Guardian Article.

[Bob's Orange]

Wasn't sure where to put this -

http://www.theguardian.com/football/when-saturday-comes-blog/2016/mar/31/swindon-town-fan-reporter-club

[horlock07]

Wasn't sure where to put this -

http://www.theguardian.com/football/when-saturday-comes-blog/2016/mar/31/swindon-town-fan-reporter-club

Bloody hell Sam is now writing for the Mail and the Guardian - I fear he may explode trying to deal with the contrasting angles he will have to take.... Does he blame immigration or embrace it to consider Swindon's position?

Interesting piece though!

[nigel grays a postie]

Following on from Mark Coopers barbed comments earlier in the week our esteemed leader getting plenty of flak just now. Guess that's what happens in the wake of 6 nil thumpings by Scunthorpe largely brought about by a refusal to invest enough to enable the squad to cope with inevitable injuries and suspensions.

[Paolo69]

Sam actually wrote this piece for When Saturday Comes magazine which came out a couple of weeks ago. The Guardian just decided to publish it today for some reason.

[Tails]

It's all a bit dramatic. A lot of fans felt completely deflated after getting humiliated at Wembley and the following shite start to the season. It would be hard not to. If we have a good season next year you'll be reading about how he's rediscovered the love I'm sure.

[Ardiles]

It’s difficult to separate how much of Sam’s change in feeling towards the club/results is down to his job, and how much is simply down to growing older.  Years ago, a bog standard home defeat would leave me feeling sick in my stomach for the rest of the day, and down for a day or two after that.  These days, it’s different.  I felt more tired than depressed on the drive back from Scunthorpe on Saturday.

You get older, you discover girls, you have more on your plate to deal with, you develop perspective.  It’s normal.  It’s why the club will always need a steady stream of young ones to fill the shoes of duffers like us as we move in to shoulder-shrugging middle age.

[Sippo]

I think he took the whole media ban too personally. He always harped on about it.

[Chrystovski]

I can see where Sam is coming from, I've certainly lost the buzz for Town recently.

My biggest grumble would be with Power and his lack of interaction with the fans.

A scripted fans phone in (where Power ducks out of most legitimate question)s every couple of months is not enough for me.

I think the only way Power will change his stance and PR of the club is if it hits him where it hurts and that's his pocket. Sadly, if fans don't renew their ST then the budget is likely to be cut again and next season will throw up more Bradley Barry's and less Nicky Ajose's.

The increase of ST prices a couple of years ago despite cutting the budget to a 1\3 of what it once does not represent value for money.

[Panda Paws]

You get older, you discover girls, you have more on your plate to deal with, you develop perspective.  It’s normal.  It’s why the club will always need a steady stream of young ones to fill the shoes of duffers like us as we move in to shoulder-shrugging middle age.

Can't comment on the relativity of this to Sam's point, but 100%. Swindon are a passing though outside of matchday for me now, but not because of big bad Mr Power or anything else football-related.

[Reg Smeeton]

You get older, you discover girls, you have more on your plate to deal with, you develop perspective. 

From previous posts more on his plate would seem to consist of American fat bastard style burgers.

As I've said many times before people come in and out of fandom all the time.....and it's often the noisiest and til I die types who flake off first.

Apparently Leicester are quite popular these days.

[The Artist Formerly Known as Audrey]

Then there's those who pontificate on here who don't go anyway

[Reg Smeeton]

Then there's those who pontificate on here who don't go anyway

The TEF has always been a home to those who don't regularly attend for a variety of reasons, doesn't necessarily make them less of a fan than the fella from Northampton who hasn't missed in however many years.

[The Artist Formerly Known as Audrey]

Yes, that's fair enough but a few could go but choose not to yet feel fit to criticise some who do go and have the occasional moan about things.

[horlock07]

I can see where Sam is coming from, I've certainly lost the buzz for Town recently.

My biggest grumble would be with Power and his lack of interaction with the fans.

A scripted fans phone in (where Power ducks out of most legitimate question)s every couple of months is not enough for me.

I think the only way Power will change his stance and PR of the club is if it hits him where it hurts and that's his pocket. Sadly, if fans don't renew their ST then the budget is likely to be cut again and next season will throw up more Bradley Barry's and less Nicky Ajose's.

The increase of ST prices a couple of years ago despite cutting the budget to a 1\3 of what it once does not represent value for money.

In all seriousness what do you want Power to do to engage with the fans, yes his PR is shite but he could alternatively go down the road of Fitton et al (the Black era say), who everyone loved as he engaged (although with hindsight the engagement was not much better, albeit with less rooooar, than Jed) saying all the right things whilst diluting the shareholdings of 'normal' fans in the background and thus removing a further link between man in the street and their club?

Yes the lack of press engagement is odd, but people seem to be getting drawn into the media 'ban' myth that the media outlets seem to be peddling rather than the fact that they are still free to go out and find stories just won't get them drip fed from the club anymore - is saying some manner of PR sterile bollocks actually any better than saying nothing at all, apart from it just fills column inches? Do we really need to hear every Friday how up for the game Branco is or how excited Thompson is to be welcoming Fleetwood?

I still fail to really grasp what Powers objectives are (actually I understand what the objective is but just cannot see a logical or easy way to get there) and as I have said countless times if he is here to make money there are plenty of other clubs where it must be easier to do so than Swindon who essentially own nothing apart from players (which he bought to the club - can you asset strip things you funded yourself), a training ground (ditto) and that's about it?

[Tails]

We aren't winning and fans need something to moan about.

Posh fans moan regularly about their chairman and they'd be nothing without him. Well, less nothing than they are now. So at least it isn't just us!