Swindon Town Supporters Club

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 m