Thetownend.com

Well if no one else is going to bother.

Just about to leave, looking forward to seeing the new look team... hope we smash the blue scum  :D

Its all very exciting.  Im hoping for some incisive analysis of the team tactics, playing style, new players abilities and team spirit.

Im not sure Ill find it here.

I'm going. I literally cannot wait Richard

Swindon Town v Swindon Supermarine: Smith P, Caddis, Comazzi, Devera, Kennedy; Ritchie, Ferry, Smith J, Timlin; De Vita, Connell

Substitutes: Scott, Amankwaah, Evans, Thompson, Flint, Cibocchi, Kerrouche, Bodin, Pavett, Clark, Esajas, Atiku

TOWN (4-4-2) Smith; Caddis, Devera, Comazzi, Kennedy; Ritchie, Ferry, Smith, Timlin; De Vita, Connell

Bench: Scott, Amankwaah, Evans, Thompson, Flint, Cibocchi, Kerrouche, Bodin, Pavett, Clark, Esajas, Atiku

No Lanzano or Risser I see..

No trialists either.

Gary Rose told me Lanzano and Risser both picked up knocks in training today...

Except Esajas, but know what you mean  ;)

Thought Esajas might start as he's the only one to make a decision on.

Yeah I meant new trialists. A Supermarine friendly used to be mix of pros and youths - No room for the kids this summer which is good to see.

Yeah, me too. Interesting that Risser knock aside will have started same back four and midfield in all 3 games so far.

 :grouphug:

SIMON FERRY IS PLAYING.

:beers:

 :wotjump:

Juddie reporting on Twitter that apparently some people are being turned away because it's too busy.

That's the Simon Ferry effect for you.

Damn right.

Kick-off delayed due to crowd congestion apparently.

Those 'marine hordes.  Are we meant to hate them now?

Yeah, Blue Scum.

Closer than our other traditionally non league rivals, the Pox.

I believe you had a big ol' smile as you typed that  :)

Nope, I delivered it in a dead pan 'sober as a judge' fashion.

Timlin playing wide left again do we take it?

are we not winning 5 nil yet :D

Your words were factually accurate.

1-0 Smith.

Good stuff, Smith looks like he's quietly going about his business, got an eye for goal by the looks of things...

2-0 De Vita.

The second half is underway, with Flint, Atiku, Esajas, Clark and Bodin all on

Where are you getting updates from?

Cibocchi also came on but is back off again - injured.

official site or Facebook  ;)

Biggest crowd supermarine have seen for many years

Over 300 there?

Cibocchi 'limping off', Kennedy on.

They did get more than 1200 for the FA Cup tie last season.

Maybe they can only let in a certain amount of people due to how many Stewards?

Isnt there attendance 3,000 with 300 seated?

Your probably right about lack of stewards  ::)

3-0 Esajas.

Get the contract ready Paolo

Sub: Timlin back on for Ferry  ???

Sign him on....

Sub: Amankwaah on for Caddis, with Comazzi taking over the captain's armband

4-0 Kennedy.

20-0 Aggregate score so far, albeit much weaker teams, still not bad.

Who's needs strikers

F/T: Swindon Supermarine 0 Swindon Town 4

4-0 FT

Good result against a not bad side, I await eagerly the reports of those that went.

Bearing in mind we only won there 3-0 last season, 3-2 the play off season and 4-3 the season before.

Only 4?

Shit.

Onwards and upwards.....roll on Crewe.

Didn't go, but I hope there's a lot of positives to hear from those who went.

Birchall's fucked his knee up  :girlgiggle:

I want reports.

Just back. Good performances from both the first and second half sides. A couple of cracking goals from Kennedy and Esajas. I can see why PDCs taking a look at Esajas. He's brilliant when running at people, likes to take a shot, but his passing and decision making was poor at times.

Nice touch to see Collina come out of retirement to ref the match.

Did Dover Athletic send the boys round?

Was a controlled win. Nothing more, nothing less.

