Thetownend.com

who was your hero when you watched the town as a kid?

i think my first "favourite player" was jan the man...which isn't surprising. strangely i don't remember him leaving though, i'm not sure why as i'm sure i must have been aware of it.

digby was always a favourite of mine, my cat is living testament to that.

i didn't follow town between about 98 and 01 but decent players were few and far between in that period.

since then, i think parkin has been the only player that i would have worshipped were i still a wee 'un.

i want to know reg's childhood hero 8)

Shaun Taylor

I absolutely idolised him and still feel angry that he was sold off to Bristol City by McMahon!

Last year I found a picture of Taylor in my collection and sent it to Forest Green Rovers in the hope he'd sign it.

Needless to say he sent it back, signed with a quality lengthy message at the back!

Legend.


players other than S.T I liked were Fraser Digby, Alan McLoughlin, Nestor Lorenzo, Colin Calderwood and Nicky Summerbee.

going to show my age now -- used to be Garry Nelson -- and then when he left Dave Bamber

ahhh, buzzer! he was a favourite of mine as well. i was given a matchworn shirt of his from the premiership which i regularly wore to primary school 8)

He was amazing... His return last season for one game was amazing.

Charlie Henry

Leigh Barnard

Jimmy Quinn

Colin Calderwood and Digby, Duncan Shearer before he left us for promotion rivals.

:? I was'nt really a kid when I first started watching Swindon. It was in 2000 and I was 11 so it was the era of grazioli/invincible/sol davis/o halloran/duke etc.
At first I thought graz and Danny were incredible I used to think they were great. Then when they left I liked dukey for a bit......but when Sam Parkin joined us he was in a league above all those players to be fair.He was my hero and still is :oops: Which really does not need much explaining because all town fans know what he was like!An absolute legend,a quality player and a genuinely nice bloke who stayed loyal to this club for a long time and loved the fans.He scored some screamers and I used to look forward to watching him every week :D I was so gutted when he went.

1.Sam Parkin
2.Invincible
3.Graz

Dave Mitchell. Especially as he got me free tickets for my first ever town game. Other than him, Calderwood, Digby and Horlock

Peter Coyne from my few matches attended in the mid late 80's.

Then when I started going week in week out in the early 90's it was Colin Calderwood.

John Moncur and his popped collar was a popular figure too.

Fraser Fraser Digby....when I was 6, when I started to go to games I started off thinking his name was Frigby Daser. It's not your everyday name is it.

Fraser Digby

I used to pronounce his name Frassa.

kevin horlock was my hero flippin quality my first memory of him was when he scored against southampton in the cup 5th rd 95/96 season

Steve White!

He scored a hat-trick against the Gas away that season on my birthday weekend... Shaun Taylor got the other.

I remember his amazing effort at Notts County in 92.

kamara was my first town hero

I started watching town in '90, so it has to be Duncan Shearer, although I vaguely remember my dad extolling the virtues of Jimmy Quinn on me in my infancy.  Later it was all about Taylor, Fjortoft, Buzzer, pretty much all the team of the halcyon 90-93 era.  Mooe recently I always liked Mark Robinson, for no apparent reason.

 :shock: theres always one :wink:

Has to be Super Kevin Horlock for me.

there was a few for me.when i first started going i loved bobby barnes he was a legend.then it had to be hoddle and digby.jan the man was very close aswell though

Strangely, Kenny Allen is the first one that springs to mind, although I had a soft spot for Peter Coyne.

When I was a bit more knowledgeable then McLoughlin followed by Taylor.

My first real hero was chris hay, in that period when he was good.

John Moncur for me too.  Don't really know why, just thought he was quality in the Premiership season.

Without a doubt - Kevin Horlock.

    Ernie Hunt.....Ernie had a great footballers walk which I tried to copy figuring it was necessary to make myself a better player.....I'd watch training at the A ground, and cop a few train numbers....Kings, Castles etc, then follow the players back down Shrivenham Road to the CG.  I'd walk behind Ernie watching his bow legged, pigeon toed gait and try and emulate it.

   Ernie also had an ace haircut, short on the sides with a hint of quiff....so my father would take me to his barber, Eric's in Faringdon Road....an exclusive *cough* gentleman's salon, who for years  had catered  for the tonsorial and contraceptive needs of men from the Works, with the obligatory short back and sides and prophylactic.

  "I want a haircut like Ernie Hunt" says I.......sharp intake of breath from Eric....."Oooh don't know about that, you haven't got the right sort of hair".

