FACT FILE
Team Name: Swindon Town Football Club
Nickname: The Robins
Year Founded: 1879
Stadium: The Nigel Eady County Ground
Capacity: 15,728
2023/24 SEASON
Swindon Town went the first nine league games of the season unbeaten – winning five and drawing four. Things weren’t going so smoothly on the cup side as they went out at the first stage of all competitions. The Robins’ form started to dip around the start of October and the poor run of results cost Michael Flynn his job in January. Former Spireite Gavin Gunning was put in interim charge until the end of the season, winning just four more times. Swindon finished in 19th place in League Two, which was the club’s lowest position in their history.
MANAGER
Mark Kennedy had a playing career spanning 20 years with stints at Liverpool, Manchester City, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Republic of Ireland national team and more. In 2020, he started his managerial career with League Two Macclesfield Town – he took charge of 12 games before leaving after the club’s relegation to the National League. Kennedy then had a spell as Lee Bowyer’s assistant at Birmingham City before spending 18-months at Lincoln City. In May of this year, the former Premier League player was announced as manager of Swindon Town, and he looks to lead the club up the League Two table.
KEY PLAYER
Will Wright, a summer recruit from Crawley Town, was a big part in the Red Devils’ promotion campaign. The defender has shown his qualities in his defensive work as well as having an eye for goals and assists.
Last season in numbers:
Appearances – 54
Goals – 4
Assists – 9
Yellow Cards – 10
Red Cards – 0
Minutes Played – 4,548
PLAYED FOR BOTH
Upon leaving Maidstone United following the conclusion of the 2020/21 season, Saidou Khan joined Chesterfield. He quickly became a fan favourite as he contributed well with goals and assists – scoring seven times in his 42 games. The Spireites made the National League play-offs that campaign but fell to Solihull Moors in the semi-final.
His form attracted the interest of EFL clubs, and the midfielder made the move to League Two side Swindon Town in the summer of 2022. In the two seasons that Khan has spent in Wiltshire, he has played 70 times and scored twice. He also now plays in a Swindon team that also includes ex-Spireites in Jeff King and Miguel Freckleton as well as Gavin Gunning on the coaching team.
HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD
P 51 W 19 D 8 L 24
Swindon have the slight advantage when it comes to head-to-head games against Chesterfield. One of the Spireites’ 19 wins came at Wembley Stadium when they beat Paulo di Canio’s side 2-0 in the 2011/12 Johnstone’s Paint Trophy final. The Blues are unbeaten in their last four against the Robins, winning three of them.
PREVIOUS GAME
The last fixture between the two sides took place at the SMH Group Stadium back in February 2018. Chesterfield took the lead after just two minutes when Andy Kellett’s cross was pushed into the path of Chris O’Grady, who bundled the ball home from close-range. Kellett doubled the advantage in the second as curled the ball past Reice Charles-Cook from the edge of the area. Former and future Spireite Ollie Banks was given a straight red card with 18 minutes to go for a rash challenge on Louis Reed. Rollin Menayese pulled one back a couple of minutes later, but the Blues came away with the victory.
Swindon Town photos courtesy of Geoff Caddick/Shutterstock
