Thetownend.com

Press conference called for 1.30pm on thirsday for a significant announcement. Must be big if the adver are invited!

Hmm where was this mentioned? I cant find anything anywhere. Sure it is happening but cant find the source?

adver twitter:

Swindon Town have called a press conference for 1.30pm tomorrow to make a 'significant announcement'. @AdverSport have been invited #stfc

Ta didn't check that as i didn't know it existed.

Anton Rodgers has signed a new 6 year contract

And he's lodging at yours..

If the Adver have been invited then I deduce that Power is leaving and has sold the club. Or a significant portion of it to noble him to invest in Waterford perhaps.

Iaaaaanteresting.

Mentioned a while ago about james Phipps and jez Webb's takeover

Excalibur?

Yeah that's a fair shout, I'd forgotten about the Irish thing.

James Phipps is currently on FB saying he promised his wife he would never buy STFC as its too much work.

I think Phipps may have taken over too. He's mentioned it on the fans group and also, Town fans have been invited to Excalibur for interviews on the 'current situation' on Friday.

Could be 2+2=5. But possible.

Phipps is excalibur and jez is Webbs timber

I promise my wife a lot too. Don't do most of it though

Who is he? I've no idea who he is or what his affiliation (possibly) is?

:)

Gez Webb? Big fan of Justin Tomlinson, isn't he? How would he have the money/cash/dosh to buy out Power & Black's fee?

Some people should be very careful what they wish for - if true, expect a similar shoe string budget without the contacts Power has...

"
James Phipps ‏@JamesPhippsExc

... promised my wife never would, want fan ownership but too soon for that, would be part of that though
"

NEXT.

Can't see how it could be that .. not with Webb/Phipps even if he was fibbing on Twitter. Just can't see them providing an agreeable exit strategy for Power (i.e. ££).

I'd read that as   in his Trust capacity looking for fan feedback on poor season/feeling isolated from the club.

It's the hope that kill's ya.. It's probably something to do with drainage :)

Pessimism mode: activated.

Go on then, what's it this time.

- karl Robinson to take over as manager
- Power is selling up or is selling a stake
- An announcement on the ground

Can't see being anything else

Where has the bit about national press invited come from?

You?

Where is that mentioned?

Huh? Where did you see that? Only mention here is the adver.

James Phipps on FB group

"Press called to the club, inc national press, for large announcement tmw afternoon. Think change of ownership..."

Well that's what I was confused about, I saw James Phipps mention national press...but I can't see where that has come from.
Of course the whole national press bit has sent the special FB group into a frenzy.

national could just mean the adver as they are a group of national papers........some context needed maybe

I bet we're signing a big name..

Like Jan Vennegoor Of Hesselink.

Guess who has finished working the cruises and is set for a return!

(http://www.swindontownfc.co.uk/cms_images/news-callum-rice247-679361_478x359.jpg)

Paul Merson was at Swindon tonight

And my mum was. Wonder what she's not telling me. I did send the xmas list to her today

This could have some credence...Power had neglected that Brandon Ormonde-Ottewill's hyphen means that he doesn't quite reach the 23 letters of JVoH.

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have annexed the club.

James Phipps set-up Excalibur, which has not done too badly.  Wouldn't have the cash to run t by himself I would doubt.  Good lad from a good family, Swindon born and bred, so any involvement would been with best interests at heart (although it seems that is unlikely from the comments).

They're handing the club over to the Facebook group I hope. They're all so passionate and convinced they know what's best, what could go wrong?

Read yesterday that Red Bull are looking at buying a FL club.

Probably - certainly - not a piss poor one like STFC, though.

New signing? http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/sport/14869734.Williams_is_not_rushing_decision_over_Sharpe/

It's a new manager, or he's off and had enough of all the fans calling for his head,  :suicide:

It better be significant.

Is that wheels starting to move that fecking 'rollercoaster' again that I'm feeling....?

Press conferences are done on Fridays FFS. Get a grip.

statement Friday... on a Thursday. Can this year get any more strange.

Just been into webbs timber, When I asked if Jez was in I was told that he is off today. Some kind of meeting. :sherlock:

I would be very surprised if it was James Phipps. He's my best mates bro in law, so I know him quite well. Actually, I maybe going out for tea with him on saturday...

The bar in the Town End is finally ready to open?

Was out all day yesterday and came back this morning to read all this, intriguing to say the least.

Probably just to announce officially that LP is taking over the Irish club and staying at Swindon too.

I can't see why we'd need a press conference just to say he's taking over at Waterford. That's hardly a 'significant' announcement.

 I can see they might want a joint Press with Waterford to announce some tie up, I just can't see why the Adver would be invited!

I mean, unless he's going soft.

That would only make a little bit of sense if Waterford have announced a press conference, which they haven't

Joey Barton player manager WATP

It's Timmy time :D

Wonder if he is putting the club up for sale, the national press invited to gain exposure for that

This is my bet, I can't see what else it will be.

oh, right, yeah, good point

Club to merge with Forest Green Rovers

This, and hopefully (realistically) only this.

That's "business as usual" not "a significant announcement". I reckon Power's leaving because Trump's appointed him Secretary of Soccerball

Remember when the excitement of statement Friday, was greater than anything at a match?  I'm hoping this is something mundane, we may be shit, but we do have a degree of stability.

National Press wouldn't bother sending anyone along without a headsup of the subject as we are insignificant along with most L1 and L2 clubs.

If the Advertiser are there too, Power obviously wants maximum exposure, so it will be something like flogging the club. If it were anything smaller than that, he'd have egg on his face with the nationals there to photograpgh it.

I bet they're changing their pie supplier.

Just a thought. When Red Bull took over Leipzig they were in the German 5th division in 2009. Now in the Bundesliga and are the most hated club in Germany.

A bit like Bournemouth.

Didn't Jed tie us into an long-term contract there?

Wouldn't he just instruct an estate agent, its just like selling a house - yes?

