Programme notes 2009/10
Brighton
After last week’s disappointing
result at Bristol Rovers, perhaps I should start with a piece of good
news - at least for two Town fans who came out as winners of the half
time draw at the match against Leyton Orient.
1. H.
Faramarzi of Swindon who with ticket 690 won a season best £416 and
2.
.P.Ward of Swindon with ticket number 296 winning £46.
A
reminder if you would like to take part in the half time draw our ticket
sellers can usually be found in the upstairs lounges and the Legends
lounge inside the stadium. Outside the ground we try to provide sellers
on the approach from the magic roundabout/ back of the Don Roger’s and
Town end turnstiles depending on availability of personnel. You will
always find a seller outside the football club shop and on the corner of
the town end / Arkells stand.
The cup tie at Fulham has already
provoked great interest amongst town fans who will be supporting the
team in great numbers. Indeed our support of over 1200 fans, given the
overall gate of 7600 at the memorial stadium, gives an insight that we
have a tremendous core of loyal supporter who are prepared follow the
team.
Our members will very shortly receive our mid season
newsletter and this will include an entry form for two totally free
competitions to win a number of mascot packages for the Walsall match
and also hospitality package for the Carlisle game.
Full details
are included in the newsletter and entries have to be received by 16th
January when we play Gillingham.
This being our last home match
before Christmas, may I take the opportunity of wishing everyone
associated with the Club a very happy festive period before we meet back
up at the County Ground on the 28th for the match against Yeovil.
Roger
Leyton Orient
Good
afternoon and welcome back to the County Ground for this afternoon’s
meeting with Leyton Orient.
The
Supporters Club through it’s fundraising is able to contribute in many
ways to life at the County Ground and I am pleased today to say that
today we are adding to our long line of sponsorships as for this game we
are the match ball sponsor.
As a result through a lucky draw we hold each time we are
sponsors, we have again been able to invite a number of fans to enjoy a
special day of hospitality at the County Ground.
We
hope you all have a great time.
Talking of great times I was delighted to be able to attend the
recent dinner at The Fox Denchworth organised so capably by Mavis Knight
on behalf of the Vale and West Oxon Supporters Group.
It was a great success with the function being a completely sold
out and everyone had a fabulous evening.
Even though the team was leaving early on
Friday to travel up to Carlisle, Billy Paynter & J P McGovern
attended and as dinner plates did not need washing, Mavis believed they
enjoyed the evening !
The
question & answer session was great fun with Mike Spearman, who was
expecting a relaxing night but ever happy, to be put under the
spotlight.
At the end of
the evening talk was already focussed on when the next one is taking
place and I am sure with the co-operation of both the Football Club
& Steve from The Fox another will be set for the new year.
A big Thank You to both Billy, JP,
Steve at the Fox and all who attended, for making the evening an
absolutely brilliant one.
The draw in the cup against Fulham will
bring back memories of the game all those years ago where after a 3-3
draw at Craven Cottage we slaughtered them 5-0 in the replay. Their side
at the time contained a certain George Best, plus Bobby Moore and
Rodney Marsh. That was a real cup shock, lets hope for another early in
January.
Finally the result of the half time draw at
the Huddersfield match was
1.
G Scott of Swindon 775 £372
2. To be claimed 927 £ 40
The winning ticket unclaimed as we go to print
was sold on the corner of the Arkells/ Town end stand – so check your
pockets if you bought one from there.
Roger
Huddersfield
Welcome back to the County Ground for our first
league game in over a month. The last league game was of course against
Hartlepool on the 17th October.
Of course in between we should have played Leeds and many fans
were disappointed that this game never took place on that day due to
“International “ call ups even though one player it is alleged was
unlikely to feature, even though he was called up. It seems he has
already absent for several months due to a long term injury. There is
little it seems can be done to recover the situation and given the
weather on the day, perhaps it was a blessing, but no doubt it has cost
the Football Club a significant amount in terms of revenue and lost time
in preparation and planning for the fixture.
Of course we had cup fixtures against Woking
and Norwich to play, but if those games had resulted in us being drawn
away from home, a whole month without a home fixture would have been
hard to take.
Indeed the
postponement of the Leeds fixture disrupted out own plans as far as the
half time draw goes, as we had decided previously with potentially
three games in a week we felt having three draws during that time would
be a little much. We therefore decided not to have a draw for the
Norwich game in advance, so sorry to any fan disappointed they could not
find their usual “favourite” ticket seller. They will be back today.
The result for the Woking game is as
follows.
Richard Banyard
of Reading won £350 with ticket number 349 and second prize of £40 went
to Ross Tilling of Swindon with ticket number 201.
The results in the cup games were of course
mixed, but thankfully we still remain in the FA Cup and I am sure many
fans will be heading up to North Wales next week hoping to see us
progress to the third round and the possibility of a game against a team
from a higher league and see a return to our now historic, role of cup
giant killers.
Tonight will
undoubtedly be a tough game against one of the teams that was reputed
to have spent heavily in the pre season period but I am sure everyone
will give the team every support to try to get over this hurdle tonight.
Woking/Norwich dual programme notes
The last league game brought the disappointment of our first home loss this season, but just a little relief to winners of the Robins revival half time draw. The winners being
Fred Large of Swindon with ticket number 241 winning £395 and
M Royle of Hungerford whose ticket number 1067 won him £40.
Ahead of the last home match we held our AGM in the legends lounge. Incidentally, have you seen the fantastic frieze that now adorns the top of the bar area, celebrating some of our heroes from previous years.
This was one of the items the Supporters Club funded this year and brings a reminder of some of the Football club’s history to fans and those using the lounge.
Getting back to the AGM I was delighted to present the season’s review and details of those that had gathered.I’ll outline a few headline details for the benefit of all fans and our members who were not able to attend.
Our income for the year from fund raising etc amounted to £39300 taking the amount generated since formation of the organization past the quarter of a million mark.
With donations for the year to the football club for various projects in total amounting to a single season record £28624 we hope that the improvements seen, particularly recently in the Legends lounge provide a better experience when attending the County Ground. Indeed our overall donations to the football club now exceed £100000 by a considerable margin, with youth development itself benefiting by over £40000.
We are in a financially strong position moving forward, so look out for further investment in areas benefiting both fans and youth development as time progresses.
None of this could be carried out without involvement of fans in our fundraising, or our membership and various helpers, from draw ticket sellers, scratch card sellers and scoreboard operator who all work closely with us by helping us with our activities. I would like to publicly thank everyone including of course my dedicated committee who play a fantastic part in pulling things together and provide additional support whenever needed.
This working partnership ensures that the Supporters Club can make the Football Club, we all love, an even better place.
I am pleased to say a proposal from the “floor”, saw the committee elected and returned en-bloc.
Details of all our activities our website can be found at www.swindontownsupportersclub.com .
If you want to help us on our ongoing journey don’t hesitate to come forward – my contact details can be found on the web site. If you think you can help – you probably can, so I would be delighted to hear from you.
Roger
Hartlepool
Welcome to our match today against Hartlepool and their fans who have made the long trek form the North East.
At the Millwall game the result of the half time draw was
First prize was won by ticket number 987 and won £350 for S. Cooper of Bristol
The second prize for ticket 341 won £40 for M. Hopkins of South Marston.
This morning we held our AGM in the Legends lounge and I will report on the meeting in my next set of notes.
Meanwhile, after three away draws this season in various cup competitions, we now have a quarter final at home against Norwich which is a very attractive tie. Having a home tie is so much better than an away game against the same opponents, so shortly after we travel there for our league match, which of course is what happened in the previous round against Exeter.
Let’s hope our luck for a home cup draw also holds for the first round of the FA Cup.
Every game in a competition is
important, but if we win that game against Norwich, we will be just two more
wins from a Wembley date on March 28th.
Coincidentally, if we
reached that final, the league fixture due the day before against
today’s
opponents Hartlepool, would have to
be re-scheduled.
One date for fans is the Vale and West Oxon group informal dinner costing £15 which is being held on Thursday 19th at the Fox, in Denchworth.
Choice
of menu available and the evening will
start at 7.00pm. with dinner served at 7.30 pm.
Numbers are strictly limited to just 50, so booking
is essential and have been selling fast.
There will be a Q & A session
with
members of the Football club management. Please telephone Mavis Knight on 0782 880
1013 to register interest and get the
full details.
Last weekends point pleased Mavis, as the pounds for points fund breached the £1000 mark. As we are now only a quarter of the way through the season let’s hope there is a lot more in store.
Two away fixtures now beckon for our loyal travelling fans before we return to the CountyGround for the next League match against table toppers Leeds, by the time we reach that the excitement may be intense.
But firstly, have a great day today.
Roger
Millwall
Unbeaten in the league since the opening day of the season is a great place to start ahead of today’s match… let’s hope that by the end of the day that claim remains.
Just as out league form has picked up so have the prizes in the half time draw with a season’s best of £400 being paid at the Wycombe match to the first prize winner A Skeates of Lambourn who held ticket number 1004. Second prize of £45 went to A King of Corsham with ticket number 264.
A final reminder to all our members, that our AGM will take place next Saturday ahead of the Hartlepool game in the Legends Lounge, commencing at 11.15 a.m. Refreshments will be available in the lounge from 12 midday as usual. All members are welcome.
I have already this season heaped praise on fans for their support at away matches. Once again I am delighted and take pride in recognizing their fantastic support at the last two league games, at Exeter, where over 600 turned out for that midweek fixture and then the 1200 plus that travelled to the game at Brentford last Saturday.
The vocal support too was tremendous. Long may that continue and with two away games within a week the fans commitment in terms of both cost and time is to be greatly applauded and with another away trip back to Exeter in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy last Tuesday, I am sure those traveling fans, will all welcome the home game at the County Ground today.
The win at Brentford took our pounds for points tally to £999 – hopefully we will break the four figure mark today. For further details of this scheme please visit our web site at www.swindontownsupportersclub.com
Finally for today, a note to all collectors of programmes. I have been contacted by a fan who has 200 Town programmes that they wish to give away – if you are interested please email enquiries@swindontownsupportersclub.com stating your name and telephone number and we will put you in touch.
Here’s hoping for another 3 points today.
Roger
Wycombe
I’ll start today’s notes with the winners of the half time draw at the Colchester match.
B Tanswell of Abingdon ticket number 509 won £375 , the second prize of £40 for ticket number 997 still has to be claimed.
Please may I advise all members that our Agm is taking place on on Saturday 17th October in the Legends Lounge at 11.15.ahead of the Hartlepool match. All membes are welcome to attend and I look forward to seeing you there.
You may recall that in my last notes I mentioned that Derek Elston will today reach the remarkable figure of 1500 consecutive first team games – a truly remarkable achievement.
In
recognition , here is the second and
final part of an interview with Derek recalling his time watching the
Town.
Best excuse used to get to a game?
I have never had to make an excuse to get to a game although have missed several weddings, my brother in law and brother included. As per “Royalty” I sent my representative but did make both receptions.
Funniest moment / comment at a match in the crowd ?
The funniest chant from the crowd in recent years had to be “We can see you washing up” at Orient a couple of seasons back.
Funniest moment during a game on the pitch?
Jim Barron doing the breast stroke at a waterlogged Layer Road in an abandoned match in 1976.
Player you wish you were watching now in a town shirt?
Simon Cox as he would complete the transformation of Danny’s rejuvenated side and I am sure we would be challenging for the top spot.
How do you travel to games ?
I travel to home games by car but use the train where practical for away games.
How many miles have you travelled watching matches?
I have worn out several cars over the years having never lived closer than 70 miles to the County Ground.
What is the latest you returned home after a match and why?
Season 1978-79 - Arsenal in a League Cup replay. My car broke down at Shrivenham and I abandoned it to get to the game by bus. The night was bitter cold and the match went to extra time with Swindon winning 4 – 3. I managed to get back to the car which was iced over and called the RAC who arrived around 1.00am. The decided they could do nothing and would call a recovery truck. I finally walked in home at 07.00am as Chris, my wife, was leaving for work. We were not on the phone at the time and needless to say we soon were.
Favourite ground to go to, other than Swindon’s
Wembley Stadium as long as we win! Three out of three so far.
Worst food in ground and where ?
Warm scotch pies that are available at the majority of Scottish Grounds. One bite and the hot fat spurts out everywhere!
Best food in ground and where ?
Chicken Balti pies available at various grounds. If you know me you will have an idea about who ate all he pies!
What do you do when Swindon Town have a blank Saturday?
I like to go to a neutral game and just enjoy the day. Scotland is quite often a destination and I have visited all 40 of the current Scottish League teams grounds for a first team fixture. Cheap flights have really opened up this opportunity, failing that any Non League match down to level 5.
Colchester. After last weekend
I am sure everyone is looking forward to today’s game and a chance to
establish
our top six spot. The half time draw
winners for the Southend match were: V Baxter of Swindon who won £386
with ticket number 1008 and.K Townsend of Swindon who won
£42
with ticket number 372 Although we went
out of the Carling Cup at Wolves I think the supporters that travelled
there
deserve a real pat on the back for the atmosphere they produced and for
keeping
it up all through the match. I am sure that this had some bearing on the
performance of the team that night. An important
date for our members. The
AGM will take place on Saturday 17th October in the Legends
lounge
at 11.15 a.m
ahead of the match against Hartlepool.
Look forward to seeing you there. For further details please visit our
web
site. We regard every
supporters as part as the Swindon Town family and there are many who
deserve
mention but today I am including the first part of a feature on Derek Elston as he move towards a unique event
of 1500
CONSECUTIVE matches watching the Town, a milestone to be reached at the
next
home game against Wycombe. Derek a Supporters
Club member who assisted us with the production of our latest badge
lives in Northampton making the run even more
remarkable with
every home game almost like an away game ..so here goes. Derek what was the
first game you recall? Derek
:An away fixture at What
was the closest you ever came to missing a game? Derek:
I was due to go into hospital for a cartilage operation on December 15th 2007, Town were at home to Brighton.
I re-arranged the
appointment and they sent me a new date for the procedure. The new date
Tuesday
4th December, Carlisle away! I
decided to try for another cancellation but was informed that I would
have to
wait indefinitely. I was out of work at the time and
needed to
get the operation carried out so that I could get myself back to work. I
was
not happy! My wife then made the fatal mistake of volunteering to drive
me to Carlisle should I be discharged in
time. We agreed a cut off time of 2.30pm and when I had not gone down
to the theatre at 10.00am I was resigned to missing the
match. I went down to Theatre at 10.45am
and came round on the ward at
mid-day. My first question to the nurse, when can I go home? I was
informed
that I had to drink, eat something and keep it down, get up and walk and
use
the toilet before I would be considered for discharge. I secured my
release at 1.45pm and rang home then collected
and chauffeured to Carlisle and back by my super heroine, but I was also
informed that this would
be a one off never to be repeated gig! She had already dropped me at the
hospital at 6.00am completed a days work and still had to start
at 6.00am the next day! More
of Derek’s tales in two weeks time. Roger
Southend
Welcome to the CountyGround for
today’s encounter with Southend. Last
Saturday was surely one of those
bitter sweet matches where, we almost snatched victory at Oldham, only to have it
snatched away at the very last moment. I
would like to think that all the Town
fans who saw the Southampton game went home very satisfied and felt well entertained by
the
performance on the field. Off the field there was a somewhat unique
moment as
the number of tickets for the half time draw at that game mirrored
exactly the
number sold the previous Saturday – what chances that ? The draw winners
from
both those games were. MKD It
is still early season and still plenty
of time to join the Supporters Club and participate in the benefits,
including
discounted away travel ……..Adult membership costs just £5 with lowers
costs for
concessions. We
were hoping to do a presentation to the
Club at the last match following our contribution towards the Centre of
Excellence’s participation in the Northern Ireland Milk Cup competition. This
season we contribute the whole cost of
sending the squad to the tournament amounting to £10000, indeed over
recent
seasons the Supporters Club have contributed upwards of £40000 towards
the cost
of their participation in this prestigious tournament. A
mere glance at recent participants; all
the Premier league “elite” including Manchester United, plus Fenerbahce,
FC
Porto, Spartak Moscow, FC Barcelona, Panathinaikos, from Brasil Botofago
and
many others including teams from 58 countries, shows the creedence
placed on
the event by the leading teams of the world. A
list of participant players from the UK
shows many have reached the top of their profession, for example;
David Beckham, Joe Cole, Damien Duff, Steve
Staunton, Wayne Rooney, Steve McManaman, Peter Crouch, Ryan Giggs, Gary
Neville, Michael Carrick, Craig Bellamy, James Milner and Dean Ashton
amongst others. SwindonTown of course, have
had success
in recent seasons, including winning the Junior competition in 2006 and
the BT Northern
Ireland Trophy in 2007. Individual
players have had success as well,
this year the most Valued
Player of
the Tournament was jointly won by Alex Henshall. The
Club have
scooped 3 other individual awards in the last 5 years including Lukas
Jutkiewicz
who won the golden boot. A
significant amount of the Supporters Club
fundraising is dedicated to youth development including the pounds for
points
fund. Don’t forget as a fan , group of fans or business, you can still
help us
with this initiative for as little as 50p (or more) per point and you
get your
name listed on this page of every home programme. With
5 league point from the last three games means that
fund already stands at £250 and there is
still plenty of time to join for this season. Pick up an
application form or contact Mavis Knight through our
website at. http://www.swindontownsupportersclub.com/20.html. Three
points today would certainly help in
more ways than one. Roger.
1. Michael Clark Andover
Ticket number 767 won £376
2. Roger Reeves of Swindon
Ticket number 946 won £40
Southampton
1. J Vanes of Swindon
Ticket number 381 won £376
2. T Young of Swindon Ticket
number 378 won £40
Southampton notes.
