Thetownend.com

[With apologies to the Beatles.]

I've had this idea for a thread for a while.  The spring & early summer of 1993 was a special time for the club and, between now and the end of May, I thought maybe it might be fun for those of us old enough to relive it - day by day and game by game.

Admittedly, I've chosen a rubbish day to kick this off (despite March 15th being an important anniversary from another year.)  March 15th 1993 was a Monday and we didn't have a game.  However, we had beaten Newcastle at home the previous Saturday - coming from behind at half time with two second half goals - in front of over 17,500 to go third in the table behind Newcastle and West Ham (who would ultimately be the two teams we were promoted along side).  It was our biggest crowd of the season.

[All the following links shamelessly nicked from the excellent resource at www.swindon-town-fc.co.uk.]

Result: Swindon Town vs Newcastle (http://swindon-town-fc.co.uk/MatchCentre.asp?MatchID=19930134)

League Table: 13/03/1993 (http://swindon-town-fc.co.uk/LeagueTable.asp?Date=1993-3-13&Season=1992-1993&Tier=2&TableType=standard)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=gLa_kud2MXc

The hope, of course, is that we have our own promotion push over the next 2½ months to match the progress of the one we had 20 years ago.  Time will tell.

Grimsby were 8th and in with a shout of the play-offs. Look at them now!

Football always looks so less slicker back then than it does now. I'm sure it wasn't, but i think the combination of baggier kits and shitter video quality just makes the whole thing look 'clunkier'.

That was on my 12th birthday, woke up and my old fella presented me with to tickets for that afternoon, good memories.

Had no idea that was Andy Cole's debut for the Toon

Just look how packed it was on the Stratton Bank.  You get a good example from the clip from approx 03:55 to 04:05.

I can't watch the video at work but did Colin Calderwood score the winner in that game? Bundling in and then running behind the goal to celebrate?

He did indeed.  Watching the right hand side of the Bank explode in celebration is a sight to behold.

on a par with when we played Tranmere in the play-offs?

We had a Geordie lodger at our house that year. He very seriously threatened to kick 7 bells of shit out of me after that game when I got home cheering.

That was a mental day..I seem to remember they had huge travelling support and one guy even set up a stand flogging Newcastle flags and badges on the grass near to the Shrivenham Road/Stratton Bank corner. I got serious grief on the M6 driving home with my scarf out of the car window..great day and great fun watching Keegan get wound up  :)

Best thread in ages.  I look forward to a lot of memories.

Brilliant watch !

Off down the pub now for the races this afternoon - Oggy (Paul Hunt) is the landlord so will be ribbing him about it all afternoon :-)

I remember that well, I am on the video quite a bit, not very clear but thats me in the corner, the scruffy steward on the far left next to the steward with the glasses on.

[url width=800 height=450]http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g171/jjedmunds/1-2_zpse9d55de5.jpg[/url]

Remember that game well, it was probably the best game Viveash ever played for us. Man of the match that day for sure

The handball by Chalky leading up to our winner was mint. How did he get away with that?

I had a Season Ticket that year, cost me about £60 to watch Hoddle week in week out.

You haven't changed one bit...

John Beresford was pretty good!

I know you can even almost see me!

There's plenty scenes in the dressing room after that game on the 'That's Football' doc.

Gorman leading the singing is a sight to behold.

Was that the infamous "hitting on the head with a baseball bat" chant to Keagan after his spat with Hoddle ?

They played some lovely football that year, too.  As did all the sides near the top. 

Looks like the linesman is getting some action on that shot also.

Brilliant game that was. I was sat two seats away from the Newcastle support in the North Stand.

Fab memories thanks Ardiles, my best season ever watching Swindon.  Had totally forgotton what it was like with the Stratton Bank and all the corner filled as well. Used to stand around three quarters of the way down Shrivenham Road towards the away fans.  It's funny to see supporters standing up by the clock, but that happened quite regularly in the bigger games. Only two subs as well, we're totally spoilt now!

