Doesn't necessarily mean that it cannot happen for us, but just provides the need for perspective.

Totally agree with you in principle, one swallow does not a summer make and all that. As a fan have to enjoy nights like yesterday, they are what makes supporting a club like Swindon so worthwhile in the end.

However there is still a long old road to go this season, and over the next 2 or 3 if we are to replicate the fortunes of clubs like Brighton.

We've had a couple of great cup results.

We've played three league games. Two at home, one of which was against a side we beat twice last year, and one against ten men for half the game. In our only away league match so far we failed to score against a team no-one would consider amongst the division's front runners.

Although the signs are good, particularly defensively, I'm not getting too carried away. The situation after 10 league games should give more of an idea of our true worth.

I reserve the right to wildly upgrade this position should the current trend continue.

On the other hand we have completely outplayed 2 decent teams from higher divisions.

Perspective is definately needed but it's been an excellent start to the season with generally consistantly strong performances.

I don't think the start could have gone any better. Caddis aside.

But ask me again how good our league prospects are in January :)

When I was 15 or 16 under Macari /Ardiles the town had a confidence that meant I would go to games thinking we could beat anyone, i remember drubbing Chelsea 4-0 in simod cup for example.

That confidence is back for the first time since then.

Sat up near the Chelsea fans for that one with my mate a Big Chelsea supporter.   >:(

I was never really onboard during the Macari age. My brain is taking longer to accept it.

Last night I dreamt of football. Was it about the Stoke win, oh no, it was about Paolo selling Benson because he asked if Caddis could play again.

Stupid brian (sic). It keeps rejecting good football times...

I dreamt last night that we absolutely mullered Blackburn in the next round.

That Blackburn have been knocked out is just a minor detail.

Anyone at home in the next round. Got to fancy our chances at the County Ground.

The time has come for us to be drawn at home against one of the prem big boys, if not I'd take West Ham away just for Paolo.

The manner of the victory is the most important aspect for me. A Premier League side kept pegging us back and we didn't back down. This encourages me because it's not just a 'plucky' performance. We know what Di Canio is doing at the club, the national media dip in and out and are always surprised by what the club are doing.

After all is said and done, League One is of utmost importance. If we replicate this at Preston and so on then there's major hope for the future.

Beating Oxford United would be nice though.

I still have the VHS video of that game...actually paid good (pocket) money for it...The things you do when you are young...

I err on the side of pessimism.  I know were fucking ace but it wouldn't surprise me if we suddenly got beaten by someone shit.  Or the ground blew down.  Or one of the board got put in prison for goosing the queen.  Or the league decided they don't like our shade of red and docked us 87 points.

We are Swindon after all.  Im not used to success.

The latter is something I really struggle with. I cannot let my guard down, I always seem to be waiting for the implosion.

Preston North End could easily bring the fanbase crashing back to earth... or Oxford or Orient or Carlisle or whoever.

Ah hell, I'll try and enjoy the moment.

Would be perfectly happy with a point at Preston myself.

That was only in your dream right? I've not missed anything have I?

Nightmare, but yes so far all in my head.

Make of that what you will ;)


Me too, in fact I think most of us would, wouldn't we?

Any away point is a good point, provided you get 3 at home.

I'm very much in the keep your feet on the ground camp....
  
 Last night was a great one off, sort of thing us older fans were raised on, but in the bigger picture that's all it is... a one off.    
 
 Batch has got it about right...

 Reality is, we're roughly back to where we were 3 years ago...when we mounted an ultimately fruitless campaign on Div 3 promotion....ground situation is still no more than talk.

 The one advantage we may have this season compared to that, is that Div 3 does appear to be weaker, of course that may ultimately not be the case.

Think with one off's, they should just be enjoyed, because doubtless, there's some shit just round the next corner.



In terms of cementing this legacy we do need the ground improvements and I'm disappointed that the club haven't put out some more details pictures etc. to make it more real.

