Thetownend.com

Looking for any info anyone can provide on someone claiming they turned out for Swindon Town FC in the 93-94 season.

The guy in question claims he played in the same team as Frank MacAvennie in a home match against Wimbledon FC, it's not clear whether he's claiming it to be a first team or reserve team appearance. The only home match I can find info on is a 4-2 Wimbledon win in which Warren Barton scored an og. I've searched for reserve team scores and lineups from that season but can't find anything.

The 'player' in question is called Gerard Strain. If anyone can tell me anything or point me in the direction of team lineups for any such meeting id be very grateful

This site has a pretty comprehensive database of past players:

http://swindon-town-fc.co.uk/Players.asp?PageType=Past&Initial=S

I could be wrong, but it would appear that Gerard is pulling your leg.

Never heard of him.

You sure his name isnt Terry Fenwick? He apparently played for us

http://www.swindon-town-fc.co.uk/Squad.asp?Season=1993-1994

Thats the whole squad from that season of every first team player, I watched several reserve games that season and that name does not ring any bells, could have been an away reserve game I guess and he was a trialist, which was allowed back then.

David Hay was assistant manager that season and he liked to take a look at players from Scotland (assuming the person in question is Scots), we had the Celtic youth team keeper on loan that year but he didn't play a game, big ginger haired lad called Stewart Kerr.

He's not pulling my leg, far from it, but he's telling anyone gullible enough to believe him that he did. He's posted a picture of a team sheet which I'm trying to find. His name is on it but I still don't believe it as we attended the same school and both left in '96. The guy is an eternal bull shitter!

Post the pic of the team sheet on here, we'll soon figure out if its fake or not!

Edit - just seen you are looking for it

Right, here is the team sheet. Please tell me this a fake, would love to expose this guy for a fraud! Though it does look legit...

(http://s4.postimg.org/m9gyoqta5/image.jpg)

 Looks genuine....but isn't, the giveaway being the upcoming fixture v Sheffield Wednesday, never in the Combination  :sherlock:

Yep fake i reckon, havent heard of 5 of those players in that team

Couple of names I don't recognise there like Paddy Campbell, Mark Cradden, Stuart Fairbrother and your "mate" Strain but we did often play trialists in reserve games so it could be true, it looks like an official reserve teamsheet TBH.

All I can say is that it defeinately is not a 1st team fixture!

4 for me.

Well spotted Reg, the Combination was a south of Birmingham based league.

That's a reserve team sheet by the look of it, also it says the next home reserve game at the bottom.
He may well have played as a triallist, but considering you both left school in 1996, that would've made him about 14 surely, so obviously bullshit.

Also, referee Graham Poll? Oddly enough he refereed our home league game against the Dons, but can't imagine he would've refereed the reserve team fixture.

can't imagine Vinny Jones playing in a reserve match either

An elaborate hoax....is Gerard, Jed?

If that is a hoax, that is utterly bizarre that someone would go to such lengths!

Thats fairly believable TBH the Combination used to have many internationals playing in it, I have seen Hoddle, Ardiles, Brooking, Woodcock, Mariner, Seaman, Winterburn, Dixon, Adams, Archibald, Villa, Shilton all play in the reserves against us at the County Ground.

You'd get first-teamers paying in the reserves when coming back from injury.

I think I remember once that once Wolves got a full house (or pretty full) for a reserve game that Steve Bull played in when coming back from a long injury.

This is hilariously mental! If he is lying then I think he has a few issues!

There is no date on that team sheet, but as the next game is Monday 25th, if you assume this game was played the week before, then Hammond, Fenwick, Kilcline, Sanchez & McAvennie were all playing on Saturday 16th so unlikely to have played for the reserves that week/weekend too.

Having said that, maybe it explains why they were so shit if they were playing for the first team & the reserves !

When you say "combination", what do you mean?

The guy is a weirdo, for as long as I've known him he's come out with outlandish claims but you can never really prove that he's making it up. He goes on my supporters bus and myself and another lad can see through his bullshit but strangely there are people who lap it up.

I noticed Graham Poll was the ref in the 1st team fixture that season and also thought it would be strange for him to be involved in the reserve match.

What I need is someone who collects programs to see if they can verify that team lineup. Knowing some of our fans go to every game, I assume every team has at least one fanatic :soapy tit wank:

Know for a fact at the parents house I have the Leeds Utd home program to hand....as it was the last game of the season it will have a full list of the reserves fixtures for that season....so can have a look.

Will at least be able to see if there was a fixture against Wimbledon and/or Sheffield Wednesday as stated here.

Does seem an awful lot of first teamers (including the ref) for a reserve game!

The Southern Reserve league was called the Football Combination back then.

Top referees did often ref reserve matches back then but more often than not it was a local (30 miles radius) based ref.

I can't see the supposed date of the game.  But once you have it, there will very likely be a match report in the match programme for the following home game.  Plenty on here will have copies of programmes from that season still.  I know I do.

That is not a first team game.

It's also unlikely to be a reserve game, unless there was a reason that Wimbledon appear to be playing their first choice (or bloody close to it) eleven in it. 