  "Well could you try" says I.......so Eric gives me a short back and sides with a dangly bit  in the fringe.....a kind of proto Phil Oakey.

   Makes mental note to self.....try and get in Joe's chair next time....Joe being the silent Pole, avec a bit more panache with the scissors.

Jan aage Fjortoft
Philippe Cuervo
Martin Ling
David Kerslake

My Auntie has a sheep called Peter Thorne because of me  :oops:

I used to love Frazer Digby and was in total awe of his wife with her fur coats and Louis Vutton bags  :oops:

 Tracey....legend for having a punch up with Ross MacClaren's missus.

bit of a rough bird really!!

ty gooden  8)

Rather oddly, it was Marlon Broomes.

Without wishing to start vicious internet rumours, didn't ol' Tracey get around a few of the players?

OOH! Shaun Taylor

(the player, not the poster)

Definately Jan Aage Fjortoft.

Allegedly

NMH

D.D.D.D.D.Dave Bamber !

NMH

Alan Reeeeeeves. My uncle used to take me to occasional games with his mate, and whenever we went they ripped poor Reevesy to shreds (and Bobby Howe, but he deserved it). So I stood up for Reeves - I genuinely didn't think he was that bad (certainly not as bad a Howe, to whom I gave as much stick as possible). Kind of a pity vote, but there you go.

i always liked robbo, looked like a thug though, mugged enough people on the pitch  :D

he wasn't my childhood hero though!! would have to be jan the man i think

John Moncur.

Although when Shaun Taylor cam to my school I was star struck  :o

A toss-up between Garth Hudson and Maurice Owen. Although Owen was a class above everyone else at that time, I was too young to appreciate his skills. Garth was very big and powerful, though slow, and he could head the old type heavy ball farther than anyone, and win most. Forwards bounced off him. During one of my first matches, about 1950, behind the TE goal, Garth took a penalty and smashed it so hard in to the roof of the net that I thought it would come through and hit me. So my first hero, though objectively he wasn't that good I suppose. Played 427 games as CH from 1948 -1959, and scored 11 goals.
Later, I appreciated just how good Maurice was .

Loved Chico Bates for his effort but for skill and goals Mayes and Rowland, great strikers.

Dave Bamber hence the reason BAMBER 7 is on my shirt!

Ian Miller, Jimmy Allan, Alan Mayes, Chris Kamara

Another player I used to love aswell was Martin Ling.... He was ace, I'm sure McMahon got rid of him for a pathetic reason  :evil:

Wasn't in favour under McMahon was he. Shame top player.

mcmahon got rid of anyone who was more popular than him.

which is why pretty much everyone left

Originally when I first started watching the Town the star was Maurice Owen. Very, very good player & stayed loyal to the club when he could have gone to a top First Division club.  But the one I admired most was Arnold Darcy, a right winger we got from non-league Wigan who played on until the early 60's. I had pretentions to being a winger - sadly they were only pretentions & I tried to do what Arnie could do.

Later of course came the great Don Rogers - arguably the best Swindon Town player ever although Jan Aage Fjortoft came close.  Never, ever will I forget the League Cup Final against Arsenal at Wembley. Personally I think Wembley should have been re-named 'The Don Rogers Stadium'!

I won't argue against that suggestion.

When I first started watching - probably Kenny Stroud (espec after Everton)and soon after that my favourite ever, Kamara

but your username is quinnismy hero :roll:

has to be bobby barnes, cracking wing skills, always beating his man just infront of me on the shrivvy road, plus the haircut of imagination.

i was only young mex but im sure i remember him scoring once and jumping on the fences at the town end and start nutting it. he was my first hero as i said in a earlier post.

glad someone agreed with me

Fjortoft, Taylor, Chalky in that order

closely followed by John Moncur, Frazer Digby and Kevin Horlock.

Not hard to tell which era I grew up in! :D

Shearer, Taylor and Diby in that order.

My Dad was a youth when Darcy was playing and went on to work for him for a number of years in his Decorating business.

Alan McLoughlin, Glenn Hoddle, Micky Hazard, Chalky White, SHEARER. Infact any of the Ossie 1990's team. and most of Hoddles promo side.

Alan Mc - first ever hero. He was so missed when not in the side. Didn't do it at Saints though did he.

Not much mention of Hazard so far in this thread. He was ace. I remember going to Old Trafford in the prem season and for the first half he was majestic, although we came in 2-0 down at half time.

Hoddle was different gravy.

Chalky and Shearer - what a partnership - not really comparable with Mitchell and maskell!

