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THEY DIDN'T MAKE IT - AT SWINDON

A multitude of players have signed for Swindon Town but have not progressed to the first team.

This database - which was developed by fellow historian ALAN HARDING will hopefully list some 2,000 names of all those who have played at reserve team level for the club or as trialists for the first team. Thanks to MIKE SKINNER for providing many previously missing first names.

Do you have any additional info on a player listed here or any on a player not yet listed here?

If so, please e-mail me: paul@swindonfc1879.com.

FIND PLAYER BY SURNAME: A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | V | W | Y | Z

FIND PLAYER BY YEARS:
Pre-WW1 | 1919-1939 | 1940s | 1950s | 1960-1965 | 1965-1970 | 1970-1975 | 1975-1980 | 1980-1985 | 1985-1990 | 1990-1995 | 1995-2000 | 2000-2005 | 2005-2010 | 2010-2015 | 2015-Date

ABDULAHI Denis M 
Born : Mitrovica, Kosovo 22 May 1980  
PLAYING CAREER
AC Vantaa Akatemia (Fin) (2001) - AC Allianssi (2005) - HJ Helsinki (2007) - Viikingit (May 2009) -
PK Keski-Uusimaa (loan 2009) - Orebro SK (Swe) (Jul 2010) - Vikingur (Lic) (loan Apr 2011) -
Vaasan Palloseura (Fin) (loan Feb 2012) - Viikingit (loan Mar 2013) -
SWINDON TOWN (trial 1 Jul 2013) - Myllykosken Pallo-47 (Fin) (Jan 2014) -
Vaasan Palloseura (Mar 2015) - FC Futura (Aug 2017)

A Finnish under-21 defensive midfielder, Denis played throughout the 0-2 defeat at Banbury but was not retained following a further week on trial at the County Ground.


ANTONIO Josue CD 
Born : Merton, London 29 March 1996  
PLAYING CAREER
Staines Town - SWINDON TOWN (17 Apr 2014) - Swindon Supermarine (loan 19 Aug 2014) -
Farnborough (loan 23 Dec 2014) - Hayes and Yeading United (Jul 2015) -
Tooting & Mitcham United (Jul 2016) - Carshalton Athletic (Nov 2016) - Whyteleafe (Mar 2017) -
Kingstonian (Mar 2017) - VCD Athletic (Oct 2017) - Merstham (Jan 2018) - Eastbourne United (Feb 2019) -
Banbury United (Mar 2019)

The 2014 winner of the sponsored 'Win a Pro Contract' competition, Josue failed to get an extension to his initial one-year deal.


ARQUIN Yohan Axel Cyriac F 
Born : Le Havre, France 15 April 1988  
PLAYING CAREER
Nancy (Fr) (2005) - Nantes (2007) - Quimper (2008) - Paris St Germain (Fr) (Jul 2009) -
SWINDON TOWN (trial 12 Jul 2010) - Red Star 93 (Fr) (Nov 2010) -
Hereford United (Jul 2011) - Notts County (Jul 2012) - Ross County (Jan 2014) -
St Mirren (Jan 2015) - 1461 Trabzon (Tur) (Jul 2015) - Syrianska (Swe) (Jul 2016) -
Mansfield Town (Dec 2016) - FC Kaysar (Kaz) (Jan 2018) - Yeovil Town (Aug 2018) -
Heiljiang Lava Spring (Ch) (Jul 2019)

Scored just 17 minutes into his debut at Supermarine but lasted only five minutes two days later at Hereford. Yoann signed for the Bulls a year later, scoring for them in a 3-3 draw at the County Ground. A Martinique international.


ATIKU Alhaji Ibrahim Mahama M 
Born : Accra, Ghana 20 May 1983  
PLAYING CAREER
Liberty Professionals (Gh) - Manchester United (trial Apr 2000) - Hapoel Petah Tikva (Is) (loan 2001) -
Hakoah Amidar Ramat Gan (loan 2001) - Vasteras (Swe) (Jan 2003) - Friska Viljor (cs 2003) -
Assyriska FF (Jan 2005) - IF Sylvia (Apr 2007) - Vasalunds IF (Jan 2009) - Ethnikos Piraeus (Gr) (Jan 2010) -
SWINDON TOWN (21 Jul 2011) - Botkyrka IF (Swe) (29 Aug 2012)

Invited to take part in Town's pre-season trip to Italy by Paolo Di Canio, Ibrahim made sufficient an impression to be given a contract. But it was cancelled after three months, on 28 October. Some ten years earlier, he had been given a trial at Old Trafford together with his fellow countryman Michael Essien.


