Thetownend.com

Should be a bumper crop crowd on Saturday.

Gump 1-2 Swindon

Att: 3,111 (1,600 away)  :)

FGR 0-0 Swindon in front of 3,515 with 1,224 Swindon fans there.

Is that based on 300 Town fans in the home end then?

1,224 officially but with another 300 in the home end.

:D

Allegedly  :)

It's a bit early, but chatting to a mate on Sat, and he reckoned our allocation at Home Park for NYD is 1500, which is Argyle's normal.

Quite surprising, and makes FGR's effort look reasonable.

I reckon 1600 is about right in terms of away numbers, if we score we will win so I can see another 1-0 win.

I also predict Cooper to have a meltdown and that twat Vince to deliberately cause as much disruption as possible to make a case for their new ground.

Draw. 1-1

I would love Cooper and Vance to implode, they are a couple of twats.

I think I read that our official allocation was 1,224, 1,024 standing and 200 seats, so yes a few hundred in the home end as normal, I think FGR will get one of their highest crowd of the season with it being not too far behind 3,897 they had for the Plymouth game, they had 1,224 (official) and about 450 odd in the home end.

Vince is in a strop at the moment as his mate Jezza didn't become PM. He held a rally with Corbyn at their ground last week,  which was the final straw for some and has probably burnt all his bridges to stand any chance of getting approval on a new ground now. Shouldn't mix politics and football!

1750 according to the ticket office

Planning decision on the new ground tonight by Stroud District Council so their mood may be even darker by the weekend.

Like you are? :)

Perhaps opened up a bit of spare capacity in anticipation.... that should be enough.

None of this ‘happy with a point’ bollocks, please.

8-in-a-row coming up!

From FGR.

Still looking for a ticket, if any of you lot have come down with the lurgy.

https://www.stroudnewsandjournal.co.uk/news/18110589.forest-green-rovers-second-bid-new-stadium-plan-approved/

FGR new stadium approved tonight.

Eastington Eco’s it is then, Forest Green are dead. Bang goes my journey to and from work! We have an Franchise Mk II

Great journo name for the Stroud Joournal... Leigh Boobyer! Ok, incredibly immature but do you think he's a bit of a tit?

I'll get my coat  :soapy tit wank:

They want away fans to park in Gloucester, and then travel to stadium via bus and train :Ride On Fatbury's Lovestick:

Vince is really counting on the move bringing a rapid expansion of their fan base isn't he? I'd be fuming with this if I was a FGR fan. Not enough that he changed their colours and turned them into a gimmick as it is, but to rip them from their home?

Could be a R&D mk II

Can’t be confident of expanding the fan base too much - not with a 5000 capacity!

No disrespect, but who are they going to attract? Even big town Cheltenham don't get great numbers, Glos is rugby.

That's still a considerable expansion for them!

Apparently the stadium will be designed so it can increase to 10,000 should they ever need it.

It seems Dale Vince thinks he can draw in fans by having close to the M5 J13 but that's a big ask. Will also need an investment in infrastructure as J13 is a nightmare at peak times.

There has been some talk in Stroud about re-opening the closed Stonehouse station on the Gloucester Bristol line which is a lot nearer the new site. Maybe DV will be asked to make a contribution.

I still think this a piecemeal approach to getting his Eco Business Park which he dropped from the original plans but could come back to.

To be honest Vince doesn’t really care about the supporters or numbers that attend so it’ll probably remain at 5000, it’s all about marketing the brand and the publicity it brings. A lot of their core supporters are starting to disappear as they feel alienated from the club now.

In terms of the new site they are currently rebuilding both roundabouts either side of junction 13, the shell garage one is almost finished and the Whitminster one is just starting and going to have the Canal going through it. Both changes won’t make any difference as the bottle neck is into Stonehouse which is single carriageway all the way to the Ebley bypass. The new stadium will cause more chaos as it will have traffic lights on its entrance and result in cars backing down on to the motorway even further. Every junction from 9 to 13 in Gloucestershire are accidents waiting to happen.
The application is laughable as apparently being next to the motorway is purely coincidental and nothing to do with being easily accessible by car. The stadium will only have 300 or so parking spaces and there won’t be any parking issues as everybody including away fans will follow the clubs advice and travel by public transport or park in places like gloucester and get the bus. Who really believes that?!
This whole sage just proves his whole Eco thing is a nothing more marketing strategy for and he’s going to sell the existing ground for housing so not like he’s returning it to a green site. Thing is he’s gotta pay for it and build it still so a long way to go. Hopefully it gets called in by the Secretary of State because as both a local resident this is clearly not the the right place for it. Thankfully the business park should never happen now as they are rebuilding the canal on that side so that’s some of his long term funding gone.

They lose about £500k a month which Vince hides with sponsorship from his company so they will be the next Rushden & Diamonds at some point it’s just a question of when.

let's be honest, to increase the capacity of a wooden stadium will be a piece of piss. a few joists and 3x3 posts here and there, can be done in an afternoon.

almost like rovers when they put up a new tent in the summer

When FGR came up their wages to turnover percentage was 196%, the league allows 55%.

DV gets around that just by sponsoring them extra to cover the shortfall.

2014 loss: £2,500,000
2015 loss: £2,890,000
2016 loss: £2,483,624
2017 loss: £2,155,063

The 6 years combined including the promotion season left the with a cumulative operating loss of £12m.

2018 profit: £422,647 (thanks to a new sponsorship deal of £3.5m from Ecotricity).

Their total wage bill, including players, football and non-football staff, was £2.4 million for the 2017 season.

Their turnover went from £2m to £4.9m thanks to the new Ecotricity deal.

DV does not need anyone coming through the gates to fulfil his massive ego trip and get them promoted higher up the leagues. The less people come through the door the more he sponsors them, simple.

Thing is they are a novelty at the moment, the new stadium if it happens will prolong that novelty but once the novelty and marketing value is gone that will be the end of them. I’d be surprised if they exist in a decades time.

So who's got their figures wrong then?

Well clearly it’s me as I misread an article that said £4.6 million over 2 years. Either way it’s more than 200% their natural income.

