Don Rogers Footballing Legend. So – here we have a guest post from my chum Chris Eley. It begs the question, was Don Rogers Swindon Town’s greatest player? That’s a moot point I guess. But either way, he warrants a place in this sons and daughters of Swindon section. And This Sporting Life.
It’s certainly Roy of the Rovers stuff!
Donald Edward Rogers entered the world on 25th October 1945 in Paulton, Somerset. He Joined Swindon Town in January 1961 aged 15. Don turned professional in October 1962 and made his debut in November 1962. In his first spell at the club he played 400 games and scored 147 goals. During that time he helped Town win promotion from the third to the second division not once but twice. And win the Anglo-Italian Cup in 1970. He also scored two goals when the then third division Swindon beat the mighty Arsenal 3-1 at Wembley to win the League Cup in 1969.
A career move
Don joined Crystal Palace in 1972 for the then big fee of £147,000. Bert Head, who’d been his manager at Swindon when he started out, signed him. Thus he became one of Bert’s Babes -a young Swindon Town team.
Our man scored twenty-eight goals in seventy appearances for them including two in a 5-0 thumping of Manchester United and the 1973 Big Match Golden Goal (goal of the season) in a game against Stoke. Don went on to join Queens Park Rangers in September 1974 in a swap deal. This arrangement saw Terry Venables moving to Selhurst Park but he struggled with injuries making only eighteen appearances before rejoining Swindon in March 1976. He retired in the 1976/77 season with a hip injury.
Career Record
Don’s overall career record runs to 500 games and 182 goals with his goals per game ratio similar to that of George Best.
Don went on to manage local teams, Lambourn Sports, Swindon Supermarine and Hungerford Town – winnng the League and Cup double with Lambourn in 1995. He then went on to get them promoted to the Hellenic League Premier Division for the first time in twelve years. After winningthe Hellenic League Premier Division title with Supermarine in 1998 he left citing a lack of ambition at the club.
While he was still playing for Swindon the club helped him buy a sports shop on Faringdon Road. Rumour had it that this was an attempt to keep him at the County Ground when higher division clubs were sniffing around. The shop is still going to this day.
The Intel Stand at the County Ground was renamed in his honour in 2007 and a statue unveiled in November 2024.
Opinions
So Chris spoke to three long-time Swindon fans for some insights into what made Don such a special player. What follows is what they had to say.
In a time zone of his own
The first was Ray (who still hasn’t forgiven me as a Brighton supporter for a game on 1 January 1977 which got abandoned with Swindon winning 4-0). Ray told me about the League Cup Final victory in 1969. he said the second goal (Don’s first) was about calmness in the chaos and thinking ahead. But it was the third goal that epitomised Don – he got the ball on the right wing. The pitch was like a ploughed field but his shorts were still clean, and you just knew that he would score. He glided over the surface and, of course, he scored.
Hips don’t lie
Dick, a historian of the club, felt that the flexibility of Don’s hips was a key factor in his success. His ability to change direction and his pace off the mark made him a nightmare to mark. And to quote Fred Ford (Swindon manager from 1969 to 1971), ‘he scores the goal of the month every week.’
Dick also mentioned that Don would be unlikely to get picked in the modern game as his statistics for tackling, running back to defend and other such mundane stuff wouldn’t have been up to scratch.
The best player I ever saw live
Malcolm describes Don as the best player he ever saw live. He was two-footed, very quick and lethal in front of goal. He always seemed to have a way out of any tricky situation he found himself in. Malcolm also mentioned that his partnership with the ever-willing John Trollope did a lot to help to bring out the best in Don.
Big thanks to Ray Norman, Dick Mattick and Malcolm Alexander for sharing their memories with me.
On the BBC website:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/videos/cq550yvr8xro
See also:
