Swindon Town F.C.

Swindon Town

File:Swindon Town FC 2007 badge.PNG
Full name	Swindon Town Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Robins
Founded	1879
Ground	The County Ground Swindon
Capacity	15,728
Chairman	Willie Carson
Manager	Paul Sturrock
League	League One
2006-07	League Two, 3rd (promoted)
Home colours Away colours

Swindon Town Football Club are an English football team based in Swindon, Wiltshire. Swindon currently play in League One; the team's home ground is the County Ground, which has an all-seated capacity of 15,728.

The club's high points include the 1968-1970 seasons when they won the 1969 League Cup as a Third Division team defeating First Division team Arsenal at Wembley Stadium. Swindon also won promotion to the Second Division that same year. Their League Cup success earned their first invitations to European competitions, the 1969 Anglo-Italian League Cup and 1970 Anglo-Italian Cup, with Swindon winning both. The club also spent the 1993-1994 season playing in the Premiership, the only season Swindon has ever spent in the top level of English football thus far.

Their lowest points include relegation to the Fourth Division in 1982, the lowest professional division of The Football League at the time. They eventually left as Champions in 1986 under manager Lou Macari.

Promoted to League One in 2007, their current manager is former Scotland international Paul Sturrock who took up the post on November 7, 2006.

History

Main article: History of Swindon Town F.C.

Founded by Reverend William Pitt of Liddington in 1879. For many years it was believed that the club had been formed in 1881, however archive material discovered by Swindon Town historians proved that this was not the case. In April 2007 the Football Club acknowledged the 1879 date by incorporating it within the designs of the new badge. the team turned professional in 1894 and joined the Southern League which was founded in the same year.

The Swindon Town team for the 1909-10 season

Swindon reached the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in their history in the 1909–10 season, losing to eventual winners Newcastle United. Barnsley F.C. and Swindon were invited to compete for the Dubonnet Cup in 1910 at the Parc des Princes Stadium in Paris. The result was a 2–1 victory for Swindon with Harold Fleming scoring both of the club's goals.

In the following season, 1910–11, Swindon Town won the Southern League championship, earning them a Charity Shield match with the Football League champions Manchester United. This, the highest-scoring Charity Shield game to date, was played on 25 September 1911 at Stamford Bridge with Manchester United winning 8-4. Some of the proceeds of this game were later donated to the survivors of the Titantic.

Swindon entered the Football League in 1920 as a founding member of Division Three and defeated Luton Town F.C. 9–1 in their first game of the season. This result stands as a record for the club in League matches.

In 1969 Swindon beat Arsenal 3-1 to win the League Cup for the first and only time in the club's history. As winners of the League Cup, Swindon were assured of a place in their first European competition: the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. However, the Football Association had previously agreed to inclusion criteria with the organizers which mandated that only League Cup winners from Division One would be able to take part. As the team were not eligible, the short lived Anglo-Italian competitions were created to give teams from lower divisions experience in Europe. The first of these, the 1969 Anglo-Italian League Cup, was contested over two legs against Coppa Italia winners A.S. Roma. Swindon won 5-2, with the scorer of two goals in the League Cup final - Don Rogers - scoring once and new acquisition Arthur Horsfield acquiring his first hat-trick for the club. The team then went on to win the 1970 Anglo-Italian Cup competition in a tournament beset by hooliganism. The final against S.S.C. Napoli was abandoned after 79 minutes following pitch invasions and a missile barrage, with teargas being employed to allow the teams to return to the dressing room.

Following management changes, Swindon had a long unsuccessful period culminating in them being relegated in 1982 to the Fourth Division, the lowest professional Football League at the time. They were eventually promoted as champions in 1986 with the club achieving a Football League record of 102 points, the first club to score over 100 points in a season. A year later they won the Second Division play-offs to achieve a second successive promotion. Promotion campaign Manager Lou Macari left in 1989 to take charge of West Ham United with veteran midfielder, and former Argentine international, Ossie Ardiles replacing him. In his first season Swindon were Second Division play-off winners, but the club later admitted 36 charges of breaching league rules, 35 due to illegal payments made to players, and were relegated to the Third Division — giving Sunderland promotion to the First Division and Tranmere Rovers to the Second Division. The scandal saw then chairman Brian Hillier being given a six-month prison sentence and chief accountant Vince Farrar being put on probation. A later appeal saw Swindon being allowed to stay in the Second Division.