Yeah tbf your point still stands, they're losing shedloads and Vince is making good the shortfall with sponsorship. You could argue he's getting good value for that sponsorship, he and his business have attracted national publicity via his association with FGR

Its sad from a footballing point of view that this is allowed to happen as Gloucestershire is really letting it’s football fans down. As well as ripping FGR out of their community you’ve got Gloucester City who have been homeless for 12 years and just as they are about to return to the city they are now going to have FGR encroaching on their catchment area and even telling people to park in Gloucester for games.
I remember when Diamandis wanted to move us to Chippenham, that would have been much the same and killed STFC.

Yes it's wrong. So you can guarantee the FA/FL will nod it through on the bounce

How good is the FGR pitch drainage, what with it being on the side of the mountain?

Its a bit soggy out there. Though there is meant to be a respite later today/tomorrow morning.

Their pitch is kept purposefully soft so their players don’t get injured when throwing themselves to the floor.

Baudry scores tomorrow.

Whilst I want us to win every game, taking the view that our target this year is an automatic promotion place, I think we really need to look at the next fortnight - starting tomorrow, finishing with Bradford on 4th Jan - as a block of five games, and ask what we think would be a good return. There are some short turnarounds, particularly for the Sunday and New Years Day games, and this means that all teams, including us will make changes in starting elevens and on the bench. This increases the unpredictability of results in this period.
My feeling is that 10 or 11 points would be fine, and if it were 9 from 2 wins and 3 draws, given that we are playing several contenders for top 3 in this period that would be ok too. 10 points would see us on 52 from 26 games - meaning something like 32 or 33 points from the remaining 20 games would get us in the top 3.
A win tomorrow would help us on the way to my 5 game target, a draw would not be a disaster (although it would be nice to see Cooper implode again!).
I will be away over Christmas, returning in time to be at the Bradford game, so no predictions from me over the holiday. A happy and peaceful Christmas to all on the TEF.

Looking at the bext 5, as you suggest...

FGR (A) - currently 6th with only one win in their last 5

Cambridge (H) - currently 11th with mixed form, they've beaten Exeter and Crewe this year

Port Vale (A) - currently 10th with mixed form, beaten some good teams but lost to Macclesfield

Plymouth (A) - currently 8th with 3 wins in last 5, could they get distracted ahead of Man City in the FA Cup?

Bradford (H) - currently 5th, mixed form, lacking strength up front ;)

Not an easy run and three wins would be a good return, especially seeing as we've struggled to beat teams in the top 10 so far. 9 points would probably see us stay top.

[/b]

The only game in the football league to be called off. nearly 50 FA trophy games also fulfilled their fixture that day.

3 draws *is* a win, everyone knows that :)

Wouldn't be surprised if it's called off. All council pitches around here have just had a blanket postponement across them all so although obviously a different standard it shows how sodden the ground is.

Why would Plymouth care about the Man City v Vale FA Cup tie? ;)

Not sure why Plymouth would be looking out for Man City when they have been knocked out of the FA Cup but they certainly looked a good team against the Gas and will give us a good game in New Years Day

Think he got the wrong team, Port Vale have got Man City in the cup.

Surely at the top of that bloody great hill the water should run off it and flood Nailsworth instead.

Provided it is on, reckon we'll sneak this 1-0.

I'm fully aware of that, hence the winky face :)

Apologies, wrote the FA Cup comment next to the wrong team!!

I'm getting a bit bored of this struggled against top half teams.
we may not have won enough but bar the shitfest at Crewe (and we nearly got a point) it's been fine. Chelt and Exeter were more than happy with the point against us as we played better and should have won. we are top of the league because over the season so far we are the best team in the league!

bring it on

let's be honest. Doyle will score tomorrow which means forest green need 2. their last 3 home games they have scored a grand total of 0 goals. it's a win for town

Agreed. FVR (or soon to be Eastington Eco Warriors) are dropping into Leyton Orient territory, with absysmal home form. It's games like this where you know the winner will have a certain impetus, that then secures their status and takes the division to ransom.

We may draw, we may lose but on current form, Town will be hoping to secure 3pts.

State of the world we live in when the Political thread is further up the list than this top of the table clash - so I thought I would address that especially as I am going - even though I will be in the home end.
Don`t often feel confident in my predictions ( inspite of flying up that league  ;D ) tight game but reckon it will be 0-2

COYR  :pint:

0-1 Town

Attendance: mostly Town fans

Spot on mate, you just beat me to it - the further down that bloody thread gets pushed, the better  ;)

Town's winning run and Ginger Pele's scoring run are obviously both going to come to an end at some point but I'm not going to be the one to predict it...

1-3 Doyle, Yates, Anderson

Are you down there yet Wobbly Bob? :pint:

Pre match sun is shining, it's a new morning in The Lord John.
B12 levels are good.
Difficult to blend in as I don't know what a Guardian reading hippy looks like, elbow patches on jacket maybe?

Looking at those who have played for both clubs, Jon Beswetherick is on the list.
Possibly a contender for the worst 11 of the 2000's, at left back.

I remember the heady days of a second round FA cup tie in 2007.
The only one on the pitch that went on to greater things was the ref, one Anthony Taylor. The hair was going south even then.

Our team of smooth operators has been imperious in recent away games. Hopefully that will continue today.

Oh and the spicy relish on the FGR burgers does not disguise the extreme blandness of the product.

That made me laugh. :)

3-1 Swindon.  Doyle not among the scorers.  You heard it here first.

1-2 Town

1-1

A win today would be a massive result and set us up nicely for the christmas period. 2-1 to the Town COYR

My punishment for not being able to get a ticket is shopping with the missus in Marlborough. 3-1 to the Town.

I sometimes go shopping in Marlborough..... the Oxfam bookshop, you get some decent stuff in there.  

There used to be one in Swindon, but Oxfam gave up on Swindon and closed down.

I enjoy the contrast between getting on the X5 at the Bus Station and getting off in the High Street.  

World's apart and encapsulates our divided society.

Marlborough isn't too bad Reg  :)

It's in danger of disappearing up its own arse.... it's always been a wealthy place, but usually in an understated fashion, as the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, it starts to show.  So the contrast with the Bus Station area is particularly stark.

Drove through Marlborough on the car share to work in Pewsey for years.
Always liked to envisage The Polly Tea Rooms as a front for a knocking shop known only to the locals.

