Swindon look to bounce back from two consecutive defeats this weekend as Port Vale visit for the anniversary of the 50th Anniversary of Town’s League Cup heroics.
Don Rogers, John Trollope, Peter Dowsborough, Rod Thomas, Joe Butler and Frank Burrows will al be in attendance for the half-centenary – they will parade around the pitch at half-time as well as take park in a penalty shoot-out in front of the Town End.
Great Western Reds have also organised a special Tifo to celebrate the occasion.
Before the game, the League Cup trophy will be in the club shop with fans able to have their picture taken with the famous cup. After the game, the legends of ’69 will be taking part in a Q&A in the Legends Lounge with tickets still available via the club’s eticketing website.
After an unbeaten February, Wellens’ side started March with another win, a 3-0 victory over Colchester. However, their good run was brought to an abrupt end last weekend against Carlisle as they prevailed 2-1 winner. On Tuesday night, Swindon were dealt another blow against a fellow member of a chasing pack, Stevenage. Old foe, Alex Revell and Ilias Chair sealed a 2-0 win for the Boro.
The Oppo
Port Vale have seen an upturn in form since the start of March – February saw four defeat in four games but after a draw against Notts County, they have won their last two.
Their last two months sum up their season really with inconsistency the theme throughout – after defeats against Morecambe and Cheltenham the previous month, they beat promotion-chasing Mansfield at Vale Park before comprehensively seeing off Yeovil.
Form
19.03.2019 Tranmere Rovers Home L 1-2
23.03.201 Cheltenham Away L 1-0
02.03.2019 Notts County Away D 0-0
09.03.2019 Mansfield Town Home W 2-1
12.03.2019 Yeovil Town Home W 3-0
Head-to-head
02 Feb 2016 Port Vale v Swindon Town L 1-0 League One
20 Aug 2016 Swindon Town v Port Vale W 1-0 League One
11 Mar 2017 Port Vale v Swindon Town L 3-2 League One
28 Oct 2017 Port Vale v Swindon Town W 0-3 League Two
17 Feb 2018 Swindon Town v Port Vale W 3-2 League Two
24 Nov 2018 Port Vale v Swindon Town W 0-1 League Two
The Gaffer
John Askey took the reigns at Vale Park from Neil Aspin who resigned in January with Vale 18th in League Two.
John is the son of former Valiants player Colin Askey and made over 679 appearances in a career that only saw him spend time at three clubs: Port Vale, Macclesfield and Milton.
He was never handed a first-team debut at Vale Park and moved to Macclesfield alongside his brother, Bob. At Macclesfield he was part of the Silkmen’s side that reached the Conference for the first time in their history and also the Football League.
Overall he scored 155 goals in 679 league and cup appearances and was voted the club’s PFA Fans’ Favourite and Cult Hero in 2005.
His coaching career also started at Moss Rose – he had two spells in charge of the first-team, temporarily, ten years apart. His first came in 2003 after the departure of David Moss but once Brian Horton arrived he took the role of assistant.
His first permanent gig was at Moss Rose after a successful caretaker stint after Stephen King’s sacking in April 2013. He took the club to the FA Cup Third Round beating League One Walsall on their way as the Silkmen finished 15th in the Conference Premier. In 2017/18, Askey guided Macclesfield back to the Football League, on a shoestring budget as they won the National League, sealing the title at Eastleigh.
In June 2018, after his success at Moss Rose, Askey made the switch to Shrewsbury Town in League One but was sacked after 21 games, winning just five of them.
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