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PAOLO DI CANIOOOOO!

Wednesday, May 9th, 2012

On May 23^rd 2011, the new Swindon Town manager Paolo Di Canio said he “was close to signed Lionel Messi”. In hindsight, he’s had the kind of season you can’t help but be impressed by – lighting up every game he’s been part of, appearing to be several steps ahead of the opposition and gained even more admirers than he already had.

And Lionel Messi has had quite a good season too.

Paolo Di Canio’s first season, not only as Swindon manager, but also as a manager full stop, has been little short of perfect. Many ‘experts’ wrote him off instantly and declared he would be out of the door at the first sign of trouble. Understandable, yet humorous with hindsight. What has transpired is a title-winning season, FA Cup giant-killings, a trip to Wembley and the bottom line of Di Canio still in charge of the club he joined a year ago.

The stats are the simplest way of describing the Robins’ path to glory – the best home record in the league, the most victories in the league, the best defensive record in the league. Cogito ergo sum; they’ve ended up as the best placed team. Curiously, they’ve lost ten away games, whereas a team like Crawley have lost just four. Yet, amazingly, in twenty-three home league games they’ve conceded just eight goals – seven of which came in three matches. Yes, that’s nineteen clean sheets at home, let alone including away games, all season.

Yet, when they lost at home to bitter rivals Oxford United on the 21^st August, and then lost away at Shrewsbury Town, Swindon sat 21^st in the league having lost four of their first five games. Doubt poured through the minds of Robins fans like cheap Italian wine at high-streets restaurants across Wiltshire. Had we paid untold fortunes to this man to see him leave before the first leaf fall of Autumn?

Arguably, the turning point came with Swindon’s televised victory over the team then top of the table, Rotherham United, but defeats still found themselves sown into the team’s form. The fact the team found themselves either winning or losing, and not dropping points in the form of draws proved vital as the season progressed (a stat they’ve maintained all season, drawing only one game throughout 2012). Yet as Paolo finally settled and players began to warm to his style of management, things back to bloom at the County Ground. But that’s not to say he’s always known who his best players are…

Before the season started, I wrote of the early flames of what would be Di Canio’s roaring season. Yet, the list of players he collected, and latterly disposed of is quite staggering for a level of football where money is tight. Alberto Comazzi and Ibrahim Atiku left the club after cancelling their contracts, Mehdi Kerrouche fell out with Di Canio and was shipped out on loan to of all clubs, Oxford United, and Mattia Lanzano’s contract was cancelled by the club, but curiously he later changed his mind and made his way back to the County Ground. These are just players who he had already bought in by mid-July, let alone other car-crash signings such as Leon Clarke and Lukas Magera. While he has freely acquired players left, right and centre, at a higher level where wages increase and the financial risks of failure are greater, this is something which cannot be risked from now onwards. His mistakes must be learnt with immediate effect.

That’s not to say there aren’t methods to his madness. Take Wes Foderingham in goal – pinched on loan from Crystal Palace and latterly signed permanently, he has been an incredible find and proved a constant rock, albeit a very agile one, in between the posts and surely not coincidental that Swindon have not only broken their club record for clean sheets during this season, but the fourth tier record has been rewritten.

Of course, far be it from me to reminisce just of the good times – thirty thousand Swindon fans rocked up at the Venue of Legends in March and were odds on favourites against Chesterfield in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy final. They promptly walked away empty handed with a performance devoid of anything which had been witnessed by fans in the recent months before the day at Wembley. At least the heavens didn’t open, which had magnified most supporters irritation when the club last appeared in HA9 back in May 2010 against Millwall in the League One play-off final. Big days out appear to be Di Canio’s Achilles heel, if indeed he does possess such a mythological weakness – Oxford fans will continue to remind Robins fans of both derby victories this season. However, I’m sure collecting the league trophy will numb the pain over knowing their rivals up the A420 will be spending another year behind Swindon in the standings.

The past twelve months have actually been the most tumultuous and upsetting of Di Canio’s life with his father, Ignazio, and his mother, Pierina, passing away within months of one another during his time at the club. His father’s illness was actually something that stopped Di Canio becoming Newport County manager in March 2011, yet when the Swindon job arose, his father insisted on him pursuing his dream of becoming a football manager. Somewhere they’ve looked down on him and guided him through a period of his life when lesser men would have understandably walked away. The ability to separate such personal hardship and continue your fledging professional career can only stand him in good stead wherever the next few years take him.

Chairman Jeremy Wray has justifiably said that Di Canio was a “risk” – the biggest risk now however is keeping hold of the man. Di Canio has provided a catalyst of hope for Swindon Town the whole way through the club – from the Chairman to the fans – which many worried may not arrive with immediate effect after Paul Hart’s atrocious spell at the club which saw them consigned to relegation last season. Yes, they were early season favourites to bounce straight back, but so were Bristol Rovers, who have ended in mid-table, and Cheltenham Town were favourites for relegation yet ended up in the play-offs – nothing is certain in football, regardless of what level its played at.

The close season will now, inevitably, link Di Canio with various managerial positions as they become untenable and available. The enormous elephant in the room still remains West Ham United, although with Sam Allardyce on the verge of guiding them back to the Premier League via the play-offs, it could mean he receives a deserved stay of execution. Would Di Canio really want to go elsewhere other than West Ham? Although managers will come and go over the next three months, no job will arise that will honestly have Paolo bolting for the County Ground door – no Premier League team will risk going for him, and why would he leave for a Championship or League One club when his intention all along with Swindon was to get them back to the second tier of English football?

His commitment and professional to the Wiltshire club has surprised many at times, myself included. Although money inevitably talks louder than most things in these situations, he doesn’t appear swayed by moving on after one season at Swindon. He appears to have committed himself to launching Swindon onwards and upwards – not something that is a god-given right as Chesterfield have proven this season after walking away with League Two last season, but something that isn’t beyond the realms of possibility either if Di Canio stays at the club.

Players will come and go between now and the middle of August – players such as Matt Ritchie, Paul Caddis & Wes Foderingham must remain, and a proven striker must arrive. Season tickets will be sold, new fans will be found, and hype will be built. But as long as Jeremy Wray keeps hold of his Italian gaffer, Swindon Town have every hope of being the latest team to become part of the “double-bounce” phenomenon which the likes of Southampton, Norwich, Stevenage and Crawley have all enjoyed in recent years.

All together now – Paolo Di Caniooooo! Paolo Di Caniooooo!

Written by Carl McQueen – We Are Going Up! Podcast member and Swindon Town Blogger

Carl tweets at @mrcarlmcqueen

Tags: Jeremy Wray, League Two, Paolo Di Canio, Swindon Town, The Robins
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U’s ready to take on the Robins

Wednesday, February 29th, 2012

At 12 noon on Saturday, Oxford United will face Swindon Town at the Kassam Stadium in the imaginatively named “A420 derby.” The derby between the two sides has been fierce since the early 1980′s and intensified due to the regularity of meeting between the sides, plus their geographical proximity throughout the decade.

Swindon fans’ vandalism of Oxford’s stadium means there is absolutely no love lost between the two sides. They covered the bronze Ox which stands outside the Kassam pink – Oxford then used it to help raise money for a Breast Cancer charity – as well as burning the club’s initials ‘STFC’ into the pitch before last August’s meeting.

The league history is overwhelmingly in favour in terms of Swindon Town with 23 wins and 81 goals scored to Oxford’s 11 wins and 57 goals scored. There have also been 20 draws between the sides over the years.

Oxford have never faced Swindon in the league at the Kassam Stadium. The only time they have played each other at the Kassam was in the second Round of the FA Cup in December 2002. The game ended 1-0 as controversial striker Jefferson Louis scored the winning goal that day to send The U’s faithful into utter delirium. The goal, in truth, was a fluke. Louis’ flick on went straight in after Steve Basham’s run bamboozled Bart Griemink in front of the Oxford Mail Stand. Louis’ celebrations post-match have to be seen to be believed as he ran round the home changing room naked after Oxford were drawn against Arsenal at Highbury in the next round.

That was then, this is now. I, as an Oxford fan, am not confident going into Saturday’s game. Oxford’s current form has been sketchy of late with nine points from a possible fifteen in their last five games and the disappointing 1-1 draw with Macclesfield at home last weekend leaving them seventh in the table. Macclesfield had lost eight consecutive matches on the road before that.

Swindon on the other hand, have won nine games on the trot and the Wiltshire club have jumped from seventh to first since Christmas. Paolo Di Canio, who has divided opinion, appears to be working his magic with the side after spending big in January, signing Paul Benson, Luke Rooney and Lee Cox as well as Ronan Murray and Derek Boating on loan from Ipswich and Arsenal respectively.

They also failed in signing Oxford’s top goalscorer, James Constable. Known to Oxford fans as “Beano” – a nickname given to him in his younger years due to his alleged likeness to the famous Heinz product. Oxford accepted a bid, but Constable decided against even travelling up, re-affirming his legend status at the club. The Yellows’ number nine decided the last meeting with Swindon in August, netting a brace as Oxford won 2-1 at the County Ground.

This followed comments from Di Canio claiming Constable was a Swindon fan. Constable does in fact support Tottenham and after the embarrassing error, Di Canio backtracked in the post-match press conference claiming he had “wrong information.”

Oxford’s key man for the game this Saturday would have been Peter Leven. He’s scored a halfway line winner against Port Vale, a brilliant free-kick against Cheltenham from 30-odd yards as well as a curling effort against Plymouth from the corner of the 18 yard box to name a few. If the Oxford faithful are to be believed, Peter Leven does what he wants. But Peter Leven cannot guard against injury. He’ll miss the game with a shoulder injury which is a massive blow. Simon Heslop is fighting to be fit, but if he doesn’t recover in time, manager Chris Wilder will have to choose between Mark Wilson, Asa Hall and Adam Chapman to partner the tireless Andy Whing and Lee Holmes in a midfield three.

