Thetownend.com

a 3.1 win for  Swindon, a sniff of the playoffs and maybe another trip to Wembley :suicide:

Pre match baggage handling in The Jubilee Oak.

It's possible that The Cure didn't have their hometown in mind when writing "Just Like Heaven".

3-0 win today as the quest for play off glory continues.

3rd! game of the season.Hopefully keep up my 100% win rate.Richards to score

Expecting a comfortable win. Safe journey for those travelling. Shite weather today.

Creepy have not won in the last 6 games and only 1 win in 8, they have lost their last 2 home games.

We have only lost away at them once in 5 games and they have never scored more than 1 goal in any game against us there.

I think it will be 1-1 with Richards scoring in front of 5,335 fans with 1,234 of them Town fans.

Our home game against them was one of the most abject home displays I've seen at the County Ground. So yes, we should smash them today, but then we should have smashed them at home. We're a bit better now than we were then so unconvincing 2-1 to us, which could easily shade into a 2-2

They've sold over 4000 now, according to their Twitter. 4,000! Imagine that! #tinpot

Oh have they? I take it thats including our tickets? for them thats a cracking turn out, against Luton they had under 3,500 in total.

Creepy 2 Town 3

I think we'll win today. This is purely based on the logic that Swindon love to fuck with your brain. And so therefore a loss and probably a draw would kill us off - so won't happen.

If I was a thinking and reasoned man, I'd go for 1-1.

One of the consequences of our decline and the rise of "new" clubs, is that we no longer play against many of the traditional sides on a regular basis.  As I pointed out at the last away game..... Exeter at 14th on the list are the highest of our previous regular opponents.

What this means is that it takes a little while for patterns to be set, and any significance to be read into it.... an example our 100% record v Morecambe without conceding was always likely to end rapidly and did so on Friday.

The early Crawley league form, was skewed by Evans, who instinct tells me has a very poor record v Town.

Today....well it's almost the equivalent of a Tuesday fixture after a Sat, of which I think we've lost 5/6 this season.

Best compliment you ever paid me, I am touched....Mayo to score the winner...with a header ;)

Actually your first part is true, as we spoke about the other day....STFC does love to fuck with your mind!

There is no doubt that Evans must hate playing against us, definately.

ha, purely coincidental I can assure you Venks :)

if you look at the last 10 games our form is identical. hadn't realised shrinking it to 6 would weed out Crawleys dramatic stall though.

 mind you, they've got more points from their last 4 gone games that we have from our last 4 away.

I find this a bit depressing:

http://www.soccerstats.com/formtable.asp?league=england4

Our relative form is -0.31 and Creepy is -0.71 so that means we have been more than 50% better than them in the last 8 games ;)

If you look at relative form and high rates etc then we only have to play 3 sides that are currently in positive relative form, Yeovil, Carlisle and Accrington all the rest are in decline like us (currently) so that could be a good sign......staws firmly being clutched at!

I see Ryan McGivern and Olly Lancashire could be back in contention today, I like Purkiss and Mayo as a pairing on Saturday I think we should stick with it today.

2-0 away win.

We will win but they will score.

brave :)

I’ve got a spare if anyone wants it gratis.

Oh come on, we’re talking about STFC here, that’s more than brave FFS it’s like throwing myself in front of a bullet to save someone else  :Ride On Fatbury's Lovestick:

I'm in that Moons pub....heaving hot and only two bar staff...avoid!

Belting down with rain too....pitch inspection?!

nothing mentioned flash. the pic on Twitter makes it look similar to the CG on Saturday. soggy but playable

TOWN STARTING XI 👥 | Moore; Knoyle, Purkiss, Menayese, Hussey; Anderson, Banks, Dunne, Taylor (C); Woolery, Norris.

SUBS - Henry, Lancashire, McGivern, McDermott, Elsnik, Mullin, Richards.

#STFC https://t.co/0DP3P7FHL2

Richards sub. wtf.

legs can't hack it?

Richards standard in the last few games has not been at the level he sets himself, I think he could be carrying a bit of a knock though.

Tbf, he’s played every game since joining. Gone off the boil last couple of games, so a rest seems a good idea.

I'm sure it'll be explained.

Super sub

TBF the only starting 2 players I have even heard of in the Creepy side are Bulman and Randall.

They do have former Town temporary defender Josh Lelan on the bench though.

I swear some of these names are just anagrams of other footballers!

