Tyler Starks ~~ Reign on the Pitch ~~

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David slays Goliath : Swindon Town upset Chelsea

Two minutes in, young goal tender Liao had already surrendered a goal to a talented Chelsea side. 88 minutes later, that was the only goal surrendered as Swindon Town barely slips past Chelsea. The win can be accounted to several things, an outstanding performance from a truely fit squad, Torres missing a pair of shots on net that could've easily been goals and a penalty kick that would bounce off the post (leading to a Torres missed shot on a wide open net).

Kone would once again score a pair of goals, including the go ahead goal while inside the penalty box, battling for possession he would fire off a shot nearly horizontal to the goal, somehow it would hit the top iron and then bounce in. The 2-1 lead would hold through the second half. The squad really out performed themselves and were helped by a very off day for a normally dominant Torres. Kone was given man of the match honors with Liao close behind.

No Chelsea received a rating better than goaltender Courtois with a 6.6, no other player surpassing even 6, with the offensive unit of Mata, Fernando Torres and Di Maria sitting in the fives, with Di Maria having a horrible 4.9. Esajas has been known to surpass his limitations and play above expectations and would dial in another performance that would help stifle attacks and keep the ball with Swindon Town.

Swindon Town advances to the semifinals, Kone with two more goals further separates himself from the rest of the competition. Now having dialed in nine goals, the next closest coming from Stoke City's Jerome (5). Swindon Town will face the Wolverhampton Wanderers in the seminfinals, after Wolverhampton upset Liverpool in a replay match.

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Robins only lose one in two months!
Swindon Town Robins (19-11-9) - 68 Points
Fifth in nPower League 1

No one has been playing better football than Swindon Town through Feburary and March, with only one loss this team is closing out the season on a high note, with so few games remaining, to not suffer a loss in thirty-eight days is a great number to carry, with their fixture against Chesterfield Football Club ending in a 2-1 decision in favor of the FC. Kone sits at second in the league in goals scored hitting the net 19 times.

Cho-Yun Liao has made huge strides this season, the eighteen year old goal tender from the People's Republic of China has been huge with a big performance against Chelsea being the most notable of his performances. Kofi Tuffuor has been starting ever since being signed out of the Youth Academy and has been improving on the pitch, becoming a footballer to watch for in the closing month.

Panagiotis Kone is the clear captain of the squad and at 26 years of age he is still improving. Kone has been a leader of the squad through their tournament bouts and during league play keeping things alive and elevating his play when the need arises. Across all competitions the Robins have been in, he is responsible for 35 goals and 11 assists this season, he is playing at a super star caliber.

The road ahead will not get any easier with two upcoming matches against top of the table teams, they will end the season with four of five being in the middle or bottom of the table which should allow them to coast to the playoff for the final promotion spot. Swindon Town sits 13 points away from an automatic bid and 16 points from first, unless there is an unheard of massive collapse among the three teams ahead of them, they will be hoping for a good showing in the playoff for the final spot.

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Cinderella story grinds to a half in Semis

Defeating Chelsea in a historic upset, Swindon Town came into this game with a fire underneath them and the eyes of a nation upon them. The pressure would be too much as Swindon Town falls 0-1 to Wolverhampton. Liao only had four shots on net letting one in, the one that decided this one. The Robins ripped off 11 shots on net, including three in one possession. Man of the match and net minder, Hennessey would pull in all of them earning a perfect 10 rating while the fans watched in awe as the clean sheet was done in one of the most difficult ways a team could manage.

Kofi Tuffour continues to slump, rating under 6 in yet another game, with youngster Salawu, earning the highest total in his short time coming in relief of veteran Zambrotta who came off exhausted. Kone deadly throughout this entire tournament was held to no goals on five attempts. "They held the middle of the field meaning a lot of our shots were poorly executed or coming outside of the penalty box. Our crosses were coming in off target.. their defenders wrecked havoc on our attack." Spoke Starks after the interview.

The loss albeit disappointing allows the Robins to put all their focus on earning a promotion to the nPower Champions League, it would be their second consecutive promotion with some followers concerned that rising too fast will hurt the team. Watch the Robins next year, they are young and only getting better.

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Swindon Town eliminated : 0-1 AGG

The two matches went a combined 210 minutes without a goal, the initial showing ending in a 0-0 draw, with the final match ending with a 0-0 draw through extra time. It would be a clutch showing by the Barnsley side to boost them up past Swindon Town, winning the shoot out 3-1, Barnsley missed one shot, Liao surrendering three. Kone missed his shot wide of the net and Gabilondo slipped on the attempt missing net on the kick. Youngster Calve would be the final nail in the Robins season when his shot on net would be deflected by the netminder

"It's disappointing to say the least. This team went through adversity throughout the season. It's tough to have nothing at all to show for it." Spoke a deflated Tyler Starks in a post game interview. Starks is in a lot of circles being a favorite for multiple positions on the global level, with a preseason contract goal of promotion, the manager might find himself on the hot seat or looking for a new job the time next season rolls around.