The possible inclusion of Chapman is an interesting one. He was man of the match in the Conference play-off final in 2010, but the midfielder’s promising career was thrown into turmoil after he was jailed for causing the death of 77-year old Tom Bryan by dangerous driving. Since his release in September, he has had an injury plagued six months. Earlier this week, Chapman was recalled from an impressive monthly loan spell at Newport and now he has match sharpness back, he could be Oxford’s secret weapon against Swindon. Oxford lack a free-kick taker in Leven’s absence and Chapman looks the perfect replacement.

For a side that went 22 games without a clean sheet last season, Oxford have had 11 shutouts this term which puts them fifth in the clean sheet table, while opponents Swindon are first with 15. This is a marked improvement, based upon up by astute signings from Wilder during pre-season.

Former Chelsea and Leeds centre-back Michael Duberry divided fans’ opinion when he arrived in the summer from St. Johnstone. His apparent lack of pace worried some fans, but his commanding presence has given the Oxford back line confidence this season. When he was injured in November, Oxford lost every game which further proved his importance to the side. He has hit a purple patch with four goals in his last four games, the only problem is that three of them have been in his own goal! That includes what he dubbed on Twitter as the “imperfect Hat-trick.” A left-foot own goal, a headed own goal followed by a right-foot finish in the correct net. Despite this, Duberry remains a cult hero at the Kassam. I doubt many other players could get away with scoring so many own goals in a debut season and still be loved by the fans of a club.

Oxford usually play a 4-3-3 but switched to a 4-4-2 for periods against Macclesfield. The weakness of 4-3-3 is that the system is susceptible to attacks down the wings, which could prove crucial as Swindon’s key man will be left winger Matt Ritchie. The former Portsmouth player moved to Swindon in the summer and has scored 10 goals as well as adding 10 assists, staking his claim to be League Two′s player of the season. Oxford will need to change to a 4-5-1 when not in possession with the wingers tracking the Swindon full backs. It is extremely important for the home side to have a midfielder move across and help cover the full back to help nullify Ritchie’s threat.

As an Oxford fan, a loss would be devastating for the fans. The fact of the matter is, Swindon are the better side and there is a reason they are sat at the top of the league. On paper Swindon should win, but derby games never stick to the script. 1973 was the last time Oxford won at the County Ground and the only season they’ve beaten the Robins twice in the same campaign. Oxford ended their 38-year wait for victory in Wiltshire earlier this season, can they achieve a famous double?

Written by Youcef El Barhdadi, We Are Going Up’s Oxford United blogger

Youcef tweets at @yelbarhdadi

Tags: A420 Derby, Adam Chapman, Beano, Chris Wilder, James Constable, League Two, Matt Ritchie, Michael Duberry, Oxford United, Paolo Di Canio, Swindon Town
Posted in Featured, League Two, Oxford United | No Comments »

Is all that glitters really silver?

Wednesday, February 8th, 2012

Premier League and Championship supporters, look away now. For the next few paragraphs this article shall describe a competition so alien to you it may as well be written in French. C’est la Ligue de Football Trophée. And Swindon Town have reached the final of it, so allow me to milk it for all it’s worth…

Shrouded in satire and ridicule, the competition that pits the wits of the 48 clubs in the third and fourth tiers of English football, ultimately provides two teams with a day at Wembley Stadium. Two sets of fans with the chance to cheer on their team at the ‘home’ of English football. Not the England team, not a Premier League team, but THEIR team. How many of you reading this who support a Football League team can actually say that?

You can take your mid-table mediocrity, your run of the mill ‘I’d rather stay up than win the cup’ excuses. But you’re wrong. You’re so wrong that you’re insulting the very essence and purpose of the beautiful game – to enjoy it. In ten years, five years, even seven months on, how many more people will remember the team who won the League Cup in 2011 compared to the team who finished 17^th in the Premier League last season? I can tell you without thinking who won the League Cup. I had to Google the Premier League table of 2010/11 to discover Wolverhampton Wanderers were the team I shouldn’t care about.

Crystal Palace, Fulham, Hull City, Oldham Athletic, Reading, Swansea City, Watford and Wigan Athletic have all played in the Premier League but never won a major trophy. Would fans swap, what for some of those teams, was just a fleeting moment in the big time for a moment of immortality when their club’s name is etched into the history books for lifting major silverware over saying they’ve dined with kings for just a year or two? Many would say no, they would take a Premier League appearance of just a season over winning a cup competition. But if that’s the case, what exactly do football fans really want? And why on earth do we not just scrap all cup tournaments?

The media has fed us the belief that the FA Cup has lost it’s “magic” and the League Cup is just a competition for clubs to play their reserves. Yet millions still watch it. The sheer joy on the faces on the fans, players and management who win it is not faked for the cameras. It’s the unbridled delight that football can bring you if you’re lucky enough to experience it. The same can be said of play-off finals. One game which will tear the hearts out of half the stadium and give the other half the hope, optimistic dreams, and monetary support for the next twelve months.

Perhaps that’s the simple answer? Money? Teams want to be the 17^th placed team in the Premier League because the enormous gulf in financial reward through sponsorship and televisions rights will destroy a club should they lose their footing as much as it will secure them for the next decade if they stay afloat in the top flight. The growing list of teams to crash and burn their way through the Football League system in the past decade is a worrying observation. Granted, it is not a new phenomenon, but thanks to rolling news coverage and the Internet, the death of a football club becomes a slow, voyeuristic past time for the general public to feast on, voice their opinion, and then becoming generically upset when that club finally calls it a day.

But all that’s for another discussion altogether on the wider problem of money in football. This is to do with the ambitions of supporters and clubs. As much as it’s ridiculed, the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy will give either Swindon Town or Chesterfield fans the hope and optimistic dreams I’ve already spoken of. Whereas one side, the Robins, fights for promotion into League One, the other side, the Spireites, are fighting to stay in it – at exact role reversal of twelve months ago. Both will want to win their battles in their respective leagues, but the opportunity for glory at Wembley must be taken with both hands.

Whereas it may not give the exposure an FA Cup run will achieve – even Swindon fans can vouch that one win against Wigan Athletic this season has produced more media coverage than even winning this entire competition will ever do – it will still produce silverware to add to the cabinet. Something that can never be taken away from the club should Swindon be successful. Unless of course it’s the Second Division play-off trophy of 1990…

Swindon fans have already been lucky enough to experience the new Wembley – many Football League teams have not even come close – in the form of the League One play-off final of 2010. A shambolic appearance on the pitch was marred even further by ‘loyal’ fans being angered at the ‘plastic’ fans that made up the numbers. This works both ways; either you take along, say, 12,000 supporters and make your half of the stadium look pitiful yet an echo of Town End season ticket holders can still be heard from the other end of the stadium, or you allow 30,000 fans to come along and make your team look like a well-followed and supported club in an appearance at the biggest stadium in the country which may not happen again for a generation. Having read the fan forums the day afternoon the play-off defeat to Millwall, the irritation of some die-hard fans was so clear it made you wonder if their judgement had been clouded by ignominious defeat, and had Swindon won then the exact opposite would have been documented about the turnout. I know for a fact this paragraph alone will fuel discussion with most Robins’ fans, and the rest of what I write and have written will be mere filler to the debate of that fateful day in May 2010.

But it does leave a worthy question – should this game even be played at Wembley? Swindon have been handed just over 30,000 tickets, and Chesterfield nearly 10,000 fewer than that on the basis of each club estimating their allocation. Should they both sell out, you still leave yourself with over 30,000 empty seats for a game that many are still unsure of it’s significance – do we want to win this game, or gain promotion/stave off relegation? Would games like this, and others such as the FA Trophy, not be better off at stadiums such as Old Trafford where the ratio of empty seats to filled ones looks more respectable? Or would that destroy another element of the magic of football – regardless of the English cup competition, you earn yourself a day at Wembley, in spite of the ‘experience’ during your few hours in HA9?

Perhaps then all that glitters really isn’t a silver trophy collected by the winning captain. Perhaps it’s mid-table mediocrity and the confusing belief that you’ll push on next season. Perhaps it’s gaining promotion by coming second or third, not actually winning the league, and then hoping you’ll avoid relegation on the last day of the following season. Or perhaps it is the chance to win a competition, which your team is invited to compete in, regardless of financial reward and newspaper column inches it receives.

League One and League Two fans should take the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy as a genuine opportunity to succeed, and not as a cannon fodder to the rest of your season. It may not be the Champions League, but should my team lift the trophy at Wembley on March 25th, for just a few days at least, I’ll feel a bigger man than any team that finishes 17^th in the Premier League this season.

Written by Carl McQueen – We Are Going Up! Podcast member and Swindon Town Blogger

Carl tweets at @mrcarlmcqueen

Tags: Football League Trophy, Johnstones Paint Trophy, League Two, Swindon Town
Posted in Featured, League Two, Swindon Town | 2 Comments »

Toppo’s Top Tens – Moments of 2011

Wednesday, January 4th, 2012

As we are a few days into 2012, there’s no better time to reflect on the previous year in the Football League. 2011 served up some memorable moments, with unexpected promotions, great relegation escapes, controversies and goals aplenty.

A resurgent East Anglian outfit upset the odds to claim their second promotion in two seasons and top flight football returned to South Wales for the first time in nearly 30 years. A Premier League legend turned up in Wiltshire to begin his managerial career while two former England managers were hired and fired in the East Midlands.