Having started watching in the Macari era I can see similarities and the momentum that we have and the feeling that with 10 minutes left if its level htat we are going to score rather than concede and feel that the Championship is attainable, I even think that Di Canio will remain as I think that despite all the hype I don't think that the big clubs would take a gamble on him (even West Ham) so it is a good time to get on board the STFC runaway train who knows where it will stop...

Interesting comment last night that Di Canio thought it was one of the best results in the clubs history. I think that it is a little out of perspective when considering the giant killings of the 1960's and 1970's (beating West Ham in 1966/7 with 3 World Cup winners, Liverpool in the League Cup in the early 70's, Fulham 5-0 in 75 and Arsenal in the 1979/80 League Cup quarter final.

Lou Macari picked up some fantastic results in Cup games against top flight opposition in the late 80's with a fraction of the resources, Sunderland (Div 2 then) and Sheff Weds when in Div 4, Chelsea 4-0 in the Simod and Derby County in the same run

This is our best cup result for the last 20 years or so after some near misses, remember 2-0 up against Champions Blackburn in 1995 until Shearer turned it around or Leeds away and Wolves losing on Pens.

What we have often failed to do in the past is gain on the momentum of a cup result and see an upsurge in attendances and the mood around the place. I hope we get a really top draw at home or away to one of the top 4-5 Premier League.

I'm definitely in the 'let's not get too carried away' camp.

My concern is that last night only added a bigger spotlight onto the great job Paolo is doing. I wouldn't be surprised if he is linked with the next Championship job that becomes available.  :(

I hope we build on last night's result, but it would be nice to do it 'under the radar' and go about our business quietly without drawing too much attention to how good a job PDC is doind.

I somehow think that doing anything under the radar isn't paolo's style.

I think that feeling comes from how fragile the club, or any football club, really is. Paolo could, and probably will be gone, certainly within a year if not sooner. Ritchie and Caddis could be gone by the end if the week. We have a squad full of good players, but we saw Danny Wilson's superb pay off team, who appeared as cohesive and harmonious as could be, disintegrate into a bunch of misfits in less than a year. I will always worry that could happen again. Above all else, our present success is founded entirely on the generosity and enjoyment of a small band of semi-local businessmen. The day that enjoyment and/or generosity dries up is the day we return to picking up the Kyle Lightbournes and Des Lintons of this world, have Cliff Puffett making appeals on the back of the Adver for people to come to games to pay the bills, and choosing the next manager on whoever is easiest and cheapest (a la King).

All in all, this is brilliant, but the key is in growing the club: average attendances and the ground. That will give us and the next generation of fans a lasting legacy (sorry to use an exclusively Olympic reference).

Swansea?

You had a bad day?

Fuck this 'oooh, I'm not getting carried away bollocks', I'm getting carried away and I'll live with the disappointment if and when it happens - I'm a big boy, I can handle it. What the fuck is the point being a fan otherwise? And Moonraker, it's fine to be 'realistic' if that's what you want to call it, but you might as well just top yourself.

Good for you.

Well said, fuck perspective!

We have gone up as champions, we have beaten higher placed oppo in all 3 cup competitions last year and had a real cup final (unlike the Pox), we have now done a premiershit team for the second time this calendar year, we have a manager whose passion everyone is both jealous and fearful of...and unique levels of excitement at the club.  

I have no control over the future so I am happy for this to take care of itself but I am surfing this monster wave and loving the moment

Gentlemen......The big difference with the situation now compared to yesteryear is...

Yes, the team are doing great things on the pitch. However the club seems to be a well run business (back of house).

The directors seem to be fully supportive for the future. There is the possibilities for the County Ground to be improved with  council approval and for once the football club could bring some pride back to Swindon.

What a great opportunity this is....lets don't think of all the things that can go wrong.