1 Glenn Morris
2 Lewis Young
6 Mark Connolly
7 Enzio Boldewijn
8 Jimmy Smith
9 Karlan Ahearne-Grant
15 Josh Yorwerth
20 Aryan Tajbakhsh
21 Dannie Bulman
25 Mark Randall
28 Panutche Camara

Subs
Mersin, Djalo, Lelan, McErney, Payne, Roberts, Sanoh

The pitch looks very green and cut quite long from the pics I have seen.

Like a cheap football manager game that couldn't afford the licensing rights.

Reminds me of Turbo Lotus Esprit Challenge..Nigel Mainsail, T.Hairy Bootson, Nelson Picketts, Alain Phosphate, Ayrton Sendup, Micky Louder...

Richards on the bench. Fair enough.
Has struggled to make an impact in open play in recent games.

Down from 4 to 2 grand dads in the starting line up.

Can't recall much of Norris & Woolery starting as a combination.

"Paolo Di Canio, we want you to stay!!"
Oops, right place, wrong time.  :(

Disappointed Tonton Zola Mokouko, Eric Nevland and Cherno Samba aren't there too!

So, do we think 6 points from the next two are vital. Or will 4 keep us in it?
I think 6 myself.

4 will keep us in it 6 will make it look easier to attain play offs.

We need to start a run going if we are going to go into the play offs with a run of form and optimism though, if we lose it won't be the end of the hunt but will mean the play off hunt will be all but over IMO.

1st time ever that I have probably paid 6 times more than almost everyone at the game to watch it!

Town fans in good voice and Creepy have a drum, wankers.

Sat on a beach in Mexico watching this. 4-1 town

off the line.. damn

Great attacking ply by Town then, Taylor shot saved on the line and Hussey blasting a cross/shot wide.

Good defending by Mayo poor kicking from Moore.

Good holding off the defender by Woolery but poor finish in the end.

A few points.

The ball is in the sky far too much so far, Hussey hates to tackle and Norris and Woolery linking up well so far.

Oh, and Mayo is winning everything in the air at the moment too.

Norris injured holding his shoulder.

nozza fucked?

Doesn't look good for Norris shoulder just when he was getting into th egame too....as is often the way.

Norris starts well and gets an injury, Norris starts poorly and that carries on for 90 mins.

No way will he carry on by the look of it.

while we are on a break, even Stevens. Dunne (my mom Friday) looks poor which is a concern. but early days.

yeah, nozza on gas and air, that is that this season I'd say

Stretcher out for Norris.

Yes Dunne has started off the pace a bit after 3 good games.

Certainly comms don't seem to think we'll see him again this season

Mullin on for Norris.

Didn't see a challenge but it looks bad for him.

Coventry 0 Yeovil 3 already

Accrington 1 Notts County 0

Wycombe 0 Grimsby 1

Taylor long free kick finds Mullin who can't get enough on the ball at the far post.

'kin hell. Yeovil can take that form and stick it after today.

Great run down the right from Woolery who beats 3 players then loses control as he shoots.

I can't help but wonder if Moore is any better than Henry to be honest?

Bad news about Norris.

Henry the Hoover, you mean.

Good interplay with Mullin and Woolery but Mullins shot well high and wide.

I think Henry is better than Moore but unfortunately we don't pick the team.

Moores kicking today has been rubbish.

Moore has more size presence about him but thats pointless if you don't come to collect crosses.

central midfield is worrying me. too much jogging about from the pair of them

Yes Banks and Dunne are nowhere near the play, but they are also being bypassed a lot.

Cov 0 - Yeovil 3! That's good news for us but one of my bets is fucked :)

Great play again by Knoyle down the wing but his final ball linto the box was not great.

Fuck, 1-0 Crawley

their number 7 looks rapid

0-1

fuck

We've had most of the play again and find ourselves behind.

Cracking goal from just inside the box, unstoppable.

we'll that was fucking simple. throw in. Dunne? loses man. bang. good finish, fucking shit defending

Pretty much against the run of play again though and again down to poor defending on our left side...again.

Classic Swindon

11th aa it stands. 17 defeats. This season is a joke.

Hussey and Taylor are our most creative players but neither can defend for shit.

Once again we are failing to take advantage of decent results around us. Not good enough.

Change your name to StefTroll. Ya Cunnnnttt!

A bit knee jerk?

We are 1/3 into a game that we have totally controlled, there plenty of time yet and the goal was as good as you will see anywhere today TBF to the bloke.