Plenty more took place in 2011 and this week Toppo’s Top Ten takes a look back at some of the most memorable events of the past twelve months in the Football League.

10: Stevenage are promoted again

Stevenage were promoted to the Football League for the first time in their history in 2010 and made a decent start to life in League Two, hovering around mid-table for the first six months of the campaign. In January the club were sat in 18th place but went on a remarkable run of form in February and March, winning nine out of eleven games to propel themselves into the play-off spots. They may have come to the attention of many for their ‘timewasting’ tactics and the hard work put in by the team on the training field, but Graham Westley’s side were on the up.

They finished sixth and defeated Accrington Stanley 3-0 in the play-off semi-finals, to set up a meeting with Torquay United at Old Trafford in the final. Stevenage had the better of the first-half and made their dominance count four minutes from the break as John Mousinho rifled in a shot from the edge of the area after a fine run from midfield. The goal would prove to be the decider and Stevenage saw out the match to secure a famous double promotion into League One, emulating Exeter’s back-to-back promotions from the Conference into the third tier in 2008 and 2009.

9: Crystal Palace shock Manchester United

Having struggled at the wrong end of the Championship table early in 2011, Crystal Palace made a much better start to the 2011-12 season under manager Dougie Freedman, challenging for the play-offs and having a good run in the Carling Cup.

In the quarter-finals on November 30 they travelled to Old Trafford to face Manchester United, with the home side considered big favourites, despite Sir Alex Ferguson fielding some fringe players. After a dull first half, the game sparked into life when Palace midfielder Darren Ambrose thumped a brilliant 35-yard strike into the top corner at the Stretford End. United equalised thanks to Federico Macheda’s penalty but they could not find another goal, so the match went into extra-time.

Eight minutes into extra-time Palace won a free-kick which Ambrose swung into the penalty area, Glenn Murray escaped the attentions of his marker and nodded the ball into the back of Ben Amos’ net to restore Palace’s lead. The Londoners came under pressure in the closing stages of the game but defended resolutely to seal a last-four spot for the first time in ten years.

8: That Clarke-Di Canio bust-up

Former Sheffield Wednesday and West Ham United striker Paolo Di Canio was appointed manager of Swindon Town in May, not long after the club’s relegation into League Two had been confirmed. The Robins got off to an inconsistent start under the Italian, who was known for his short temper and hot-headed moments as a player. At the end of August we saw this side of Di Canio return as he had a furious bust-up with striker Leon Clarke on the touchline at the County Ground after losing to Southampton in the Carling Cup.

Clarke had an argument with one of the club’s fitness coaches before manager Di Canio stepped in. He asked the striker to leave the field but Clarke refused, Di Canio tugged at his shirt which seemed to wind the striker up more. Eventually the pair headed down the tunnel where the confrontation continued and became more heated with the two having to be pulled apart. Clarke had only joined Swindon from QPR 11 days later, and he was soon heading for the exit – farmed out to Chesterfield on loan.

7: Darren Ferguson returns to Peterborough

In January 2011, fourteen months after leaving the club by mutual consent, Darren Ferguson strolled back into London Road to become Peterborough United boss for a second time. He had just been sacked by Preston North End, who were bottom of the Championship – which was where Ferguson took Peterborough from League Two thanks to successive promotions in 2008 and 2009 during his first stint as manager.

Posh were in the play-off mix when he arrived and he eventually guided them into the end-of-season shootout for a place in the Championship. After overcoming MK Dons in the semi-finals they would face Huddersfield Town at Old Trafford on May 29, where Ferguson began his playing career and where his father Sir Alex, is a club legend. Huddersfield were considered favourites having just been pipped to automatic promotion by Southampton but the game was a tight affair until the late stages.

In the 78th minute Peterborough broke the deadlock when Tommy Rowe headed Grant McCann’s free-kick into the back of the net, before striker Craig Mackail-Smith’s 35th goal of a memorable season made it 2-0. Posh sealed the victory five minutes from the end thanks to a great free-kick from McCann to seal promotion back to the Championship and a remarkable comeback for manager Ferguson.

6: Huddersfield’s unbeaten run

In 2011 Huddersfield Town came close to securing a place in the Championship, being beaten to an automatic promotion spot in League One to Southampton, before losing the play-off final to Peterborough United. Lee Clark’s side were tipped to go one better in the 2011-12 season and pushed for the play-offs again from the start as they carried on a long unbeaten run from the previous season.

After losing in the league to Southampton on December 28th 2010, Huddersfield picked up 24 wins and 18 draws from their next 42 league games to equal Nottingham Forest’s Football League unbeaten streak of 42 matches. In their next game at home to Notts County on the 19th of November, Town would make history as they ran out 2-1 winners thanks to a brace from Jordan Rhodes and make it 43 unbeaten.

In this time they had lost matches in the FA Cup, Carling Cup and most notably, in the League One play-offs, so some felt the record should have been ended much sooner, however it was an impressive feat from the Terriers which came to an end with a 2-0 loss away to leaders Charlton Athletic in their next game.

5: Brighton move to their new home

Fourteen long years after leaving the Goldstone Ground and playing at the Withdean Stadium since 1999, Brighton and Hove Albion finally moved to a new stadium of their own, the impressive Falmer Stadium (named the AMEX Stadium due to sponsorship) which was in construction since 2008.

The move coincided with Gus Poyet’s side winning the League One title last season to be promoted to the Championship and the feel good factor was back amongst the Seagulls and their supporters. Their first competitive match at their new ground was a home league fixture against Doncaster Rovers and it would be a memorable afternoon for the home side. The teams took to the field amid a great atmosphere and the sell-out 20.219 crowd waving flags, but it was Doncaster who threatened to spoil Brighton’s afternoon as they took the lead through Billy Sharp.

Brighton tried to find a goal and finally equalised on 83 minutes as Will Buckley, a summer signing from Watford, hit a shot from the egde of the penalty area after Doncaster had failed to clear a free-kick. Injuries meant there were eight minutes of injury time and in the final minute, Buckley converted an excellent pass from Craig Noone to complete a brilliant turnaround and send the home fans into wild celebration.

4: Fans Reunited

Plymouth Argyle began the season in financial turmoil and had just suffered back-to-back relegations from the Championship into League Two. The club were £13 million in debt and placed in Administration. On the pitch the club’s fortunes continued to slide as the Pilgrims sat bottom of the whole Football League after nine games and manager Peter Reid was sacked.

A ‘fans reunited’ day was organised for Plymouth’s home match against Macclesfield Town on September 24th, led by Brighton and Hove Albion fans, hundreds of well-wishers pledged to descend on Home Park in their own teams’ shirts to support Plymouth’s plight. Albion themselves went through a similar situation in 1997 when they were evicted from the Goldstone Ground, docked points and nearly dropped out of the Football League.

Over 6,000 people attended Plymouth’s match with Macclesfield, with fans from clubs all over the country making the long trip South to be at the game. Argyle’s players responded and ran out 2-0 winners to pick up their first win of a difficult season. Two weeks later a second ‘fans reunited’ day was staged on an International weekend to encourage even more fans to support Plymouth, and the Home Park attendance swelled to over 8,000 as the Pilgrims drew 2-2 with Accrington Stanley.

3: Norwich City reach the Premier League

Norwich City’s rise into the Premier League is remarkable. Defeated 7-1 at Carrow Road by Paul Lambert’s Colchester United on the first day of the League One season in 2009, the club dismissed manager Bryan Gunn and appointed Lambert as the new boss. The Scot galvanised the team as they regained their form and went on to win the League One title later that season, immediately bouncing back into the Championship.

Norwich carried on their winning momentum into the second tier and the club were in and around the play-off spots for most of the season. Thanks to the goals of striker Grant Holt the Canaries were very much in the promotion shake-up and moved into the top two, maintaining consistent form in the process – not losing back-to-back matches all season.

On May 2nd the club went into their penultimate match of the campaign away at Portsmouth needing a win to guarantee promotion. The game was a scrappy affair with neither side fashioning many chances, however in the 50th minute they did find the net. David Fox curled a free-kick into the penalty area and Simeon Jackson met it with a close-range header to give the Canaries a priceless lead.

Norwich held on to secure the win and with it a second consecutive promotion into the Premier League as the players ran towards the travelling supporters to celebrate a remarkable triumph. The club became the first since Manchester City in 2000 to win back-to-back promotions into the top flight.

2: Brendan Rodgers takes Swansea City up

Having narrowly missed out on a Championship play-off place the season before, Swansea City appointed former Watford and Reading boss Brendan Rodgers as manager in the wake of Paolo Sousa’s departure for Leicester City. The Swans developed a reputation for playing attractive, attacking football and this would continue under Rodgers. He moved to bring Scott Sinclair to South Wales for £500,000 from former club Chelsea before the season began and he would be one of the club’s key players throughout the campaign.

After a slow start, Swansea picked up form and were soon in the play-off places, moving into the top two on occasion before falling away to allow Norwich to finish second. They eventually finished third to secure a play-off spot and face Nottingham Forest in the semi-finals. After a goalless first leg at the City Ground, Swansea won the return at the Liberty Stadium 3-1 to reach the Wembley final, where they would face Reading for a place in the Premier League.

On May 30 the two sets of fans descended on Wembley to witness what would be a pulsating encounter. Swansea took control of the first half as two goals from Scott Sinclair and a strike from Stephen Dobbie saw the Swans go into the half-time break 3-0 ahead. Reading looked out of it but they pulled a goal back when Joe Allen deflected a header into his own net four minutes after the restart, and eight minutes later the Royals got another when Matt Mills headed home from a corner to put Brian McDermott’s side right back in the contest.

