Football Season Review

Swindon were unable to repeat their success from the previous season and reach the play-offs, but their boss Mark Cooper still deserves a lot of praise for the work he has done since taking over, as few expected the Robins to push for promotion following the summer of turbulence they had. Swindon not only lost manager Paolo Di Canio near the end of the previous season, with his departure causing a collapse in Robins' form, but also lost several key players to other clubs. Moreover, Kevin MacDonald, who had taken over from Di Canio, left the club only two weeks before the start of the campaign, leaving Cooper with not much time to get acquainted with a squad that looked far weaker than last season's one. However, the Robins' boss did not need too much time to get the best out of his players, as he had them playing some attractive football from the start, with Tottenham trainees Alex Pritchard, Ryan Mason and Massimo Luongo providing the technique needed for the Robins to play passing football. The majority of Robins' points in the first half of the season came from their home games, as their attacking approach often seemed too naive for them to get points on their travels. Cooper eventually admitted that his away game tactics had been too attacking minded and tweaked his tactics in the second half of the season, causing the Robins' away form to improve. However, the injury list kept increasing from January onward, and Cooper's side struggled to maintain their excellent home form, eventually finishing the season outside of the play-off places. It is difficult to predict whether they will strengthen over the summer - there is an ongoing battle between two fractions trying to seize ownership of the club, and the Robins' fans will hope for the situation to be resolved as soon as possible in order for Cooper to get the funds required to strengthen his squad and bring in replacements for key players who will depart, such as Alex Prichard, whose loan stay from Tottenham finished after the penultimate game of the season.

Player of the Season: Massimo Luongo