He's selling up to Diamond Mike. The Facebook Mongs™ will be happy.

No, Bournemouth is a fairy tale!

I heard a rumour he was gifting the club to a consortium made up from the Facebook group as they would make a considerably better job of running it than he does.

Im pretty sure they announced they are looking at the prem or championship for a club.

Lock up yer women folk.

Ryan Giggs is coming to town.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/sep/08/why-rb-leipzig-has-become-the-most-hated-club-in-german-football

So now we have

Significant Announcement Thursday and Statement Friday, what can we have for the other days of the week?

Edit to answer my own question, in light of recent months, Moaning Monday, Twattish Tuesday and Whinging Wednesday?

Don't forget all the Shit Saturdays we've had

Does anyone apart from a few of our fans and maybe Southampton and Portsmouth actually hate Bournemouth? I don't have an issue with them at all, they have just tried and succeeded what many clubs up and down the country have failed to do.

Shit Performance Saturday. Sullen Aftermath Sunday

OK, so current guesses are
-selling up
-being bought by RB
-Manager sacked
-Sherwood becoming DoF
-Some sort of of Westford tie up
-Financial doom

any more plausible ones?

Are you dismissing the Town End Bar?

Also, who are Westford?

All of the above

+ New stadium plans

Tbf, Power wouldn't invite the nationals for any of that - except a 'significant' buyer. So the press conference is probably at any new owner's behest.

Surely you don't do a press conference to announce you're bankrupt.

I would be surprised if it is the Waterford link up, as I don't see why they would announce a link up before announcing they had bought the club. Also I don't think it would be important enough for them to invite the Adver.

I don't think the Red Bull story is totally far fetched.  Leipzig were well down the leagues when Red Bull took over.  Leipzig also operate on a similar basis to Swindon in that none of their first team are over 26.  I think Red Bull would rather take over a team that they could mold in their own image rather than buying a bigger club with a big history like Leeds whose fans might not accept being called RB Leeds.  Swindon's also quite a big place population wise (relative to the size of the club) with a potentially big catchment area compared to some other teams at our level.  Having said that, if it is a takeover, no doubt it will probably be someone without a pot to piss in.

Red Bull also very recently did a car-skid-stunt-video thing on the magic roundabout.

Carry on.

Waterford, the excitement got to me

So I assume everyone would be entirely happy with a name change?

It will be something incredibly dull, and he has only invited the Advertiser to punch them.

I'm probably reading too much into this now but I just remembered a month or so back red bull filmed this on the magic roundabout.
http://www.redbull.com/uk/en/motorsports/stories/1331807064177/mad-mike-whiddett-drifts-magic-roundabout-video

Surprised nobody has mentioned Steve Lomas

Or Sheena Easton.

Sent from my MotoG3

Red Bull to gore scummy Yellow pOx?

Yeah, I'm coming round to it.

  Red Bull Swindon.....has a certain resonance, a bit like Red Cow Swindon, which one or two TEFers will remember as a tidy pub in Princess Street, before Horlock's lot finished the Luftwaffe's work.

Is that even allowed these days? What happened to the whole Hull City Tigers thing?

Sorry Batch, I did think that you knew, I just decided to be an irritating pedant! :)

I really don't see it being anything to do with Red Bull.... for the small reason we are Swindon Town and nothing ever remotely positive happens to us.

I hate to say it but If anything I think Red Bull may buy Franchise, they have the stadium in place, a large population and Red Bull F1 are based in MK already.

Of course its not RB, but nothing wrong with a bit of banter and wishful thinking.

Anyone know if the press conference will be on the radio?

The Swindon Redbulls has that American ring to it that our fans are sure to hate so it's a winner for me.

Lets go Redbulls, Lets go!

And its Red Bull Swindon, Red Bull Swindon FC, we're by far the most hated team, the league has ever seen.

It works

Given the low esteem in which Leipzig are now held by the rest of German football, buying a business that's already hated, would make sense..

The talk of RB is a bit like getting an email from the National Lottery to say there is good news about your ticket - you are hoping for a big win but in truth you won £2.70.

As already said nothing good ever happens to us.

We've probably got a new cleaning contract with Dynarod.

Would be a sensible purchase for them, not exactly going to alienate a proud fanbase there are they?

Too many years of getting my hopes up with Town... trying to not get carried away only to find out at 130 we will be playing at the York road chippy county ground next season.

:suicide:

I miss being hated in the Di Canio days. Like everyone had such irrational hatred for us it just made us feel relevant and it almost galvanised the fans. We're boring now. Except for when we were diving and cheating a couple of years ago.

Not sure how I'd feel if it was red bull (for what it's worth, I'm 99% sure it isn't).

I'm guessing at a new manager

That 'nothing good happens to us' is poor reasoning. It's also just not true.

That's not to say I think it will be Red Bull, if anybody, we just have to wait and find out.

Ok let me rephrase, nothing good happens to us for longer than 18-24 months*

*since 1992 when I first started going, I'm sure there were better days before that.

Just out of interest what theories are circulating on Faceache?

Its to announce we've been drawn againstt Luton in the Checkatrade Trophy!

What if it is RB? They buy us, relocate us and we become Franchise!

what's the name of the Facebook mongs page?

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1475239182728328/

I am not sure to what extent that actually was concluded, I cannot be bothered to look but from recollection I think that CAS stated that the FA's process was flawed, potentially to do with too much weight being attached to supporter opinions.

We would just need to come up with some trite bollocks that it would enhance the development of young English's players and they would wave it through - that's how it works these days is it not?

- Power selling / fitton taking over
- administration
- red bull
- jfh / karl robison / di canio
- waterford and swindon merge
- waterford buying swindon
- waterford lending players to swindon

Some are truly ridiculous but can't tell if they are serious

Don't think the FA allow club's names being 'sponsorised'. When they bought Leipzig they changed their name to the German equivalent of RollerBall Sports, then shortened it to RB.

More i think about it, the more it think as on the other thread it's a waterford tie up. That's the only thing doing the rounds in my sphere of knowledge.