The games at the start of every season come thick and fast and with our season already beginning to take shape, tonight we welcome our visitors from Southampton.
Thankfully this summer we were free from the financial worries that clouded the close season break of those that follow our opponents
Older fans will remember our trips to the old “Dell“ ground many years ago and I am sure many will be looking forward to the trip to their new stadium in January, although reaching the 4th round of the F A cup for either club will mean it will need to be moved to possibly a warmer time of year !
These notes are written ahead of our game on Saturday so I will include the result of tonight’s and previous half time draws in the Southend programme in two weeks time.
The results can always be found within our fund raising section of our web site at swindontownsupportersclub.com.
With a large crowd expected this evening, those here for the first time this season will notice a few improvements around the ground and we were delighted to be able to invest some of our fundraising to improve the environment for fans, particularly in relation to the legends lounge.
During July we also fully funded the Centre of Excellence trip to Northern Ireland for the Milk Cup tournament, our fourth year of funding this trip, a crucial part of the young player’s development in term of experience. The cost of the trip is around £10000, so I am very grateful to everyone who participates in our fundraising to enable us to help in this way. The official presentation of this donation will take place at half time tonight.
Mavis Knight will also be very pleased to hear from any fan wishing to contribute to the pounds for points youth development fund as we continue to support this aspect of the club. You may contact Mavis through our website.
As far as the supporters Club is concerned we are delighted to see a number of new fans joining our membership I hope every fan can recognise the part we play as part of the SwindonTown “family”.
I’m delighted to say once again Membership fees remain unchanged and costs just £5 for an adult with reductions available for children and other concessions. Full details can be found on our web site at swindontownsupportersclub.com.
Membership entitles you to a number of benefits and these are also detailed fully on the above website. Amongst other benefits, you can get discounted away travel fare with SAS travel and discount in the football club shop allowing you a greater saving than the cost of your membership.
One final and a more pleasurable postscript, than the match, to our visit to Gillingham was meeting up again with Mike Sullivan. Mike was always most supportive in all of
our fundraising efforts and Saturday was three years to the day of the plane crash, so it was pleasing to see him so well.
If you would like to help us in any way, I would be delighted to hear from you. Please telephone me on 01865 820499.
Roger
Milton Keynes
It’s great to get
this chance to welcome you all back to the CountyGround and our first home
league game of the
season. Last Saturday will not go down with many fond memories, so
hopefully we
can today claim our first points of the season. It’s also a real
quirk, but seems to happen regularly, that clubs get drawn to play
against the
team they are due to play in a league fixture, either directly before or
directly after a cup match. So it has proved
with our double header against our opponents today MK Dons. Thankfully,
we
have not had to endure a summer break where financial issues have been
to the
fore and I think everyone pre-season was looking ahead with a mood of
optimism
both on and off the field. I am sure most fans will have every
confidence in
the respective management teams ability to deliver the results we all
wish for
– a stable club and successful team on the pitch despite may be a set
back or
two, along the way. Fans
coming today
will I am sure notice a few improvements around the ground and we were
delighted to be able to invest some of our fundraising to improve the
environment for fans, particularly in relation to the legends lounge. During July we
also fully funded the Centre of Excellence trip to Northern Ireland
for the Milk Cup tournament, our fourth
year of funding this trip, a crucial part of the young player’s
development in
term of experience. The cost of the trip is around £10000, so I am very
grateful to everyone who participates in our fundraising to enable us to
help
in this way. Once again this
season we will be running the half time draw, the pounds for points and
scratch
cards, so I am pleased to say, once again our half time draw sellers
will be
out before matches. Mavis Knight will also be very
pleased to hear from any fan wishing to contribute
to the pounds for points youth development fund. You may contact Mavis
through
our website. As far as the
supporters Club is concerned we are delighted to see a number of new
fans
joining our membership I hope every fan can recognise the part we play
as part
of the SwindonTown “family”. I’m
delighted to say once again Membership fees remain unchanged and
costs just £5 for an adult with reductions available for children and
other
concessions. Full details can be found on our web site at
swindontownsupportersclub.com. Membership entitles you to a number of benefits and these
are also
detailed fully on that website. Amongst other benefits, you can get
discounted
away travel fare with SAS travel and discount in the football club shop
allowing you a greater saving than the cost of your membership.
If you would like
to help us in any way, I would be delighted to hear from you.
Please telephone me on 01865
820499. Here’s hoping for
a season that we can ultimately look back on with pride and enjoyment.
Pre
season matches
The 2009/10 season will
soon be upon us and as always fans will be looking forward excitedly to
the start of a new season.
Thankfully,
we have not had to endure a summer break where financial issues have
been to the fore and I think everyone can look ahead with a mood of
optimism both on and off the field. I am sure most fans will have every
confidence in the respective management teams ability to deliver the
results we all wish for – a stable club and successful team on the
pitch.
As far as the
supporters Club is concerned we are delighted to see a number of new
fans joining our membership I hope every fan can recognise the part we
play as part of the Swindon Town “family”.
I’m delighted to say once again Membership fees
remain unchanged and costs just £5 for an adult with reductions
available for children and other concessions. Full details can be found
on our web site at swindontownsupportersclub.com.
Membership entitles you to a number of benefits
and these are also detailed fully on the above website. Amongst other
benefits, you can get discounted away travel fare with SAS travel and
discount in the football club shop allowing you a greater saving than
the cost of your membership.
Core to our success has been our fund raising schemes and I am
pleased to say, once again our half time draw sellers will be out before
matches. Mavis Knight will also be very pleased to hear from any fan
wishing to the pounds for points youth development fund. Once again you
may contact Mavis through our website.
At the player of the year dinner at the end of
last season, our player of the year trophy was awarded to Simon Cox who I
think everyone will agree fully deserved the award having had such a
great season and provided us with moments of real satisfaction and
pleasure. We can only wish him well for his career at West Brom.
The list of players who will in future no
longer play a part of Swindon Town, was a long one and whilst everyone
will have their own view of an individual’s contribution, I am still
sure we would wish them all well and hope for the very best for them in
their futures.
If you
would like to help us in any way, I would be delighted to hear from you.
Please telephone me on 01865 820499.
Here’s hoping for a great season that we can
enjoy.
Roger Bunce
2008/09
Crewe
Good afternoon and welcome to yet another important match.
After the 3 great wins, we came down to earth with a bit of a bump ay Yeovil, however I must thank everyone who turned out in such numbers at both Northampton and Yeovil to support the team, it was a terrific response.
The last two results from the half time draw are.
Southend
1 N Little of Swindon ticket number 441 winning £325
2. Has yet to be claimed. We are looking
for the holder of ticket number
482 to give
away £35
3. J Hobbs of Cricklade ticket 846 winning £10
Hereford
1. A Stevens of Swindon, ticket number 989 winning
£440
2. B Peachey of Wroughton ticket 78 winning £50
3. R Pattend of Swindon ticket 1025 winning £10
Once again may I thank everyone for participation in the draw, your support has been fantastic. In recognition of this and in line with previous years, we with holding a “super draw” at the last match of the season only this time we are guaranteeing minimum main prize of £1000, with second prize again being a season ticket for next season , worth a minimum of £279 on the latest price issued by the club for renewals.
As the season draws swiftly towards it’s conclusion may I draw our members attention to our latest newsletter which should be in the post around the time of today’s game.
Importantly it contains your voting slip for the player of the year and also details of our player of the season dinner which is taking place at the County Ground on Tuesday 28th April. Although attendance priority is given to supporters club members, non members may also attend what is always a very popular evening hosted by supporters, for supporters and with attendance from club officials and players.
Any non member wishing to express an interest can contact me by emailing chairman@swindontownsupportersclub.com or ringing 01865 820499.
I hope there will be as many fans there as possible.
Let’s hope today’s match delivers 3 welcome points.
Hereford
I will bring the half time draw result from last Tuesday and today’s match in my next set of notes.
The Supporters Club are delighted to once again be match ball sponsor under the guise of the 50/50 draw for today’s game. This comes shortly after the Supporters Club sponsorship of the 1969 celebration dinner, which I think that everyone that attended thought was a very successful event. I would like to thank all those at the Football club who worked hard to achieve this success.
As match ball sponsors we are entitled to a number of hospitality places for today’s game and as always we hold a free draw amongst those who participate in the 50/50 by regular subscription.
Those lucky fans attending today are
E. Bailey, A. Thompson, V. Woolhouse, P. Brown, P. Dowse, K. Garnham, A. Poole,
F. Bunce, F. Large, N. Smith, M. West, & R. Weekes.
At the turn of the year we ran another free competition, this time for Supporters Club members, this time to win one of four mascot packages.
The first two winners have their nominated mascot at today’s game and I would like to welcome Jacob Harris and Megan Maskeline. I hope you enjoy your day and become long term supporters of the “Town”.
A further reminder that our end of season player of the year dinner is taking place on Tuesday 28th April – voting slips and dinner menu’s will be sent with our next newsletter which we are planning to send to members towards the end of this month.
Subject to available places, the non members may also attend this dinner always a very popular event. Non members may contact me on 01865 820499 to register an interest or alternatively e-mail me at the following address enquiries@swindontownsupportersclub.com.
Does anyone have a copy of the Swindon v Shrewsbury league Cup 2nd round, second replay at the County ground during the 1st season of the league cup in 1960/1 which they are prepared to sell.
If so contact me at the above contact points as a Shrewsbury supporter has contacted us to try to locate a copy
Southend
Good evening and after two matches on the road we are back at the CountyGround for two consecutive home matches.
There are two half time draw results to bring up to date.
Cheltenham
1 Jason Wheeler of
Swindon ticket 1085 winning £250
2.David Middleton of Swindon ticket 805
winning £30
3.S Ford
ticket 32 winning
£10
M K Dons
1.J Bedwell of East Hanney ticket 363 winning £405
2.A Cordell of Swindon ticket
446 winning
£45
3. A Smith of Gloucester ticket
004 winning
£10
The Supporters Club were delighted to be the main sponsor for the 40th
anniversary dinner and what a fine night it was for all those able to attend.
I would like to add my congratulations to the Football Club for running the night in a very successful fashion. It all ran smoothly and from the catering team right through to the management – exemplary! It was so good to see the Legends of ’69 in Swindon again and a joy to see them really enjoying themselves.
The decoration of the Legends lounge brought a real flavour of our history and I understand it is the club’s intention to leave it in place for a while so why not pop in and have a look.
In the auction of memorabilia, in a joint operation with SAS Away travel, we made a successful bid for the large framed photo of Don Rogers beating Bob Wilson for the third goal at Wembley. The photo being signed uniquely by the duo and it will now remain at the CountyGround for fans to enjoy. I would therefore like to recognise the support our friends and fellow supporters, from SAS travel gave in order that we could acquire it.
One date for members and fans to get in their diary is Tuesday 28th April , being the date set aside for our annual end of season dinner and player of the year presentation – this too is always a good night and full details will be circulated soon.
As always don’t forget to view our web site at swindontownsupportersclub.com for all our latest news and information.
See you back at the CountyGround again on Saturday.
MK Dons
Half time draw winners for Hartlepool.
1. Mr S Davey of Swindon who won £333 with ticket number 366.
2. Barry Phillips of Swindon who won £37 with ticket number 730
3. K Reynolds of Swindon won £10 with ticket number 992 .
Cheltenham result and today’s in the next programme
So the ITV “Glory Hunter” only had one match following Swindon. You can watch video blogs involving Swindon here.
http://www.itv.com/sport/Football/TheGloryhunter/default.html
Tonight will see the first of two events to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the League Cup final win against Arsenal I’m really looking forward to meeting the participants tomorrow.
Many present day fans may not have witnessed that match first hand, but that day will never be forgotten by any Town fan that who visited Wembley. I still rate this as my greatest thrill in all my years of watching Town.
I can’t recall the matches against Torquay or BradfordCity but do remember the 1 - 0 win over Blackburn thanks to a Don Rogers goal. Excitement really started in the next round with a visit to First Divison (premiership) CoventryCity. Town were 2 - 0 up through Don Rogers and Roger Smart with just 4 minutes to go but it ended a 2-2 draw.
The Towns fast flowing football was too much for Coventry in the replay and we led 3 - 0 in just 23 minutes through Don Rogers, Roger Smart & Willie Penman.
The Baseball Ground ground next, to take on the powerful Derby and 35,000 fan’s packed in.
On my return my mother told me to go to the hospital as my wife had been taken
in - our first son arrived that evening (thankfully no mobile phones in those days but
we were so packed in I wouldn't have got out of the ground anyway).
The replay, an equally packed CountyGround saw a Don Rogers shot take a deflection and drop
over the head Derby keeper Green for the winner.
The Semi Final saw us drawn against first division (premiership) Burnley, the other game being Spurs and Arsenal.
First leg in Burnley and I arrived at Swindon Station to find the train was full. Had to go by car and arrived just in time for the kick off. Skipper Stan Harland scored his first goal of the season Peter Noble added a second, and we had a 2 - 1 advantage. In the second leg John Smith scored our goal as Burnley reversed the 2 - 1 scoreline, although I remember Steve Kindon almost breaking Peter Downsborough’s crossbar.
So to the Hawthorns for the replay a John Smith goal gave us the lead only for Burnley to equalise in the 90th minute. I remember forcing my way to the toilet during the break and as I returned Burnley scored, but Swindon did not know how to lose and an own goal from Bellamy and another by Peter Noble took us
to Wembley.
Since the age of 8 I had travelled on a football bus from my village of Bampton run by a stalwart supporter called 'Cherry' Richens and on the day of the final I thought of the old division Three South days which Cherry and all the other supporters from his bus had endured for years, but today they were going
to Wembley to watch THEIR team, unbelievable.
Cheltenham
Welcome to our second consecutive Tuesday match at home and we welcome our near neighbours back to the CountyGround.
With home matches having come thick and fast I have two results from the half time draw to bring you. Please check your tickets carefully we love giving away the prizes , but two remain unclaimed.
Scunthorpe – What a match that was !
1. Ticket 1158 £381 Still to be claimed
2. Ticket 1103 £ 42 Pat Hancock of Swindon
3. Ticket 381 £ 10 Oliver Walsh of Bampton
Hartlepool
1. Ticket 366 £333 S. Davey of Swindon
2. Ticket 730 £ 37 Barry Phillips of Swindon
3. Ticket 992 £ 10 K Reynolds of Swindon
Our win against Scunthorpe brought a bit more than 3 points and a welcome addition to our pounds for points fund, it also brought us into the sights of Spencer Austin of “I am the Glory Hunter” hoping to go through all through the season and winning every game, by switching allegiance to every club that wins the match he is watching
He started off at Grimsby and ended up at Scunthorpe after their JPT paint semi final win, thanks to that extra ordinary game he then became a Swindon Supporter until we lost to Hartlepool and now becomes a fan of theirs until they lose. They play Colchester this week and who knows he might be back at the CountyGround if they stay unbeaten until we play them in a week or two !
The initial story at Swindon at the Scunthorpe match is picked up in the video in episode 57 and at the time of writing these notes that episode could be seen here, the next one should contain further coverage of his evening at the Hartlepool game.
I am The Gloryhunter
thegloryhunter@yahoo.co.uk
Tonight
Jason Haines makes his 400th consecutive appearance following the
team and whilst there are other fans who have reached a number of consecutive
matches in excess of that, it is still a remarkable achievement.
Here are his thoughts on all things Swindon.
Hartlepool
Welcome to this evening’s game and we are at the moment in the midst of a heavy programme which will not only test the playing squad to the full but also the endurance and pocket of fans that follow the team everywhere as well as the CountyGround.
On the assumption that we played last Saturday it is hard to believe that in the middle of the season that was only our second home game on a Saturday in just over two months. Gone forever it seems are the home one week away the next that was the normal habit forming agenda for fans of not so long ago. I rather suspect very few Premiership clubs despite all their fixture changes have played less on a Saturday during that time.
This busy schedule will unfortunately mean that often the half time draw results will be delayed beyond the next game and results for tonight and Saturday will be included in the notes for the derby match against Cheltenham.
The postponement of the Southend match was obviously a disappointment to the Club and fans despite the strenuous efforts to get the game on and I would like to add my note of appreciation to every fan that turned up on the Friday and Saturday to help with the snow clearance.
Unfortunately the pitch condition was not deemed fit despite all this effort, but these days it is not just the pitch that is taken in to account. The authorities outside of the game also insist that the off pitch area both inside and outside the ground are in good enough condition not to cause danger to the public attending
I believe even Arsenal suffered a postponement for that reason. In these days of safety first everything has to be risk assessed and whilst the world has moved on in this direction, I can still recall vividly matches in the past played virtually on rolled snow, with blue lines as pitch markings just to get the game on. Travelling to the game was probably even more hazardous in those days, but they still got played all the same. It’s the same I guess with muddy pitches, but the improvement in the surfaces now compared to the ‘60’s is so much better, especially here.
Hopefully snow won’t have caused us problems tonight or indeed to those making the long trek from Hartlepool and we wish them all a good and safe trip, but of course still hope Town take the points and with Danny now in charge of the reverse fixture after our 3-3 draw earlier in the season, if we get in front hopefully we can go on and claim that win, we thought we may have achieved up there, when 3-0 up.
Enjoy this evening.
Scunthorpe
Welcome to today’s game and after a few decent results let’s hope the run can continue.
The half time draw winners for the Walsall Match were
1st prize R Collett of Swindon. Ticket number 904 winning £311
2nd prize Still to be claimed Ticket number 258 winning £35
3rd prize Kim Morse of Swindon Ticket number 45 winning £10
Please note that the second prize still has to be claimed so if you bought your ticket from me then turn out your pocket and check if it is you.
The points from the last few games has helped our pounds for points youth development fund reach £1990 and I am hoping for many more points that can be translated in to pounds. Thank you to everyone who helps to support this initiative.
