After being humiliated in Cheltenham a few weeks ago, Town find themselves kicking their heels for a weekend as the F.A Cup takes centre stage across the footballing calendar.

With Town’s season on hold for the weekend, I’m going to take the chance to take a quick trip down memory lane, and take a look at Swindon Town in the 21st century.

Swindon started the century in the Championship but only had five months to enjoy 2nd tier football.

Since then the clubs enjoyed two playoff semi-finals, one playoff final, a Wembley cup final, a League Two promotion and a League Two title.

This week I want to take a look at the three best players from Town’s history in the 21st century, and the three worst to ever grace the County Ground pitch.

We’ll start with the worst, the players you’ve had to watch whilst covering your face and taking the occasional glance through your fingers.

(The player had to play at least five games to qualify for selection)

Before we take a look at the top three, here are some dishonorable mentions, Antoine Van Der Linden, Mark Robertson, Ashley Westwood, Alassane N’Diaye and Ben Hutchinson.

#3 Martin Williams

One of the infamous Colin Todd signings in August 2000, after scoring twice on his debut, it was all downhill from there for the striker, Williams never cut it at Town and was shipped out after 5 months.

Williams made 24 appearances for Town scoring 3 goals.

#2 Jon Stevenson

Signed by Andy King in July 2003, the quick forward never looked like a Football League player, he made just the one league start, and a handful of appearances in cup competitions.

To make matters worse for the young striker he was arrested for abusive and disorderly behavior after a drunken nightclub brawl, he pleaded guilty to the charges and was fined £100, he was also reprimand by the club.

Stevenson made 8 appearances for Town scoring 0 goals.

#1 Kasali Yinka Casal

The former DC United player signed for Town on a two-year deal for an undisclosed fee in August 2008, making his debut on the opening day of the season in a 3-1 win over Tranmere.

The defender never lived up to the expectations that the move had created, after his debut the defender made just 5 more appearances for the club.

In the second half of the first season at the club the Nigerian U-20 International was struggling to make the reserve side, and after a year of doing nothing at the club, he moved on surprisingly to Romanian champions CFR Cluj.

 

Now that we’ve taken a look at the worst players that have played for Town this century, we move onto the best.

Before we take a look at the top three, here are some honorable mentions, Alex Pritchard, Wes Foderingham, Nathan Thompson, Matt Ritchie, Simon Cox, Jerel Ifil, Gordon Greer and Simon Ferry.

#3 Sam Parkin

Super Sammy Parkin joined Town for just £50,000 in August 2002 from Chelsea after failing to impress at his previous club Northampton, where he netted just 5 times in 40 games.

But it was noticed that the young striker had something about him as he scored a hat-trick on his debut in a 3-1 win over Barnsley.

In the next season he formed a superb partnership with Tommy Mooney, a partnership that propelled Town into the playoff places that season.

Despite Mooney moving on the following season, Parkin continued to score, despite playing with many different striking partners throughout the season.

Over his three seasons at the club he scored 73 goals for Town in 142 appearances, an outstanding record at any level of the game.

He remains and always will be one of the best strikers ever seen at the County Ground.

#2 Massimo Luongo

Australian International Luongo first joined Town in March 2013 on loan from Tottenham, the young midfielder made an instant impact on the side as he fitted into midfield, scoring against Brentford in the playoff semi-final.

The progression of the young midfielder in such a short time has been incredible to watch since his arrival, moving from the Spurs reserve side to a full international player in just a year.

He is easily the most naturally gifted midfielder I’ve ever seen play for Town, and it’s obvious that he will be moving on sooner rather than later, so let’s enjoy this class act while he is still around.

#1 Charlie Austin

Signed for just £50,000 from Poole Town in October 2009, Charlie Austin went onto become one of the most naturally gifted strikers to ever play for Town.

Despite being at the club for just 15 months, the young striker made a huge impression, his goals alongside Billy Paynter helped Town finish inside the playoffs in the 2009/10 League One season.

Unfortunately the Town faithful never had enough time to see him fully grow into the player he would become, as he moved onto Championship side Burnley in January 2011, and is now playing in the Premier League for Q.P.R.

His work rate and effortless ability to find the back of the net stands him above the rest of the players I’ve seen at Town in the 21st century.

To see a recent fans poll on the top 10 greatest Town players of the 21st century visit thewashbag.com.

Follow me on Twitter @danwjonson