Interesting to the nationals? Worth doing an Adver U-turn?

Personally, I think this conference has been called by the prospective buyer.

Might be part of the conditions, that press relations have to improve? As someone said earlier the adver is a national in effect

new roof for the Stratton Bank

Merging with Oxford

Being renamed Vale of White Horse Wankers FC

Relocating to Bangkok.

Swindon Lady Boys FC

I don't see why power would sell. Unless he's making a ton of cash out of it. Oh.....

Interesting

http://outsideoftheboot.com/2014/12/21/multi-club-ownerships-the-future-of-football/

Better Red Bull than Yellow Bull.

What about White Bull  :hmmm:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFhqLCLTQ-w

word of the Day

noun: ˈbeɪθɒs/bathos

(especially in a literary work) an effect of anticlimax created by an unintentional lapse in mood from the sublime to the trivial or ridiculous.

"his epic poem has passages of almost embarrassing bathos"

I just can't in a million years see Red Bull progressing past 'wishful' thinking. We don't even own our ground.

As nobody has replied to this, the same question I was going to ask.....its probably not being covered live then.

I'm thinking Chinese buyers.  Their PM is in Blighty, and looking to do business. There's always hordes of Chinese around Kidlington and Bicester, they like Kidlington because it's "average" .... bit like STFC.

On bbc wilts radio and on their facebook page live video, adver also doing live video

Suprised you didn't post up this for LP's finances :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPXfOJXqIC4

Thanks will have a looky

Has anyone considered that the significant announcement is that the Adver is being invited to press conferences again?

Ha ha that would be brilliant. I reckon Power's going to come out as trans, and request that he be addressed as Mary from now on. For tax reasons

4 options for me...

Williams going back to coaching - New manager
Waterford...used as an academy to send players here for a season and get flogged on... waste of time..anti climax.
Up for sale...due to mongs in the crowd showing displeasure when we are shit..
Sold

Yes it's live on BBC radio Wiltshire,

Coral Twitter account retweeted another twitter which says Red Bull are in advanced talks to buy the club..........

I know that's tongue in cheek, but if he does put it up for sale I really can't wait for the sanctimonious to start with the weeks of "look, its all your fault" mob. He's only going to sell to a) make money, b) prevent himself from losing the money c) if whatever money was put into the club is from someone else and they want out.

I thought it would go like this.

"Swindon Town are pleased to announce an exclusive media partnership with twoBitHackCo.com. We would like to FUCK OFF. ALL OF YOU. YOU'RE BARRED "

Hmmm, smells like TansMedia.

Possibly but the source twitter account has 22k followers and 38k tweets............ it's not been unnoticed on the specials group thouigh  :nod:

there are murmourings on twitter about the red bull link, but its more like 1+1 = a million I reckon.

Yep but they are all frothing at the mouth, it's actually funny.........

Everyone is going to be really upset when power announces a link with Waterford and 'I'm not going anywhere'.

I hope we get taken over by red bull. Jager bombs all round

Just been on Sky Red Bull are not interested in any football club in England in the immediate future

Red ok, but a bull? Fuck no!

Not everyone....just the FBMongs™ and a few overly optimistics.

RB was a really, really long shot and I didn't believe a word of it but stranger things have happened...

I still think it's a buyout / investment but not on RB's level, more likely someone with a bigger pot than Power has to hand...... but we aren't suddenly going to be mega rich and be in the prem in 3 years......... nothing will change imho but hey the FB group mongs think we are gonna be the new Bournemouth.

So, getting way ahead of ourselves here, but, for the sake of argument, if Red Bull were to take over, would you be happy with the team being renamed to (say) Swindon Red Bulls, in return for a multi-million pound investment in the club and team?

I am guessing you would prefer a frog? :D

There's no way it'll be a management thing if nationals have indeed been invited. He would have leaked that to BBC Wilts like everything else.

BBC Wilts are covering live and on FB (sorry if already mentioned).

What I meant was tans starts rumour, rumour spreads, Coral pick up on it on a boring Thursday morning. Not that Tans IS Coral.

Still think its an o'club linkup. But as FH says, nothing from their side.

But would the nationals be interested in a link up between lowly L1 club with Irish minnow

More like the old Bormuff....edge of bankruptcy, 17 point deduction and giving the managers job to the only fella over the age of 30 still on the pay roll.

Where has this "nationals" thing come from?

I assume like their usual efforts they will get half way through, just to the important bit and then break away to play Layla or something?

exactly, has to be sale / investment or new manager.......... and I am guessing they are going high profile manager to make it into a press conference....... KR, JFH or even an ex player like Ryan Giggs

James Phipps on FB group, said nationals had been invited, apart from that no other sources

Blame him

Boooo, Someone ruined by fun. I did a little edit on the STFC wiki page but its either been removed by wiki or some busybody has deleted my changes

Aaah, right. Well he's not known for his BS.

The total sport journo also said so

Chelsea Flower Show mid way through announcing Jed had bought the club.

Is it nearly 1.30 yet?

whatever it is, its going to be an anticlimax..

Doris the tea lady is retiring

I must admit I did chuckle at this post on the Pox forum....

(http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161110/ea8a3aad2d82a39990a433c847eab64c.jpg)

'The club would like to announce a buyout by Red . . .

Must go to the M4 live where there is a sheep loose'

I think it was during one takeover announcement that they switched to the Chelsea fucking flower show.

Moosehead is worth checking out on Twitter. Nationals have been invited, press office have no idea what it's relating to, EFL are not aware of change in ownership or board level appointments and no one is talking/leaking anything.

If it's about Waterford, egg on everyone's face. It's going to be big, and positive, but not a clue what... At a guess, it'll be new investment of some sort. but not change of ownership.

Marvellous! Football know your place

Ian Holloway poised to join QPR as manager.

We can cross that one off then :-)

Yes they did, with all Town fans on tenterhooks waiting listening....I remember it well.

