Thetownend.com

Let’s get a bit of football chat going again..

What/who has been your favourite STFC ... and why:

- Season
- Match
- Manager
- Player

2009/10
My last year at uni, without a real care in the world. No wife or proper job, coasting towards a decent degree and more spare time than I knew what to do with. Thankfully, the Town played along and had their best season in a long time too.

Charlton (a) May 2010
The perfect away game - a mix of jeopardy, high-stakes, disaster and glory. Massive following, good people around me.

Manager
Wellens - didn't buy into the Di Canio hype mostly down the way he treated people. Wellens has got me back into club - been to more games this year than the last 5 combined.

Player
Childhood hero - Digby.

Special mentions to Austin, Parkin and Cox.

- Season = 92/93
- Match = 12.1.91 Bristol City 4-0 away  :)
- Manager = Hoddle
- Player = Shaun Taylor

Season - 85-86 huge comeback from some absolute shite seasons - much like now. It’d be easy to say 68-69 but I’d only been supporting STFC for a year or so, so it seemed fairly normal to a young lad!

Match - got to be Birmingham 4 Swindon 6. My birthday, just about to leave at 4-1 down.

Manager - Macari. Revitalised the club - again like Wellens is doing now.

Player - easy one. The Don.

Player - Luc Nijholt

Season
79/80 as a young teenager to be a Town fan facing and beating (most) teams from the top division that we played in Stoke, Spurs, Arsenal, Wolves, getting to the league Cup semis and being one foul away from the final and getting to the 4th round of the FA cup.
Beating Bury 8-0 at home and putting 6 past Rotherham too, an amazing season and for me even more memorable than the Ossie and Hoddle play off seasons. Also having 2 total sell out crowds of 26,000 (even though there were more there) and 22,000 for the Arsenal game. Also playing in front of 2 crowds of around 40,000 in away games.

Match
Arsenal at Home in the above season beating them AET 4-3 with them having an almost entire international team that night.

Manager
Lou Macari, transformed Town from a poor Div 4 side that finished in 17th place in Div 4 to the play offs in the old Div 2 (now the Championship) in 5 years.

Player
So many good players over the years so many to choose from, easier to pick a whole team than a single player.
If I had to pick one it would probably be Chris Kamara, a man who gave everything for Town but had the skills to play in the top division too.

Season...95/96...4 defeats all season. Utter dominance.

Match... Newcastle 2-1 93/93... Best ever atmosphere at the CG for a league game.

Manager... Macari... what Audrey and JJ said and agree about Wellens.

Player... Duncan Shearer... Scored every type of goal imaginable... God knows what he would be worth in today's money.

Season...89/90...for the football we played that season, i still think we played better football that season than any other i've seen before or since (let's just forget the ending shall we!)

Match...I've gone for a slightly different one, Swindon 5 Sunderland 3 in September 1991. We were 3-0 up at half time and played Sunderland off the pitch, it was our first meeting since the Wembley final of 1990

Manager...Ossie Ardiles...i remember watching Andy Rowland's testimonial against West Ham in August 1989 and even after 20 minutes you could see this was a totally different style of football to what we'd had previously (although i loved the Lou Macari years too and am not knocking it at all)

Player...So many to choose from, but i'm picking David Kerslake for his first stint at the club, a bargain for £110,000 from QPR. Honourable mentions go to Steve Foley, Steve White, Duncan Shearer, and Fraser Digby.

Season - probably the Di Canio one as it was comparatively stress free.

Match - Leicester play off final, albeit not at the time!

Manager - Difficult one, Glenda but his departure left a bad taste, Gorman, just because he seemed a genuinely nice bloke. I would probably say Wellens or Wilson or Sturrock.

Player - Horlock (obviously) also had a soft spot for Ty Gooden. Cuervo and Digby.

- Season
The promotion season to the Prem under Hoddle probably.

- Match
The playoff final, under Hoddle. What a day out that was. I lost my voice for 2 days after that.

- Manager
I'm tempted to say Wellens for the way he bought the love back to the club.

- Player
Where to start? Digby? Taylor? Calderwood? Bodin? Moncur? Hazard? Summerbee? Horlock? Chalkie? Shearer? Fjortoft? I could go on, and it's impossible to choose one.

Season - 92/93 I think, probably more than the 89/90 season because of what it meant.  Looking back on it, it felt more successful than it was as well - we didn't exactly run away with things but it felt like we were a really impressive team.