Oh, and the crowd was very impressive. Cars everywhere, huge queues to get in. Might have been 1500+ there.

http://www.gillinghamfootballclub.com/page/NewsDetail/0,,10416~2396775,00.html

Birchall injury in the second half

Of the new blokes

Comazzi looked very assured
Devera looked a bit rusty
Flint was decent when he came on
Smith looks like a craig easton box-to-box type player. Loooks to like a lunge too. Took his goal well, after some very good build up play.
De Vita showed some decent touches, as too Connell. No chemistry whatsoever, although it would be a bit weird if there was.
Left back ran on and off again
Esajas shot at every oppurtunity, which is to be expected I guess when playing for a contract. Did nowt else of note
Atiku looked lively down the right
Algerian bloke looked lost, wich he probably was tbf

Of the rest
- Smith (gk) had sod all to do
- Ritchie and caddis showed fairly good link up on the right.
- Simon ferry did not give the ball away once in the first half. And that is stone cold fact. Just a cut above.
- Kennedy looked assured. Decent hit for the goal but if the keeper didn't have flid fingers he would have saved it.
- Bodin had one good touch and was outmuscled the rest of the time he was on
- Timlin was woeful first half bless him. He trys so hard though, which makes it impossible to dislike him for his woeful wingplay. Looked better when in the middle, but the first half did little to fill with any confidence

Overall, we looked like a decent, compact organised unit. If that was anything to go by, we won't be seeing the free flowing passing game of old much, but I think we will be a much much harder team to beat because of it.

And it was only swindon supermarine :)

Agreed. Some nice passing for our opener. Esejas looked to have something but often suffered trialistitis - the disease that means you end up over-doing it.

Was impressed with Connell trying to hold the ball up and bring people into the game. But not a game to judge strikers on.

New new striker looked fairly mobile and pacey, some good touches but also looked rust and a bit off the pace. Not surprising really given he only arrived yesterday. Di vita looked more on it and put himself about.

Comazzi and Devera talk well at the back and look well organised. Slight concern about when they come up against div 4 'lumps' but may be unfounded.

Ferry worked hard did well. Looked a bit thinner to me. Smith the same.

Cibocchi got a calf strain.

Oh, and 3 minutes to exit the car park due to my VIP speace (i.e. not in the field :) )

edit : forgot Atiku. Much smaller than expected. Seemed pretty lively/pacey. We'll see how he handles the physical side later...

Gills fan - "Looked bad. Went down innocuously. Layed motionless. Hand over face. Down for 2-3 minutes"

http://fansonline.net/gillingham/mb/view.php?id=138769

Timlin woeful 1st half? ok from this day forward i am ignoring dave.

Not bad, was a sound performance

Smith and devera were good.

DRS nicked the sky sports blkes chair, you cant takemthe boy out of park south.......

Oh and timmeh was everuwhree

Let down by his final ball tonight though. Meh, match fitness or something.

Timlin was the man on the left wing first half wasn't he? All I seem to remember him doing was running aimleslly, putting crosses out of play and overhitting through balls.

Judging by the reactions to my opinion it may appear I was wrong though

Maybe it was just me, but I saw him put a cracking cross in from a tight angle with his left foot. In fact I believe De Vita scored a towering header from it!!

Admittedly he didn't do too much else though...  :doh:

Seeing as De vita scored a two yard tap in i'd be very shocked if all of that happened

I didn't go but I thought Timlin played well.

De Vita scored a tap in from Ritchie's towering far post header (from Timmeh's cross).

Fair play, thats left wing sorted ;)

Queued for ages to get in and was stood behind the goal.

Timlin was the best player on the park for both half's in both mine & my dads opinion.

Th two centre backs looked solid.
and all round a good performance, made me wish I wasn't moving and had a season ticket.

Also Kennedy hit a free kick that almost hit me in the face.

I love the way you can get a really accurate idea of the game from these threads...

i.e Timlin was woeful/best player on the pitch.

Love it  8)

He's split the fans more than he did the opposition defence.

IMHO he wasn't woeful, but his final pass was poor at times. If it hadn't been for that I think he had a good game. Still thought Smith and Ferry did better tonight though.

Etienne Esajas goal, 22 seconds in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZYDgtr-Qxw

Does anyone else fancy agreeing me with Callum showed some real promise tonight? Not just due to this goal...

Did well tonight. Not seen enough of him to know if he'd stand up to league opposition week in week out, but yeah he shows promise.

I thought he looked good, looked assured at the back and scored a cracking goal.

Keeper looked like he wanted to cry when it went in though!

Straight through his hands..

agree with others timlin was very careless with the ball and often tried to be too clever. standouts for me, kennedy, caddis, ferry and ritchie. bit worried about our lack of firepower but too early to judge on one game. all the strikers had a few nice touches and hold up play but the killer instinct in front of goal lacked tonight. 

That summed up my thoughts too. All the strikers looked good, but we seemed to lack that natural pure strikers instinct. The type of player who's almost too greedy and wanting to shoot on site (a la coxy!)...

