Swindon Town has had four managers this year, but Ian Holloway’s team defeated Fleetwood Town 3-1 over the weekend to move out of the relegation zone in League Two and move up from 24th place.
Off-the-pitch issues mostly aside, this piece analyses the club’s chances of preserving its Football League status after a poor start to the campaign. Swindon Town have won just three of their opening 19 league matches in the fourth tier but did progress past League One high-flyers Wycombe Wanderers in the EFL Trophy to follow the win over Fleetwood Town.
29-year-old Harry Smith made it eight goals for the season with his match-winning heroics against Fleetwood Town at the weekend. The summer arrival from Sutton United has now scored eight times in as many League Two matches and will be instrumental to their chances of survival.
Full-back Will Wright hit the woodwork at the weekend and is the next highest goalscorer at the club in League Two this season, with three strikes.
Paul Glatzel is a shadow of the player who, when at Liverpool, looked like a great prospect. The new manager has utilized him in a variety of roles to assist him get back to his peak.
Although Daniel Butterworth is a threat in midfield, he doesn’t produce enough to fill in if Smith is out for a lengthy amount of time. Even though Swindon Town has a respectable 23 goals in League Two so far, it seems like their attacking players have a lot more to offer if the manager can instill some confidence in them.
Butterworth and Glatzel have the capability to get to double figures with the right guidance. If both players achieve those numbers in addition to Smith continuing his scoring rate, Swindon Town will be looking up rather than down the League Two table.
There can be little doubt that Morecambe and Carlisle United, the current bottom two, have several issues of their own. The Cumbrians have finally put some results together under Mike Williamson but are significantly underperforming their expected goals for and against. It does appear that they will remain rooted down towards the bottom two barring a remarkable recovery.
Morecambe are also in trouble. They are far too easy to play against and are opened up at will by the opposition. Tranmere Rovers struggle to score goals, meanwhile, Harrogate Town are another side that should be looking over their shoulder after a poor start.
Only two sides are relegated from League Two and although a team’s fortunes can change significantly in the winter transfer window, there appear to be several sides who are strong contenders to be in a relegation battle come the end of the season.
A late cash injection in the closing stages of the summer transfer allowed Swindon Town the opportunity to bring in some new faces. It is unclear if they will have the funding to do the same this winter but several of the summer additions have started to gain some form, with Gavin Kilkenny another name that deserves a mention for his impressive defensive work-rate in midfield.
It was only ten years ago that the Robins were competing in the League One play-offs but the club have been on a downward trajectory for the last three years and must come to terms with the position they are in before attempting to revive their fortunes.
The teams competing at the wrong end of the League Two table will likely expect to ship goals but it is the strength of their attack that can prove to be the difference. Swindon Town possess a regular goalscorer in attack and have enough talent around their main man if Holloway can get the best out of his current crop.
Swindon Town will be one of the teams in the relegation battle based on current evidence but other teams have inferior squads so the Robins should maintain their EFL Status at the very least.