Swansea had to see out Reading pressure as they pressed for an equaliser, being denied by the post and some last-ditch defending from Garry Monk, before they were awarded a penalty with ten minutes to go when Fabio Borini was brought down in the Reading penalty area. Sinclair stepped up and converted the spot-kick to complete his hat-trick and send Swansea on their way to promotion. At the final whistle they returned to the top flight after a 28 year absence and became the first Welsh team to reach the Premier League – quite a feat considering the club won promotion from League Two six years before.

1: Barnet’s great escape

On the final day of the 2010-11 League Two season Barnet and Lincoln City were locked in a battle to remain in the Football League. Lincoln were two points ahead of the Londoners with a home game against Aldershot, while Barnet faced Port Vale at Underhill. Barnet began the season with Mark Stimson as manager but he left with the club bottom at New Year and they turned to former boss Paul Fairclough as caretaker manager.

However after 15 points from a possible 48 the club were staring the Conference in the face and Fairclough left, with another former manager, Martin Allen returning as Bees’ manager on an eight game deal. He gave the side the lift they needed as they won two and drew one of his first three matches in charge, before he shocked everyone by agreeing to join managerless Notts County, just 19 days after his return to Underhill.

Giuliano Grazioli, a Barnet legend and assistant manager to Allen was placed in charge until the end of the season. After a win, a draw and two defeats from his first four games as boss, Barnet went into the final day of the season needing a victory whilst hoping Lincoln lost. Three minutes into the second half, Izale McLeod scored from the penalty spot to give Barnet the lead, but it would be meaningless unless Lincoln conceded against Aldershot.

Midway through the second-half at Sincil Bank Aldershot themselves won and converted a penalty to take the lead, with the news gradually filtering through at Underhill amid chants of “We are staying up!” from the Bees’ supporters. Fifteen minutes later Aldershot doubled their lead and the Barnet fans began cheering once more. Aldershot made it 3-0 with five minutes left, while at Underhill there were six minutes of injury time which only added to the tension, but Barnet held on to survive in the Football League, climb up to 22nd place in the table and condemn Lincoln to non-league football.

At the final whistle the Bees fans poured onto the pitch to celebrate with the players and coaching staff. Barnet had saved themselves by the skin of their teeth.

Written by Steven Toplis, We Are Going Up podcast member and blogger

Tweet Steven at @steven_toplis with your suggestions for Toppo’s Top Tens

Tags: Barnet, Brighton and Hove Albion, crystal palace, Darren Ferguson, Huddersfield Town, Norwich City, Paolo Di Canio, Peterborough United, Plymouth Argyle, Stevenage, Swansea City, Swindon Town
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Toppo’s Top Tens – League Cup upsets

Wednesday, December 7th, 2011

The League Cup has, in recent years, been written off by some observers as a second rate competition which creates unwanted congestion on an already hectic fixture calendar. However many Football League clubs have enjoyed successful runs in the competition, with some reaching the semi-finals, the final or even winning the cup itself on occasion.

It is no secret that many of the country’s biggest clubs use the League Cup as an opportunity to play the reserves or field their youngsters, which can lead to some unexpected results and allow lower ranked sides to reach the latter stages of the tournament.

Last week Dougie Freedman’s Crystal Palace upset the odds by defeating Manchester United 2-1 at Old Trafford to reach the semi-finals – where they will meet fellow Championship side Cardiff City after they beat Premier League Blackburn Rovers in the last eight. Since the League Cup’s inception in the 1960/61 season there have been plenty of other upsets and this week Toppo’s Top Ten looks at some of the most memorable….

10: Sheffield Wednesday 1 Manchester United 0 1991

Wembley has seen its fair share of cup final upsets down the years and the 1991 League Cup Final was no different. Manchester United went into the game as FA Cup holders and huge favourites as they faced Sheffield Wednesday, who would go on to win promotion from the Second Division that season.

Former United manager Ron Atkinson was the Owls’ manager, pitted against Alex Ferguson, the man who replaced him in the Old Trafford hotseat five years before. It would be Big Ron who would be smiling by the end of 90 minutes as a ferocious volley from midfielder John Sheridan settled the game. The second tier outfit pulled off a shock by beating United to claim the League Cup for the first time in their history.

9: Norwich City 0 Milton Keynes Dons 4 2011

Premier League new boys Norwich City crashed out of this season’s Carling Cup in the first round with a humiliating 4-0 home defeat to an MK Dons side two divisions below them. Canaries manager Paul Lambert made eleven changes for this match and his side fell behind on 21 minutes to a goal from former Norwich player Luke Chadwick. Striker Sam Baldock, in one of his final Dons appearances before his transfer to West Ham United, doubled the lead seven minutes later with a powerful strike having been played in by Stephen Gleeson.

In the second half Karl Robinson’s side extended their lead further as Chadwick combined with Dean Bowditch before netting his second of the game and substitute Daniel Powell capitalised on some poor home defending to make it four on 67 minutes. A memorable win at Carrow Road for MK Dons which is Lambert’s heaviest defeat during his two year tenure as Norwich boss.

8: Queens Park Rangers 3 West Bromwich Abion 2 1967

By 1967 the League Cup had been running for seven years but this year’s final was the first to be played at Wembley – up until then the final consisted of a two-legged affair with a match played at the home ground of each team. The first final underneath the Twin Towers proved to be a cracker, as First Division side West Bromwich Albion met Third Division Queens Park Rangers, playing at Wembley for the first time.

The favourites lived up to their pre-match billing as as they took a 2-0 lead into half-time thanks to former QPR winger Clive Clark’s brace. However the Hoops fought back in twenty second half minutes as Roger Morgan scored with a header to make it 2-1, then a great individual run and strike from Rodney Marsh equalised. Rangers eventually won 3-2 thanks to Mark Lazarus’ late goal and in doing so they became the first club from the third tier to win a major trophy.

7: Southend United 1 Manchester United 0 2006

Manchester United won the Carling Cup in the 2005/06 season and were looking to reach the quarter-finals the following campaign. In their way were Championship side Southend United and a capacity crowd packed into Roots Hall to witness this fourth round encounter.

Sir Alex Ferguson fielded a United side including ten internationals in the hope of avoiding an upset with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney on the field for the whole 90 minutes, but they would end the night humbled. On 27 minutes Southend frontman Freddy Eastwood lined up a free-kick some distance from goal before running up and unleashing an unstoppable, bending drive which beat Tomas Kuszczak in the United goal to put Southend a goal up.

Despite United pouring forward in search of an equaliser, Southend goalkeeper Darryl Flahavan kept them at bay with a string of great saves while Eastwood threatened on the break at the other end. However the Premier League outfit could not find a way through and it was Southend who knocked out the holders, progressing to the last eight of the competition.

6: Chelsea 1 Burnley 1 (Burnley win 5-4 on penalties) 2008

In the 2008/09 season Championship side Burnley reached the semi-finals of the Carling Cup, where they were knocked out by top-flight Tottenham Hotspur over two legs. On their way to the last four, Burnley beat Premier League leaders Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the Fourth Round in a dramatic penalty shootout.

Didier Drogba looked to set Chelsea on their way to the next round as expected when he finished expertly having been played in by Frank Lampard in the first half. However after the break Burnley fought their way back into the game and equalised through Ade Akinbiyi – sending the 6,000 travelling Clarets fans mad.

The game went into extra-time where Chelsea had a goal disallowed and missed several opportunities to win, but with no goal forthcoming the tie would be settled on penalties. After five-spot kicks each, both sides missed one and scored four before Michael Duff converted Burnley’s sixth. Jon Obi Mikel stepped up next for Chelsea and Clarets goalkeeper Brian Jensen made himself a hero, diving full length to his right to palm the effort away and send the second tier club into the next round.

5: Liverpool 1 Grimsby Town 2 2001

In the 2001/02 season, Division One side Grimsby Town pulled off a famous result at Anfield, knocking Worthington Cup holders Liverpool out of the competition in the third round. After a goalless 90 minutes, the match headed into extra-time and a David Beharall handball gave the hosts the chance to go in front from the penalty spot eleven minutes in. Gary McAllister slotted home the spot-kick, but in the second period of extra-time Grimsby hit back.

Centre-back Marlon Broomes volleyed a 113th minute equaliser in front of the travelling Grimsby support and, in amazing fashion it was the visitors who would take the lead late on. Liverpool were pushing for the winner but Town went up the other end where, from 35 yards out, Phil Jevons unleashed a piledriver which flew into the top corner of Chris Kirkland’s net. Jevons, a boyhood Liverpool fan, had joined the Mariners from Everton in pre-season and instantly became a hero at Blundell Park with an incredible 120th minute strike.

4: Arsenal 1 Walsall 2 1983

Fifty years before this 1983 Milk Cup fourth round tie, Walsall stunned Arsenal by beating them in the FA Cup and they would go on to do something similar at Highbury. At the time Arsenal were in trouble both on and off the pitch, with fans calling for manager Terry Neill to be sacked, however a home cup tie against Third Division Walsall should have provided some respite.

Things looked to be going to plan as Stewart Robson put the Gunners ahead just after the half hour, although Walsall were enjoying most of the play. The Saddlers got their reward fifteen minutes into the second half as Mark Rees netted after Ally Brown’s shot came out to him for the equaliser. Then with five minutes to go, the underdogs took the lead as David Preece’s left-wing cross was not dealt with by the Arsenal defence and the ball fell to Brown who slammed it high into the net to win the tie.

A great result for Walsall and their player-manager Alan Buckley as his side progressed to the quarter-finals. This result spelled the end of Neill’s tenure as Arsenal boss, paving the way for George Graham to take charge.

