Marked for Darren Oldaker
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad24 May 2027
36 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Swindon Town lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market24 May 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Swindon Town, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad24 May 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and James Scanlon was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad24 May 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Swindon Town this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Loan watch24 May 2027
“I did not go to Trelleborg to sit and watch. I want to come back to Swindon Town and fight for my place.” 3 appearances in 9 matches say the rest.
The dugout24 May 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Jamie Shackleton's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
The dugout24 May 2027
The manager makes an example of Paul Glatzel
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Market24 May 2027
The Aaron Drinan story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Aaron Drinan signs something — a contract at Swindon Town or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout24 May 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Swindon Town, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market10 May 2027
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Swindon Town they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad10 May 2027
Junior Hoilett falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad10 May 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Fletcher Holman commits to Swindon Town for another 4 years.
The dugout10 May 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout10 May 2027
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
The dugout10 May 2027
Darren Oldaker is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Squad10 May 2027
Gavin Kilkenny has seen what the next man earns
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at Swindon Town that is a harder question to answer.
Market10 May 2027
The Jake Batty story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Jake Batty signs something — a contract at Swindon Town or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout10 May 2027
Boris Palacios knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Swindon Town, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match3 May 2027
The season ends: position 14 for Swindon Town
The last league game has been played and the table has stopped moving: 60 points. The summer begins on Monday, and so does the argument about what it all meant.
Squad3 May 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Connor Ripley commits to Swindon Town for another 2 years.
Squad3 May 2027
Mads Andersen and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match27 Apr 2027
1‑3 to Notts County, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout3 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Joe Johnson, and the manager let it.
Match1 May 2027
Gillingham left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad3 May 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Junior Hoilett was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad3 May 2027
Connor Ripley lets one through his hands
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
The dugout3 May 2027
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑1, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
Age has not caught Junior Hoilett yet — 7.86
At 36 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.86 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
A defender's goal wins it for Swindon Town — 7.74
1 for Darren Oldaker, marked 7.74, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Words at Swindon Town training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ollie Palmer is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Transfer targets22 Feb 2027
Swindon Town asked and Latina said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Match20 Feb 2027
It finished 2‑0, and it was Ollie Palmer’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Swindon Town.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 2‑0, already talking about the next one.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
Junior Hoilett asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match6 Feb 2027
12 matches without a win for Swindon Town
The run now stands at 12, and the questions being asked around Swindon Town are no longer polite ones.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
James Scanlon, 20, steals the show — 7.92
Marked 7.92 at 20, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Market8 Feb 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
Darren Oldaker: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Swindon Town have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Transfer targets8 Feb 2027
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Benfica is saying, and nobody at Swindon Town is enjoying the guessing.
Boardroom8 Feb 2027
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
Squad8 Feb 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Swindon Town this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets8 Feb 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Match6 Feb 2027
Newport County left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match23 Jan 2027
No end in sight to Swindon Town's wait for a win
9 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Swindon Town has to find a result from somewhere.
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
James Scanlon, 20, steals the show — 7.81
Marked 7.81 at 20, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Market25 Jan 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
Ryan Tafazolli pops up at the right end — 7.51
7.51, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Swindon Town may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market25 Jan 2027
CS Afumați come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Swindon Town did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Transfer targets25 Jan 2027
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Wolverhampton is saying, and nobody at Swindon Town is enjoying the guessing.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Mads Andersen and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Words at Swindon Town training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ollie Palmer is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market21 Dec 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Swindon Town can pretend not to have heard.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Richardson Rivas and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Lorenz Hutchinson is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 18 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Words at Swindon Town training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ollie Palmer is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Match19 Dec 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Aaron Drinan. 1‑0 against Tranmere Rovers, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
The afternoon belonged to Aaron Drinan
A mark of 7.54, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Benjamin Murphy kept it short after the 1‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Boris Palacios, and the manager let it.
Squad21 Dec 2026
The division's best last weekend was a Swindon Town man
It is a small honour and it is not nothing: somebody watched every match in the division and decided that Ollie Palmer was the best thing in any of them.