Carrying on this thread, 20 years ago today (sunday 21st March 1993) we lost 2-1 at Derby, shown live on Central TV, goals shown below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj91kIHyBNw

This after getting a 0-0 draw at Luton on the 17th March 1993

Yeh, they're off to Wembley tommorow with 15,000 Codheads with them

Losing your religion? ;)

Agreed my favourite season too, by a mile.

The saddest thing about watching that Newcastle clip is how bleedin' warm it was. I remember it like it was yesterday and it was a beautiful day - what a difference ::)

20 years ago today we beat City at home 2-1, with Leroy Rosenior giving away one of the more obvious penalties in all my time of watching the Town. Brian Marwood scored his only goal for us that evening as well....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQ0saMvXiXE

Wow - purple and green ::)

That kit was the worst I have ever seen by a country mile, it was much much brighter in real life, proper violet and lime green, fucking yuck.

I was actually at that game but I think the the part of my brain which contained that memory just shut down as a defence mechanism 8)

It was absolutely vile.

It was that season that Shitty did Liverpool at Anfield, this video shows the kit in an even worse light....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a15G2NDiU78

I believe that F.A. Cup game was played around the time we played them in the Premier League. Those days when a kit lasted more than one season. My missus went to that game at Anfield... She also still has the purple shirt.

I shall use the purple shirt for a bonfire night effigy if/when we have kids.

...and it was a beauty! I think we had a good crowd of around 13000 in that day too.

Dermot Gallagher was the ref that match too.

I was there with a couple of relatives of my missus who were city fans.  Started taking the piss as soon as they got on the pitch in that godawful lime green and purple kit and didnt really stop taking the piss all night.  Which was nice.

And in the Newcastle clip earlier the commentator says " a young Mr. Poll from Berkhamstead".

When did we stop hearing where referees were from? I recall George Courtenay from Spennymoor and Lester Shapter from Torquay.

God I had forgotten totally about Lester Shafter till then.

Yep, and Kelvin Morton of Bury St Edmunds - my parents in-law's house actually backs on to his - FACT!
Kevin Lynch of Knaresborough
Roger Milford of Bristol
I'd always thought it was Graham Poll of Tilehurst for some reason, latterly Graham Poll of Tring
Then of course there was the most famous butcher from Wolverhampton of all time - Jack Taylor.
The only current one I can think of is Andy D'Urso of Billericay.

Roger Milford was a good un and reffed the games with a smile on his face.
Joe Worrell used to get pelters off our crowd

You're forgetting the daddy....Ray Lewis from Great Bookham.

Anyone remember Dave Wallace from Swindon?

Was he the one who lived on Gladstone Street? My parents bought their first home from a referee who lived there but i do not know his name.

It's quite possible...he was around in the 60/70's but of course never did Town games. Gladstone Street would have been handy for early pitch inspections, mind.

Would have been early 70's. All i know is that the guy was a football league ref. An old fella at work years ago confirmed it to mw but the name escapes me.

Sounds right...there has never been a surfeit of Swindon based refs. I seem to remember one called Keith Cooper, not to be confused with a Welsh fella of the same name .

My uncle used to run the line in the football league.

I once remember him being on the Big Match at an Arsenal game. Unfortunately he broke his leg (not being a lino I hasten to add), and never made it back onto the league list.

He's now a ST holder & sits in the Arkells.

20 years ago today we drew 0-0 at Brentford, in a match which saw both Steve White and Dave Mitchell sent off in the first half hour. Below is a brief clip from HTV containing both the red cards.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=re3og7h2YAI

Remember Bodin's shot just going over near the end of the match. Brilliant day out on Silvernight.

Absolutely electric atmosphere at that game!!!

PE of my old custers (Martin Evans) who rus a DIY/decorators store in Newcastle Emlyn was a Lino and ran the line at SN1 on a few occasions. In fact on my last visit to him a few years ago he showed me some pictures taken before his last game which was at Swindon in the play offs. I cannot remember which game it was.

20 years ago today we beat Peterborough at home 1-0, with a late goal from Paul Bodin.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJGc3wOZUyg

Keep them coming Bedford.