Bugger

at half time of its like this - 3 at the back, get Elsnik and richards on, lose Dunne and a defender and go for broke. this isn't working

We’ve got a defender?

the defending for the goal was terrible though. Dunne switched off.

still a lot to do, a great finish but fuck me..

Log way to go in this game, if we can get level before half time then who knows?

Dunne back to giving the ball away too cheaply in the middle and also giving away silly free kicks.

There's only so many times you can dominate games, not win them & put it down to luck. Good teams kill games off when they're on top. We should have done it Saturday & from what you've said so far PV we should be doing it again today. I'll be quite happy to be eating my words come 90 mins.

Not knee jerk at all. We have been this bad all season. In fact, 11th is probably about right for the way we have played. But for a club of Swindon’s size and budget? Not good enough at all. Totally unenjoyable, this.

we aren't dominating this game. just to be clear. reasonable start, faded, looked shit since goal.

same old

Exeter losing now as well

The ref is also giving them prettymuch everything and us not much at all.

Exeter losing. Mansfield taking full advantage of the promotion chasing wet lettuces as they lead away to Luton 0-1

I've only gone on PV's updates & Crawley had hardly had a mention up until their goal.

Possession wise we are 60% / 40% but chances wise we aren't.

Since the goal Creepy have come back into it more though, was probably 75/25 pre goal.

Good save by Moore.

Blimey!

We've been dreadful since Norris had to go off.  No presence up top whatsoever and no idea how to change our approach the game.

They are breaking with pace a lot more in the last 10 mins and we have a totally innefective midfield with Dunne back to his worst and Banks looking disinterested.

we've been dreadful Venks. those stats are Williamsesque. we've had 2 half chances

Indeed, Mullin is playing too wide to be effective but neither striker is getting the service the need.

Norris was playing well with Woolery until the injury and since then we have looked poor I will agree but the game is wide open still.

Banks and Dunne need to go off at HT.

We’re back up to 9th, woo!

We can't defend and atm, we're struggling to score and the midfield is non existent. Something tells me we're not going to turn this around today, but our lingering hope will probably be prolonged because of other scores.  What a shit league this is and unfortunately it's looking like we've got another season to enjoy in the basement.

I would also take off Hussey and get McGivern on as Hussey is crap at defending but won't attack them.

Another lacklustre display. Don’t really look like scoring. Big second half ahead. If we lose then playoffs is out of range (which is probably a good thing as this team is no way near good enough to play in league 1).

1st 25 we were the better side, we did all the attacking but didn't create anywhere near enough clear cut chances, Norris was playing well we were attacking down both flanks, then they scored a great goal and we have been outplayed since.

They are breaking with speed the way we did earlier in the game and they deserve their lead for the amount of better chances they have had, that said Moor has only had to save 1 effort other than the goal.

Hussey cannot defend and Taylor is not protecting him, Dunne is back to poor Dunne and Banks is pretty useless today, Mullin playing too wide to be effective with nobody int he middle attacking as Woolery wants to play the channels as does Mullin but that means there is no one in the middle.

Anderson started well and has not kicked the ball in the last 20 mins.

We are being over run through midfield and changes need to be made.

Absolute wank performance. 10 minutes aside. Again.

You can say that things changes when Norris went off, but I just don't see it as a major contributor to our downfall - and that's not Norris hating.

The fact is Dunne and Banks have been shit, Anderson may as well not be on the pitch and Mullin and Woolery can't get into the game.

The whole squad has a confidence of crisis and belief, and while I'm sure they won't agree they look as though they are merely going through the motions.

Unless they wake the fuck up to the fact its only 1-0, and put everything on the line they may as well be on the beach.

Dont read the facebook group, there are people that are genuinely happy that Norris has gone off injured

Unfortunately the seeds for this were sewn when we let Flitcroft stay through the transfer window.  Not because his signings were poor but because we lost the chance to recruit some different players if we were to try and play a different way.

You can see that we are trying to play more football but the players are a mix of just not good enough and the result of 7 months of coached out of it.  Mentally they are still in habits associated with lump it and hope.  We are playing football like I play snooker, one pass at a time with no thought of what next because it is not instinct.

With Norris having turned to shit in more ways than one, and then Smith having left, we have not had a proper hold it forward since about December, so we can’t even play hit it and hope effectively either.

It’s a bad mix of a poor bunch of footballers combined with nearly a season of poor coaching.  Brown has obviously tried to make a change but I fear it was too late and now just has them muddled.

Thanks David, you cunt.

I think you are right, lately when we go a goal down our heads drop and can't seem to get back into games as we did earlier int he season.