The Robins season had it's ups and downs, making it to the Quarter Finals of the Carling Cup, the Semifinals of the FA Cup, they were however stunned in the first round of the Johnstone Paint tournament with an opening round loss in penalty kicks. They brought in an influx of young talent and this team is full of talent, Starks would love to bring this team back for what should be a dominant season next year with many already hailing the Robins as an early favorite withholding any major transfers that may cripple the squad.

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Empty for time being

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Swindon Town set for 2014 Campaign

Transfer Window news

Bought Players:
Vilsvik (LB) - 25 - SIF - 3,800,000 Euros
Fran Carnicer (CM) - 23 - FA
Braafheid (LB) - 31 - 750,000 Euros

Sold Players:
Legittimo (LB) - Mjallby AIF - 550,000 Euros
Lander Gabilondo (RW) - Notts County FC - 750,000 Euros
Ponsdesserre (CB) - Millwall - 220,000 Euros
Lanzano (GK) - Lyngby BK - 170,000 Euros
Akwal (GK) - 450,000 Euros
Ros (CM) - Hibernian Edinburgh - 775,000 Euros
Benyon (ST) - VAFC - 600,000 Euros
Kennedy (LB) - Bristol City - 70,000 Euros
Esajas (LM) - S****horpe United AC - 150,000 Euros

Loaned Players
Hammill (CM) - Hereford - 51 OVR
Surma (LW) - Wellington - 59 OVR
Flint (CB) - Lemans FC - 62 OVR

Youth Academy

Chris Thompson (ST) - USA - 43/53 - 66/84
Dale James (LM) - England - 49/59 - 69/83
Jack Baptiste (LB/CB/RB/LM) - England - 39/51 - 68/90
Jomar Ado (CM) - South Africa - 47/49 - 72/78
Jon Cortez (ST/CM/RW/RM) - USA - 46/60 - 64/84
Kevin N'Gog (GK) - France - 53/57 - 79/85
Nathan McCarty (CM) - USA - 49/59 - 73/87
Paul Forshaw (CM) - England - 54/64 - 74/90
Rhett Cohen (CM/CB/RM/ST) - England - 42/56 - 67/91

Starting XI
Formation : 4-5-1

(GK) Liao - 18 - China PR - 61 OVR
(RB) Kowalczyk - 29 - Poland - 71 OVR
(RCB) Tuffuor - 18 - South Africa - 66 OVR
(LCB) Vilsvik - 25 - Germany - 77 OVR
(LB) Braafheid - 31 - Netherlands - 73 OVR
(RM) Ngoyi - 26 - DR Congo - 71 OVR
(CM) Calve - 17 - France - 63 OVR
(LM) Zhu - 16 - Chian PR - 66 OVR
(RAM) Fernandez - 21 - Spain - 73 OVR
(LAM) Omar Ramos - 26 - Spain - 72 OVR
(ST) Kone - 27 - Greece - 78 OVR

With the evolution of the Swindon Town side into a yearly contender and a hotbed of anticipation that has what looks to be another terrific season about to unfold before fans of the side. Liao developed terrific over the past season and as such surpassed Lanzano and allowed him to be sold off for a little extra budget, with an outstanding offer for Lander Gabilondo and Elliot Benyon having been sold prior to that, Starks changed his formations to be a one striker with his midfielders getting involved in scoring opportunities.

Kofi Tuffour had a solid season last year and should continue developing at a terrific pace, with fellow youngster Zhu fitting into the starting 11, Zhu will be playing out of position in the midfield, yet he fits in better there than on the bench. Salawu and Cairns will also see sizable amounts of playing time with youngster Fran Carnicer who was scooped up as a free agent playing a decent role. Esposito out of Canada should also make a decent splash at the midfielder position.

Swindon Town has no depth at striking and their best finisher by far is Kone, if he gets hurt this team may need to evolve into one that seeks victorys through 1-0 encounters. Swindon Town has the youth but with last years scouting forays tempting into the defensive waters, this team will need to find some youth at the midfield and striking positions to be able to revert back to a traditional English 4-4-2 formation that they utilized last season.

"This side has the full possibility of taking the #1 spot in the league this season, with anything less than a promotion being an absolute failure. I take the responsibility for our loss in the playoffs squarely for not designing and countering what the opposing gaffer put on the pitch. None the less, the year was a good opportunity to find out the strengths and weaknesses of this team and I believe we have one of if not the best starting XI in the entire league." Spoke Starks in a media day prior to the opening game of the League 1 fixture.

