Thetownend.com

Getting this one in early as I'm going to it.
Mansfield off to a good start this season, the fella Hawkins upfront looking pretty decent.
Gonna be a toughie.

Swindon 1-2 Mansfield (Att: 8,596 [402 away])

Bloody hell, early 4D ??,  Reckon you've shit the bed,  I'll take 2-1 to the mighty reds, gotta win at home somewhen soon.

Mansfield have had a good start, and so have we. And their striker has only scored one more than Payne has.

1-1

0-0

Att:8,969

Going to be tough I think. I expect Mansfield's shithousery levels to be about the same as Carlisle's so will have to match them in that department.

Might need to grind out another ugly one.

2-1 Payne, Simpson

8,400

Seriously tempted

Go on DV. Bank Holiday weekend too.

Nigel Clough's post match interview last Saturday is an interesting listen....makes me think we may win this 1-0 or 2-1. Will be close.

Simpson to get off the mark finally in front of around 8.5K.

Got to get tickets for my old man, a couple of his friends and a couple of my mates, all of who aren't regular visitors to the CG which is great to see

COYR

Mansfield's first weekend away fixture that fans can attend, I expect that'll bump up their numbers. Looking forward to it.

Think we might break 9k again and hopefully get that first home win.

Off work too, so I’ll have have a nights sleep behind me

Sold then  :)

Bought one online.
Managed to find my old season ticket seat too.
What do they send these days to use as a ticket?

You should get an email pdf to print out at home.

We'll have the largest crowd in league 2 this Saturday too.

Swindon 2 Mansield 1
Att, 9200 430 away fans

No way are Mansfield gonna bring down over 9 million fans you nutter.

Saturday 28th August 2021,
Venue County Ground
Swindon Town 2 Mansfield Town 1
Attendance 9,200 Including 430 away fans :soapy tit wank:

I am pleased to say that I have acquired some tickets. Will be sat in the DRS for the first time in about 6 years.

Are you still passing the Bus station to witness fun & frolics😀

I’m still waiting on an essay on the local cultural dynamics of the area as espoused a number of weeks ago. Clearly taking a lot of time on the research and bodes well for a riveting read.

I might take a more direct route on Saturday. There will be plenty of opportunity to catch up the great and the good as the season progresses.

We can catch up on Saturday

Oh joy. I can hardly contain myself. Where do you suggest we meet to go through this tome of cultural delights?

That's easy  :pint:

I expected a bit more enthusiasm. Perhaps I can do a PowerPoint presentation at the TEF Christmas soiree instead.

Been struggling to put a lid on it and didn’t want to put you under to much pressure, after all you did say you’d enlighten us to the cultural dynamics of the bus station and Manchester Road areas after all. Flip chart, power point or book, not bothered but if you’re wimping out because you’ve nothing to show till Christmas then it’s a piss poor show from you TBH.

Just ordered my ticket  :pint:

In all games vs Mansfield we have only lost 10 times in 47 games with Town winning 22 of them.

At the CG we have won 17 of the 24 games playes scoring 50 and conceding just 21 times with Mansfield winning just 3 times.

The Stags last win at Swindon came in 1977 which is a run of 12 games unbeaten for Swindon with Swindon winning 10 of those 12 games, the last being a 1-0 win when Doyle scored the winner. We have scored 6 goals in a game twice, 5 goals once and a 4 goal win over the years, Mansfields biggest win being a 2-0 in 1976.

They don't normally bring many away fans their last 4 visits they brought just 131, 215, 320 and 410.

This season in all games results they have W(2-1 B Rovers H) L(0-3 Preston H) W(2-1 Newport H) D(1-1 Colchester A) L (2-3 Bradford H) so they have had 4 home games and just 1 away so far (3 league home games).

Ex Town striker target Ollie Hawkins has scored 3 goals so far with 2 other players getting a single goal each.

Swindon to suffer a single goal defeat in front of 8,145 fans with 375 Mansfailed fans there.

They still haven't forgiven us for stealing Calderwood in 85😀

I haven’t forgiven them, or more precisely, Nottinghamshire’s finest boys in blue, for whacking me, and others, with a baton when we won the league there under Macari. Thatcher’s boot boys.

I got Head butted by a police horse at Reading, once.

We had 4000 up there that day!

I was close to being nabbed, they waded into us randomly that day.

But what a fucking day!

Police escort through Mansfield 60mph in a 30mph zone with the Police creating an a clearway for us cars and coaches to get out of Mansfield back to the M1.

Great memories.

Pretty much like the famous 6-4 victory at Birmingham, Still don't know how we got out of that one alive !!.
Birmingham fans seemed a little disgruntled that day for some reason.

Last game of the season at Ashton Gate in 87 was manic

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8SiMuWqo74A

Town will lose 1-2
Att 9,016
JJW booked.

Although JBZ won't be sad, as he receives a knob job at Swindon Bus Station from one of Manchester Rd's finest. L-L will be a little jealous about it all and Wobbly Bob will have a very blurry witness account of it! Flammable Ben will recall even more inebriated and exaggerated tales of the event that fine evening in the Glue Pot :nod:

Everyone loves a happy ending. Ahh culture - you've gotta soak it up and embrace it!  :pint:

They were fighting each other too.

Epic day that!

Came out of the gates to follow the same route back to the car and confronted with a line of plod...

Had to find our way back to the disused garage, where i had dumped the Astra.

Happy fucking days indeed.

Except for those who left when we went 4-1 down !!.

That was on eBay before the game kicked off.

I've already got my ticket, but I was wondering if they are still doing a cut off time for walk ups? Be good to let others know.

I thought it was 1pm for all home matches?

not seen recent confirmation

Yeah, I couldn't see anything on the official website.

Plenty of seats available everywhere when I looked yesterday.
Let’s hope today and tomorrow we get a late surge.
Anything over 8,500 would be a superb effort and best guess around 8,000.

9k would be a great figure, Mansfield I doubt will bring more than 350 or so so won't add much to the overall attendance.

I'd be a bit disappointed if it was below the Tranmere attendance

Not sure how many fans Tranny brought as it wasn't announced I dont think but I would think it looked about 400ish so that left 7,900 Swindon fans, I would think a similar amount of Town fans will probably be in attendance Saturday too, its still holiday season and I think a couple more positive results and will will easily break the 9k home figure for Saturday games.

Looks like Maris is out for them - according to fans their most important player. Along with Stirk who has Covid.

Stirk wasn't a starter for Saturday anyway as he was called up for Wales U21s.

With Maris out thats 2 of their main midfielders missing.

That's good news, him and his midfield partner Piper chip in with a fair few goals.

Maybe they have signed ex Town player Spud Herring?

:Ride On Fatbury's Lovestick:

May be replaced by Jack Etspud.

Lee Power hiding in the Town End bogs waiting to surprise Clem on his walk around pre game.

(https://i.postimg.cc/RZQSdP6C/239675308-352121013277962-944117608560950412-n.jpg)

Just picked up my little ones season ticket and they said looking like a busy ome tomorrow

If we break 9k again tomorrow that will be a great achievement.

Shows the potential the club has. Be lovely to get a home win and keep this restored interest for as long as possible.