I went, was a professional enough job: We look like a solid, workmanlike team, but nothing special. Think Ritchie will need to have a big season to put us right up in the mix, and would sign Esajas as he has something about him, even if he was trying too hard.

Jonathan Smith impressed me a great deal, the most of the new players.

On the Timlin debate, he tried incredibly hard and really looks like he wants the jersey, but just doesn't have a great deal of quality about him really. Looked better in central midfield for me, and Ritchie reallty is a left winger although I can see the logic in trying to put Ritchie/Caddis on the same side.

Algerian striker looked utterly lost, but he did only sign yesterday so judgement reserved.

I enjoyed the evening. Was good to see some football again even if it wasn't amazing. Good result and they never really caused us any problems at all. We passed the ball nicely and looked to create a few chances.

Of the new boys I was most impressed with Smith and Devera who both looked pretty sharp and didn't look like they were out of place in the team. Smith has a great shot on him. Great finish for his goal. Devera didn't put a foot wrong.

Connell looked decent. Some good touches and looked to get into good positions plus get on the end of flick ons and through balls. Lacked a bit of fitness but he looked decent none the less. De Veta has good height. He hurried the defenders and goalkeeper and put himself about a bit. His touch wasn't the best but he got his goal and will be a handful for defences I think. Could do with bulking up a bit though as well.

Comazzi's English is good but his accent is annoying. The Algerian dude looked a bit of the pace but showed some good touches and passes. Didn't think much of Atiku he lacked a bit of quality really but was quick.

Esajas tried a bit too hard I think but good goal. Would have liked to have seen him cross it more. Of the players we know Timlin did well. I think some are being harsh on him here. He looked very match fit and played some good cross field balls and got forward a lot. Caddis and Ritchie looked like the same players that finished last season so that's a bonus. Ritchie has bulked up as well. Flint won everything in the air when he came on. The blokes towers above everyone. Useful option to have. Kennedy looked pretty decent tonight as well.

Decent game. Shame the opposition didn't give it more of a go though. Not getting carried away but it was a lot better than the Ciren friendly last summer. You can really tell the difference in the 2 pre-seasons so far and that's a good thing.

Phil Smith was surprisingly very vocal but had nowt to do. I liked the look of Commazzi, he was talking to Devera and doesn't mind playing the man. I was impressed by Smith, he scored a good goal and has something about him. Ritchie is looking increasingly like Jimmy Sommerville. Atiku has quick feet. Esaias looked like a player on trial - good goal, fast, can take a player on but was wasteful.
Overall a decent nights entertainment.

You ignored me twice CS.

Oh and Ferry looked a bit off the pace tonight for me. Didn't really stand out like some of the others did. Just my opinion though.

Apologies Nemo that I didn't delberately ignore you. I'll try and correct that during the season.

talking of comazzi's annoying voice... feel sorry for nathan thompson who was being called 'Natan' repeatedly!

I thought Callum was the only real worry for me tonight defensively.  To me he looked to be our weak link at the back, still looked the same player he was the last time I saw him play for town, hasn't seem to progressed, but maybe it was just me.

The rest of the defensive unit looked solid to me.  The midfield and strikers need to gell, but that will come with games.

The squad looked the fittest I have seen a town squad since Wise, bar the recent recruits.

Did anyone else hear the man in the main stand shouting stuff to the players (Timlin especially) who was being threatened to get kicked out?

He was either hammered or a prat or both

Looked good going forwards though, was he a winger at some point who got converted?

 Quietly impressed tonight ! The team spirit and work ethic were spot on, a far cry from last season in both respects.
Smith (the non-keeper !) stood out for me - he dominated midfield, was feisty and ran non stop. Thought the on-trial winger Esajas looked well worth a contract, and I thought put Atiku into the shade. Really impressed with Flint too !

Very encoraging - looking forward to the next instalment !

Brilliant team performance. Jonathan Smith was outstanding and my MOTM!

No idea who that idiot was that decided to shout random bollocks?!!

Poor James, he is a Town fan you know

Thanks for all the reports, sounds like this season could be a tad more interesting than the last

We were unspectacular tonight but got the job done and thats the main thing, Take nothing away from Supermarine they did well to constantly be closing us down and played some good football in places.

Of the new boys Smith and Comazzi impressed me, The algerian didn't look fit but did have a bit of pace to him, De Vita showed some good touches but gave away a fair few fouls, Devera looked ok, I wonder if the reason the Italian LB has played so few games is due to injury?! Atiku looks like he may be an impact sub but probably too early to tell. Esajas looked good, took his goal well but probably did try to do too much in places.