Swindon Town's victory parade around the town on winning promotion to the Premier League in 1993

Swindon progressed well during the 1991-92 season, Glenn Hoddle's first full season as manager, and just missed out on the Second Division play-offs. A year later they beat Leicester City 4-3 in the new Football League Division One play-off final to achieve promotion to the Premiership — bringing top-division football to the club for the first time. The club are one of the few domestic football teams never to have lost a game at Wembley Stadium.

Hoddle moved to Chelsea during the summer of 1993 and was replaced by assistant John Gorman, but Swindon never adjusted to the pace of Premiership football. They were relegated after recording only five wins and conceding 101 goals — the latter record has yet to be broken. The following year, Swindon were relegated for the second successive time and slipped into Division Two.

New manager Steve McMahon succeeded in getting Swindon back into Division One on his first attempt, as they won the Division Two championship in 1996. The club then appointed and sacked five managers over ten years, during which time they were relegated back into Division Two. They finished 5th in the 2003-04 season but failed in the promotion play-off stage and stayed in the same league, now renamed League One.

Caretaker manager Iffy Onuora was unable to save Swindon from relegation to League Two in 2006. Their relegation meant that they became the first ever former Premiership team to be demoted to the lowest Football League division. Dennis Wise agreed to become the new Swindon Town manager in May 2006 following the relegation, with Gustavo Poyet joining the coaching staff. The pair left in October when it was announced that they had agreed to move to Leeds United. Adrian Williams and Barry Hunter took temporary charge until Paul Sturrock was appointed on November 7. Sturrock guided Swindon to promotion to League One in his first season with the club, earning the third automatic promotion place in a 1-1 draw with Walsall in the last game of the 2006-07 season.

The club has been beset by financial difficulties throughout its history, having been placed into administration twice and also twice fought off winding-up orders from Her Majesty's Customs and Excise over unpaid tax-bills. The board currently have to make yearly payments of £100,000 to creditors (2% of the yearly turnover), and only managed to begin the 2006-07 season after sourcing £500,000 to pay for players' wages. The club is campaigning for the redevelopment of the County Ground to help finance the team and a takeover bid by a Fans' Consortium was launched in December 2005.

Crest

Swindon Town have used at least five different kit badges since their inception. The original badge depicted a Robin inside a shield with the letters STFC in the four corners, this changed to the "Steam Train" badge which was a coat of arms for the club based heavily on the coat of arms used by the local council. The "Steam Train" badge was in the form of a traditional shield, bisected with the club's name, a train (as Swindon is a Railway town), a football and with a Robin sitting on top. Beneath the shield was a motto on a scroll - 'Salubritas et Industria' - meaning 'health and industry'. This motto is also that of the town of Swindon itself.

During the 1970s the club changed the badge to one referred to as the "ST arrow" or "traffic sign" badge. This was circular and had the letters 'S' and 'T' interlocked, which both ends of the letter 'S' being made into an arrow. Also shown was a simple football and the club name.

Following the 1985-86 Division Four Champions season, the "Steam Train" badge was re-introduced onto the kits. The crest was re-styled and the text "Division Four Champions 1985/1986" replaced the motto.

A new crest for Swindon Town was introduced at the beginning of the 1991-92 season following a series of financial problems for the club. The idea behind the new crest was to give the club a 'brand new' and 'fresh' image following a difficult period in its history.

"The 'travelling' football represents the club that is looking to the future with successful progress. The diamond shape clearly has the letter 'S' (for Swindon) running through it, while a green section was also introduced to match a new 'green trim' on the team's home (red and white) shirts."

