Interview with an Opposition Fan

[ste1987]

Interview with an Opposition Fan

#4 - Swindon Town

 

Welcome to this week’s edition of Interview with an Opposition Fan. Each week, myself and Razza699 scour for opposition fans to answer the questions we put toward them in the build up to the subsequent fixture.

This week, Latics welcome Swindon Town to Boundary Park, who have had an identical start to the campaign as us. This week, Razza found some Robins fans to answer a selection of questions...

 

1. This is Danny Wilson’s first full season in charge. Are you happy with him as manager? Do fans like his style of play?

- I think he's made some quality signings over the summer, and although there's still work to be done in the transfer market things are looking promising. It's taken a while for the team to get going with his style of play, but we are finally looking much more solid at the back this year.

- Very happy, the thing is he couldn't be much worse than the last bloke so he was always on to a winner. He has been in charge since Christmas and has slowly turned things around, we are starting to play decent football and most of the deadwood in the squad has been let free to drift.

- Yes very happy with him. I expect great things from him.

- Danny Wilson is a brilliant manager and we are all ecstatic that he is in charge especially after the managerial appointments from the last couple of years. Danny is bringing much needed stability to the club and is here for the long run.

- I think generally the fans are pleased with Wilson. He plays a very different way to previous managers, mainly because he actually wants us to play football, rather than approach the game in a more direct manner. He did well to keep us up last year given we were pretty much in free-fall when Malpas was sacked.

 

2. How has the pre-season period gone for the Robins? How did you perform in your friendlies?

- Pre-season went very well on the whole. Solid performances against Cardiff (0-0) and West Brom (1-0 to Town) were encouraging, and we saw the beginnings of the way Wilson wants this team to play.

- I only managed to see one game and that was a 1-0 thrashing of Luton! We beat WBA and drew with Cardiff, mainly pre season seemed to be a series of trials for various players none of which were actually signed.

- Pre-season was good. We toured Austria and proved to be difficult opposition for their top side. We also drew with Cardiff and beat West Brom, but I never read too much into pre-season based on past experiences!

- Pre season went very well and we got some very good results including playing WBA off the park. However we then started the season with a 5-0 defeat but this hopefully was just a blip and is all part of being a Swindon fan.

- I'd say we had an average pre-season. I myself never read into pre-season results at all. Many times we have had great results in the friendlies only to be at the wrong end of the table come May. We did beat West Brom, but they were going through the motions. The only 'real' game we had was against Plymouth and we were comfortably beaten 2-0, our lack of fire-power showed up that night.

 

3. After losing Simon Cox to West Brom for a reported £1.5million, have you spent any of the money you received for him? If so, are you happy with the purchases?

- We did spend some money in the summer but no huge amounts. Wilson has brought in a few freebies, but the money is still there to boost our attacking options, as we currently don't have enough strikers.

- Well having trimmed the squad by 13 or 14 players there is not only the Cox money, but a lot more spare cash for wages. Wilson’s main priority was to shore up one of the worst defences in the division. Getting our Captain Gordon Greer signed up permanently from Doncaster (he was on loan for a couple of months at the end of last season) was a huge boost. The signing of Jonathon Douglas from Leeds was a major coup and he is exactly the sort of midfield player we have been crying out for. We still need another couple of strikers and the hunt is continuing however I’m confident Billy Paynter will knock in 20 goals this season and goals will come from throughout the team.

- No. Danny Wilson is trying to spend some money on forwards, but no long-term success as of yet. We also sold midfielder Jerel Ifil to Aberdeen for an undisclosed fee (thought to be £1.5million).

- Since Cox left we haven't signed anyone yet. We signed a few guys before who are clearly on higher wages which are probably being funded from the Cox deal. We still need to sign a couple of strikers though.

- No. We very nearly signed Theo Robinson for around 250k, but Huddersfield managed to get him from under our noses. Although we have just signed Tope Odebayi on loan from Bolton for a month, we have only one permanent senior striker in Billy Paynter. Wilson is still looking for a least 2 further striking options, hopefully using the Cox money.

 

4. You finished 15th in League One last season. Are you hoping to build on that?

- Given the football we watched (endured) last season, you'd definitely hope things would look better this season. A top-half finish would be a decent improvement but for now the target has to be to aim for the play-offs. Whether it is a realistic target or not, time will tell!

- Yes, hopefully a top half finish, whilst occasionally flirting with the play offs.

- To be honest and not intending to come across biased, I think we will finish around the playoff zone.

- Of course we are hoping to build on it! Realistically I believe we can gain a top 10 finish with a couple more additions to our squad.

- Certainly. Until the last 2 games of the season we were always in an around the bottom 4. 15th flattered us in the end. Realistically we only stayed up thanks to Simon Cox's 30 goals and the loan signing of centre half Gordon Greer, who we have now signed on a permanent basis and given the armband to.

 

5. League One has shaped up to be a great league this year. Is there anybody you’re looking forward to playing?

- It'll be good to go to some different grounds - Norwich, Charlton and Southampton are the obvious fixtures to note. Leeds away has been a good laugh recently, and it's about time we beat them really!