I'm loving this thread even Reg might raise a little smile as he remembers these days.  Although the brush with the Premier League was a disaster that led to....  D'oh.

Time to update this thread a bit.

Firstly, a 3-1 defeat at Tranmere on 6th April 1993

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

Then a 1-0 home win against Luton on 10th April 1993, Bodin scores yet again!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9VKIzGwJi4

And then 20 years ago today, probably the best comeback in my lifetime of watching Swindon, the 6-4 win at Birmingham. Here are 60 mins of highlights to enjoy, this is well worth watching

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAwgSS6_vS4

Thanks Bedford.

That birmingham game was quality, i was only 10 and can remember it like it was yesterday

Best away match I have been at by a long way. Remember being to knackered to celebrate the sixth. Also being a fairly short 16 year old remember being semi crushed as the 4th and 5th went in.

Great day.

Twenty years ago today we drew 1-1 at home with Leicester. I was stood on Shrivenham Road that day, and was very near the linesman when the ref came over to ask him what he had seen happen between Calderwood and Joachim. I can't remember exactly what he said now but it was enough to convince the ref to send Joachim off.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7GgcDktgOI

I was in the shrivvy too that day  :)

Were you still in the Shrivvy at the end of the game to shake hands with those Leicester fans who came over to say hello?

Are you confusing it with that opening day 0-0 game when they got on the pitch and someone at the front of the shrivvy said hello on their own?

wasnt that the year before 1992 when we just stayed up

can't remember, but they brought about 3k and it was definitely the first home game of the season.

Edit. 17th Aug 1991.

Quite possiby.

That was in my pissed up at football heyday so anything was possible

 I remember the Leicester game referred to...insofar as they came on the pitch at the end of the game, and a number of Town fans in the South Side rapidly vacated. Experience taught me that such things were a bit like walking through a field of cows, don't retreat, as they'll follow you, stand and make some threatening noises, and they'll run away themselves...and so it proved.

In those days reg you could get out of the south stand in less than an hour.  :)

The Leicester and West Hame games were identified by the club as Play off priority games, so you could keep your ticket stubs and use them to get in behind the season ticket holders.  The Adver also did a promo of some vouchers to add to this and then you had a sliding scale fo ticket releases.  I pre-purchased both games but accidently used my West Ham ticket for the Leicester one and had to pay to get another ticket for the West Ham one.  Ended up with one extra voucher which as it turned out was useful as I needed it to get an even number when combined with vouchers to get in on the day after season ticket holders.

 ???

I was mascot for that match!

Twenty years ago today (Sat 24 Apr 93) we got a 1-1 draw at Notts County. I believe this result guaranteed us a play-off place....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9QKbTCjfyk

Great thread recalling the Halcyon days.

I was living in the Midlands that season and was treated to about 6/7 matches Live on Central ITV on Sundays. For some reason they included Swindon in their football catchment. One of those matches was against Peterborough at London Road, think we drew 3-3 in an absolute corker. Did you guys in Wiltshire at the time also get to see these games on telly as I always thought back then Swindon was served by HTV and not Central?

Shaun Taylor scored 2 at the right end and 1 at the wrong end that match.

Hammond's poor kick out gave Tony Adcock the equaliser. We also had an amazing team goal (finished by Micky Hazard) ruled out wrongly for offside.

I've always considered that to be the worst offside decision I've ever seen, Hazard was at least 4 metres onside.

Being exhiled in Shropshire meant that the Central coverage was a God send. I think we also played a cracker against Derby County at the Baseball Ground infront of the cameras. I think other ITV companies like Thames(?) and Tyne Tees(?) showed their own matches as well.

Swindon was (probably still is?) on the dividing line between the coverage areas of HTV West and Central.  I seem to remember that it made sense for certain parts of the town (Old Town, West Swindon mainly) to have their aerials pointed in one direction for HTV West coverage (ie Roger Malone/Bristol bias) while other parts of the town would usually train their aerials for Central coverage (ie Oxford bias).  Central were very good back then at screening our matches.

