Lessons Learned from STFC’s Pre-Season So Far

It has, by all accounts, been a very positive pre-season campaign for Swindon Town so far. Some players have left for pastures new, but Richie Wellens has been busy himself in identifying targets and bringing fresh faces to the County Ground.

And the general consensus is that his recruitment work has been excellent, with highly-rated young talent Zeki Fryers, Rob Hunt and the experienced Mathieu Baudry sure to bolster the backline, while Jerry Yates – who impressed in a loan spell at Carlisle United last term – could add pace and guile in the final third as he joins the Robins from Rotherham United.

'Swindon Town' (CC BY-SA 2.0) by P L Chadwick via Geograph

Wellens has also been vocal about his desire to bring in a new striker, telling the club’s official website that he’s ‘95% on one’ with more news to follow in the next week or so.

A series of trialists have also pulled on the red shirt in our pre-season fixtures to date, which has also produced some excellent results and noteworthy performances.

Here’s a quick look at the games played so far, and the lessons STFC fans can take away from the action.

Attacking Options Fuel Top Seven Hopes

If you want to achieve great things in football, you need to have plenty of options at your disposal.

The season is a long one for Swindon Town, with the rigours of the League Two campaign matched by duties in three separate cups, each of which offers tangible financial benefits for the club.

Richie Wellens will be hoping that he has two strong candidates in each position and the early indication is that the manager has achieved that.

It’s in attack where the Robins have looked particularly strong in pre-season. Joining Keshi Anderson and Kayne Woolery are the likes of Yates and trialists George Newell and Lloyd Isgrove, while more could follow with the manager confirming those talks with a new striker.

Town have looked particularly good going forward in their fixtures so far this summer, and that bodes very well ahead of what will be a chaotic campaign at times.

Iandolo Moving Forward

It would be fair to say that David Flitcroft and his successor Phil Brown didn’t quite know how to get the best from Ellis Iandolo. They shoehorned the 21-year-old into roles as a full-back and wing-back, despite his best position being in midfield.

So far in pre-season, Wellens has shown plenty of faith in Iandolo by giving him a try as a number ten, and the youngster has taken the opportunity with both hands.

He found the net against Hungerford in a 4-1 win on Tuesday and was the focal point for many of Swindon’s best attacking moves. And that came just days after he scored the winner against Everton Under-23s in La Manga.

If given a chance to shine in a more advanced role, this could be the breakthrough campaign for an obviously gifted young ace.

All over at Bulpit Lane ??

Town end the night as victors.

Yates, Iandolo, Anderson and Graham with the goals. pic.twitter.com/HkmUThlKXg

— Swindon Town FC (@Official_STFC) July 16, 2019

Keshi Ready to Knuckle Down

For some footballers, being out on the pitch is the easy part – it’s staying out of trouble off it where the problems lie.

Keshi Anderson is a tremendously gifted young man who has the game to be a real asset to the Robins, but continued disciplinary problems threaten to derail his professional career.

Wellens revealed that an unpaid fine saw the 24-year-old left behind as the rest of the squad jetted off for a warm-weather training camp in La Manga earlier in the summer, and he’s hoping that the attacker has learned his lesson.

After all, he’s a fantastic asset on the pitch, and he lit up the second half of the friendly win over Hungerford with his direct running and guile, which earned him a goal to his name.

Hopefully, it’s a sign that he is ready to knuckle down because he really is a tremendous talent.

Can We Bank on Lloyd?

Of all the trialists that have shown off their talents for the Robins so far, it is perhaps Lloyd Isgrove who has been the most eye-catching.

A graduate of Southampton’s famed academy, the winger has never really settled at a club, having been sent out on loan by the Saints and subsequent employer Barnsley. But there is no doubting that he has the pedigree to thrive at League Two level.

Isgrove played a key role in the win over Hungerford, and Wellens was particularly pleased with what he saw. “It’s tough for him to come in, he’s got no minutes in his legs,” the manager said.

“But I think fans could see his quality. His CV is there. Now it’s about getting him fit and to a level where we can get him starting.”

Known mostly as a winger, the 26-year-old can also deputise in midfield or in attack and that versatility could be a real bonus for Wellens as his side launches an assault on the promotion places.

Robins Set to Fly High?

Despite all their travails in 2018/19, Swindon finished just seven points outside the play-off places in League Two.

And so improvements in pre-season have Robins fans dreaming of a promotion push in the coming campaign. The bookmakers suggest it’s a strong possibility too. Oddschecker helps punters maximise the return on their bets and many of the betting sites it links to price Swindon at 9/2 to achieve promotion either automatically or through the play-offs.

The action gets underway on Saturday 3 August with a trip to Scunthorpe. Hopefully, it will be the start of a glorious season for Richie Wellens’ side.