A pleasant commute.  PTR has been there as long as I remember, which goes back to being able to get a train from Old Town.  You do get some very fragrant ladies promenading along the High Street, I see them as more like characters in a Jilly Cooper novel

In 1st team games between the 2 sides FGR have only won 2 times (1 of those was the mickey mouse game) in 7 with 1 draw and a Swindon win in the other 4 games. FGR have only scored more than 1 goal against us on 1 occassion back in the FA cup in 2007.

In the 2 games at the Vegan Palace they have not beaten us with 1 draw and 1 Town win and they have only scored 1 goal which was in the draw last season.

FGR have no players with a Swindon Town connection but Matt Mills spent a couple year at Swindon as a youth. His younger brother also at FGR is Joe Mills who was born in Swindon but never played for us at any level.

They obviously have the often outspoken Mark Cooper as manager, a marmite man at Swindon who I personally never took to as everything was always someone else fault, even sometimes blaming the fans and never took responsibility for his own poor decisions in tactics or substitutions. Something FGR fans have also bemoaned, he was also tactless in criticism of Justin Edinburgh and Ross Embleton recently. A man who has no class it would seem. He can also fall out with himself in an empty room and has been working so far this season with no assistant ever since ex Town youth manager Scott Lindsey left due to family problems.

FGR have not been great at home so far this season with just 4 wins coming at Vegetable Towers, they have suffered 3 defeats at home vs Newport, Plymouth and Scunthorpe.

They do have the tightest defence in L2 having conceded 16 goals vs our 22 but have only scored 24 compaired to our huge total of 37 so far.

Their current league form is LWDLL their recent home league form is LWDWDLDL. They currently sit in 6th place in the table.

Thier top scorer is left back and penalty taker Joe Mills with 6 and Celtic loanee striker Jack Aicheson on 5.

I have no doubt that Cooper will pack the midfield today and try to outplay us, they will be hard to break down as they have such a good defensive record, something Cooper never got to grips with in his time at Swindon, they will pass and run but can they outpass us? I don't think they will but will have the backing of half the crowd and are convinced they will outsing the Town fans (they won't) and will bang that fucking drum to try and drown out the chants for the Ginger Pele.

If Doyle managed to score today he will put him just 1 game behind Swindon Towns all time record for consecutive games scored in, a record held by Harry Morris from way back 90 years ago.

10 scoring games in a row would be absolutely amazing and not beyond his ability at all.

If we keep a clean sheet it will be 4 games in a row, something we have not achieved since 2012-13.

If Swindon win it will be 8 games in a row, equalling the winning run by the Macari Championship winning side of 85-86, something only 1 Swindon side since then when we won 10 in a row under PdC in 2011-12 again when we were champions of this division.

I sense a theme....

Think a lot of the noise they will make is bickering amongst themselves:

https://twitter.com/southstandfgr/status/1208312501538041858?s=21

And we thought we had a divided fan base!

Sadly, can't see that line being looked at by the Government as part of the promised review of Beeching cuts. Not sure if it had gone before then though.

I fully understand their concerns though TBH, it is like as you stated previously, like Diamandis saying we were going to Chippenham.

Dale Vince, the ego has landed and the fans are worth nothing.

Will take a point

Vegetable Towers. Love it PV. Like one of the stadium names on ISS64 😂

The 'spoons was packed with Town fans, so decamped to The Ale House.
This place is the bollocks
Plenty of room, log fire and a great selection of beers.

And the mobile signal is shite around here.

I thought about Turnip Towers, as it had a certain ring to it...

Not Fodderbeet Fields? 😉

 ;D
Are there enough of them to form a division?   ;D

You would struggle with a platoon!

Anyway, 0-3 with Ginger Pele, Doughty and Yates.

Attendance?  More of us than them!

Everyone rush to the bookies/online account and put a tenner on Doyle hat trick.

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EMULPgeWsAEc9_M?format=jpg&name=medium)

Assume that’s 4-2-3-1?

Maybe a bit too light in midfield, can see Cooper packing theirs.
Still , no doubt Wellens knows what he is doing more than me  :Ride On Fatbury's Lovestick:

0-2 Swindon. Doyle and Grant

Tommy Wright is still here

Wellens announced on Thursday that the club were standing by him.

https://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/sport/18109145.richie-wellens-will-not-sack-swindon-town-first-team-coach-tommy-wright-despite-found-guilty-bribery/

Looks like its a night game on iFollow! my word its dark even though the floodlights are on already.

Oh good. Hockaday.  ::)

Fucking drum

Never noticed that Zakuani has replaced Broadbent on the bench, he hasn't been on the bench recently much.

He hasn't been on the bench since the Crawley away win.

My thoughts too as soon as I heard his dulcet(!) tones.

It’s been a few years since I’ve been waking up on Saturday mornings counting the hours down to kickoff. Love this feeling. COYR

Some nice shops there, and yes we did all the charity shops. Back just in time for the game.

Ditto, as I posted a couple of weeks back on a matchday thread, not felt like this for several years.

The sound on Ifollow is terrible

Zeki has got a game on his hands today against a big lump.

Caddis pulled down 30 yards out on the angle.

FK by Doughty headed out to Anderson who hoofs it high over the bar.

Doughty fouls their player 40 yards out centrally.

Awful delivery straight out for a throw.

That drum+Vince are everything thats bad about football.

Surely Fat Toni’s Pizzeria isn’t the sort of place FGR should be promoting?

Some good passing by Town down the left then down the right by Caddis and Woolery but Woolrys cross is poor and its at the keeper. Nice move.

Doughty with a great chance after a long ball by Baudry but he cant control it in the box.

Baudry booked for a late sliding challenge.

Great claim by Benda.

Caddis crossing has been quite poor so far, unusual for him.

Woolery robs the defender as he broke and then falls over his own feet and loses the ball.

1-0 Doyle!

Hes fucking done it again!

Get in there COYR

How many Town fans cheered in the home stands?

All of them ;)

Yay  :wotjump:

5 yards out tap in, what a goal poacher that man is.

FGR player dives like a swan with Yates being a yard behind him.

Woolery cuts inside and unleashes a left foot shot 40 yards wide from 20 yards out!

Exeter 2 down  :)

Ittttttttttt is that man againnnnn!!! EOIN DOYLEEEE!!! :pint:

We can extend out lead to 13...yes 13pts on 8th place and 9pts on 3rd, 4th, 5th & 6th! Which shows why it's really important to be out in front. Tight as a Nun's Chuff (or Chinese Purse) otherwise.