We are Swindon and (today) we are top of the world    :clap:      

Unless you are in NZ - in which case you are bottom of the world!

indeed, a very supportive board and the best prospects for CG ground development we have had for years

Ha! Not at all - I'm absolutely loving every second of this and last season. However, past experience of seeing how quickly it can all unravel makes it all the more important that we make the changes to make it last, and I've every confidence that this board will do all they can to do so.

Kerry red.....NZ is the first to see the sunshine and last to see all the debt and dark clouds over Europe.

But, I do miss my football team  !!!!

Come on you redssssssssssssssss

 :clap: 

I'm only across the water but it has been nigh on impossible to get back over to see them play in the 12 years I've been here.

Am moving back early next year, though!

We're going to lose against Poxford. The season will crumble. We'll get relegated.

Seriously, I want something to go wrong, Paolo to make a shit signing or something because this success is bloody troubling.

Kerry red...you sound a top guy and wish you well.

For the record, New Zealand is a great country ....but, after 28 years it's still not my home. 

Give me a cold foggy Tuesday evening in November driving back from the Country Ground to Wantage after a 0-0 draw against some norffern monkeys like Bradford or Hartlepool beats a sunny Saturday afternoon watching world class rugby. :cry:

Come on you redsssssssssssssssssssssss :)

I think this is the first time ever that I have seen Swindon with some overall consistency...

strength on the pitch
a decent manager who has stayed longer than half a season
a board with desire and financial backing
decent shirts
great sponsors
players who want to come to the club
getting rid of those who don't give a fuck
a Wembley appearance and promotion as champions in the same season

Our stadium 3 years ago looked like a shithole - now it looks like a professional football club... The whole culture of the club has changed, its not superficial, it's come from within... A lot of clubs make the mistake of believing that all their problems will be solved by building a new stadium and, in the short term, it works but because the culture remains the same within a couple of seasons they are no better off.

We are on the verge of something great. It's scary, but I believe we already have the critical mass to change everyone's view of the club and by the time we rebuild the county ground we will already have completed the biggest rebuilding job of changing the heart.

(Although at the back of my mind I still wonder when the next VAT winding up order is being issued)
 

I'd love to hear a little more detail now on the plans for the ground.  Even if it's long dated (plans for completion within 3 years or so), I'd just like to know where we're heading.  As I mentioned at the end of the initial post on this thread, ground redevelopment/expansion is key now to 'locking in' the improvements that the board is generating off the field of play and that Paolo is generating on it.

Going back 12 months, the board stated that redevelopment plans were on hold following our relegation.  And I agreed with that approach entirely.  I argued on here [LINK] (http://thetownend.com/index.php?topic=44480.msg979610#msg979610) that the period immediately post-relegation was precisely the wrong time to be drawing up redevelopment plans for the longer term.  But for the very same reason, now that we are heading back in the direction we want to be heading in, I think that now is the right time to be pushing forward with this.  Hope we hear more detail soon.

I wouldn't be surprised if the plans were on hold to see how well we do this season first.

Think they were looking at rebuilding the Townend this close season but have quite a few hoops to jump through first.

Learn to quote you fucking mong - it's not hard ::)

Fucking I- Phones and shit eyes OST.

...and bottling Swimdon fans not going to Pox.

Yes.  At the AGM, JayWray said that they were hoping to do one stand at a time, starting with the Town End.  He said, if all goes to plan, work will start at the end of the current season.  Next in line is the Arkells Stand, then the Don Rogers and finally the Bank.  Ideally, one each year.  He said that there was no prospect of buying the houses in Shrivenham Road, so the redevelopment would have to take place within the existing 'footprint', which limits the scope for expanding outwards (except behind the Town End and Don Rogers stands.

Good day Duke......

Us Birinus boys know what we are on about.
Give those pricks in Poxford a good roasting next week.
Come on you redsssssssssssssssss :)

 Think today is what is known as perspective...

Very good!  Possibly the smuggest post I've witnessed on the TEF...but well timed and very true.

I hate perspective, it stinks.

And don't you just love it Reg.

