Swindon Town vs Bromley preview
On March 28th, Swindon manager Ian Holloway was rewarded for the stellar job he has done at the County Ground with a contract extension until the end of the 2027-28 season.
It is a statement of intent and a show of faith in one of football’s greatest characters. But if you assume he’s a character and little more, you’re making a mistake. Ian Holloway is one of the canniest managers on the circuit.
When he arrived at Swindon in October, the Robins were only 3 points above the relegation zone. They now sit in 12th, 6 points off the play-offs with three games to go.
Will Swindon gatecrash the play-offs? Probably not, but it gives you some idea of the job Holloway has done so far.
The Robins have picked up 48 points from his 29 league games in charge. That’s automatic promotion form.
I hope this gives you an idea of the scale of the task awaiting Bromley at the County Ground on Easter Monday. In fact, Swindon have not lost at home in the league under Holloway.
The Robins have won their last four, scoring 14 goals in the process, and three of those wins have come against promotion chasers.
This all points to Bromley having a very difficult afternoon in Wiltshire.
The Ravens often set up to not get beaten away from home, and they’re good at it, but the last time I said that, the league leaders put five past them.
On that day, Bromley were the architects of their own downfall with a slew of sloppy defensive errors. If they can eradicate those uncharacteristic mistakes, there is no reason they can't upset the form guide.
They do have the ninth-best away record in the league, and given seven of the eight teams above them in that chart are in the top eight, it pays credence to the fact that Bromley are among of the hardest sides to break down away from home.
The potential banana skin here isn’t so much who is in form and who isn’t, but rather which side uses their squad best and who has the better quality in depth. The Good Friday/Easter Monday turnaround is a test of character as much as quality.
Will either manager rotate? And if they do, who will they rotate in and out?
Between them, Harry Smith and Kabongo Tshimanga have 7 goals in Swindon’s last four games. Michael Cheek has 5 in his last five.
Which side do you trust to not overrely on their strikers? I know my answer.
And lastly, the mercurial one: Harry McKirdy. We’ve seen him booed at Carlisle and Port Vale, but Swindon is the one place in his career to date where he has come to life on the field.
20 goals in 35 league appearances in 2021/22 saw him fire Swindon Town to a League Two play-off semi-final, and he won the vote for the club’s Player of the Season.
This is a club that truly knows what McKirdy has in his locker. Will Andy Woodman unleash him today?
From Bromley with Love XI
Smith
Grant Sowunmi Elerewe Odutayo
Charles Arthurs
Imray Thompson Whitely
Cheek
Please note all match photographs in this article are by Martin Greig - please follow him on Instagram here
All articles are edited by Peter Etherington you can link to him here
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