#Eieiei....ohhh...#

Grant inches away from finding Caddis witha  50 yard diagonal pass.

:D

Yates beats his man in the box and crosses to Doyle but its inches away from him.

Nice defensive header by Caddis to Benda inside the 6 yard box, calm and collected.

Put Exeter in my accumulator, 2-0 down

You’re welcome.

The Veggies barely had a touch of the ball in the last 5 mins, Town putting them under a lot of pressure.

Woolery fouled 30 yards out centrally, they havent got near the ball for ages.

Very patient build up from Swindon.

They finally get the ball and the fullback lets the ball under his foot and out of play! They are rattled.

Anderson nearly thread the ball to Doyle inside the box.

Doyle just offside from a great long pass by Doughty.

The Vegans are going to ground very easily.

Hunt deep cross to the far post well over Woolerys head.

Town have had 70% possession so far.

Me too.

They are getting well and truly done at home by Walsall, 3 nil now

Even Baudry is getting in on the attacking, finding himself almost in an overlapping fullback position at times.

There is not a Swindon player...excepting Benda...that hasn't had and completed at least 20 passes so far.

Hunt wins Town a first corner.

They’ll win 4-3 now....

Doughty shoots well over as the ball comes out to him after the corner.

And he’s had a few.

Doooooooooyle 2-0

FGR playing like the away team.
Sitting deep and hitting on the break

2-0 Doyle!

Get in there . We must keep him until the end of the season COYR

Easy

Same old Swindon...

;)

Boooommmmtoowwwnnnn! EOINNNN DOYLEEEE 0-2  :pint: :pint:

Did they not get the memo about marking him?

FGR are playing counter attacking but are not set up to counter us, they are offering absolutely nothing so far, one of the poorest quality sides we have played TBH.

Well this is going well.

Another proper poachers finish, stunning striking by the Ginger Pele.

Goal description Venkers? Xmas is no excuse for slacking on your duties  ;)

Edit: Never in doubt!

You might be right 3-2 now :D

My striker.

Grant goes to ground.

We need to ensure we sign that Ginger cunt on a perm. Not with a perm, that's Ellis. No on a perm. 3 years. Give him that security and a final payday. Getting us out of this league is worth that alone.

The guy is worth every penny. Whatever the cost.

How much is a perm now days?

At what point do we start referring to the other fella as the Brazilian Doyle?

My Wife's from Perm. True story.

Is there any danger that another club who isn't us comes in for Doyle next month?  Or is there a rule about not playing for 3 different clubs in a single season?

I am still in shock TBH, the ease we are breaking against them, 15 yards out a yard in front of the keeper belted into the goal after a long through ball to him, I didn't see who passed it though :)

Awesome.   :D

Leave your South American, Father Ted fantasies at home ;)

Vale 1 - 1 Cheltnum

Apparently it was a Woolery header :)

FGR get the 1st conrer for them.

He can't play for another English (or Welsh) club this season. Of course a higher league club could buy him in January and loan him back to us or Bradford.

Attempted over head kick by the FGR player who was literally miles away from connecting! comic effort.

He can only play for us or Bradford in the English league

Doughty nicks the ball from the defender but his pass is just out of Andersons reach in the box.

Actually this could be a load of bollocks

Great saving block in the box by Town, Fryers I think, then Caddis fouls their player just outside our box. free kick to them.

Shocking free kick by them straight at the wall.

FGR really do go to ground easily, they are quite lightweight as a team.

Apparently Doyle is the first division 2 player to score 20 goals before Christmas since Opta stats started.

Whats a move by Town, Woolery to Doughty to Yates but his shot is straight at the keeper unmarked, should have been 3.

HT 2-0 easy.

In control.

Some half time ska:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VzakY8h5vI

Cracking stat, probably our first player to ever reach 20 goals before Christmas, certainly in league goals probably since the war.

left side in the home end unashamedly singing Swindon songs :).

not a bad half. passed it around, look deadly on the attack and FGR not really troubled us

FGR are pretty shit and offer very little going forward, we arte totally in control.

Don't curse it..

Sorry but they really are, possibly the worst opposition since Macclesfield so far.

How high do you think we will have to go to get Doyle in January?

In related news, is our record transfer still Wanker Joe?

Comfortable so far and could be winning by more. They really are poor, the second goal sums them up they just completely switched off and let Doyle walk through

To be honest, with better final balls from Doughty, Woolery and Yates we ought to be further ahead. Keshi and Kaiyne's games aren't really suited to playing into such a packed defence, but they will have to change that in the second half. FGR's plan to play out on the break has thoroughly failed so far due to their generally dire control.

Second half will be a very different game...

Doyle looked offside to me for the 2nd goal but not complaining, great header from Woolery to set him through, he's got a good leap on him from goal kicks.

More of the same in the 2nd half please but surely Cooper has to change their approach.

The cameras at the ground must be very close to the action. It feels like I’m on the pitch!

Not sure they could continue being as shit as they were 1st half.

Steady fellas.  We're on page 13 now of the Matchday Thread.  Fill the page with rubbish (like this) to get us to page 14 ASAP, please.

Woolery nearly gets to a through ball with his pace but hes just short.

FGR do go down far too easily.

Doyle plays in Doughty but hes just offside.

What a save by Benda.

FGR have a shot but its shot from 30 yards out.

FGR have a shot but its well wide in the end.

They are coming back more this half so far.

FGR looking livelier

2-1

2-1. We're still in 1st gear.

2-1

Poor defending by Town.

I think we could do with Rose on for Anderson to tighten midfield up a bit more since they brought on the extra midfielder and took off the striker they are outnumbering us in the middle.

Take Woolery off

And get Isgrove on for Woolery too.

Ffs, wake up town.

Poor defending again by Town but Caddis makes a saving block in the 6 yard box. Corner to them.

Wake up town ffs

Oh great. Hockaday’s got something to moan about. Repeatedly. Again and again.

Woolery is out of the game, get Rose on to tighten it up a bit to start with.

FFS stop whinging Hockaday.

Oh do Fuck off Hockaday

Woolery wins a header to Doyle but the lino says he was offside.

Town making a few errors now, changes are needed.

Anderson brought down 25 yards out.

Have we scored from a fk this season?

Good free kick from Anderson saved and round the post for a corner.

Another corner.