I do think Norris going off changed the way we were playing but it could just be a coincidence but it did seem we fell apart when he did go off, mind you the injury did look pretty bad and the stoppage was a good few mins but thats no excuse for the drop in effort.

We have no centre forward and that is the biggest difference for me, I love Mullin for his effort but he is not a centre forward we needed Richards on at that point, unless Richards is carrying an injury.

A big half, lets see if we can react to that poor ending of the first half and kick up a few gears.

Again !.

It isn’t a lack of effort they are just not sure what they are doing.  They can’t play on instinct because they are trying to remember a new tactical requirement.

Well there seems to be no changes at half time.

I suspect this is spot on. Didn’t PB recently say in an interview that he doesn’t exactly have the players he would have chosen but he’ll do his best with what he has.

next 45 minutes key.

This could be a make or break half for us. Nowt to lose so fucking go for it.

As an example, late in the half Brown switched Anderson and Mullin.  Anderson followed the ball back into the middle and for a few seconds just lingered there before realising he was supposed to be wide.  Someone shouted st him, assume Brown, to come back out.

Woolery long range shot straight at the keeper.

bright start

Deep cross in from Knoyle finds Mullin who heads at the keeper.

lucky boy mayo! didn't have much time mind

Did our best to concede another there.

Mayo gave the ball away just outside the box luckily their striker finished poorly and hits the post.

The ref is giving us nothing.

And with that he gives us a free kick!

Totally agree with Rob.  Flitcroft is to blame for the pile of shit he's left behind.  If he'd fucked off before the transfer window another manager might have had a chance.

Would rather have had Williams in charge than that fat insecure cunt, and thats saying something!

I would take Hussey off and get McGivern on as Hussey is yards off the pace.

The ball falls to Mullin in the 6 yard box without him realising and a good chance goes to waste.

McGivern isn't exactly fully match fit either.

Its not match fit with Hussey he just can't defend and all their attacks are coming down against him.

Crawleys number 7 is running him ragged.

Dunne off, Richards on

Dunne off Richards on.

Too many players letting the game pass them by.

Time to throw Elsnik on for a bit of creativity now.

not sure I get that unless Elsnik comes on. the strikers aren't getting service in the key areas

Mullin gone left, Taylor into the middle.

Woolery keeps looking to the bench, I think Elsnik will come on for him soon.

Crawley have a shot fro 30 yards that lands in Guildford.

don't suppose it matters, but Luton have equalised

Fucking Moore should come out of his goal faster FFS.

There is going to be a little lad going home with a very sore throat later "Come on Swindon" every 30 seconds at the top of his voice!

Im convinced Flitcroft signed him for a laugh and a parting shot

Good run and cross from Woolery but nobody on the end of it.

Are we showing anything approaching adequacy?

Another good run from Woolery but tackled.

We have been a lot better this half, defensively still shakey though.

its been slightly better this half. but still not creating much

He is pretty average to say the least!

Cheers guys. Twitter is wank in Turkey so watching the sunset following this terrific encounter on here!

(https://i.imgur.com/0nsyrYp.gif)

Ball retention much better now Dunne has gone off.

MsDermott on for Anderson.

Anderson off McDermott on.

metaphoric, life imitating our season

Mullin so close to playing in Woolery.

Getting closer, good effort from Banks saved.

a shot. yesssssssssss.

we didn't score but..

Mullin just wide from 18 yards out after a terrible delivered corner.

Was he anywhere near the goal or was he just running towards the corner or round in circles.

Sore throat and disappointed.  The joys of being a Swindon fan.  Good following again today, deserve much better.

we've suddenly woken up..

Who'd have thought that a young League One rookie turned out not to be the answer to our defensive woes?

All Woolerys runs today have been at goal not out wide.

Surely Will Henry can't be any worse?

The Vigaroux situation is another mess that Flitcrift left us with.

15 minutes to save the season.

We have been much better this half and created more chances but not enough good chances.

both us and Mansfield out of the play offs as it stands. 5 points behind Coventry.

yeah. Shitcroft losing too. small consolation

Flitcroft has managed to bugger up two teams this season.

Banks obviously got caught pissing in the refs half time tea as he just had 2 fouls against him, neither given.

1-1

YYYYYYYEeeeeeeessSSSsssSSSs

Richards

1-1

Richards good header from a  good cross in.

5 mins normal time to go.

come on town. we don't deserve to win but let's do it

Interesting. A winner now would be a right fillip.

My mum just saw me reading this message and asked me why I was reading about viagra.

