The Moonraker · https://themoonraker.news/matchday
The pathway from the academy to the main stage has rarely been so tangible for Swindon’s kids. And another run in the Youth Cup could just propel them to that rare prize: a professional contract.
11.12.24Matchday
All of a sudden, a sullen, careless, erratic group has energy, formation, and purpose. They look disciplined. They look calm. Blimey, they even look like they’re in it together.
Tuesday’s trip to Wycombe Wanderers is about as desirable as a particularly acute attack of IBS right now, as Town balance a fixture overload with the not insignificant task of keeping their EFL status.
10.12.24Matchday
Harry Smith’s perfectly imperfect hat-trick saw Swindon Town deliver a winning weekend for their fans as Holloway put faith in the kids and moved his team away from sideways football in their own half.
09.12.24Matchday
Swindon are now 24th out of 24, 92nd out of 92. Last. Worst. This is no longer a patch of bad form, nor is it a redeemable slide. It is a funeral march. A long, pathetic funeral march to a shallow EFL grave.
03.12.24Matchday
Fourteen minutes gone, and the task in front of Swindon had mutated from a scalable pile of mud into Scafell Pike. The County Ground retreated back into its silent anger. This was self-flagellation. Very public, very predictable self-flagellation.
25.11.24Matchday
TACTICS: Holloway spent Thursday morning inside the sports hall at Beversbrook: not hiding from apparitions but walking his players through a shape exercise. He feels he is starting to get an idea of where his team’s defensive structure is falling apart.
22.11.24Matchday
Town have now conceded nine goals from dead-ball situations this season (plus a penalty) in 16 matches: the second worst record in League Two alongside Morecambe (10 goals plus three penalties).
18.11.24Matchday
TACTICS: There are signs Accy are vulnerable from quick transitions, particularly long diagonals picking out forward runners on the opposite flank. It will be interesting to see if Gavin Kilkenny and Will Wright, the two Swindon players with the largest passing ranges in the Town squad, are given direction to this effect.
15.11.24Matchday
In total this season, Town have had their noses in front for 308 minutes. Just 16 per cent of all the gametime played. Chasing a game takes its toll, both physically and mentally.
06.11.24Matchday
SWINDON TOWN v TOTTENHAM U21s: After nearly three years without a victory in a knockout tournament, Town have suddenly discovered a hot streak. Well, a warm-ish streak. The sort of streak us Brits might like to refer to as a “heatwave” to make us all feel better.
04.11.24Matchday
Yes, it was only the cup. Yes, it was only Colchester. Yes, it was not exactly a dominant performance. But there were three key positives which everyone associated with the club can take into the relegation battle that is to follow.
03.11.24Matchday
TACTICS: Payne is the Colchester quarterback, pulling the strings in front of the backline. If Swindon can snuff out his creative threat, they will have gone a long way towards a successful afternoon.
01.11.24Matchday
SWINDON TOWN vs COLCHESTER UNITED: Holloway will get the chance to do the job he says he’s been craving, returning to an EFL dugout for the first time in nearly four years. It is an absence which he has felt hard, and – he says – his wife Kim has felt even harder.
After reaching the last eight for the first time since 2007 last season, Swindon's next generation begin their cup campaign at the County Ground on Tuesday night.
28.10.24Matchday
It was, particularly in the half-hour or so before the break, a pantomime of the absurd. Town’s manager-in-waiting straddled low-level walls, jumped between a dozen vantage points, and eagerly chatted with whomever in the crowd was lucky enough to have been – for a few moments at least – alongside him on his makeshift bench.
26.10.24Matchday
The circumstances at Swindon have gone well beyond worry, sailed past acute concern, and piled straight into pure panic. Among the supporters, at least.
22.10.24Matchday
In the wake of growing criticism following a handful of prominent mistakes, Mark Kennedy has stated on several occasions that statistically the loanee is among the best defenders in League Two. The Moonraker takes a look.
Head coach Mark Kennedy would prefer to give the centre-back the chance to work in Wiltshire on Tuesday and Wednesday, rather than take the team bus to Greater Manchester and likely not be involved on matchday.
21.10.24Matchday
League Two is without heavyweights this season. It is open, volatile, and the quality is low. That makes the lowering of expectations even more unpalatable.
The Swindon Town striker was replaced by Matt Smith at the interval on Saturday, sparking fears about his fitness. However, after the game Kennedy confirmed that the decision was precautionary.
19.10.24Matchday
Of all the teams Swindon have faced at least 30 times down the years (a total of 57 opposition clubs), the Robins have a worse record against just one other.
18.10.24Matchday
TACTICS: Molyneux plays a crucial role in a Donny team that likes to attack at pace, with a focus on the speed of their transitions from final third to final third.
17.10.24Matchday
Head coach Mark Kennedy has rued bad luck repeatedly, and while it is justifiable to slap that back as a lame excuse, increasingly there seems to be evidence to suggest the difference between a dreadful campaign and a relatively good one is going to be wafer-thin.
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