On April 5 2007 the club unveiled plans to change the badge claiming the current badge was correct for the time but did not represent or show any of the clubs heritage or history. The club offered fans the chance to vote on-line for the 3 new choices, which were all similar to the original steam train design, and a 4th option of keeping the 1991 design. On April 23 2007, it was announced that option 3 of the logo vote was the winner of the poll. Winning the vote with 68 per cent in favour, the new badge includes the club name, a Robin, a train - the rail industry being an important part of the Town's heritage - a football, and re-introduces the town's motto - 'Salubritas et Industria'. From the beginning of the 2007-08 season, this is the club's logo.

• The steam train badges used from 1969 till the mid-1970s
  The steam train badges used from 1969 till the mid-1970s
• 
  The "traffic sign" badge used from the mid-1970s until 1986
• Badges used from 1986 onwards
  Badges used from 1986 onwards
• The 'diamond' crest unveiled in 1991
  The 'diamond' crest unveiled in 1991
• 
  The three designs which were voted on by supporters in 2007
• The badge to be used from 2007 onwards
  The badge to be used from 2007 onwards

Colours and Kits

Original Home kit

1894 Home kit

1897 Home kit

1901 Home kit

1902 Home kit

Home Kit

Originally playing in black and white with the addition of blue sash for away games, the club changed to black and red quarters on entry to the Southern League in 1894. The club changed again in 1897 with the Swindon Advertiser reporting:

"The new colours of the Swindon Town F.C. are to be green shirts, with white sleeves. Good-bye to the old well known red and black."

With problems obtaining green dyes, the kit was short-lived and Swindon Town changed their shirts to the more familiar red in 1901. Initially a dark maroon, a lighter shade was chosen for the start of the 1902-03 season and also resulted in the club's nickname "the Robins" appearing in print for the first time in programme notes for the first game. The nickname is a reference to the former name of the European Robin - "Redbreast".

Swindon Town have played their home games in variations on the red and white theme since then, wearing a red shirt with white collars and white or red shorts for much of their history which has led to the team being known as the "Red and White Army". For example; the kit worn during the 1985-86 Division Four Champions season consisted of a red shirt with white pinstripes, white shorts and red socks and chants of "Lou Macari's Red and White Army" were heard from the supporters at the final stages of the season.

Following the club being re-branded in 1991, green elements were re-introduced onto the Home Strip and badge to represent the teams short-lived kit from the turn of the century.

Away Kit

The club's away kits have only begun to change since the 1990s and the advent of the lucrative replica kit market. Swindon's original away kit (that was entirely separate to the home kit) consisted of an all-blue strip, this was not used for the club's 1969 League Cup Final victory where they elected to wear an all-white strip.

For a period in the 1980s the club changed their away kit to white shirts and black shorts and introduced a new third kit of yellow shirts and blue shorts. The club alternated between these two schemes as its away kit for the 1980s.

When the club re-branded in the 1991 close season, it introduced a new away strip; the white and green "potato print" shirt with dark blue shorts, this remained in use until its replacement in 1993 with another yellow and blue strip, integrating the new colour scheme by adding a green collar.

A special third kit was added for the 1996-97 season and was coloured "Petrol green" in honour of the then sponsors Castrol.

Swindon wore black and gold striped away shirts for the 2003-04 season with an all-white third kit, following this with variants on the blue theme until deciding on the current away kit of dark blue.

Shirt sponsors

• 1881–1983: No sponsor
• 1983–1984: ISIS
• 1984–1989: Lowndes Lambert Group
• 1989–1991: GWR FM
• 1991–1995: Burmah
• 1995–1997: Castrol
• 1997–2007: Nationwide Building Society
• 2007-????: Fox & Hounds Pub. (Whitechapel Road)

Nationwide announced that after the revelation of more financial problems within the club, they were to terminate the deal at the end of the 2006-07 season, and contract. Swindon Town finance director Sandy Gray said on 24 November 2006 - "We are in negotiations with someone already. They are very keen to do a sponsorship deal in the football league."

