Swindon's Summer Signings: An Overview

It's been a busy Summer for Swindon following Paolo Di Canio's appointment as manager in late May. The Italian understandably wanted to imprint his ideas upon the squad and has overseen a Pre-Season period that has witnessed no less than thirteen senior players leave for pastures new as a consequence for the club's relegation last season.

Despite a slow start to the transfer window, Di Canio has brought in twelve new faces of various nationalities and experience to subsidise for those that have departed, leaving supporters with the task of getting to know the new arrivals, putting the proverbial names to faces and creating songs and chants to rhyme with those they take a liking to. 

So, with so many 'unknowns' amongst the Summer arrivals, here is an overview of each of the twelve new signings, of just who they are, the type of player Town have signed and whether they have what it takes to contribute towards Di Canio's sole ambition of promotion.

Joe Devera


Devera



Centre back Devera became Di Canio's first signing after seeing his Barnet contract expire at the end of last season. Winner of the player of the year award for two of his six seasons with the North London club, Devera arrived in Town having helped Barnet successfully avoid relegation last campaign and, having clocked up nearly 200 Football League appearances, adds experience to a backline that struggled with inconsistently throughout 2010/11. Having started and featured prominently in each of Swindon's Pre-Season friendlies thus far, defender Devera is expected to be a permanent fixture as one half of Town's central defensive pairing with the 2011/12 campaign now just a week away.

Jonathan Smith

The second signing of Di Canio's managerial reign, central midfielder Smith signed from Non-League York City for a reported £30,000. Described as a touch-tackling, combative midfield player by fans both both York and his previous club Forest Green Rovers, Smith, like Devera, has started all of Swindon's four Pre-Season friendlies so far, recieiving plenty of plaudits for his willingness to shoot from distance, movement off of the ball and general game play. Originally touted as 'one for the future', if his friendlu perfomances are anything to go by, Smith could find himself featuring extensively for the first team this coming season.

Raffaele De Vita

Having seemingly gone off the radar after showing early promise as a youngster at Blackburn Rovers, Italian striker Rafaelle De Vita has since rebuilt his career in Scotland with financially-troubled Livingston, winning two promotions in his three years with the club. A modest scoring record of 21 goals in 67 appearances for the Scottish side suggests that De Vita won't be the proverbial prolific '20 goals a season' man but, having scored three times during Pre-Season, the striker could yet surprise fans, pundits and, perhaps most importantly, his critics.

Alberto Comazzi

Ever since the sale of former captain Gordon Greer to last-season's eventual League One champions Brighton and Hove Albion, the loss of an influential, experienced and commanding defender at the heart of Town's defence has affected Swindon negatively, with it being popular opinion amongst fans that the departure of Greer was a primary reason for the club's decline in 2010/11. It may be twelve months too late, but Town potentially finally have a player of that mould on their books after Di Canio used his Italian connections to bring former Verona and Milan (albeit only two appearances) to Swindon on a two-contract. The centre back has spent much of his career in Serie B, Italy's equivalent of Championship level, speaks adequate English for a player who has never played outside of his homeland and, if friendlies are anything to go by, is a no-nonsense, tough-tackling, talker of a defender.

Mattia Lanzano

The third Italian to join a Di Canio-inspired Swindon squad, Lanzano is a young goalkeeper who has played in the third and fourth divisions of the Mediterranean country. The 'keeper played for the Italy under-17's at the Uefo European Championships (for that age group) in 2006 and has recieved good reviews from his Pre-Season performances. A recent injury is likely to hamper his chances of featuring in the season opener against Crewe Alexandra, however, with the shotstopper likely to be out for between seven and ten days.

Oliver Risser

 Originally on-trial, Namibia international Risser impressed from day one, with Di Canio and his coaching staff publicly expressing their delight at the midfielder's hard work and fitness levels in the first week of Pre-Season training. Risser impressed so much that chairman Jeremy Wray flew to the team's training camp in Italy directly to finalise terms for a contract in a bid to ward off interest from other clubs. Having recently been appointed club captain, Risser is yet to feature in a friendly on English soil but boasts perfect English language skills and experience from the top leagues in Finland and Norway.

Ibrahim Atiku

Billed as an attacking midfielder who can also play on the wing, Ibrahim Atiku can boast of a friendship with Michael Essien and trials with Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund on a profile of his life. Like Risser, Atiku has impressed whilst on trial with Town, earning himself a two-year deal having joined the squad on their Italian training camp. The midfielder shares the experience of playing at under-17 level for his country, Ghana, with Lanzano, though since the aforementioned trials with those European giants has seen his career drift around the lesser leagues of the continent, featuring for Ethnikos Piraeus of Greece and Vasalunds IF in Sweden.