3: Liverpool 2 Northampton Town 2 (Northampton win 4-2 on penalties) 2010

In the third round of last season’s Carling Cup, Northampton Town pulled off arguably the shock of the tournament by knocking out Premier League Liverpool at Anfield. Reds boss Roy Hodgson made many changes to his side, picking mainly fringe players but they got off to a good start as Milan Jovanovic gave them the lead on nine minutes.

In the second half a Cobblers free-kick was knocked down to Billy McKay who rifled it into the roof of the net as the Town fans behind the goal celebrated wildly and that was how the scores remained after 90 minutes. Northampton, 17th in League Two and three divisions below their opponents, took the lead in extra-time when the ball broke to Michael Jacobs who stuck it into the top corner in front of the Kop. As the visitors sensed a famous victory, David Ngog equalised for Liverpool with four minutes left, to the relief of Hodgson and the Reds fans inside Anfield.

The match went to penalties and in the teaming rain, Town striker Stephen Guinan and Ngog missed their penalties before Nathan Eccleston hit Liverpool’s fifth against the crossbar to hand Northampton a chance of victory. Under great pressure, Abdul Osman stepped forward and sent Brad Jones the wrong way to clinch Town’s place in the fourth round – a great achievement from Ian Sampson’s side.

2: Manchester United 0 York City 3 1995

It is a great achievement for many sides to come away from Old Trafford with a win – for a fourth tier side to do it is quite remarkable, especially by the margin York City defeated Manchester United in the second round of the League Cup in 1995.

Alex Ferguson brought in some of his fringe players – including David Beckham, Paul Scholes and Phil Neville – alongside proven players like Ryan Giggs and Gary Pallister but they could not stop their visitors crusing to victory. Alan Little’s York took the lead through Paul Barnes’ deflected strike and in the second half Barnes doubled it from the penalty spot, before Tony Barras made it three from a header in front of a stunned Old Trafford crowd.

In the return leg United fielded a stronger lineup and levelled the tie – but conceded one goal to be knocked out 4-3 on aggregate in one of York’s greatest ever victories.

1: Swindon Town 3 Arsenal 1 1969

One of the greatest upsets in any English cup competition. The 1969 League Cup final pitted Third Division Swindon Town against First Division Arsenal, under the stewardship of Bertie Mee, who would lead them to the League and FA Cup double two years later. However Danny Williams’ Swindon were out to cause an upset in the showpiece match at Wembley.

It was the Robins who took a shock lead through Roger Smart after a mix-up in the Arsenal defence left goalkeeper Bob Wilson stranded, presenting Smart with an easy finish. Swindon held on until the 86th minute when goalkeeper Peter Downsborough failed to clear the ball and Bobby Gould punced to head home the equaliser and seemingly dash the underdog’s hopes of an upset. However in extra-time Swindon had the better of the play and regained the lead as Don Rogers netted after a corner was not cleared by the Gunners.

In the second period of extra-time Arsenal went forward in search of another equaliser but lost the ball and Swindon broke on the counter-attack. The ball was played through to Rogers who, in acres of space, carried the ball towards goal before cooly rounding Wilson to score and make it 3-1. Arsenal could not find a way back and it was Swindon who pulled off a famous victory, lifting major silverware for the first time in their history.

Written by Steven Toplis, We Are Going Up podcast member and blogger

Tweet Steven at @steven_toplis with your suggestions for Toppo’s Top Tens

Tags: Burnley, crystal palace, Northampton Town, Sheffield Wednesday, Southend United, Swindon Town, Toppo's Top Tens, Walsall, York City
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When you can’t trust anyone, trust yourself, Paolo

Tuesday, October 11th, 2011

The American actor and composer Oscar Levant once quipped, “There’s a fine line between genius and insanity. I have erased this line.” Paolo Di Canio has this famous adage hung aloft in his office at the County Ground…and if he doesn’t, he should. A career strewn with controversy and brilliance – yes he’s pushed the odd referee, yes he’s saluted the odd fascist regime, but now he’s set up shop in Wiltshire, and will not be doing things quietly.

Many of you will have read this article at the start of the week on Paolo’s adventure in the Swindon half marathon – having lost his bearings on the shorter fun-run section, he ended up putting in a time just 36 minutes short of the winner of the race and ultimately told BBC Radio Wiltshire, “I couldn’t stop, there was a challenge.” This man laughs in the face of adversity. He encapsulates Rudyard Kipling’s ‘If’ poem as if the wordsmith had instead written his immortal piece of work in March 2000 having seen Di Canio score that goal against Wimbledon rather than in 1910. But yet, despite that memory being over 11 years ago, and the Italian now at the age of 43, every Swindon fan holds a particular yearning…what if he was to put on a Swindon shirt just once. What if he took to the hallowed turf and dazzled Robins fans the way he once did West Ham fans. What if he scored in front of the Town End. Just think about it Paolo – which is more, you’ll be a man, my son.

The idea may equate to mere blue-sky thinking or any number of workplace-based idioms, but when you sit in League Two with a manager who once called the Premier League and Serie A his home just a few years ago, the idea borders on genius and insanity. Go on, admit it, you’re edging towards the side of genius…

There was a time when the term ‘player-manager’ was not something sneered at or seen as a sign of a club desperate to avoid the drop with a minimal number of games left having just kicked their manager unceremoniously into the job centre, but instead was an in vogue scheme which chairmen up and down the land (although, predominantly just Ken Bates) thought could steer the club onwards and upwards – Chelsea encouraged Ruud Gullit, Gianluca Vialli and Glenn Hoddle to take up the challis during the 1990s, regardless of how much poison it contained. The latter of those three did of course begin his managerial career as Swindon’s player-manager, culminating in the club winning promotion to the Premier League, with Hoddle himself scoring in their play-off final victory over Leicester City. Liverpool fans will recite Kenny Dalglish’s first managerial spell as an example of it working and him truly being crowned a King. Swansea City will utter John Toshack’s time as the prime example of fighting their way through the divisions. Crystal Palace will proclaim, err, Attilio Lombardo. Okay, sometimes these things just weren’t meant to be…

But at present all four teams relegated from League One last season sit in the bottom half of League Two – Swindon, Bristol Rovers, Dagenham & Redbridge and, perhaps inevitably, Plymouth Argyle all call the ‘doldrums’ their home at present. At the start of the season, Swindon’s odds for promotion were just 9/4, with 9/1 to win the league outright. There may still be nearly three-quarters of the season to go, but this is not the outcome supporters wanted, nor necessarily expected in August. Even Di Canio admitted the club must gain promotion back to League One this term; there was no ‘maybe’ in his outline for the season – his conviction led fans into a spell of mass hysteria that we could walk through this league without breaking a sweat. The reality is proving slightly more complicated.

Swindon Town has a knack of embracing risk and ambition. For a town with the cultural appeal of a wet dishcloth, its managerial roll call is heaped in history and glamour. The juxtaposition of a legendary footballer managing in a town with little more than a confusing roundabout as it’s modern day clamour for tourists is an odd one, but one which has always paid off. When inert creatures such as Paul Hart or Maurice Malpas take charge, only negative occurrences happen at the County Ground. Paolo Di Canio is the risk and ambition which fans desire, and expect.

Despite his short tenure at the club so far, turmoil has followed the Italian. Many would say this is a natural inevitability with the national media waiting for him to slip up in the same way they want him to succeed. The Leon Clarke incident was pure Di Canio. The vast majority of fans sided with the manager and Clarke was out – loaned to Chesterfield, and although many will admit they could do with him scoring for us now, his spell at the club was so inferior to make an impression, they’ll never know.

Quite simply, mess with Paolo and you’ll never play for the club again. Picture this scene from Scarface and imagine every single player being brought into his office, one-by-one, sitting down whilst he sips from a snifter glass having poured a precise gill measurement of his finest brandy from the Royal Doulton decanter he keeps hidden from view, and then, in his immaculate Italian-English simply echoes Sosa’s words. Haunting.

Strikers such as the once Czech Republic international Lukas Magera have failed miserably at the club at the time of writing – Algerian Mehdi Kerrouche and winger Matt Ritchie are seemingly single-handedly lifting the club above the parapet, which inevitably means one of them will be sold in January. Alan Connell is bouncing in and out of the starting line-up on more occasions than can be healthy, and therefore no form can be found. Di Canio’s fellow countryman Raffaele de Vita appears to have secured a starting birth but fans are often left scratching heads at his inclusion, especially when he’s regularly substituted after an hour. New loanee Jake Jervis reportedly has the potential to provide a beacon of goals but has minimal experience in professional football.

Quite simply, it appears Paolo has yet to find the strike partnership he’s fond of. He’s yet to find the strikers he trusts. There is a short-term solution, however. Play Paolo. His managerial style has naturally fused his flair and awareness of the beautiful game, which sometimes comes unstuck in League Two when meaty defenders blunder their way through the back of your midfielders legs when they’re performing intricate give-and-go play, added with the simple fact that players at this level are not going to be able to habitually execute the brilliance that Di Canio once fed the paying audience on a weekly basis. Instead Di Canio sees players skewing it straight out of play, slicing it for a throw-in, or punting it into row Z. He may be 43, but he wouldn’t do this. He’d be a modicum of talent, inventiveness and inspiration in a morale-sapping league. When you sit in the fourth tier of English football, no one enjoys staying there for long.

