MARTIN Ling’s Swindon Town found their groove last Saturday and finally put to an end to the club’s winless run.
I was relieved to see the return of last season’s 3-5-2 formation after previous managers blindly kept faith in a failing system for far too long.
Ling’s brave decision to play with two up front could have easily backfired, but thankfully for the County Ground faithful, it paid off.
This weekend, Town welcome back Louis Thompson and Yaser Kasim from international duty, with both players having unfinished business this season.
Neither have recaptured the form that made them key to our success last season.
With Louis’ loan deal coming to an end soon and Norwich looking to send him to a Championship club in January, he only has a handful of games left with his hometown club and I’m sure he doesn’t want to end his second spell at the club with a whimper.
I hope he gets a chance to start this weekend to remind us of the talented player we all loved from the previous two years.
It’s obvious Kasim hasn’t enjoyed life at Town this season, resulting in plenty of passenger performances, but on his day, he can be the difference between taking the maximum or nothing from a game.
In the first dozen games of last season, he was one of Mark Cooper’s best players and that’s the player we desperately need back.
One of the biggest high points in recent weeks has been the improvement of Ben Gladwin.
On his return, he didn’t seem quite the same player, but in the last few games, he’s looking like the player we sold in the summer. His pace and power on the ball is a step above anyone in League One.
Another Town player who made a small cameo in the week’s internationals was Jordan Stewart, as he played in Northern Ireland’s 2-1 home defeat to Ukraine.
The Jordan Stewart story so far at Town hasn’t been a great one. After suffering with homesickness and reportedly not having a future with the club, he returned to fight for his place.
But ever since his return, he’s only made one substitute appearance, not being selected in the matchday squad for three games in a row, despite being fit. It’s an odd situation when the club worked so hard to sign the young attacking midfielder in the summer, actually paying money for his services.
At this stage in the 20-year-old’s career, he needs games and I hope it’s Town that provide him with the stage to show us what he’s capable of.
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