- You mean division 3 south! fantastic division for us following years of constant trundling up the M1 and M6, looking forward to lots of bigger away followings which will create better atmospheres at the county ground, nearly 12,000 on Tuesday against the big time charlies from the south coast, looking forward to the return match down there too.

- Enjoyed Saints in the week. Leeds, Norwich, Charlton (they donated their draw money to our failing youth team a few years ago), Millwall, Walsall, Brighton (because I want to get 5 past them for beating us in the playoffs when we were the far better team), Oldham, Southend, Yeovil and Bristol Rovers (derby games) and Huddersfield (because they are one of the favourites to go up).

- I was looking forward to playing Southampton and always enjoy the away trips to the 'big' clubs.

- Aside from the obvious so called 'big guns', I'm looking forward to going to sides like Exeter and Brentford. Good away days, in the classic terraced away ends. The Rovers derby is also a good occasion as well.

 

6. After a horrible start against Gillingham (losing 5-0), you drew (0-0) to an MK Dons side you beat (4-1) in the cup. Were you disappointed not to get a win?

- It would be easy to come away from that game thinking we could have got more, but after losing 4-1 to us, Franchise were always going to come to our place much more solid at the back. The teams cancelled each other out and it was one of those where nobody looked like scoring.

- A little as it’s always good to beat the franchise scum, however compliment to us, they came for the draw and basically stopped us playing.

- Yeah I was disappointed. Plastics who think they deserve to go up.

- A draw was a fair result and to be fair to MK they created the better chances and on another day could've stolen the three points. I was just happy to get off 0 points!

- To an extent, however MK were never going to play as badly as they did in the Cup against us. They gifted us 3 goals that night. The 0-0 also saw a horrible collision between 2 MK players which delayed the game for 20minutes and seemed to kill off any intensity.

 

7. Who do you consider to be Swindon’s star player this season? Who should we be looking out for this weekend at Boundary Park and for the rest of the season?

- It's hard to say this early on in the season, but Jonathan Douglas has controlled games in the centre of the park, and Jon-Paul McGovern has looked like a brand new player alongside him so far this season.

- McNamee is pleasing on the eye if he is in the right mood, but it could be anyone of 6 or 7.

- Not sure yet. All played very well against Southampton.

- McNamee is our flair player but we have built a squad with a lot of strong individuals. Douglas is a great signing and does a lot of the work that doesn’t often get noticed.

- Our no.4 Jonathan Douglas has been a great addition this summer and showed his class on Tuesday night in the win over Southampton. He will only improve as he gets used to the players around him and I would say he's our key man.

 

 

8. Who do you think will win League One this year? Do you think there will be any surprises or ‘Dark Horses’?

- At the start of the season everybody was going for the teams who came down, but it doesn't always work like that. I think Norwich could still make a go of it, despite their 7-1 drubbing against Colchester. Millwall are another team to look out for.

- Millwall, saw them last week in the cup and it was only Bournemouth but there passing and movement was exceptional. Surprises? Southampton will not get out the relegation zone all season.

- Not sure, but I don’t think it will be the obvious choices. This season’s League One is tough and for the taking. Huddersfield may be a potential dark horse on current form, along with Colchester.

- I think Huddersfield are going to walk the league this year with the strikers they have.

- I think Leeds will win the league, with Huddersfield a close second. Brentford and Exeter will do better than people expect.

 

9. How do you think Oldham will do in League One this season?

- You have some good attacking options in Abbott and Parker, who could tear teams apart on their day. I'd put you down for a top half finish, somewhere between 6th and 10th.

- Similar to us, mid table occasionally flirting with playoffs.

- Top half, but may reach playoffs.

- I do not know a lot about your side but you usually finish around mid table so I will say you will finish around the same this season.

- There seems to have been plenty of transfer activity at Oldham over the summer, and certainly some of the players, on paper anyway, look decent additions for this level. I would think upper mid table, around 10th place perhaps.

 

10. Now for the most important question. What do you think the score will be on Saturday?

- 1-1

- Not many goals, hopefully we might scrape a 1-0 smash and grab.

- I think it will be close, but I feel a 1-1 draw is on the cards. Don’t be too surprised if we take all 3 points!

- 1-0 Swindon.

- I think it will be a close game. There is always unpredictability with us. If we defend like we can and play anywhere near as well as Tuesday against Southampton we could nick a 1-0 win. However more realistically I would say a 1-1 draw. We'd take that.

 

 

Many thanks to the Swindon fans for answering our questions this week and their warm welcome. It seems the Robins seem quietly confident of their prospects this season, but are a bit short of quality and depth in the Striker department following the sale of Simon Cox to West Bromwich Albion. However, the Robins feel a 1-0 smash and grab is on the cards for them. We’ll soon see come 5pm on Saturday!

 

[thelaticsfan]

cheers fellas good report!

 

seeming they are optimistic of a decent season