What harm could it do to Swindon’s already faltering season? Di Canio would obviously be required to register as a player rather than just strap on his boots at will while manager, but come on, don’t sap the fun out of this. The idea may be maniacal and purely something light-heartedly observational to fill the pages of a Football League website giving a soapbox to the opinions of fans, but everyone would want to see it. Everyone would love to witness Paolo Di Canio on the field of play one final time. People would come from far and wide to watch the ever growing soap opera of Swindon Town. He would become the player that the fans of the beautiful game always wanted to see return. His goals, assists and sheer motivational intensity will be a standard of which the fourth tier of our national game has never seen…

…And then we’ll sell him for an undisclosed fee in January.

Written by Carl McQueen – We Are Going Up! Podcast member and Swindon Town Blogger

Carl tweets at @mrcarlmcqueen

Tags: Glenn Hoddle, League Two, Paolo Di Canio, Swindon Town
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Why football’s ‘Bad Boys’ are worth the risk

Tuesday, October 4th, 2011

When striker Leon Clarke publicly fell out with Paolo Di Canio he inadvertently became another of football’s supposed ‘bad boys’. But not for long. Thanks to a loan deal and a supportive manager who was willing to take a risk, Swindon Town’s loss has become Chesterfield’s gain.

Some football managers really do like a challenge. I don’t mean of the two-footed variety (although it would appear that there are still a couple of Football League bosses that seem to send their charges out with the directive to either “maim” or ‘disembowel”). No, in this instance I mean a challenge as in they are happy to sign players that are reputedly difficult to handle.

‘Bad boys’ are fairly commonplace in English football. From Arsenal’s brothel boss Peter Storey via the counterfeit king Mickey Thomas to the, um, volatile Joey Barton, we’ve seen all sorts.

The current crop varies in extremes from those that attack teammates with golf clubs to those that simply don’t like authority and let the world know it. And Carlos Tevez allegedly refusing to come onto the pitch as a substitute for Manchester City against Bayern Munich is an obvious recent example.

What is interesting about this unique crop of footballers is that no matter what they do wrong (with the odd exception), there is nearly always a manager willing to back them or sign them after they’ve been transfer listed, released from prison or, generally, allowed back into the wild.

Why? Because, quite often, they’re geniuses. Fallen geniuses admittedly, but geniuses none-the-less. It’s the reason that Carlos Tevez will undoubtedly find himself another club.

Here are a few other examples: George Best, Paul Gascoigne, Tony Adams, Diego Maradona, Stan Colleymore, Eric Cantona, Frank McAvennie, Duncan Ferguson, Craig Bellamy. There’s not a Mother Teresa amongst them. The Bad Boy XI would be some team.

Strong character

Generally speaking, it takes a manager with a strong character to take them on but, if they do, and they can harness the bad boy behaviour and turn it into a positive (as Sir Alex Ferguson has done to a certain extent with Wayne Rooney), it can be a masterstroke. Like a farmer taming a wild horse and getting it to pull the plough. Or any other such clumsy simile you care to mention.

Chesterfield manager John Sheridan is one such boss who seems to embrace the bad boy. At Oldham Athletic he had Lee Hughes on his books, a player who already had a “bit of a chequered past” shall we say. That relationship culminated in an infamous disagreement on a team night out but it also produced goals.

Sheridan also had Craig Davies last season, a player who hadn’t misbehaved but had been to quite a few clubs before banging in 23 goals in Chesterfield’s League Two winning season of 2010/11.

Now the former Sheffield Wednesday midfielder has signed Leon Clarke (albeit on loan), a player that he had while he was at Oldham. Clarke arrived at the B2Net following a very public falling out with Swindon Town boss Paolo Di Canio that you can see for yourself on Youtube.

Now Clarke is hardly Carlos Tevez but he could easily have been regarded as tainted goods. Yet Sheridan had no problem signing him.

And it seems to be working out. Clarke has a point to prove. And so far he’s proving it on the pitch. 5 goals in 5 games in a higher division tells its own story.

Manager vs Player

So, what is the secret? Perhaps it’s not about the bad boy at all. Perhaps it’s the man management skills that the coach employs or the chemistry between the two characters.

Maybe a bad boy is the unfortunate result of bad management? Or is it just that the best players are so adored and molly coddled as young players that they think they can get away with anything? Who knows? That’s probably one for the psychology students.

What I do know is that in an interview Clarke recently said that Sheridan “says the right things, he shouts at the right time, and he’ll give you a pat on the back at the right time.”

It sounds fairly simple but it seems to have worked. Signing Clarke on loan has kick-started Chesterfield’s spluttering start to the season and reinforced Sheridan’s reputation as a manager.

So, if the signing of Clarke tells us anything it is that bad boys are worth taking a punt on.

And (apologies to most of the We Are Going Up audience for the following reference) you can thank Alexandra Burke for highlighting that particular phenomenon in recent years. “It’s a risk I take for the chemistry,” she sings.

I have a feeling that Messrs Sheridan and Clarke would agree.

Written by Will Strauss, We Are Going Up’s Chesterfield Blogger & a freelance journalist

Will tweets at @willstrauss

Will Strauss is a freelance journalist, writer and editor covering a range of subjects from roofing in Leeds and couriers in Bradford to broadcast equipment hire and media asset finance. He follows Chesterfield FC and Derbyshire CCC.

Tags: Chesterfield, League One, Leon Clarke, Paolo Di Canio, Swindon Town
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Toppo’s Top Tens – Thrashings

Wednesday, August 24th, 2011

After Peterborough United’s 7-1 demolition job over Ipswich Town on Saturday, it is only fitting that this week’s top ten takes a look at some other big victories in Football League history.

Football is all about putting the ball into the opposition’s net and the vast majority of league fixtures will be settled by a couple of goals at the most. Sometimes there are dull, drab affairs with little goalmouth action, however occasionally there are matches which go against the norm.

Defences go walkabout while attacking sides run riot, having the sort of goal-gluttinous day they can only dream about. One goal quickly turns to two, two to three, three to four…..you get the picture. As one team bangs them in, the other looks on in bemusement and suffers complete embarassment. Such games go down in folklore – for the winning team anyway. Here’s ten memorable games from the Football League where one of the sides involved went goal-crazy:

10: Portsmouth 6 Leicester City 1 2010

Seven games into last season, both Portsmouth and Leicester found themselves nestled at the wrong end of the Championship table. Pompey, under new boss Steve Cotterill, were attempting to rebuild after Premier League relegation months before, amid financial woes which saw Cotterill working with a small, depleted squad. Leicester, having finished in the play-off spots the season before also had a new man in charge, Paolo Sousa, but the Portugese only picked up five points from his first seven matches and it was about to get worse for The Foxes.

Having beaten Pompey in the Carling Cup a few days previously, Leicester stayed on the South Coast ahead of this Friday night fixture, which got off to a bad start as centre-back Michael Morrison handled the ball in the box ten minutes in, Liam Lawrence converting the resulting penalty. Lawrence added a second twelve minutes before the break and as the teams headed off at half-time with the score 2-0, few could have predicted what would happen during the next 45 minutes.

Thirteen minutes into the second half David Nugent’s finish from a tight angle made it 3-0 then the striker turned provider for Dave Kitson, as he set up the former Reading man who netted with a chipped effort. Down to ten men after Migel Vitor rugby-tackled Nugent during the first period, Leicester’s defending went array follwoing Steve Howard’s consolation goal for 4-1. Kitson grabbed his second after the Foxes failed to clear a corner and then Michael Brown went on a sauntering run from midfield before slotting home from an acute angle to make the score 6-1. Leicester were humbled and Sousa was axed not long after with former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson arriving to steer the East Midlanders to mid-table safety come the end of the season.

9: Burnley 2 Sheffield Wednesday 7 2003

This game involved a side already relegated from Division One. Neutrals looking at the scoreline would’ve thought that team were Burnley, instead it was Sheffield Wednesday, doomed to the drop, who would sign off their campaign in the second tier with a thumping victory at Turf Moor.

Paul McLaren opened the scoring for the visitors with a long-range effort which Burnley goalkeeper Nic Michopoulous failed to save. Two minutes later Ashley Westwood added a second with a close-range tap-in from the brilliantly named Brian Barry-Murphy’s left-wing cross. It got worse for the hosts as Ian Moore was sent off on 21 minutes for a cynical challenge on Barry-Murphy.

Defender Richard Wood made it 3-0 to Wednesday, his first senior goal coming as he volleyed home Grant Holt’s header. Burnley manager Stan Ternent hauled off Michopoulous, replacing him with sub-goalie Marlon Beresford. The Clarets pulled one back through a Robbie Blake penalty but the substitution failed to stem the flow of goals. A minute after the break, Richard Evans beat Beresford with a cross-cum-shot from 35 yards before Blake pegged The Owls back again with a left-footed drive.

Chris Turner’s side quickly restored their three goal advantage as Steven Haslam scored from Alan Quinn’s free-kick and within seven minutes they had another. Burnley’s French defender Artur Gnohere put Grant Holt’s cross past his own goalkeeper before Wednesday set the seal on their performance as Quinn hit an excellent 30-yard drive past Beresford for an unexpected 7-2 away win.

8: Oldham Athletic 1 Cardiff City 7 2002

In the 2001/02 season both Oldham Athletic and Cardiff City were gunning for promotion from Division Two and the sides met at Boundary Park in March 2002, where Cardiff sent out a real statement of intent, leaving their hosts stunned.

It was a nightmare return to the Latics for veteran Scottish goalkeeper Andy Goram. He played for the club between 1981 and 1987 and was brought in by boss Mick Wadsworth to resolve a goalkeeping crisis, which he could not solve as he shipped seven goals. Scott Young put the Bluebirds ahead early on before Leo Fortune-West and Peter Thorne gave them a 3-0 lead after just 23 minutes.