Having a look on the ticketing site it doesn't look close to the Carlisle game numbers wise, but still decent.

A lot were shifted in the last 24 hours before the Carlisle game, judging by the ticketing site

Not bad looking at the seating plan.
Should definitely exceed 8,000. If 9,000 is exceeded that would be magical considering the holiday period.

No on the day sales for Mansfield which seems an odd one!

1-1 draw in front of 8600 is my guess…

Going to play mini golf with the better half instead of this, my reward? A day pass next Saturday to go to Stevenage...

1-0. Grant.

.

My first game of the season so we'll probably lose.

I think the club are safe keeping hold of the signed shirts for now, but we should see 8.5-9k there.

Got tickets for tomorrow but the old man has decided to spend longer than anticipated in West Suffolk hospital. Have the slightest window of opportunity to be away first thing in the morning if he responds to the treatment.
Only managed to get tickets in the Don Rogers, the last game I attended in their was Forest Green at home last game prior to Covid which didn't end well. So perhaps if I miss the game we may win. If I can't attend and it does get busy and somebody wants/needs 4 tickets adult and 3 kids ill pass on the QR code.
Fingers crossed first home win and the start of something special.

Hope your dad is ok squire.

We had a little girl 4 weeks ago, I've done Carlisle & Tranmere... thought I'd give her a weekend off.  

I'm aware Tranmere was midweek.  :soapy tit wank:

Tough game tomorrow against a side who are expected to be up there in Lg2 this year. Decent crowd which will hopefully spur the team onto 3 points.

I personally think we'll get 1.

So I was buying a ticket today and the website crashed on me.  So I went back in to try again and bought a ticket.  Then the other one also went through despite it saying it hadn't.  Annoying.

Anyway the upshot is if anyone fancy a free ticket pm me and i'll send it over.  Its in the John Trollope stand.

Nice gesture  :clap:

This will be a tough game.

From the looks of it, they've started the season playing a 442 diamond. I suspect they'll try and congest the middle and make it hard for us to play. You'd imagine a lot of their width will come from their fullbacks. As a result, will probably be quite a few good counter attacking opportunities tomorrow, let's hope we have the pace to do so. Their central defenders aren't the quickest either.

Up top they have 6'6 Ollie Hawkins. Very good at this level and has notched 3 already this season. Will be a big test for Conroy and Crichlow. Hawkins would be wise to attach himself to Conroy as there's only one winner if that becomes an aerial battle. Key will be to stop the supply into him. 

Just ordered my tickets. The only stand with quite a few spaces left is the Townend. It’s going to be another big crowd.

Critchlow is way better than Conroy in the air I am sure he will be the man to mark Hawkins.

Mansfield play to his strengths and TBF he wins a lot of them, I have watched extended highlights of all their games so far this season and they like to play long balls to him often and play the ball wide to their pacey wingbacks and get crosses in the box.

Their new keeper young Nathan Bishop at times looks like hes tigger, bouncing around and not claiming catches of making saves often looks way out of position when beaten, hes been beaten 9 times in his 1st 5 games.

Their centre backs pairing of the lanky Rawson and the 35 year old Perch look pretty slow off the mark and several teams have exploited their lack of pace through the middle of the park especially on the counter, something McKirdy does well.

Their defence doesn't fill their fans with confidence but with their attack they are always likely to grab a goal if we aren't on top form.

Will be a very close game.

Now that's dedication  ;) :clap:

I always watch every teams extended highlights of at least 6 or 7 previous games before we play them, it relaxes me with my pre match nerves! :D

Arkells stand close to sold without the end block opened up. Fair amount left on Arkells side of town end.

Looks like more available than there was for the Carlisle game but shouldn't be a ton less when its all said and done.

Got my e-ticket with the QR code in my Apple Wallet.
I’m assuming that’s all I need to get in.

It’s been a while.

Says to print it.

Yeah that’s fine mate.

It does but I have no printer plus if I HAVE to print it that completely eliminates the point of the QR code doesn’t it?

Yeah can either print or scan your phone at the turnstile.

My Secretary (Mrs.) has printed the three QR codes at work. I know they’ll use a barcode as we go through the turnstile as the Skidata IT set up won’t scan QR codes yet.they’ll have to pay them to upgrade the system. Probably another contract whereby PeeLower didn’t pay for basic IT maintenance and any upgrades.

No takers for a free ticket for this afternoon?  Ill be home for a bit so message me if you want it and Ill email it over.

Tempting, but I'm not sure I'd make it in time.

I wish I could make it today I would have snapped your hand off mate.

Fucks sake Flash, make an effort.  Are you hours ahead or behind?  That could make or break it!

I'm 6 hours ahead so it's over already.

(we win 2-1)

Made me chuckle. Just for shits and giggles you don’t happen to know the six lotto numbers do you? I’d be really impressed if you can oblige.

5 14 18 21 35 41 and the bonus ball is 9

Fair size walk up today. T5 and D1 Lower that has more than 50% availability.

Arkells almost sold out although they haven't opened the extra block. Even D1 upper 65% sold now.

Gotta think we'll be looking at  at least 9,300.

Wollacott, Odimayo, Conroy (C), Crichlow, Gladwin, Simpson, Payne, Kesler-Hayden, Hunt, Reed, Grant.

SUBS | Ward, Iandolo, McKirdy, Mitchell-Lawson, Williams, East, Parsons.

Would have liked to seeWilliams start.

Me too and possibly a bit harsh on Iandolo as well but Hunt does "usually" defend better than him.

He was torn a new one last week and Mansfield are supposedly dangerous down the flanks.

                                 Wollacot
                  Odimayo    Conroy    Cichlow
Kesler-Hayden                                            Hunt
                             Grant   Reed
                Payne                        Gladwin
                               Simpson

That is how I'm reading that, three at the back then Hunt and Kayne wing backs?

I can never be sure with this team as there is always two or three different ways they could go with the personnel, which is probably a good thing.

4231 for me with KKH wide right of the attacking 3 with Payne and Gladwin.

Yeah, I guess I can see that. Very attack minded for KKH though. Naturally a full back so I usually assume he is playing wing back.

Dave Hockady on the radio!

Shit, Dave Hockaday on comms today :(

JJ what happened to your mate or can't you tell us?

Nothing mate he just hasn't been asked to do the games so far.

Oh dear...'Old Man' Hockaday  :doh:

Cheers JJ, seems strange considering he's done it so often

Ex Leeds manager I'll have you know :soapy tit wank:

He only ever used to do about 1 out of every 3 or 4 away games and never used to do home comms right up until lockdown restirctions.

Disagree, Iandolo was a liability last week and always is defensively. More worrying is he always seems fucked after 20 minutes be it whether starting or coming on as a sub.

They have the experienced Perch out injured at CB so playing Hewiit there, 2 centre backs with an average height of 6 foor 4!

Ex Town loanee Kellan Gordon at right back.

Their fans not confident about that defence apparently.

I think Iandolo has done "ok" this season when he has played but he always looks weak defensively for sure. His fitness has always been a bit of an issue, not sure how many games he has completed 90 mins in TBH.

Nice to have a strong looking bench too, might even see the first game for Mitchell-Lawson today.