Mention of winners brings me to our win a free mascot package competition for Supporters Club members. Although I included the details in the last programme notes, in case you were not at that match, the successful participants were
Mascot winners v Hereford Megan Maskeline and Archie Davidson
v Crewe Tim Westcott and William Woodley
Book Winners Brian Smith and Henry Goodwin
Many thanks to everyone that participated.
Arrangements for the 40th anniversary of the League Cup final win against Arsenal are now underway and full details can be obtained from Adam at the Football club on 08448801094.
As I mentioned previously I was involved in the early days of shaping the direction of the celebration and we hope that the two different packages available will at least meet the expectations of most fans.
The
dates of the two events are “ The 1969 Fans' Choice Package” at a
cost of £19.69 on
Saturday 7th March 2009 ……………….
and “The 1969 Silverware Package” is on Sunday 8th March 2009 at a cost of £69.
Whilst many fans may not have even been born to witness the success we feel it is such an important anniversary for fans, that the Supporters Club will be sponsoring the Saturday night event, and I hope both night’s will turn out to be ones of great celebration.
Enjoy today’s game and here’s hoping for three points.
Walsall
Good Evening everyone to our second consecutive home match on a Tuesday evening. I must admit I always look forward to floodlight evening games at the CountyGround, there is a special atmosphere all of their own despite the rush many have to get here after their days labours.
Let’s hope for a special one tonight, the last game turned out to be a rather special one for Andrew Hounsell who was recently elected Chairman of Trust STFC who won our half time draw with his ticket number 22 and pocketed his prize of £305
Second prize on the evening went to J Williams of Swindon winning £35 with ticket 394 and the final prize winner J Young also of Swindon won £10 with ticket 575.
Although our progress in the FA cup in recent years has not been good, I reflected on some of last April’s headlines as the final tickets went on sale for the finalists.
“Tickets for Saturday’s FA Cup final are selling for £1,000 a pair as pre-match excitement becomes feverish” – Western mail and from Portsmouth “ An allocation of just 25000 means that 8000 who went to the semi final will miss out”
So with both clubs selling 25000 one might expect a reasonable interest for this season’s openers, with both clubs at home – the result attendances of just 12000 and 14000, with no doubt a good away following at each …… it seemed those lifelong fans clamouring for tickets all melted away in the summer sun into just fair weather fans.
Thank fully here whilst numbers are smaller we do have a very strong committed core of support and can count on their attendance week after week and we have to cut our cloth accordingly. But reflecting back on the heady days of the early 90’s I do sometimes wonder where are many who made our trips to Wembley are given their support of the club in that era.
Finally for today, the winners of our free mascot competition for members is as follows
Mascot winners v Hereford Megan Maskeline and Archie Davidson
v Crewe Tim Westcott and William Woodley
Book Winners Brian Smith and Henry Goodwin
Thank you for all the entries, once again it has been a great success.
Stockport
Good afternoon everyone.
I hope you all have had a very good New Year and we can look forward to a new start at the Club with Danny Wilson in charge on the Managerial front.
As this is my first opportunity since Danny was appointed, may extend a very warm welcome to him, on behalf of the fans. I am sure we will all being doing our level best to support him in striving for success for the Football Club.
Danny will find that we have a tremendous number of fantastic supporters who follow the club everywhere and always give the team their backing. I think he has already made reference to what an intimidating atmosphere the CountyGround can be for opposition from his own experiences when competing here and let’s hope that this will once again be the norm.
Moving on , the Christmas deadlines have mean’t that my summary of the half time draw results for the games held over that period have been held over until today – so here are the results
Yeovil
1. K Russell of Swindon 489
£458
2.R. Hubbard of Melksham 1058
£50
3. J Hobbs of Cricklade 768
£10
Brighton
1. David Hargreaves of Swindon 845
£473
2. Sue Reeves Wootton Bassett 319
£52
3. Rob Johnstone of Swindon 242 £10
I am pleased to report once again, we have received an excellent response from our members to the “free win a mascot package” competition.
The last time for entry was by kick off time at today’s and I shall be contacting the winners very shortly to advise them of the details. The winners will of course also be published on our web site at swindontownsupportersclub.com.
Brighton
I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas festivities and are ready for today’s match action against Brighton, who have been a like a nemesis for us, particularly at the Withdean stadium recently.
Our loyal band of fans who travelled there earlier this season and witnessed our defeat perhaps deserved more, but Brighton’s run after that victory against us in the Johnstone’s paint trophy, has seen them now make it through to the Southern area final where they will play Luton.
Naturally, at this time of year, printing deadlines cut across some of the later pieces of news that I can bring you and the half time draw results for the Yeovil game and that of today’s will be included in my notes at the Stockport match. If you want to check up in the meantime you can always visit our web site at swindontownsupportersclub.com and view the results there. They normally appear on the same day as the match.
As the New Year beckons , it is a time to look back and reflect on the 12 months past and I am sure everyone has felt disappointed that the on the field progress has not been as good as hoped for, ultimately costing Maurice his role at the club. As fans we always want to see our team win, but alongside that there is sometimes need for a reality check.
We can all dream that we can beat the best in the land, but sadly over time we must also be able to accept the frustration of defeat with an integrity and decency that the game of football deserves. Providing we see a team on the pitch doing just that and giving their all in the chase for “glory” week after week and providing a good exciting game, then that gives the anticipation of wanting more and coming back for the next game.
Whilst the on the field results are the bedrock in terms of populous support, the building of a stable infrastructure and environment around the club provides the base for a long term successful period. Fans cannot surely fail to notice the improvement in to areas around the stadium and the general interface with fans. For this Nick Watkins and his team must take credit and if the on the field improvement, hasn’t been seen just yet, then at least the off the field position is much, much better.
Let’s hope 2009 brings together those two facets in tandem and I’ll be able to look back and tick both those boxes at this time next year.
Yeovil
Welcome to what can be called a West Country derby against Yeovil.
The results from the half time draw at the Carlisle match were
1. To be
claimed - sold in legends lounge 818 £367
2. S Lamble of
West Hanney 28
£ 40
3. T Holmes of Swindon 1061 £10
There is a nice Christmas bonus still awaiting a fan that purchased their ticket in the legends lounge, so please make sure you check your pockets. The tickets around that number were sold quite early on in the day, so if you usually buy tickets there ….it could be you !!
There will be an on the pitch presentation today in recognition of the level of support that the Supporters Club have given to improving facilities for fans in and around the County Ground during the early part of this season.
One of the areas that we have been involved in funding has been the Legends lounge. I think those fans who frequent the lounge on a match day will acknowledge the new improved facilities in the lounge which is situated at ground level at the back of the Arkell’s stand
Don’t forget this lounge is accessible to any Town fan on a match day. You only have to show your match ticket or season ticket - there is no entry fee or membership required. The only restriction is in terms of numbers, so why not come along early and enjoy a pre match meal and pint whilst watching any broadcast early kick off on the giant screens.
I am writing these notes ahead of any potential managerial appointment so events may have moved forward by the time you read these notes but as the year comes to an end, with just one more home match before the strains of Auld Lang Syne rings out I hope it’s not too early to wish everyone here today a Happy New year.
Our end of year newsletter includes a free competition exclusively for our members, to win one of four, match day mascot packages plus some consolation prizes, so watch out for its arrival. Winning will provide some young fans with an unforgettable additional Christmas present worth several hundred pounds – no catches, just answer the question and submit your answer in line with the instructions in the newsletter. I look forward to contacting the lucky winners.
So that’s it , I
hope you have your Christmas shopping out of the way and can settle down and
enjoy this afternoon’s match, with hopefully a win for the Town. Happy
Christmas to everyone I’ll see you back here in just over a week’s time for Brighton on the 28th.
Carlisle
Good afternoon and
welcome to today’s game. As always I am
delighted to bring the results of the half time draw and the Peterborough match
saw M Spieeskowski of Towcester
with ticket number 607 winning £328. The second prize of
£36 with ticket number 106 was won by C
Nicholas of Swindon and the £10
consolation prize went to . K Young of Carterton with ticket number 1131. If I can cast
everybody’s mind back to the Leicester game I am still waiting for the holder of ticket
number 388 to claim their prize. A terrific prize of £415 awaits the holder of
that ticket sold outside of the club shop by me. Our matches against Carlisle last season
brought contrasting fortunes. It was if I remember correctly, it was
this very week last year when we made the long trip North for a midweek
encounter and although they were riding pretty high at the time out own
performance was pretty abject as we went down to a 3-0 defeat, so fans warmed
only by the hats presented by the club and that I helped to distribute. It was in
remarkable contrast with the home game where we played really well only to end
up,rather unluckily, with a 2-2 draw which was hardly a fair return for our
efforts that afternoon. I guess many fans
who made the trip to Histon for the FA Cup tie and perhaps also those who were
sat at home would have had one eye at least on the TV last Sunday afternoon to
see if Leeds could overcome the obstacle that was in our
way. The fact that Leeds also lost 1-0, I guess was both reason to
laugh and cr,y but it demonstrated how perhaps a team with less technical
ability can match those from leagues above by demonstrating an ethic of hard
work and desire not to be beaten. It is one of the joys of having the FA Cup as
a competition which many look up to rather than one to be shunned. With the 40th
anniversary of the League Cup win gradually creeping closer I understand that
the Football club will soon be announcing details of how the day is to be
celebrated. I am sure this news will be welcomed by fans and I have over recent
months been lucky enough to be asked to sit on the steering committee, by the
football club, as they plan towards this special day which will be one which I
am sure we will all look forward to. As we move towards
the crucial Christmas period , it will be good to get a few more points in the
bag, lets hope we start today.
Peterborough
Good evening, it’s great to see everyone
back at the CountyGround for tonight’s game. There is always something special about
floodlit midweek matches and let’s hope tonight’s against our visitors from Peterborough leaves
an indelible mark on our memories. Unfortunately the winner from the half time
draw at the Leicester match had not claimed their prize at the time of writing these
notes so I cannot bring you the details, but if you haven’t yet checked your
ticket here are the winning numbers. 1st Prize. Ticket number 388 won £415 (This
as I have said has not yet been claimed) 2nd Prize. Ticket number 860 won £46 for
T. Cox of Swindon 3rd Prize. Ticket number 667 won
£19 for F. Redfern of London I should perhaps mention that our PC that
operates the score failed just before the Leicester match and because of the type of system we have it was not possible
to resolve the issue in time for the game. We have had an engineer in site this
afternoon and although it would be good if this solved the problem and provided
a quick fix however, I rather suspect it will require further work before we
are up and running again. However, the present failure has also presented us
with a window of opportunity to potentially upgrade the system for the future,
so please bear with us whilst we resolve the issue and may apologise upfront if
it is not working tonight. It is possible that the managerial position
may have moved forward by the time we play tonight’s game but as these are my
first notes since Maurice’s departure, it would be remiss of me not to wish him
well for the future. It is never a happy time when people lose their jobs and
bearing this, under the burden and glare of publicity cannot be any easier. We all hope every manager can be successful
at the CountyGround as this means we have a thriving and happy place to come and watch
our football. Of course this will not happen with every appointment, but
despite this, it is the loyal fans who through their dedication and friendship
that can help to make following the Town a happy day to look forward to and the
atmosphere, at times, against Leicester was fantastic.
Leicester
Welcome to today’s game, which is bound to
generate much interest with Leicester riding high in the league and trying to reclaim their position in
the Championship after their relegation which at the start of the season would
have been regarded as somewhat of a shock. It is a while since we have had the
opportunity to play against them and many fans will no doubt recall that
classic play off final at Wembley that propelled us into the Premiership. Only
recently John Gorman’s autobiography gave a management view of that and his
personal thought on the penalty won by “Chalky” White that ultimately won the
game but only after the huge see saw in fortunes during the game – our 3-0 lead disappearing in not much more
than a 10 minute spell. Looking back a bit further I also remember the packed terraces back in
the seventies when we had the presence of future England goalkeeper Peter
Shilton who had carried on nobly the tradition at that club started by the irrepressible
Gordon Banks. On to more recent events, I have the half
time draw results for the last two matches Northampton Oldham 1. Sarah Archer of Swindon ticket 1100
won £411 Looking ahead I would like to bring an early
note advising our membership that we will once again be running a competition
to win some match day mascot packages. Details will be included in our December
newsletter and will be free to enter for each member. Last season this proved to be a very popular
introduction to what we have on offer which you may benefit from as a result of membership.
1. P Warren Swindon ticket number 1140 won £306
2. N Bennett Bourton ticket number 42 won £34
3. Mr Shales of Faringdon ticket
number 991 won £10
2. Barbara Baldwin of Moreton in Marsh
ticket number 463 won £45
3. To be claimed : ticket 1161 wins £10. Please
contact me to claim
Sometimes conditions are not going to be perfect for the players but that
adds a little spice – it never stopped Derby from playing some great football at their old Baseball ground – these days all
those games would have been called off. Perhaps it won’t be long before the
“authorities” ban any tackling at all on
the grounds of “safety”. Hopefully not today !
Oldham,
Well, it’s almost hard to believe that a
quarter of the season has already passed and it hardly seems like yesterday
that we set out on the campaign for the 2008/09 season and it seem to have
flashed by very quickly Some things remain the same, our half time
draw has had a good start to the season and last Tuesdays results and today’s
from the draw will have to be included in the next home programme. But please
do visit our web site if you want to check the results, before that game at
swindontownsupportersclub.com So what of the season so far – I guess our
form in the league has not been what was hoped for, after that very first match
and I’m sure everyone associated with the club will be hoping that there be a
better run of results just around the
corner. The league cup campaign was brought to and
end , perhaps not in unexpected fashion at the first hurdle against QPR, but at
least it could say that even in defeat things didn’t look too bad. Over the years we have not really had very
much success in the “full members” trophy in all of it’s various disguises,
particularly for the length of time the competition has been running. So to get through the first
two rounds, with both matches away from home, is a small little bonus. Next up
of course is a trip down to the Withdean
and for all those down there for the play off match and the pre match night of a monsoon, or even sat at
home watching on the TV, its about time we got a good result in a knock out
game to help banish that particular
night’s memory. Monday will of course see the first round
draw for the FA Cup and for any fan across the country irrespective of the
level you are playing at, “being in the hat” so to speak is always raises the anticipation
of who you will get Everyone hopes for a home match and of course half those
clubs in at any stage will end up being disappointed. Let’s hope our luck is not out this time ,
but if we do get drawn away then the next time, I shall be writing my notes will be for the
game against Leicester, who we have not played for a number of years and this
is a game that is sure to attract a healthy crowd to the CountyGround.
Northampton
Matches are coming
thick and fast this week, with three games in 8 days and after Saturday I’ll
have a couple of half time draw results to catch up on. Unless we are drawn at
home in the Cup then they will be included in the Leicester programme. Meanwhile if you want to catch
up on the results you can do this on our web site at
swindontownsupportersclub.com. Meanwhile
50/50draw results for the Huddersfield
game were
First prize
winner N Steadman who held ticket
number 373 won £381, followed by
H Fitchett of Wroughton won £42 with ticket number 618 and the
third prize winner’s ticket of 1120
won £10
We have been working with the Football club since close season on funding number of improvements to the County Ground to improve the environment for fans during
their time at the Stadium.
Some of the
projects are nearing completion and here is an update.
The PA has been
one of the items on the agenda and from feedback we have received this is now
working very well in both the Arkells’ and Stand and Town End.
However, achieving
the same level of clarity in the Don Roger’s stand has been a little more of a
problem. Although new speakers have already been fitted, new microphones
supplied etc. there are still issues with the sound that need improving.
One of the
problems of achieving a perfect result is that the testing time when the stand
pretty full is rather limited and this is when the problem surfaces. When the
stand is unpopulated the PA sounds perfect, so improving has been a tricky
issue. Rest assured everyone at the football club is aware of the problem and
we will continue to work with them and I am pleased to say the Supporters Club
will continue to fund matters to try to ensure resolution.
As well as funding
the PA the Supporters Club have also funded improvements to catering kiosks
through out the ground as well as the large number of improvements to the Legends
Lounge, some of which were witnessed at the Huddersfield game, for the first
time.
If you haven’t
been in there tonight, why not pop in at the next home match and enjoy those
for yourself. You only need to produce your home match ticket to gain entry,
but it can get full to capacity on busy match days - so the earlier the
better !!
We will continue
to work in improving the environment for fans coming to the CountyGround and are always willing to listen and
consider ideas from fans for improvement to the fabric of the Stadium to help
improve your enjoyment of your visit.
Huddersfield
Welcome to today’s game and let’s hope we get a better result than the last home league match.
The half time draw has been going well this season and the latest winners from that Millwall match were
K Peachey from Swindon winning £386 for ticket number 625
P Clements from Ludgershall winning £42 for ticket number 37
And
we still await a claim to the third prize of £10. If you hold ticket
number 1100 – sold on the corner of the Arkells and Town End then see
me after today’s game or make contact through our website. You have one
month from the date of the match to make your claim
As one of
the fans at last Friday’s game at Hartlepool it was certainly a game of
contrasting fortunes and having lost the lead from that position I
suppose it felt a bit like a loss, but if it had happened the other way
around and we had equalised at the end after a comeback it would have
almost felt like a win.
Still that’s football and if everything
happened to plan, it would be quite an unexciting experience. After all
how many fans were at St Andrews against Birmingham when we turned a
4-1 deficit into a 6-4 win in the final half an hour, or at Port Vale a
few seasons back when 3-0 down turned to a 3-3 draw – that felt like a
real success.
And what about having the boot on the other
foot, during the play off final as a 3-0 lead against Leicester
disappeared in about a 12 minute spell. Fortunately we got a winner
that day, but it’s odd how just sometimes sides that may look down and
out just get the wind in their sails turn games on their head – all
part of the joy and pain of supporting a club.
