Swindon 1-2 Bristol Rovers: Five Things We Learned

A third loss in a row for Swindon Town, after losing 2-1 to local rivals Bristol Rovers, sees them drop to 20th position in the League One table on just eight points. TotalSport's Ryan Walker gives his analysis on five things we learned following the disappointing defeat.

Luke Williams is not a man manager

After signing a five-year-deal back in March of this year, many fans were full of renewed optimism as Swindon entered the 2016-17 League One season. However, just eight matches in, it is clear to many that while Williams may be a great coach, he is not a great manager.

Lack of aggression and a failure to make game-changing decisions means Williams may be on borrowed time at the helm of the club.

There is no Plan B

Town may be very good at playing neat, tidy and quick possession based football, however when the side go behind in a match it appears they have no second option, besides playing long balls up to Jonathan Obika in the hope he can create something. Similar to the Bury loss, Swindon’s football tactics were soon cracked by Bristol Rovers' opposition players and when the chips are down, Williams and his staff appear to be short of ideas.

Swindon lack a true leader

One thing that all great teams have is a leader on the pitch, and unfortunately Swindon Town fall extremely short of having any sort of dominant personality in the dressing room. Nathan Thompson may be one of Town’s most talented and solid defenders, but he isn’t a captain.

When your team goes behind in a match you want someone to be out there riling your players up and shouting commands left, right, and centre, however in recent losses there has been no demonstration of leadership from any of the Town players.

James Brophy may be the ‘real deal’

After spending long stints on the sidelines last season, as Brandon Ormonde-Ottewill was regularly preferred to Brophy in the left back position, it was hard to work out how good a player Brophy really was.

However under Williams, Brophy has thrived and has arguably been Swindon’s best player of the season so far.

Regularly taking his man on, bursting into the box with smart dribbling, and producing quality crosses to your strikers are attributes every left back needs, and for Brophy this may just be a season to remember.   

A goal-scoring striker is very much needed

When Nicky Ajose departed the County Ground during the summer transfer window everyone knew it was going to be a hard task replacing the 24-goal striker.

However, few could have expected Swindon would be struggling this much. A goal difference of -4 and only one goal being scored between the favourable striking partnership of Nathan Delfouneso and Obika highlights the lack of goal scoring threat that this team presents and will certainly be a position that Williams will look to bolster come January.

All views expressed by Ryan are his own opinion and do not necessarily represent those of Total Sport.