Andy Campbell made it four half an hour in before Oldham’s Matty Appleby was sent off making his side’s day even worse. Fortune-West hit the fifth and his second of the afternoon just before half-time and after the break striker Campbell completed his hat-trick, netting in the 64th and 73rd minutes. Stuart Balmer pulled a goal back for Oldham, a mere consolation sixteen minutes from the end which did little to hide the total embarassment his side suffered.

7: Nottingham Forest 7 Swindon Town 1 2006

After Nottingham Forest suffered relegation into League One in 2005 they struggled to adapt to life in the third tier under manager Gary Megson. A series of humbling defeats at the likes of Yeovil and Oldham saw Megson leave by mutual consent in February with the team 13th in the table, four points off relegation. Assistant manager Frank Barlow and coach Ian McParland jointly took charge until the end of the season and resided over an fantastic run which nearly saw the Reds reach the playoffs as they won 8, drew 4 and lost 1 of the pair’s 13 games in charge. The highlight came during their second match in the dugout as the Reds ran riot against Swindon Town.

Nicky Southall bagged a hat-trick as the Reds stuck seven past their visitors at the City Ground, Southall opening the scoring just three minutes in with a half-volley which flew into the top corner. Wes Morgan and Ian Breckin nodded home corners to make the score 3-0 before the half-hour mark. After the break Swindon continued to ship goals as Forest’s passing football and the pace of Nathan Tyson down the left stretched them, Southall heading home his second goal before rifling home from close-range to complete his hat-trick. Morgan scored his second from another corner before Jerel Ifil received his marching orders for Swindon.

Football League journeyman Trevor Benjamin netted a consolation for The Robins, but Forest finished off the rout as Jack Lester’s deflected effort looped into the net to complete a memorable afternoon’s football for the Reds.

6: Preston North End 6 Cardiff City 0 2009

Two teams hoping to secure Championship play-off spots met at Deepdale in April 2009 and while the result may not have instantly affected Cardiff’s chances of a top-six finish, come the end of the season they would go on to rue their heavy defeat.

Neil Mellor opened the scoring on 17 minutes as his strike deflected into the net off Cardiff defender Roger Johnson then made it two on 41 as he got the final touch to another deflected effort, this time from captain Paul McKenna. Billy Jones then conceded a penalty, offering the Bluebirds a chance to get back into the game, but Ross McCormack saw his spot-kick superbly saved by Andy Lonergan.

In the second half Jon Parkin made it 3-0 as he raced onto Mellor’s pass and slotted a composed finish beyond the on-rushing Stuart Taylor and Mellor contributed to Preston’s fourth as his cross was headed into his own net by Mark Kennedy. Mellor was soon replaced but the goals kept coming as sub Chris Brown headed a fifth with fifteen minutes to go and Lee Williamson completed the scoring, making it a 6-0 thrashing four minutes from the end.

On the final day of the season Preston beat QPR 2-1 while Cardiff lost 1-0 against Sheffield Wednesday leaving the two sides level on points and a goal difference each of +12. By virtue of goals scored it was Preston who occupied the final play-off place having scored 66 goals to Cardiff’s 65 – an agonising near miss from Dave Jones’ men courtesy of that 6-0 defeat.

5: Millwall 1 Watford 6 2010

Newly-promoted Millwall went into this Championship encounter against Watford proudly defending a ten month unbeaten record at home. Ironic then that their defenders went missing as the Hornets racked up an unexpected five-goal win at the New Den in September last year.

John Eustace bundled home Don Cowie’s corner after seven minutes to give Watford the lead, which Jordon Mutch extended six minutes later, lashing the ball into the back of David Forde’s net after seeing his first effort blocked. Marvin Sordell’s left-footed effort rolled over the line two minutes into first-half stoppage time leaving Millwall 3-0 down at the break.

Nine minutes after the restart another Cowie corner was not dealt with by the Lions and Adrian Mariappa took advantage, heading Watford into a four goal lead. Liam Trotter reduced it to three two minutes later but that was as good as it got for the hosts, Danny Graham rifling a powerful finish into the top corner to restore the four goal cushion for Malky Mackay’s side. They got a sixth in added time as Martin Taylor directed a header low into the bottom corner to compound Millwall’s misery.

4: Peterborough United 7 Ipswich Town 1 2011

Darren Ferguson returned to London Road midway through last season and steered them to promotion via the League One play-offs. He’s done it before in 2009 but as was well-publicised, he left the club a few games into the Championship season which saw Posh relegated amid a host of managerial changes. You sense the club has learned from that experience, Ferguson too from his unsuccessful time as Preston boss and all parties are better for it now. At the weekend they hosted Paul Jewell’s Ipswich Town and blew them away with a performance which has made the rest of the league sit up and take notice.

The loss of 35-goal man Craig Mackail-Smith to Brighton left some fearing whether Posh would have the firepower to compete in the second tier but with Paul Taylor, Lee Tomlin, and Grant McCann finding the net they have goals in the team. It was the visitors who went in front though as midfielder Keith Andrews slammed a 25-yard effort in off the post. Paul Taylor levelled with a fine volley from the edge of the area and Tomlin made it 2-1, chesting down a lofted ball forward, skillfully turning away from his marker and hitting an excellent shot into the far top corner. Taylor then pounced on a loose ball and sprinted away from the Ipswich defenders before slotting a composed finish past goalkeeper David Stockdale. Soon it was 4-1 as Tomlin grabbed his second, running onto McCann’s superb through ball and cooly rolling the ball through the ‘keeper’s legs.

Ipswich winger Lee Martin then saw red for a rash challenge on Mark Little and the controversial decisions continued as, 71 seconds after the break, Town subsitute Tommy Smith was sent off for bringing down Tomlin in the D, outside the penalty area. Despite that, the referee gave a penalty which McCann stepped up and scored with applom. Ten minutes after the break it was six as Lee Frecklington’s low cross was converted, via a deflection, by McCann for his second. In injury time the impressive Tomlin completed his hat-trick, following up on his cleared effort to make it 7-1, leaving Ipswich boss Paul Jewell reflecting on what he called an ‘embarassing’ defeat.

3: Hartlepool United 1 Plymouth Argyle 8 1994

This Third Division clash in May 1994 saw a relegated side host a promoted one and the gulf in class was easy to see, Plymouth Argyle thrashing United as they looked forward to a place in the third tier. Dwight Marshall set the visitors on their way with a 29th minute strike and Steve McCall added a second ten minutes later. Richard Landon and Paul Dalton made it 4-0 at half-time and there was no let-up after the break as Landon hit number 5. Steve Castle added yet another goal before Hartlepool midfielder Nicky Peverell grabbed a consolation effort with 20 minutes remaining. Landon completed his hat-trick on 77 minutes to restore Argyle’s six goal advantage and midfielder Paul Dalton completed the scoring with a minute to go, as the Devon side racked up a remarkable 8-1 away win.

2: Crewe Alexandra 8 Cheltenham Town 1 2010

One of the stand-out performances in the Football League last year came at the Alexandra Stadium as Crewe Alexandra decimated visitors Cheltenham, hitting eight goals as they chased a play-off place.

Clayton Donaldson opened the scoring for the hosts four minutes in, slotting home from Shaun Miller’s pass. The latter then added the second as he tapped in from Danny Shelley’s pass before Shelley laid on the third for Donaldson. Joel Grant made it four just before half-time and Cheltenham pulled one back after the break, Wesley Thomas with a close-range finish. Alexandra midfielder Ashley Westwood scored his side’s fifth as he converted Matt Tootle’s cross and Donaldson completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot after Steve Elliott handled in the area. Grant scored his second with a tap in and got his own treble with two minutes remaining as he netted Crewe’s second penalty of the match, awarded following a trip on Donaldson in the area. It would be a long trip home south for the travelling Cheltenham fans.

1: Norwich City 1 Colchester United 7 2009

As Norwich City began life in the third tier for the first time in half a century, no one could have predicted their opening day result at home to Colchester United as the visitors secured a memorable 7-1 victory in front of a stunned Carrow Road.

Kevin Lisbie gave the U’s the lead after ten minutes, Clive Platt netted twice, David Fox netted from a free-kick and Lisbie found the net again as Norwich were 5-0 down within 38 minutes. Cody McDonald netted for the Canaries after the break but David Perkins’ volley and Scott Vernon’s close-range finish made it 7-1 to the visitors – a fantastic performance from Paul Lambert’s side inflicting Norwich’s heaviest home defeat in their 109 year history.

Norwich sacked manager Bryan Gunn within a week of the thrashing and turned to the man who masterminded it, Lambert being appointed the new boss at Carrow Road. He galvanised the team and led them to promotion as Champions, before embarking on a memorable season the following campaign as the Canaries finished 2nd in the Championship to secure Premier League football for the first time since 2005.

Written by Steven Toplis, We Are Going Up blogger

Tweet Steven at @steven_toplis with your suggestions for Toppo’s Top Tens.

Tags: Burnley, Cardiff City, Cheltenham Town, Colchester United, Crewe Alexandra, Hartlepool United, Ipswich Town, leicester city, MIllwall, Norwich City, Nottingham Forest, Oldham Athletic, Peterborough United, Plymouth Argyle, Portsmouth, Preston North End, Sheffield Wednesday, Swindon Town, Watford
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Rivalries, we’ve had a few. But then again, just one to mention.

Friday, August 19th, 2011

You big wigs can have your Manchester derby, your Merseyside derby, even your North London derby. League Two types don’t ‘do’ derbies named by hazy geographical designations. Instead, they stick to unappealing A-roads which mean nothing to the common man – welcome to the A420 derby – Swindon Town v Oxford United. Please drive carefully.