Swindon Trending all over twitter now, got everyone hopes up.

One of the players is going to come out

Weirdly I just wondered if it was going to be something like that.

Red Bull gives you wins

Total Sport have arrived at #STFC. Tim Sherwood is in the building. Red Bull cans are lined up on the table

On a wind up?

I'm told it's nothing the national press will get excited about...  not Red Bull.... but believed to be managerial related.

If statistics are to be believed that will be another 8% off the gate!

Blatently

To be fair, if it's something that may be considered to have national interest then the Sherwood bit might have some legs

could be merit in the first part, Sherwood taking over as manager

soapy tit wank, Morshead and Wills on the wind up on twitter (there are cans of RB on the table, suspect I know who put them there... :) )

second part is true - https://twitter.com/SamMorshead_/status/796699665592881152?s=04  ;)

Just nice to see someone has a sense of humour.

I see Sam says

Sam Morshead ‏@SamMorshead_ 10s11 seconds ago

For the first time in 18 hours I'm not disbelieving this Red Bull rumour.

I think Red Bull branding would be a bit more than four cans on a table

Yep, gotta be coincedence or a wind up........ but 20 mins till we find out

Looking at the pictures appears only two chairs so Power and A.n. other?

Brilliant bit of trolling that, will get plenty of suckers hook, line and sinker

I am ruling nothing out or in, at all, but I am almost a little excited about this, probably going to be a fucking massive anti climax!

Lovely on Twitter!

Ben Evans
‏@OfficalBenEvans
Anything other than Power leaving will be anticlimactic. He has killed my club. Anyone could run it like he has.Wheres the money gone? #stfc

I still speculate whether Sherwood has put some cash into the club and will manage as part of that?

I'd love it of the TEF auto-correct really worked on twitter as well.

speaks the voice of reason, blunted by years of disappointments

Is Sherwood actually there or is it another wind-up?

According to Twitter Red Bull cans now been removed from the table and replaced with Special Brew??

I'm still convinced anything manager related would have leaked out by now

Tim Sherwood as director of football I've been told.

massively anticlimactic , and not what we need IMO. but that's for another thread.

joke if true.

Be prepared for disappointment.

What is the betting BBC Wilts miss the start because they won't crash the Beach Boys? They usually do.

Yep, Sherwood DoF for me, plus some outside investment.

Well its 1330 and we have - 'Something Good'?

Sphincter tight - check

Turns out Power knows exactly how to use the media to create a buzz.

Fucking Dancing Queen now. What's the significance

Sherwood confirmed DoF

So who is our Dancing Queen?

Sherwood it is then.

Sounds more of a manager's role than a DOF.

Guy's, ladies and girls....?

Gilet sales will go through the roof!

Zzzzzzzz

Sherwood taking on player recruitment, picking the team, picking the style of play, etc. Williams back to head coach.

Can't say I'm excited, but maybe he can call in a few player recruitment favours. Got to give him a go.

He's going to be on the training ground. Will pick team and formation but not take the title manager.

Its not a demotion for Williams say Lee .... Yeah right!

Fucking hell, he's talking about paying more direct and having a plan B. What's up with him.

Really disappointing but I think it is a positive move consider our league position.

To be fair, it's probably the one person who could change our style a little and Power not be pissed off about it.  That could work in our favour.

Sherwood's not wearing a poppy, Sherwood out!

Incidentally look at a photograph of Power and Sherwood together and consider that Power is 3 years younger than Sherwood!

Disappointing?

Sounds to me as though we now have Tim Sherwood as manager, and hopefully a change of fortunes on the pitch.

You know what they say threes a crowd!!

"Luke Williams is at the football club because of me - because of my recommendation.''

That'll please the Facebook lot!

How on earth can anyone find negatives about this?

Plays needed tweaking for a while. Hopefully go a little bit more direct and be stronger defensively.

Fair point.

Failed manager with no lower league/limited budget experience. Can't think.

I guess this means to expect an influx of spurs youth players in the squad.

I'm not sure some quite understand that we actually have Sherwood as manager.

If you read back, everyone harps on about needing someone to take the reigns but that nobody would come because they wouldn't want to be dictated to by Power, Sherwood is not going to let that happen.  He need a foot back up, he's worked with the Spurs kids.  Clearly Power's had enough of the effort, so this solves it for all parties and keeps Williams.

Given our position and the stature of our club Tim Sherwood is an impressive announcement.

Remains to be seen how it works out, of course.

But this is the positive side, and he probably has a few friends in the game=players. Could be good for us, I'm just not that excited, more - lets see - if it works then fantastic.

Lets be honest here, taking out the Lee Power relationship if we appointed Sherwood normally most would be happy with that.

Obviously there is the Power friendship but as others have said he is probably the one person that Power will leave to it and be allowed to do his own recruitment and tactics etc so it might allow us to improve on the pitch at least.

I find the appointment and his role baffling.

He will pick the style, players & signings but will sit in the stands & has no contract with the club!!!

Is he failed?  I think he's unproven still.  Spurs produced a lot of good players under his Youth set-up, they did ok with him as Manager, Villa started off ok ish,  but fell apart, but then again it got even worse after he left.

It's in their nature.

People wanted a change and we've got it. Can't say a fan of what Sherwood has done in the managerial game so far but hopefully this will give us the shake up that is much needed.

Need to give a chance but the obvious usual suspects will have already made up their mind about this. Cue Newmarket Red.....

I imagine this is very much a leg back up for him and helps out Power.

Is the conference still going on with the beeb playing dancing on the fucking ceiling?

Its a change, and we needed one. Gives LP time to devout to other pursuits as well..

He has basically said everything in this press conference that fans have been moaning about (need more experience, play to players strengths not some model, spend a little) and yet the self same who kept making these points are still moaning!

Top tune!

On balance, this feels positive to me.  Leaving Sherwood to one side for a second, Williams gets to focus once again on coaching again.  It's what he does best.  That alone should bring about an improvement on the pitch.