Match - 90 vs Sunderland.  I don't think I have seen a Swindon team play on a complete other level than the opposition before or since.  We saved our best performance for a game at Wembley and left it 1-0 to ensure that even in the dominance it wasn't some steamrollering where you lose interest.

Manager - Ardiles.  What he did with Macari's team is still beyond me.

Player - tough one, I loved watching Moncur play in his pomp, made the team tick.  Hoddle was a delight for the same reason but I think Taylor.  Having met him as well (he popped in once for tea and biscuits with my parents!) he was just a nice off the pitch as he was courageous on it.

Season - 85/86 - we had suffered several turgid years in Div 4, and Lou Macari had arrived. The first few games weren’t good (we were in the bottom 6) but things turned around after a League Cup away win at Sunderland. We went on a great run, both in League and League Cup (we lost at Ipswich in the quarter finals). The football was quite rudimentary - a high tempo long ball game, underpinned by extraordinary fitness levels. We won a lot of those games with goals in the last 15 mins, basically because we were fitter and stronger than the opposition.

Match - apart from the 1969 Final (too obvious) three stand out for me - interestingly all evening games under lights

 - the 1987 Gillingham play off decider at Selhurst  Park, a brilliant evening after two goals from Steve White (one early)
 - the 1986 game v Chester at home 4-2 win which clinched automatic promotion that season - the intensity in that game, with Chester in 3rd place at that point , was immense - another brilliant evening game.
- the 1975 3rd round FA cup 5-0 demolition of a Fulham side containing 3 legends of the game - George Best, Rodney Marsh and Bobby Moore. We simply swept them aside. The first game on the Saturday before (in those days the replay was only 3 days after the drawn first game) was also memorable, including one of the best goals I have seen - Rodney Marsh’s first of that game.

Manager RW - for the style of play and also revitalising the club and its link with the fanbase.

Player - Don Rogers - for anyone of my age or older the only possible choice.

Great to see Wellens getting so much love.

Season - 92/93.
Although this season would eclipse that even if it ends with us all peering at screens to watch the remaining games.

Match - Away, the 6-4 at Birmingham. Home the 4-3 v Arsenal.

Manager - Macari. Closely followed by Wellens.

Player - Fraser Digby as he is the one that has made most appearances in my Town following career.

Season: 2009-10 for having a quality team and that time in life where it’s about football, mates and beers

Most entertaining side was the 2013-14 team - Kasim, Louis and Luongo in mid with Byrne at RWB were unplayable at times

Match: Swindon 3-0 Leeds 2010 - I just didn’t think we won games like that. Absolutely dominated a big club in front of packed house. Douglas was brilliant that night

Beating Stoke 4-3 in the LC under PdC was great for similar reasons.

Manager: Wellens for how he’s rescued the club on the field and reconnected it back with the fans

The highs were higher under PdC - loved his scarf celebrations and goading the oppo fans. But the lows were lower, e.g. hauling Fod off at Preston

Player: Fjortoft in the early days, Steve Finney for his golden season and Miglioranzi was a class act. Most enjoyed seeing Charlie Austin score though

- Season:    89-90, watching the Town (momentarily) reach the promised land by outclassing teams they had merely been outrunning

- Match:      the 1969 LCF

- Manager:  Paolo, don't expect ever again to see anyone in the dugout (or stands) or post match like him

- Player:      the Don, two footed, deceptively very quick, an unselfish creator and clinical assassin; matchless humility.

Great topic! My picks...

- Season:    92-93, some great football and results to back it up, and ultimately put right the injustice of 1990.

- Match:      Blackburn home play-off in 1990. The best atmosphere I can remember at the County Ground and knowing I'd get to see my team at Wembley for the first time at the final whistle. (People take Wembley trips for granted these days but back in the 80s/90s it seemed a really big deal to see your team play there)

- Manager:  Macari. Just compare the team he inherited to the one he left behind. Do that for all other managers and it's not even close

- Player:      Hoddle. There's a tendency to disregard Hoddle the player in these type of discussions because a player-manager feels like a different category, but Hoddle is probably in the top 5 most gifted English players of all time. Even though he was a little past his best by 92 he was still world class.

season:  2011-2012 - forget the man. this bat shit crazy season was a blast for most of us. Some utterly brilliant memories and success. And we scored at New Wembley ;)

match: po semi v Charlton. I missed the 93 po final, so the utter joy of getting to Wembley again was of the scale. shame about what happened next

manager: controversial, but I'm going for Kingy. Favourite not best mind. kept us going under some really dark days and without a pot to piss in. Shame it went wrong when the Cureton Thorpe gamble failed.  I've not gone for Hoodle, Ossie or Lou because I only saw part seasons under them.

player: shearer, shearer. I could name  about 10 though, and #1 would change on a daily basis.