CAMPBELL John Terence F 
Born : Newcastle-upon-Tyne 23 November 1988  
PLAYING CAREER
Newcastle United (sb ) - Manchester City (sb ) - West Allotment Celtic (cs 2009) -
Newcastle Benfield (cs 2010) - SWINDON TOWN (trial 25 Oct 2010) -
Leyton Orient (trial Dec 2010) - Scunthorpe United (trial Jan 2011) -
Darlington (Jan 2011) - Bedlington Terriers (Nov 2011) - West Auckland Town (Jan 2012) -
Jarrow Roofing BCA (cs 2014) - Oxford United (nc Nov 2014) - Torquay United (loan Feb 2015) -
Jarrow Roofing BCA (cs 2015) - Newton Ayliffe (Oct 2015) - Newcastle Benfield (Mar 2017) -
Whitby Town (Sep 2017) - Jarrow Roofing BCA (Jan 2018)

After netting 18 goals for Newcastle Benfield, John was given a trial against Bournemouth reserves. On 14 December he bagged a hat-trick in a 5-5 draw with League leaders Torquay.


CHIANESE Joel Joseph F 
Born : Sydney NSW 15 February 1990  
PLAYING CAREER
Blacktown City (Aus) (2009) - Sydney FC (Aug 2011) - Sydney United 58 (Jun 2014) - SWINDON TOWN (trial 14 Aug 2014) -
Sydney United (Sep 2014) - Bonnyrigg White Eagles (Mar 2015) - Auckland City (NZ) (Mar 2015) -
Sabah FA (Mly) (Mar 2015) - Negeri Sembilan (Dec 2015) - Perth Glory (Aus) (Aug 2016) -
Hyderabad (Ind) (Sep 2020)

A fortnight into his trial, Joel grabbed two goals in a Development fixture at Cheltenham. But he returned to Australia without having secured a contract.


DA COSTA Curtis D 
Born : Portsmouth 13 September 1995  
PLAYING CAREER
SWINDON TOWN (scs 1 Jul 2013 ) - Swindon Supermarine (loan 7 Mar 2014) -
SWINDON TOWN (pro 25 Apr 2014) - Wantage Town (loan 8 Aug 2014) -
Bognor Regis Town (loan 23 Sep 2014) - Gosport Borough (12 Jan 2015) -
Moneyfields (cs Jan 2016) - AFC Portchester (Jun 2021)

Awarded a pro contract after less than a year at the County Ground, Curtis gained experience out on loan but was released in January 2015.


DEVINE Danny (Daniel) Patrick CD 
Born : Dublin 8 May 1993  
PLAYING CAREER
Crumlin United (sb ) - Aston Villa (Jul 2012) - SWINDON TOWN (trial 24 Jun 2013) -
Firhouse Clover (Jul 2013) - Cherry Orchard (Jul 2015) - Shamrock Rovers (Jan 2017)

Danny impressed manager Kevin McDonald sufficiently to be offered a contract. But when the Scot departed three weeks later that offer went with him.


FERREIRA Fabio Miguel Lourenco M 
Born : Barreiro, Portugal 3 May 1989  
PLAYING CAREER
Sporting CP (Por) (sb 2002) - Chelsea (Jul 2006) - Oldham Athletic (loan Feb 2009) -
Gillingham (trial cs 2009) - Esmoriz (Por) (Sep 2009) - SWINDON TOWN (trial 26 Jul 2010) -
Sertanense (Por) (Aug 2010) - Dulwich Hill (Aus) (Feb 2012) - Adelaide United (Aug 2012) -
Central Coast Mariners (Jan 2015) - PKNS (Mal) (Jun 2017) - Sydney (Aus) (Jan 2018) -
Perth Glory (Jul 2018) - Adelaide City (Jun 2019) - Sydney Olympic (Oct 2019)

The former Chelsea junior played for almost an hour during Town's pre-season visit to Cirencester.