Swindon Town would go 1-1-2 in their friendlies, admittedly they were playing all of their young talent and didn't have several of their players available to even play those games wanting to save their stars for the regular season. Thus far into the season, Swindon Town is undefeated in League 1 play, 3-0-0 with 9 points, tied with only Sheffield and Exeter City as the only undefeateds, Exeter is in third due to a tie, yet this season could be a true dog fight at the top.

In the opening match of the League Cup, Barnsley Football Club tried to stun the Robins managing to force a draw in the 83rd minute at a 3-3 game, with the extra time yielding no results, it would goto penalty kicks, which also needed extra attempts. The initial results being 3-3, getting down to the sixth kick, which bounced off the crossbar for Barnsley. When Calve came up he tapped the ball into the left corner of the net, the youth swarmed by teammates as the Robins adance.

They would not get so lucky in the Johnstone Paint Trophy opening match, where Rochdale AFC forced a draw and would win 2-1 in penalty kicks, eliminating the Robins who for consecutive years after winning the tournament were unable to escape the first fixture. "It's disappointing but there isnt much we can do. Our hearts weren't in the game, we need to focus on continuing to win in League 2 and establishing ourselfs as one of the best clubs in League 1." Spoke Starks.

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Kone and Esposito lead Robins in extra time rout of Hull City
Swindon Town 4
Hull City 2 ET
Man of the Match: P.Kone (LS) - SWI

Hull City held the lead for 48 minutes, with Swindon Town never holding the lead in regulation, yet only three minutes into overtime the Robins saw a glimmer of hope after a beautiful save, Ngoyi pulled in the rebound and sliced in a kick past the keeper who was on the ground. Ngoyi would be sent off with his second yellow card in this contest only minutes later yet his impact was none the less huge. To add salt to the wound, Esposito knocked in a goal on an assist from Kone to give them a two point lead in the 115th minute lead securing the victory for the Robins who didn't show many signs of life.

The offense has been dead all season, with Kone being the lone lifeline this team has, youth striker Luc Plizga has been underpreforming and may of lost his job to Adam Esposito who rated at a 9.5, with a goal and an assist his impact was very heavily felt. Along with some key dribbles and defensive plays he made his presence felt. The canadian native has been turning heads and will only get better especially if Starks moves him to the Starting XI.

Kofi Tuffour left the game to be replaced by Soloman Salawu, after dribbling the ball and collapsing to the pitch writhing in pain. In a contest that required every little ounce of energy that every player on the pitch had, Tuffour will be the one feeling it the most, with the intial diagnosis being a torn muscle in his calf with a projected time of recovery set at three months, he will miss a bulk of the season a disappointing collapse after the club sold veteran Joe Devera and was hoping to see Tuffour develop even further this season. Soloman Salawu and Adam Cairns will rotate in his vacant position or Zhu may move full time back to defense instead of playing a deep midfielder as he had throughout the season.

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League Cup
Swindon Town 1
Nottingham Forest 2 ET

Man of the match, Notthingham Forest's Goal tender, Camp is the main man on the pitch today, despite an average showing on both sides of the pitch, Camp was the one who kept his team in this game. On the opposite side, Liao was an absolute disappointment. Only making two saves and letting in a pair of goals, both of which were easily savable knocked his side from the contest. "It's disappointing, you go out every game to win and today I didn't play as well as I should've. We will need to look forward to the FA Cup, to make our impact than." Spoke Liao when questioned about his performance.

The Robins aren't having a terrible season when it comes to league play, yet this is a rather early departure as the Robins continue their struggles in tournament play. On the positive side, the risks of injury or carding along with reduced fatigue will allow Swindon Town to focus on the nPower League 1 as they seek their promotion.

Swindon town despite their high expectations sit at fourth, not a terrible spot to be, yet losses against bottom of the table sides, they sit at 26 points, just seven points from the top spot they held two months ago. A 2-1-2 September, after opening on a 3-0-1 knocked them down to reality with their issues, namely in the goal scoring column, Kone is virtually the only player that is a threat to score on a daily basis, something that Starks will need to look at improving upon as the next transfer window comes around. Plizga is still raw and isn't ready to start consistently in League 2.

The Robins would get through October on a 3-1-2 month, with a disappointing loss to Northampton which was at the bottom of the table at the time of the fixture. They closed out the month at 1-1-1 after starting 2-0-1. Starks was even quoted as saying that this season, "Could potentially be my final season as a manger of the Robins, I feel as if we are nearing an end of my time here and I need to look abroad for new positions elsewhere." Amidst growing concern that this team isn't mentally prepared for fixtures despite Starks vocal nature.