I dont remember us doing so.

There was the one that Keshi played a one-two with the wall.

Corner to them.

FGR have been far better this half, we arent playing badly but defensively we are still looking shakey at times.

I was wondering when the camera would get a wipe.

Doyle chips the keeper but its cleared off the line from the ginger assassin.

Corner to Town.

Great cross from Fryers onto Baudrys head and its flicked wide for a corner again.

Att: 4,216 with 1,224 from Town. (officially).

One CB crosses for the other CB, we really do play a fluid formation..

4200 attendance (4000 from Swindon)

*allegedly

Easy save for Benda as they hit us on the counter.

Doyle played through but his cross is blocked for a throw.

Anderson fouled as he broke 35 yards out centralish.

Poor free kick by Caddis but Town win a throw.

Woolery fouled badly by a dirty Vegan bastard 30 yards out.

Yellow for the dirty bastard.

Bout time that boy Yates plopped one home :)

Rose on for Doughty.

3 chances for Town in the box from Woolery, Doyle and Yates but none can quite finish it.

Salford equalise vs Bradford.

Woolery looking livlier again now.

I hope Isgrove gets some game time

Another dive by an FGR attacker.

I think he will get 5 mins for Woolery or Yates.

Doyle shoots and it falls to Yates in the box but he cant connect.

Awful deep cross from the ponytailed fullback, well high and wide.

Caddis fouled but the ref ignores him and gives them a corner.

How the **** are we only 78 mins in to this game?

Another corner to them.

This half is fucking dragging! 83 mins now.

Great claim by Benda.

Yates and then Woolery make bad choices in shooting positions.

Yates on the break cuts inside and cross for Doyle but its just behgind him, great chance.

Anderson down injured and booed by the vegan knuckleheads. They think hes playing for time, and maybe he is!

I have some healthy man love for Grant, proper old skool tackle there

DJ getting changed.

Doyle has made the headlines, and rightly so, but Grant is the best player at the club IMO.

Backpass in the box from their defender and the ref ignores it.

Cooper on the touchline moaning like fuck!

The pony tailed Mills shoots from 30 yards but its an easy save for Benda in the end.

I'd forgotten all about him.  Poor lamb.

5 mins added Why?

Woolery wins a corner.

Crewe win.  Bradford & Chelt both draw & drop points.

Poor decision by Woolery who gives it away to the keeper.

Had it down as 3 myself.

DJ on for Anderson.

Give the ball to DJ and let him run his socks off.

Exeter draw as well.  :)

FFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKK

Corner to them.

Fuvk 2-2 at the death :/

Keeper up for the corner.

Benda cant keep it out but got a hand to it. Lucky bastards.

We were too lax in the 2nd half.

Oh well.

Thrown that game away

When did we last win a derby?

Not counting the boycot cup.

Iandolo on for Woolery.

I blame Bloody Hockaday
Negative Git

Bollocks we’re not very good at derbies are we?

FT 2-2 still got a point but it should have been 3.

Threw it away. Should have won that

Bollox
Threw that away

Oh well
Top of the league at xmas

Shit on it.

Arse. Still a good point.

3 points clear at the top.
7 points clear from 4th.
9 points cleat from 8th.

Shit happens. 

They didn’t deserve that, Yates miss in the first half on the stroke of half time was the turning point. Hunt struggled defending second half.

They were always going to come on to us 2nd Half. Although we did allow them to do so at times too. Not the end of the world but 0-2 up and the amount of chances is encouraging to a degree. We could easily have had 6.

What is odd, we played better today (1st half) than the last two games yet have dropped points. We nearly won ugly in the end but the Swede Stockers persisted and they could've scored before that. Still lucky bastards though.

Feels like a loss but when all is said and done, these are the kind of matches you need to get through with something. It helps that bar Crewe, everyone else around us lost/drew.

Bit of perspective. 9pts separates Town from Colchester in 8th. From Plymouth (9th) down to Oldham (19th), 11 teams are separated by 9pts.

Keep on keeping on.  :pint:

Though in some ways it doesn’t really matter, it is ridiculous now that we STILL haven’t beaten a top ten team all season!

It would have been good to have put that to bed today.... but it continues to raise doubts.

I actually think this game shows why that happens. We count on making so many chances that we overwhelm the lesser teams, but regularly offer openings at the back - we never fall deep and shut up shop. Even when we're holding a slim lead, we still try and keep the ball well up the pitch so teams with a little more talent get their chances to play through us.

So 1224 wet people shouting 'out,' out' are wrong obviously

Only if you're miserable enough to let it

What? If you want a fight go out and get drunk.

Carlisle 9th/10th & Cambridge 8th. Salford were 11th. If you include top 12 there is another but at least 2 wins. Also we have draws with Exeter, Numb and FGR. So don't forget, that affects their stats too.

So really although it could be better (always can be better) the continued bollocks about not beating teams in the top 12 (or even 10) is indeed a load of bollocks :)

What doubt's Reg, We're top of the league. Is glass still half empty ?

FFS, are we not allowed any positivity at this club? Yes, the late equaliser is gutting but who cares that we haven’t beat any of the top seven? Clearly doesn’t have much of an impact considering we’re top of the league. Some people need to stop waiting for us to slip up, or something bad to occur and just get behind this side.

We've a nasty looking run of games coming up in Jan.... a lot could go wrong.

Conceding 95 min equaliser always feels like a loss.

Not sure about relevance of the "not beaten a top team" factor.  After a few games sure, but we've played 22.  if we're top and not doing well against top teams then our record against bottom half teams must be well ahead of anyone else.

The points aren't weighted, they all count the same.  If we achieve the same results, good and bad, against the same teams in the reverse 22 fixtures then we'll be promoted.

And the remaining team left to play twice (Port Vale?) are hardly a team setting the world on fire.
 

Haven't read back.

But of a shame after that first half.

I guess I would of taken a draw before kick off but after watching it...Sheesh.

Squandered chances came back to bite us.

Woolery I'm afraid a bit of a liability today.  Had a great run into the box and didn't square it to my MOTM Yates...constantly caught out of position....only Wellens didn't see it!?

The back pass was a lower league ref corker.....I laughed.

Anyway...top of the pile, let's keep it going.

Yes of course we are but many of our fans are never happy and wont be even if we won the Premier League.