Stadium

Main article: County Ground, Swindon

The County Ground showing the Town End and North Stand

Swindon Town's original pitch was located in the Old Town area of Swindon, adjacent to the Okus Quarry. After a young spectator fell into the quarry the team decided to move first to Lansdowne Road and then to a pitch near The Croft where they were to remain for the next eleven years.

Swindon Town have been playing at the County Ground since 1896. They played their games on the site of the adjacent cricket pitch also called the County Ground from 1893 until the ground opened.

Thomas Arkell of Arkell's Brewery donated £300 to finance the construction of a stand on what was then known as the 'Wiltshire County Ground', this investment was enough to begin development of a purpose built football ground. Since its original construction, the ground has been periodically updated with new features or fittings. The addition of floodlights in 1951 gave Swindon the honour of being the first League club to do so, beating Arsenal by just a couple of weeks.

The ground currently contains elements constructed between the period 1950-1995, with the latest addition being the large Nationwide sponsored stand on the south side. The County Ground is also the only football stadium in the world with a Rolex watch acting as its timekeeper, the clock on the Stratton Bank stand featuring its name was erected to celebrate promotion in 1963.

The ground itself is on land owned by Swindon Borough Council to whom the club pay rent. Swindon have in the past considered a move to a club owned stadium to generate more revenue, but have not had the financial backing to do so. In 2006 a redevelopment campaign for the County Ground began, with the club and TrustSTFC (the supporters' trust) raising a petition to 'Save Our Home' urging the Borough Council to "facilitate the redevelopment of the stadium and do everything they can to keep the club within the Borough" including the proposed upgrading of the adjacent Cricket Club to County standard and Athletic Club to Olympic standard.

Supporters

Swindon Town has had a vocal group of supporters since its establishment in the 19th century. As an expanding railway town, the club had attendances of up to 32,000 on match days until the early 1970s. Due to Swindon's low unemployment rate (one of the lowest in the United Kingdom), more people work in the town than live there and so are unlikely to support the team. In addition; poor team performances, the financial instability in the club and the change to an all-seated stadium following the Taylor Report have led to attendances at the County Ground dropping.

With an all-seated capacity of 15,728 at the County Ground, Swindon averaged a home attendance of 5,835 for the 2004-05 season. Only 37% of the grounds seats were occupied at a game on average. This rose to 5,951 (37.84%) in 2005-06 and was reported as 7,093 (45.1%) on 7 February 2007.

Swindon Town supporters with banners provided by Red Army Loud and Proud

A core group of fans has inhabited the Town End of the stadium since the 1980s, producing past fanzines such as "The 69'er", "Bring the Noise" and "The Magic Roundabout" amongst others. Supporters call the team "The Town", "The Reds", "STFC" and also the "Red and White Army". The red and white army is a term the supporters use to identify themselves as well. The Junior Robins is the children's supporters club which operates to provide lower ticket prices, away game activities and transport to young fans. Membership of the club also allows them to be nominated as game mascot and gives them the opportunity to train in one of the many Football Schools run by the club.

The supporters' trust, TrustSTFC, was established in 2000. This organisation is a democratically elected group of fans who raise funds for the club and aim to give supporters access and input into decisions made by the club's board. The group run a number of schemes including the "Loan Note Scheme", the aim of which is to buy shares in the club and assist with investment. Another scheme is the Red Army Fund, the money raised by this fund is given to the club to contribute towards the purchase and wages of new players. TrustSTFC also take part in the Fans' Consortium, who aim to place a supporter with a large stake-holding in the club onto the Board of Directors. The trust is also currently campaigning with the club for the re-development of the County Ground.

The "Football Fever Report" published by statisticians of the Littlewoods Football Pools was released in January 2007. This report researched those teams that were the most stressful to become a supporter of, Swindon Town were placed 5th out of all 92 League clubs, with the report stating -

"It's only just over a decade ago that Swindon were a Premiership side, but the past 10 years have been tough going for fans at the County Ground. Relegation from the top flight in 1994 was followed by a second successive drop, and although promotion from Division Two was secured a year later, the team struggled in Division One in the next three seasons, finishing 19th, 18th and 17th. In 2000 came relegation, and a year later Swindon avoided another 'double relegation' by just one point. A glimmer of hope came when the play-offs were reached in 2004 - ending in a semi-final loss to Brighton - but last term Town became the first club to drop into the bottom tier of the Football League having once been in the Premiership. We bet Robins' fans can hardly believe it."