Alan Connell

Striker Connell signed for Swindon in a surprising yet encouraging move following original target Adam Birchall's decision to transfer to Town's League Two rivals Gillingham. The forward boasts a wealth of Football League experience having had three seperate spells with AFC Bournemouth and played for Hereford United, Brentford and Torquay United in between. Despite being well-liked by supporters of each of his former clubs, Connell was rarely prolific - a result of often being deployed to the left wing. At Grimsby Town, hoever, the striker found his proverbial feet, hitting 25 goals in the Blue Square Premier last seasons, prompting Swindon to pay a reported six-figure sum for his services.

Alessandro Cibocchi

The Summer departures of both Michael Rose and Alan Sheehan left Town light on the left hand side, with the inexperienced Callum Kennedy the only remaining left back. Di Canio addressed this problem by offerring his countryman Cibocchi a trial before tying the defender down to a two-year contract upon the team's return to England. For a 28 year-old, Cibocchi his lack of appearances at previous clubs and indeed his substitution just a minute after coming on against Swindon Supermarine suggest a career affected by injury meaning he has a lot to do in order to become the club's first choice left back.

Mehdi Kerrouche

Perhaps the player least is known about, having plyed much of his trade in the Far East, Mehdi Kerrouche arrived in Town in rather bizarre circumstances. With the local press and media outlets suggesting the player had travelled to Swindon for a trial, fans and journalists alike were surprised to find that he had immediately signed a two-year deal - despite having not trained or played with his new side. Nonetheless, the player was welcomed as supporters used Wikipedia entries and search engines to research new signing number ten, with the player's stint in the Portuguese top division stimulating the interest in Kerrouche amongst supporters. Despite a lacklustre display in a cameo appearance against Swindon Supermarine, the Algerian scored and played well in a 4-0 victory against Cirencester Town, putting the minds of some fans, worried about a lack of firepower within the squad, at ease.

Etienne Esajas

Very rarely do trialists excite and entertain fans in Pre-Season friendlies used largely for fitness purposes rather than their entertainment value. Dutch winger Esajas, however, has done both, wetting the appetites of supporters and leaving them desperate for more after first scoring one and setting up another against a Marche XI in Italy, before terrorising the Swindon Supermarine defence and scoring once again back on English soil. Di Canio's move to appease fans and tie Esajas down to a two-year contract has largely been greeted with enthusiasm, the player's pace, skill and willingness to take players on and shoot are likely bode him in good stead amongst Town supporters, should he avoid the injuries that have, thus far, hampered his career.

Alan McCormack

McCormack

McCormack's arrival and indeed his billed position as a central midfielder sparked rumours on various forums internet as Town supporters discussed the future of fan's favourite Simon Ferry. The signing of McCormack means that five central midfielders are now on the books of Swindon - one too many for a League Two side being the popular opinion. Irish midfielder McCormack, however, does arrive with good Football League pedigree having played over 130 times for Southend United during a four-year period and making 24 appearances for League One side Charlton Athletic last season.





Competition For Places In Di Canio's Midfield

McCormack trains with Town

Swindon manager Paolo Di Canio has followed up Monday's double signing by further bolstering his midfield with the capture of unatached winger Etienne Esajas and Charlton Athletic midfielder Alan McCormack.

Following Monday's arrival of strikers Alan Connell and Mehdi Kerrouche and indeed Tuesday's friendly victory over local side Swindon Supermarine, popular opinion amongst supporters was that Town were potentially just a few signings away from being ready for the upcoming League Two campaign.

And Di Canio has moved to appease said fans by signing up Dutchman Esajas and central midfielder McCormack on two and three-year deals respectively, taking the Summer arrivals list at the County Ground to twelve players.

Pacy winger Esajas arrives on the back of a successful trial. Having featured in the second half of the 5-0 friendly victory over a Marche XI in Italy, scoring one and setting up another, he was given a second chance to impress in Tuesday's friendly with Supermarine, once more being granted game time in the second 45 minute period.

And impress he did with the former Sheffield Wednesday man once more getting his name on the scoresheet as Town romped to a comfortable 4-0 victory against their Non-League opponents. With the game being the first opportunity for Swindon fans to see the new squad in action, it was perhaps even more important for Esajas to gain some recognition and, indeed his constant running at defenders, movement on the ball and in field runs certianly aided his desire to impress.

