Wilson's dealings in the January Sales

The January transfer window is usually a busy one for teams across the county as manager's look to dabble in the transfer market to cover injured positions, get rid of the deadwood or simply to add that finishing touch to that will aid in the last push for promotion or safety.

January at the County Ground has been little different as Wilson looks to strengthen his playoff chasing pack. I'll keep this page updated with all the in's and out's at the County Ground during the January transfer window.

25/01/10 - Looks like Wilson read my blog post and fulfilled my wish! Just hours after updating this post with the news that Ben Hutchinson had returned to parent club Celtic, Simon Ferry has extended his loan deal until the end of the season!

Personally, I think Ferry has been instrumental in the position where we find ourselves at present and it would have been a great loss not to have him ply his trade in the middle of the park for us for the rest of the season. So far Ferry has made 23 appearances for us this term.

25/01/2010 - Another face departed the County Ground, probably somewhat to the joy of Town Fans. Ben Hutchinson took a flight back to Celtic Park after his extended loan deal ran out. He stepped into the County Ground back in August, and largely failed to impress the Swindon faithful, after having 15 chances! Hutchinson scored a solitary goal in the red shirt, in 3-2 away win over Brentford.

Hutchinson made the trip south with Celtic teammate Simon Ferry, who's last game under his current loan deal is that of Tuesday night's huge clash with Leeds United. Ferry's loan deal has been the opposite of Hutchinson's, with Simon being hugely impressive in the centre of midfield so I'm hoping we can extend his deal.

Wilson's first signing of the January transfer window was that of Vincent Pericard. He signed today (14/01) on a one and a half year deal after rejecting a contract extension offer from Carlisle United. Pericard will bolster Wilson's front line whilst keeping Ward, Paynter and Austin on their toes as the end of the season looms. Pericard has European and Premiership experience with the likes of Juventus and Portsmouth topping his impressive resume. Though Pericard's record has been marred by a served jail sentence for perverting the course of justice, the 27 year old has been trying to get his career back on track with a loan spell at Millwall and Carlisle.

Striker Alex Revell returned to Southend after joining on loan in September. It then came as little surprise as his contract was mutually terminated after chairman Ron Martin had made it clear he didn't want Revell at Roots Hall. Revell has since been snapped up by struggling Wycombe Wanderers in their bid to secure a League 1 position next season.
Wilson's first real move in the January transfer window was that of selling fan favourite Anthony McNamee to promotion chasing Norwich City for an undisclosed fee. The tricky winger had been at Carrow Road on a month's loan before signing permanently. McNamee admitted that the glitz and glamour of a "big club" chasing him proved to much to turn down and playing in front of treble the attendance of the County Ground was his main motivation for the move.
Danny Ward joined Swindon on a month's loan from Premiership Bolton Wanderers, and Wilson managed to secure his name on the back of the red and white shirt for a further month after agreeing an extension. Ward has made one start for Town so far, that being the high-profile FA Cup clash with Fulham at Craven Cottage. He's scored one goal so far as a substitute in Town's 3-1 over Yeovil Town.Another loan extension was made for versatile Alan Sheehan who joined Swindon after falling out of favour at Leeds. Being dropped into the first team as soon as he signed for Town he's made 7 appearances thus far and will be available until the end of the season, including the playoffs if required. Sheehan has been a superb edition at the County Ground, equally suiting the left-back and left midfield berth.
Though not linked to the January window, defender Yinka Casal saw his contract mutually terminated. Casal came to the County Ground during the Malpas era from Dutch club Cambuur in 2008, but made only 6 appearances in a red shirt before picking up a knee injury. Surgery was required and Casal has never returned to first team action under Danny Wilson. It has been reported that Casal has since linked up with Romanian side CFR Cluj. Cluj were one of Swindon's opponents during their pre-season tour, so had no doubt noticed the defender during their encounter back in the summer.

First of the year

Its been a long time coming since my last blog post, but with all the snow hampering my return to work for the new year, I've been busy with my attempts of helping get the economy back on its feet by barricading myself in the pub!

But now that the alcohol haze has warn off from a Saturday night on the tiles, we've got some catching up to do!

The festive period has been a productive one for the boys in red. When last we spoke Town had secured 34 points from 20 games this term, a form that has seen us flirt with the playoff positions. Now on January 10th, the story is much the same. A tough Christmas saw us come up against Charlton and Yeovil in the League, and Premier League Fulham in the FA Cup with the scheduled trip to MK Dons yesterday falling victim to the weather like so many other games across the football league.

The boxing day trip saw Dad and myself journey to The Valley, Charlton in the blue saxo for a huge game against promotion favourites Charlton Athletic. The roads were snow free following the short burst of the white stuff that had come only a few days before. We opted to go straight through the middle of London, which was surprisingly painless compared to the M25 that was blocked due to an accident. The Valley is a fine testament to football grounds, somehow modernly traditional if that makes sense at all, and possibly the best ground in League 1 this season. 18,000 turned out for the boxing day clash, about 3 times the attendance that we tend to get at the County Ground!

The action got under way just 18 minutes into the first half when Sam Sodje was dismissed for a disgusting lunge of a tackle on Jon-Paul McGovern. A great start for Town who were struggling to match impressive Charlton with 11 men. Though Town still struggled to take advantage of their extra man and Jonjo Shelvey opened the score sheet on 37 minutes. The 17 year old produced a fine finish from the edge of the box to give the Addicks the lead.