With the dwindling support during matches in the 2004-05 season, another fans' group "Red Army Loud and Proud" was formed. Red Army Loud and Proud are a small group of fans attempting to bring back the atmosphere and fun to match days. With the stated aim of being "the 12th man on the pitch", the group sponsor players and also provide large colourful flags to the matches.

Rivalries

In 2003, a poll between supporters of all Football League clubs into the teams they see as their main rivals was conducted by the Football Fans Census, the results of the poll put Swindon in joint 13th place of the teams with most rivals. This was calculated on the amount of other clubs that consider Swindon Town to be their first, second or third main rivals. Historically, Swindon's main rivals are the other West Country teams of Bristol City, Bristol Rovers and Reading. Oxford joined the list in the 1960's following their promotion to the league

Local Rivals

• Oxford United - The recipient of Swindon fans' most intense rivalry. A large number of terrace chants from both Oxford and Swindon refer to this, whether they are playing each other or not. The survey of 2003 revealed that amongst other names, Swindon fans called Oxford United "Poxford" whilst Oxford called Swindon Town "moonrakers".
• Bristol City - Although both sets of clubs have bigger rivals this is a rivalry that intensifies when the two clubs are in the same division, especially around fixture time. Bristol City dub Swindon, “Swindle” or “Swinedon” whereas Swindon fans see City (or Bristol Sh*tty) as above their station in the sense that many City fans feel they are a bigger club than they probably are.
• Bristol Rovers - The club's second oldest rivals. Swindon first played competitive football against Bristol Rovers in the Western League in 1897. Rovers' election to the Southern League in 1899 saw the two clubs playing against each other in the same division until 1953.
• Reading - The club's oldest rivals. Swindon first played competitive football against Reading in 1892. Due to Reading's movement through the leagues the rivalry has abated and they are not considered to be a constant target for terrace chants.

Other Rivalries

• Gillingham - There is an ongoing feud between fans dating back to 1979. This was re-ignited during the 2005-06 season.

• MK Dons - Milton Keynes Dons fans consider Swindon to be their biggest rivals as they were the most vocal against football franchising and addition to this both teams are contenders for promotion to League One in the 2006-07 season after being relegation rivals the previous season. Swindon Fans do not seriously consider them as rivals, although there is a lot of ill feeling towards them.
• Leeds United - When Dennis Wise and Gus Poyet left the County Ground for Elland Road it sparked a hatred between Swindon and Leeds. The two teams will face each other in League One during the 2007-08 season.

Statistics and records

Further information: [[:Swindon Town F.C. records]]

John Trollope holds the record for Swindon Town appearances, having played 889 first-team matches between 1960 and 1980. Trollope also holds the English Football League Record of most appearances by a player at one club, having played in 770 League games. Central defender Maurice Owen comes second, having played 601 times. The record for a goalkeeper is held by Sam Burton, who is third with 509 appearances.

Harry Morris holds all of Swindon's goal records, having scored 229 goals for the club between 1926 and 1933. Harold Fleming is second with 203, with Don Rogers third with 178. Morris scored the most goals in a season with 48 during 1926-27, 47 of which were in League games which is another club record. The most goals scored by an individual is also held by Morris and Keith East, who have both scored 5 against League opposition (Morris having achieved this in 1926 and 1930).

The highest attendance at the County Ground of 32,000 was recorded on 15 January 1972 in a FA Cup Third Round replay match against Arsenal. The capacity of the ground is now 15,728 so it is unlikely that this record will be broken in the foreseeable future.

