One of the more overused cliches you’ll come across is that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. This was not lost on me as I traveled across London via bus and tube as my outbound journey to Swindon begun on Saturday morning. My two previous games this season have seen a 2-0 loss at Harrow that I have just about managed to block out of my mind, and a 3-2 victory over Hartley Wintney which was the first Dorch win I’d witnessed in 1,043 days, so mixed fortunes thus far. But Saturday was the dawning of yet another new era. This was Glenn Howes’ first league game in charge of us following his switch from Totton and with it come the hope of a new manager bounce. Although there was disappointment in the Trophy last week as his former employers dumped us out of the last cup competition we were in, this was the proper start to his tenure as we visited Swindon team bang out of form. Swindon were winless in eleven, had two players depart the club in the week to league rivals, were only three points ahead of us at the start of play and seemingly heading towards a potential relegation battle on current form. Can you guess what happened next?
As the sole representative of the usual ‘London lot’, the lack of travel partners meant a slightly more expensive train journey for my solo trip. £33 was cost of the return from Paddington to Swindon, and it was only by the grace of split tickets that I got it that low from the initial £55. Despite the cost, it is less than an hour from Paddington to Swindon, so I was able to enjoy a leisurely morning before leaving it almost too late to catch my fucking train. Danger averted by a mere five minutes and I was settled into the GWR service which was at Swindon in no time. Arriving at Swindon at 1 o’clock, I had planned to have some lunch in Swindon before heading out to the ground, which was basically in the arse end of nowhere. This plan was quickly aborted when I realised how shit the area around the station was. I’m sure that Swindon has nice parts, but I certainly didn’t see them. What I did see was what I assume to be the old Network Rail building, the aptly named ‘Signal Point’, which is, to put it kindly, fucking ugly. Think Nelson Mandella house if it were to be damaged by fire.
Public transport to the ground seemed to be a ball ache so I hopped into the nearest taxi and headed on what was an interesting tour of the industrial estates of Swindon. It was as grim as it sounds. After a somewhat arduous paying process in which I realised I had no cash and the taxi driver found out his card machine didn’t work, I was finally free to head to the ground, which mercifully did accept card on both the turnstile and the food kiosk. The food wasn’t your average burger and chips fare with there in fact being no chips at all. I swooped for the rather enjoyable, if not slightly radioactive looking, chicken tikka masala and rice for the princely sum of £3 and with no chips on offer, I can only assume Berry starved. My uranium fortified chicken was consumed just as the team coach arrived and soon the teams were out and we had chance to see the line-ups.
There was only one change for us with the suspended Oakey being replaced by Callum Buckey, who returned after being unable to play in the previous week’s FA Trophy game. Charlie Madden filled the gap at right-back and Tom Soares once again captained the side as Ash Wells missed out through injury. It looked like a 4-1-4-1 formation, with Alfie Stanley as the front one and Kieran Roberts and Flavio providing the width. On the Swindon side they had two former Magpies in their XI with Martin Horsell in goal who had a spell with us that was so short that he’d probably forgot it, and Kieran Phillips was up front for them having just signed for them on loan after the completion of his loan with us. Phillips is still out third highest league scorer with his two debut goals securing one of our four wins, so we were well aware of what he had to offer.
Dev and his Dad, David, had also made the trip the down as the former’s Saturday game was cancelled, and David and I went to have a look our side warming up. Me as I’m nosy, David as like many of us is unsure of who is who given the turnover of players. New assistant boss, James Wood, took the warm up and skipper Tom Soares was very vocal. Hopefully he’ll be a key player in the coming weeks as he returns to fitness from an injury affected season so far. Glenn Howes observed the warm up in what seemed a questionable pair of three-quarter length shorts, or possibly a pair of trousers left by Robbie Herrera. As we waited to see which way which way we’d be kicking, we were are asked somewhat rudely to move by a mannerless elder gent who got the blunter sarcastic side of me in response, and we soon settled behind the goal for the first half.
We were kicking towards the ‘Swindome’, an indoor football facility that looks like a pillow, and within the first 90 seconds Swindon had rattled the frame of the goal. A half cleared cross was smashed against the crossbar and those of us at the other end all suddenly had a sense of what was to come. However, we soon settled into the game a bit more and although it was at times attritional viewing, we started to put some decent enough passages of play together. Flavio Taveres and Tiago Sa combining well down the left-hand side, Tom Soares doing all the simple things well and Tom Purrington looking dangerous with the ball at his feet gave us decent moments, but they never came to any real chances. Swindon had a couple of shots well wide from distance, Charlie Madden had a header that he could only direct at the keeper and there were instances where we could have shot but chose not to, but beyond that, it was an even half that the 0-0 score line was a fair reflection of.