The winger has pace to burn and, judging by performances in two friendlies thus far, a magnetic pull towards the opposing goal. With his pace, skill and willingness to take player on and shoot central in convincing Di Canio to tie him down to a two-year contract, signing Esajas already looks to be a shrewd piece of business as the rookie manager continues to reshape, reassemble and rebuild a Swindon team on the back of last year's relegation.

Meanwhile, midfielder McCormack has become manager Di Canio's twelth Summer signing after Charlton agreed to cancel his contract by mutual consent. He only joined the Addicks last Summer following former club Southend's relegation, though his departure from The Valley has not disappointed Charlton fans.

McCormack's imminent arrival, however, has sparked concerns amongst fans regarding the future of Simon Ferry. His position is central midfield - a position Town now have five players more than capable to play in. And with Ferry seemingly set be overlooked by a third Swindon manager in succession, question marks are rightly being raised with regard to the former Celtic youngster's Swindon future.

Having initialy been signed on a season-long loan deal from the Scottish giants in 2009, Ferry's fantastic performances and indeed the development of a solid central midfield partnership with the recently-departed Jonathan Douglas earned him a permanent transfer to the County Ground last Summer.

But the midfielder found himself overlooked by first Danny Wilson and then Paul Hart, with Douglas, David Prutton and, at times, Michael Timlin in front of him in the pecking order. As a result, the Scot's fitness and focus suffered as he finished the season with just a handful of appearances and Swindon saw themselves relegated.

The Summer departures of Douglas and Prutton have been addressed with the signings of Namibia international and new club captain Oliver Risser and former York City midfielder Jonathan Smith, whilst Timlin has seen his contract extended. Add to that the confirmed arrival of McCormack and competition is for midfield positions is perhaps even tougher than last year, raising concerns about Ferry's future.

Regardless of this, though, competition for places can only be a good thing for supporters. McCormack is by no means guaranteed a starting place and given the appointment of Risser as Captain, Smith's solid Pre-Season form and the experience of both Timlin and, should he stay, Ferry, competition for places is something Swindon's midfield will posess extensively this coming campaign.

Robins Rebuild Edges Nearer Completion

Alan Connell signs on

Having lost out in the race to sign Dover Athletic striker Adam Birchall, who rejected offers from both Swindon and AFC Wimbledon to sign for their League Two rivals Gillingham, Town manager Paolo Di Canio has dipped into the Non-League market once more to sign forward Alan Connell. 

 

Despite having a bid accepted for Birchall, the former Arsenal striker linked up with his former manager and long-standing friend Andy Hessenthaler at Gillingham, citing the locality and geography as his reasoning behind such a decision.

Following the departures of trialist strikers Leon Knight and Christian Cesaretti and Town seemingly missing out on the signings of Hugo Bargas and a 'mystery' Brazilian striker, Birchall's decision frustrated fans eager for Di Canio to add to Swindon's front line - even more for a side that struggled for goals last season.

But in a swift response, the Italian has once more identified and this time secured the signature of a striker with goalscoring pedigree at Non-League level. Grimsby Town striker Connell arrives at the County Ground for a fee believed to be in the region of £115,000 including a sell-on clause, after passing an extensive medical assessment and signing a two-year deal on Saturday.

Before signing for Non-League side Grimsby, Connell made over 200 Football League appearances for the likes of AFC Bournemouth, Brentford and Hereford in spells that were either hampered by injury or saw him deployed to the left win position - reason, perhaps, for a goalscoring record that rarely flattered to decieve.

At Blundell Park, however, Connell shone, featuring in 46 league games and scoring an impressive 25 goals, only missing out on the division's golden boot award to Crawley Town's Matt Tubbs. Add to this his a haul of four cup goals and collection of various prizes at Grimsby's annual awards night, the striker quite rightly became one of the hottest properties in lower league football close season.

Having already rejected bids from unnamed League One, League Two and Conference clubs, Swindon's undisclosed bid was accepted last week and the relevant paperwork and legalities completed today with Connell set to feature in the team's Pre-Season friendly with local side Swindon Supermarine on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, as Di Canio strives to make his mark on the team, a fourth Italian looks likely to become his ninth signing of a busy Summer. Alessandro Cibocchi joined the the Pre-Season training camp in Italy and seemingly impressed in an 11-0 thrashing of a local Norcia XI. However, the left back didn't feature in the second friendly against Marche XI which suggested a deal wouldn't be on the cards.

Defender Cibocchi, like another of Town's Italian recruits Alberto Comazzi, has spent the entirety of his career in the Italian lower leagues, featuring most recently for Serie B side Portosummaga. He has reportedly signed a two-year contract and will now provide Callum Kennedy, previously Swindon's only remaining left back, following the Summer departures of Michael Rose and Alan Sheehan respectively, with apt and suitable competition.