Still at least
the solitary point boosted the pounds for points total to £594 – 3 more
today would be very handy in more ways than one.
Don’t forget
out website at www.swindontownsupportersclub.com carries all details of
our activities and you can also check there for details of the winners
of the half time draw as we update this just as soon as we can after
the match and normally within 24 hours.
Roger
Millwall
Good afternoon, welcome to today’s game, let’s hope for a Sunday best !
Details of the wining tickets for the half time draw for the Leeds match were.
1. Carol Edwards of Swindon ticket number 1070 winning £480
2. Natasha Young of Swindon ticket number 795 winning £50
3. Full details to be provided but the ticket holder of ticket number 1157 won £10
I think you will agree that the draw paid out an excellent prize for this game.
It’s
always great when I get chance to meet and present the prizes after
each game but don’t forget even if you haven’t been lucky with that
draw - you can still be a “winner” with the Supporters Club this season.
Whilst
our members will be aware that for their membership they get a list of
benefits and discounts, I have become aware that not all fans
appreciate those that are available.
Full details can be found
on our web site at www.swindontownsupportersclub.com , but today I
would like to focus on two that will be of great interest to fans and
can more than match your membership fee pound for pound and give real
financial benefit.
Don’t forget membership of the Supporters Club costs just £5 per annum with it being less for juniors and concessions.
1.
Members get 10% discount in the Football Club shop. But this is
increased to 15% if you also hold a season ticket for the Football
Club. Please note you will have to present both your membership card
and the season ticket booklet at the time of purchase, when claiming
the 15% discount.
2. Away travel - if you are a fan who travels to
away matches with SAS ( 2005) travel, discounted fare is available to
members. For example both the Stockport and Hartlepool matches the cost
is reduced from £2 on the standard fare and whilst this may not seem
much over a season, it can save a tidy amount.
On Thursday 18th
September I opened our AGM with a thank you to all those in my “team”
for their hard work in ensuring that the previous season was once again
a successful one for our organisation. I also acknowledged the work by
those involved in our various activities which are crucial to the
previous mentioned success.
I am delighted that my existing
committee were returned to office and I look forward to all us
continuing to work together and bring further improvements for fans who
attend the County Ground on a match day or with our support of youth
development.
Regards to all,
Roger
Leeds
Welcome
everyone to today’s game against Leeds. It seems an age since we have
been here after three consecutive away games and so it will be good to
get back to the County Ground and with it, the mouth watering prospect
of today’s game against Leeds.
I would just like to remind
Supporters club members that our A.G.M takes place on Thursday 18th
September at 7.30p.m. It takes place in the Supporters Club Legends
lounge and members and prospective members are welcome. I will be
presenting our annual accounts and without giving away too much now
will be reflecting on another successful season for our organisation.
At
the meeting I will also outline the extent of our involvement in recent
improvements around the County Ground and will include all the details
for those who cannot attend, in my next set of programme notes which
are always available to read on our web site.
Robins Revival draw winners for the Colchester game.
1. Scott Burdock Milton under Wychwood Ticket number 297 £400
2. Alan Morton from Chiseldon Ticket number 362 £50
3. Alan Wright from Swindon Ticket number 942 £10
Four
points from our last two league games, both away, have given the pounds
for points a timely boost and this fund is now close to £500, this
early in the season and for each point we gain we earn another £66. You
can join at any time throughout the season.
Please don’t forget
that the scoreboard is available for birthday / best wishes messages
for all fans, all we ask is that you give us at least 24 hours notice
and full instructions can be found on our web site at
swindontownsupportersclub.com. This is a free service so just follow
the instructions, but having done should you want to make a small
donation just leave it in a sealed envelope, with one of our half time
draw ticket sellers.
I am sure many fans will remember both
games with Leeds last season and the close encounters, and it would be
interesting to know if any fan attended both those games as well as the
two games in the FA Cup in the seventies, our 2-0 defeat at the County
Ground in the quarter final and an even less satisfying 4-0 defeat at
Elland Road a season or two later.
If you were at all 4 of those
matches mail me at enquiries@swindontownsupportersclub.com and I’ll
publish details of the response in my next set of notes.
Roger
Colchester
I
hope everyone has noticed the change in the prize structure for the
half time draw. We still make 50% of the ticket money available to the
winners but this is split between three prizes – yes, there is still
the usual high value cash prize – this averaged £439 last season, but
this main cash prize will be supplemented by a smaller cash prize and
the third a £10 voucher, allowing more fans to benefit as prize winners.
So the results for the first two matches are.
Tranmere
1. Brian Matheson of Lambourn Ticket 635 £ 410
2. John Young of Carterton Ticket 390 £ 50
3. Tracey Squibb Ticket 835 £10 voucher
Q P R
1. T Hunt of Swindon Ticket Ticket 469 £ 310
2. To be claimed Ticket 275 £ 35 - ( updated see prize list)
3.C Brothers of Fairford Ticket 008 £ 10 voucher
Should you miss the winning numbers at the match you can check on our web site.The result is published normally within 24 hours of the match finishing - often the very same day. You always have a month to claim your prize after the match.
I shall soon be reporting at our AGM on another successful year for the Supporters Club but as always our level of success is governed by how fans participate in our activities and fund raising and I and the rest of my committee will be forever grateful for everyone’s help.
Members and potential members are welcome to the event which takes place on Thursday 18th September starting at 7.30p.m. in the Supporters Legends lounge
Without that support, we could achieve very little. If any one would like to join our committed band of helpers or take a more active role in Supporters Club matters, then please do ring me on 01865 820499 and I will be very happy to discuss this with you either before hand or on the night.
The pounds for points initiative is already off to a good start because of the work throughout the summer, why not join the fans who support this initiative which is earmarked 100% for youth development at the Football Club.
You can contact Mavis Knight by e mail at mavis@swindontownsupportersclub.com or telephone 01235 868755 for further details.
All participants have the opportunity to have their name / business name included on our page of the match day magazine for as little as 50p for each point won by the first team during the league season.
Supporters Club membership still remains available for the new season the small charge for membership are
Adults £5 p.a. each
Disabled supporter / Senior Citizens £3 p.a. each
Under 18’s £2 p.a. each
Family membership – up to 5 people (maximum 2 adults) £13 p.a. per family.
Membership entitles you to a number of benefits and discounts in and around the County Ground which will allow you recoup the membership fee through cost savings. Full details of these benefits can be found on our website, including a potential 15% discount in the club shop if you are a season ticket holder as well.
Don’t forget you can always find details of Supporters Club activities and membership application forms are available in download format from our web site at www.swindontownsupportersclub.com.
Roger
Tranmere
Welcome
back for the first competitive game of the season it will be good to
see friends old and new as we kick off with fresh hope for a successful
year ahead.
The
summer period is always relatively quiet period in terms of fund
raising for the Supporters Club but once again today our helpers will
be out selling our half time draw tickets. We have made a minor change
this season – as well as the main cash prize , there will be a smaller
cash prize on offer together with a third prize of a voucher to the
value of £10 that can be used in the club shop - just to whet your
appetite even more. The total payout remains at 50% of the tickets
sold. With three numbers now being called out, if you miss hearing the
being read out, log on to our web site at
www.swindontownsupportersclub.com to check them – they are always there
within 48 hours of the game finishing and more than often than not, on
the evening of the match, Don’t forget you also have a month after the
match to claim your prize (s).
If
you missed my comment in the pre-season programme I would like to
endorse my thanks to all our members who sold tickets and made the half
time draw a real success at the last match of the season mega draw.
Our
other main fund raisers the scratch cards and pounds for points are
also back and as well as our support of youth development at the club
we have also helped to fund improvements to the catering facilities for
fans in the concourses and Legends lounge during the close season. I
will be interested to read the feedback on these new facilities when
there have been a couple of matches for them to bed in.
We
have had a good response to membership before the season started and
with a maximum cost of just £5 for an adult £3 Concessions and £2 for
under 18’s we believe we offer a beneficial association with the
football club as well as a range of benefits which allow you to re-coup
the small charge very quickly.
I
can also report we have had a number of new applications from fans
signing up to the regular payment scheme for the half time draw which
helps us enormously. May I thank everyone for that and also welcome our
new members and those that have rejoined the Supporters Club – Let’s
hope we all have an enjoyable and successful season.
Programme notes 2007/08
Bournemouth
Welcome to today’s match and the visitors from the South coast. The Half time draw against Yeovil draw paid out £411 to Paul Wright from Swindon with his ticket number 930.
I was delighted to report on another very successful year for the Supporters Club at our AGM on Wednesday There have been a few changes at committee level principally that the Membership secretary position has passed to Mike Dew as Sarah Bennett who filled the position last season and is now off to University. I would like to wish her luck and thank her for her previous support.
Mike will be pleased to deal with any future membership enquiries and details of how to join can be found at our web site swindontownsupportersclub.com and an email facility exists should you have any questions.
I
was pleased to report that despite relegation the previous season we
maintained our membership numbers and went on to enjoy our best ever
season of fundraising making close to £30000 available for
distribution. Principally used for our aims of supporting youth
development, improving the “environment” for supporters and building on
previous improvements, leaving us well placed as the fans primary
organization for fundraising and improving your match day experience.
If any fan has any ideas on how we can do even better please contact me.
The 50/50 draw and Pounds for points both produced record returns. I gave my thanks go to all those people who stand out in all weathers selling the half time tickets, the Supporters who buy them, as well as to Mavis Knight for all her hard work who promoting the pounds for points. I also needed to thank the loyal band who sell scratch cards as that also makes a significant contribution to our income.
The Centre of Excellence has always been important to us as. Last season we provided everyone involved with their own kit bag, ensuring a very professional appearance. We again provided the funds for everyone to travel by plane to the tournament in Northern Ireland from where they regularly return as competition winners.
Prior to the Charlton match we also provided them with a cheque for £7000 as additional support. For the direct benefit of fans we also funded the new carpet for the re-named Supporters Club legends lounge as well as having it decorated with some historic moments from the Town past, provided funds for medical equipment and an extra subsidy for fans travelling to Hereford on the SAS travel (2005) trip.
Roger
Yeovil
A
final reminder for all our members that our Annual general meeting
takes place on Wednesday 19th September starting at 7.45 in the
Supporters Club legends lounge.
Non members and prospective
members are welcome to attend to find out more about our activities,
but are precluded from voting on any of the issues. I will be delighted
to see everyone, particularly our members who are able to attend.
I am anticipating having the pleasure to report on another record fund raising season for the Supporters Club.
This
brings me nicely onto the half time draw for the game against Crewe,
which paid a prize of £422 to Peter Demitrean of Swindon, for ticket
number 902.
Mike Skinner has decided after a number years of
operating the programme shop to call it a day and for now the shop, in
the away travel office is temporarily closed. We would like to give our
thanks and a huge note of appreciation to Mike who has just given us a
further donation of just over £500 to add to the several thousand
pounds he has donated to us during his time running the service.
Should
fans have any programmes they wish to donate to the shop, please can
they hold onto them for now and we will advise when they can be
accepted again.
A reminder to fans proposing to travel to
Millwall. The station close to the ground is being closed for the whole
weekend of our match so with virtually no parking in the area, our fans
are recommended to travel to the game by coach.
Given the fact
we have sold out our away allocation at our previous away matches, what
better way if you haven’t travelled with our official away travel
organisation (SAS Travel 2005) to enjoy a first trip with them. Please
make sure you book your coach as early as possible to ensure seats on
the coach are available. Ideally, this should be at least a week ahead
of the game.
With the Sky cameras here today, keep up the
fantastic support. 3 points will give a great boost not only to our
league position but also our own “ pounds for points “ scheme, which
already has had a good start to the season
Roger
Crewe
With
the away support seeming to grow by every match, why not join those
travelling with our “official” away travel organisation SAS travel
(2005), who offer a superb travel service for fans throughout the
season.
The
next away trip is one of the longest of the season, so why not le the
coaches take the strain and enjoy a stress free trip up to Hartlepool
with SAS . Don’t forget please book at least a week ahead to make sure
you can get on the trips – leaving it later may leave you disappointed.
Don’t
forget membership of the Supporters Club allows you a discount on the
price of travelling with SAS and it will not take you long to re-coup
the small membership fee through this and other discounts we offer.
Now
half time draws – I have 2 results to bring you. Charlton : Winner was
Leo Witchell ticket number 701 winning prize £ 300 Luton : Winner was
Ron Owen ticket number 1172 winning prize £360 Both prize winners came
from Swindon. In fact to show lightning can strike in the same place
twice this was Leo’s ( a steward at the County Ground) third win since
the draw started.
Pounds for points has had a cracking
start to the season with already £65.50 pledged for every point won by
the first team this season. It would be great to report at the next
match that the figure has reached £70. Don’t forget any individual,
business or even a number of fans grouping togther can participate as
long as the contribution is a minimum of 50p per point – so if you want
to publicise where you sit – a pub your frequent or any thing else then
contact Mavis Knight whose contact details can be found using our web
site. swindontownsupportersclub.com.
For our membership - a
reminder that the AGM is coming up on Wednesday 19th September at 7.45
p.m. in the Supporters Club Legends Lounge.
Keep up your brilliant support.
More news from me next week, for the Sunday televised game against Yeovil
Roger
Luton.
Welcome
to the County Ground, for some it may be their first visit this season
so I hope everyone has had a good summer and are now looking forward to
the new campaign.
The Supporters Club is back in full swing
with the half time draw, pounds for points, scratchcards and The Red
Army fund again featuring in our fund raising.
One little
change is that we are now introducing a second cash prize for the Half
time draw. This has been done following supporters feedback and the
success of the ticket selling last season. Winning details from
Charlton and also today will appear in our next programme and on our
web site, soon after today’s game.
Pounds for points has
pledges of around £60 per points already and it would be great if we
could again beat the record established last season. Full details can
be found on our web site or by contacting Mavis Knight.
On
Tuesday , if you were not here to see it we presented a cheque of £7000
to the centre of excellence much of which was raised through that
scheme and I would like to thank all supporters who contributed and
congratulations to the team for winning the BT trophy in Northern
Ireland.
I hope you had the chance to visit the re-named Supporters Club legends lounge before the match.
As
you will be aware we paid for improvements to the décor last year and
we have been working in the summer to bring a flavour of the history of
Swindon Town on the walls.
Why not pop in and have a look but
be warned although you only need to have a home match ticket to gain
entry exactly as it was last season. However be warned, it can be
filled to permitted capacity, particularly in the last three quarters
of an hour before kick off – so get there early and watch the big
screen TV.
Our Supporters Club membership is available for a
cost of just £5 for adults, £3 concessions and £2 for under 18’s. Don’t
forget, membership entitles you to a number of benefits included
discounted cost of travel with the SAS 2005 travel organisation.
If you are not yet a member, I hope to welcome you soon.
Meanwhile visit our web site which can be found at www.swindontownsupportersclub.com.
Finally,
we may end up welcoming one of the Supporters Club player of the season
from previous a campaign in the shape of Sam Parkin and it would be
wrong not to spare a thought for Sol Davis another of our ex players
who suffered a serious illness son the way to a game last season whilst
playing for Luton.
Roger
Charlton.
Welcome back to the County Ground for the first competitive match of the season.
I hope everyone had a good summer and are now looking forward to the new campaign.
The
Supporters Club is back in full swing with the half time draw, pounds
for points, scratchcards and The Red Army fund again featuring in our
fund raising.
One little change is that we are now introducing
a second cash prize for the Half time draw.This has been done following
supporters feedback and the great success of the ticket selling last
season.
Supporters may recall we last played Charlton at the
Valley on 11th March 2000. Despite a win that day through a Steve Cowe
goal our paths have not crossed since, as Charlton were promoted to the
Premiership and whilst we suffered relegation.
What was more
unique on that day was that Charlton, who had a crowd of almost 20000
gave the whole of the proceeds of their half time draw to Swindon to
pay for our centre of excellence team to go to Northern Ireland to
compete in the Milk Cup tournament. A magnificent gesture.
We
have waited seven years to welcome them back to the County Ground to
thank them for that and as you know the Supporters Club has for the
past 5 seasons have picked up where Charlton with their generosity left
off by paying for the Centre of Excellence to go to Northern Ireland
every season.
Additionally, we are also this evening
presenting them with a further £7000 from our fund raising last season.
This of course includes the proceeds of the pounds for points scheme
where many supporters showed their generosity and for which I thank,
each and every one of them. The team have rewarded everyone by bringing
the BT trophy home from Northern Ireland.
Tonight it is our pleasure to welcome Sue Townsend, all members of Charlton supporters club and Charlton fans to our ground.
Our
Supporters Club membership is available for a cost of just £5 for
adults, £3 concessions and £2 for under 18’s. Don’t forget, membership
entitles you to a number of benefits including discounted cost of
travel with the SAS 2005 travel organisation.
I hope you had
the chance to visit the re-named Supporters Club legends lounge before
the match., Don’t forget you only need to have a home match ticket to
gain entry, exactly as it was last season.
More news from me on Saturday. Meanwhile visit our web site which can be found at www.swindontownsupportersclub.com.
Roger
Gillingham
Today would seem like an appropriate occasion to mention our football family.
In the days of standing when we would all claim our territory, we would always
acknowlege the people who were standing around you as they were all familar faces,
Indeed if you saw someone in Town you would speak to them even if you didn't really
know them, perhaps it was in the knowledge that we all shared the highs and lows of
supporting our club. In these days of all seater stadiums we still know the people
sitting around us and we all share those same emotions.
At the moment we are all missing one of our number in Maureen Large a massive supporter of the club in many, many ways, a familar figure both home and away, who is recovering from major surgery, we all hope she soon recover fully and soon be back with us at County Ground.
