No.5 | Ossie Ardiles | Manager July 1989 to March 1991 | Score 363.9 Ossie Ardiles succeeded Lou Macari back in the summer of 1989 and also in this countdown, as we enter the top five Swindon Town managers. The small and smiling Argentinian became Swindon’s first manager from outside of the home nations with the task of building upon Lou’s meteoric rise up
Read moreNo.7 | Lou Macari | Manager July 1984 to July 1989 | Score 348.1 For the past few weeks Lou’s name has been frequently mentioned as a potential no.1 in this countdown, so the fact that he joins outside the top five may be a surprise for some. You may remember my rationale whereby points gained are multiplied by a division factor, so given Macari’s points are spread in three divisions, including two
Read moreNo.8 | Steve McMahon | Manager Nov 1994 to Sept 1998 | Score 340.7 Taking over from the sacked John Gorman in November 1994, the board, more specifically Rikki Hunt, got his man. The appointment returned Town to leadership by a central midfield player manager with international experience, a formula that had worked so well previously. However from these high hopes Steve McMahon became one
Read moreNo.9 | Roy Evans | Manager July to December 2001 | Score 326 I can hear you say What the f#@k! Roy Evans is number eight! First off I would have never put Roy Evans as our eighth most successful manager. However, as his statistics will show, Roy’s short tenure of 21 League matches epitomised the ‘average’ Swindon manager, which then added to his record
Read moreNo.10 | Danny Williams (2) | Manager March 1974 to July 1978| Score 305.5 Returning for a second stint as manager is perhaps never a good idea, yet Danny Williams answered the Board’s call to save Swindon from relegation back to Division Three in 1973/74. Town were firmly cemented at the bottom of Division Two, having been so for the majority
Read moreNo.11 | Bert Head | Manager October 1956 to July 1965 | Score 287.4 We’re kicking off the top ten with a true Swindon Town managerial legend and our second longest serving manager – Bert Head. Town had spent years in the doldrums, suffering from mismanagement and financial constraints, both culminating in management by a selection committee throughout 1955-56 and the inevitable
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This feature was only meant to last one month, however with the various transfer news and other commitments, this has turned into a beast of a project so Managers Month is rolling over into July with the final ten. So far I’ve confirmed my initial suspicions that Paul Hart was our worst ever manager. Yes he didn’t come 30th, however
Read moreNo.12 | Danny Wilson | Manager December 2008 to March 2011 | Score 278.2 Now back in business with Sheffield United, in early March Danny Wilson was a broken man. After coming so near to promotion less than a season ago, his Swindon side were staring relegation in the face and Wilson decided to resign, helped by the fact that
Read moreNo.13 | Paul Sturrock | Manager November 2006 to November 2007 | Score 265.5 I’ve finally reached a Swindon Town manager who actually achieved something positive in this countdown, as Paul Sturrock secured us a promotion! On joining on 7th November 2006, Town had been without a manager for two weeks following Dennis Wise’s departure. After a great opening, losing just
Read moreNo.14 | John Gorman | Manager June 1993 to November 1994 | Score 259.53 John Gorman could’ve followed Glenn Hoddle to Chelsea, but he didn’t. Instead the untested and brave Gorman stayed on at the request of chairman Ray Hardman, reflecting the views of the majority of supporters who wanted continuity as Town faced the toughest of tasks to avoid relegation from the Premier League
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The Washbag 