1993–94 Swindon Town F.C. season

During the 1993–94 English football season, Swindon Town F.C. competed in the FA Premier League. It was Town's first (and, to date, only) season in the top flight of English football.

Swindon Town
1993–94 season
ChairmanRay Hardman
ManagerJohn Gorman
StadiumCounty Ground
FA Premier League22nd (relegated)
FA CupThird round
Coca–Cola CupThird round
Top goalscorerLeague: Fjørtoft (12)
All: Fjørtoft (13)
Average home league attendance15,274

Season summary

Three years after winning promotion, and then being denied top-flight football for financial irregularities, the Robins finally reached the elite after 73 years of trying thanks to a pulsating 4–3 win over Leicester City in the Division One playoff final.

Soon after securing promotion, player-manager Glenn Hoddle left to take charge of Chelsea. His assistant John Gorman was expected to follow Hoddle to Stamford Bridge, but instead accepted Swindon’s offer to become manager. He signed Norwegian striker Jan Aage Fjortoft from Rapid Vienna as well as another striker, Andy Mutch, from Wolves.

Swindon did not record a league win until their 17th game, winning just five games and becoming the first top division team in 30 years to concede 100 league goals, with only four clean sheets all season. They would have fared worse still had it not been for the strong form during the second half of the season of Jan Åge Fjørtoft, who was on target 12 times in the league, with all of his goals coming after the turn of the new year.

Swindon’s first ever top-flight victory came on 24 November 1993 when a Keith Scott goal gave them a 1–0 home win over Queen's Park Rangers.[1] Their 20th game of the season was a memorable one. They travelled to Anfield to face Liverpool, and managed to hold the home side to a 2–2 draw just over three months after they had crushed Swindon 5–0 at the County Ground. Midfielder John Moncur had put Swindon 1–0 up on the hour, and although Liverpool equalised after 71 minutes, Swindon restored their lead three minutes later with a goal from Keith Scott. They were still ahead with five minutes remaining, before an 86th-minute equaliser from Liverpool's Mark Wright denied Swindon a famous victory.[2] Swindon won their next game 2–1 at home to Southampton. They held Sheffield Wednesday to a thrilling 3–3 draw at Hillsborough on 29 December with two goals from striker Craig Maskell.[3] However, after the turn of the new year, Swindon found themselves on the receiving end of some more heavy defeats. On 15 January, they lost 6–2 to Everton at Goodison Park, though they did manage a narrow victory over Tottenham Hotspur in their next game, and within a month had fallen to a 5–0 defeat at Aston Villa. They were then crushed 7–1 at Newcastle on 12 March. A 2–2 home draw with Manchester United on 19 March sparked fresh hope that Swindon might just about climb to safety, but they collected just two points from their final eight games and were firmly rooted in bottom place. They had won just five league games all season and conceded 100 goals. Although a string of teams have since recorded fewer wins and points in the Premier League, none have yet matched Swindon’s record for conceding the most goals.[4]

John Gorman spoke of his hope that Swindon would soon return to the Premiership, saying that "[Swindon] wouldn't be in Division One for long . . . ". True to his word, Gorman lead Swindon to a consecutive relegation the following season, finishing in 21st place.

Final league table
Main article: 1993–94 FA Premier League
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
18 Southampton 42 12 7 23 49 66 −17 43
19 Ipswich Town 42 9 16 17 35 58 −23 43
20 Sheffield United (R) 42 8 18 16 42 60 −18 42 Relegation to the Football League First Division
21 Oldham Athletic (R) 42 9 13 20 42 68 −26 40
22 Swindon Town (R) 42 5 15 22 47 100 −53 30
Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(R) Relegated

Results

Swindon Town's score comes first[5]