Agreed, I much prefer winning ;)

Today is a minor blip, a mere inconvenience to the Swindon Town juggernaut.

Championship here we come.

I think you're remaining extremely optimistic given the interview that PDC is currently giving.  At this rate, we'll be lucky to have a team come the weekend.

Di Canio's a loon, but that isn't exactly breaking news, is it? Let's wait and see what reaction he gets Tuesday before we all don the sackcloth and reach for the ashes.
It's actually funny reading some of the posts on here today: when we win we're the best team in the world, when we lose PdC has lost the plot and it's all turning to shit.

All this, FOUR games into the league season.

But that is how it actually looks herthab. I suppose that's life under Di Canio - all black and white with pretty much nothing in between.

There is nothing in between.  In Di Canio's eyes the players are warriors or abosolute rubbish, never just average!

That would serve equally well as a summary of Di Canio's over-reactions as those on forums etc. Which given we're all supposed to be bunch of know-nothing knobends and he's supposed to be a highly paid professional is something of a cause for concern tbf.

But you are right about this
This is pretty much what the club signed up for, you have to take the crunchy with the smooth - if you like the "antics" you have to put up with the tantrums

That reminds me, must pick up some peanut butter in the morning.

Perspective is in the eye of the beholder but a glass half full approach is as realistic as a glass half empty approach.

We have lost to PNE but were those of us celebrating and dreaming after Stoke wrong?

Can perspective allow us to recall Paul  f***king Hart?

Can it allow us to recall some of our own much wiser choices of manager to PDC 18 months ago (most of whom have stagnated or sunk without trace)?

Can it allow us to recall our own predictions of the play offs or challenging for them for last year?

PDC has taken us to a Wembley Final, he has won only the third Championship for STFC in the Football League, he has overseen 2 premiership giant killings and numerous smaller ones and we have lost a number of games including one today – which still leaves him with a win draw lose ratio to die for.

Ultimately STFC are not set to join the aristocrats of European football and will have some shit times ahead but right now the perspective is a very good one.

The Organic from Aldi is suprisingly good....i have had plenty on account of spilling two crates of the stuff on the back of my lorry.

And yes it does spread well.

their columbian coffee is superb, their taurus cider is rank though

Yeah but do they have any good goalkeepers?

Our away form has never been that good under Paolo di Canio, well not compared to the home form. It was a common theme for everyone to lose the plot a bit after away performances last season simply because we got so used to winning at home.

Whilst I think we'll be up at the top end of the table our home record is spoiling the fans and some fans attitudes are cringe worthy. 

 Is the perspective viewed from a little over a week from Ardiles's original post, that we're starting to see fans who would like a change of manager?

I would say it's more a change 'in' the manager

Given the nature of the beast, is that a realistic expectation?

Probably not

So it has to be a case of 'warts 'n all' with PdC

Cos I cant see who on earth would do a better job at the moment

Every time this thread surfaces, I think of this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vbd3E6tK2U

Trust fucking Ardiles to have started this thread off.

Pompous twat.










;)

 I'd say now we're in a bit of shit....the Board have invested some bucks in this project, and we're 2 places better off than when they took over more or less 5 years ago.

 Next 2 or 3 games will be interesting...the momentum of promotion is now gone, and the realisation that we're in a more competitive league is possibly starting to sink in with a few fans.

 A trip to Carlisle is not the best of prospects when you're trying to turn things around, but that is the hard nature of Div 3...

History repeats itself

A year ago a new squad and 5 games into the season we had lost 4 of them, we were still in the Johnstones, out of the League Cup with Clarke-gate, and the change of manager question is raised.

A Championship win later and 5 games into the season having lost 2 of them, we are out of the Johnstones, We are in the League Cup, we've had a Caddis-gate and a Flintgate and the PDC job security question is floated.

Mao Tse Tung (or one of his sidekicks) might have been a little cautious when in the 1970s he said it was too early to say what were the effects of the French Revolution but shall we give PDC till say November?