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Trust STFC (Swindon Town) has said that there's little positive going on at the club at the moment.
Their comments follow some choice words from manager Ian Holloway in a recent interview.
“I’m not the only dead man, am I? The owners a dead man walking as well and that over complicates everything here, doesn’t it?”
The club is led by Clem Morfuni and is reported to have an overdraft of around £14M.
Former Hereford commercial manager James Watts was chief commercial manager at Swindon until he moved to Cheltenham in June 2026
This from the Trust's recent Update:
The rollercoaster of following Swindon Town continues to provide more lows than highs. Whether it’s on or off the field, there is plenty going on….unfortunately, very little of it is positive.
Even by recent standards, we have reached a new low (and we’re not talking about the number of fit players we have). As a club, we have lost our soul, our hope, our passion. This hasn’t happened overnight. It’s the culmination of multiple owners, of poor leadership, of a non-existent communications strategy and of distant memories from a successful past.
Many supporters want to simply focus on the football. We get that – we’d like to too. But the Trust’s role is to represent its members and the wider Swindon community, looking out for our club’s short, medium and long term sustainability.
On any given day, the Trust gets criticised for being both too critical and not critical enough of the Club’s leadership. Admittedly, it is difficult – no, impossible – to keep all of our members and STFC supporters happy all of the time. As a result, much of what we do, say and challenges made takes place behind closed doors. Minutes alone do not reflect the advice we give and the holding to account the Club and its ownership is in need of.
That said, recognition of the perilous state of the leadership and management of our club was brought into sharp public focus last week. Ian Holloway, replying to a question about his “dead man walking” comments said:
“I’m not the only dead man, am I? The owners a dead man walking as well and that over complicates everything here, doesn’t it?”
If you are puzzled as to when this was said, you’d have good reason to be. It was in the Rochdale pre-match press conference. The Club edited out the exchange with Andrew Hawes from its coverage, but the full version was caught by BBC Wiltshire Sport and the Swindon Advertiser.
The fact that a manager of Swindon Town Football Club can publicly comment on the inability of its owner to unite a club and take it forward should be a wakeup call to all of us.
Ian Holloway’s comments haven’t come as a result of public protests, nor from an organised campaign. Instead, they come from his two years and 100-plus match experience as Swindon Town manager. Statistics suggest that he has one of the best win percentages of recent times, so why the doom, gloom and “dead man walking” metaphors for him and his chairman?
Unfortunately, that brings us back full circle to the Club’s ownership and leadership over the last five years. Yes, Clem Morfuni stepped in and most likely saved the Club from administration in 2021, something we will always be grateful for. But does that single act then absolve him from any form of criticism for everything which came after? Yes, he continues to bankroll the Club, but as was the case for previous owners, it’s all in the form of a loan, repayable on demand. The Club’s “overdraft” is currently around £14m and its only going one way. Not all of that is attributable to the Clem Morfuni years, but it’s a growing amount which gets passed from owner to owner.
So where does that leave us? There is no doubt that the Club’s off-field strategy is to keep their heads down and hope that it all comes good on the pitch. Combine that with the significant turnover in staff behind the scenes and a leadership which has lost touch with the community it serves, it’s no wonder that anecdotally at least, many are falling out of love with the club they have supported for so many years.
Clem Morfuni has shown zero interest in selling STFC. Even when he’s gone on the record and said that he’d consider it for the right offer, we don’t believe that to be the case. Don’t get taken in by the “show me proof of funds and make me an offer and then we’ll talk” line – after all, someone doesn’t buy your house by standing on the pavement trying to look in through the window with the blinds down.
What we do know is that there are interested buyers for the Club. This isn’t speculation or rumour – the Trust have been approached on multiple occasions by interested groups. The most recent of those approaches was by a well backed consortium with experience in sports franchising, digital media and marketing. As we’ve seen around the leagues, buyers are out there, so long as there is a willing seller.
So where does that leave us? Whilst the short-term focus may be on Ian Holloway, the bigger picture is above the role of the manager.
We believe that we’ve reached a tipping point. Can Clem Morfuni and his leadership team of Anthony Hall and Alisha Henry re-engage and address a wedge with supporters so obvious that even the manager openly talks about it, or has that ship sailed and the only solution is for a new owner?
The Trust board continues to keep all options on the table. We will continue to engage with the Club as well as other relevant parties including the EFL, IFR and others.
On and off the pitch, the next few weeks and months feel pivotal to our club’s short and medium term future. Whatever happens next, we’ll be sure to keep members updated.
Swindon Town have responded to the Trust - https://www.swindontownfc.co.uk/news/2026/october/07/statement-from-swindon-town-football-club/