Swindon Town have also set records in English football, being the first team to score over 100 points in the League when they became Fourth Division champions in 1985-86. The total of 102 that the club scored has since been beaten (although a perfect score of 138 has not yet been achieved). They also hold the FA Premier League Record for most goals conceded in a season, 100 in 1993-94.

On 20 February 2007 the club played in a landmark League game away to Barnet, a 1-0 loss. The completion of this match meant that Swindon had played a League game at home and away against every current team in the FA Premier League, Championship, League One and League Two.

Players

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	SVK	Peter Brezovan
2	DF	ENG	Jack Smith
3	DF	ENG	Jamie Vincent (Vice-Captain)
4	DF	FRA	Sofiane Zaaboub
5	DF	ENG	Jerel Ifil
6	DF	WAL	Adrian Williams (Captain)
9	FW	WAL	Christian Roberts
10	MF	SCO	Lee Peacock
15	DF	ENG	Andrew Nicholas

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
16	DF	FRA	Patrick Noubissie
18	MF	WAL	Paul Evans
19	MF	ENG	Michael Pook
22	FW	SCO	Blair Sturrock
25	GK	ENG	Phil Smith
28	FW	ENG	Andrew Caton
37	DF	FRA	Claude Gnapka
38	MF	ENG	Chris Allen

Notable former players

Further information: List of Swindon Town F.C. players

Personnel

Club officials

• Chairman: Willie Carson
• Directors: Willie Carson, James Wills, Sandy Gray, Martyn Starnes, Mike Bowden.
• Acting Chief Executive: Martyn Starnes
• Club Manager: Paul Sturrock
• Assistant Manager: Kevin Summerfield
• Defensive Co-ordinator: John Blackley
• Head of Youth: David Byrne
• Centre of Excellence Director: Jeremy Newton
• Physio: Dick Mackey

Managers

As of August 01, 2007. Only competitive matches are counted.

Name	Nat	From	To	Record
				P	W	D	L	F	A
Sam Allen		1902	1933	1127	487	248	392	1988	1660
Ted Vizard		1933	1939	285	108	63	114	455	481
Neil Harris		1939	1940	33	10	10	13	69	73
Louis Page		1945	1953	369	135	95	139	515	570
Maurice Lindley		1953	1955	93	26	25	42	114	134
Bert Head		1956	1965	426	160	108	158	660	637
Danny Williams		1965	1969	222	104	58	60	377	237
Fred Ford		1969	1971	122	50	34	38	175	140
Dave Mackay		1971	1972	45	14	13	18	58	66
Les Allen		1972	1974	62	13	20	29	61	94
Danny Williams		1974	1978	227	87	61	79	340	328
Bobby Smith		1978	1980	132	63	25	44	208	169
John Trollope		1980	1983	121	43	33	45	161	153
Ken Beamish		1983	1984	68	26	17	25	99	87
Lou Macari		1984	1989	285	138	67	80	449	340
Ossie Ardiles		1989	1991	106	40	33	33	163	140
Glenn Hoddle		1991	1993	120	51	32	37	202	162
John Gorman		1993	1994	72	15	20	37	90	148
Steve McMahon		1994	1998	204	75	49	80	245	277
Jimmy Quinn		1998	2000	85	19	21	45	84	141
Colin Todd		2000	2000	18	4	6	8	16	29
Andy King		2000	2001	36	12	10	14	43	43
Roy Evans		2001	2001	26	10	6	10	30	35
Andy King		2001	2005	193	71	48	74	265	263
Iffy Onuora		2005	2006	40	10	15	15	40	56
Dennis Wise		2006	2006	17	9	4	4	24	14
Paul Sturrock		2006	Present	32	18	6	8	40	28

• Caretaker Managers over the years have included Danny Williams (pre-John Trollope appointment), Andy Rowland, David Tuttle (briefly) and Adrian Williams.