Just need that striker (or 2) on the bench to change things a bit if its not working as Parsons looks far better at attacking midfield than striker when I have seen him play there.

Has Clough been back to the CG since that 5-5 play off semi? He’s generally a miserable bastard, but it was off the scale after that game.

I don't think he has, he wasn't Burton manager for their last 2 visits.

Good on the club redoing the roll of honour.

Crowd looks currently similar to the Tranmere attendance, still 4 mins to fill up though, similar amount of away fans too as Tranny brought.

Mansfield have a shot from 18 yards well over the bar.

Critchlow tries to pass it out of defence and fucks up and gives the ball away but we get away with it.

Simpson good crossfield ball to Hunt on the edge of the box, he cuts inside but his shot is low and weak and easily saved.

He looked really good there. Hopefully more to come from him.

Some good defending by KKH but Simpsons control is not good there on the half way line.

Nice passing between KKH and Payne to Gladwin whos pass is far too short and puts us under pressure again.

Mansfield have the attacking edge so far but most of the chances they have had are created by our poor passing.

Too loose playing it out on the edge of our area at the moment.

FK to them, attacker flicks it well wide for a goal kick to us.

Strange challenge by Reed!

Really slack so far from us.

Shot deflected over our bar for a corner to them.

We really havent got a grip on the game so far.

Our passing out from the back so far has been shocking at times.

KKH beats his man down the wing but slices the cross from a good position.

Bit like the second half at Salford, we keep inviting pressure by giving the ball back to them 30 yards out. The tippy-tappy passing is more Luke Williams than Pep Guardiola so far.

bring outplayed. Mansfield are pressing well. can they keep it up for 90 though

More like a peptic ulcer than Pep Guardiola!

Our entire midfield not at the races so far.

This is dreadful shite

Too many players having off days at the same time, not sure Payne, Grant, Gladwin or Reed have completed 2 passes to a town player yet.

Conroy the only outfield player who looks up for it today at the moment, just makes his first poor pass.

Odimayo great long pass to Hunt there.

Yay. We got in their half.

Good holdup play again from Simpson. We might have a player there.

Hunt wins a free kick near the corner flag.

Good two minutes from us there.

Good crossfield pass to Conroy in the box but hes just offside. Nice move by Town.

Hes very young but is showing some promise, the defender is all over him all the time, he needs to get a bit more like Grant and go to ground when pushed slightly to win free kicks.

How are we still level?

This is tough to watch. Even passes under no pressure are way off. Lack of pre season is no excuse any more.

Gladwin having a mare.

Again

We are so fucking sloppy at the back. Conroy excepted.

Great block by Reed saved a certain goal.

Goal-saving block Louis Reed.

One of the things I've noticed this year is that our defenders and DMs seem to be where the ball goes, rather than opposition players being on their own with acres of space.

Reed long angled cross to KKH but his header back into the box is easily claimed.

bit better since after 25 minutes. Simpson has a tough job up front  on his own though

Reed absolutely flattened from behind.

Not sure Grant and Gladwin are offering a lot - Didn't expect to be typing that at the beginning of the year!

Deserved yellow for the Stags player.

Don’t get me wrong I’m not Mr. Get it forward but there is no harm is putting your boot through it occasionally

Even if it’s just to get yourself out of trouble.
It might even be worth looking long if we could get another red shirt anywhere near Simpson.

If it stays like this I would get Williams or McKirdy on 2nd half for Gladwin  to liven it up a bit.

Simpson is awkward and trying hard

Mansfield support is fucking embarrassing. Sat there like they're waiting for a bus  :D

Good defending at the near post by Conroy again.

Payne tries to set up Reed but his pass is a bit too short on the edge of the box and cleared.

Were just so slow. The first instinct seems to be to go backwards - and more often than not, lose possession.

Can’t see 9000 turning up very often to watch this.

Simpson's proving a real handful for their defence but he needs someone closer to him. Who should that be? Seems to me Gladwin and Reed should be pushing further up in the middle.

edit: Reed just did.

Corner headed over the bar unmarked by Hawkins, poor miss.

Good move again by Town.

Gladwin's passing really isn't there yet.

Gladwin stretches his legs but his pass to Simpson lets him down, should have done better.

Not sure if Gladwin is not up for it or just not quite fully fit yet, hes been very poor this half though.

HT 0-0

This is our 6th game of the season. That excuse isn’t really valid any more. I’d like to say he looks languid.

A poor performance from both teamsso far, with Mansfield being the least worst.

He's been like that most of the season. Too slow when receiving the ball. The flick past the player and run forward at the end of the first half was what I've been expecting more of. The poor pass after, we have unfortunately seen too much of.

Crap half. Too slow in doing everything and passing out from the back is so dangerous. When Mansfield press us they look like scoring. Simpson has done well but I think we need a change of formation. Go 4 at the back.

Poor half

Passing is too slow, not the right pass and in some cases passing for the sake of passing.
We’ve played ourselves into trouble more often that we’ve created an attack.

Simpson is a unit but has no one anywhere near him ever.
Payne seems to be the only player capable of looking forward half the time.

Mansfield have move the ball better, quicker and crisper. Had the better chance but only one proper chance and to be fair Reeds block on that is probably the equivalent of a goal the other end.

Gladwin is super slow at everything.

Good word that, languid. Some might say lazy. Some might say off the pace.

Positive it’s 0-0, negative we are not playing great and a lot of the players are a yard off the pace constantly waiting for the ball and it gets intercepted.
Biggest irritation is goal kicks, they are pressing high so we can’t play it short and as a result we are completely clueless what to do. The keeper seems to take a minute deciding what to do and then just proceeds to float it to the half way line for their centre back to head and then they are right on us attacking again.

Need to up the pace in the 2nd half. We could easily be behind to a better or sharper team than The Stags are today.

That was the worst half I’ve seen from us so far this season.

...and even if Simpson gets anywhere near it he’s the only Town player in the Mansfield half.
Same from throw ins, no movement. Short feet and back between two players who are marked anyway.

Conroy easily the best player so far, Reed has grown into the game, Simpson some good touches but hes ploughing a lone furrow, we need to get Gladwin off and get Williams or McKirdy on instead to create something, McKirdy would be my choice as hes chomping at the bit and more attacking than Williams so will support Simpson better.

Very disappointed with Odimayo's passing so far except for one superb long pass he has been poor so far. KKH as well is not at his normal level.

A quick kick up the arse from Garner and a substitution will change things in our favour attacking the Town End this half.

Pretty much but the goal kick thing is ridiculous. If you can’t go short kick it long and over the top, don’t just float it central towards the halfway line as if we don’t win the ball they are right on the edge of our box as the centre backs are still deep from offering for the goal kick. This is basic stuff but just doesn’t look like we have practiced anything that isn’t a short goal kick.

One of our training routines

Mansfield are right in our faces, pressuring us into mistakes.  Missing 2 or 3 players and a little extra cuteness would surely have seen them ahead.  Decent defensively though.

We're still being wasteful when even when not pressured.  Grant as well as Gladwin in particular have been pedestrian.  Simpson is growing into his role but could do with support, especially at home.  McKirdy could be that man but we need to impose our game a bit more beforehand.