Yeah but I was 25 when he played!  It said childhood heroes...keep up

ok im sorry

Tom Jones, shearer, Gittens, calderwood, taylor, horlock... haven't been many heros since then! But my first would have to be calderwood I reckon.

Hoddle was different class though

Calderwood for me too. And Bamber. Loved his lanky ways. And his long hair. And his dribbling, long-headers, and ability to fall over like a gangly girl every time he got in the box.

Favourite shout from the old North Stand (where I sat when I was a kid):

"YOU GREAT BIG FAIRY BAMBER!"

Diggers, Moncur, Culverhouse.  I loved those guys when i was a kid.

Gotta be Horlock, Taylor and Jan the Man.....  I was also nuts about Luc Nijholt due to the sheer commitment on display every week.

macca did you have bobby barnes as your avatar for ages?

yes i did sonic.well remembered

i wasn't sure if it was you or not. i always think he looks like michael jackson

Tracey - top bird for showing me her tits in the apartment one night a couple of years ago - that was a drunken night !!!

Gotta be the best strikeforce ever to play together on the CG turf in my 37 years.....

Andy and Alan (Rowland and Mayes)

PROPER PROPER LEGENDS !!!

do you remember watching him at all.

And also Ray McHale, for getting the Gillingham rabble really upset in the late 70's !!!

Fucking unstoppable at the time - shiny stars in what i thought was a shit team at that time (altho' not as shit as a few years later)

Shit team ?

Semi Final of the League Cup - Only Andy (the wanker) Gray stopping us from Wembley - 10,000 Swindon fans at Wolves....

Beating Arsenal at the CG in front of 28,000 people - narrowly losing to Spurs the same season in the FA Cup at the CG....

Jimmy Allen in goal, Russell Lewis, Kenny Stroud, Brian Williams, Ian Miller, Ray McHale ???

Shitty team ?

No my friend - a very good team - and some great memories !!!

Imho a shit team - a great cup run but that affected our league form and most of those (admittedly good) players had gone by the start of the following season and I thought we were better 79-80 anyway.

Was the start of a very dark period

The one and only

Don Rodgers

Best town player ever

 :nod:

 Not sure how you can grade the 78/79 79/80 sides as shit.....ithe basic 8 or 9 who featured largely in both seasons, would have to be about 6th best STFC side of all time.

  Very unlucky and ultimately unsuccessful, but fondly recalled by most fans of the time.

  Bob Smith as manager produced a couple of fine attacking sides, the 78/79 side would have gone up if 3 points for a win had been in place. The 79/80 side got caught, a bit like Sheff U recently, on getting inviolved in too many cup games which ultimately cost league form.

 Mayes and Rowland scored something like 56 goals between them in 79/80.

 The sale of McHale at season's end started the break up of that side soon followed by Alan Mayes.

Peter Noble for me-he could do everything.A couple of years later my mates used to call me "Eastoe",I loved him as well

 I once went to a party at Noble's house.....the days when the club owned houses, in what is now laughably called in estate agent speak, Old Walcot.

  Thick Geordie accent couldn't understand a word he said.

mark walters and scott leitch

more recently parkin and invincibile

I agree actually Reg.  I just remember 79/80 being a total anticlimax and my other main memories are of Cockerill and Peach, which is probably where my "shit" radar got caught.

I also meant to say that the 78/79 team was better and not 79/80 - was a great season

And then came Charlie Henry -Legend!

And wan't he just?

Walters step-over used to throw me. sat in the stand. Brilliant.

Duncan Shearer!! Legend!

I was also never unhappy to see Steve Foley and Fitzroy Simpson on the team sheet either!

Im too young to remember Noble for STFC although I remember him as a a grumpy old twat playing for Burnley in the mid '70's

I forgot about mark walters, he was fucking ace!! also I quite liked george ndah, though he's not quite hero status worthy.

Alan mcloughlin for me as he was the centre of everything during 89/90

scored 17 goals that season from midfield.

And after basically scoring the winner at wembley he got the call into the rep of ireland italia 90 squad.

Was the first swindon player i ever saw play in a world cup.

Also got to meet him when he and ross mclaren were signing autograph's at trents/beaties upstairs :D  which is now The Bedroom

still see him around town now and is always friendly.

The guy was my hero

The first team I really remember was in the Walters/Ndah/Onuora/Hay/Gooden/Digby era

Out of those, Digby and Walters were pure class. Since then I would have to say Parkin is the player I turned up wanting to watch every week.