Season. The PO win one with Sunderland. That season had everything

Match. 3 really V Gillingham in the PO final. Probably the best atmosphere I've ever been in at Palace

Manager Macari. He made us invincible after us being pretty shit for most of my to then supporting Life.

Player. I'm going with Jimmy Quinn. For nothing else bar the time we played at Millwall and I think his dad had died in the week before and he scored 2 and played like a demon that day.

Season - Maybe the more youthful snd at their peak 1989/90 side over the mostly the same players but by then ageing 1992/93 side. Ticker tape and Stigger's goal at Blackburn. What was Ossie's phrase 'Play, Play, Play'.

Game - Birmingham 6-4 away. The way Hoddle stepped up into midfield and made that comeback.

Manager - Lou Macari for where we started and the team he left for Ossie to take on to the next level.

Player - Early on loved Charlie Henry and that goal against Gillingham still gives me goosebumps.

Maybe Chalky just shades it for 8 years of goals and shithousery before the word was invented and the penalty he won against Leicester. At late sub cameo at Man U away summed him up.

Season 1985/86. Glorious after a slow start. Highlights for me include Exeter away 3  -0 with Ken Allen asking for gum behind the goal whilst the game was in play. Also Chester which was just brilliant on every level.
Game could be many of those already mentioned such as Brum away or QPR with Digby sent off. However, mine is Southend home 6th April 1985 attended by 2695. Travelled up from Devon that morning, stood in the Town End and will never forget it. Most intense atmosphere ever despite the low numbers. Think about it often. That set up the seasons that came and proved that town fans still cared. Surprised that Lou left out of his book us blocking his car after. Emotional stuff!
Manager Lou Macari and like the look of how Wellens has started.
Lots of great players and could choose any of the ones mentioned. Liked Colin Gordon scoring and was a fan of Ray McHale and Steve Aizlewood. John Trollope and Dave Moss deserve a mention and SSP. Gonna go for Mickey Hazard cos my Dad rated him and still mentions him often when we discuss the Town every week.
Thanks for this thread. Really enjoyed reminiscing.

Yeah loved all those players. Mchale is very close to being my fav ever. Bristling skillful mincing machine

And not the hotpants sort of mincing i might add

Was going to post exactly the same answers, with similar reasons.  PV - do you happen to be my twin!!

Balls I'd forgotten about Wolves away. Still think Gills at palace tops it, probably because we won really. Wonder what the crowd really was at wolves that night. Absolutely rammed.

ooh good thread. Like it.

Season. 89/90 best town side I've seen.

Match. Leeds at home that season was special. Stoke away to get in the play offs takes it though. Unbelievable atmosphere that day.

Manager. Ossie. Took us to the promised land and completely changed the way we played.

Player. Calderwood. At the time I liked Duncan shearer more but in hindsight what Calderwood did here was incredible.

Calderwood and Taylor, awesome centre back pairing.

was the Stoke game 1.1 when they invaded the pitch, we was at that one

season 92/93
match Bristol away 1987, stopped them getting in the play offs, and it KICKED OFF big time
manager Macari
1987-05-09 Bristol City vs Swindon Town https://youtu.be/0DneRGGBlDw via @YouTube

They missed that penalty and the East end emptied.  My mate went and parked his car the other side of Ashton Park, the coppers suggested it wasn't a good time to get through the park  :)

there was Z Hire mini buses driving back with no windows

 :D

https://youtu.be/0DneRGGBlDw

Mark Cooper in disguise :wink:

1982 - 83 & visiting norvern outposts & racking up the number of grounds visited.

Poxford you shite head 1-3 STFC 1983 - 84 Associate Members Cup. We really stuck it up 'em. My best feeling after a game.

PdC "What ever happens, it won't be through lack of trying".

Lee Peacock - sheer infectious exuberance, and a a great showman.

95/96 - I fell in love with watching us away in particular, and we were immense on the road.

The rest of the questions I find very difficult. Maybe beating Oxford 4-1 at home in 97 or 98.