There has been a feeling of malaise about the club for some time, and my worst fear was that we were going to do absolutely nothing about it and slide towards relegation.  I think that looks less likely now.  Let's give it a go.

For those of you who were uncertain as to whether it would be one minute's silence - or two - this Saturday, the official website carries a main story confirming that it will be one minute's silence.

Is this fantastic news. He was one of the favourites for qpr last week. How anyone can be disappointed I don't know. This is one of the biggest appointments in league 1. Welcome Tim, hopefully the players can a boost from learning off someone with your experience and that it will be a big pull for recruitment

So a DOF that does everything a manager would do. Assume he will be in the dugout on a Saturday as well.

I don't dislike the idea but his role is somewhat confusing. Think he's less likely to hold back if we don't start performing, this will either be great or he won't fancy it any more in a couple of months and sod of sharpish. Not sure which.

To be fair they have been to busy trolling the fans and media re Red Bull to get anything updated!

nobody has moaned about that?

Its not remembrance day yet

 Mrs Bellend hates Sherwood - or most Spurs connected people for that matter - but as most people thought we were galloping towards the abyss, this has to be positive.

Imagine there will be some major action in January.

I have to admit I am happy with his appointment.

I think there's more to come....

Some change was needed... Was this it? No one will know... At least he's seen that we have issues.

The more I think about it, the happier I am.

How many here a couple of days ago would really have thought we'd have Tim Sherwood as manager? And he is manager, not DOF.

He said he'll be in the stands but will go to the dugout if things don't go well.

Apparently the Red Bull can joke was Power's idea. See, he's not so bad after all.

how dare you be positive.......... to the chambers with you for your beatings....... You can't have positive thoughts

Damn, we're fucked. (how's that?)

Needs to be on the touchline from the off. Luke needs to stay on the training ground.

No pressure Luke!!!

What, you wouldn't even let him in to watch? Seems a bit mean.

Superb trolling by Power with the RB cans, btw, impressed with that!

Hes in the dugout.

I think this might work, takes the pressure of willims and Sherwood has cart blanche on all matters without being dictated to from upstairs.

Can only be a good thing?

Cant have been power, he doesn't read forums...

Of course not, he has them read to him while he relaxes in his bath of warm goat's milk. What do you think he has staff for?

Exactly, Power has tried it and hasn't worked, handing over reins to someone he trusts

You live another day  8)

So, instead of RB Swindon we have SS Swindon

You vill vin games, you Britisher svine

That's gone over my head at a rate of knots ???

Agreed. Set off a massive social media frenzy that. To the point even my colleagues were asking me if Swindon Town were being taken over by red bull!

Possibly not but I know 100% certain that people close to him at the club do read them, especially this one.

I'm not fan of him - he's a proper football man, ie a twat. But this will probably be about his level - or a division below it so he should do a good job.

It's almost like they enjoy moaning for the sake of it?

Meanwhile on the Adver site...

Tom Sherwood becomes Swindon Town's new director of football.
Sherwood to take control of transfer policy and team selection

The transfer window will be interesting.

I actually find myself looking forward to Saturday now.

Yeah Sangita, stop spying on us!

Well, its a change...sort of.

Need the man in the dugout though...

Paint the fucking DRS pink if it means we start winning at home!!

Lets see how it pans out.

Not disappointed or enthused but my meh factor is so high at the minute...

This has to be okay....  nothing wrong with a little more directness in Div 3.

When you're bang average at best, moaning is the next big thing!

I had been expecting we could look forward to dominating European Club Football for decades, so this is a little disappointing.

Nevertheless this is something of a coup - even if it turns out to be as short term as Lingy's appointment

My conjecture is that this new arrangement will not (like any arrangement for LW) expose STFC to any onerous long term liabilities but is rather a good interim measure that suits both parties.  For now, Ling's involvement last year was the key to us avoiding relegation and if Tim Sherwood's involvement achieves the same then that will be great.  

And back to fantasy, if the relationship continues with some success between Power and Sherwood, then there could also be longer term benefits to involve a properly funded Red Bull-style model of player development and sale married to some success on the pitch for STFC.

Anyway, welcome Tim - this is an exciting appointment!

Adebayor is still a free agent....

We already know the answer to the cheese question!

Any kind of cheese?
Only cheddar. I don't get involved in the rest of that muck.

A mature cheddar?
No. Mild.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2008/sep/26/1

Well he made all the right noises,
Not only need to develop and move on players but move the club forward too, ' turn the page ' and change playing styles etc

If that appointment doesn't motivate the players bugger all else will.
Can only be a good thing

He said all the right things so hopefully we can address the issues and try and push on for that 12th place finish

That FB group is surprisingly positive overall.

I haven't missed their shoddy reporting. That's pretty dire.

They will give him all of 1 game to prove himself

Well, it's progress.

Makes a change, usually with new Swindon signings they are already written off before they kick a ball for us.

Very true.

I'm pretty apathetic towards the news. Hope it works out.

I am surprised they managed to find the ground!

Mild cheddar and then this...

I don't read books. I read the Daily Express and The Star.  :hmmm:

I am not sure I want this man at my club!

BTW clicking on the link to the website he was plugging in that interview notes that the domain is for sale, I assume it didn't go very well!

Some posts from the QPR forum about his appointment...

This has to be good news doesn`t it? I think it is and that`s all that counts really - can`t believe anyone would think otherwise - good connections - good knowledge bring it on I say - we are in the shit and this I am hoping will begin to get us out of it - well done Power for not walking away - gets little support for running this little club of ours. I wil lbe there on Saturday...

Nailed it

I take this as good news, I said earlier that stability is important. OK we've shit players and most certainly would have gone down with Luke in charge, so a change was needed, this provides it.

We've still got shit players....some on here think the players OK, but management the problem, now's a chance to see.

Great news as far as I'm concerned!

For me, this was the key comment he made:

"1:54pm
Sherwood: "I will pick them team, but I will be leaning on him (Luke Williams). I know how I want to play - once I get the personnel here.''