Sadly another long time supporter who was a close neighbour of mine Brian Gale, passed away recently. Brian had a season ticket in Shrivenham Road (under its many names for some 30 years) his daughter Angie who rarely misses a game home or away, told me how much she appreciated the friendship shown by so many of the Supporters who sit in the same area in Shrivenham Road with her and Brian during her fathers illness and the concern shown. She would especially like to thank Des and Ceri for their kindness. It was great to see Angie at Millwall. I am sure giving an extra cheer for her dad.
Perhaps this is part of being a football supporter that we do not always think of, three
points are always great, but perhaps being part of a great football family may be greater.
So three points today will give Maureen a great lift and I am sure somehow Brian will know the result.
Winner of the half time draw for the Bournemouth game was Sheila Maslin of Swindon who won £429 with her ticket number 897
Roger
Tranmere
Our
defeat in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy has prevented a return to the
Withdean Stadium in Brighton which would brought back many memories of
a disappointing loss on penalties on a wet Brighton night during the
play off match a few seasons ago.
So
with that prospect now out of the way, we can look forward to today’s
match against high flying Tranmere, another play off opponent in years
gone by. With 4 and then 5 goals in our last two home matches is there
any chance we can go for the next number in the sequence today ? Three
points will certainly bring us a whole lot closer to the total that
took Tranmere to the top of the league.
So what else do we
have to look forward to today - the half time draw of course, the
winner at the match against Gillingham was Mr TB Chapman of Highworth
who won £385 with ticket number 319.
The 5 star show against Gillingham gave a boost to the pounds for pointsand the season total now tops £1000.
I
often make a plea to those proposing to travel to away matches with our
appointed travel organisation to book at least a week ahead of the
planned trip. Although we still have a trip to Port Vale to make, the
trip to Elland road, is looming large and is sure to very popular for more than one reason.
If
you are planning to go to that game by coach please may I re-iterate my
call to book as early as possible. Not only do SAS have to secure
coaches for the trip they must also make arrangements to have the
appropriate number of volunteer stewards and helpers to make sure the
trip runs to plan. Judging by the number who seem to be planning to
travel we are sure of a great support.
Hopefully,
matters around the football club might be a whole lot clearer by the
time of today’s game so keep up your great support - we can still make this a season a real one to remember.
Roger.
Doncaster.
Whilst the off the field issues may have been heavily on every fans mind, our last home match saw a welcome win thanks to Barry Corr’s goal in the last few minutes.
Although the team was unable to follow this up with another win last week we still remain handily placed to challenge the top of the league. With two home games in the next 4 days there is a further opportunity to cement our spot at the right end of the league.
Three points today will obviously help all round, including of course our “pounds for points” fund which is specifically designed for us to help with youth development at the football club. Given the success at that level in recent seasons I am sure you will agree is an extremely worthwhile cause.
Another of our principle funds raising initiatives, the half time draw, saw a season’s best prize of £474 paid to Jim Morris of Lower Blunsdon with ticket number 398.
I was asked at the last game how we distribute the funds raised – let me first say that the Supporters Club as an organisation is operated with total independence by supporters. Our committee is made up of long term supporters of the football club. Our aims are to improve facilities for fans, encourage youth development and enhance prospects for the football club, through our activities, the benefits we offer and the fund raising support.
Now back to the original question. Where ever possible any spending from our fund raising including the half time draw is made in such a way to either enhance facilities at the County Ground, or provide fans and or, the football club, with a specific and tangible benefit. Whilst it is impossible to be totally specific what would be considered as a worthy of our support each item is communicated or advertised at the time of completion.
It is not within our remit to just provide “donations” to the football club, for things such as player’s wages, which was a “rumour” recently drawn to my attention.
We are now in the process of considering exactly what our next project should be and I would welcome suggestions from our membership. Indeed I would also like open this to fans that purchase a half time draw ticket. All you have to do as a non member is to leave a handwritten suggestion with any ticket seller as you buy your ticket. Members can also use the e-mail facility on our website at www.swindontownsupportersclub.com. where any fan can also learn of our activities and find joining instructions.
Any ideas will then be discussed at our committee meetings. Don’t forget we do look to add value either to fans, the football club when considering any initiative so do please include what you perceive to be the benefit of your suggestion. Don’t forget also to include your name and a method of contacting so we can follow up if further information if required.
Meanwhile enjoy today’s game. See you again on Tuesday.
Roger
Leyton Orient
Welcome to today’s game close on the heels of Saturday which unfortunately means I cannot bring you the winner of the half time draw for the Doncaster game until my next programme notes. You can always check our web site for the result if you miss it at the match.
One interesting fact about the half time draw I can bring you is that we are moving well towards reaching 150,000 ticket sales since we started the draw a few seasons ago.
In
my last notes I gave fans an outline of our key objectives and
information about how we use the funds we raise for the benefit of
supporters and the football club.
Perhaps having reached this stage of the season perhaps it’s a good time to remind all fans that we are still open for membership applications.
We only charge a minimal membership fee. This has remained unchanged for 7 seasons.
For every pound taken in membership fees last season we were able to turn that into over twenty times that amount through our fund raising activities. I think you will agree is a fantastic achievement. With even more members who knows what we can achieve.
Our fees are :
Adults £5.
Concessions - Those over 60, and the disabled £3.
Under 18’s are just £2.
Family – up to 5 people maximum 2 adults £13.
We don’t just take your money and give nothing back. Membership entitles fans to a series of benefits which allow you to make more savings than the actual cost of this small subscription.
These include
1) Discount in Football Club Shop. 10% (May not be used in addition to any other offer relating to Club shop discount).
2) Away travel discount as specified by the travel organisation for each match
3) Discount on the scoreboard messaging service as detailed on our web site
4) Free entry into the “lucky” draws providing a special match day experience at the CountyGround,
5) Ticket priority after season ticket holders for “All ticket “home matches.
You can pick up an application form from the away travel office or by visiting our website www.swindontownsupportersclub.com where the membership application form or forms for our other activities can be printed.
If you would like to enjoy the benefits membership gives or help the committee further we would be delighted to hear from you
Roger.
Bristol Rovers
Welcome
back to the County Ground for today’s local derby against our rivals
from down the M4, who like us achieved promotion last season.
I have a couple of half time draw results to bring up to date
Doncaster
where the winner was Mrs Mutton her ticket number 851 winning £419 and
Leyton Orient where Christine Coward of Stratton St Margaret picking up
the prize of £352 with ticket number 771.
Since my last notes
we have secured a win at Wycombe in the cup and suffered that close
defeat at Leeds. Unfortunately the narrow defeat very much followed the
pattern of our last two matches at Elland Road where, luck or
refereeing decisions just simply didn’t go our way.
Last
weekend, even at International level, there were crucial decisions made
incorrectly on the spur of the moment by officials that significantly
affected the outcome of matches. I do wonder how long it will be before
even more “technology” evens out the inconsistent decisions we see at
all levels of the game. All fans ask for is consistency, its just not
there and seems to get worse despite an alleged higher level of
training and support and other aids for officials during matches.
How
a Leeds player can kick a ball away 40 yards a number of seconds after
a free kick has been given against him and not get cautioned and yet we
have 7 players booked in the same game just smacks of “ weak”
refereeing. You now you go to matches more fearing the performance from
the match officials more than the opposition in your quest for getting
a result form the game.
I heard on BBC radio Leeds an
objective comment from Eddie Gray - the old Leeds legend who said that
the referee crucially “missed” an even more obvious and blatant
handball by a Leeds player in their own penalty area shortly after the
one he gave the penalty for Leeds. I also understand that Sky sports
pundit Gordon McQueen also called some of the refereeing decisions
“unbelievable” and felt that the referee had played a major part in
influencing the ultimate result.
I am sure all of us at the
match would agree with those comments. Too often that is the way it is
for away teams in intimidating atmospheres. It is a difficult job I
agree but all you can hope for is a 50/50 share of incorrect decisions
– The nature of the game is such that perfection is impossible but
Saturday was a real blow to that overriding principle of relative
equality.
That’s my gripe about last week over, but thanks
again to the fans for their fantastic support of the team despite the
loss and of course to the players for giving their all in a difficult
environment. The 1700 fans may have been smaller in number than the
home support but once again the away backing was tremendously vocal.
Our travel group took a convoy of 9 coaches to game which was a great
effort given the logistics of organisation and I thank them for that.
Our Christmas newsletter will provide a fans eye perspective on how that trip went - should make a very interesting read.
Programme
collectors please note our web site swindontownsupportersclub.com now
has a section dedicated old programmes. On offer at present are a
number from season 1960/61.
See you all next week for the cup tie.
Forest Green Rovers.
I
am sure most fans will be sorry to see the departure of Paul Sturrock
who endeared himself to fans during his all too brief stay.
I
also suspect many fans knew deep down that when the Plymouth position
became vacant it would prove to be too much of an enticement, given his
previous spell at that Club and his continued links. Personally I
always found him very open and willing to discuss all things about the
state of play here and would thank him for this and for this and his
attempts to engage the community. But we must now move on.
In
my last notes I said my gripe over refereeing was over for the season
after the Leeds debacle. Little did I realise our next game was going
to have the enigma called Rob Styles in charge. Enough said !
Latest half time draw winner was with ticket number 341 paying a prize of £396 to Margaret Hopkins of South Marston.
Undoubtedly
today’s match will be a difficult one for more than one reason, but
should we get through may I remind members that you will have ticket
priority for any third round home match within the timescales set out
by the football club.
There is no guarantee to the actual seat you may get as specific seats may already be allocated to season ticket holders etc.
To make a ticket claim you must
Take your actual Supporters club membership card to the ticket office when purchasing your ticket.
Only
one ticket per member is allowed. (Even if you have a season ticket /
“stub” holder you are still able to use your Supporters Club membership
to buy another ticket)
For the purposes of this offer only,
new membership applications will cease to be valid from noon on the day
of the Forest Green match. However, if you join after that you will be
entitled to participate in any future similar offers should we progress
beyond round three.
Here’s hoping we will be in the draw for the next round.
Roger.
Brighton
I
like all fans have been watching the off the field issues played out in
the glare of publicity and await an outcome that will help ensure the
prosperity of the football club for a time much longer than a hand to
mouth existence.
I believe our own fund raising adds to the
overall welfare of the football club and it’s supporters and through
out these recent troubled times I am grateful to everyone for
continuing to support the schemes we have in place.
Which
brings me nicely to the Robins Revival half time draw, which
incidentally was born out of one of the previous times financial crisis
at the football club. The draw has now raised around £70000 since it
started.
The latest winner was V Austin of Blunsdon who won a prize of £303 with ticket number 776.
Incidentally
that is the second draw running where a previous winner has won again.
Who says lightning never strikes twice! The Forest Green match was
played in dreadful weather at times and I must thank my ticket sellers
for their sterling work on such a bad weather day.
The
conditions reminded me a little of a previous cup tie against non
league Stevenage, only this time thankfully we managed to scrape
through and earn a real opportunity of progressing to round four with
another match against lower league opposition.
The last three
away matches have all been tough games and with the exception of
perhaps Carlisle we have been a little unlucky to come away empty
handed. At Carlisle I was pleased to be able to help handing out hats
to fans who had shown real commitment in making that mid week trip. A
win today would be a welcome boost to our points tally as well as a
similar boost to the pounds for point scheme.
I was originally
planning to issue members with a pre Christmas newsletter, but this is
may now be strategically held over until the New Year. I will advise
you in my notes at next weeks match against Hartlepool when you can
expect to receive it.
Roger
Hartlepool
After
a troubled last few weeks of uncertainty it is nice to know that
matters have now moved forward and I would like to welcome Andrew
Fitttton and his colleagues to the County Ground. I would like to offer
him the best wishes of the Supporters Club and he can rest assured that
we will be doing everything we can to help his period of tenure.
In
recent weeks it has been very much business as usual despite the
uncertainty and at the last match our half time draw paid a prize of
£408 to Mr M Reeves of Haddenham near Aylesbury with ticket number 325.
No points from the game didn’t help the pounds for points
scheme and we have been stuck on the same total now for a few weeks
now. Hopefully that might change today.
All those who support
that scheme were entered into a free draw to win a VIP day out for two
at the County Ground at a forthcoming fixture and the winner drawn from
the hat was Shirley Hollister.
I would like to congratulate
the youth team for progressing to the 4th round of the F A youth cup.
The pounds for point scheme is dedicated 100% to supporting youth
development at the County Ground and it’s good to see progress once
again this season in the premier FA youth tournament.
In fact
I would like to think that in recent seasons the support we have given
the youth development at the County Ground over many seasons has been
repaid many times over with examples of the sale of Lukas Jutkiewicz
and players such as Michael Pook, Chris Allen progressing through to
first team level. Events such as these are a constant reminder of the
value of a youth policy at the County ground.
This something
that may have been at risk a few seasons ago at the time of our initial
involvement and although the Centre of Excellence didn’t have
significant input in the early development of Ben Tozer, the
opportunity for him to come here, may not have been available if the
youth set up didn’t exist.
Time now to wish every one of our a
members, all those involved with the football club and every
supporters, a very Happy Christmas and lets hope for a great New Year
as well.
Swansea.
Welcome
to the New Year ! I hope you all have had a wonderful and festive
period and managed to set your alarm for today ! Let’s hope we can look
forward to a great 2008 for the Football club and fans will be all able
enjoy a really successful period.
The last half time draw
before Christmas paid out a great Christmas bonus of £ 466 to the
holder of ticket number 713. So highly delighted fan, Mr D Pike of
Eldene, Swindon had perhaps an unexpected, but very welcome early
Christmas present.
With another year passing, it is now time for a quick look back.
The
Supporters Club has had a really successful time with its fund raising
during the last 12 months. I would thank everyone who participated and
also my committed team who have helped with all the schemes we operate.
Without doubt over 8 seasons now, we are well established as the
primary fans group for fund raising for the Football club. You can
already see evidence of this in and around the ground.
With
our efforts continuing apace we will soon be looking forward to
reaching our next goal of £150,000 since our formation. I would like to
think that this has made an important contribution to the life of the
football club by investing in improvements and other benefits that fans
can enjoy.
On the field, despite his relatively short stay,
Paul Sturrock and his squad delivered the promotion we all desired and
our close ands supportive financial relationship with the youth
development at the club has helped to, deliver not only players to
first team level , but also additional revenue through receipt of
transfer fees.
On the playing front I should not over look the
achievement of the youth team in reaching the quarter finals of the F A
Youth cup and hopefully we can look forward to another cracking match
against Middlesbrough later this the month in round 4 of that
competition.
The imminent changes at the football club will
hopefully lead us into a successful period of sustained development. My
committee and our membership will I am sure be looking forward to the
challenges that the new year and era will bring, as we look to continue
to look for new ways to develop the levels of support we can offer.
A win today and next week in the F A Cup would be a great start to 2008.
My best wishes for a happy and prosperous New Year to you all.
Roger.
Barnet
Today’s
break from league action gives us an opportunity to progress to the
fourth round of the FA Cup for the first time in what seems ages.
Remembering
last season’s games against Barnet, particularly that defeat at
Underhill, where our fantastic away support provided magnificently more
than 50 % of the overall attendance, was a particularly bitter defeat
to swallow.
With games coming thick and fast over the holiday
period and deadlines to meet I will hold over confirmation of the half
time draw winner at the Swansea game until my next notes. If you want
confirmation in the meantime you can find the winner listed on our
website. swindontownsupportersclub.com. If you don’t have access and
think you might have won don’t worry there is always a month to claim
your prize under the rules of the draw.
The four away points
gained over Christmas boosted the pounds for points total to almost
£2000. Don’t forget every penny from this fund goes directly to support
youth development at the Football Club. With the under 18 side having
their own very difficult F AYouth Cup tie against Middlesbrough very
shortly why not come along and provide some vocal support.
We
had a great turnout of Supporters once again at both Yeovil and
Bournemouth and although Bournemouth had underestimated the number
travelling, the action taken to remove their fans from the area behind
the goal to allow our fans entry to that area, will have been
appreciated by those who otherwise may not have been able to get in to
see the match.
Its was good to know that Maureen Large had
recovered from her recent surgery and was well enough to take her usual
position of cheering on the team with husband Fred at the Christmas
matches.
Hopefully we can all sit down with eager anticipation when the draw is made for round 4.
Roger.
Notts Forest
First
thing for me to catch up with today is the half time draw results from
the last two matches where we have paid out prizes of almost £1000 to
the two winners who were.
Swansea : Mike Higgs of Highworth who won £566 with ticket number 1205 and
Barnet : Maureen Kirkland from Portsmouth whose prize was £432 with her ticket number 125.
Don’t
forget if you want to participate in the draw at every match but are
unable to attend you can pay by quarterly subscriptions of £6 and
payable by bank standing order. Payment by this method will give also
you the same ticket number for each match. If you are interested please
contact me or visit our web site at swindontownsupportersclub.com.
where you can download the appropriate form and find the details.
Today
we reach the landmark of the 200th draw. I would like to thank everyone
who has helped us reach this stage from ticket sellers to fans that buy
the tickets.
I am sure that everyone, like me, is now looking
forward to a more stable environment over coming seasons around the
Football Club, now that the ownership issue has moved on. The
Supporters club will continue to help and work with the new owners to
improve the environment for fans at the County Ground, just like we
always have.
Finally today a few words about the Youth cup 4th
round match. Although I cannot comment on the result writing these
notes ahead of the game, or the FA cup match, come to that, the youth
cup tie was another opportunity to cement our relationship with youth
development at the County Ground with our match sponsorship.
Even
before this game we had already committed £7000 towards youth
development this season. With the pounds for points now building
nicely, as the season progresses, we are heading towards having another
significant sum available by the end of the season.