Richards has been one hell of a signing.

A goal deserved on the 2nd half performance IMO probably not in the opinion of others though.

Come on Town.  We're due a late winner.

FT

Would have been a good point had we beat Morecambe on Friday but leaves us playing catch up still. 3 behind Coventry for the last play off spot with 6 to play.

Hopefully a late equaliser gives the players a bit of belief.

Draw was a fair result overall. Still have a squeak of a chance with the playoffs but need to
convert these draws into wins. A clean sheet would be nice too.

We could easily have snatched it at the end too, a couple of good efforts.

Well, that was a very very damaging Easter.

Can make a case for a point, which we obviously got, but not all three. First half was simply not good enough. The subs in the second raised us, but truth be told we again created very little clear cut.

So the odds haven't exactly improved in us making the playoffs, the sands of time are starting to run out. What's keeping it alive is everybody else being shit. But they won't all be shit all the time. Its pointless if we can't get the points.

It's 4 though really with GD. Which i know you knew but its a big thing.

An improved second half, similar to Friday.  The switch with Dunne going off and Taylor moving into the middle made a big difference with Crawley sitting on their lead.  It gave us some good possession.  He still worries me to death playing there when defending though, he is like a ghost and can't run around enough.  Deserved goal in the end, although we still gave them a couple of nailed on chances in that half.

I think Brown will do ok once he has had a pre season and can change some of the personnel a little.  You can see what he wants them to do.  Someone on the bench was constantly shouting for us to give the ball early when in our keepers hands and we also seem keen to get throw ins into the field of play.  Shame we cannot defend for toffee really.  Gives us too much to do.

We also seemed to clock the fact that Woollery has pace towards the end of the game and played a few balls into the channels, which stretched them.  Thought he had a good second half.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1475239182728328/permalink/1987493858169522/

Towns goal from away end

Yeah our GD is inferior, hopefully it won’t come down to that. Today would have been a good point after Friday’s 2 points dropped but it’s all a bit Meh currently.

It ain’t over until it’s over but at the moment preparing myself mentally for another round of League 2 next season.

Disappointing Easter.  We’re not out of it yet, but we’re also not making any headway on that 3 point gap (effectively 4 as Batch has pointed out).  

How much did we pay for Anderson?  Aside from the off field issues there’s apparently been, I’m struggling to see what he offers?

Lincoln don't play at the weekend and Notts County have Coventry.  Oddly, we could win on Saturday and be right in the mix again.  Fuck this for a game of soldiers.

Sorry Phil, but you can't teach someone to not defend a throw that badly. If my son had done that in U14 his coach would have gone mental. He knows how to defend it, he's just switched off - not purposely - but you can't teach that out of him.

Well this is the closest I have been to getting it all right!

1-1 Richards scoring in front of 5,008 with 1,377 Town fans.

I dont have FB, any other links

Yeah same. I’m now about 4 months clean of FB. Best thing I have done!

I wouldn't bother you can't see anything and the video quality is pretty poor actually and very wobbly which is understandable considering.

Heard Chris Hussey had something interesting to say in his post match interview?

The only way to make headway is to win a sequence of games and atm, there is no evidence of that likely to happen. 

Putting a winning run together at the end of a season is very rare in STFC's history.... and looking at the fixtures probably only Grimsby holds out much hope for a win, and they've already beaten us this season.

The real interest is now in how Power proposes to view 18/19, I think we'll fairly soon get an idea....

Hate to agree with Reg on this, but fact is in recent and medium term past we are averaging 1 point a game.

I don't see where the missing something is going to come from. Somebody give me something...

What was said?

I've got not context, just a tweet:

Chris Hussey: "What's done is done....can't do anything about it now....we've got a new manager here now....I don't really want to talk about it...."
Well I think that pretty much confirms the rumour then.   #STFC

Excuse my ignorance but what rumour Batch?

That he wasnt injured as long as Flitcroft made out to be and that they had had a big bustup

I heard something a while ago but didn’t want to post tittle tattle. All has not been well within the squad re personal relationships. Maybe he’s referring to that.

Flitcroft’s style was divide and rule.

That's more like it. Sod all this boring 1 all draw shite, I want all the rumours and lies and bust ups. That's my Swindon..

He shouldn’t have done what he did at the Christmas party though...

Every year theres one ;)

I don’t know why we bother to have one.
Drunk footballers are a bad mix at the best of times.
None of that shit under Di Canio

Then there was Fridays Anderson hint...

What was that?

