History of Swindon Town F.C.

Fleming, a legend in the Town with a statue in the County Ground and a nearby road named after him, scored 202 goals in 332 games for Swindon between 1907 and 1924 and was capped eleven times for England.

The club continued to play friendly games against local opposition during the conflict and also against military teams from the Wiltshire Regiment of Royal Engineers and the Army Flying Corp. Lt Freddie Wheatcroft, a former Swindon centre-forward, was killed in action in Bourlon in November 1917.

Swindon Town joined the Wartime South West Regional League and, owing to military call-ups, fielded a total of 46 different players during the season.

At the end of the 1939–40 season, the War Department requisitioned the County Ground for use as a Prisoner-of-war camp, Swindon Town as a football club effectively ceased to be for the duration.

Three Swindon Town F.C players—Alan Fowler, Willie Imrie and Dennis Olney—were killed in action during the war and are commemorated with a memorial inside the ground above the players tunnel.

[12] Three weeks before the start of the 1989–90 season, The People published revelations that chairman Brian Hillier had put money on Swindon winning Division Three in 1987, as an insurance policy for player bonuses.

Two months later the allegations worsened, with Hillier accused of putting money on the Town to lose in the FA Cup game at Newcastle United two years previously (which the team lost 5–0).

Shortly before the last game of the season, Hillier, Macari, captain Colin Calderwood and secretary Vince Farrar were all arrested and questioned by Inland Revenue officials over a tax fraud conspiracy.

The Swindon board immediately appealed, but High Court action was dropped due to lack of funding, and the fans protested, thousands signing a "1st not 3rd" petition.

33-year-old Manchester City midfielder Steve McMahon took over but, despite a run to the League Cup semi-finals, Swindon suffered a second successive relegation and slipped into Division Two.

[18] But the club's financial state was getting more precarious and Swindon could not afford to build a side that might be able to win promotion to the Premiership; his only significant summer signing was the underwhelming Gary Elkins from Wimbledon.

At one point manager Jimmy Quinn was told not to pick midfielder Robin Hulbert because one more appearance would trigger a £25,000 payment to Everton under the terms of his 1996 transfer.

Swindon had a dismal start to the 2000–01 season and Todd quit in November to take the assistant manager's job at Premiership side Derby County.

"[39] Earlier in the season the club had announced its new proposal to redevelop the County Ground,[40] a plan which received the backing of the local council who own the land.

"[41] A mixed start to the 2005–06 League One campaign cost Andy King his job and youth development officer Iffy Onuora took over on a temporary contract.

[43] On 30 November 2005 the club revealed that the proposed redevelopment of the County Ground had run into problems, with Swindon Borough Council raising legal and financial concerns about the scheme.

[48] The relegation meant that they became the first ever former Premiership team to be demoted to football's basement league division, although they were joined by Milton Keynes Dons (previously Wimbledon) on the final day of the season.

[60] Afterwards it was announced that local rivals Bristol Rovers were interested in a ground-share at the County Ground while the Memorial Stadium was redeveloped;[61] fans and TrustSTFC opposed the move with vice-chairman Andy Ratcliffe stating: "I think it’s a double-edged sword to be honest.

[67] He stated "The Trust plan has much to admire in that both the football club and the local community make significant long-term gains in terms of leisure facilities and sustainable income.

[71] Elsewhere, after making confidential comments about Dennis Wise known to the media prior to the away League game at Wycombe Wanderers, board member Bob Holt was forced to resign.

"[79] Swindon chief executive Mark Devlin resigned on 6 February 2007 citing medical reasons relating to his plane crash at the start of the season for his departure.

The appointed chairman-designate, the American Jim Little, also announced former QPR defender Rufus Brevett as Sporting Director and Portuguese agent José Veiga as General Manager.

Paul Sturrock resigned as manager during the season to return to Plymouth Argyle (he had previously been there earlier in the decade) and his successor Maurice Malpas secured Swindon's League One status as they finished 13th with 61 points.

After losing the final Swindon lost their top scorer Billy Paynter who joined Leeds United on a free transfer, and sold club captain Gordon Greer.

When Danny Wilson resigned on March 2, Paul Hart was brought in but failed to save the Robins, and on 25 April 2011 Swindon were relegated to League Two after losing 3–1 to Sheffield Wednesday FC.

[94] On 18 February 2013, with Swindon riding high in League One and in contention for a second consecutive promotion, Di Canio announced his resignation, alleging mistreatment by the board of directors, including the sale of Matt Ritchie behind his back, and the financial instability of the club at the time.

On 9 June 2020, Swindon were crowned League Two champions on the basis of average points per game, matches in the 2019–20 season having been suspended from March due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom.

[110][111] Swindon supporter groups urged fans to boycott games until the ownership problems were resolved, with High Court hearings due to start on 6 September 2021.

[119] The club then cancelled its planned pre-season friendly with Swansea City at the County Ground on 17 July 2021,[120] citing "ongoing logistical and operational issues".

[126] The manager then left Swindon to join Charlton Athletic in June 2022, being replaced by his former assistant Scott Lindsey,[127] who spent half a season in the role before moving to Crawley Town.