It doesn’t matter if you support Barcelona or Barnet; regardless of whichever club you cheer across the world, to fans of the teams concerned, it’s the fiercest rivalry known to man and the only one that matters. On Sunday that passion combusts into life once again for Robins and U’s fans.

Speaking of Barcelona, last year the football purists were saturated with El Clasico’s left, right and centre. Town and United fans have been starved of a match for nine years. Unimaginable if you cheer on Real Madrid or Barca, but something us Town fans have had to stubbornly put up with. Allow the knife to be stuck in early here and say the main reasoning behind this is Oxford’s plight that saw them enjoy a number of seasons in the Conference.

But now we sit on even terms. They have one of the world’s most renowned university’s, we have the Magic Roundabout. They have a cathedral dating back to the 1100’s, we have the Oasis Leisure Centre. They have Inspector Morse, we have Billie Piper. This is not an edition of Newsnight Review, this is an episode of Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps.

It’s conceivable a rivalry may have never ignited at all had Accrington Stanley not folded in 1962. Oxford United were granted league status in place of them and the rest is history. As fate may have it, Oxford’s departure from the Football League in 2006 resulted in them being replaced by none other than Accrington Stanley. I’ll allow you to say it’s a funny old game at this point in the article.

One of Swindon Town’s leading supporter websites suggests the ignition pilot failed to light early on however, with six of the first ten games between the teams ending in 0-0. Results to hardly get the blood boiling. But it’s a fine wine of a footballing derby, complemented by a greasy curry Pukka half-time pie. Improving with history whilst being accompanied by the inevitable stress-induced heart attack that watching the lower league football team you support brings.

They’ve both won the League Cup once, but neither were allowed to compete in Europe despite to their success. Town were prohibited because they played in the third tier of English football at the time (1969) and United were denied because they won during a time when UEFA had banned English teams from European competitions following the Heysel disaster (1986). Both have effectively been prohibited from the dizzying heights of Borussia Monchengladbach away due to the stubborn nature of football bureaucracy. Even Robert Maxwell’s fraudulent millions couldn’t pay for Oxford’s way into the competition.

The two sides have met 53 times in the past, and Oxford have only won on 10 occasions. Were it a boxing match, the referee would have called this bout off around September 1990. But now it’s August 2011 and they’ve risen from the canvas. Neither side particularly wanted to meet in the fourth tier of English football, but evidently both sides float like a butterfly and sting like one too.

Despite the fact the two rivals last competitively met on the 8^th December 2002 in the FA Cup – Oxford won 1-0 in the only game between the two teams to have been hosted at the Kassam Stadium; or “that ridiculous ground with three stands and a car park at one end” according to most Swindon fans – the hatred remains as strong as ever. During the witching hours of Friday night last week, Town ‘fans’ broke into Oxford’s ground and embossed “STFC” into the grass using petrol and lighters. It was there for all to see as the U’s took on Bradford City on Saturday afternoon…unfortunately the initials did appear as if a two-year-old had scrawled them across green crepe paper with a human-sized black crayon, but the intention lingered throughout the match – “oi, Oxford, we’re waiting…”

The unspoken taboo of players appearing for both sides has occurred on various occasions; in recent years Tommy Mooney, Adrian Viveash, Jimmy Glass (Yes Carlisle United fans, THAT Jimmy Glass) and Eric Sabin have all crossed the divide during their meandering careers. Most infamously however, Joey Beauchamp will go down in Swindon Town’s unwanted folklore as the player theoretically brought for a fiver and sold for a penny and morally became the A420 equivalent of Mo Johnston. It may not have made the list of “Football Transfers to Shock the World” but Mr Beauchamp will never be welcome in Wiltshire.

Now Swindon have the infamous Paolo Di Canio in charge, they have a backroom nonentity in Chris Wilder as manager. Swindon have a matured amphitheatre steeped in tradition and supporter passion, they have a car park with a field attached. Swindon have the spirit of Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s work strewn throughout our town, they have, well, quite a lot of impressive architectural work. But remember this isn’t about culture; this is about football, stupid.

Swindon have plenty of wannabe rivalries – this football fans census suggests they’re ranked thirteenth in the country when it comes to teams who define us as ‘the enemy’, joint level with Cardiff City and even ahead of former European champions Liverpool, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa – the fans know how to ruffle the proverbial feathers.

So next time you’re quaffing on a Budweiser in your armchair while watching Manchester United versus Manchester City, or Liverpool, or Arsenal, or Chelsea, or whoever else wants to be their main rival this week according to Sky Sports, think of the Swindon fans, and even Oxford ones for that matter, kicking off at 1pm on Sunday afternoon due to the advice of police. Not because of TV scheduling. Oh no, the only cameras in attendance will be those filming fights on their iPhone, or the work experience kid at the BBC to provide any possible goals for the local Beeb amateur dramatics, sorry I mean news bulletin, at some point that evening. If it’s really on the advice of police, they’d have been better off playing at about 10.30am on a Tuesday morning – at 1pm on a Sunday afternoon Town fans will just keep drinking having been out all night on Saturday. Seriously. John Betjeman gained inspiration for ‘Slough’ by hanging out in Swindon.

Bristol Rovers, Reading and even Gillingham may officially categorise us as unwanted visitors, but all equate to mere cannon fodder in supporter’s eyes compared to that team in yellow who live about 30 miles away. As Prince and Sinéad O’Connor perhaps once (almost) realised while stuck in a traffic jam around Shrivenham on the A420, nothing compares…to the U’s.

Written by Carl McQueen – We Are Going Up! Podcast member and Swindon Town Blogger

Carl tweets at @mrcarlmcqueen

Tags: County Ground, football rivalries, League Two, Oxford United, Swindon Town, The A420 Derby, The Robins
Posted in Featured, League Two, Swindon Town | No Comments »

Lets keep it simple

Wednesday, August 17th, 2011

So the dust has settled, the season is under way and already fans up and down the country are dreaming of title assaults or fearing a season of real struggle, such is the power of the opening few games.

Three rounds of Football League action, along with the 1st round of the Carling Cup, have been successfully negated and for Cheltenham Town fans the bag is of the mixed variety at present. 1 win and 3 losses on paper is a poor start, however through the eyes of the folk who have witnessed all 360 minutes the picture isn’t actually so bleak. I’m sure many of you are sick of reading the typically positive blogs, in which we all state our teams will “do well” or “defy the odds” (just like I did last time round) but after the 1-0 home win over Paulo Di Canio’s Swindon Town, fans around Whaddon Road have reason to smile again, despite last night’s gut wrenching last gasp defeat at home to Morecambe.

First and foremost it was only our 2nd home win of 2011, and our first Saturday home win since last winter so you can’t begrudge us that! Secondly, the manner of the win over Swindon was what pleased most. No it wasn’t free flowing, beautiful football; no the goal wasn’t a stunning 30 yarder, in fact it was the simplicity of it that we all loved. As a Cheltie, there is a long running joke of our inability to score from corners, it just never happens, no seriously, it really never does. Normally when a corner is awarded to us I’m more in fear of a counter attack from the defending team more than us scoring, so to see Steve Elliot thump an emphatic header past Paul Smith was greeted with a huge roar from the terrace, along with absolute shock!

The battling qualities the Rubies showed was imperative in victory that day, and could prove key throughout the season in the games where the hoof becomes more favourable than the more orthodox pass. We rode an early storm from the Wiltshire Robins who hammered in three early long rangers, one hitting the post, and De Vita was guilty of missing a pretty simple chance, however after this, the graft and grit shown all over the pitch was what won the day for Cheltenham. This quality was lacking last season – a youthful squad often became bullied in games and caved having gone behind. With this squad, you see leadership, you see determination, and although it wont always be pretty (when is it ever pretty in League Two anyway), it could well be effective in the points tally.

Last night Whaddon Road saw a totally different game, a game in which Cheltenham did produce some free flowing, lovely football. A game of real entertainment and quality at times, but one in which the Rubies just couldn’t score for love nor money. Low and behold, despite the quality of the football we came away with zilch (courtesy of what seemed a very dodgy referring decision which we shan’t dwell on or moan about)! Cheltenham passed the ball around comfortably, and had over 20 shots throughout the game, the midfield was bossed by Pack and Penn and the defence looked fairly comfortable during the whole 90 minutes. However, as is often the case when chances aren’t taken, the feeling of a sucker punch is rife on the terraces and after a skewed and scuffed by Jeff Goulding, Morecambe were gifted the chance of taking the lead, which they duly took. Despite Goulding atoning for his earlier error with a fine goal, Kevin Ellison chased down Russ Penn, robbed him (foul or no foul) and emphatically scored in the 92nd minute. Ouch.

So what have we learnt so far Town fans? Am I really justifying that we play more direct, “simple” football? Perhaps, however the balance of football we have witnessed in the opening four games has been pleasant; we’ve shown we can fight and graft out performances, as well as play some slick, “easy on the eye” football. Although they haven’t yet, if we continue in this vain the results will no doubt come. For now, let’s keep it simple and put the ball in the net when given the chance.

Written by Maxi Hobbs, We Are Going Up’s Cheltenham Town Blogger

Maxi tweets at @maxihobbs

Tags: Cheltenham Town, League Two, Morecambe, Swindon Town, The Robins, The Rubies, whaddon road
Posted in Cheltenham Town, League Two | No Comments »

David Cameron Walker

Posts Tagged ‘Swindon Town’

PAOLO DI CANIOOOOO!

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Toppo’s Top Tens – Moments of 2011

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When you can’t trust anyone, trust yourself, Paolo

Why football’s ‘Bad Boys’ are worth the risk

Toppo’s Top Tens – Thrashings

Rivalries, we’ve had a few. But then again, just one to mention.

Lets keep it simple

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