The old boys all put in a shift, Ritchie looked a bit meatier muscle wise and Ferry looked slimmer have a feeling he wont be a starter again next year though. Timlin looked a bit lost on the wing first half but looked good in CM in the second half. I was actually quite impressed with Bodin, but some people around me weren't.

Next season I can see Kennedy splitting opinion, I just couldn't make my mind up about him tonight looked ok going forward, but thought some of his decision making could have been better and his positioning wasnt amazing, I felt a bit like Devera spent alot of time covering for him first half.

Far too much of our play first half came down the right handside, I hope we can balance that out out before the season starts. i know people have reservations but after tonight I definitely think we need some strength and height up front from which any of those forwards could play off.

On the Funny side
-A person said to me in the queue that he had heard radio Swindon were reporting we were going to sign Constable (bloody rumours site) and that they had heard Sol Campbell said the Algerian was one of the toughest players he had played against...well done whoever updated wikipedia
-In the second half I overheard somone saying Charlie Austin was in rehab because Eddie Howe had caught him doing coke Haha.... Got to love Chinese whispers at football

Charlie's got other problems to worry about it seems (http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:TpewHEoSM7wJ:answers.yahoo.com/question/index%3Fqid%3D20110715035923AAObvUg+charlie+austin&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk&source=www.google.co.uk)

Quite impressed with tonight's performance, saw more commitment and passion in the first half than all of last season. Some of the old boys looked leaner and fitter which can only be good. Think the team still needs fine tuning, and some stronger opposition, look forward to seeing the game against Reading




You must have been in the same stand as us(opposite the dugouts), in the second half it looked like the stewards were going to chuck him out and some little old foreign lady (maybe Di Canios mum or nan) started giving him some grief, Funny as feck.

Was he wearing an old town jacket?

If so he was having a gomat her before the game started!

Oh and that twat Phil who talks tk everyone burped in my face and didnt apologise.

Cunt

Just about to show some highlights from last nights game on Sky Sports News.

You must have been stood near us, far side of the pitch, left of dug out as you look at pitch.

My mate wasn't too impressed with Bodin, and also spouted the Austin bollards! I think Bodin needs some first team games, but probably isn't yet the striker you'd play along side Connell or any of our other striker options.

Back to the game, a crowd of over 2000 shows the Di Canio effect. Also had a few kittens when Phil Smith tried to turn his man in the box!

Shouty man in the main stand was annoying. I assumed he was special or very drunk.

I didn't burp in your face ;)

Oh, and I still have absolutely no idea if we'll be great or gash this season.

Nah, I was in the far left corner of the pitch that we were attacking in the 2nd half.

This thread shows, like all other match threads,how people see players performances differently.
Players some say are poor are mom for others.

exactly Arriba.

i'll wait until i can judge them for myself before passing comment. You've got to remember that these lads have only really been together for 2 weeks. some even less.

Things are definitely looking bright though.

Was Di canio a cool and calm last night,or was he animated on the touchline?

He looked pretty calm to me, but certainly got his point across when needed.

He was cool and calm. Wasn't shouting at players on the pitch, but you could constantly see him engaging all the players on the bench to explain what was going wrong, and what he wanted done differently.

It was pleasant to see!

And he was dressed as a Roadie.

Looking at the pictures on the official site, who's the chap in photo 22 with the big nose?

http://www.swindontownfc.co.uk/page/Gallery/0,,10341~2396918,00.html

De Vita?

Yep

Thanks gents.

I do love the way that almost every report is contradictary to the next one, we played good football....we played poor football....we looked good....we didnt look that good....Timlin was awesome....Timlin was dire....Kennedy was excellent...Kennedy was pathetic etc etc

Looks like we can't read too much into this game at all then (not that we read much into friendlies anyway).

Not going to add much to what has already been said about individual players as it is clear there are some wide ranging opinions (particularly ref Timlin who I thought had a good game)!
I don't think any of them had a bad game though and I saw promise and potential in all of them so I guess it's down to PDC to get them at their best on a regular basis.
The one thing I did notice though was that there was more effort and committment last night in a friendly against Supermarine than I saw in many league matches last season so that bodes well.

That was my first thought as well!

So no one knows who that man was or where he sits at Town games (if he goes)?

Kerrouche played some great touches, nice controlled headers and lay offs to another Town player. Almost scored with his first touch too.

Esajas was lively, Atiku is lightening fast. De Vita gave away a few fouls, but for someone of sleight frame he was certainly throwing a bit of muscle about.

Ritchie looks like a tank!!

Ferry was quality too.

