Swindon Town Football Club - The Robins

Swindon Town History

2006-07 Season

3rd, promoted from League Two
League Cup: 1st round; Brentford h. lost 4-3 on penalties.
FA Cup: 3rd round; Crystal Palace a. 1-2
JP Trophy: 1st round; Wycombe Wanderers a. 0-1

Highlight:
2-1 win over Bristol Rovers, 16/12/06

Low Spot:
1-2 home defeat to Hereford United, 4/11/06

Good:
Jerel Ifil
Pacy centre half who is adept both in the air and on the ground. Pivotal in his sides' promotion.
Lee Peacock
Converted midfielder who was a huge factor in Swindon's engine room and still managed to frequently display his attacking qualities.

In Brief:
This was one of football's more mundane promotions with Swindon churning out results the hard way all season. Narrow victories were the order of the day and a sound defence the basis for success.
The club started with six wins on the trot under Dennis Wise who would soon be off to join his spiritual father Ken Bates at Leeds.
There was a run of draws and then a blip at the end of January but in general the club remained true to their course under Paul Sturrock and always looked a safe bet for the promotion which a final day home draw with Walsall secured.
Increased firepower looks essential if the club is going to make a serious impression in League One, however.

Swindon Town Football Club was formed in 1881 by the Rev. William Pitt. The club turned professional in 1894 and took up residence at the County Ground in 1896.

The club was a prominent member of the Southern League in its' early days and also made a favourable impression in the FA Cup.

Swindon reached the semi finals of the cup in both 1910 and 1912.

In 1910 the Robins knocked out Crystal Palace, Burnley, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City before losing out to Newcastle United, 2-0 at White Hart Lane, in the semi finals.

Two years later Sutton Junction, Notts County, West Ham United and Everton were accounted for before Barnsley ended their hopes in the last four. The first game at Stamford Bridge ended goalless but the Tykes won through by the only goal in the replay at Meadow Lane, Nottingham.

Swindon's exploits at this time owed a lot to the skillful forward H.J. Fleming who was capped by England 11 times between 1909 and 1914 despite playing outside the Football League.

Fleming remained with Swindon throughout a playing career spanning 1907 and 1924 and went on to live in the town his entire life. A true servant of the town, the club and his county.

Swindon joined the Football League as founder members of Division Three in 1920. Somewhat surprisingly the club failed to make any real impression in the league and would not climb into the second division until 1963 when they finished runners up to Northampton Town.

The club was relegated back into Division Three in 1965 but it was about to create a sensation.

In 1969 Swindon won promotion from Division Three after finishing 2nd behind Watford on goal difference. Greater excitement came in the League Cup as the Robins made it all the way to Wembley after knocking out Torquay United, Bradford City, Coventry City, Derby County and Burnley.

From the 2nd round onwards replays were needed in every round, including the two legged semi final.

Swindon met Arsenal at Wembley and ran out 3-1 winners with two goals in extra time by the mercurial winger Don Rogers.

Although the League Cup winners did not take part in the major European competitions at that time Swindon were invited to take part in both the Anglo Italian League Cup and the Anglo Italian Cup, promptly winning both competitions.

They beat Roma 5-2 on aggregate to take the first prize and then claimed the Anglo Italian Cup in bizarre circumstances.

The Robins travelled to Naples for the final against Napoli and were leading 3-0 when the game was abandoned as the home supporters began dismantling the stadium and hurling it onto the pitch. The result stood and Swindon were champions.

Swindon began brightly in the second division but quickly faded and were relegated in 1974.

The club hit the headlines in 1980 again for their cup exploits. They made it to the 4th round of the FA Cup and pushed Tottenham all the way before losing 2-1 in a replay at White Hart Lane but it was in the League Cup that they really made their mark.

The Robins took care of Portsmouth, Chester, Stoke City and Wimbledon to set up a 5th round tie at Arsenal. A second half equaliser by Billy Tucker took the tie back to the County Ground where Swindon won an amazing tie 4-3 after extra time.

The prolific partnership of Andy Rowland and Alan Mayes grabbed a goal each while both Steve Walford and John Hollins put through their own goal.

Rowland and Mayes also got the goals as Swindon won the 1st leg of their semi final at home to Wolves 2-1 but a 3-1 defeat in the return at Molineux saw them knocked out.

Rowland and Mayes plundered 39 goals between them in Division Three that season and weighed in with another 17 in the cup competitions.

Surprisingly the club were unable to push on from this position and instead went the other way, suffering relegation to Division Four in 1982.

It would be 1986 before Swindon escaped Division Four but they did so in style, raking in 102 points to take the championship under the guidance of Lou Macari.

The following season the club finished 3rd in Division Three, thereby securing a play off place. They defeated Wigan Athletic 3-2 on aggregate in the semi finals before seeing off Gillingham in the final. This was a two legged affair which finished level and required a replay, Swindon winning through 2-0 in the end.

Two years later in 1989 Swindon also made the Division two play offs but lost out in the semi finals to Crystal Palace, 2-1 on aggregate.

The following season they were back and this time they overcame Blackburn Rovers 4-2 on aggregate in the semis before beating Sunderland at Wembley with an Alan McLoughlin goal.

This promotion was overturned due to the results of an investigation into alleged financial irregularities even though these had taken place under Macari who had since left the club and been replaced by Ossie Ardiles.

The club was hit hard by this punishment and only narrowly avoided relegation the following season. They recovered under the guidance of another new manager, Glenn Hoddle, however and in 1993 they claimed the Premier League place denied them previously.

The Robins beat Tranmere Rovers 5-3 on aggregate in the semi finals before winning a magnificent game at Wembley, 4-3 against Leicester City.

This was as good as it would get for the Wiltshire outfit, however, and they were comprehensively relegated at the foot of the table after just one season in the top flight, shipping 100 goals in the process.

The Robins then suffered from a re-organisation of the league to be relegated again from Division One the following season despite finishing fourth from bottom.

They responded superbly to this setback and stormed to the Division Two title in 1996.

Four seasons of struggle in the second tier came to an end in 2000 when Swindon were relegated back into Division Two and the club have remained fixed at that level since.

They reached the play offs in 2004 but lost a titanic semi final to Brighton. Having lost the 1st leg at home 1-0 Swindon won by the same scoreline away in normal time and then went in front on aggregate during extra time.

Brighton equalised in the last minute, however, and then won through 4-3 on penalties to dump the Robins out.

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Regards,

Football England.