Could Jephcott be the missing piece of the puzzle for STFC?

With the leaves turning brown and the days getting shorter, Autumn marks the end of our most joyous season.

But for Swindon, Autumn should be the start of a new beginning. After what felt like the longest transfer window on record Scott Lindsey finally has a full amory to select from.

Although the quality of the armory is still up for debate it's certainly fair to say that Lindsey has been backed heavily by the board.

Therefore surely it should only be a matter of time until Swindon start progressing up the table.

On deadline day, the prayers of every Swindon fan were answered.

A goal scoring number 9. Despite the remarkable Erling Haaland at Man City a prolific number 9 is a dying breed in football, making the acquisition of one extremely hard to come by. But thanks to the dominos falling into place on deadline day, Swindon had their man in Luke Jephcott.

On loan from Plymouth Argyle, Jephcott boasts an impressive record. Last season in League 1 he scored on 10 occasions and in the season prior to that he scored 16 times.

In addition the last time the 22-year-old played in League 2, he scored a goal every other game. Not only is that signing a statement but it's exactly what Swindon craved.

There's no reason why Jephcott, paired next to the already impressive Jacob Wakeling, can't go on to score 20-plus goals this campaign. And should the Welsh youth international achieve that, Swindon will be looking towards the right end of the table.

It's hoped that Jephcott could be the catalyst to covert Swindon's much famed draws into wins.

So far Swindon hold the record for the most amount of draws in League 2 this season. We can interpret this statistic both positively and negatively. The positive is that even with Town not quite at full strength they've managed to pick up points keeping the gap to the leading pack a bridgeable task.

This could come in handy when Town do begin to hit their straps.

However, the same results could also be portrayed as negatives come the end of the season. People will argue what could've been had Swindon turned those draws into wins. It should also be mentioned that two draws have already come against sides competing with ten men.

This consequently suggests that Town have lacked the ideas to break down a compact defensive unit. Something which the focal point of Jephcott should solve.

To conclude this column I'd like to take the opportunity to thank Harry McKirdy for his time at SN1. The maverick striker recently left Town to move north of the border for Hibernian. Scoring a total of 26 times for Swindon, McKirdy embodied the spirit around the club last season. Swindon needed McKirdy as much as McKirdy needed Swindon. McKirdy came into last season as an outcast.

However the new fan favourite quickly found a home. Initially a winger with bags of trickery and potential, McKirdy flourished into a clinical talisman of a striker. His goal against the Champions of England will be forever remembered in Swindon's history.

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