Let's hope we are not too far adrift when the January window opens!

I'm always late to the party. A colleague at work just came over and asked me if I'd heard what's going on.

Can only be good news surely? Things couldn't carry on the way they were.

Haven't gone back through the thread, so apologies if I'm going over stuff already discussed, but has there been any mention of a takeover bid by Red Bull?

That rumour never had any wings..

8 points off the play offs  ;)

Fuck me, the adver have been given a clean slate and are allowed post match on Saturday. What's going on?

Almost like Sherwood is the one pulling the strings...

 Sherwood did say he needs to get everybody on his side and create some atmosphere in the ground again - good start!  ;D ;D

Can we buy STFC gillets yet?

Wait until the last minutre for Xmas purchase....might well be remaindered by then.

That's going to majorly piss them off, they will have to find (and pay for) a journalist to attend - much easier when they didn't have to bother and just blame the club!

But they wasn't allowed 1:1 interview like the others

Don't believe the bullshit.... the "others"?

No written media, as far as I can tell, got a 1v1. BBC Wilts did, like they do at every press call, and looks like SSN or local TV filmed that, but this is not a story.

It's perfectly normal for broadcast to get 1v1s and not written, and vice-versa.

One of the top stories on the news on Radio 2, announced with a slight air of incredulity. Makes a change from cant pay take it away type stories..

It is a coup for a L1 team languishing in the nether regions.

It's only underwhelming when compared to Red Bull showering us with gadzillions of pounds

Which was never on the table!

Actually it was.

Until it was taken off

Indeed.

Really interesting to see people, particularly those who are hyper-critical of Power, genuinely disappointed that RB aren't buying us.

Would people genuinely rather being owned by an international conglomerate and ran as marketing tool for one of the most unhealthy legalised products in the world,  with a new name, badge etc...

Serious question now the whole thing has been shown to be total Darren Bullocks...

I genuinely cannot believe how many fans seemed genuinely excited by the idea of Red Bull taking over, it would have meant (based on previous acquisitions) new name, new kit does the offer of money really make our heritage so insignificant to many supporters, not a dig at anyone in particular it was just a bit of a shock to see on social media (admittedly not a big trawl of comments) that most dissenting voices seemed to be coming from supporters of other team rather than Town fans..... Discuss

Ah you beat me to it by seconds .... wanker  ;) :D

Apols!

The most bizarre thing about it is that it's the people who claim Power is taking money out, only using it for his own devices, ignoring the community, has no place in "their" club etc that seem to have been the most enthused about RB!

Only just got in from GWH having had a small eye operation checked out so rather late to the news. As far as I can see it is a positive move by Mr Power, takes the build up of pressure off Luke Williams and lets him get on with what he is happiest with, and we get someone to "manage" the team who has experience of doing that.

I have now gone from being concerned about the direction in which we were going to one with slightly more optimism.

It's why clubs such as ours will forever spend its time in the shadows. Only serious money will get to the PL - if that's what people want.

Other club's fans bang on about the downside of a RB type takeover out of jealousy - much the same as we do about Muff et al.

Power's model may well be sustainable but exciting it aint. Some of us haven't got the time to see if it will eventually bear fruit!

Sorry, it was winding me up being on the wrong board.

I'm quite enthused by the news. Time will tell if it bears fruit but I think it will certainly help raise the clubs profile again.

I think what they mean is they are not happy with losing or being shit.  Unfortunately, that is the lot of supporting a lower league team.  If you'd just as well sell up to a corporate marketing machine, why not just take a much quicker path and support Man City or Arsenal?  Supporting Swindon has fuck all to do with watching a successful team.

Brilliant news - no more cuddles for the players, lets get to work/support and get up that table.

When I think of non-contract staff I think of when Andy King brought in his mates for a little while - Steve Coppell, Mick Harford etc. Is this a long term plan? I'm not so sure.

I've got no major issue with Tim Sherwood and in all honesty I thought the footballing world was and still is kind of harsh to him. He's not as articulate as some managers are but if we get anything close to the standard of players as to what was provided during his Spurs days then we'll be just fine, if he's hear long term... then who knows. Dean Parrett aside, obv.

I think I wanted a takeover more though (despite the risks that such news can bring).

Just an aside on the Red Bull thing - does anyone think that's maybe Sherwood wouldn't have come here if there wasn't something in the pipeline??

I'm not saying a Red Bull buyout is on the cards but maybe something?

I'd imagine if RB, or similar, came to the CG he'd be out on his ear. Serious money = serious people.

He probably got some assurances from Power re budget and responsibilities. Happy with that.

No. He's not worked for a year, probably hooverd up some good bucks by getting sacked by Spurs then Villa, so probably is genuinely interested in seeing what he can do.  I recall when Macari took over when we'd just finished in our lowest ever position, he said part of the attraction in STFC was a club which should be better, so you could be seen to taking it forward more easily.  This season we've been pretty shoddy especially at the CG, so it ought to be possible to get us moving forward a bit.

Why? Power and Sherwood are mates. Surely if there was something in the pipeline, then he wouldn't come here.

on itv news this evening  :suicide:
Take a look at @stfc_mick's Tweet: https://twitter.com/stfc_mick/status/796780783314829313?s=09

I expect he has, he's already mentioned that we need more experience. It could be an interesting window in January. Luke's been making noises lately about there being a bit of a turnover of players in January, I expect he would have been aware of changes being made in management for a while

A favour to ask you little darlings, the same as the last one. Could somebody please copy and paste to me the text from Morshead's article in the daily mail about Sherwood and Power. I can't access it out here.

Thank you, you all look very nice today.

Tim Sherwood joins Swindon Town, fourth-bottom in League One, as director of football as ex-Villa boss emerges from footballing wilderness

After 12 months in the footballing wilderness, Tim Sherwood has reappeared as director of football at Swindon Town.

