The Ex Swindon Town Player Where Are They Now Thread

[Arriba]

Such an offer may come in the summer.

maybe,wouldn't surprise me if he stayed here even if an offer came in. I was talking about youth level.

Except for the chance that really matters - getting the invaluable experience of playing competitive first team football.

Most PL clubs just hoover up any and every half decent kid they can lay their hands on, knowing full well the kid's got precious little chance of getting anywhere with them. It's a numbers game, a sausage factory with little or no regard to the ongoing development of the vast majority who get spat out the other end.

not all get that chance at our level. More than not don't.
Better chance of making pro even if not getting firstteam games at bigger clubs. They just drop to our level after, where as our released players generally end up in non league.

[tans]

Arriba was your lad in the same team as the two lads that have just signed pro?

Any good?

[Arriba]

Arriba was your lad in the same team as the two lads that have just signed pro?

Any good?

Matty Jones played with my boy for years. Always had ability but had attitude issues which it would appear are behind him. The other lad I don't know alot  about.

[jayohaitchenn]

The u21 league is arguably better than league 1.

Why aren't there 7000x24 people rocking up to watch it each week then?

[Arriba]

Why aren't there 7000x24 people rocking up to watch it each week then?

because it's effectively their reserve teams.
I'd argue our u21s would beat chippenham town etc but they get a handful of people compared to the few hundred non league clubs get.

[swindonremo]

My friends brother lives in Old Town in the new houses at the old Hospital, and Rhys Evans is his next door neighbor

[london_red]

My friends brother lives in Old Town in the new houses at the old Hospital, and Rhys Evans is his next door neighbor

[Reg Smeeton]

because it's effectively their reserve teams.
I'd argue our u21s would beat chippenham town etc but they get a handful of people compared to the few hundred non league clubs get.

No they'd lose...like what happens in County Shield games. There's a big difference between boys and men.

There used to be a couple league which were somewhere between Div 4 and non-league. Properly regionalised....the Football Combination and the Central League.

Here, lads could make a step up from youth football to more of a man's game...reserve teams usually having a number of players with decent experience.

I recall seeing us play Brum in the Combination with a crowd of 5,494.

Crowds of 1600-1700 were not uncommon for games v the likes of Aldershot and Southend....more for Chelsea QPR etc.

[Tails]

Graham Westley is on TalkSport now talking about the Combination and how it benefitted players back in the day.

[Ironside]

No they'd lose...like what happens in County Shield games. There's a big difference between boys and men.

There used to be a couple league which were somewhere between Div 4 and non-league. Properly regionalised....the Football Combination and the Central League.

Here, lads could make a step up from youth football to more of a man's game...reserve teams usually having a number of players with decent experience.

I recall seeing us play Brum in the Combination with a crowd of 5,494.

Crowds of 1600-1700 were not uncommon for games v the likes of Aldershot and Southend....more for Chelsea QPR etc.

The Neville Ovenden Football Combination League.

[Peter Venkman]

No they'd lose...like what happens in County Shield games. There's a big difference between boys and men.

There used to be a couple league which were somewhere between Div 4 and non-league. Properly regionalised....the Football Combination and the Central League.

Here, lads could make a step up from youth football to more of a man's game...reserve teams usually having a number of players with decent experience.

I recall seeing us play Brum in the Combination with a crowd of 5,494.

Crowds of 1600-1700 were not uncommon for games v the likes of Aldershot and Southend....more for Chelsea QPR etc.

I remember our reserves played against Spurs in the Combination back in the early 80's when Spurs played Brooke, Perryman, Hoddle, Crooks & Villa when the attendance was 5,400+.

For the record Brooke scored with a stunning 40 yarder at the Stratton Bank and we drew 2-2.

I don't think I ever watched a reserve game back in the 70's and 80's when there was less than 600 or 700 there, I miss the reserve games but in the last few years it turned into just an extension of the youth team with virtually no first teamers playing.

It used to be great to go out to the CG on a Saturday when Swindon were away or a Tuesday afternoon and watch Arsenal, Spurs, West Ham, Chelsea etc, I would say in those games I saw most of the current England team play at one stage or another (current internationals at the time) such as Adams, Winterburn, Bould, Seaman, Woodcock, Brooking, Dixon, Wilkins, Francis, Lampard (senior) etc the list is almost endless.

[Reg Smeeton]

 Yep....another glowing example of how administrators have fucked up the English game, in the name of "progress"

[Munichred]

No they'd lose...like what happens in County Shield games. There's a big difference between boys and men.

There used to be a couple league which were somewhere between Div 4 and non-league. Properly regionalised....the Football Combination and the Central League.

Here, lads could make a step up from youth football to more of a man's game...reserve teams usually having a number of players with decent experience.

I recall seeing us play Brum in the Combination with a crowd of 5,494.

Crowds of 1600-1700 were not uncommon for games v the likes of Aldershot and Southend....more for Chelsea QPR etc.

I'm sure I was at a Combination game at the CG with over 9,000 there. Either late sixties or early seventies, vouchers were being given out on the gates to be used for buying tickets for a big FA Cup game. AFAIR the Combination game was against a top London team and we won 6-2.

I also remember standing in the Townend at a Stiffs game, next to Ernie Hunt and Mike Summerbee, the first team not having a game that Saturday.

Happy days...

[chalkies_shorts]

You might be referring to a reserve game v Brum where they were giving out tickets for Everton in the Cup. Kenny Burns played for Brum and I think the crowd was somewhere near 12,000 with most fans getting their tickets for Everton and fucking off.

[nigel grays a postie]

Jake Jervis and Phil Smith both released by Pompey