Get Gladwin, Simpson and Payne up together get the big lads to challenge and get Payne to run in behind

I do wish Grant would show Simpson how to win a free kick like that one!

Ex Town player Gordon playing at shitthousery there and losing the throw in!

Payne tackles Gordon wins the ball then gets tackled and gives it away yet still wins a free kick!

Grant with a great cross to Hunt whos shot from 4 yards was saved, good move good save.

Best minute of the game.

We have started better this half so far.

Great save by their keeper to deny Hunt for a certain goal after a great cross from Grant

KKH beats his man and shoots left foot from 20 yards but its cleared, they hit us on the break and nearly score but fuck up and Mayo saves us.

Don't like McKirdy sitting there looking fed up. Want him running past players!

Didn't see who gave the ball away there for the open goal?

Hate is a strong word but hockaday.......

Payne so nearly sets up Simpson on the break but he hasnt quite got the pace to get to it.

Have we ever won when he has been on comms?

Payne running around looking for the ball now, he never did that first half.

KKH with a 40 yard crossfield pass to Hunt not far in front of him.

Grant off for Williams, Grant had one of his poorest games for us today.

Grant for Williams

8,631 attendance.

1-0!

What a goal by Simpson, great setup by Williams

Williams first touch cross to Simpson scores from 2 yards out!

Agreed. But he's being asked to be more creative as Reed is playing his role!

Williams to Simpson superb goal!

So that's how you do it. Superb ball in.

Great break and goal.

Brilliant cross, inch perfect.

He still had a lot to do with that finish even though it was 2 yards out

Conroy block a shot to give them a corner.

Hawkins manhandling Critchlow but the ref gives them a corner.

League 2 Lukaku with a finish that Prem League Lukaku would have been proud of

Good move between Willims and Simpson but his cross is not up to the last ones quality.

He is a big old unit he should be a little more physical where it matters, took the goal so well.

Simpson took up a great position on the penalty spot too

KKH falls over in the box in a good position after a fast break.

I nearly ended up on the pitch  ;D

Different half, different performance.

Mansfailed miss a good chance in the box, poor finish well wide.

Simpson's having a very good game.

Good move by Town but Williams shot straight at the keeper, nice movement.

Noone wants to shoot!

He has, as last week, grown into the game.

Oh my word that looked over the line.

That was over the line.

Who wants VAR?

Agreed

I assume our line

We’re winning which is great but weird weird subs today.

Think we need another goal here!

I only wish that had happened to those Carlisle commentators.  :D

Wrexham with 4 ex Town players playing and its our ex youngster Jake Hyde who makes the headlines with 2 goals when Mullins and Tozer dont :)

:nod:

Williams plays into trouble and gives away a weak free kick near the corner flag.

DJ scores for Charlton

Atrocious free kick nearer the corner flag than the goal.

Williams better attacking than defending!

Feels like we've played 75% of this game in our half.

McKirdy on for Simpson.

Yet we have had 60% possession so far.

Who is actually centre mid here other the Reed?

Critchlow with a saving header gives away a corner.

Not yet. And. We just keep playing it around the back, but never through them.

Great claim by Wollacott.

Good move by Town but the cross is too close to the keeper, then Payne hoofs over from inside the box.

McKirdy looks lively.

Iandolo isn't it?  Although he is dropping into to the LB area to support Hunt

Williams to McKirdy but hes just beaten to the ball int he box.

Interesting that despite everything, that's the first significant part played by Wollacott, so far as I can remember......

Odimayo fouled yet the ref gives them the free kick just outside the box.

KKH having his usual nap behind the wall on the ground.

Terrible free kick well high and wide.

Yan Dolo nearly has his head taken off by the ball.

Hunt with an easy tackle in the box on Gordon.

7 mins added? WTF

7 minutes seems ridiculously random.

Good save by Wollacott. Poor finish.

Why the fuck is there 7 mins added?

I think it is but it’s a complete mess as he’s constantly a left back and there’s a massive gap in the middle.

7 fucking minutes?  ???

Hawkins misses a good chance at the near post.

Foul given against McKirdy a bit silly by him.

This is awful!

Another chance for Mansfailed missed.

That was a foul throw - foot on the pitch

Difficult to watch and we are all over the place.

Payne fouled right on the edge of the box.

Hope we're slowing things down on the pith

Linesmen aren't really on it today. Fortunately.

Reed hits the post!

1 min left.

FT 1-0!

great ugly win.

Very, very ugly win!

And very, very lucky!

Phew. On this form, we're not going to walk this league. But this team and club might yet get a bit of Macari momentum... ;D

Brilliant win but fuck me we were a shambles formation and personnel wise after we scored, the Iandolo sub really didn’t work and just invited them on to us.

These are the wins that make a season.

What was the attendance? Didn’t hear it in the DRS.

Got more than we deserved today.
Mansfield scored but lucky the lino didn’t see it.

Played ourselves into trouble too many times.
Not sure why we took Simpson off. Would have liked to have seen McKirdy running off him but maybe today’s game with 20 to go 1-0 wasn’t that time.

Still nothing wrong with just putting your fucking boot through it sometimes

8631

Poor performance. Great result.

We won't get away with that often, but maybe we should give some credit to the opposition for stopping us playing.

Another pre-season game ticked off the list.

Cheers, and you JJ.

Problem us, I’m not sure we can, or will, play much better. Somehow we’ve got 3 clean sheets in a row, but we can’t go on riding our luck much longer.

We look shambolic at the back and slow all over the pitch.

McKirdy or Williams need to start. And, for fuck’s sake, stop turning backwards as a matter of course.

Was going to say that better teams would piss all over us - but I’m not sure there actually are better teams in this league.

Looks piss poor to me.

A bit Williams-esuqe, instead we get 6 points from 2 games instead of 6.

We actually turned up second half, that was the difference. Ignorant prick bus driver nearly ran me over.

I wouldn’t say we were shambolic at the back. In fact for the most part we defended quite well.

Our issue is the defenders always trying to calmly pass it out. Chances are if one of the defenders is in the ball he’s out of position and they can play in the gaps.
I’d go as far as to say more of Mansfield’s attacking play came from our defence than their strikers.

I think we were very good at the back when the ball's coming in.

But awful when playing it out.

I agree, I thought we coped really well with a big and experienced attack very well, we blocked when we need to block and tackled well. I would say today and last week were actualyl good defensive performances.

This.
A much less convoluted way of saying what i was trying to get across.

Again I agree with this, almost all their chances were created by passing out from the back not from our general defending.

Garner:
- Still lots of things we can improve
- 3 clean sheets and 7 points is good with a developing group
- Defensive organisation was good
- Mansfield diamond was a threat
- Took time getting going in first
- Started second well
- Only threat in 2nd half was from set pieces which we defended well
- Defend a long way from box. Put a lot of detail into it.
- Not physically biggest, so work out a way to mitigate it in defence
- Williams big impact on the game
- Spaces chenged in the second half. Didnt need 2 defensive midfielders
- Simpson deserved his goal. Will give him even more confidence
- Everyone in dressing room happy for him as he works so hard for the team
- Thought Mansfield had scored.
- Conceded too many of those situations, but defended them well
- Game management has been good. Did it well. Could have managed with the goal better
- Would have been nice to get second. Need to shoot more and be more ruthless
- Fans brilliant. Electric when we got the goal. Fans gave us a lift when we needed it
- Momentum is huge. We have had a strong start. Need to keep improving
- Transfer window: Wont just take any player. Harmony is good. Team spirit is good. Only get someone else if they give a different option
- KKH England U20: Pleased with that and Williams getting Wales call up.