Algerian signing Mehdi Kerrouche



Cibocchi's signing is also likely to coinside with that of another forward, in the form of Algerian Mehdi Kerrouche. Most recently contracted to United Arab Emirates team Al Oruba, the striker's arrival means Swindon are potentially a further forward and a winger away from being ready for the looming League Two season - an improvement, surely, on last year's rushed transfer activity that cost Town so dearly.

Dover And Out As Birchall Is Linked To Swindon

Swindon's latest transfer
target; Adam Birchall

Adam Birchall today became the latest forward to make Paolo Di Canio's shortlist of targets, with supporters immediately casting similarities between him and Swindon's last striking acquisition from Non-League - Charlie Austin.

Having fallen out of love with the game, after 10 years at Arsenal as a trainee and disappointing spells at Mansfield Town and Barnet, Birchall was at his lowest point when the then Dover manager Andy Hessenthaler approached him. Austin similarly found himself in the lower leagues having been released by Reading as a youngster and likewise professed his lack of love for football at the time.

You've probably heard a few stories like Birchall's before. A talented young player fails to make the grade at a Premier League club then drifts around the lower leagues for a few seasons showing sporadic glimpses of his potential as his reputation slowly fades, before his professional career peters out - usually long before a footballer's usual retirement age.

The early part of the striker's story certainly followed that script. Birchall began his footballing life as an Arsenal apprentice, playing in the same youth sides as Cesc Fabregas, David Bentley and Gael Clichy, but has since seen his career head south - and not just in the geographical sense.

During his ten seasons at Arsenal, Birchall represented England at youth and Wales at Under-21 levels. As he made the transition to men's football and the reserves, though, a broken foot cost him six months and his place in the pecking order.

After leaving the Gunners in 2005 without making a senior appearance, Birchall performed far more fitfully during two seasons apiece at Mansfield Town and Barnet. He left the Bees, his last full-time club, in 2009 admitting he was "fed up with football".

What is different, not to mention inspiring, about Birchall is what happened next. He thought about walking away from the game altogether that summer but, on the advice of Hessenthaler, decided to sign for Dover Athletic and turn semi-pro instead.

Moving to a club close to his hometown of Maidstone and dropping two levels down the football pyramid seemed a sensible way to rediscover his love for football and life in general, but a much less obvious way of reviving his career too. A two-season return of 64 goals in 78 games shows that the gamble well and truly paid off.



Birchall celebrates
scoring against Town

Whilst Swindon fans will remember him for his giant-killing exploits with Barnet - in which his goal dumped the Robins out of the third round of the FA Cup in 2008 - Birchall's FA Cup heroics continued in Non-League football. The striker made the Cup competition his own last season, scoring an impressive eleven-goal haul, inlcuding a stunner against Hessenthaler's current team Gillingham and a double strike against Aldershot in rounds one and two - a vital contribution towards Dover's best ever FA Cup run.

Having identified Town's strikeforce as a major weakness within the Swindon squad ahead of the upcoming League Two Campaign, Di Canio's move for Birchall is likely to appease supporters frustrated by a lack of transfer activity - not least because the signing and indeed Birchall's own career strike so many similarities with those of one-time Non-League hotshot, Charlie Austin.

Austin's own career began with Reading who, like Arsenal, have a renowned youth academy. However, progression from youth team product to first team player was cut short after five years as the Royals released him, with Austin being labelled as "too short". He subsequently played for local teams Thatcham Town, Kintbury Rangers and his hometown side of Hungerford Town.

Moving with his family to Bournemouth, he then switched to nearby semi-professional Wessex League Premier Division team Poole Town while also working as a bricklayer. In the season of 2008–09, Austin scored 46 goals in 48 appearances for Poole in all competitions - a record even Birchall would be envious of.

Having missed out on signing for Bournemouth because of their infamous transfer embargo, Austin transferred to Swindon on the basis of a long-standing friendship with then Town chairman Andrew Fitton. Despite initially struggling to make the first team, the striker scored on his debut and continued his goal-scoring exploits, racking up 31 goals in 54 games during his sixteenth month stay in Town.

Birchall's previous struggles in the Football League and Austin's story are likely to serve him as a reminder of the rewards of perserverance, self-belief and determination. And with his own career sharing so many similarities with Charlie Austin's, Swindon fans will be hoping the impact he has, his transition to League football and indeed his goal-scoring form bares a smiliar, if not better, resemblance should a move come into fruition.