GERRING Ben (Benjamin) Stephen CD 
Born : Torbay, Devon 1 January 1991  
PLAYING CAREER
Plymouth Argyle (scs 2007) - Weymouth ( Jan 2010) - SWINDON TOWN (trial 15 Mar 2010) -
Kettering Town (Jul 2012) - Cambridge City (Sep 2012) - Taunton Town (Nov 2012) -
Truro City (Jan 2013) - Bideford (Jul 2013) - Hayes and Yeading United (Jan 2014) -
Gosport Borough (loan Jul 2014) - Truro City (Dec 2014) - Margate (Jan 2015) -
Hayes and Yeading United (Jul 2015) - Bideford (loan Sep 2015) - Torquay United (nc Oct 2015) -
Weston-Super-Mare (Jan 2017) - Truro City (Mar 2017) - Billericay Town (Jul 2018) -
Woking (Oct 2018) - Oxford City (loan Nov 2020) - Bath City (Jun 2021)

The night after Charlie Austin earned Town a 1-0 win at Southampton, Ben played against the Saints in a 0-5 defeat for the reserves. A few weeks after signing for Woking he starred in a shock 1-0 away win at Swindon in the F.A.Cup.


GRANT Harry Edward M 
Born : Reading 31 December 1993  
PLAYING CAREER
Reading (sb 2004) - Eldon Celtic - SWINDON TOWN (sb 2008 scs 6 Jul 2010) -
Sheffield Wednesday (Jun 2012) - Gillingham (Mar 2013) - Maidenhead United (loan Nov 2013) -
Bromley (Jul 2014) - Farnborough Town (loan Oct 2014) - Hayes and Yeading United (Jun 2015) -
Beaconsfield SYCOB (Oct 2015) - Chippenham Town (Nov 2015) - Highmoor Ibis (cs 2016) -
Thatcham Town (cs 2017) - Reading City (Aug 2018) - North Leigh (Nov 2018) -
Thatcham Town (Nov 2021) - Marlow (Jan 2022) - Ascot United (cs 2022)

Harry had just broken into the reserve side when it was axed following relegation at Hillsborough in 2011. He signed a pro deal there the following year !


GROS Willie (William) F 
Born : St Pierre, Reunion Island 31 March 1992  
PLAYING CAREER
JS Saint-Pierroise (RI) - Havre AC - Kilmarnock (Sep 2010) - SWINDON TOWN (trial 1 Jul 2013) -
Oldham Athletic (Jul 2014) - Toulouse Rodeo (Fr) (Jul 2015) - Bangkok (Th) (Jun 2016) -
AS Vitré (Fr) (Jan 2017) - FC Fleury 91 (Jun 2020)

Played in three pre-season friendlies - all away - scoring in a 5-0 win at Devizes.


HUGHES-MASON Kiernan Peter F 
Born : Hackney, London 22 October 1991  
PLAYING CAREER
Arsenal (sb 1999) - Tottenham Hotspur (sb 2006) - Millwall (cs 2009) -
Cheltenham Town (loan Mar 2010) - SWINDON TOWN (trial 12 Jul 2010) -
Tooting & Mitcham United (loan Aug 2010 & Nov 2010) - Chelmsford City (loan Feb 2011) -
Burton Albion (trial Jul 2011) - Tooting & Mitcham United (nc Jul 2011) -
Grimsby Town (trial Aug 2011) - Kettering Town (Oct 2011) - Grimsby Town (Jan 2012) -
Welling United (May 2012) - Concord Rangers (loan Dec 2013) - Hayes and Yeading United (loan Feb 2014) -
Maidstone United (Mar 2014) - Leatherhead ( Jul 2014) - Walton Casuals (Oct 2016) -
Hastings United (Nov 2016) - Grays Athletic (Jun 2017) - Barking (Oct 2017) -
North Wellington (NZ) (Jun 2018) - Tasman United (Sep 2018) - Barking (p/co Aug 2019) -
Hythe Town (Sep 2019) - Hashtag United (Jun 2020)

Scored twice in a 4-1 win in a friendly at Hereford, after coming on for the final 35 minutes.