Sometimes a big ol’ hoof in the channels or to the big unit centre forward is ok.
Who knows where it might drop and to whom.
Lower percentage of retaining possession, sure
Much lower percentage of the opposition getting in on goal

Yep. That sums it up well. Not for the faint hearted watching it, though.

And with Simpson willing to chase everything it can be used to our advantage at times, he will chase down the ball all day long and make himself a nuisance.

A hoof away from goal or at worst into touch up the pitch when there are 3 defenders closing in on the defender with the ball is never an issue, even in the Premier League, the best defenders know when its ok to boot and not to boot. I wish we took the boot option a little more often.

Pleased for Simpson

Melt down on the Rovers forum!

(https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/simpsons/images/e/e9/Nelson_Ha-Ha.jpg)

They are cursed I tell e!

Check this thread out!

https://gaschat.co.uk/thread/18482/get-barton

Hope this is a start of a run of goals.
Need to get the attacking midfielders closer to him in future games.

Not sure we’d have the midfield to set up 442 but from what I saw McKirdy running off Simpson could work...

I'm now on a bus with a town fan who's talking to himself. He walked from the CG to the tri centre.  ??? ???
I get on at Fleming way by the fire station

On the last couple of games showings I would play McKirdy alongside Simpson from the off instead of the very poor Gladwin, also find a place for Williams to start.

The ball definately landed ON the line from this position.

Hit the crossbar and post then bounced onto the line and out.

(https://i.postimg.cc/k4mqzpQg/Untitled.png)

https://twitter.com/i/status/1431641558101676035

It went in. Before that image it’s bounced off the backside of the Mansfield player who’s completely in the net

Not the best performance but we were good in spells, lucky to get the win though. Williams did well when he came on and very happy for Simpson to get his goal.

Mansfield played well I thought, likely to be up there.

Did not expect 10 points from the opening 5 games a month or so ago  :clap:

What Dave said.

Pretty sure the ref and his assistant said it didn't cross the line, I agree with the ref and linesman thats good enough for me :D

They see it at pitch level. I can see why they’d miss it.
Lino would have Crichlow & the Mansfield player in his eye line. Whilst trying to also watch the lines for offside...

VAR would have given it

What was with putting Gladwin in centre mid today after taking Grant off, we were really lucky to get away with that. The last thief that Gladwin is deep lying centre mid.

Not sure how we won that. All Mansfield in the first half really. 45 mins of defending.  Started better 2nd half and one moment of quality got williams away and a great ball in and we score.  Gave away far to many free kicks against a team with a huge striker, asking for trouble, but got away with it.  Our system doesnt work, simpson is left miles from any team mates.  Gladwin way to slow to support him. In wellens promotion season we had a 2nd striker in yates and a really attacking player like woolery or Anderson supporting the striker.  We now have midfielders rather than actual attackers trying to support but without the pace to do so.  We need that extra striker and if possible another left back.  Hunt doesnt provide width and crosses playing on the left and ellis is not a left back.  Would give us way better ballance with a proper left footed left back in there.

Still how awesome was it when we scored  :D

Gladwin is lucky to be starting at the moment, he’s been very poor every time I’ve seen him.

If we’re going 4231 there is lots of competition for those 3 attacking midfield slots.
Payne, KKH, Gladwin, McKirdy, Williams, Iandolo(?)

On current form Gladwin is definitely not in the top 3.

There’s a conundrum for Garner and his ‘pass, pass, pass’ theory. It seems logical to us fans that at various times putting your boot through the ball is the correct decision. But if Garner was to tell them that the players would whack it more often than not once given that option.

If you lose the ball in possession 20 yards from your own goal you are in immediate danger. Getting rid may well give the ball straight back to the opposition  but, generally at our level, they aren’t good enough to profit from it.

Would a fit Lyden improve the side? Is Garner too defensive minded at home? All 3 wins have come in the 2nd half after a goal-less first. Should we be on the front foot from the get go?

Whatever, it’s not good viewing at the moment. We create few chances but concede too many. That can’t be a recipe for sustained success.

This.

It really doesn't matter. Goal not given, nothing to see here, move along.

And it really does look like the rub of the green is with us for a change (was it the Cobblers offside a couple for seasons ago that rightly pissed us off - it could that someone upstairs is smiling on us, and I don't just mean Clem 😁)

Is it down to me to complain about the ref again?  Free kick if a Mansfield player had his feelings hurt.  Wrestle us to the ground, go through the back of us, elbow and headbutt our player again and again - play on.  Somehow 7 minutes of stoppage time.

In short I was not impressed with him.

But then again the Mansfield fans probably were not either.

Well I thoroughly enjoyed that. Tense even game and Mansfield looked good.
Second half tactical master class from Garner and suddenly some spaces started to appear.
The goal simply superb counter attacking football with a sublime cross from Williams and a bullet finish from Simpson. The instant roar not heard for a long time. Decent crowd again.

Could have thrown that away with repetitive unnecessary fouls, played into the refs hands.
Cracking result which makes the weekend. On to Stevenage now.
Finally, made up for Simpson. Reed and Conroy immense with Wollacott once again so reliable.

I thought the ref had a good game for the first 60.  He was letting a fair bit go, but consistently for both sides.

But I shared your view for the remaining 30 - or 37 rather! - when he continued to let a fair bit go from Mansfield including even wrestling but then chose to blow up every scrappy tussle or borderline-late-ish foot in initiated by us.  I wondered if he was feeling guilty about the mistake over the goal (which to be fair was a shocker even if mainly the assistant ref's fault)

VAR didn’t give it thus irrelevant.
Not seen any evidence to say it crossed the line. Unless somebody can prove otherwise the officials clearly thought they had called it right and that’s what counts.
Tense affair and another team played that will be in the top half of the table.

Is it me but I wasn't especially impressed by Mansfield.  They set up well and pressured us bringing the ball out.  Admirable tactics and resolve.  Clough clearly edged Garner imo.  But they had plenty of attacking opportunities and made very little of it.  They were however missing players, and I suspect that with VAR and average luck they would have emerged victorious.  So I agree top half is a fair bet.

Loved the spirit in Town and, as some have observed, it wasn't a poor defensive performance at all.  Wollacott does give th defence a degree of confidence.  My player of the season thus far.

Another very enjoyable day out.  Mansfield's followers will no doubt feel that they woz robbed.

I saw it cross the line.


I felt we played ourselves into trouble more than Mansfield carved us open.

Mansfield will moan about whether a goal should have been given but they missed a 2 on 1 in the second half and that cost them the point or maybe 3.

The DRS p.a was worse than ever today. Surely it can’t be that difficult to fix?!

Sitting in the DRS offered an interesting change from the TEF. It was very quiet though (as it was around the rest of the CG this week).