A bizarre wind up, methinks...

I've dug out my programmes for that season, the Combination match against Wimbledon was at home on Thu 7th October 1993 and ended 1-1. There isn't a report on that match in any programme, just reports on the combination matches before and after that one.

The Wimbledon away one was on Wed 27th April which we lost 3-1.

We also played them in the South East Counties league but obviously not that either due to the age of the players he's listed, he's definately making it all up.

Thats dedication to make all that stuff!

My contribution to this thread:

The Wimbledon number 5, Neil Fairbairn. It seems odd that Wimbledon would have three outfield players on the bench yet name a goalkeeper in defence.

What do I know? They were the 'Crazy Gang' after all.

This is great, can you somehow hidden camera your interrogation of him? We've got plenty of dashcam experts if you need advice.

Do you have all your progs for each season in one of those nice STFC binders, where you hang them off strings?.....proper smart. Take up a bit of space after a few years, mind.

Nope, binned hundreds of them probably about 10 years ago now. Reckon I have about 5 left....two of them unopened Wembley ones that I ordered and had delivered.

I inherited a shit load of programmes from the 50's onwards. Some came in official book shaped boxes which would have looked nifty on bookshelves.

 ;)

Remember when I was a nipper the programmes used to feature a caricature of present players.

Used to love recreating them myself.

I love 50's progs....some of the early 60's ones are fun also.

I recently did a survey of how many businesses advertisng in the early 60's are still going, a move prompted by the closure of Wilmers, Swindon's last coal merchant and a family of long standing fans and in Ken a Director.

There were a couple of pubs, the Crown at Stratton being one....but Ron's Stores seemed to be the best survivor.  A fine place that I still use for DIY requirements.

You need a very strong shelf, to contain the boxes and binders from the 50's.  Incidentally can you still get the binders?

Duck Son and Pinker

Anybody remember the proset cards you could get? Ive got folders of them somewhere

Panini stickers.....got a full set from 93/94.

ProSet was about 1991/92. I remember Shaun Taylor's picture being Ross MacLaren's in error.

Nah. Didn't advertise.  Surprisingly of the pubs, the Eagle in Regent Street has gone, as has seemingly the White Hart in Newport Street, along with the White House but the CGH, the Crown, whose landlord was on the Board, the White Hart, Wroughton and the Southbrook are still going.

Been trying to remember the name of the fella who used to do these....and can't get past Les Paul, but he was a legendary guitar maker. Annoying me now.....

Super stadium

https://www.flickr.com/photos/swindonlocal/6876441685/in/album-72157645563789203/

You got me thinking there Reg, so i went through my various home programmes throughout the sixties and finally found this in the 69-70 programmes, the first home one has Stan Harland and the signature looks like Mickey Durling, Don Heath is the next programme and again it's got Mickey's signature on it.

In case you haven't stumbled on this treasure house yet..

http://thetownend.com/index.php?topic=34218.0

Excellent! Ta

Here's one of them Reg

(http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b323/swindon12345/e7ff576c-6392-4a4c-be2c-9dfdbe9db3c3.jpg) (http://s22.photobucket.com/user/swindon12345/media/e7ff576c-6392-4a4c-be2c-9dfdbe9db3c3.jpg.html)

Edit, now saved so you can see the signature!

There was a great one of Willie Penman

 :hmmm:  Certainly doesn't sound much like Les Paul.  Maybe the fella I'm thinking of used to do stuff for the Pink then.

 Got it....Bill Paul, used to do cartoons in the Pink.

That's a genuine signature on that"fake" team sheet of Frank McAvennie.My kids used to collect autographs at games and that one matches up

Amazed he could remember his own name let alone sign it.

Aarhus the White House....anybody remember the White House kick up v Bmuff?!

Great thread, nothing to add. Though my first thoughts were how come we're fielding a team with loads of players i havent heard of, yet Wimbledon seem to be playing a near first team.

Programme wise i bought a load of old Town programmes at some kind of jumble sale in Cirencester a few years ago. Love them, great to read the adverts about the new houses for sale in Greenmeadow. Or why not use the new M4 motorway for our trip to West London next week. Not to mention the football side of things.

What really let down this rather elaborate hoax is the name Gerard Strain - it has to be made up  :sherlock:

Does anyone know what "the man with the stick" was doing?

My guess Is its a guide for the photographer to frame the shot, and these photo's are actually the pre shots, and the arrow guy was edited out for the release photo's maybe

We had squad numbers in the premier league...

I think it was something to do with Ordnance Survey mapping and was in an article in Swindon Heritage magazine.

Not for reserve games which this supposedly was.*



*It wasn't because it's a fake - but if had been a reserve game it would have been 1-11. He got that bit right.

Here is a link to the full squad team for 1993-94:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1993%E2%80%9394_Swindon_Town_F.C._season

More info confirming the actual team lineup on that day

http://www.11v11.com/matches/swindon-town-v-wimbledon-23-april-1994-21673/

I suspect it was recording a datum point, much like a bench mark.

Yep, seems so. If you scroll down a bit below the photo, there's this from the guy who posted it:

Wrong game