I really liked how Donatelli was stalking the touchline as the subs warmed up. Putting them through their paces rather than the mates club that'd congregate down at the Bank.

Timlim played well. Overhit some crosses, but what Div 3/4 player doesn't? Was always involved in the action and was looking to play the right passes, rather than anything and everything.

Timlin was alright as was Kennedy.  The right side in the first half linked well with Caddis, Ritchie and Ferry combining well. As for the new boys, I think I need a cheat sheet with pics vs names to make sure I get the right names.  
Roll on squad numbers.
Overall, quite enjoyed it and promising for the league campaign.

Excellent. That's not something I've ever seen before, I wonder if he'll be on the touchline during the season? I bet those left from last season must be realising they won't get away with pretending to warm up this season.

I can't wait for the season to start.

There's been some of critisism of Kerrouche but I also thought he had a good game. He stuck his head in where it hurts (when the goalkeeper and defender collided) and nearly scored. His passing and movement was good but he didn't get good enough service to see what he can really do.

I think its fair to say that even the critics thought judging him on one showing, one day after he arrived and with no pre-season behind him, well it might be a tad premature.

Personally I thought he started brightly but faded. Hardly a surprise. Lets see how he looks towards the end of August.

Glad to see most people have come away from last night with mostly positive impressions, even if it was one game, and against Supermarine.

Hopefully we'll learn a bit more against Ciren and Reading. Can't bloody wait for 6th August now.

My highlights of last night were that Phil bloke coming up to Tans and burping right in his face and the crazy bloke who walked in speaking fluent Italian and then suddenly broke into a Wiltshire accent and had a go at the old dear with him !

It was bizarre !

Real mixed bag for me.

On the downside.....I shuddered every time Marine went long in the first half, neither central defender seems natural at attacking the ball which didn't do it for me.  Opposite in the second half, when Flint won everything, but his distribution could best be described as limited.  Kennedy was great going forward but defensively I'm not convinced.  Atiku didn't impress at all and the Algerian was hopelessly off the pace.  That's the sound of me giving him the benefit of the doubt.

Played some tidy stuff but often lacked penetration or made the wrong decisions in the final third.  Sound familiar?

Liked....Marine for just about managing to cope - anyone know the crowd?  Caddis / Ritchie, and Timlin for effort as many have said.  J Smith has a lovely shape about his passing, much more cultured than I expected, but don't kid yourself that he is anything like Douglas-class, for example.  Ferry was neat and tidy.  Interesting times up top: I immediately liked Connell, played with an exuberance which will be appreciated at the CG, possibly a L2 Torres type player.  Bodin showed some sublime touches, but really should have scored a couple.  If he does make it, and be patient folks it might take a couple more years, he could be a very special player.

A win - any win was a welcome feeling but as with every game last season, came away with more questions than answers.  Obviously there was no Risser to enforce, but feel that we could still do with a couple of proper L2 brutes, Fallon would do for me.

My first ever report so go easy on me. ;)

went to the game last night and am getting excited about the season ahead.  Thought Johnathan Smith was excellent and Calum Kennedy looked good too.  Centre backs looked strong, in the 1st half anyway.  Only concern for me was Smith in goal.  I just hope as well that all are overseas players will still be up for it on a cold Tuesday night in Febriuary.

Im also gunna try and watch some of the youth team games this year as my mates son is one of the new intake.  So far they've played 3, won 1, drawn 1 and lost one. Hopefully going to go and watch them at Southampton this weekend.

It, famously, being 30 plus degrees all year round in Italy.

One thing I've noticed from the pics on the OS, and hopefully those who went can confirm is that after all the goals the whole team huddled together to celebrate.

Only a little thing, but good to see nonetheless and points to a good team spirit at this admittedly early stage.

Yeah i did notice this show of "unity" which certainly seems to be a good sign.

Oh come on Pets you know you can't beat a good cliche.

Why ??

He only touched the ball about 3 times

3 times?  you were watching a different game to me then!

his distribution was very poor just like last season.  Twice he kicked the ball straight into touch when not under pressure.  A couple of his throw outs were also dodgy putting the defence under pressure.  I accept that he only had one real save to make all game and it was a good one

Was that the three when he tried to beat the striker :)

I just knew that you lot wouldnt go easy on me!!  :cry:

The one thing that really struck me on Tuesday evening was how the team seemed to be defending and attacking as a collective unit. Definitely looks to me that Di Canio has a very clear system and team shape he wants to play and that the players have fully bought into it. Plenty of quick lay-offs and one touch passes when attacking with the aim of moving the ball as quickly as possible to create space.