ISAAC Kynan Ralph F 
Born : Oxford January 1993  
PLAYING CAREER
Reading - Oxford City (Feb 2011) - Banbury United (Sep 2011) - SWINDON TOWN (trial 1 Jul 2013) -
Luton Town (Aug 2014) - Oxford City (loan Sep 2014) - Hemel Hempstead Town (loan Dec 2014) -
Banbury United (loan Feb 2015) - Oxford City (Jul 2015) - Brackley Town (Dec 2016) -
Thame Rangers (Mar 2017) - Aylesbury FC (Mar 2018) - Stratford Town (Jun 2018) -
Leighton Town (loan ) - North Leigh (Aug 2019) - Banbury United (Sep 2019) -
Stratford Town (Jan 2020)

One of three players brought in by chairman Jed McCrory from his former club, Kynan played just 45 minutes at Supermarine. Three days later, he was back in the Banbury side that beat Town 2-0.


JACKSON Kayden Pastal Dunn F 
Born : Bradford 22 February 1994  
PLAYING CAREER
Albion Sports - SWINDON TOWN (1 Jul 2013) - Swindon Supermarine (loan 27 Aug 2013) -
Oxford City (loan 31 Oct 2013) - Tamworth (1 Jul 2014) - Wrexham (Jul 2015) -
Barnsley (May 2016) - Grimsby Town (loan Jul 2016) - Accrington Stanley (Jul 2017) -
Ipswich Town (Aug 2018)

A 'Win a Pro Contract' competition winner, Kayden spent much of his year with Town out on loan before eventually making the League grade while at Blundell Park.


KARGBO Ibrahim Obreh D / M 
Born : Freetown, Sierra Leone 10 April 1982  
PLAYING CAREER
Feijenoord (Hol) - RWD Molenbeek (Bel) (cs 1999) - Charleroi (cs 2002) -
Malatyaspor (Tur) (cs 2005) - Brussels (Bel) (Aug 2005) - Willem II (Hol) (cs 2006) -
Baku (Aze) (cs 2010) - Aalborg (De) (trial Sep 2012) - RWDM Brussels (Bel) (cs 2013) -
SWINDON TOWN (trial 10 Jul 2014) - Atletico CP (Por) (29 Jul 2014) -
Barkingside - Thamesmead Town (Sep 2015) - Welling United (Feb 2016) - Dulwich Hamlet (May 2016)

Ibrahim played 45 minutes in both of the two opening friendlies - at Yate and Supermarine. Over 30 caps for Sierra Leone.


LAMBIN Khalil Moustapha F 
Born : Abidjan, Ivory Coast 3 August 1992  
PLAYING CAREER
JMG Academy Chonburi (Th) - Lorient (Fr) (trial ) - Umm Salal (Qa) (trial ) -
Al-Ahed (Leb) (Aug 2011) - Ergotelis (Gr) (Aug 2012) - Sheffield Wednesday (Aug 2013) -
SWINDON TOWN (trial 7 Jul 2014) - Hapoel Bnei Lod (Isr) (cs 2014) -
Maccabi Yavne (Jan 2015) - Patro Eisden (Bel) (Sep 2015) - Shkupi (Mac) (Aug 2016) -
Fribourg (Swi) (Jan 2017) - Stade Nyonnais (Jul 2017) - Bavois (loan Jan 2018)

Khalil featured in the two pre-season friendlies at Yate and Supermarine, playing in 45 minutes of each and scoring the third Town goal in the second.


