2023 starts in true Swindon Town FC fashion

By Jessica Durston - 25 January 2023

Sport

A column from Swindon Link's STFC correspondent Alfie Howlett

It might be a new year but the factors which make STFC the club it is very much remain.

Having been in the job for just six months, Scott Lindsey found himself poached by League 2 strugglers Crawley Town. This gave the Swindon faithful an all too familiar feeling of deja vu.

It also reflected the incredible downfall of Swindon Town. In 1993 they lost manager Glenn Hoddle to Chelsea. 30 years later in 2023 they’d lose their manager to Crawley.

The emotions which greeted the departure of Lindsey were unlike any I’ve seen before. Usually when a team is deprived of the services of their manager it’s met with an outpouring of grief from the fan base. Normally this is due to the fact that the manager would’ve made a great impression at the club.

However, Lindsey made few impressions in his short tenure at SN1. Despite leaving Town in the play-offs his departure was greeted with relief. But why was this the case?

To begin with, the style of play under Lindsey was tough to watch. The football lacked attacking intent and free flowing passing. This led to many fans feeling shortchanged after shelling out the pennies on a ticket. It was also widely noticed that Lindsey’s in-game management could be questionable.

These factors meant that supporters were rapidly losing faith in his ability to steer the club towards promotion. Therefore his unexpected departure allows the team to find a manager more suited towards the task in hand.

At the time of writing Swindon are still searching for their 27th manager since 2000. But one thing is for certain, whoever fills the vacancy will have a chance to work with royalty. That’s right, after nearly 12 years away from The County Ground legendary striker Charlie Austin has returned.

The now 33-year-old has signed a six month deal having left the sunny climes of Australia. In his first spell in a Town shirt Austin hit prolific figures, almost firing Swindon to the Championship. Despite being on the decline it’s hoped that Austin can roll back the years and fire the Robins to promotion.

On his homecoming Austin picked up where he left off to open the scoring with a trademark header. What better way to celebrate the return of the King than a coronation come May?

Based off the last month and general life at STFC we can safely predict that the next 11 months won’t be dull. Supporting Swindon is an emotional roller-coaster - but a roller-coaster I’m sure very few would want to get off. Here’s to hoping that the new man driving that roller-coaster knows what he’s doing!

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