Playoff matches for the Premiership are worth eye-watering sums of money but at least they afford the losers a chance to access the riches of the Premiership the following season.

Had Swindon lost this match then Swindon would either not have had a professional club or, if they did, then it would probably have been a new club possibly called Swindon Athletic.

The minute book for the season 1901-2 leading up to the match survives and shows the perilous financial state of the club. The period which would now be a transfer window in January saw Swindon giving one player a free transfer and paying his train fare home just to get him off the wage bill. Other clubs were written to asking for financial support with Tottenham donating £10 and Bristol Rovers holding a collection at a home match.

The crunch came when the Secretary, Len Dodson, informed the Board that the bank balance stood at £12 and asked how he was supposed to pay the £40 due to the players the following week.

The season’s end saw Swindon complete an unwanted double, finishing bottom of both the Southern League and the Western League. Swindon might well have lost their place in the former the previous year. The playoff match with Brentford to decide who had a place in the Southern League Division One had been abandoned due to fog and before it was rearranged the decision to extend the league meant both teams were given places in the top........

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