MATERAZZI Simone D 
Born : Rome 15 June 1992  
PLAYING CAREER
Vigevano (Ita) (Jan 2011) - Isola Liri (cs 2011) - Zagarolo ( Dec 2011) -
SWINDON TOWN (trial 2 Jul 2012) - Rapperswi-Jona (Swi) (Jul 2012) -
SC Zofingen (loan Feb 2014) - Freienbach (Jul 2015) - Seefeld ZH (Jan 2016) -
Lachen Altendorf (Feb 2017)

Recommended to Paolo Di Canio by his former Lazio teammate Paolo Negro, Simone was one of ten Town substitutes appearing for the second half of their pre-season opener in Verona. But just four minutes in he conceded a penalty and was replaced midway through the half by Chris Smith.


MURRAY Darren F 
Born : Belfast 24 October 1991  
PLAYING CAREER
Newington YC - SWINDON TOWN (trial 12 Jul 2010) - Newry City (Aug 2010) -
Donegal Celtic (Jul 2011) - Portadown (Jul 2012) - Greenock Morton (trial cs 2015) -
Inverness Caledonian Thistle (trial Aug 2015) - Cliftonville (Jan 2016) -
Crumlin Star (Sep 2016) - Warrenpoint (Jul 2017) - Crusaders (Feb 2018) - Portadown (Jul 2018) -
Glentoran ( Jan 2019) - Carrick Rangers (loan Jan 2020) - Ballymacash Rangers (Aug 2020) -
Harland and Wolff Welders (cs 2021)

Known as 'Duzzle', Darren played forty minutes football for Town - spread across two pre-season friendlies, at Supermarine and Cirencester.


OAKLEY Aaron James CD 
Born : Swindon 4 October 1994  
PLAYING CAREER
Reading (trial ) - SWINDON TOWN (sb 2003 pro 1 Jul 2013) -
Chippenham Town (loan 20 Dec 2013 ) - Frome Town ( 21 Aug 2014) -
Swindon Supermarine (Dec 2014) - Royal Wootton Bassett Town ( Jan 2016) -
Wantage Town (Mar 2016 (dual reg RWBT)) - Ytterhogdals IK (Swe) (Jan 2017) -
Chippenham Town (loan Mar 2017) - Farnborough (Dec 2018) - Highworth Town (Oct 2019)

The big Welsh under-21 defender secured a contract at the County Ground after ten years with the club. But the closest he came to first team action was seven appearances on the bench during 2012/13. Injury interrupted his progress as he twice suffered a stress fracture of a foot.


PAOLETTI Christian G 
Born : Florence, Italy 12 December 1984  
PLAYING CAREER
Empoli (Ita) (cs 2004) - AC Sansovino (cs 2005) - Bolzano (cs 2006) -
Cisco Roma (cs 2007) - ASD Nuovo Cassino (cs 2009) - Atletico Roma (cs 2010) -
SWINDON TOWN (trial 4 Jul 2011) - Jolly & Montemurlo (Ita) (cs 2012) -
VF Colligiana (cs 2014) - Pietrasanta (cs Dec 2014) - Aglianese (cs 2015) -
ASD Grassina (cs 2018)

One of two Italian goalkeepers invited by Paolo Di Canio to join Town in Italy pre-season, Christian had played behind the new boss three years earlier. But he eventually lost out to Mattia Lanzano.


PAVETT Jordan Lee F 
Born : Enfield, London 16 December 1991  
PLAYING CAREER
Ipswich Town (scs 2007) - Colchester United ( Jul 2009) - Chelmsford City (loan Feb 2010) -
Bishops Stortford (loan Apr 2010) - Histon (Jul 2010) - Redbridge (Oct 2010) -
SWINDON TOWN (31 Jan 2011) - Crewe Alexandra (trial 27 Sep 2011) -
Heybridge Swifts (loan 24 Dec 2011) - Cambridge United (trial 23 Jan 2012) -
Bishops Stortford (Feb 2012) - Histon (Jul 2012) - Maldon and Tiptree (Oct 2012) -
Needham Market (Dec 2012) - Thurrock (Feb 2013) - Canvey Island (Jul 2013) -
Heybridge Swifts (Dec 2013) - Witham Town (Jan 2015) - Halstead Town (Jan 2016) -
Real Maldon - Armadale SC (Aus) (Feb 2017) - Halstead Town (Oct 2017)

A successful 'Win a Pro Contract' competitor, Jordan came closest to a first team outing when interim manager Paul Bodin gave him a seat on the bench for the final game of 2010/11.