This was during the period I was living in Oxford and remember getting to watch us on TV quite regularly.  The Peterborough game that you mentioned was on my birthday; the 5-2 away win at West Brom a couple of seasons later (link here (http://swindon-town-fc.co.uk/MatchCentre.asp?MatchID=19950135)) was another belter covered by Central that I remember watching with friends.

Wasn't he also behind the ball when it was headed across goal?

 :D Cheers for answering that Ardiles. I was 12 that season and I couldn't believe my luck to have the matches screened on such a regular basis and what a stroke of luck that it co-incided with such a purple patch in the club's history. I recorded every one of them on video cassette - they're stored away somewhere but I guess they may as well be chucked out now- since all the match coverage must be available on-line now anyway. I remember Jeff Farmer presenting, Jimmy Greaves being the studio pundit and John Sillett the commentator's side-kick.

 Central TV's football coverage encompassed an area as far as Stoke in the north, Derby, Leicester and as far as Peterborough in the east and ourselves in the South, along with the clutch of teams (Brum, Wolves and Baggies) in the middle. With Central being so spoilt for choice it's a wonder HTV didn't lay claim to transmission of Swindon's games but maybe they couldn't muster the rescources. An afternoon of Agatha Christie's Murder She Wrote or Highway to Heaven was all the South West had to look forward to on a Sunday afternoon as I don't think they bothered showing Shitty or the Wurzzels either.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THoY9Sz4RUA

Robbed!

What kind of away followings did we take that season?

Some by cars, others by coaches and trains. Some wore scarves and shirts, others didn't.

Probably 10-20% more than now?

We also popped up on Meridian.

A game we had eventually dominated through adversity to lead 3-2 then thrown away with the shittest kick from a backpass I have ever seen - Hammond actually yanking the ball back from the right of the area to the shocked Posh forward centrally placed with an open goal.  The "ole's" for each Town pass were being bellowed out by the Town fans getting, just a little bit fainter, as each pass started going backwards, until Hoddle passed back to Hammond...

Shit ref, battling performance then a baffling mistake - typically STFC, really

One day late on putting this video up, but 20 years ago yesterday we lost 3-1 at home to West Ham, in a match shown live on ITV.

Full match is below on youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1HwZnH3T3M

I think I must have been unable to get a ticket for that one.  (Attendance was 17,004, which suggests a sell out - as you would have expected with both teams pushing for promotion to the Prem.)  Reason I say that is that I can remember watching the game on TV (as I will be tomorrow, 20 years later almost to the day) while staying with friends in Swindon.

And then on the final whistle, I got on my bike and cycled back to Oxford that evening.  I definitely remember passing all the West Ham traffic backed up down the dual carriageway from Coate Water down to Commonhead as I left Swindon to head out towards Ashbury and Uffington.  Beautiful evening.  I remember it so well.

I went to this one. That bald prick David Speedie was playing, he was as fast as a tractor

Here's the full match from 20 years ago today, which Richard loaded up to his excellent site a few days ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFdzN6IjllY

He's also put up the full matches from the 87 and 90 play off final as well, links below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8pPtH70LTI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uLd44nVwgs

Happy Anniversary, everyone.

This time 20 years ago I was a bag of nerves.  If I'd known what was going to unfold a few hours later, I'd have been even worse.

I had no idea what was going on. I was busy watching morris dancing.

I also had no idea what was going on as I was at school· In those days no smartphones to follow the action :(

I cried.

Just watched the game on VHS. Twenty years on, the sound of Maskell's shot hitting the post on its way in is still the sweetest I've ever heard in a football stadium.

The sickening, gut-wrenching horror of watching Leicester's 3rd goal go in - and then watching their fans celebrate - is beyond any power of description I have.  The blue half of Wembley knew they were going up at that point.  It was, to be fair, a very impressive come back, but they shagged themselves in the process.

The 'crack' of Maskell's goal - agreed.  I love the way that everyone still talks about it after all these years.  I actually missed two of the goals: Hoddle's (taking a piss) and Zippy's (couldn't watch...facing the back of the stand.)

I was one.

