Old Stuff

[Reg Smeeton]

...anyone else see this little gem in today's Sunday Times?  Shame they fucked up the pics, but hey it must be easy to confuse John Trollope and Roger Smart for Italians.

 http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/european_football/article2558430.ece

[Bushey Boy]

Cracking little read, had no idea of the trouble.

[Arriba]

i know arthur horsefield and he's a top fella.

[reeves4england]

I thought I'd heard about it being called off! Didn't realise quite how bad the trouble was though.

A good read that!

[Peter Venkman]

I know Joe Butler very very well and he told me thats the only time hes actually been too scared to leave the dressing rooms after the game, there were loads of armed guards coming into the dressing room and threatening the Swindon players, he said it was like a war zone outside!

Great bloke if you ever see him on the taxis (Joe Butler that is) let him know you are a Town fan and he will winllingly regail you with the stories of him playing, top bloke.

[Reg Smeeton]

Its good to get the occasional reminder about past glories....I'd say in my time we've had probably 3 and a half times where we've been a seriously good side, by which I mean able to give any team in the land a game.

    So from about 68-71 with the side Danny Williams built and Fred Ford carried on with.

     The Macari side of 88, through to 90 under Ossie, and the Hoddle side of 92/93.

     The half I'd say was the Bob Smith side of 78-80....which despite cup heroics never quite managed a promotion....may well have done if PO's were available.

    I'd like to think I'll see some such again, but looking at the state of the club at Board level means its very unlikely, in the short/medium term.

[Rich Pullen]

FourFourTwo did a good article (along the same lines but a little longer) last year.

It's sad that many fans of other teams are quick to dismiss Swindon's Italian-Job achievements for that era. You don't cause such anarchy if you don't care about the fixture, do you?

I wonder who Scott Munroe would have supported during the Roma games months prior to the Napoli fixture!?!?!

 

[Crozzer]

Peter Downsborough was a neighbour, with racing pigeons flying around most afternoons.  He always had time to talk to the neighbours and bunches of kids.  He got treated very badly by Swindon.  When he returned for Bradford and shut out the Town in an undeserved 1:0 win, I was happy for him.  They would have had to have shot him first before he let one in.

Rod Thomas was another neighbour, didn't see much of him.  Best right full back in the British isles according to Rothmans one year.  I wouldn't have argued that.

Roger Smart was of course at the Plough.  Very affable, seemed very genuine.

My dear mother gave Ford's team flu shots one year.  She came home and explained that she thought that footballers were rough ignoramuses, but all the Swindon players were perfect gentlemen and a friendly lot.  

John Smith use to give large tips when he got his evening paper delivered.    I have fond memories of John clobbering Ron Atkinson in a midfield battle.  

Ron Morse was another neighbour.  He was a friendly guy, used to take the Bristol bus to work.