I saw someone say he'd ordered 2 taxis or something

Heard him and Norris had a massive falling out on a night out

haha, no idea Ells. We'll probably shouldn't post it here and could be shit anyway..

edit: oh yeah, what Tans said plus a bit more...

So perhaps this is what PB was talking about...

http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/sport/swindon_town_2014/16129897.Brown_addresses_Town__issues_/

Ah yes, I did read that. Certainly doesn't suggest all is well BTS.

There's probably never been a squad where everything is sweetness and light, it's about keeping it managable and not allowing things to become toxic.

players don't have to like each other to play together I suppose

Cole & Sheringham

Is this another Matt Hewlett Andy Gurney saga thing again but with Anderson & Norris?

no

if you search the FB group for Norris and Anderson you will find said rumour

Fair enough.  I’ll give FB a miss not a place I like to read :-)
I heard Norris & Anderson had a massive bust up after the Cheltenham game which is what I think PB was talking about in the Adver article on Saturday.

yeah that's it.

Its true they did have a mssive bust up, its because Anderson ate all the black and red wine gums in Norris packet. Norris was furious as he'd only eaten an orange one and told Anderson to go and buy another pack as a replacement. Anderson refused and the town dropped 7 points there after, the rest as they say is history.

Best thing apart from the goal was the performance of Woolery alongside Richards.Could be the partnership to get us over the line

Never like seeing a player get injured, especially one of our own, but Norris missing the remainder of the season will increase our slim hopes of finishing in the p/o's imo.

Can’t agree with that. We’ve got Richards who is obviously carrying an injury, so if he’s out for any period of time, where does that leave us - Woolery and Mullin with young Twine. We need as full a squad as possible.

I'm looking at it on the basis that his goals record from open play is shocking, he's clearly struggled with his shoulder since it popped out at Carlisle on the open day, i.e. he's never been 100% since he came back & he's keeping players with more potential & better footballing brains out of the side (Woolery, Mullin). Only my opinion of course but out of the 4 players mentioned if I could choose who would miss the last 6 games for any given reason it would be Norris all day long.

But there’s a difference between not picking him and being unable to pick him.

Am I missing something here?

Woolery hasn't got a footballing brain. He's got pace and thats all. I may be on my own here but I'd pick Norris ahead of woolery every day of the week

Of course there is. & now that Brown's hands are tied by him presumably being without him (awaits the confirmation of the extent of the injury) for the rest of the season I think our alternative options are more likely to get us goals than Norris would have.

Fair play Swindon, I feel that you maybe could've won that game but that's football at the end of the day.

If you want a recap of the match, or you couldn't make it today, check out my video which contains all of the goals:

https://youtu.be/D-Rx4sD-3Yk

Woolery may not have a great footballing brain (& I may have not got that point across very well in my original post) but the football brain he does possess is far greater than that of Norris. I've been to every home game this season & from what I've seen he has no spatial awareness, no idea of what he's going to do before he gets the ball (reactive as opposed to proactive) & at no point has looked as if he is on the same wavelength as his strike partner. Woolery or Mullin with Richards (if he stays fit) excites me far more than either of those three with Norris.

Blimey. Are you hoping all the other “fan favourites” get injured so our manager can’t pick them too?

Not at all. Just making the point that if we were to be robbed of a striker for the run in I'd rather it be Norris, the reason is purely circumstantial.

Fair enough I guess. I’d prefer it not to be any of them but might not have a choice in that one.

Me too. My original point was that I feel we've got more chance of getting goals out of the remaining 3 fit forwards than we have with Norris.

It's been a long season.
Pre match fatigue is kicking in.

As for the game. Better in the second half, but too much sloppy play throughout.

Have you seen that interview with Simon Ferry where he said loads of them got smashed before the Aldershot game and Di Canio went mental? None of that shit under Di Canio...

Very poor first half, yard off the pace and they wanted it more.

Link up play was missing and it seemed we didn't have a plan. Woolery a passenger and Norris boby popping was a blow.

I heard mutterings about Vigs when the goal went in but nobody could of saved that... the scorer shouldn't of been allowed to shoot from there...

Second half was a vast improvement and we might of snatched it..but it would of been undeserved.

What the fuck was Harry moaning about? The ref gave them everything.

Third game in a row when a good patch of play was halted by somebody laying on the ground holding his head....makes my piss boil.

Cannot believe we are still in with a shout....

Chris Wilder at the Blades trying to secure a playoff spot.... Some points of reference for us too..

"We haven't got the result we wanted, but not for the lack of trying.