Hoping that total is further increased after today’s game.
Roger
Northampton
In
our New Year newsletter we had a free competition for our members to
win one of 4 mascot packages on offer. Winners from the correct entries
received were drawn on our behalf, by Sarah Mildenhall from the
football club.
To enter, members only had name our first goal scorer in a league game this season and that was of course Christian Roberts.
I
am pleased to say that two of the winners will have their nominated
child leading out the team today. F Large and G Thompson have nominated
Adam Day and Zhenya Thompson repectively. We hope they enjoy their day
and we have two long term fans for the future.
The nominees of the other two winners, M Knight and A Davis will appear at the Oldham match.
The
Supporters Club reached a real milestone with the Half Time draw
against Forest with it being their 200th since starting it some 8
seasons ago.
The winner for the Forest game was J Gilbert with
ticket number 855 winning £460. We also made provision for a second
prize as it was a special occasion and a match worn shirt was won by
Maureen Kirkland with ticket number 125. Oddly Maureen won the previous
draw’s cash prize and after choosing the shirt won by Lee Peacock could
not wait to get it off his back! We hope to officially present it today
at half time.
I have to say from very small beginnings we have
established the draw as a regular feature on match days and I am
grateful to my loyal band of match day ticket sellers, some of whom
have been selling since day one and to every fan who has purchased a
ticket during that time.
Whilst the £1 stake may not seem
much, over time this does make a real difference and we have raised
around £70000 some of that has been invested in improving matters
around the County Ground providing a better environment for fans as
well as helping the football club. Items such as the Scoreboard and
re-decoration of the renamed “Supporters club legends lounge” are some
of the more familiar features.
Having had such a long running draw, there are a myriad of statistics, for example.
3 fans have won three times! So never give up hope.
Highest prize paid £1050
Average prize since day one £357
Average prize this season £411
59 prizes over £400 have been paid
140 prizes over £300
3 sides have featured as opposition in 7 draws Brentford, Tranmere and Wycombe.
Of the 200 winners – 49 have been female.
If you want a “hot” number try grabbing 641 – it has won 3 times!
Over 142000 tickets have already been sold.
The
next target is to reach the sale of 150000 tickets, which we intend,
with your support to reach before the season’s close! We will let you
know when we get there, it’ll be time for another celebration!”
If
you want to join the regular payment scheme to participate in the draw,
rather than purchase on a match day, visit the Supporters Club web site
at swindontownsupportersclub.com. for full details.
Finally,
for today when I was at Walsall I bumped onto two of our old players
Willie Penman and Jimmy Gilligan, both of whom made time to chat with
me. You might be interested to know that Jimmy now does work for Stuart
Pearce in watching potential players for the England under 21 side.
Roger
Cheltenham.
Another
local derby tonight and it’s about time we managed a win after being
pegged back in our away game earlier in the season after taking a lead.
The
half time draw at the last match against Northampton paid out a
cracking prize of £511 to T Archer of Swindon with ticket number 981.
Should you ever miss the calling of the number at the match or its
transmission on the scoreboard, it is usually posted on our web site at
swindontownsupportersclub.com. within 24 hours of the match finishing –
often very much sooner.
You will see the recent results have
pushed the pounds for points total well on the way to the £3000 figure
and I am sure fans will have taken some pride that the under 18 team
progressed to the next round of the FA youth cup after beating
premiership Academy side Middlesbrough a match which the Supporters
Club sponsored of course.
I would like to wish the team well for
the next game – away to Charlton and hopefully they will be back at the
County Ground playing a quarter final against either Liverpool or
Sunderland. All funds raised by the pounds for points are ring fenced
for youth development at the club
At the last home match two
young fans enjoyed their appearance as mascots following success in our
free competition with our new year’s newsletter. We hope both Adam Day
and Zhenya Thompson enjoyed the experience.
Evening matches are always special at the County Ground, let’s hope we will remember tonight’s for the best of reasons.
Roger.
Walsall
First
off, may I congratulate our half time draw winner Ian Robinson of
Swindon who £394 with ticket number 1041 at the Cheltenham match – a
record prize for an evening match !
Interestingly, I noted at
Notts Forest last week that although there was a crowd of over 23000,
their half time draw only paid a prize of just over £ 200 to the
winner, so given the fact our crowds are significant lower than this,
are prize is averaging well over £400 this season – we must be doing
some thing right.
I was also pleased to receive a really nice
note from Mr G Thompson – a winner in our mascot package competition
that grandson Zhenya had a fantastic day out at the County Ground
recently when he took up his prize.
Returning to Forest for a
minute as well as renewing acquaintance with Colin Calderwood I also
bumped in to Tim Flowers who kept goal for us on loan a few seasons
back. In keeping ( forgive the words !) with the goal keeping history
of the Town you may recall that Mike Turner came to one of our legends
days last seasons and he enjoyed the occasion so much, he is returning
again with his three grandson’s for our game against Leeds next week.
Last
week was also one where goal scorers and Swindon stole headlines
elsewhere. Many will have seen Brian Howard’s shock winner for Barnsley
in the FA Cup, but further down the scale great to see that Kaid
Mohamed scored two of Torquay’s three in their match against Ebbsfleet
in their promotion chase in Blue Square Premier league.
What
with Iffy O’noura joining the management team at Lincoln there was
certainly a lot to reflect on, over a consolation pint, following our
defeat at Forest.
We hope to announce very shortly the proposed
date for our end of season dinner and we would like to see as many of
our members there as possible. The event will also be open to non
members as long as numbers permit. A truly informal occasion, we will
no doubt follow the tradition of a 4 course meal and have an attendance
from the management of the football club and players, It’s a great
chance for a real social occasion and learn of the Supporters Club
player of the year, which last year went to Phil Smith.
Walsall
and our selves had trodden similar paths in recent seasons and as a
result fans of both have seemed to develop an empathy. However, I am
sure even Walsall fans, will understand that I would like to see three
points for the Town today.
Roger.
Leeds
Congratulations
to John Young of Carterton who won £419 with his ticket number 1136 in
the half time draw at last Saturdays match against Walsall.
Let
me welcome Mike Turner and some of his family to the game today – fans
might recall he played in goal for the Town from 1961 – 64, including
42 appearances during our first ever promotion season in 1962/63. In
total Mike played 87 times for town including victories over Chelsea
3-0 in the League Cup ( that result would certainly create interest
today ! ) the same score against Manchester City, in the League and
also both home and away against today’s opponents Leeds – our home game
against them incidentally finished 2-2 !
Moving on some fans are
already aware from the detail on our web site that we have a new badge
available, both for members and non members.
The badge is finished in Gilt and has a brooch pin fitting
Price: Members £3.00p Non members £3.50p.
It
is available on match days from our committee members in the Winners
lounge before games and also those who are half time draw ticket
sellers, the. It is also available from the away travel office and by
post – for full details of how to order, please go to our web site at
swindontownsupportersclub.com.
The demand has been great so far so don’t forget to get yours.
Although
the youth team went out at the 5th round stage of the FA youth cup they
were in good company as Liverpool also went out at the same stage and
even Manchester United went out in round 4.
In the past two
seasons the team had made great progress in that well respected
National competition and the Supporters club are delighted that such a
high number of the team have now been given an opportunity to extend
their stay at the County Ground and hopefully won’t be off to a
premiership academy team in the near future.
It will be great if
a number are able to progress through to the first team and if so,
given our financial support of the set up over recent seasons – now
approaching £30000, we hope that the club and its supporters will reap
some real benefit and also bring a sense of pride from those that
participate in our fund raising – particularly the pounds for points
specifically dedicated to youth development.
Let’s hope three points today will add to that particular fund.
Roger
Huddersfield
With
the matches coming thick and fast I shall have to hold over details of
the half time draw winner from the Leeds match to my next programme
notes Meanwhile if you do want to check on the result of the draw you
can go to swindontownsupportersclub.com. where all the results for the
season are listed.
Just in case any one missed my mention of our new badge in my notes on Saturday.
Available both to members and non members the badge which is finished in Gilt and has a brooch pin fitting is priced at
Members £3.00p Non members £3.50p.
You
can pick one up from me on a match day as well as the away travel
office. Full details of how to order by post are included on our web
site mentioned above.
The point earned by the team at Oldham
finally took our pounds for points tally over £3000 for the season and
with still over 30 points to play for this season, lets all hope that
this amount has increased significantly by the end of the season.
We
are putting the finishing touches to our end of season diner and player
of the season presentation, so I hope to bring you more detailed news
of this very soon.
This evening we welcome our second set
visitors from Yorkshire in the space of a few days and as always let’s
hope we have another three points at the end of the evenings
entertainment.
Roger
Carlisle
First thing today is to catch up on the latest half time draw results.
There
are two. Firstly Leeds. A cracking prize at this match of £577 went to
A Burnett of Chiseldon who won with ticket number 415.
The next
match the evening fixture obviously saw a much lower attendance on a
freezing cold night , but despite this we still paid a very good prize
of £319. The winner of this draw was G Collins of Upper Stratton with
ticket 993.
That match certainly had plenty of incidents and kept us right on the edge of our seats right until the last minute.
I
guess that last weekends FA Cup results showed just what can be
achieved with a little bit of luck and hard work and skill. I am sure
that many fans across the country that follow football outside of the
Premiership will have derived a great deal of satisfaction from the
fact that there is still life and soul in the Football league.
In
these leagues fans often show great commitment without the media
exposure others may get. None more so than here at Swindon where we all
know even in times of limited success we will still see the same faces
on match days – all part of the great Swindon Town family and one of
which we can feel rightly proud.
My next notes will include
full details of the Supporters Club end of season function and the
provisional date has been set for Tuesday 29th April, here at the
County Ground. Last season around 75 fans, plus guests from the
football club came along to see the presentation of our Player of the
Season award and share in an informal evening whilst being served a
four course meal. We hope as many of you as possible can make it this
season. Numbers permitting the evening will also be one which
non-members may also attend.
Southend
I
hope everyone is having a good Easter………hopefully with a win in our
half time draw Fred Large……..a great supporter of the Town, will be
enjoying his with a win in our last half time draw having picked up his
prize of £423 with his ticket number 246.
The last home game was
certainly one where most fans went home feeling we were pretty unlucky
not to win. Although Carlisle’s late equaliser deprived the pounds for
points fund of a valuable contribution the fund a couple more wins will
take this past the £3500 for the season. We will be shortly announcing
a major financial commitment to youth development at the club that runs
in to 5 figures and is only possible through everyone’s support of our
fund raising activities.
Talking of which ticket sales in our
half time draw are now only 2000 away from reaching a staggering
150000. We are not sure when we will reach this figure but its certain
to be before the end of the season. Thanks again for all your support.
We will once again be having a mega draw at the last match of the
season, with not only our traditional mega cash prize, but also a
season ticket and new season shirt up for grabs.
Our next
member’s newsletter is being prepared at the moment and should be with
everyone by the first week in April. This will contain voting slips for
our player of the year as well as a number other pieces of important
information, so please look out for this.
Finally today it would
be remiss of me on the day of his last match as Stadium manager at the
County Ground, not to wish both Ron Topp and his wife Lyn the very best
of wishes for their respective retirements. We have always found Ron
and Lyn helpful of our requests that we make from time to time and I
would wish to thank them both on behalf of our committee and all fans
for that. Some might not appreciate the depth and myriad of regulations
that need to be followed to make sure a game is allowed to even take
place and often, these fall within Ron’s jurisdiction.
Thanks both have a great retirement.
Roger
Oldham
Today
is a fantastic day for me as Chairman of the Supporters club with the
Football Club recognising today’s game as Supporters Club “Super
Saturday” in recognition of not only our previous, but our on going
support particularly the recent announcement of our commitment to fully
fund the centre of excellence trip to Northern Ireland for the Milk cup
to the tune of £10000..
There will be an on the field
presentation in front of fans at half time of that donation and of
course all this would not be possible without support of our members
and all fans that participate in our fundraising.
Not only this,
but today we may see our half time draw ticket sales exceed the 150,000
mark. To do this at today’s game we need to sell 908 tickets…….so if
the prize at today’s match is read out as £454 or more then you know we
will have reached that fantastic milestone. Even if we don’t this week
we will do so at the next match against Port Vale in a couple of weeks
time.
The last draw winner from the Southend match was Paul Brown of Bicester who won £423 with ticket number 279
Details
of our player of the year presentation evening on Tuesday 29th April at
the County Ground are now available. Our members will be receiving
their personal invitations very shortly with their newsletter. The
event which costs £20 per head for the informal dinner is open to all
fans subject to availability and details can be found on our web site
at swindontownsupportersclub.com.
It is always an informal
occasion where fans, club officials and players can enjoy a relaxed
evening culminating in our player of the year presentation.
I look forward to meeting you there and meanwhile let’s all get behind the team and the club and work towards a brighter future.
Meanwhile
any fan visiting our site swindontownsupportersclub.com may enter a
free competition to win a ticket for a future Swindon home game (to be
used before end of August 2008). One winner will be drawn from all the
correct entries received by 12th April 2008.
If this is followed up with a Supporters club membership application your prize will be doubled to two tickets.
Question
What update was added to the site on 27th March 2008.
Entry
to be submitted (only one per person or e mail address) using the
“enquiries@swindontownsupportersclub.com” email hyperlink on the web
site.
This may be found within the “contact” section against “membership enquiries.” Good Luck !
.
Roger.
Port Vale
I have two competitions to catch up on today, firstly the last half
time draw paid £420 to winning ticket number 809 held by Jim Pullinger
of Swindon. Secondly in the last programme we ran a competition so that
any fan visiting our web site at swindontownsupportersclub.com could
win tickets for a forthcoming match, between now and the end of August,
just by answering a simple question, identifying that we had asked for
help in trying to track down for a Russian fan the programme from
1972/73 between Swindon v Zenit Leningrad .The winner who identified
the news item was Joe Prinzi.
I am sure everyone is now aware
of our contribution of £10000 to the Centre of Excellence to cover the
cost of their trip to Northern Ireland for the Milk Cup. I would like
to add my thanks to the broadcasting media for publicising the donation
but was a little surprised that this good news story of fans working
together to deliver something positive in support of the football club
and its future, was considered not even worthy of a mention in the
written press.
With the season now reaching its close, our
member should have received their newsletter with details of the usual
end of season activities including the player of the year dinner on
29th April. The 4 course informal dinner is open to all fans ( but you
will need to pre book with me on 01865 820499 by Friday 25th April -
unless you are a member and have already returned your form) . The cost
is £20 per head and starts at 7.30 for an 8.00 p.m serving.
The
last match of the season will see our usual end of season half time
mega draw, with three separate prizes, the cash prize( that paid £1040
last season) , a season ticket and a new season Swindon shirt. All sold
tickets and counterfoils should be returned to me by the time the Mill
wall match starts.
Today will see us break the 150000 ticket
sale since we started the half time draw. I think you will agree that’s
a great achievement that fans that have participated in any shape or
form, can be proud of.
Roger.
Programme notes 2006/07
Walsall
Welcome everyone to what we all hope for obvious reasons will be our last match of the season.
We hope to go out on a real high with the half time draw , with three prizes on offer today which is a regular feature of the last league game of the season. A huge cash prize , a new season ticket and also a new home shirt will all be up for grabs.
The winner of the draw a the Mansfield match was Adrian Smith of Gloucester who won a fantastic sum of £565 with his ticket number 365.
On Tuesday we held our player of the season dinner at the County Ground and congratulations to Phil Smith for carrying off the award. Well deserved for his admirable performances following Peter’s unfortunate injury early in the season.
Thank you to all fans and club officials and players for attending.
As we reach what we hope will be our end of season climax I must also thank everyone who has helped the Supporters Club have very successful season off the field, to my committee, ticket sellers, scoreboard operators and fans who participate in all our activities.
A brief summary of the highlights
Half time draw – A record season for ticket sales
Pounds for points – A new fund raising record
Scratch cards - Fantastic response with all this season’s tickets expected to be sold by the season end.
Our away travel appointed organisation transporting over 4000 fans to matches covering in total well over 20 million “fan miles” in supporting the Town.
The start of the “Legends” days at the County Ground
All of the fund raising will enable us to come back for the new season by bringing a fresh and vibrant look to the match day experience at the County Ground.
So, as we hopefully finish our season today, may I wish everyone a happy summer break – lets hope when we do get together next, it will be in Division one and not in the play-offs.
Roger.
Mansfield
We topped a £500 prize for only the second time at a normal league game since the draw started when D Braid of Calne with ticket number 492 won £514.
With the vitally important game today we are hoping for a repeat and with our mega end of season draw coming up at the Walsall game - season ticket, plus new home shirt as additional prizes we will be sure of a huge cash prize for that match as well.
Once again our half time draw is the match sponsor and our lucky draw winners will be enjoying that special match day experience.
Today is also the next in our line of legends days and at the time of writing the notes confirmed attendees are Paul Batty, Andy Ford, Brian Hughes, Andy Rowland and Brian “animal “ Williams. They will all be on the pitch at half time and will I’m sure have a great welcome. Watch out, as we hope to add one or two more surprises on the day.
Pounds for points sponsorship topped £5000 after the win at Bury and what a fantastic response it has been from those fans that participate. All proceeds of course earmarked for youth development.
Finally, before we enter the penultimate game of the season which may bring us the reward that we all set out in August hoping for - promotion !!
So what better way to celebrate, should that be the case, than join us at the County Ground for our end of season player of the year celebration on Tuesday 1st May.
Open to all fans, the event will be attended by Paul Sturrock and a number of players and we will be presenting our player of the year award to the winner on the night.
The evening comes with a 4 course dinner, but is informal in nature and costs £20. Last date for booking is Wednesday 25th April and you can do this by ringing me on 01865 820499.