Achievements

Further information: [[:Swindon Town F.C. seasons]]

Cup Honours

• Wiltshire Cup - Winners 1887, 1888, 1889, 1890, 1891, 1892 (as Amateurs)
• FA Amateur Cup - 2nd round 1894 (as Amateurs)
• Dubonnet Cup - Winners 1910
• Charity Shield - Runners-up 1911
• FA Cup - Semi-finalists 1910, 1912
• League Cup - Winners 1969, Semi Finalists 1995
• Anglo-Italian League Cup - Winners 1969
• Anglo-Italian Cup - Winners 1970
• Football League Trophy - Semi Finalists 1987, 2001, 2004
• Milk Cup - Winners of the Junior section 2006

League Honours

• Western League - Champions 1899
• Southern League - Champions 1911, 1914; Runners-up 1898, 1909, 1910, 1913
• Fourth Division - Champions 1986
• Third Division - Play-off Winners 1987
• Third Division - Runners-up 1963, 1969
• Second Division - Play-off Winners 1990
• League Division One - Play-off Winners 1993
• League Division Two - Champions 1996
• League Division Two - 3rd Promoted 2006/2007

English Football Hall of Fame

The following have either played for or managed Swindon and have been inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame

Players Herbert Chapman

Managers Dave Mackay

Other teams

Swindon Town F.C. Reserves

The Reserve team currently play in the Football Combination Wales & West League. They were formed as a separate team in the 1890s and won the Wiltshire Cup twice before 1900, although on two occasions they lost in the final to the Swindon Town first team (2-0 in 1891 and 13-0 in 1892). The side was entered into the Western League in 1902 and remained there until 1949. The reserve side have also won the Wiltshire Premier Shield on 27 occasions during the period 1927-92.

Swindon Town Youth F.C.

Swindon Town's Youth Team were FA Youth Cup finalists in 1964, where they were beaten over two legs by a Manchester United side containing George Best. The team did not appear in the final stages of the competition again until 2004 where they lost 3-0 to Chesterfield in the Quarter-final.

Managed by David Byrne, the Youth team reached the Quarter-finals of the FA Youth Cup again in 2007 before being knocked-out of the competition by Newcastle.

Swindon Town Ladies F.C.

Established on 28 September 1993, the current Swindon Town Ladies Football Club (STLFC) first team play in the South West Combination Women's Football League and reached the first round proper of the FA Women's Cup for the second time in their history during the 2006-07 season. Swindon Town Ladies Reserves currently play in the South West League, Division 1 North and both squads play their home games at the ground of Aldbourne Football Club. Over 150 female players represent the club in local football leagues, with the club running seven full strength junior teams for those aged 8 and above in addition to the two senior squads.

References

• Mattick, Dick (1989). The Robins - The Story of Swindon Town Football Club. Buckingham: Sporting and Leisure press. ISBN 0-86023-460-6.
• Mattick, Dick (2002). 100 Greats: Swindon Town Football Club. Tempus. ISBN 0-7524-2714-8.
• Mattick, Dick (2004). Swindon Town F.C.: 50 Classic Matches. Tempus. ISBN 0-7524-2866-7.
• Hayes, Dean (2001). Swindon Town Football Club: An A-Z. Aureus. ISBN 1-8997-5006-1.

External links

Official

• Swindon Town F.C. – Official website (requires registration)
• Swindon Town Ladies F.C. - Official website
• TrustSTFC – Swindon Town Supporters Trust; a fans organisation created in 2001
• Supporters Club - Organisation which provides funds to the club through various methods of fundraising

News

• Swindon Town on BBC Sport: Club news – Recent results and fixtures
• BBC Swindon - Audio match reports and interviews from BBC Radio Swindon
• This is STFC - News, match reports, forums and other information from the Swindon Advertiser
• Western Daily Press - Match reports, live text commentary and other information from the Western Daily Press

Fan sites

• swindon-town-fc.co.uk – a fansite with extensive historical information
• thetownend.com –Independent fans discussion forum
• swindontownforum.com – Independent fans website and forum
• Vital Football – News, stats, match previews and travel information
• myonlyswindon.com - Independent news website and fans discussion forum
• Red Army Loud & Proud – fans group formed during the relegation season of 05/06 to enhance the matchday experience