STFC - 'Back to the Premier League'

[deakz]

View attachment 202539

Swindon Town Football Club
"Back to the Premier League"


After getting my teeth stuck into Football Manager 2016 I have decided to do a file in the lower leagues and see if I can take my local club Swindon Town back into the Premier League.

For Swindon, the 2014/2015 season ended in tears at Wembley as Preston won promotion to the Championship.

After high profile departures of Massimo Luongo, Ben Gladwin, Nathan Byrne & Wes Foderingham it looks like we will have our work cut out to challenge again this season.

To kick things off I will look to assess the first team squad, backroom staff & look at the clubs facilities to see what expectations we can work towards.
​

 

[deakz]

View attachment 202521

Swindon Town Football Club
"Back to the Premier League"

View attachment 202512

Upon review of the club it is clear to see that we are some way behind rivals Bristol City & Reading. This will be something I will be keen to change in the coming years as I aspire to be the top team in the South West.

Our youth academy is poor and I will be hoping to secure finances to be able to improve this, again this will be a long term goal. The training facilities for the first team are decent and will be good enough for the time being. However, if we’re to progress as a club then these too will need to be looked at.

View attachment 202511

Our stadium, The County Ground, can hold over 15,000 and it will most likely take for us to become an established Championship team or have at least 1-2 years in the Premiership before we can afford to either expand or build a new stadium.

View attachment 202510View attachment 202509

Financially the club is very secure after selling top earners at the end of the previous campaign. We will not need to sell any players, however we will need to be shrewd to ensure we have a strong financial foothold going forward.


​

 

[deakz]

View attachment 202499

Swindon Town Football Club
"Back to the Premier League"

After making some changes to the backroom staff my attentions diverted to looking at tactics & our strongest XI. I am yet to go through pre-season or make any changes to the squad so this will be subject to change but I feel a 4-4-2 with a diamond midfield would be the best tactic to get the best out of this Swindon side. I’d be looking to be able to keep possession to frustrate teams and create good chances to score. With clinical strikers in the team and hard working midfield players I feel we should be able to do well in League 1.
View attachment 202493View attachment 202492


After reviewing our first team squad I believe we have 3 key players that would be a major part of any success that we are to have.


Yaser Kasim
View attachment 202487
Great passing ability with some decent mental attributes make Kasim an ideal playmaker in midfield. He is a strong team player that could be key in the possession based style we will look to play. He is in the last year of his contract and after seeing big players leave I think we will need to strengthen massively to be able to keep him.


Nathan Thompson
View attachment 202486
Our captain who can play centre back or right back. Great work rate & bravery will be key in defence and I believe his pace could cause problems for teams as a potential wing back.


Fabien Robert
View attachment 202485
Free transfer from FC Lorient who has come to Swindon to establish himself as a first team regular. Pacey flair player who has the technical ability to stand out in this league. Hopefully he has the mentality to compete in English Football.


​

 

[deakz]

View attachment 202324

Swindon Town Football Club
"Back to the Premier League"



View attachment 202321

Pre-Season was not really the best. Injuries to Fabien Robert & Jordan Williams meant that we’re yet to play our best XI in the system that we ideally want to play. Victories against Yeovil & Swindon Supermarine offer a glimmer of hope, we will be looking to get off to a good start at home vs Peterborough which has been brought forward to Friday night as the match is being televised.

View attachment 995733

With the new season fast approaching I have decided to dip into the free transfer market to sign a Centre Back that add to competition for places. There may be times in the season where a change of formation is required and I may look at playing with 3 at the back.

View attachment 202317

Sebastien Faure is a great signing who spent the last few years playing for Glasgow Rangers. He is very quick and strong whilst also possessing good mental attributes and is very good in the air. He is likely to fit into the first team nicely.

View attachment 202300

A tough start of the season will see us travel to Wigan & Doncaster who will be be contenders for promotion. We will need to be at our best in these games as we look to bring a new style of play to the County Ground.

I will update monthly from this point on. Please share any thoughts or feedback anyone has.​

 

[deakz]

View attachment 202063

Swindon Town Football Club
"Back to the Premier League"
AUGUST RESULTS

View attachment 202061

August was a busy month, playing 2 games each week whilst contending with injuries to Yaser Kasim & Jonathan Obika. We say some decent displays but are still far away from perfecting the style of football we are looking to create.

View attachment 202058

The stand out performance was the game away to Wigan where we managed to upset the odds to secure a 2-0 victory. The split of possession & completed passes away from to to a team who were in the Premier League a couple of years ago is encouraging and proves that we can perform well this season.


​

 

[deakz]

View attachment 200567

Swindon Town Football Club
"Back to the Premier League"

Since the last update we have played 6 games (Won 4, Drew 1 & Lost 1) and see ourselves in 4th​ position in the league. We are really starting to come to terms with our new style of play and dominating possession in most of the games played.

View attachment 200566

A convincing home victory against newly promoted Bury. If we are to be meeting our expectations this season we have to be making The County Ground a place that teams don't enjoy coming. We dominated possession and managed to create good chances whilst being solid at the back. Nathan Thompson is impressing at right back which is good to see.

View attachment 200565

Our Captain has impressed so far this season and as expected from taking the job is a big part of our success. He is very stable at the back but is also very confident going forward with the ball at his feet.

View attachment 200564

I would have taken a draw coming into this game - but we were fortunate enough to be able to get an early goal. We played the high pressing football that we have been playing at home and whilst we conceded chances they never really looked like scoring them.

View attachment 200563

We sit in 4th position in the league and have started to hit good form. If we can keep this up will remain to be seen but we are still developing our new style of play. We have got our main squad match fit and are making the board happy with the football we are playing.​