SKENDI Albi M 
Born : Albania 29 September 1993  
PLAYING CAREER
Oxford City Nomads - Banbury United (Nov 2012) - SWINDON TOWN (trial 1 Jul 2013) -
Oxford City (Jul 2013) - Banbury United (Nov 2013) - SBCC Vaqueros (US) (Aug 2014) -
Marymount California University (Jan 2016) - Los Angeles Wolves (May 2018) -
Stratford Town (Aug 2018) - Yeovil Town (Jul 2019) - Orange County SC (US) (Mar 2022)

A 6'4" midfielder or defender then with Banbury, Albi was given a run-out in Town's opening pre-season friendly at Supermarine. Three days later he appeared for his own club, scoring in a 2-0 victory over Swindon.


TENISTE Taijo D 
Born : Tartu, Estonia 31 January 1988  
PLAYING CAREER
Tartu SK10 (Est) - Levadia Tallinn (Jan 2005) - Dynamo Ceske Budejovice (Cz) (trial Jan 2011) -
SWINDON TOWN (trial 4 Jul 2011) - Sogndal (Nor) (Sep 2011) -
Brann (Jan 2018) - Tartu Tammeka (Est) (Dec 2020)

With Town already six goals up at the break on their first pre-season engagement in Italy, Taijo was brought on for what ended up as an 11-0 win against Norcia.


TURNER Iain Ross G 
Born : Stirling 26 January 1984  
PLAYING CAREER
Stirling Albion (Sep 2000) - Everton (Jan 2003) - Chester City (loan Feb 2004) -
Doncaster Rovers (loan Mar 2005) - Wycombe Wanderers (loan Nov 2005) -
Crystal Palace (loan Nov 2006) - Sheffield Wednesday (loan Feb 2007) -
Nottinghan Forest (loan Mar 2009) - Coventry City (loan Aug 2010) -
Preston North End (Feb 2011) - Dunfermline Athletic (loan Jan 2012) -
SWINDON TOWN (trial 1 Aug 2012) - Bristol Rovers (trial 4 Aug 2012) -
Barnsley (Jan 2014) - Sheffield United (Aug 2014) - Tranmere Rovers (Aug 2015) -
Southport (p/co Jul 2017)

Iain played for the final 35 minutes of a pre-season game at Salisbury, but his trial ended the following day when manager Di Canio discovered that he had turned out for Bristol Rovers against City. Iain was capped six times for Scotland under-21s.


VANDESOMPELE LADID Jony (Jonathan) CD 
Born : Belgium 25 September 1992  
PLAYING CAREER
KRC Genk (Bel) (yth Sep 2008) - CD Tenerife (Sp) (2011) - CD Leganes - SWINDON TOWN (trial 7 Jul 2014) -
UD Ibarra (Sp) (cs 2014) - KSV Temse (Bel) (cs 2015) - OMS Ingelmunster (Jul 2016) -
Eendracht Buggenhout - SV Blauw Wit Temse (Dec 2020)

The defender with a Belgian mother and Moroccan father played in Town's first four away pre-season friendlies before being left on the bench for the visit of Southampton. He departed three days later.


WHITEHEAD Ben (Benjamin) Peter F 
Born : West Oxon. 4 June 1994  
PLAYING CAREER
Oxford United (sb ) - Chelsea (trial ) - SWINDON TOWN (scs Jul 2010) -
Oxford United (trial Apr 2012) - Oxford City (trial cs 2012) -
Abingdon United (Jul 2012) - Swindon Supermarine (Jan 2013) - Weston-Super-Mare (cs 2013) -
Didcot Town (Nov 2013) - Banbury United (Oct 2014) - Wantage Town (Feb 2015) -
Chippenham Town (Jan 2016) - Didcot Town (Aug 2016) - Cirencester Town (cs 2017) -
Weston-Super-Mare (Jun 2019) - Cirencester Town (loan Sep 2021 & Dec 2021 perm Jan 2022) -
Evesham United (Jun 2022)

The Town scholar was the son of former trialist keeper Phil.