Ironically, the only thing I heard from the PA today was when they said they were doing the roll call again because people in the DRS didn’t hear it last week.
Then didn’t hear if they did or not.  :doh:

Ok another note, Grant was very poor today wasn’t he?

Most of today's attendances Oxfords is laughable and Huddersfields unbelievable😀

https://www.espn.co.uk/football/fixtures/_/date/20210828

I like the way we play the ball out of the back.  But Mansfield closed us down hard from the get go.  When we were bringing it out.  Slowly.  And then again in the middle of the park.  I don't think we need to abandon our approach against sides like Mansfield but we need the flexibility to be able to mix it up.  Continue as planned, because we believe in it - but also short spells where Wollacott or Conroy simply play long to Simpson with the likes of Payne and AN Otherspeeding up behind for any misplaced defensive headers or loose balls resulting from Simpson tussling with defenders.

We've played 343/5221 last 2 games.

They and Salford can form a support group.

Yeth.

This 100%

Seems a fair assessment from Nigel

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=M6o8GnQyetU&t=214s

More than fair. He’ll be a bit less generous when he sees their “goal” again.

Interesting figures in the national league.
Notts County near 7k
Chesterfield and Grimsby both over 5k

Those 3 would have been in the top 4 of league 2 after us of course.

It will be interesting to see how many Wrexham get at home

Enjoyed that. Also great to see another healthy home attendance with lots of happy faces. The Pee Lower era is long gone.

A difficult game against a big and physical side, accompanied by some inconsistent refereeing.
First half Mansfield dominated - but to be fair our defence did well, particularly Reed making two crucial blocks closing down shots, and Woollacott didn’t really make a save.
Second half we played better - whether this was partly because they tired a bit and hence the press was less effective at times, or jus we modified our set up with Gladwin sitting a bit deeper and getting it forward slightly quicker could be a matter of debate.
Williams added something up front- the goal was a lovely move and very pleased for Simpson who played well.
Clean sheet and three points - both things to celebrate.
Apart form the effort which may or may not have crossed the line - difficult to see from the John Trollope/Arkells  - but look in tomorrow’s papers and the result will still be 1-0 -Mansfield were poor up front.
My vote for man of the match goes to Reed - but good performances everywhere -  Hunt and Simpson particularly.
Only another 35 needed to be safe from relegation.

Ugly win. But a win is a win is a win. Those clean sheets are starting to rack up too. I'd gladly  take 20+ shithousey/ugly/blehh wins and a bunch of draws if it meant Town ended the season with a very good chance of getting out of this wanky division.

I meant to add we give away too many soft free kicks in the area 35-40 yards from our goal - against a big team like Mansfield it’s inviting pressure and creating problems. Need to sort that.

A 1-0 Swindon win is very unlike us in my time supporting us. Two in a row is quite bizarre.

Clearly a lot to do but you have to take the points and try to get better every week.

Reckon we have a couple of difference makers at this level in Payne and Williams. Could well knick a few more undeserved wins with those two on the pitch. And to be fair the goals against column speaks for itself despite us looking questionable at times mainly when we play out.

Certainly can't complain with 10 points from 15. It's a dream start for Garner all things considered.

Also well done Simpson on getting his first goal. Think it's his first one in professional football so hope he enjoyed it!

I think we all agree another decent forward is needed let's hope Ben Chorley can do his stuff before Tuesday evening

From watching the Town games this season you can see the gulf in class between league 1 and league 2.

Against Tranmere I thought we were the better side overall but if Tranmere had their shooting boots they would have easily won the game.

Salford and Mansfield were better then Town and created plenty of chances but lacked any star quality up front. Last season teams like Franchise and Accrington punished us in similar circumstances and scored a lorry load against us.

I think 4th in the table flatters us a little. Wins are wins though. I’ll be interested to see how Town cope when we go on a bad run and lose 2/3 games in a row.

At the moment I think we will be competitive in most games and the first goal is crucial. If we score first then we will get something from the game. If we go 1-0 down at the moment I don’t think we have the attacking ability to break a team who are sitting on a lead down.

Hopefully team performances will improve as the squad train more together. However results are all that matters I guess.

I think the league is all over the place with Tranmere getting beat at Scunthorpe and FGR losing at home to Port Vale

Yeah anyone can beat anyone in this league, all 4 promoted teams last season lost 12-14 games each.

Sent from my CLT-L09

Having seen the replay, the ref definitely dropped a bollock for their 'non' goal. I'd be a tad miffed if I was a Mansfield fan.

We didn't play well again today, but we are showing grit. Another 5 ish games before our preseason is over, and about 7-8 points more than I thought we'd have at this point.

I haven't read back all the comments so apologies for any repetition. I've just re-watched the first half - stand by my initial thought at the time that Mansfield had done their homework and particularly early on, nullified us almost completely.

I thought Conroy and Reed were both excellent for us.

KKH was sloppy in the first half but better in the second as the team improved and he got further forward.

Gladwin hads been fairly anonymous in the last two home games - needs dropping IMO.

And Hunt is a decent left back, but as a LWB doesn't offer the same impetus going forwards as Iandolo does.

Payne again was the driving force in getting us up the pitch - the home games so far this season have been my first experience of watching him in any detail and he's consistently been the main driver of our attacks.

Simpson was great again I thought, totally deserved his goal - what an inspired substitution that was by Garner to bring on Williams (who I can see why fans adore him - loves a tackle doesn't he??)

probably jibber  after his afternoon at the CGH.   :pint: :pint: :pint:

Not seen the highlights but probably a good thing that referee's wrists don't vibrate and light up in L2.
Looked like a shocking miss at the time as well.

First time we've had crowds over 8k in each of the first three home games since 2010-11.
A winning team should mean that people will keep on coming.
Some might prefer a bit more of a dynamic offering, but it's been pretty good so far.
Early impression is that this will be a tight league so would expect a few wars of attrition.
Wouldn't agree with the comment that it was "dreadful shite" in the first half.
Maybe iFollowers are just more akin to an audience at the old Glasgow Empire. :)

Still, good appreciation shown by the fans at the end of the game.
These early points will be very handy if we are hit with a deduction.
Hopefully it won't come to that.

Agree with WB.
Enjoyed it and loved the extra bit of quality that brought the goal. Fans were great throughout. If I were a Mansfield fan I would be disappointed to have lost but they looked decent to me. I have been pleasantly surprised by the quality of the football this far but I am sure the weather will play its part as winter arrives. Hopefully we will use a longer ball when required as yesterday we almost gave the points away over doing it at the back. Well done Town.

Apart from Scunthorpe I would expect every other side we have played will have a top half finish.
Stevenage a bottom half finish.
Never works out that way though but an excellent start to the season taking everything into account.

The clean sheets are impressive. 3 now and that is a superb base to build from.

“I’ve got my professional life at stake here because if I can’t get Bristol Rovers promoted out of this division, I’m not going to get the top jobs I want, I’m not going to get to work up the food chain for these big clubs, so I’ve got a lot invested.”

Barton is unbelievable. 4 wins in 24.

Having read back, it's great to see that the norm has returned with the negative focused posts - it shows that we are back to some sort of normailty, even when we win.