Roger
Torquay
News of the half time draw and the lucky winner at the Shrewsbury game was long serving steward Terry Davis, who no doubt had his best pay day working at a match when his ticket number 542 was pulled out winning a prize of £450.
Talking of the half time draw, that game saw us pass our 125000 ticket sale since the draw started and the total prize money paid out to the winners this season has almost reached £10000. Indeed with a couple of draws like last Saturday and our traditional mega draw at the Walsall match and we could well set a new record for a season’s ticket sales, which will be a fantastic achievement, particularly as we entered the season with a degree of trepidation.
I am so grateful to everyone who has participated this season enabling us to get so close to that milestone !
Our members should have had their newsletters drop through their letter box, which will include voting forms for the player of the year award together with the details of the presentation dinner, where we should have Paul Sturrock and players in attendance, including the winner of the trophy.
Forms for both, need to be returned to us at the County Ground by Saturday April 21st which is the day we play Mansfield.
The dinner is also open to non members and also non members. Any non member wishing to attend may contact me on 01865 820499 or see me at either of our next two home matches. The cost of the 4 course dinner is £20 with three choices of main course including a vegetarian option.
I hope to see as many of you there as possible for this traditionally popular event.
Finally, as we are sponsoring the Mansfield game we have had a lucky draw amongst those who pay by regular bankers order and will be contacting those with draw numbers of 28, 111, 158, 166, 193, 117, 123, 185, 007, 066, & 185 to invite them along as our guests. This match will also be the next of our legends days, so watch out for some surprise guests with that as well.
Let’s hope we all look back on great Easter period and a happy one with loads of points in the bag.
Roger
Shrewsbury
Latest winner of our half time draw was Mr C Hounsell of Heddington, Nr Calne, who won £434 with his ticket number 70.
Next, I have some good news for those fans that use our official Away travel organisation, SAS Travel (2005) for the upcoming match at Hereford.
We all recognise the terrific away support we have had through out the season. For this match, as well as the usual discounts applicable to Supporters Club members, the Supporters Club will be paying £2 towards the cost of the standard fare for each traveller, even if they are not a member of the Supporters club !! The only proviso being that the individual has already used SAS to travel to a previous league game this season. (up to and including the Grimsby match.)
Please ask when you book, to claim the discount and the organisers have sole discretion over applying the reduced fare.
In truth if you are a Supporters Club member and can claim the discount as well, you can travel to the game for just £9. Junior member’s who have also travelled before, can travel for £8.
Let’s make it a great day out.
Standard Fares :
Adults £12
Juniors £11
I mentioned a few weeks back that our end of season and player of the season presentation dinner will take place on Tuesday 1st May. In the next couple of weeks our members will receive their next newsletter. This will include not only a booking form for the dinner but also the voting form for the player of the year, together with instructions for completion and date of return.
If any non member would like to attend the dinner you may register your interest through our web site www.swindontownsupportersclub.com and use the contacts tab on the home page and then e-mail my contact details as Chairman. I hope to see as many of you there as possible, alternatively ring me on 01865 820499.
The great win at Lincoln takes our pounds for points total for youth development almost up to £4500. Hopefully 3 points today will take us over that milestone.
Roger
Accrington Stanley
Good afternoon and today will be a unique occasion for many fans, with what will be their first ever view of a team from Accrington. Of course our 900 or so fantastic away following that took in the reverse fixture earlier in the season, will already carry some memories of our opponents.
We wish their supporters a happy trip to the County ground and whilst they need points at the other end of the table, we of course have are desperate for three today for an entirely different reason.
We were delighted once again with fans response to the half time draw at the last home match. Winner was Dr. S Phillips from Pewsey who won £437 with his ticket number 641.
Don’t forget we have a provisional date for our end of season presentation dinnerso please make a note in your diaries for Tuesday 1stMay. This is always a very popular event and well attended and as well as open to our members is open to all fans, numbers permitting.
If any members or non members wish to express an interest at this early stage then you may so so by contacting us through our web site. Access our site at www.swindontownsupportersclub.com. Go to the “contacts” heading and use the enquiries@swindontownsupportersclub.com. link and advise us of a contact telephone number and your name. We will then contact you again at later date to complete formalities.
If you do not have internet access, then please supply your telephone number and name to any committee member.
By the time I write the next notes we hope that there will be 2 major developments in relation to our activities, so keep an eye on my next notes, our web site, as well as the local media, for the news as it breaks.
Roger
Chester
Latest winner was Eileen Richman of Bradford on Avon who won a prize of £373 with her ticket number 200.
Hot on the heels of our sponsorship of the F.A. Youth cup quarter final match against Newcastle we were “at it” again with our second sponsorship of the week for the match against Darlington and although we have sponsored many matches over the seasons, no –one on our own table have previously won the match day quiz held in the hospitality suites.
So it seems our scratch card sellers in attendance, who had been drawn out through a “lucky draw” and were our guests on the day know a thing or two about quizzes as last Saturday Martin Davies came out top in the quiz. Congratulations Martin and thanks to every scratch card seller who has helped this season with ticket sales.
Although a 1-1 draw was not what we all hoped for last Saturday, there was a slight compensation with another £ 61 being added to the pounds for points fund for youth development, taking the fund almost up to £3000 for this season.
It has been a busy week for all fans with 3 games in 8 days and hopefully we will have had a decent points tally to keep the promotion push on track to reward the commitment shown by everyone who has followed the team in those games.
Finally today, don’t forget, viewing our web site at www.swindontownsupporterclub.com. will bring you all news and record of supporters club activity.
Roger.
Darlington
We were delighted, given our record of supporting youth development at the club, to be one of the match sponsors for the youth Cup game against Newcastle on Monday evening.
I think all of the 2387 fans there appreciated the tremendous effort and skill of the team despite going down 2-1, with the winning goal coming, just 3 minutes from the end of extra time.
Despite this we should all recognise what a great run, the team have had in the competition this season and although Tom Evans picked up out man of the match award which was voted for by our invited guests, in truth, everyone on the field deserved a part of it.
As I have already said, for many seasons now one of the major beneficiaries of our fund raising has been youth development at the County Ground and during this time the various teams have triumphed in the Milk Cup in Ireland, the Football League Alliance trophy and now this season’s run to the quarter finals of the FA Youth cup is a great triumph for the Football Club. I would like to think that everyone who contributes to our fund raising will recognise the part they play in that success and take a well deserved pat on the back for their contributions.
A quick look at a few of the other names in this seasons quarter finals, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United shows, just how hard work behind the scenes, by the various coaches and the players themselves can bring reward and national recognition for the Football Club itself.
It’s not too late to join this season’s Pounds for Points for the hoped for promotion run in, Mavis Knight will be delighted to hear from you if you are able to commit even 50p per point for the rest of the season. Full details can be found on our web site at www.swindontownsupportersclub.com. and don’t forget everything raised through this scheme is ring fenced to support youth development at the Football Club.
Finally today, spare a thought for the regular away traveller’s including the Away travel organisation, who had make significant progress on their journey to Rochdale last Saturday, reaching Stafford, before the match was called off. Everyone will have been disappointed that their day was curtailed, but knowing many of them, as I do, they will not be deterred and I am sure they will be making arrangements for a return journey once the game is re-scheduled.
Roger
Hartlepool
Good afternoon everyone, as is usual I am going to start by confirming the result of last Saturday’s half time draw. The winner was Graham Foster of Swindonwith ticket number 192 winning a terrific prize of £436.
I would like congratulate the SAS away travel organisation, particularly Sally and Marc who have transported a growing number of fans to our away games this season. In fact numbers have virtually doubled since last season and who can forget that day a t CrystalPalacewhere around 500 fans chose to attend the game by travelling with them, including many, who were using the coach service, for the very first time.
Increased numbers always means much more in terms of administration and whilst I know they never want to let any fan down by not providing transport, it is impractical to anticipate being able to book if you leave it to the last minute.
Trip details are usually published about 3 weeks ahead of matches, so there should be no reason to delay booking to secure your seat. Any late bookings will only be taken if there are spaces available within the coaches that will have already been ordered.
My advice would be to book at least a week in advance of the trip and don’t forget a discount is offered on the standard price of the trip for Supporters club members. SAS Travel’s own web site gives details of the trips and this information is replicated on our web site too and in the football club programme.
These notes have been written ahead of the two important midweek fixtures for the first team and youth team and I hope that results were favourable. It has been a great boost to see the progress the Youth team have been making in the F A Youth Cup, particularly as we have made a significant sum available from our fund raising over the last 4/5 seasons to support youth development at the Football Club. With our pounds for points fundpotentially heading for a record season, there will be a significant sum available again at the end of this season.
Roger
Macclesfield
Winner of the half time draw at the last home match was Fred Large who won £375 with his ticket number 709. Fred and his wife Maureen are both great supporters of the Football Club and also of Supporters Club activities. They both rarely miss a game, either home or away and helping us enormously, with our fund raising. I am delighted that Fred was lucky enough to have his ticket drawn out at the last game.
Moving on , our win at Boston means the pounds for points fund has now grown to £3500 and we are looking towards setting a new record for this initiative, as the season reaches its climax.
We have a provisional date for our end of season presentation dinner so please make a note in your diaries for Tuesday 1st May.
In our end of year newsletter we set a quiz for our members, with answers needing to be returned to us by the Wrexham match. The prize on offer was a first team shirt. In the end we had just two entries with 100% of the answers correct. Although a tie break, of guessing the crowd attending the Wrexham game, was to resolve such situations as there were just two correct answers, we will now be awarding a extra shirt to each winner. So congratulations to Liam Walsh and Tim Westcott. Liam was marginally closer in terms of guessing the gate on the day.
If any supporter wants to have a go at the quiz, just for fun, it was.
1. How many caps did Paul Sturrock win for Scotland.
2. How many goals did Duncan Shearer score for Scotland.
3. Against whom did Colin Calderwood score his only International goal.
4. How many caps did Rod Thomas win for Wales whilst a Swindon player
5. Which Swindon player played for Wales Under 23 against England Under 23 in 1974.
6. Which former Swindon player won 7 under 23 caps for Northern Ireland between 2000 & 2002.
7. Which former Swindon goal keeper was part of the Northern Ireland squad in the 1958 world cup finals
8. How many goals did Jimmy Quinn score for Northern Ireland
9. Which former Swindon and Eire International striker is now a travel agent in Dublin.
10 How many caps did Alan McLoughlin win for Eire whilst a Swindon player.
Roger
Answers :
1. 20 5.Terry Hubbard 9. Ray Treacy
2. 2 6.Paul McAreavey 10. 5
3. San Marino 7.Norman Uprichard
4. 30 8. 12
Wrexham
Welcome back everyone, for the first home game of the New year.
Whilst the result last Saturday did no go in our favour, what a great support our fans gave the team. The turnout was fantastic and the vocal backing superb. Well done to everyone who travelled and particular thanks to Sally and Marc and all their helpers for getting so many fans there safely on the SAS Travel (2005) coaches.
With so many games around the Christmas period I am going to summarize the Half time draw winners, just in case you missed any of the results.
Bristol Rovers : R Herbert of Taunton, ticket number 992, prize of £493
Wycombe : Ms Rebecca Harper of Old Town, ticket number 639, prize of £481
Notts County : Calvin Cuss , ticket number 297 and a prize of £400.
The first two matches brought us really close to a prize of £500, which with a little luck may be reached before the season is over.
With another 7 points over Christmas our tally in the league and also the Pounds for Points received a very welcome boost where the fund has now reached £3125.
Today will see the third in our legend day re-unions, and what a great reception both sets of fans gave Don Rogers and particularly our own, by singing his name at half time, at last weeks cup tie.
Keep your eyes open today in and around Winners lounge and at half time for players such as Jimmy Allan, Terry Hubbard, David Syrett , Billy Tucker and hopefully a few other nostalgic surprises.
All members should have received their latest newsletter, but if not you can view on our website at www.swindontownsupportersclub.com. If you do not have access to the web and haven’t received your copy, leave a note with your name and membership number with any half time draw seller, so we can send a duplicate copy.
Don’t forget the site, provides information on all Supporters club activities, as well as details of how to get messages broadcast on the scoreboard. It also provides a starting point, for non members on how to join, or participate in our fund raising or other services.
Roger
Notts County
With these notes written before the Christmas break, I can only hope that we have had a successful time on the pitch and have gathered plenty of points, in our push for promotion.
The league table speaks for itself, but I am sure that you will be pleased to hear that from the Supporters Club perspective, if the first half of our season is anything to go by, we could end up having set a new record with our fundraising by the end of the season, with both the half time draw, the points for points incentive and the scratch cards all doing extremely well.
We cannot achieve these results without everyone’s support and I would like to thank wholeheartedly all fans that participate, our members and of course all of my helpers and my committee, who all work extremely hard and tenaciously in delivering these outstanding performances which ultimately deliver a positive effect, in and around the County Ground and the Football Club.
Fans often travel many miles to support the Town and over Christmas Neil Heath from Dallas has taken in a clutch of matches here culminating with today’s. Neil usually follows match day progress through the Club’s premium TV, with the local kick off time for him, being 9.00 a.m. This visit is the second one this season and we hope he can take away some good memories, until he is back again.
The Supporters Club, has several members from overseas and Jon Jacobsen from Denmark has been a member now and Town fan, for many a year.
I will have to summarize the Christmas period draw results in my next notes, but if you want to check in the interim, why not go to our website where the update is usually in place within 24 hours of the match.
As the year draws to a close, may I wish everyone a happy and prosperous New Year and we are all hoping that the season ends with a return to Division 1.
Roger
Wycombe
I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas day and may I welcome you, to what I hope will be a special Boxing day atmosphere, but without any repeat of the incident that happened towards the end of our last home game.
There is no excuse for the actions like that and I hope that any individuals identified, will be dealt with in an appropriate manner.
The season, so far, has been one of success on the field. Let us all hope our form remains good so we can maintain a position in the promotion places until the end of the season. I am sure everyone is 100 % behind Paul, his staff and players and I would like to wish them well for the coming months.
Talking of success, the prize in the revival draw at the Bristol Rovers game, was the third highest ever paid at a “normal “ league game, excluding the special draw that we hold at the last match of the season. The prize winner, Robin Herbert of Taunton, would I am sure have been highly delighted to take away the prize of £493 with his ticket number of 992. Can we even beat that amount today ?.
With the continuing success on the field the pounds for points, with the support of many fans and organisations is now well in excess of £2650 and hopefully heading for a season long record. Any one can still join and participate and help take it even higher. You only need to join for the rest of the season. Please contact Mavis Knight on match days or look for the details through our web site at www.swindontownsupportersclub.com.
Our new year’s newsletter will be sent to members very shortly and contains a free to enter quiz for a signed shirt. Answer sheets should be returned to any committee member or by post to reach us by 3.00 pm 13th January at the Wrexham match.
After today just one more home match before the year end, so just in case you are unable to make that date ( and I hope you can ) may I wish every one a happy and prosperous New Year and lets all hope for a continuing period of success at the football club, including of course, a promotion at the end of it.
Roger
Bristol Rovers
What a fantastic day we all had last Saturday at Walsall, not only the result, where perhaps the performance was the best we have seen for many a day, but the backing from the fans was absolutely stupendous – a fact noted by many a Walsall fan after the game. It is days like this, that make you proud to be a Swindon fan.
It was even sweeter for the fact that Lukas got his first senior goal for the club and although the Supporters club cannot take credit for the development of his football abilities we can take some satisfaction from this moment as in recent years, we have handed over, well in excess of £20000 to the centre of excellence programme alone. Indeed, in even darker days, the difference between the possibility of the centre closing down, or remaining, may just have been the annual contribution we make from our own fund raising. We are proud to be associated with this aspect of the Football club
The Walsall match brought a milestone for our pounds for points reaching £2500 with those three points. All the funds raised from this are earmarked and committed 100% to the centre of excellence. You can join this scheme at any time for the rest of the season and Mavis Knight would be delighted if a few more fans were able to join, even at 50p per point as this would enable us to get even closer to earning £60 for each point won by the first team which hopefully will bring in the future, a few more moments like we had on Saturday from the present crop of youngsters. Visit our web site at www.swindontownsupportersclub.com or write to Mavis C/O The County Ground to find out how.
Our half time draw continues to pay a healthy prize and no-one can say we are not global with the latest prize going to long term regular subscription (standing order) contributor Mr R Francis of Switzerland, £381 with ticket number 135, who has contributed from day one when we started the draw. Last season we had a winner for the USA ! This season one winner came from Carlisle and of course we have many, many, other local winners. Every ticket purchased helps us support the Football Club and makes a real positive difference, making the Supporting of the “Town” a better experience for everyone.
A mouth watering local derby to get our teeth stuck into today, let’s hope for another great result. Keep up your terrific support.
Roger.
Morecombe
I hope for the benefit of all fans, that we do not have to go through again, the almost farcical charade we had before last weeks match. Those at the game, will have seen that the pitch was in absolute perfect condition for a game of football at kick off time and having watched the inspection take place at 12.45 I could not understand the referee’s opinion that the ball was not rolling on a very tiny part of the ground under the Nationwide stand. From our view, this test was absolutely fine. He then deemed it necessary, despite saying the game was on, to have another look at 1.15. How much this may have cost income is anyone’s guess but with a gate of 1200 less than average following two successive wins, it does beg the question.
If this had been a cricket match then possibly I may have understood, but the disruption and delays caused to fans travel plans, particularly those out of town, is incalculable. We must not forget those from Bury whose start may well have been at 9.00 a.m or earlier. It is accepted that at 10.00 am part of the pitch may have been under water, but with clearing skies, no rain and a strong breeze and the standard of the pitch these days, the game should never have been deemed in doubt, unless the torrential rain had persisted. Congratulations to Marcus and his team of ground staff for their work –they were confident there would be no problems, long ahead of the referee’s dilatory deliberations and decision making.