Legend
Win Draw Loss

FA Premier League
DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
14 August 1993Sheffield UnitedA1–320,904Moncur
18 August 1993Oldham AthleticH0–111,940
22 August 1993LiverpoolH0–517,364
25 August 1993SouthamptonA1–512,505Maskell (pen)
28 August 1993Norwich CityA0–017,614
1 September 1993Manchester CityH1–316,067Summerbee
11 September 1993West Ham UnitedA0–015,777
18 September 1993Newcastle UnitedH2–215,393Ling, Mutch
25 September 1993Manchester UnitedA2–444,583Mutch, Bodin (pen)
2 October 1993Blackburn RoversH1–315,847Taylor
16 October 1993EvertonH1–114,437Taylor
23 October 1993Tottenham HotspurA1–131,394Bodin (pen)
30 October 1993Aston VillaH1–216,322Bodin (pen)
6 November 1993WimbledonA0–37,758
20 November 1993Ipswich TownH2–213,860Scott, Bodin (pen)
24 November 1993Queens Park RangersH1–014,674Scott
27 November 1993Leeds UnitedA0–332,630
4 December 1993Sheffield UnitedH0–012,882
7 December 1993Oldham AthleticA1–219,498Mutch
11 December 1993LiverpoolA2–232,739Moncur, Scott
18 December 1993SouthamptonH2–113,565Bodin, Scott
27 December 1993ArsenalH0–417,214
29 December 1993Sheffield WednesdayA3–330,570Mutch, Maskell (2)
1 January 1994ChelseaH1–316,261Mutch
3 January 1994Coventry CityA1–115,869Mutch
15 January 1994EvertonA2–620,760Moncur, Bodin
22 January 1994Tottenham HotspurH2–116,464Fjørtoft, Whitbread
5 February 1994Coventry CityH3–114,635Fjørtoft (3, 2 pens)
12 February 1994Aston VillaA0–527,637
19 February 1994Norwich CityH3–315,405Taylor, Fjørtoft (2)
25 February 1994Manchester CityA1–226,360Fjørtoft
5 March 1994West Ham UnitedH1–115,929Fjørtoft
12 March 1994Newcastle UnitedA1–732,219Moncur
19 March 1994Manchester UnitedH2–218,102Nijholt, Fjørtoft
26 March 1994Blackburn RoversA1–320,046Fjørtoft
2 April 1994ArsenalA1–131,635Bodin (pen)
4 April 1994Sheffield WednesdayH0–113,927
16 April 1994Ipswich TownA1–114,760Fjørtoft
23 April 1994WimbledonH2–413,309Summerbee, Barton (own goal)
27 April 1994ChelseaA0–211,180
30 April 1994Queens Park RangersA3–19,875Taylor, Fjørtoft, Summerbee
7 May 1994Leeds UnitedH0–517,228

FA Cup
Main article: 1993–94 FA Cup
RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R38 January 1994Ipswich TownH1–112,105Mutch
R3R18 January 1994Ipswich TownA1–2 (a.e.t.)12,796Fjørtoft

League Cup
Main article: 1993–94 Football League Cup
RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R2 1st leg22 September 1993Wolverhampton WanderersH2–08,649Summerbee, Mutch
R2 2nd leg5 October 1993Wolverhampton WanderersA1–2 (won 3–2 on agg)11,756Summerbee
R326 October 1993PortsmouthA0–212,554

Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  ENG Fraser Digby
2 MF  ENG Nicky Summerbee
3 DF  WAL Paul Bodin
4 MF  ENG Micky Hazard
5 MF  NED Luc Nijholt
6 DF  ENG Shaun Taylor
7 MF  ENG John Moncur
8 MF  SCO Ross MacLaren
9 FW  NOR Jan Åge Fjørtoft
10 MF  ENG Martin Ling
11 FW  ENG Craig Maskell
12 FW  ENG Steve White
14 DF  ENG Adrian Whitbread
15 DF  ENG Adi Viveash
16 MF  NIR Kevin Horlock
17 FW  ENG Chris Hamon
18 MF  ENG Eddie Murray
No. Pos. Nation Player
19 DF  ENG Andy Thomson
20 DF  IRL Wayne O'Sullivan
21 MF  ENG Marcus Phillips
22 MF  ENG Austin Berkley
23 GK  ENG Nick Hammond
24 DF  ENG Lee Middleton
25 FW  ENG Andy Mutch
26 DF  ENG Terry Fenwick
27 FW  ENG Keith Scott
28 MF  ENG Ty Gooden
29 GK  ENG Shane Cook
30 GK  SCO Stewart Kerr (on loan from Celtic)
31 DF  ENG Brian Kilcline
32 FW  SCO Frank McAvennie (on loan from Celtic)
33 MF  NIR Lawrie Sanchez
34 GK  ENG Paul Heald (on loan from Leyton Orient)
40 GK  ENG Jon Sheffield (on loan from Cambridge United)

Starting 11
Only considering Premier League starts

References
  1. "Archived copy". www.statbunker.com. Archived from the original on 20 June 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. "Archived copy". www.statbunker.com. Archived from the original on 20 June 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 17 May 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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