Manager is a toss up between Paolo and Wellens. I hope in a couple of years there will be no question, and it'll be Wellens all the way.

Player is probably Parkin.

Yes mate.

I was at that Stoke game as I lived 100 yards from The Boothen End in those days. Took an hour to get home. "Third division rubbish" whilst their chant went something like, "When the Stoke go down, we'll all go down and get pissed on the ale, when Stoke come up we'll win the cup and kick shit out of Vale". Happy days!

Season = 79/80 for so many reasons

Match = Beating Arsenal 4-3 at home

Manager = Lou Macari

Player = So many to choose from but i'm going to say Glenn Hoddle

A special mention for this game vs Southend a day or so after the Macari sacking.

I too was in the Town End that afternoon and the atmosphere was incredible for so few fans in attendance, after the game Garry Nelson said it was the most intense atmosphere he had ever played in! yet it was announced as not much over 2,600 there must have been 2,000 of those in the TE that day and singing non stop start to finish with Macari in attendance in the stands and having his Mercedes mobbed post game in the car park by all of us, incredible memories.

:) twin brother!

Also my triplet brother :D

I was at the Stoke game, that's also one of my favourites, it was packed our end.

Also at the Southend match in April 1985, Lou Macari came and sat in the North Stand about 4 minutes after kick off, 3 or 4 rows behind me. I'm sure everyone applauded when he came in, people went onto the pitch to protest etc, it was an incredible atmosphere.

Season is easily 92/93, the best Town team I've seen and plenty of massive matches towards the end of the season culminating in the old Wembley play off win in a ridiculous match.

Match is tricky but the one which I still have vivid emotions from is the Invincible game v Peterborough. We were pretty awful all season and relegation looked nailed on. The Reeves OG and then that goal, proper roller-coaster of emotions. That season was grim though.

Manager has to be Hoddle, I'm not going to see football of that quality at Town ever again I don't think.

There really are some fantastic memories on this thread...and we've barely scratched the surface so far :nod:

I'll stick with the answers I've given but easily give a totally different one to each of the questions...

I don’t know about that. I think we all agree, something good is happening at the moment - both on the pitch and with the CG/training ground. Get those sorted, keep Wellens and kick this damn virus into touch and away we go!

I agree on all counts.

However this all pans out, it's pretty safe to say that this season will end up being a lot of peoples' most memorable one....certainly the weirdest ;)

Damn right mate, memorable in so many way!

Ah yes, the "Southend Seven". They saw a gap in the security & ran on to the pitch as the teams came out. As they were being "processed" by the OB, they heard an all mighty roar from the ground & assumed Town had scored an early goal. In fact it was the cheer greeting Lou's arrival in the stand.

That away game at Northampton under Macari was a right one as well

Unbelievable identical to this.
Joint players Kamara being a Pompey lad and Rowland just a wonderful number nine.

Same season for me Duke, skipping school for Arsenal away to be with 8000 Town fans, standing up the Town end flood light in extra time watching us beat Brady, O Leary, Jennings & co. Watching Spurs fans set light to the hot dog stand in the Stratton bank, losing my ticket for the home Wolves semi final and buying from a tout as I left my mates and was about to go home nearly in tears, watching the Wolves players train on the county ground extension in the morning before the game after going for a job interview whilst still at school.

Hoddle as best manager for the class football we played

Hoddle for best player as he was just class even at 36

The 2003 - 2004 season was a great one as, for time immemorial, we can say that we waz robbed etc

Great minds and of similar age probably has something to do with it ;)

was at this one, someone stabbed before the game, afterwards it kicked off, IIRC we won 1.0

Town fans were stabbed in games vs Northampton on at least 3 occassions in the 80s, also they bottled my old mate Sid Sellars before the Kettering away cup game.

They used to be some nasty fuckers back then. Used to be a shit ground too, open to the elements and with the cricket pitch down the side, we always took a fair few there.

I remember Charlie Henrys goal in that game, we had well over 2,000 fans there for that game almost half the crowd, great but nasty atmosphere in and around the ground.

Effectively, only the two ends were open as you had the cricket ground on one side as you say and IIRC, the stand on the other side was condemned. The only way they could accommodate all the Town fans was by erecting a temporary 'rent-a-stand'...

Awful ground that should have been condemned way before it was. With awful fans.