"We should have accumulated loads more points over the last five games, we're playing well enough but the ball in the back of the net puts teams to bed.

"We try to play in a way that our supports enjoy... but in the end you've got to win and that decides the teams that are successful and the teams that maybe just fall out."

Exactly these points.

We could and should have won the last 2 or 3 games but the ball didn't fall right for us.

I too prefer Woolery to Norris but TBF to Norris when he came on at Exeter and his pre injury performance yesterday were very good, he was doing the simple things right, yes he had a stinker at home to Morecambe but he can't ever seem to do it for 90 mins, but I would say his seaosn is over now and that will please some fans.

I am no fan of his but he doesn't deserve the stick he is getting he is just a limited footballer and hope he recovers soon.

Comparing Woolery and Norris is like comparing apples and cheesecake. They're completely different.

Norris proved his value in his absence yesterday. Without him, and before Richards, we were dreadful, even though Woolery (and Knolyle) were the pick of the bunch. Some strikers are more important than the goals they score (14 this season isn't a bad return still).

The fact that some fans are pleased he's injured is shitty.

Yesterday summed up why we won't go up. A mixture of injuries to key players, a lack of quality and a lack of something slightly less quantifiable... spirit? desire? Not sure....

Also very interesting listening to Hussey and others allude to big problems behind the scenes under Flitcroft. May explain our inability to draw a game or actually battle for each other.

We've got the nucleus of a good L2 side for next season, assuming we can keep some key players. Would like to Brown stay too.

Norris is a very limited footballer but he's been playing with a cast on his shoulder all season alongside a recurring ankle injury. He is vastly improved on last season. He doesn't catch the eye like woolery but he does a lot of the shitty work others don't. Defensively he gets in a lot of headers and blocks. He also does his share in midfield. None of the other strikers do this.  He's one of those players other players appreciate but fans don't. A bit like risser when he was here.
I think he would make a decent centre half.

Lawrence Vigouroux instagram was most amusing yesterday

https://ibb.co/hr8kbc

Is that a pair of stags?

As a matter of interest, who do you (the TEF, not PP specifically) think the key contracted players are?

Me: Vigs-, Conroy*, Preston**, Taylor ***,  Richards *** - that's all I really rate, hence the question. Woolery could offer something. Norris and Anderson are useful squad players, but I wiouldn't want to build a promotion challenge around them - probably one or two others in that category too.

Of course you could include keeping loaners there. I guess that's fair enough and changes things a bit.

- Assuming he is motivated, doesn't do something stupid/leave of his own accord.
* Still got to be a question mark over fitness (see JSW)
** Assume he's still in contract
*** They are getting on. Quality - but there is a small risk of Nallising

Preston and Taylor are OOC.

Recokin Taylor will get offered a player cocach deal?

I have said this a few times this season too, I think he would make the swap like Rowland did, he can head a ball and he can tackle and has a bit of pace when he wants, he looks more of a footballer the closer he gets to his own goal though.

Swindon contracts are -

Goalkeepers: Lawrence Vigouroux (2019), Reice Charles-Cook (2019), Will Henry (2018), Stuart Moore (2018)
Defenders: Olly Lancashire (2019), Matt Taylor (2018), Matt Preston (2018), Dion Conroy (2019), Ryan McGivern (2018)
Midfielders: James Dunne (2019), Ellis Iandolo (2018), Donal McDermott (2018), Jordan Young (2019)
Strikers: Paul Mullin (2019), Luke Norris (2019), Keshi Anderson (2020), Kaiyne Woolery (2020), Marc Richards (2019)

Chris Hussey's Sheffield United contract expires in 2018
Rollin Menayese's Bristol Rovers contract is undisclosed
Kellan Gordon's Derby County contract expires in 2019
Timi Elsnik's Derby County contract expires in 2019
Ollie Banks' Oldham Athletic contract expires in 2018

Kyle Knoyle, Ben Purkiss, Chris Robertson, Amine Linganzi, Tom Smith, Tom Ouldridge and Scott Twine have not had their contract length publicly disclosed by Swindon Town.

Courtesy of Total Swindon.

Of the players under contact for next season, we're reasonably well stocked with forward thinking players but little in midfield or at the back.

As regards the keeper, it was always going to cause a problem when Vigs' claim to have clubs interested, proved to be hollow.  It's always best to get a rapid clean break in these situations.... remember Adam Rooney.  Looked like it would get very messy for him for a while, absoloutely no fault of his, but a speedy departure sorted it for both parties.