However, there was to be a further twist. Having just taken the lead, Charlton were further reduced to 9 men before the break, as former Swindon loanee Deon Burton received a second yellow and his marching orders for a deliberate handball when challenging with keeper David Lucas.

The 2nd half saw attack as the order of the day from Wilson's men as they pushed to use their now 2 man advantage. Though not a one-sided affair, Swindon piled on the pressure and restricted Charlton to a few counter attacks as they struggled against 11 men. O'Brien was brought on at the break for his attacking prowess. O'Brien has struggled for form so far this season as he battles with a recurring hamstring injury, but the ex-Newcastle man shone against a depleted Charlton, and some patient wide play from the Irishman saw Charlie Austin bag the equaliser on 56 minutes. Austin was shortly replaced by Bolton loanee Danny Ward after picking up a knock.

Town continued to push as they smelt all 3 points and Billy Paynter put Swindon ahead with 16 minutes remaining, and Town had further chances to put the game beyond all doubt but were unable to land the finishing blow. And this inability came back to bite them on the proverbial behind when Miguel Llera secured a share of the spoils in the 4th minute of added time.

I would have taken 1 point before the match, but the way things panned out, we left The Valley feeling somewhat robbed after such a late goal. Though definitely a bad result, I'm still left looking at the table thinking those 2 points would have put us deeper in the playoffs. Lets hope we don't regret the two points dropped come the end of the season.

2 days later we welcomed the visit from Yeovil Town. A bumper crowd of over 8,000 filled the County Ground for Town's last game of 2009, and left in a buoyant mood after witnessing an impressive Town victory.

Wilson made just one change to the battling side of Charlton, dropping Jean-Francois Lescinel to the bench and giving Alan O'Brien a start.

We didn't have to wait long for the first action of the game, as Yeovil came out all guns blazing and kept Swindon out of the game until the ninth minute. Jon-Paul McGovern was on-hand to deliver an inch perfect cross on to Billy Paynter's head as he finished his 12th of the season to give Swindon the lead.

Simon Ferry made a goal line clearance during a heart in the mouth moment at the back before Charlie Austin continued his fledgling Town career, doubling Swindon's lead by scoring his 7th in as many games - form that has attracted some media publicity linking him with a move away when his current contract expires in the summer, though Andrew Fitton and Danny Wilson have done their best to quell any rumours by promising him a long-term extension.

Moments later, Yeovil had somehow clawed themselves back into the game when Gavin Tomlin's cross-cum-shot sailed over David Lucas' head and into the back of the net. Whether he meant it or not, it certainly looked spectacular.

The scoreline remained this way up to the break and it took just seconds of the 2nd half for Danny Ward to secure a well-earned 3 points and a perfect end to 2009. The County Ground erupted as many people were still polishing off a pint under the stand. Ward had run through 2 defenders as if they weren't even there to stab the ball past a stunned Yeovil keeper - perhaps a goal that secured an extra month on his loan deal following his expiry in the January transfer window.

These hard earned 4 points set us in good stead for the big trip to London to face big boys Fulham. 6,000 Robins fans made the journey to make a truly awesome atmosphere at Craven Cottage and a brilliant day out, regardless of the result.

Swindon put in a good performance against Roy Hodgson's men, and were certainly not disgraced as a solitary Bobby Zamora goal was all it took to dump Town out of the FA Cup. On 16 minutes Zamora picked up a ball from the midfield and raced forward whilst holding off the challenge from Gordon Greer, who refused to bring the big man down. A touch of "premiership class" then saw Zamora coolly lift the ball over the onrushing David Lucas to give Fulham the lead.

Town reacted well however and the efforts of Mark Schwarzer in the Fulham goal was all that kept them from equalising. Chances from Ben Hutchinson, Danny Ward and Billy Paynter would have secured a replay if not for the efforts of the big Aussie in between the sticks.

A swift counter-attack from the home side saw Andy Johnson race away from the Town defence in the 2nd half. One on one with Lucas, the keeper was adjudged to have taken the striker down, enraging the travelling support to constant offence at the England International. Johnson could have rubbed salt in the Swindon wound as he stepped up to convert the spot-kick, however Lucas guessed right and kept out a tame effort from Johnson to keep the FA Cup dream alive.

Swindon huffed and puffed looking for an equalising goal to bring the Londoners down to the County Ground but it wasn't to be as Fulham kicked of 2010 with a 1-0 victory and passage to the next round.

Despite a disappointing result, Swindon gave a good account of themselves with an impressive showing against a strong Fulham side. McGovern, Ferry and Douglas shone for me as they bossed a busy midfield, making good tackles and setting up numerous Town attacks, though it was a lack of cutting edge in front of goal that saw the result end as it did.

Now I'm waiting for the snow to clear so that I can watch more football! Our trip to MK Dons has been postponed as it looks like we are going to have a busy close season with a few postponements. Its going to be an interesting 2010 at the County Ground as we either prepare our self for a battling Championship season, or a push for automatic promotion from League 1 next season. Either will be fine for me Danny, keep up the good work!!