I for one wasn't expecting to see us playing well until Oct/Nov so am pleasantly surprised with our progress so far along with the amount of points we have and where we sit in the table - if we can acumulate this amount of points with a disjointed unfamiliar team that has not had a pre-season, imagine what we can do once this lot get used to each other and are fit enough to deliver 90 minutes without blowing out of their arses?

Very positive indeed.  Loving the L2 Lukaku for that finish, he deseres a lot of credit.  He didn't just bust a bollock to get on the end of it, but managed to guide it into the left side of the net using the outside of his boot - great finish.

How is that unbelievable? he’s spot on

That was me with the ‘dreadful shite’ comment - and it was! Couldn’t string 2 passes together, even the tippy tappy ones between the defenders with no opposition player around were either over or under hit. Got caught numerous times, gave the ball away, zero threat on their goal. Didn’t make for good viewing. We seemed obsessed with players receiving the ball whose first instinct is turn backwards and pass it back. We had a free kick in their half which, 3 passes later, ended up with Wollacott.

2nd half was better - could hardly be worse, though. We aren’t going to keep getting lucky with the opposition missing so many chances.

Will be interesting to see whether we are just poor passers of the ball or whether Mansfield did a job good on the press.

Then again if Mansfield can do it then so can the other 23 teams.

You would have thought experienced players like Gladwin, Grant & Payne could adapt to their pressing

If playing with 3 CB's is going to be the regular formation then would like to see one of them try and beat the high press on occasion by carrying the ball (not in a William Webb Ellis type way) out of defence.
It's a risk but Conroy, Odimayo and Crichlow (and Baudry if he plays) are all capable of a good dribble.
Can't always look to just try and pass our way through.

If anything, this thread just goes to show that different people get widely different things from football.

I think most there yesterday couldn’t have cared less who did what, when and why.

All they wanted was ‘their club’ back on the field. Anything above this, is a bonus so the fact that X didn’t do Y, and A wasn’t in the right place by 2.76 metres is totally irrelevant. Let’s face it, if they did everything that some people expect, they wouldn’t be 4th level footballers. (Apart from a couple out there who clearly should be playing at a higher level)

If you come away from the CG with 3 points that all that is required.

I remember the first few weeks of Ardiles's tenure, we were all having heart attacks then about defenders playing the ball out of defence, but that didn't end badly did it.

Hopefully they will just get better at doing it.

The goal did come from playing the ball out from the back after all

(there are of course occasions when a good wack up field is the right thing to do !)

https://www.skysports.com/football/swindon-town-vs-mansfield-town/report/448500

We were really poor yesterday but Mansfield were certainly very well disciplined. They will be up there and have a good manager too

Really doesn't look like it went in to me, but everyone who I've spoken to who was down that end and saw it live says they think it was.

The ref would depend on his assistant who's job is to be in line with the play. If the assistant's view was obscured, then he couldn't give it. Hit the Mansfield's player on the arse, then was sliced directly into JoJo's arms across the goal.  You would have to be level with the goal line to know if it was in or out, so can't blame the ref.  Going by Clough's interview after the game (he must have talked to the officials) he wasn't too annoyed.  If the officials had admitted dropping one, then he would have said so and been his normal whiny self.  He got the tactics right, his players didn't take their chances.

Also the Mansfield fans protested more than the players !!.
 Thought Mansfield had us worked out, marking was very tight and they passed and attacked with pace, good job they couldn't finish !!. 
As already said first half was poor but we dug in second half and ground out a result that didn't seem possible at half time.  If we can keep going at the current rate there's no reason to fear anyone in this division.

Thought the same tbh but don’t have much to compare it too.

Mansfield really stifled our game plan and pressured us into mistakes.

Thank you. He woke up Friday morning and was taken off a ventilator but still required adrenaline to keep his blood pressure up. He began to maintain his own blood pressure later in the day and was off all artificial/life support medication. I left Bury St Edmunds West Suffolk hospital at 10.30 the wife dropped the kids at Walcot where I parked at 1410 as I wouldn't have got hone and back to Swindon in time. It was a dogged performance, far too much tippy tappy at times playing ourselves in trouble but a great defensive effort. Next game for me, Vale at home so tickets bought and my 10 year old wants his mate to come along so happy to introduce another youngster to the town, perhaps the bug will bite and he will want to come each time we can.

Chuffed Simpson got off the mark yesterday. Great goal.

The cross for the goal was sublime.

A shame he won't be available next weekend at Stevenage

All 5 passes for the goal were forward passes. First half was nothing but backwards.

Every goal tells a story.

FORWARDS

Not strictly true. The move started with two backward passes, before Wollacott started it going forwards.....

The modern game is about possession football and playing from the back. So unless we have PL able players, which of course we don’t, patience from the supporters is a must. Gone are the days of the keeper smashing the ball upfield every time for two giant and quick forwards to chase down. Or playing route one football.

Spot on - if Woolacott had kicked it long on Saturday, with Simpson alone up front it simply gives the opposition the ball and we are defending again.
Part of the problem in the first half was that there was too little movement from the forward players to create space / options for the pass forward. Generally the only players in any space were either KKH or Hunt - both wide on the touch line.
Second half we did better - more movement, and possibly they tired a bit - not many teams can maintain a press like that for 90 mins.

Also Mansfield started the game pressing & closing us down very quickly, something they couldn’t keep up for 90 mins.
Chasing the ball is much more tiring than passing it about so you can wear the opposition down by keeping possession.
The key is to not let a goal in early (which we struggled to do last season) and then take advantage later in the game

Playing it out per se is not the problem. Playing it out 'badly' is. There were many sloppy passes from us on Saturday.

I reckon this style of play will take longer to click and without a preseason it's showing. I was encouraged by the improvement in the 2nd half, though. It shows the manager probably knows how to fix it.

Nobody is saying just give it a hoof but, in certain circumstances, that is precisely the right thing to do. We’re getting away with our occasional clumsiness at the back because the opposition, by and large, aren’t good enough to capitalise.

It’s quite possible that continuing with this style may reduce these errors by dint of repetition.

I lost count on Saturday how many times ALL of out players played passes short when playing out of defence, thats just shoddy for a professional, I would rather a pass was over hit that underhit when playing out from the back as underhit passes almost always were intercepted by Mansfield.

And good players with a brain can see this, if not before it’s going to happen then certainly after when a period of play has elapsed when it keeps happening.

Was thinking about our formation and agree with those saying that Gladwin needs to be dropped at the moment. If we're playing three CBs with Grant in front of them and Reed deeper than Payne, we're overloaded in the middle and someone else needs to be driving us forward otherwise you get what we had on Saturday, with Payne overworked as the only out. If we move to a 3-3-3-1, then Williams looks like the obvious candidate if he's deemed fit enough, otherwise McKirdy.

re: playing it out from the back. First half we had 3 players waiting for it. Mansfield had 3 attackers waiting for them to get it.

if we kicked it long, it was mostly coming back. if we played it short they pressed us into a mistake.

tricky.  felt a bit Luke Williams at half time

I personally thought we were loads better in the second half. really enjoyed it.

no doubt Mansfield should have scored at least 1, but they failed to do so. that's football

Hopefully Garner would have learnt how to changes things sooner for future games.

