Why Swindon struggle against teams who force Town to hit and hope, by Alex Cooke. The way to beat Paolo Di Canio’s Swindon is simple: pressure them. Preston did it, Leyton Orient did it, and last Tuesday night Colchester did it. The problem is that now every scout in League One will have seen it too: once Swindon are put under pressure at
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Wes Foderingham has followed Paul Caddis in falling foul of Paolo Di Canio, but even he won’t be the last, writes Alex Cooke. First it was Paul Caddis, now it seems to be Wes Foderingham; the list of players who have offended Swindon’s Paolo Di Canio swells week by week. Leon Clarke was the first (and the fastest) to fall
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Throughout this week our writers reveal their hopes and expectations for Swindon Town in League One during 2012/13. Next up, Alex Cooke… Hopes and expectations for the season: More of the same. Di Canio will continue to be dangerously mental, often confrontational but also inspirational. He will still be backed generously by the board, chucking out at least one of this
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Why the recent £2 million cash injection won’t mean Town will buy Harry Kewell, by Alex Cooke. It seems churlish, grumpy and almost disloyal to question anything about a £2 million injection by the board of STFC into the club, after all this is that rarest of things – good news. But few things are quite that simple and you don’t
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Pre-season with Paolo is always said to be hard work but does all the running work? Alex Cooke looks at the evidence. Fitness has been something of a theme for Swindon Town; the club’s foundations were being laid by the Victorian ideal of ‘muscular christianity’, its badge carries the exhortation to effort; ‘Salubritas et Industria’ and one of its greatest
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Alex Cooke looks at Swindon fired their way to the 2011/12 championship with patience, fitness and a fantastic home scoring rate. It wasn’t the 75 goals scored that secured Swindon’s title last season; it was those that weren’t conceded. The forward line didn’t earn Paolo Di Canio’s side the championship; it was the back five. They allowed the team to
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The Cheltenham midfielder passes well, shoots superbly but lacks the all-round game and experience to thrive for STFC in League One, says Alex Cooke. Ever since the second league game of last season Marlon Pack has been on many Swindon fan’s wishlist. That day the Cheltenham midfielder’s display of calm passing, neat control and precise corners marked him out as
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Preston North End have taken Town’s loaned left winger but would he really fit Paolo Di Canio’s new attacking plan or is Luke Rooney the solution? By Alex Cooke. Paolo Di Canio was keen. Whatever is said now, Swindon’s manager clearly once saw Southampton’s winger Lee Holmes as a very useful signing: “In terms of my opinion on the way
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You’ve read many great factual reviews of the season, Alex Cooke takes a more personal view of 2011-12 and how it has changed how he watches Swindon. 2011-12 was a season played in the full glare of a nation’s attention. The media with their magpie-attention span were periodically fascinated because of who stalked the touchline, rival football fans saw Swindon
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Over a year after Paul Hart lead Swindon to relegation, Alex Cooke has the privilege of pushing Town’s second all-time-least-successful manager in to the depths of the STFC Hall of Shame. Paul Hart should have bounced. After all they call it a ‘dead cat bounce’ as supposedly even the most decomposed felines will get some elevation if dropped from a
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The Washbag 