We are top of the league on merit, it doesnt matter who the fuck you beat as long as you beat more teams than anyone else, doesn't matter if we never beat any of the top 6 teams as long as we beat almost all of the rest, which we have done.

Not rocket science, 23 teams, if we dont beat the top 6 that still leaves 17 other teams, if we win 90% of those (which we have sop far) and draw a fair few against the rest then we will still win the league.

We are 3 points clear at Christmas, thats an amazing record for a team tipped for a struggle by a few posters this season.

Under PdC in the championship winning side of 2011-12 we were sat in 5th place, 9 points behind Crawley, who were also promoted in 3rd place that season.

Under Macari in 85 when we won this league, we were in 2nd place at Christmas.

Under McMahon when we won L1, at Christmas we were in 2nd place on goal difference.

From what I have checked upon, Swindon Town have NEVER topped any division at Christmas since the war.

That on its own is enough to at least celebrate a bit.

classic game of two halves. We dominated the first, them the second.

that said we had loads of changes, their keeper made a couple of good saves and plus the defender clearing one of the line.

disappointed not to win, but not too down

A lot could go wrong?  You bet.  We are top of the League at Xmas, Scrooge.  How cheering for you that it can't actually get better?

Three points clear and winless against the higher placed sides and an opportunity to improve on our record.  Hooray!

Where you see a nasty run of games coming up, I'm sure others will join me in seeing a tasty run of games coming up.

COYR!

Annoying but we're still well clear of Cheltenham in 4th. My only gripe was that the goal was scored when game should have finished - where did the 5 minutes come from?

This  :)

Well here's hoping Reg :Ride On Fatbury's Lovestick:

Indeed. I'm very happy with Wellens and (If the squad survives January unscathed) believe we'll win the league.

However, I reserve the right to be pissed off at a 95th minute equaliser.  :-)

Very much this....it's been shit for a few seasons now.

Williams relegation very nearly destroyed my love for this club.....

So let's have a beer and enjoy being top at Xmas!

Can't win them all, so no problem with the result.

Hope "that's ruined my Christmas" man gets home ok, takes a deep breath and can appreciate the bigger picture.

Regardless of what happens in January, a magnificent effort from Doyle and massive credit to the team so far.

Nice rendition of The Red Flag at Stroud station as well.

A happy festive season to all.

Flitcroft nearly did that for me. I don't think I've disliked anybody in football as much as that tosser. (except for Steve McMahon)

The good times have been sparse in recent years. If you can't enjoy being 3 points clear at christmas then what's the point.

We should win the next 2, form suggests we will. This should hopefully mean we open the gap further before some tougher games.

FUCK YEAH!

Ultimately no team in the bottom half can live with us and Ecotricity couldn’t in the first half either.  Carry on as we are and we’ll be well clear in the autos come the end of the season.

The winning run has come to an end without it being to a defeat which isn’t a bad thing. We probably needed something like this to stop us getting complacent.

We cant win every game, and i'd rather it to a draw than a last minute loss. Nice feeling knowing 23 other sides would swap places with us.

Clearly the point is to be 3 points clear in at the end of the first week of May... being 3 points clear is nice, but doesn't mean anything as such.

Wellens put the draw down to complacency, which sadly looks like something infecting plenty on here.... for all what we've done so far will count for fuck all if we can't back it up, with similarly impressive resuts over the next few weeks.

To do that we're going to have to up our game against the likes of Bradford, Plymuff, Crewe, Newport, ColU, Exeter and Cobblers, all of whom come up in Jan early Feb.  I'll wait until we've got that lot  out of the way before perhaps getting over excited.

So, let me get this right. You won’t enjoy virtually a whole season until we have actually won promotion? You get no enjoyment out of individual games and performances that make up a season?

No doubt when the day comes that we do get promoted you’ll start bemoaning our chances next season and what a struggle it’ll be and how Power won’t finance anything.

You’re a joyless soul, Reg.

Show me one person getting complacent about us? we are just fucking enjoying being top of the league on merit at the half way point of the season.

Show me somebody getting over excited about us being top? I think every poster has said what we are all thinking, its good to be top at xmas so lets appreciate where we are and not just be a miserable old fart. You always twist things to suit your argument and its draining with your utter negativity and cynicism with all things Swindon Town FC.

You would fall into a bucket of boobs and come out sucking your thumb.

I for one am enjoying us being top however long that is for and nobody is getting over excited at all they are just being something that is known as being optimistic. Look the word up and try and use it.

Just got back.

From ASDA.

I notice the resident crab apple and lemon sucker has taken time out from counting out the pieces of coal in the fireplace to espouse the frailties in this seasons so far extremely, enjoyable and rewarding campaign.

I’d piss myself if the club did a Vincent Tann and changed the club colours from Red to blue, give him something to really moan about. I don’t know about fly fishing by J R Hartley more like fan baiting by I Reelemin.

Fixed it. Merry Christmas...I'm sure you know the story about the Three Ghosts of Christmas  :)

No you're wrong... if you read my stuff you'll see I always say a win should be celebrated and a sometimes even a draw if the circumstances allow... I don't think today particularly does.

However unlike yourself, who posts ridiculous bollocks, how we'll piss this, piss that and nothing can gainsay that.... I take a more realistic approach. It's that simple.

Just had some feeling that we’d draw today and the winning run would come to an end. Disappointing way way to drop points, but the fact we still had the lions share of the game and chances still satisfies me. How that backpass wasn’t given i’ll never know. Fairplay to Fish for bagging a couple against his hometown club.

Not sure why there’s so much focus on this winning against the top 10 bollocks. I’ll happily take draws against our promotion rivals and beating the lesser teams. In recent seasons we’ve been generally quite decent against the better sides in the league and dogshit against the absolute dross, which has got us precisely nowhere.

Something for everyone, maybe, on reflection. Reg can enjoy his Christmas doom-wank whilst the rest of us can be content with sitting 3 points clear and the unbeaten stretch continuing.

So you're another one to unblock then....  interestingly it was your good self who observed the potentially pivotal nature of Jan/ early Feb, a good point well made, you should try sticking to that rather than petty abuse when someone agrees with you.

As Scunthorpe won today that means we can say we beat another current top half team? That’s how these stats work yh?

