Swindon Town has been home to some of the biggest names in football. Whether they have represented the Robins as a manager or player, plenty of big names have spent time at this historic English club.
With appearances even in England’s top-flight Premier League, Swindon are an iconic and historic club, epitomising a proper football club that reached the heights through hard work, with no impact from multi-million pound takeovers from state-owned companies, live blackjack casino owners, or foreign investors. So let’s take a look at the history of big names who have represented Swindon Town.
Michael Carrick - H2
The recently departed Middlesbrough FC manager had an incredible career in football, winning plenty of accolades throughout his 19-year senior professional football career. But what people aren’t familiar with is his short loan spell at Swindon. In 1999, a young Carrick would make his professional senior debut in football after spending 3 years with West Ham’s youth squad. To gain experience and learn about the footballing world, he joined Swindon Town on a short-term loan spell, where he would make only 6 appearances, scoring 2 goals for The Robins in the First Division. The experience the young Michael Carrick picked up helped him progress in his career, going on to make over 30 appearances for England and become a Manchester United Legend, winning 5 Premier League titles, a Champions League, a Europa League and a Club World Cup.
James Milner - H2
In a similar fashion to Carrick, Milner only spent a short time in Swindon; however, he was in the early stages of his career, showing the impact the club has on developing youth and providing experience to players. In 2003, Milner made 6 appearances, scoring 2 goals as he was sent on loan from Leeds United. A year later, he was sold to Newcastle, starting his successful Premier League career, joining Aston Villa, Manchester City and becoming a legendary name at Liverpool. He made over 60 career appearances for England and won plenty of trophies, including 3 Premier Leagues, 2 FA Cups, a Champions League, a Super Cup, and a Club World Cup. He has become a massive icon in English football for his work rate and long career that, as of 2025, is still continuing at the age of 39.
Glen Hoddle - H2
The legendary Tottenham Hotspur midfielder not only played for Swindon Town but also managed Swindon Town, representing the club for 3 years as a player-manager. He made over 370 appearances for Spurs from 1975-1987, before moving to Monaco, staying at the French side until 1991, and eventually joining Swindon that same year. Up until this point, Hoddle had already won an FA Cup, a Charity Shield, a Europa League, and a French Division 1 title. During his time at Swindon as a player-manager, he made 67 appearances, scoring 2 goals, and even won the EFL First Division Playoffs in 1993. Hoddle was then snapped up by Chelsea to perform a similar role as player-manager, but his short spell and efforts at Swindon cannot be forgotten, even winning some silverware.
Roy Evans - H2
Roy Evans was a massive figure at Liverpool, becoming one of the youngest members of the coaching staff that the English top flight has seen, at the age of only 25. He played for Liverpool under Bill Shankly, but was offered a role in the coaching staff by the legendary Bob Paisley. Evans became part of the infamous ‘Boot Room’ backroom staff, who took Liverpool to many titles, including First Division titles and Champions League titles. He would gain his experience from working under the likes of Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan, Sir Kenny Dalglish and Graeme Souness before taking charge in 1994 until 1998, where he would share the role with Gerrard Houllier in his final year. With all the experience he had collected throughout the years, he moved to Swindon Town in 2001, joining former Liverpool centre back Neil Ruddock, unfortunately failing to reach promotion and only lasting 6 months in the job.
Paolo Di Canio - H2
The fiery personality of Paolo Di Canio was seen throughout his playing and short managerial career. During his playing days, he featured heavily in Italy for the likes of Lazio, Juventus, Napoli and Inter Milan, winning a Serie A title and even a Europa League. However, after his 23-year career and becoming a big figure at West Ham, Di Canio chose to go into football management in 2011 with Swindon Town. He spent 2 years at the club, winning the EFL League 2 and catching the eye of Premier League side Sunderland. After leaving Swindon, he embarked on a mission to keep Sunderland’s Premier League dreams alive, which he managed to do successfully at the end of the 2012/13 campaign, even beating rivals Newcastle 3-0 in his second game. Five games into the 2013/14 campaign however, he was sacked after claiming only 1 point, and he has not returned to management since. His career as a manager was short, but he did manage to win some silverware with Swindon and promote The Robins back into League 1.