The key issue as ever is Power, in his own way this season he has tried to get us back up, but ultimately failed... his focus now seems to be on fronting up others buying the CG, so that he can sell the club as the players route has dried up. 

Presumably keeping League football in Swindon, has to be desirable with that aim in mind....although it may not matter to developer.

Personally, in an ideal world, would look for something like:

+1, RCC (2nd choice) and Henry (out on a proper season-long loan)

Taylor, Hussey, Lancashire, Conroy, Preston, +1, Purkiss, Knoyle, +1

McDermott, Mullin, Keshi, Iandolo, Tom Smith, +3 CM, +1 wide player

Norris, Woolery, Richards, +1

Plus Young and Twine in and around.



 

Ive said it too...

But the days of players swapping positions seems to have gone...

They have, players like to specialize in one position now and not be as flexible.

I think he could be a half decent CB in all honesty, hes still young enough to make a career there.

ah yes, forgot Knoyle. he looks decent.

 mullin fits into decent squad player for me, though he has been unlucky with the game time he's got this year.

What have Hussey and others said re. Flitcroft? I think I've missed this...

I never thought I'd say this but having seen Dunne under Brown - he is a different player and I think he could actually turn out to be really useful for us next season. Re. Norris as well... It's easy to dislike him but honestly, I think in games where he's not playing or he's subbed on or off, we always look better with him on the pitch. We came flying out of the blocks yesterday and as soon as he went off we completely fell apart.

He's developing quickly and was our best player yesterday, or at least did the least wrong.

I don't think he has had what we would call a "bad game" for the Town.

Hes reliable and his running with the ball and crossing is very good for his level of experience.

A far better option on the right wing than Gordon or Purkiss, who impressed me at CB again yesterday, did little wrong really was just caught out of position a couple of times.

I think given a whole season Knoyle is easily good enough for this league and step up if we got to L1, I think he could be a big player next year and hes still only 21.

Knoyle's crossing needs a lot of work but generally agree he looks like a decent prospect. Sometimes he needs to put the ball in a bit quicker, you don't always have to beat your man.

Knoyle I'm not 100% convinced by, but he does seem to grow into games.

Mullin - thought he deserved a chance in the middle but he didn't work with Woollery when he moved there yesterday.  Probably an either or situation with those two.  Personally, I'd get Richards on some Opiods and ensure him and Woollery play together to allow them to form a partnership for next season.

Central midfield is an issue that needs addressing for next season, especially if we revert back to the two in there and central defence needs just as much work.  Purkiss looks ok, but we really need a fit Preston and Conroy or replacements.

Keeper - either we welcome back Vigs and make him happy or we ship all of them out and start again.

McDermott - think he might be a useful player in Browns system, I'd be inclined to start him over Anderson on Saturday if he is fit enough.

Taylor worries the shit out of me in central midfield, but I'd be interested to see how the team that finished the game would work from the start, or maybe Taylor left and Elsnik back in the middle.

Agree about Mcdermott,far better option than Anderson currently and also I agree Taylor has to play wide.Like the look of Richards and Woolery as a pair

If anyone wants a stab at guessing how the season will go...

http://worldfootball.net/table_calculator/eng-league-two/

I think Norris would be far better suited to a CDM type role. Can win plenty of headers, likes a tackle. Oh and he can still take the penalties. Norris - the new Viera...he just needs to realise his position isn't as a striker and his career would kick on.

I think his complete lack of spatial awareness would probably be highlighted more the further down the pitch he played

Possibly but his strengths are in the defensive elements of his game.

This. I'm really struggling to make a case for Norris to play anywhere at L2 level. If somebody else was taking pens this season he'd be getting far more stick than he currently is for his appalling goals record from open play. Tbf to him though his penalty taking has been excellent & he always works hard so can't be faulted for his effort. Out of interest how many assists does he have this season?

Agree with this - never convinced by him and I get as frustrted as anyone by his inability to convert, his refusal to jump more than 2 inches off the ground (although accept his shoulder injury may be playing a part there) and his lack of awareness at times, but we don't look the same without him. We don't look great with him, but we're bloody terrible without him

A poor man's Billy Paynter

Unlike Woolery who has scored less but is seen by some as the next Miles Storey ;)

Norris has had far more game time than Woolery. He's also played most of his football at L1 level whereas the bulk of Woolery's before this season had come in the Conference. Plus their two completely different players. I'd be more inclined to judge Norris against Richards or Mullin although the latter has also struggled for game time.