Wembley Stadium has staged some hugely impressive playoff finals in its time. It’s almost impossible to beat the drama and tension that comes with a playoff final. Especially a playoff final in the second tier of English football, where a place in the Premier League is on the line.
That was exactly the carrot for Swindon Town back in May 1993, when the Robins clinched a place in the First Division playoff final to move within 90 minutes of their first ever season in the Premier League. Town had finished ahead of Leicester City on goal difference in the regular 1992/93 First Division campaign, clinching a fifth spot and a playoff semi-final with Tranmere Rovers who they narrowly overcame 5-4 on aggregate.
Leicester also defeated third-placed Portsmouth in their playoff semi, creating a playoff final between fifth-placed Swindon and sixth-placed Leicester. Swindon had never played in the top-flight of English football in their 73-year League history at the time of the playoff final. The winners of the contest were said to be guaranteed a windfall of around £5 million for reaching the so-called ‘promised land’ of the Premier League.
Swindon hoping for second-time luck in the playoffs
Swindon had been burnt by the playoffs a few years before this First Division playoff final. They overcame Sunderland in the 1990 Second Division playoff final, only to see their narrow 1-0 victory overturned with the Football League penalising the Wiltshire club for financial irregularities. However, things were on a much more even keel at The County Ground by the time when player-manager Glenn Hoddle took his Robins team back to North-West London for a second playoff final in four years.
Leicester had the upper hand on Swindon during the course of the season, winning at Filbert Street 4-2 in December, while a tense 1-1 draw ensued at The County Ground in April.
Would Wembley be Hoddle’s last game in charge?
Ahead of the contest, there was intensifying speculation that this playoff final could be Hoddle’s last game in charge of the Robins. Hoddle was still impressing in his latter years on the pitch, but was also demonstrating impressive maturity in the dugout too. He had hauled this Town team into a squad with top-flight potential and was attracting interest from the likes of London giants Chelsea and Tottenham.
It was Swindon who settled quickest into the contest, launching into a three-goal lead with goals in 11 minutes either side of the interval to leave Leicester shell-shocked. It was Hoddle who opened the scoring for the Robins on the stroke of half time, setting the tone for Town’s early second half onslaught. However, Brian Little’s Leicester showed tremendous character to dig deep and find a way back into the contest.
Leicester’s speedy striker Julian Joachim showed his killer instincts to grab one back on 57 minutes to set alarm bells ringing among the Swindon camp. City’s top scorer Steve Walsh got another one back and Steve Thompson then levelled to cue pandemonium in the Leicester end. Despite being in the ascendancy at this stage, an individual error proved Leicester’s undoing as a foul on Steve White saw Town handed an 84th minute spot kick which Paul Bodin converted to leave Swindon on the brink of Premier League football.
A tale of contrasting fortunes since Wembley 1993
Town would see out the closing stages to secure an historic win, which did turn out to be Hoddle’s final game in charge. The former England international was eventually appointed by Ken Bates at Chelsea. The rest is history, with the Robins’ disastrous 1993/94 campaign resulting in the club finishing rock bottom, never to be seen in the top flight again. As for Leicester, they’ve well and truly left their mark on the Premier League since, achieving one of football’s most miraculous successes by winning the 2015/16 title after starting the season as 5,000/1 rank outsiders for the championship.
Leicester remain an established Premier League outfit and have invested heavily in their infrastructure in recent years, including a world-class training facility. On the flip side, Swindon have continually flitted between League One and League Two, with ownership and managerial issues oft plaguing the Robins.
Losing Ben Garner to Charlton Athletic in this summer’s close season was a bitter pill for Swindon fans to swallow. However, the hope is that Scott Lindsey can utilise his coaching pedigree to maintain Town on an upward trajectory back to the third tier and beyond.