I look at our squad and even our XI and think they’d suit a 4231

Odimayo, Conroy, Crichlow, Hunt as a flat back 4
Grant and Reed as the holding two
Then any combination of KKH, Payne, Williams, Gladwin, McKirdy even Iandolo at a push as the attacking three.
Simpson up top.

Like Saturday Hunt was fine defensively and got forward well but when he received the ball in advanced positions I felt we were crying out for an actual left winger up there rather than a LB.

I thought the logical replacement for Hunt would have been Williams playing wingback/left wing instead of Hunt when we play 3 at the back.

I must admit. I thought Hunt for Williams was going to be substitution at the time.
Good job it wasn’t because we needed Hunt to defend at 1-0 up but at 0-0 felt we needed a more attack minded player in the positions Hunt was getting into.

Problem with that is Odimayos distribution is really poor and by the look of it Garner is kind of doing what Klopp does with TAA with Kesler and wants him to be someone who can dictate play from deep.

Odimayos distribution on Saturday was terrible, but then again so was Grant which was unusual.

https://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/sport/19546199.swindon-town-address-reports-homophobic-abuse-home-fans-mansfield-town-game/?fbclid=IwAR1zJeqWdeMmflreU3JYW8Gbe3zD4-uUm3HduCtxUGErZYSEGAm4jiK2Y6w

The bloke in question was sat about 5 seats along and one row down from me.

He called every Mansfield player who went down ‘a poof’ he also called Iandolo the same after he went down after getting a ball to face (no gay jokes!!!)

Outdated terms from a bloke whose clearly a product of his time - maybe with some alcohol inside him.

His most offensive (yet completely nonsensical comment/abuse) was asking if a Mansfield players ‘mum was Jimmy Saville’

A bloke two rows in front of me just basically told him that was enough after he called Iandolo a poof.


Certainly not the worst abusive thing I’ve heard at a football match. Not that I’m claiming for one second it’s not offensive.

True, my worry is that Odimayos is continuously poor

In that case you could drop Odimayo out the side and put KKH in at right back and a combination of Gladwin, Williams, Payne, McKirdy as the three.

Give KKH licence to go forward with Grant dropping into the defence if we get hit on the counter.

anyone in the Town End. what did the guy get escorted out for?

Someone said he was trying to get onto the pitch. Personally I’m not sure that was true though.

I can't see Garner changing the personnel at the back who have kept 2 clean sheets on the bounce. Not sure why Odimayo's passing is being highlighted in particular as a reason to drop him. As someone else (PV I think) alluded to, the team were all guilty of short/misplaced passes especially first half. For me, it needs to be Grant or Reed in that deeper midfield role rather than both to allow a more attack minded midfielder to come in

fair enough. thanks

It's not, its being highlighted as a reason to not play him right back

There's one like that in the DRS as well

He was in the DRS

I thought the one that got escorted out was in the Town End

Two different things.

Someone on the TE get escorted out.
Bloke in the DRS was reported and it the the one the tweet/article is about

Odimayo and Hunt as full backs in back 4 is the stuff of nightmares?!
Odimayos lack of positional intelligence can be hidden by being in a back 3 and Hunt is v steady but a good right winger (like Courtney Senior in 19-20) can have him on toast but by having an extra defender behind him it can mitigate that

I would love another left back but know its not likely

Hunt offers nothing past being a bog standard full back imo

At RB and/or LB

Certainly as a left back from what I have seen.
Maybe on the right side he might be a bit more confident in the advanced positions. I don’t know - someone whose seen him a lot more than I have would need to answer that one.

Small sample size admittedly

To be fair he looked decent at right back under Wellens two seasons ago before he was switched to the left.

One practical defensive point which may help to explain the preference for a back 3 is that we concede a lot of free kicks in our half and also corners.
Having Odimayo, Conroy and Crichlow as a back 3 (or 3 of a back 4) gives us height to defend against these set pieces - Mansfield and Carlisle both had a full team of very tall players, and apart from those 3, Grant, Gladwin and Simpson, the rest of the squad lack height.
As the last 2 games have proved, if we can keep a clean sheet then one goal brings all 3 points!

There's a lot to be said for a consistent bog standard full back.

Hunt's a bit of a victim of the need to be versatile

Difficult player to replace as he covers both sides and ably so. That’s not to say he’s irreplaceable, but we would have to have someone coming in who is an upgrade. If he’s wanted by multiple clubs, maybe he actively wants to move on, in which case, maybe it’s best.

Dominic Thompson for a second stint?

NO!

Would be curious to see how Thompson did under a manager not named John Sheridan.
Would also probably offer more going forward as a LWB than Hunt.

If you could guarantee his poor form was all down to Sheridan and the real Dom Thompson was the one we saw against Ipswich, I’d bite your hand off

Bog standard is a bit harsh.  His consistency is impressive, particularly at RB.   Under Wellens was a 7+ every week.   
Not as good as a LB but can do a decent job there.

Agree he isn't going to win games in the final third and is not a wing back but he's a very good RB at this level.

However that means we have 3 so that may be one too many.  I also don't like playing both him and Odi in a back 4 with 2 holding midfielders, particularly at home as it's a big negative and easy to defend against.

Hunt is steady, versatile and reliable.
Decent at this level and need a squad.

Unless we have an adequate player lined up we need to keep, clearly unless it’s an offer we simply can’t refuse.
Hoping nobody goes out the door and we bring in another decent forward.

This squad has enough to make a reasonable challenge.

Just working my way through the matchday thread as I like to do after the game.

I noticed this on Saturday and wondered what Swindon could actually do to counter what Mansfield were doing. By putting 3 players on the edge of our box, Wollacott literally HAD to go long. With Mansfield's centre backs towering over our players they were always going to win the ball in the air. Was there much we could do to counter this?

Not guarantee it would have worked but we needed to push up and get Gladwin and Payne up near Simpson. Aim it there and see what happens.

Could have been a complete waste but when we were forced long from goal kicks our players didn’t really adapt, move, change position, change tactic. Everyone went short leaving only Simpson in the Mansfield half.

Then when we went long even if he won it he had no one anywhere near him.

Same from throw in. If there is nothing on. Just get someone behind Simpson and play the line.
Again, not ideal, not ‘total football’ and a gamble as to whether we’d keep possession but (imo) better than trying the same thing over and over again and losing the call over and over again

Yeah I think you are probably right. By having more numbers around Simpson it gives you a better chance of picking up second balls and having an opportunity to start an attack rather than just giving the ball back to Mansfield again and again.

I also noticed that our throw ins seemed to lack the snap and sharpness that we had during the Tranmere game. It was almost like the players lacked the confidence to throw the ball to feet against Mansfield, I suspect because of the aggressive press?

KHH had plenty of space if Wollacott had the confidence to try and find him. Alternatively if the ball could have found Simpson more instead of going over his head may have had the chance to hold it up more.
All easy to have opinions in the stand.
No problem with teams like Carlisle and Mansfield pushing right up. Only needs one ball and you are past the first line.
Conroy executed this a few times and noticed the second half as Mansfield tired a little and we turned the ball quicker the spaces started to appear.

Jockster dosen't rate him😀

Thanks, the bloke I mentioned in the DRS was reported to stewards two seasons ago and nothing got done about it

Including the crucial deflection from a Mansfield player ?