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In the league, Morris scores 26 as the Town slip down to tenth place - but the main action comes in the Cup, where Swindon knock out Newcastle and Burnley (in a replay) at the County Ground. They're unlucky to only draw 0-0 in the Third Round with Arsenal - but ex-Town player, and current Arsenal manager Herbert Chapman proves his tactical nous in the replay. Worried about the threat of Harry Morris, he employs defender Herbie Roberts to lie deep at the back, behind the main line of defence - and the sweeper role is born. Arsenal win the game 1-0, and they use the same tactics over the coming seasons, winning the league just two seasons later.
Football League Division Three (South): 10th of 22
RESERVES 9th in Southern League Western Section reserves table | reserves results |
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A great start sees the Town win 6-0 against Coventry, with Morris scoring four - but their inconsistency soon shines through - after losing to Merthyr 8-2 in October, they beat Walsall 5-0 on the following Saturday. After just one win and two draws in their last eight games, the Town finish sixth, with Morris scoring 38 goals.
Football League Division Three (South): 6th of 22
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Sam Allen pays Swansea �110 for striker Harry Morris - and he fits in immediately, scoring a hat-trick on his debut against Southend, and another one in his second game just two days later. From the end of September through to the beginning of January, he scores 19 goals in 11 consecutive matches, including four in a game at Crystal Palace, and he becomes the first to score five in a league game, in a 6-2 win over Q.P.R.. His goals shoot Swindon up the table, and after the Christmas fixtures, they sit four points clear at the top of the table. They suffer a blow though, when Alec Wall breaks his leg - Swindon manage just six wins in the new year, and though they score 100 goals, they concede 85, and finish fifth. Morris ends the season on 48 league and cup goals - a Town record never likely to be broken.
RESERVES 6th in Southern League Western Section
8th in Western League Division One reserves table | reserves results |
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There is a change in the offside rule, only two players are required between the goalline and the first forward player - and the number of goals in the league increases considerably - 4,700 goals are scored in 1924/25, 6,373 are scored in the season after the rule change. The main beneficiary for the Town is Frank Richardson, who scores 28 goals in 23 games - including ten in just four cup matches, when he bags four in the First Round against Farnham United Breweries, in a 10-1 win (Swindon's biggest ever cup win), then another four in the next round, when they beat Sittingbourne 7-0. With the Town not quite in the promotion race, Richardson is sold to Reading to help balance the books - and they end the season in sixth place.
Inconsistency prevents the Town from challenging for promotion - they win their first ten home games, and drop just six points at the County Ground all season, but they fail score score in their first four away matches, and just three games are won away from home in the whole campaign. They end up fourth, six points from top spot.
Danny Bew is signed to strengthen the defence, and the Town concede 14 fewer league goals - but this year, they don't score enough. They reach the cup quarter-finals though, where they are knocked out by Burnley. In the twilight of his career, Harold Fleming makes his final appearance, scoring in a 4-0 win over Brighton, and the Town finish up in sixth.
RESERVES 12th in Southern League Western Section reserves table | reserves results |
Jack Johnson becomes the first Town player to score twenty goals in a season - but the Town concede too many to be competitive, going out of the cup at the first hurdle against Barnsley, and finishing in ninth place in the League.
RESERVES 14th in Southern League English Section reserves table | reserves results |
After it is decided that the Third Division gives the League a Southern bias, the Third Division (North) is born to run parallel with the Third Division (South) that Swindon compete in. They never really look like challenging for the top spot though, and they finish 6th - and after a win over Leeds in round one, they are beaten at home by Blackburn in the second round of the cup.
All the members of the Southern League Division One are invited to join the Football League - and Swindon become founder members of the Third Division. They start amazingly - beating Luton 9-1 in their first league game, a result which still stands as the biggest ever League win. Following the new year fixtures, Swindon sit just a point behind leaders Southampton with a game in hand - and the club's record attendance is broken three times in January, and 21,261 see Chelsea knock the Town out of the FA Cup in the Second Round. Swindon still look like promotion candidates in early April - just six points behind Palace with three games in hand - but they score just four goals in their last eight games, winning just once, and they end up in fourth place.
Football League Division Three: 4th of 22
RESERVES 9th in Western League Division One reserves table | reserves results |
Friendly matches continue at the County Ground throughout the war, but there is one casualty - Freddy Wheatcroft killed in action leading his regiment into battle in France. With many of the team robbed of their best years by the war, the final Southern League campaign is a disappointment, with the Town finishing in 13th place.
Southern League Division One: 13th of 22