DAN THE FAN: So excited by the Villa thriller (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

DAN THE FAN: So excited by the Villa thriller

4:00pm Thursday 1st November 2012 in Football

Despite walking out of the Town End on Tuesday night after watching Swindon lose at home, I didn’t have that gut-wrenching feeling after witnessing a defeat.

I was actually excited for what this season holds in store.

Even though Aston Villa aren’t flying high in the Premier League, they still had millions of pounds worth of talent on show, and we more than matched them for the majority of the game.

In the first half Villa were the better side and deserved their lead, but when Paolo Di Canio introduced Andy Williams and Miles Storey from the bench, the game turned on its head.

After being released by Wolves and Coventry City, Storey found his footballing home in Wiltshire in 2010.

His time in the first team before last Saturday has been very brief, but now that we’ve seen his raw talent, Town fans are hungry to see more from the youngster - hopefully on Saturday.

It seems the gloom that was over the club after the boardroom reshuffle and some poor results has lifted.

And Town have a massive chance to improve the mood further with two huge fixtures over the next few days.

On paper Swindon v Macclesfield might not look like the most glamorous of FA Cup ties, but dig a little deeper and you’ll find lots more at stake for both sides.

With opportunities to increase revenue during the season being very limited, when a chance comes along you have to take it.

Reaching the third round is key, providing the potential for another meeting with Premiership opposition, and more importantly, creating plenty of extra income.

On Tuesday we welcome Danny Wilson back to the County Ground 19 months after he resigned during a disastrous 2010/11 campaign.

Personally I don’t hold any bad feeling towards our former manager. Overall he did a good job for us and led the club to a play-off final at Wembley, so I hope he gets a warm reception when he returns.

His Sheffield United side come to the County Ground in great form, have yet to lose a league game this season and sit second in the division.

With the Blades being one of the biggest club’s in League One, it’s no surprise they are having an impressive campaign, but Town normally raise their game when playing the best the division can offer, so I’m confident we can get back to winning ways at the County Ground.