The former Tottenham manager has joined the League One club on a non-contract basis and will take over control of all first-team affairs at the County Ground a little over a year after being sacked by Aston Villa.

Sherwood - whose Spurs team finished sixth in the Premier League in 2014 and who reached the FA Cup final with Villa in 2015 - will pick the team and decide tactics, as well as take the lead in transfer negotiations, with head coach Luke Williams now dedicated purely to working the squad on the training ground.


Tim Sherwood has been announced as the new director of football at League One Swindon

The former Tottenham manager has a long association with Robins chairman Lee Power
The former Tottenham manager has a long association with Robins chairman Lee Power

Williams only signed a five-year contract in the role at the end of last season and Swindon insist the move 'is not a demotion'.

While on the face of it the marriage of Sherwood and the Robins, who sit fourth from bottom in the third tier of English football with an average attendance of less than 7,000, might appear to be an odd one, they share a long back-story.

The former Blackburn midfielder is close friends with Swindon chairman Lee Power - a former professional footballer turned businessman, who acquired the Wiltshire outfit following an ownership dispute in the High Court in 2014.

The pair were housemates during their time together at Norwich and Sherwood was best man at Power's wedding.

Since arriving at Swindon, initially as an investor and director of football during the controversial tenure of Jed McCrory in 2013, Power has routinely leaned on Sherwood for advice.


The 47-year-old has joined the Robins on a non-contract basis and take over first-team affairs

Sherwood has been searching for a role since he was sacked by Aston Villa in October 2015
Sherwood has been searching for a role since he was sacked by Aston Villa in October 2015

During his first two seasons in Wiltshire, the Robins chairman borrowed a number of players from the Spurs academy - youngsters hand-selected by Sherwood.

The likes of Ryan Mason, Massimo Luongo, Nathan Byrne, Alex Pritchard and Grant Hall spent time on loan at the County Ground, with some subsequently signing contracts in Swindon.

SWINDON'S LEAGUE FORM
Swindon Town's last five results in League One:
Oct 29: Scunthorpe (a) L 4-1
Oct 22: Walsall (h) L 2-0
Oct 18: Rochdale (h) W 3-0
Oct 15: Wimbledon (a) D 0-0
Oct 8: Bolton (h) L 1-0
Mason later became an England international, Australian playmaker Luongo was voted MVP of the 2015 Asian Cup and Pritchard swapped White Hart Lane for Norwich last summer for an £8million fee.

While in his role as Tottenham academy director, during periods out of work and through his spells in charge at White Hart Lane and Villa Park, Sherwood remained a regular presence at the County Ground on matchdays.

He would sit alongside Power in the directors' box, with now-QPR director of football Les Ferdinand and ex-boss Chris Ramsay regularly among his entourage, while then-Swindon manager Mark Cooper would routinely visit Tottenham's training ground to fill Sherwood in on the development of Spurs' young stars.

While he would never turn up at the League One club's training sessions, Power involved Sherwood in the club's transfer discussions and he would help identify and assess potential targets using the Wyscout data analysis platform.

Away from football, too, he and Power have had shared interests - the two were directors of London-based real property development firm Avid Properties Ltd for several years, though Sherwood's directorship was terminated in 2009.

Sherwood's first managerial role was at Tottenham when he took charge in December 2013
Sherwood's first managerial role was at Tottenham when he took charge in December 2013

The former Premier League winner also guided Aston Villa to the FA Cup final in 2015
The former Premier League winner also guided Aston Villa to the FA Cup final in 2015

And unsurprisingly Power rates his close friend of 25 years highly.

'I think this is one of the biggest appointments the club has made in a long, long time,' he said, as he pledged to turn fortunes around with a team who have gone from play-off finalists to relegation candidates in just 18 months.

'We're still in a little bit of shock that we've managed to get Tim in.'

'Hopefully this appointment surprises a few people. It's a phenomenal appointment.'

Sherwood had been heavily linked with a switch to QPR to link up with Ferdinand following the recent sacking of Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink but says Swindon is the best option for him.

Alex Pritchard was at Swindon on loan and has since moved to Norwich for £8million
Ryan Mason has gone on to represent England since spending time on loan at the County Ground
Spurs graduates such as Alex Pritchard and Ryan Mason have spent time on loan at Swindon

Power says he has 'not come for the money', which is just as well given the Robins' wage budget is among the lowest in the division, while Sherwood has one eye on the future.

'I've had other offers but I think it's an interesting project. I've had a close eye on it for four years since I started loaning players into the football club,' he said.

'I'm coming in here to help out wherever I can. I've got a soft spot for this club.

'I'm not thinking about tomorrow, I'm only thinking about today. Hopefully we can take the club in the right direction.

'There's no magic wand, it's going to take a lot of hard work to achieve it.'

Thursday was Sherwood's first day on the job. This weekend he will sit in the stands when Charlton visit the County Ground.

His new team have won just once in 10 matches in all competitions. Life in League One will not be easy.

Thanks whits

So Sherwood is here on non contract terms...?

Yep.

"Everyone knows Tim has been a friend of mine for 25 years. So there won't be a contract."

Sorry if I've missed it earlier in this thread but is there a link to a recording of the presser from BBC wilts anywhere?

Can only see this being a positive as well. Sherwood won't want to damage his reputation any further so I think he must have some assurances that he will be able to spend some money.

Power's not adverse to investing in players anyway, which is something that many miss (or ignore because it doesn't fit in with their desire to hate him). I expect Sherwood's statement about needing more experience might require a bit of a bump in the wage bill though.

So, if we agree Sherwood is really at a level below where he could be, what are people's expectations for the season?

Is L1 survival enough? Is L1 comfortably mid-table OK? Is it too optimistic to think of the POs?

I think the games between now and the transfer window will be a good indicator. If he can get us away from the bottom 4 with the current players, then a tilt at the POs with a few new players on board could be realistic.