At 1.00 p.m one of our invited “legend” guests described the pitch as good as a billiard table and far better than the County Ground mud heap, they used to play on. Before this note is taken as a typical criticism of the referee, I must say, I thought he handled the actual game pretty well, but his suggestion that the tiny area over which he had concern, might make the game farcical for spectators, was an absolute travesty of the situation and one wonders where the official directives over unfit pitches will eventually lead. Perhaps we may eventually see the installation of touchline showers to wash the player’s knees, immediately they get dirty, because of playing on a muddy pitch.
Apologies that today you don’t have Roger’s usual notes, but in his absence, I would be heading for trouble, (if not already !) if I didn’t mention last week’s winner in the half time draw, so congratulations to Einan Painter of Swindon who won £367 with her lucky ticket number 316.
Many thanks to all the ex playing legends for attending the last match and sparing the time to come and see us – wasn’t it great to have them back with us. There are more gatherings being planned and on the horizon and our collection of photos in the present winners’ lounge is growing with each special day.
Roger will be back for the next set of notes, so normal service will be resumed. Let’s hope we get through today and can all sit and watch, with eager anticipation, tomorrow afternoon’s draw.
Nigel Bennett
Bury
I must say travelling almost 700 miles and then seeing your team getting knocked out of the FA Cup, by a team in a lower league can’t be much fun but that’s what happened to the Carlisle fans at our last home match. Having said that, for Carlisle fan Mr N McSephney there was a slight sweetner, in as much as having participated in our half time draw, he won the £348 prize with ticket number 900. Hopefully, he was able to drown his sorrows on the way home.
Today is the second of our “legends “ days and in researching information for today I came across the following in a programme from 1978. Players, managers and officials may change at a club but not the fans - I noted our present treasurer Anne Alder was sponsoring Alan Mayes kit, whilst Teresa Cawte, our secretary was sponsoring the kit for Brian Williams. Amongst the 'Sponsor a goal' participants were Chris Weavers, Pauline Cox and Eva Hutchins. All five, like many others have supported our club through good and bad times and like all true and loyal supporters are here week in and week out, to support the team.
Mention of the legends day will hopefully bring memories flooding back for many fans, amongst those ex players around will be Arthur Horsfield, Chris Jones and of course, with a record, unlikely ever to be beaten, in terms of appearances for one club, John Trollope. I am sure you will give each and everyone of them a tremendous welcome.
Unfortunately we have had to cancel for now the forum planned at Hanney, due to
a clash now with a F A youth cup fixture on the same night. On the subject of forums, I cannot pass today without thanking Paul Sturrock for the time he spent last week answering supporters questions at the radio forum. Although the programme went off air at 8.30 ish , Paul continued to field further questions, at his request for another hour or so, which was great for everyone there.
Thanks to everyone who went to Torquay last week and with around 1500 fans making up around 37 % of the actual attendance, it was disappointing that the Stewarding on the day did not match what we have in place at the County Ground. A point I shall be raising with the authorities.
Roger
Carlisle
First off today is to report that the winner of last Saturday’s half time draw was Dorothy Dart of Swindon who won £414 with ticket number 681.
I am pleased to report that plans are made for our next player’s legends day which will take place at the next home game against Bury. The players will be from the glory years of the late ‘60’s. I am already aware that Willie Penman has indicated he will be coming and more news of other attendees will be announced closer to the date.
Speaking of legends, today Sam Burton who played for the Town between 1946 and 1961 is our guest at today’s match on the occasion of his 80th birthday and I would like to wish him a very happy day and I’m sure fans will give him a warm welcome back to the County Ground.
The Vale and Oxon Supporters group are holding an informal meeting at Hanney Royal British Legion on November 23rd starting at 8.00 p.m. All fans are welcome to attend and as well as officials of the football club. It is hoped that players / manager will also be in attendance.
The disabled group recently held a meeting which was attended by Fola Onibuje and Curtis Weston and the Group would like to record their thanks to the players for spending time with them to talk about life at the County Ground.
The Supporters Club have recently come to the aid of Dick Mackey with the purchase of medical equipment to the value of £500, which hope fully will help the players stay fit through the long season still ahead.
Finally today, one of our long standing sponsors Rod Sheppard of Cablerest Professional Building Services (01367 710623) will as usual be here at the match, but with his wife being a long term Carlisle fan, we do wonder how he will celebrate any Town goals this afternoon !!
Lets hope for that much needed win today.
Roger
Hereford
I am sure that news of the stroke suffered by Sol Davis on his way to Luton’s match at Ipswich will have sent a shudder through many Town fans who remember his whole hearted performances whilst playing for Swindon Town.
I for one remember those fearless tackling displays and the Supporters Club have already passed on, through his present club Luton, their good wishes to Sol for a speedy recovery from this trauma and illness at the age of just 27.
Unfortunate issues such as this and the plane crash earlier in the season, over shadow matters, such a defeats in matches, although I suppose last weekend against Lincoln was pretty hard to take after what had happened to us during the previous week.
Our disappointment was slightly tinged with news of the half time draw which paid a season’s best of £470 for ticket number 350 to Richard Akehurst of Swindon.
Incidentally, although since we started the draw we have only paid 10 higher prizes and 7 of those came during special cup/ end of season promotions so to have had the fourth highest prize at a normal league over 5 season’s at last Saturdays match deserves special praise and to those who participated can I say “thank you”.
At least we had a little luck last Saturday in terms of the cup draw, with a home game against Carlisle lets hope it doesn’t go to a replay as home to Carlisle beats Carlisle away any day !!
Finally today, as a postscript to our first legends day, Sam Burton will be attending the cup match as our guest on the occasion of his 80th birthday. Sam played for the Town between 1946 and 1961, a period unlikely to be surpassed in the modern era. Unfortunately, he was unable to attend out initial day as he was in hospital having an operation on his knee and hopefully is now restored to full health.
I should be able in the Carlisle programme to outline the next “legends” attendees, this will cover the glory years of the late 60’s including the league cup final team. The players will be on the field to say “hello” at the Bury game. I am sure you will give them a great welcome.
Roger.
Lincoln
Good afternoon. It’s good to be back to the County Ground after our trip to Shrewsbury last week. This could be the first of three Saturday games, at home, if our luck is good in tonight’s draw for the first round of the FA Cup.
The three points gained last week were great for our league campaign. With our pounds for points fund now reaching £61 per point it also mean’t another £183 could be added to our fund for the centre of excellence. This has now taken the season’s total up to £1891, almost matching last seasons tally.
The Grimsby match also saw another £400 plus prize in our half time draw and with a bumper attendance expected today we would hope that we would once again better that figure. The latest winner was T. Hunt of Swindon who won £410 with ticket number 515.
Our support for the centre of excellence in recent seasons has been in many guises and in the elsewhere in the programme today you will see the latest acquisition – brand new kit bags, which I am sure the will be appreciated by all those who are connected with the centre.
You will recall that we held our first “legends” reunion at the Boston game and last Saturday I bumped into Brian ( “animal” ) Williams whilst at Shrewsbury, where he is involved. I had a great chat with him about his times at the County Ground and he confirmed that he would be delighted to come back when we hold the legends day for his era.
In fact the next legends date is due to take place at the Bury game on the 25th November. I’ll keep you informed on who is coming to that one over the coming weeks.
Enjoy the game today. It is one, that has been eagerly anticipated all week.
Roger
Grimsby
My first task today to to bring you up to date with the latest half time draw winner and yes, lightning does strike the same place twice, as Mr B Young of Swindon for the second time this season won the prize. This time he was holding ticket number 686 and he won £414.
There has been much conjecture in recent weeks over issues at the Football Club.There have already been two meetings attended by Football Club Officials, TrustSTFC and the Supporters Club and Rob Tuck representing Loud and Proud. We are all in agreement and committed to putting recent events behind us and working positively together. Further meetings are planned and fans will be kept informed, as soon as there is any news to report.
Once again I reflect on a tremendous turnout of fans at the Accringtonmatch and there cannot be a better band of travelling support for any other club in this division or even many from higher leagues. The fact that 5 out of the 7 clubs we have played away from home have recorded there highest home attendance when playing us shows the impact our fans make. This, coupled with our average home attendance being by far better than any other team in the league, supporters of SwindonTownshould all rightly be proud of your present commitment to the Football Club.
Our fund raising this season has been going well, I’m not saying we couldn’t do better, (any one else want to help?– please contact me on 01865 820499) but the half time is now regularly paying around £400 and the pounds for points total is movingforever upwards. We appreciate the support that we get from everyone who participates in these schemes as well as those who buy and sell the scratch cards.
I have received lots of positive feedback too, following the parade of “legends” at the last home game and also for the permanent photo features in the winners lounge. Look out for more of the same as the season progresses. I would like to thank Peter Knight for his work doing the framing and also Adrian Smith for help with the photos.
Roger
Boston
We held our Annual General meeting on the 21st of September 24, 2006. I would like to welcome Sarah Bennett, Mike Dew and Iris Higgs who have been elected to serve as committee members.
We are aware that there have been a number of concerns raised by fans over matters at the Football Club. I can assure everyone that we are holding discussions with Officials from the Club to clarify these issues and establish a better understanding, than that which is often reported in the press.
The half time draw has been going really well so far this season and I would like to thank all those that participate. The latest winners were :
M K D Mrs Weyms of Blunsdon Ticket number 560 £396
Peterborough Nicky Payne of Swindon Ticket number 1075 £454
Like wise the pounds for points has also hit a record with now £60 per point pledged for every point won by the first team in league matches and the great early start to the season on the field has helped to swell the fund.
In recent months I have been working hard to engender a greater feeling of the history of the Football club and soon there will be evidence both in corridors and the winners lounge.
I have been contacted virtually hundreds of ex–players across the whole of Britain and we will soon have the first tranche of a gallery of pictures and information cards with their signatures in position.
In addition many of the players will be invited to home games, courtesy of the Football Club so you may have chance to meet idols from previous years, in the winners lounge before games.
Roger
Peterborough
Our Chairman Roger Bunce will be presiding over that meeting and many of you will know Roger through his appearance pitch side during the half time for the draw or, outside the club shop selling the tickets prior to matches.
Rogers love for all things Swindon Town runs very deep and he is a tireless worker on behalf of both Supporters and the Football club. He first started going to games when he was 8, so has now over 50 years experience of matters in and around the County Ground.
Our committee always appreciate his experience and counsel as well the energy and commitment that Roger puts into his role at the Supporters club within the many projects and fundraising activities we undertake. Roger at present has been working hard at contacting many players from teams gone past and we should be able to bring you some positive and very interesting news on this front very shortly
What many of you may not know is that on the 26th September Roger reaches a personal milestone as he reaches his 60th birthday and on behalf of our committee and I am sure all at the football club and fans alike, may I wish Roger a very happy day.
Roger rarely misses a Swindon game home or away and will hopefully reach some other milestones later in the season when we play at Barnet, Macclesfield and Accrington, which are the only grounds within the present league structure that he has not seen the Town play on.
Roger will be celebrating his birthday in style, by travelling to see us play Wycombe on the 26th September so if you do bump into him that night make sure you pass on your good wishes.
We will include details of our latest draw winners in the next match programme or you can visit our web site www.swindontownsupportersclub.com.
Nigel
MK Dons
The first thing I need to do this evening is remind all of our members that our Annual General meeting takes place on Thursday 21st September. It is being held in Winners lounge and it will start at 8.00 p.m.
I will be delighted to see as many members there as possible. As well as the usual election of Officers I will be outlining our activities over the last year and setting the stall for the coming season. The formal part of the evening is generally over pretty quickly and we then hold a very informal discussion over all things “Swindon Town.”
There will be an opportunity to enrol new members during the evening and although they will not be able to participate in the formal part of the evening, it will be great to have them participate in the informal discussion, if they so wish.
No one can deny it has been a great start to the season and the on the field performances are helping to reap benefits in our fund raising. After the Chester match the pounds for points scheme had already raised almost £1000 and given last season the fund reached about £2500 and that after a season long effort, shows what progress is being made.
It was fantastic also to see the turnout of fans for the Chester game. The away fixtures, in terms of distance, have not fallen kindly at the start of this season and with the game at Wrexham on Saturday fans that have made every trip have totalled almost 2000 miles in support of the team. This, all within, just a month of the start of the season.
Our half time ticket sellers will be out again tonight and with the anticipation of this eagerly awaited match and coupled with our position in the league we should see another encouraging attendance. Will you match Mr B. Young of Swindon who took the prize of £404 with ticket number 772 at the Stockport match or Mr M Strugnell who won £316 at the Brentford cup match with ticket number 137.
I wish you luck.
Roger
Stockport County
The Supporters would like to congratulate all that made the trip to Northern Ireland and brought the Milk Cup to Swindon for the first time. Not forgetting of course, all the hard work, time and support given by the coaches and those involved with the centre of excellence on a daily basis.
The Supporters Club have long believed that having a strong youth development scheme at the football club not only benefits the football club itself, but also the community at large, giving a number from the area an opportunity to receive professional coaching, which might not be otherwise available.
Everyone likes to see home grown talent playing for Swindon and although Theo Walcott, Matthew Collins (Fulham) Leigh Mills (Spurs) may have moved on and not played in the first team, they have brought varying levels of financial benefit to the football club.
There have been others of course too with Lukas Jutkiewicz, who won the Golden boot at the Milk Cup event last season and also Michael Pook, coming through the youth set up to join the first team squad.
The Supporters Club, have given funding to the Centre financially for over 5 seasons now, contributing a minimum of £5000 per season. In total over £25000 has been contributed as well as meeting ad hoc requests for kit and travel costs, including the recent trip to Northern Ireland.
The Milk cup was of course not the first trophy won in recent seasons. The Football League Youth Alliance trophy, won last season, contained many team members who had been scholars and members of the centre of excellence for many seasons.
By design, our pounds for points fund raising scheme, is specifically earmarked for use by the Centre of Excellence. Fans, groups of fans, businesses or organizations can pledge upwards of 50p for each point won by the first team in league matches and participate. Full details of how to join this or any of out other fund raising initiatives can be found on our web site at www.swindontownsupportersclub.com. Saturdays win at Darlington, gave the pounds for points fund, another great boost.
I am also pleased to report two further winners of the half time draw.
Barnet M Hopkins of South Marston, ticket number 265 winning £300
Rochdale V Austin of Blunsdon, ticket number 958 winning £389.
It has been a very encouraging start to the season, both on the field and also with our fund raising. Let’s hope for another successful day today.
Roger.
Rochdale
News of last weeks plane crash, so shortly after the great opening day win at Hartlepool was a great shock to us. On behalf of all of our members and supporters of the Town I would like to offer my wishes for a swift return to good health to Mark, his son Stanley, Mike and Bill and all others that were on board, as they recover from their injuries.
Meanwhile, I am sure everyone involved with the Club will pull together and get the season off to a fine start which I am sure will be a huge tonic during their recovery.
The three points at Hartlepool (followed by Tuesday's win ) certainly got our pounds for points off to a great start. All of this fund is used to provide financial support to the centre of excellence so how rewarding it is for us, as one of the major sponsors of the centre, to learn of their triumph in the international Milk cup tournament in Northern Ireland , on the day before the season started.
It is encouraging to see that we already have a number of new members who have joined the supporters club this season. Don't forget the cost of membership is minimal and that there are a number of benefits that allow you to recoup the fee very quickly, if you are a supporter of the town.
You will find alll the information that you need to know about the supporters club on this site, ( here at www.swindontownsupportersclub.com) why not have a browse, as you have found us here.
Should anyone not have internet access then you can find me, or a commmittee member, in winnners lounge on match day Saturdays from about 12.00 noon. We will be delighted to talk to you, about how we can together, can make a differencce.
Roger
Barnet.
Whilst last season ended in the disappointment of relegation, every one is now looking forward to the new season with a renewed sense of optimism under the new team management structure of Dennis and Gus. I would like to welcome them both to the club and wish them every success.
There have also been a number of changes in the administrative structure at the Football club and whilst some roles may have changed, we in the Supporters Club, are looking forward to continuing and developing our working relationship with everyone involved and to continue those successful relationships, fostered in recent seasons.
Once again we will be trying hard to better our fund raising achievements of recent seasons and already the pounds for points pledges for each point won has exceeded any previously seen at the start of any campaign and every penny raised in that fund, is used for youth development.
The Robins revival draw returns tonight as well and alongside the other opportunities which are
Scratchcards
Our Scoreboard messaging and advertising service
Red Army fund
All the information on these fundraisers and other Supporter’s club information can be found on our new look web site which can be found at www.swindontownsupportersclub.com .
The Supporters Club works to promote improvements at the Football Club and a positive, family friendly atmosphere around the County Ground. Why not have a browse through our new web site now and look at the many ways you can play a part, whether you are a Supporters Club member or not, as we try to reach that goal. Every little bit does really help, no matter how small.
I am always available for comments before matches should you want to talk and finally, it would be remiss of me, not to thank Patrick Richings who maintained our previous web site for the past 5 or 6 seasons. I am really grateful to him for that support and the part that it played in our development.
“Come on the Town”
Roger Bunce
Firstly a reminder to all members that our Annual General meeting takes place on Thursday 21st of September starting at 8.00 p.m. in the Winners lounge. As well as the usual business, there will also be an opportunity for non members to come along and learn a little more about the Supporter Club activity and how we can help and benefit you.
It was great to see the Milk Cup paraded at the last home match and the team’s participation in that tournament was subsidised in part, using some of the revenue from last season’s pounds for point’s scheme and our own fund raising. We have also just purchased kit bags for the whole of Centre of excellence.