As the second half started, Dev and I chatted about how both sides fans will think that going one down will lead to certain defeat before Dev spoke the cursed words of; “this has got one nil to Swindon written all over it.” No more than a minute later and Kieran Phillips had put Swindon 1-0 up. A through ball set Phillips free and he was able to lift the ball over the advancing Harry Lee for the opening and decisive goal. There was a strong protest from our players about a possible offside, but given we were up the other end of the pitch we can’t really offer any opinion from our vantage point. The goal stood and now we were up against it. In the 15 or so minutes that followed, it could have been two or three as we somewhat rode our luck. A couple of chances went wide for the hosts and some brave defending kept the score at 1-0 before we livened up and pressed forward ourselves.
Sam Bayston was introduced in place of Flavio and in the resultant reshuffle we looked far more dangerous going forward. Bayston would graze the outside of the post with an effort from the edge of the box, a free kick was hit into the wall, corners came to nothing and blocked shots and scrambled clearances kept us at bay. Charlie Madden also went in for a brave if not slightly ridiculous diving header with the ball practically on the defender’s boot at the time he dived in a show of committment that was impressive for its bravery if nothing more. But in truth, for all the pressure we had, we never had a meaningful shot on target. The effort was there but we lacked that cutting edge that teams seem to be able to find against us. Alfie Stanley was left isolated for large periods up top, Keiran Roberts doesn’t appear to be a natural left winger but caused Swindon several problems when played through the middle, and we seemed a bit shot shy on occasions when pulling the trigger seemed a decent option. I can’t fault the effort of the players, both Charlie Madden and Tiago Sa vastly improved on how they were performing a year ago, Alfie Stanley and Kieran Roberts worked tirelessly, Flavio Tavares had an excellent first half before fading in the second, and the defensive partnership of Caze de Silva and Buckley is as good as we’ve had in a while. There is plenty for Glenn Howes to work with in the squad, who he brings in and who leaves will be key in seeing us hopefully find that bit of quality we need.
But for all the positives, there are indeed negatives. Although much tighter defensively than in previous seasons, we have now lost 14 league games, albeit it with 11 of them coming by the odd goal. We’re amongst the lowest scorers in the division and have yet to draw a game this season. With this game being followed by key clashes against the sides directly around us with trips to Merthyr on Tuesday before games at home to Kings Langley and Wimborne (Saturday and Tuesday), we really need points to avoid getting cut off from the pack heading towards the ever-busy December/January period. As we mused on this in the bar before we headed our separate ways, seven points from those next three games was the target we set, hopefully we won’t be far wrong. My immediate sights changed to the trip home and thankfully Dev was able to give me a lift back to the Station, and within 90 or so minutes I was back home.
There is a sense of somewhat cautious optimism around the club, one which we hope will not turn out to be misplaced. The appointment of Glenn Howes is a strange one by our standard in that is seems to be popular amongst fans and those who have played with/under him previously. Even the recently departed AWH (who left the club, he’s not dead) said it was a good appointment, and Al usually has the demeanour and enthusiasm of man who has had his pet cat ran over. The fact Glenn also memorably scored for us in a victory over the mutants does his cause no harm, and nor does his excellent managerial record with two promotions with Blackfield & Langley that saw them enter and stabilise into our current league, before his excellent record at Totton prior to his Avenue return which sees them top of the league below as well as being a very free-scoring side. He inherits what is, on paper, our best squad in several seasons, with many players a noticeable improvement on players who had previously filled those positions. But you win fuck all on paper and that has sadly been reflected in our league form. Good play, a lack of end product and narrow defeats have been a hallmark of this season thus far, and it looks like the team could do with some leadership and direction both on and off the pitch. Hopefully Glenn will be able to add that and see results pick up.
For now, it’s onto Merthyr away on Tuesday, before I head home to Dorch post night shift on Friday morning to see family as well as take in the Kings Langley and Wimborne games. One of the more overused cliches you’ll come across is that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result… SV
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