There will be goals at Walsall, you can BANKS on it!

Unfortunately, I won't be making the short trip the the Midlands this Saturday for our Coca Cola League 1 clash with Walsall at the Banks Stadium. Instead, I'll be taking part in some schitzengiggle fun for Willy Boy's 21st Birthday, dressed in Lederhosen of all things. But I will have one ear close to STFC Player and cheering the boys on from afar.

And seeing as I know you are all going to miss my weekly update so much, I thought I'd have a ramble today and write a small prelude before Saturday comes.

History says that this one could go either way. In all competitions since 30th November 1896, Swindon and Walsall have come up against each other 84 times, with both sides recording 31 wins each, the rest being draws. But I didn't write to bore you with statistics, so here is the kiss of death; my gut is telling me that come 5 o'clock Saturday it will be League 1's "Dark Horses" who come back with all 3 points.
And dark horses was the adjective used to describe the Robins by Saddlers boss Chris Hutchings ahead of our clash on Saturday. When everybody else doubted Town to another close-season of relegation battles, Hutchings always believed Swindon had the potential to be up there with the top contenders, even after our opening day hammering at Gillingham. And his pre-season beliefs have so far come into fruition, with that shock 5-0 defeat being our only loss of the league campaign so far. And the good form shows in the league table as we sit in a healthy 6th position.

I like to keep a close eye over the good, bad and ugly of the Swindon Town fan forums and there is real belief and confidence in the camp after our convincing start to the season. This is something I don't remember seeing since our promotion in 2006/2007 to League 1, and long may it last! The atmosphere amongst the Robins faithful took a turn for the worst July just gone as the inevitable happened, and we failed to keep hold of goal-machine Simon Cox. Many say the man single-handedly kept Swindon up last season with his goal scoring antics, which eventually led to him being the joint top goal scorer in all English domestic leagues. A mean feat considering he was scoring goals for fun whilst playing for a side toying with relegation. I don't fully agree with this statement, however it is clear to see that without Cox's contribution, I probably would have gone through a few more pairs of pants than I already did in May. On the contrary, if games were played over 85 minutes rather than 90, Swindon would have finished in the playoffs! I digress - hindsight is a wonderful thing, but it leads to more boring statistics!Oh and somebody else had something to say about Simon Cox. You guessed it, the rather talkative Walsall head-honcho Chris Hutchings! I thought women were bad...

“Cox is a good player - no bones about it,” he admitted.

“And Danny was probably sorry to lose him, but everyone has their price and they are using to money to build something else there. It is always ongoing.

“They have done well. They are sixth or seventh in the table with some good results, and it shows you can shoot up the table, which they have done.”

I forgot to mention that Danny and Chris are ex-Brighton team-mates and extremely good friends - hence the brown-nosing. I think they may have breathed too much of that Brighton sea air if you know what I mean.

I've followed Swindon Town Football Club my whole life, I think Gig gets the thanks for that one. But for me there is a difference between following a team and supporting a team, and I've been a supporter of Swindon Town Football Club for around 4 years now. The difference between the two being a feeling of love for the club - sorrow and bitterness when you are dumped out of the cup, overwhelming joy when you get promoted, standing for 90 minutes in an uncovered stand, in the middle of a snowstorm at Brighton's shithole of a ground, getting beat, and still scraping together enough money during the week so that you can go again Saturday. Its feelings you have no control over and people don't understand this mindset until you actually become, are or have been a "supporter".

There is a reason for me bringing this up, as I experienced the feeling of overwhelming joy i described above at a home game against Walsall around 4 years ago. On the final day of the season, Walsall came to town for a top of the table clash, with Walsall needing 3 points to be crowned League 2 champions, and Swindon needing a point to secure promotion in 3rd place. Walsall were a point above 2nd place Hartlepool, who were entertaining Swindon's bitter rivals Bristol Rovers. If Hartlepool won and Walsall failed to win, Walsall wouldn't finish in top spot. Early in the 2nd half, "Beast" Jerel Ifil put Swindon in the lead with a fine header, and Swindon looked set to take all 3 points. And with the score between Hartlepool and Bristol Rovers being level, if things stayed as they were Walsall would relinquish their top spot and have to make-do with 2nd. Until Dean Keates pulled out the bag an injury time screamer, to secure an all important point for Walsall. As the final whistle blew, myself and fellow Town faithful went into rapture as we knew our promotion was guaranteed. And even though the Saddlers knew a point was enough to secure them promotion, it wasn't until the Swindon Tannoy announced Hartlepool's draw with Bristol Rovers, that the Walsall fans started celebrations of their own. This was that feeling of overwhelming joy, nigh on 16,000 supporters packed the County Ground that day, and every single one of them had an ear to ear smile as they left - this feeling you won't experience unless you're a "supporter".Anyway, I've more than rambled today so I'll bring things to a close. I go into Saturday with two hopes. Swindon get 3 points, and my Lederhosen doesn't get ripped!

Enjoy!