STFC: The Summer Season

A column by Swindon Link STFC correspondent Alfie Howlett

Tumbleweed rolls across SN1. There’s nobody in Town. It's customary for this period to be quiet, it’s the off season after all, but there is an eerie silence at Swindon.

It strikes me as a hungover summer to date. Last season dismissively brushed under the lumpy carpet, no accountability from those at the top. I suspect Ian Holloway might still be wallowing in his own self-created misery.

I've already offered my two pence on that. What I should be doing now is looking ahead to pre-season and preparing to do it all over again. Despite a marginal drop, season ticket sales remain steady, the supporters are ready too. But is the football club?

Make no mistake, my concern here lies off the pitch rather than on. More on that side later. Swindon once again appear to be stalling. The vacancies of commercial and media managers illustrate this.

I've had the pleasure to deal with Swindon since 2021, and in that time, I've seen four Heads of Media come and go. All arrived with energy and enthusiasm only to be worn down in a position with an unhealthy turnover rate.

It's such an important position in setting the mood and identity of a football club, I find it concerning that Town’s ownership so frequently undervalue it.

You might recall Clem Morfuni setting out his stall as a transparent owner. How can he even claim to achieve this without a media manager?

Now there might be work behind the scenes which I'm not aware of. But due to the broken relationship between support and hierarchy, why should I buy into the no news is good news concept?

To stress, Swindon have the 15th most expensive season ticket in the EFL. They most recently were the 57th team out of 72 in the pyramid. The fans pay good money to see the football club be ambitious rather than dormant. They deserve better.

The Robins will begin their ninth season in the past 10 in League 2 come August. But for once they have a nucleus of players to begin it. A warm weather training trip to Alicante should provide a solid building block.

Despite injuries and questionable tactics, Swindon certainly appeared lacklustre in the final furlongs of the last. The opportunity to build endurance in hot conditions should serve them well come the latter end.

So which areas need strengthening? The first question is, are Town playing a back three or four? In the case of a back four, full backs are a must. The current wing backs of Snowdon and McGregor won’t offer the necessary protection to just two centre halves.

Regardless of the backline, two midfielders must be added to compliment Kilkenny. He needs a combative and a creative midfielder to match his energy. They’re hard to come by, but they are available.

I do wonder if Town might’ve faired better with Nnamdi Ofoborh last season. A certain Diallang Jaiyesimi is a free agent.

So, lets put on our flip flops and see what we can take away from what looks like one of the sterner pre-seasons.