Tim Sherwood/Swindon Town specials:

Sherwood to become Swindon Town manager/head coach anytime – 1/2

To be relegated to League Two under Sherwood – 4/6

Swindon to win promotion from League One under Sherwood – 7/2

To beat Aston Villa anytime under Sherwood – 6/1

To reach any Cup final under Sherwood (EFL Trophy/League Cup/FA Cup) – 7/1

To play in the Premier League under Sherwood – 20/1

To win any major trophy under Sherwood (League Cup/FA Cup/PL) – 50/1

We're only 8 points adrift.

Of course a playoff challenge is not too optimistic if, and it is an if, performances and results will improve.

Too many weak links to think about the play offs currently.

If we scrape together a decent sum of points between now and January and aren't cut adrift, however, with the correct recruitment the evidence is there that says there's often a team that makes a charge over the last part of the season and gets into them, and usually does well.

For now I'd take mid table and a proper summer assembling the squad for next season.

As he's clearly the new manager why not just name Sherwood as the manager ?
Anyway, I think it's a reasonable appointment but not one for doing cartwheels to. Yet!
Hopefully he gets to do what he wishes, making it his responsibility.

I'm inclined to agree.

As soon as Sherwood is in the dugout, he'll be manager.

I guess he would be off if he does very well anyway, but it doesn't feel right :)

What's success? I'd settle for avoiding relegation, a bit of a change in style, and the feeling of building something up for next year.

Power did say something along the lines of 'We're being particular about not calling Tim the manager because...." and then said something about Luke not being demoted. I can't find the link now, but it's hardly a mystery.

It helps prevent Luke from losing face, and might also be a kind of insurance policy for Tim. His CV wont look as bad if he fails with a DOF title rather than manager.

He did say that, but then in the next breath say TS would be in charge of player recruitment, picking the formation/style and players.

So I'm not entirely sure the CV situation holds up for either. Footballs too small a circle to not know the real score.

To avoid demoting Williams

Edit: fh beat me to it.
This is the liveliest thread for a while, that's got to be something!

Ditto, although there is a very quiet voice in the back of my head saying "Barnsley, Barnsley".. Could just be the wife shouting "Bastard" from upstairs though.

But Williams has been demoted. That is obvious as Sherwood is now in charge of team matters.
They've just been very polite about it I suppose by not naming Sherwood as manager.

Exactly, they're just being diplomatic about it. That, and I think that they do genuinely hold Williams in high regard.

I'm wondering if Sherwood's being bought in as a sort of hands on consultant to help Williams get it right, the DOF title would make it easier for Sherwood to take a step back if things are going well (for Luke).

Called man management skills.

had that thought too, but eventually dismissed it because it was stated ts has complete control.

don't think this is a king/coppell scenario

I'm quite pleased with the news.

A manager, sorry dof, who is good friends with the chairman and has good contacts in the game. His previous record means nothing to me, that was at premiership clubs. Lets see how he does at this level.

I wonder whether it might be a short term thing, to give the team a boost, give Williams a breather, before he takes back over for the run in with town safely mid table, with Sherwoods stock having risen

...then Power gets a better price from the energy drink company.

Beers Not Jägerbombs

Maybe Power is looking for the bounce we got last season when Lingy came in this time last year. Sherwood knows the set up under Power and I think Power has got absolute trust in Sherwood to hand over transfer policy. It also allows Power to be less hands on and devote time to other interests, Waterford maybe?

 Sherwood has got a chance to rebuild his reputation, he can't stay out of work forever, and if comes off he can walk into a bigger job. The non contract thing seems to give flexibility both ways but we do miss out on compensation.

Who does post match interviews?

That was my thoughts as well, this Saturday's post game media interviews will give use a big clue to the new Dynamics of the management team my guess will be Sherwood especially as it is on Sky

Sorry, couldn't resist.

I agree with you btw.

Sherwood won't have come across anyone like Shaun Hodgetts and his softly, softly questioning

Maybe the terms of his play-off from Villa prevented him from taking another "managerial" appointment at the moment. DoF as a way to circumvent this perhaps?

He basically said that!  "I will be in the stands but if it is going wrong I will be down there!"

Wouldn't even call it questioning, just a cosy-up between mates, with Hodgetts scared of his own shadow!

He had a year where he couldn't take another position. I haven't checked but I'd bet money it's now 366 days.

25th October he left Villa.

Not far out 382 days. That's why i don't bet :)

Luke Williams never wanted to be manager, and now he's in effect, not. Whether Sherwood works out or not, we've attracted a name and a reputation that we otherwise wouldn't have.

It's a modern set up, a strong one if the individual's reputations (not forgetting the oft forgotten Seamus too) are to be believed and protects us from the accusation that Power won't have his mind on the club when the Waterford stuff ramps up.

Good news all round. If it all goes well, Sherwood takes a decent job again and takes Williams with him.

I also noted the other day, unrelated, that Steve Anderson was referred to as CEO recently on the official site...

Was genuinely concerned by the concept of Swindon red Bulls but the sherwood appointment is fantastic news. No way a club like us could get a one involved of that stature without the links that have been made in power's tenure. Hopefully some of the power out twats will pipe down for a bit and get back to supporting the team. There are still concerns obviously, but so far he's been one of the more responsible owners of recent years and probably our best connected.

Looking forward to seeing how it pans out.

Has anyone managed to work out yet why Sherwood does not do pre or post match press conferences , I find it odd he is in charge yet Williams has to come out and explain the performances every week

And why he's not usually in the dugout. Yes I get you get a better view up there, but its very unconventional.

There is no question of who is in charge, or at least not in public.

Because it's not a 'demotion'...

Being the scape-goat is now William's chief responsibility: 'in it together' and all that.

Power wants to rename Waterford United to Waterford FC and intends to return the clubs strip and crest to those of 60's & 70's when they was successful.

I get the impression the fans are fairly easy going over there and will not be fussed.

Why should they be fussed? Not exactly an identity overhaul is it?

Agreed but there are fans that don't like the club crest being changed

You see a change like that in a lot of takeovers - linked to trademark laws and merchandise.