Our lot were no saints afterwards - chased the Cobblers fans all over the place. There was a milk float on the road outside the ground and the air was filled with bottles being flung at them. Remember Macari saying afterwards it was worse than any Rangers-Celtic game!

Oh we gave as good as we got back then! and yes I remember Macari saying that, I had forgotten that until you mentioned it! mental scenes.

I was in the rent-a-stand that day. I also remember Kenny Allen making a blinding save, thankfully didn't come across any trouble after the game.

The temporary stand.
(https://www.footballgroundguide.com/old-grounds-and-stands/county-ground-northampton-main-stand-on-matchday.jpg)

The away end that we filled regularly.
(https://www.footballgroundguide.com/old-grounds-and-stands/county-ground-northampton-spion-kop.jpg)

The cricket pitch side.
(https://www.footballgroundguide.com/old-grounds-and-stands/county-ground-northampton-cricket-ground-side.jpg)

Cheers PV, not quite how i remembered the temporary stand but it was 34 years ago!

I sat in the main stand in November 84 watching a very poor Swindon team lose 4-0, it can't have been long after that when it burnt down.

Knives were visibly on display after the game waiting to get home.

See Sid every now and again.
Still has that scar from the Pool Cue at Kettering. Always remember a red just missing my head outside their social club.
To think one of my best Mates is now a Cobblers fan going to every home and away game. Been going for years and through that era.

Anyone on this forum go to the Boreham Wood away FA Cup game?
That was hell on. Particularly scary on the train station after the game.

I was working at the time with Sid at BREL as an apprentice, he didn't go to many Town games back then preferring Pompey, we travelled up with him and a load of other mates and I was stood at the other end of the bar/clubhouse/whatever it was when the fight broke out. Yes that scar is still with him, spoke to him a couple of weeks ago only to find out 2 of the lads we went with that day had recently died. Interesting times as a Town fan back then.

I was in that sports bar. Someone lumped a pint mug at me, missed, glanced off another Town fan and got embedded in the dart board!

Saying that, I also remember at home against the Cobblers when about 40 of them were outside the CGH really early when hardly anyone was in. The CGH had a real small fella as doorman who just stood by the door barring them coming in. Me and a mate also went outside to stand with him when one of the pool players in the CGH charged the lot of them with his cue.

All a bit samey from me, I'm afraid.

Season
1992/93

Match
Swindon 4-3 Leicester, 1993 Play Off Final.  I've tried hard to think of something less obvious, but nothing comes close to this.

Manager
Glenn Hoddle.  Loved his football philosophy.  Getting a team to play that way in the 2nd tier was a massive achievement.

Player
John Moncur.  He could make time stand still when he was on the ball.  My favourite play-maker.

I remember him going to Pompey for a while.
I come from a Pompey family and looking back could have turned blue in the 70’s but turned red and never looked back. Remember the day we signed Kamara as was down in Pompey at the time.
That 77’ debut, 3-1 the diving header and the run to the TE was a significant moment in Supporting the lads. The diving header captured superbly in the Football Pink.
The train journey home with the 6:57 was scary.

We used to play Pompey a lot around tben it seemed. Used to sit in block B of the old South Stand. From the top of the rickety steps you could see the Pompey lads hiding their scarves as they made their way to The Town End.

Absolutely all of that.

Here is the header.
(https://i.postimg.cc/bvZRS2GK/Untitled.jpg)

A picture of fucking beauty.
I have that picture saved from the vaults of time.

He was receiving death threats right up until kick off.
The run to the TE to acclaim his new home and fanbase, a legend was born.
Mind you I still get down to Pompey and I would be a liar to say that I didn’t have Pompey in my blood. My youngest whilst supports and follows Swindon has a soft spot for them and has to be reminded he is Swindon not “Peortsmouth” (as known).
As a City it’s had some much needed investment. Still have family and Nan lived in one of the roughest parts, Paulsgrove. In the 70’s and 80’s it was one of the deprived and roughest City’s in the Country.

Ah yes the old "Peeeortssssmafff" TBH I have a few close mates that follow them, more so back in the 80s and 90s and in the main they are a fair bunch of lads.

I went to a match there many years ago with my Pompey mate, it was Pompey v Newcastle in 84.

Keegan was unplayable that day he got 2 and Beardsley got 2 as well. The Newcastle line up included Roeder, McReery, McDermott and Waddle as well. What a line up. Pompey had Mark Hateley up front.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVeji567v34