 Oh and congrats to Eoin Doyle on becoming the 17th different player in my time to achieve a 20 goal season. The first loan player to do it and the first to do it before half way through the season, quite extraordinary.  Further only one other player Paul Rideout scored 20 in a Div 4 season (exactly) so ED already has the record of most goals scored in a Div 4 season, even if Bradford have him back in Jan.

I would say the way Doyle has played/is playing for us, is not only a man enjoying his football but also (having read the pretty insightful article) playing for a contract and a longer term of security.

Personally, I'd be happy to offer Eoin Doyle a 3yr (2.5yr) deal with an option of an extended year.  For all he has done for Town so far has been, as Reg says '...quite extraordinary.'

Long may it continue and the club can see the value in Doyle. He's got us on the verge of looking like finally getting us out of this division.

Sláinte mhaith  :pint:

Ever since the abject humiliation of Reg’s mob and their esteemed leader last Thursday he has seemingly been on a mission to replicate Jezza’s utterly bizarre performance in the commons this week.

From the comparison of McCormick and Charles-Cook to the Scrooge esque comments following today’s match - I am glad to see he is in the Christmas spirit!

Reg Smeeton - the miserable old bastard gift that just keeps on giving.

Have a good evening all - we are top of the league :pint:

Having read just about every article going, every Doyle quote and everything posted on here and the Bantams forum on the subject, I will be utterly shocked if we don't sign Doyle on a perm after the 4th Jan...

As long as we don't sign Mrs Doyle, with a perm then I totally agree.

Only thing more tedious than Reg's pessimism is the fucking politics thread so please don't pollute the rest of the boards with that shit you moron.

100 fucking per cent  :nod:

If you don't like a thread don't bother with it.... it's quite simple. There's several threads on here which have been going for years like the TV thread (don't watch) games games games (don't play).  No idea what gets talked about in there, but wouldn't criticise anybody who wants to post their opinion, just because it's of no interest to me.  I find that attitude strange.

 :D the irony. funny enough a lot of threads get derailed...and go on for pages and pages of random shit which has nothing to do with the thread.

hence creation of- The Reg Smeeton Memorial Community Engagement Thread
and More Reg shit.
like the 'Bradford view on Doyle' with where mates grew up and which pubs are good. (not you that time)

99% i only click on the football chat as thats what i want to read

Reg, you’re missing my point. Every man Jack on this forum knows well enough things could turn to shit at any time, God knows it’s happened often enough. Injuries, suspensions, Tory-induced black water fever, but being told after every game that the wheels could come off, which you describe as reality, is a real downer.

Even when the stats you seem to like quoting are going in our favour, you still post like some giant wet blanket, dampening down expectations, protecting us poor things from the grim reality of STFC’s ability to fuck things up.

Some of us haven’t got a huge amount of seasons to go.

It's like being bottom of the league and playing like shit, with no money and all our own players that we can't shift, but suggesting every week that there's a chance we can make the play-offs because we've never lost our league status before and historically we've won more games at home than lost, so the next one should be a banker.

It's tedious, repetitive drivel and it's a shame because for a long time Reg was a very interesting poster, knowledgeable and with a hint of reasonable caution. Now it's as if the criticism has made him double, triple and quadruple down and he can't give it up. Have a break Reg and enjoy the rest of the season. We don't get many like this and even if it does fall away, we can't say it's not been fun.

You're right, it is quite simple - I don't read it - job done - but invariably it gets dragged into other threads...and for the record I've had to put you on 'ignore' as you have become insufferable in the last week...every word of Richie Wellen-Dowd's comments are bang on the money. Rather then reject them out of hand as 'bullying', consider the fact that he may be right...

I suspect a number of posters have him ignored, I for one have, however the way the site is set up and has been mentioned recently one cannot ‘ignore’ these posts permanently as they appear as quotes on other members posts. RWD’s post is accurate.

He reminds me in a way of an abusive/jealous partner who eventually drives away their partner into the arms of someone else,  they then protest their innocence and claim to be the victim by proclaiming that they knew you’d go leave them all along.

Are we losing a sense of perspective here?  Do we need to get quite so animated about slightly downbeat posts on a forum dedicated to a lower league team - a team that has offered its supporters very little in recent years?

Interesting thread on the game and on Reg - most entertaining thanks to one and all

My mate and I sat in the home end having been given strict instructions to keep any allegiance to the mighty reds completely and utterly quiet - we had a good laugh about it over our vegan fu.kin. burger in their bar - what do you want in your tea - soya or oat milk ffs..

Doyle scores at our end - I had to physically restrain Kelvin from leaping like a salmon from his seat - f.c. me he does it again even better second goal - by this time I am thinking Kelvin will be uncontrollable if we keep on like this - which at that point in the game it didn`t look beyond possibility...Yates should of made it 3 - at half time we observed that `you lot` weren`t making much noise - I had to point out that the torrential down pour might have something to do with it.
First ten minutes of the second half we could and may be should of put it beyond reach....then it was their turn...I thought the boy Mills had a good game...it always sticks when we let in a late goal, especially as they celebrated right in front of us, I could feel my hackles rising - just wanted to jump up and tell them to f..k right off - reminds me of a period when we used to do it on a regular basis.

I predict that if we can hang on to Doyle we will be promoted no question...

well said

Politics by it's very nature will get brought into other fields.... take for example the long Doyle piece, where he mentions Brexit, because as an Irishman and EU citizen, it's likely to impact, ipresumably in a negative way on him.

Looking on the bright side, it used to take a defeat to induce this level of bickering in the MDT. Our standards are rising.

https://www.skysports.com/efl/championship/video/11892602/forest-green-2-2-swindon

The ginger Pele strikes again (twice)

I hope you don't think I'm worked up, I'm actually slightly worried for Reg. It can't be healthy to spend so much of the day arguing so obsessively over things. It does tend to infect all aspects of the forum and it is a bit of a headfuck, but I stopped reading for about three years before when I'd had enough. It's no big deal.

Doyle is only the 20th player to score over 20 league goals in a season for Swindon since the war, thats a damn good achievement on its own.

To have done it (and hit 21 goals) in only 19 games is absolutely amazing.

No Swindon player since the war has hit 20 goals by Christmas in the league either.

Since the war only 15 players have currently scored more league goals in a season than Doyle.