I remember being totally overwhelmed by Wembley, a sea of red of one half and an equally impressive sea of blue on the other half.  The atmosphere was amazing.

Can't remember masses about the game, only being 11 at the time, apart from the general emotions of the day went from nerves/excitement to joy to slight worry to devestation to sheer ecstasy

I enjoyed very little of the day before 5pm.  Crippling nerves for me that day.  So bad, in fact, that I spontaneously vomited in to the sink while brushing my teeth that morning.

The old Wembley looked so magnificent, a bit like Lords.

Aaah, this was the game that got me into football. Watched on TV at my grandparents' house and was instantly hooked. We should have spent the afternoon in the garden instead - I'd certainly have saved myself a lot of cash and even more heartache!!   ;)   :suicide:

Full time (after an age of extra time).

In dream land.

My Dad did the same as you for Zippy's penalty, as did loads of people all around me who couldn't watch it.

It's odd, because the only time from the final whistle at Tranmere to the end of the game at Wembley when I thought we might lose was when they got back to 3-3. If I recall they had a chance just after they scored their third, but from then on we pissed all over them again.

I was always convinced we were going to win, unlike our latest visits to Wembley. So much so that we had champagne in a cool box on the coach ready to celebrate after the game.

I wasn't even alive.

Along with many others, myself included.

What a day and night.  I missed the Maskell goal although I heard it smack in followed by the deafening roar as  I returned from the toilet.  I'm honestly not sure if I watched the penalty or not.  Those last 5 minutes and added time felt like an eternity.

I think I was dancing up and down County Road around this time in the evening having drunk a bottle of MD20 20.  I think the whole town was in the vicinity.  Scenes I'll never forget and so glad I was part of.

Great day...the football was great by both sides,i remember Joachim being there star man and i always rated Steve Walsh...very similar to our Shaun Taylor.
Remember seeing the pain on the Fox's fans faces on leaving the stadium......a great match....a great day.

At this time 20 years ago, I was drinking with the London Reds and a group of Werder Bremen in London celebrating a Bundesliga victory. What a fucking day!

Me neither. I have always meant to watch the game but have never got round to it.

Old town was a road block. Outside the vic and longs was quality.

Ha, that's straight where we headed when off the train from London. I ended up walking back to West Swindon in the small hours, I was buzzing. Fantastic days.

Unfortunately, I wasn't even alive, not for another three years. So I've only been around for 3 promotions in my life time, two of those being from League Two... Yearn for some glory days of my own.

It was the day we brought our four day old younger son home from the hospital. He was a bit jaundiced so we had to stick him in the sunlight coming through the window. Right next to the tv. He slept right through it, goals and all.

Absolutely, a fantastic noise, amazing day and the whole summer of speculation was great, I remember bumping into a swindon fan at a festival in London and he told me about some Norwegian bloke we had signed, fucking awesome time to be a swindon fan.

I was sporting a brand new pair of glasses that day, having picked them up at Leightons in Old Town the day before.

Just after Leicester scored their 3rd some big bloke behind me was moaning "we've blown it!", but I remember Leicester looking knackerred and told him so and that we'd score a 4th. When we did, he bear-hugged me and shouted "you were right!". The thing I remember is shouting back at him "you're breaking my glasses!!" as I was a student and couldn't afford to replace them!

In those days I honestly didn't even think that we could lose at Wembley.

I was 9 that day. Obviously, I took the whole event massively for granted.

The noise Maskell's goal made as it hit the post, Shaun Taylor's bad-assery and my dad singing 'we are Premier League sing we are Premier League' repeatedly are my main memories.

The front/back pages ('WINDON') of The Sun were framed in my old mans bathroom for years afterwards :) - he was a bachelor at that point.

My son is 9 soon, he's seen a relegation, us beat 2 premiership teams, win a league title and had two trips to Wembley.

I've tried to tell him it ain't normal, not sure he quite believes it.

:) My son is 10 this year and has been through the same.  When you read it in a sentence, it really is quite unbelievable if we hadn't been through it and that's not even taking into account the Di Canio circus which he thoroughly enjoyed being a part of.