08-09 Cox 29
09-10 Paynter 26
74-75 Eastoe 26
46-47 Stephens 26
02-03 Parkin 25
67-68 Rogers 25
58-57 Edwards 25
48-49 Jones 25
66-67 Rogers 24
15-16 Ajose 24
62-63 Hunt 24
04-05 Parkin 23
91-92 Shearer 22
90-91 Shearer 22
68-69 Rogers 22

Doyle is now 2nd in his own right in the Swindon Town consecutive scoring list on 10 games running.

Thats just 1 shy of the overall record of 11 consecutive games set by Harry Morris way back in 1926-27.

In this day and age that is some achievement even if he doesn't equal or beat the record, absolutely amazing.

If he does stay it's going to interesting to see if he can get at least to say 30, which has never been done in my time.

Only 1 player ever has scored 30+ league goals for Swindon in a single season and that was the prodigious Harry Morris who managed it on 3 occassion with 47 in the 26-27, 38 in the 27-28 and 35 in the 30-31 seasons.

Thats been since Swindon entered the Football League in 1921.

I hope he does stay and set some more new records, the man is a scoring machine and always seems to be in the right place at the right time.

If he can score 21 before Xmas, he can bloody well score 21 after Xmas!

Where's Andy Rowland, Alan Mayes and Steve White ?

None of them ever got to 22 league goals for Swindon, IE more than Doyle.

Austin did. Did i miss him off the list?

Andy Rowland did.

Steve white on Wiki. Who's been playing?

White career spanned over 500 appearances for nine league clubs, including Bristol Rovers, Luton Town, Swindon Town and Cardiff City. He helped Swindon in several promotion campaigns and played a crucial role in the 1993 play-off victory over Leicester City at Wembley Stadium when he came off the bench to win a penalty. Steve is still held in great affection at the County Ground. His time at the club was notable for frequently straying offside, pulling his shorts up towards his nipples and invariably scoring lots of goals. He was a very awkward player to play against for opposition centre halves. The esteem for Steve was demonstrated when he returned to Swindon with Hereford for a cup tie. His goal for the visitors was cheered equally heartily by home fans as away. Steve came second in the BBC Football Focus Swindon Cult Heroes poll behind Don Rogers [1]

Yes the others didn't but that list is not players who have scored 20 league goals, that are player who have scored MORE league goals than Doyle...hence 22+.

Look at the post you will see I said players who have scored more than Doyle, who is on 21.

He didn't.  A lot of people look at Richard B's site and take stats as read, but he mixes in PO goals with League goals when most stattos see them as a stand alone end of season comp for comparison purposes. 

I thought it at the time, and the footage has done little to change my mind, I couldn't help but feel Benda should have done better with that second goal.

Sent from my CLT-L09

I know but you say AR never got 20 goals and he did.  As did Paul Rideout and Iffy

I meant 22 as my post stated originally that was ignored.

That part

Edited   ;)

No I meant the original post that I quoted, which seemed to be ignored for the lower total of 20 goals.

So who's scored 20 league goals before the war?

Harry Morris did 6 seasons from 27/28 inclusive. Jack Johnson got 20 in in 22/23. Tommy Armstrong managed 21 in 33/34. JImmy Cookson 25 in 36/37 and Ben Morton 28 in 38/39. That covers the FL years.

Back to the golden age Southern League...   Harold Fleming 28 in 08/09. Freddie Wheatcroft  22 i 09/10. Archie Bown 23 in 11/12

Which do you remember most fondly Reg?😉

For those of you who don't follow Marley on Twitter, here is the latest alternative commentary...

https://twitter.com/marleystfc/status/1208715638409175040

Now Reg there's no need to descend into personal abuse. Shocked!

Quite right. I alarmed a bloke walking past my car in Sainsbury's car park by the volume and variety of foul language. Had the windows wound up as well :)

I dunno it was smashed at him from close range, he managed to push it on to the bar, an inch or 2 higher and we’d be talking about one of the saves of the decade. I don’t think he can be blamed, he was very good yesterday and some of his takes from crosses were ridiculous.
I’m more concerned that their guy had a free header to flick the ball on and then left the scorer completely unmarked at the back post. It’s not really a Wellens thing to do but maybe bring on someone like Zakuani for exactly this scenario may have been an idea as he did it against Mansfield. That said we should have killed the game off long before then.

But who scored 20 league goals durin’ the war?

I need to work on my history, a few names I didn't recognise there.

We had 3 or 4 opportunities in the last 15-20 mins to do that and seemed to want to walk the ball in the net or give Doyle his hat trick.

Maybe the likes of Woolery and Anderson could have taken control of the situation and got shots off rather than look for the extra pass. With Doyle and Yates in such good form the easy option is to look for them two.

To be fair, we appeared to be closing it out well until they just got desperate and chucked everyone forward. On another day the free kick from Anderson goes in and the Doyle lob hooked off the line goes in.

Can understand comments that we would have settled for a draw before kick off,   but am gutted that once again we concede injury time goals. 
2-0 should have been game over,  we just seem to concede some very dodgy late goals.
Suppose it all balances itself out and if you look at the 'ifs'  and the 'ands' it could have been much worse,
If we had held on and Walsall held on at Exeter, we'd be 6 points clear.
If Exeter had scordd one more and we scored one less,  we'd only be top by goal difference.
3 points clear at Christmas has to be good,  not many would have predicted that back in August, Hopefully we will sign Doyle and will replicate the splendid run we've achieved during the first half of the season.    Either way,  going to enjoy Christmas come what may.
Merry Christmas everyone.

Also what's even better for Doyle is that of those 15, 2 appear twice (Parkin & Shearer) and one thrice (Le Don) so in effect, it's only 11 different players who have scored more. Also what stuck out for me as a surprise was no Austin on the list? Must be pretty close to it no? :)

All fucking good though and when we retain Mr Doyle, I'm sure he will break several records. Surely, even if it is unspoken, something like going down as record breaker and club folklore, must sway a player? Not all footballers are the same but they do have narcissistic elements. That comes with the territory of wanting/being a success. Even in the nicest of types, like Doyle - they love to be talked about and reminded of their greatness, in their field.

Roll on January but first of all, Merry Christmas JJ. Have a good 'un mate :)

Anyone think that the opposition coming up are thinking woopie fucking doo, can’t wait to visit Swindon or better still get dicked at home by them.

You too Kev, heres to a great New Year personally and for STFC!

Ten minute highlights package:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q40mISFfVFo