Swindon Town will forever owe Man Utd for County Ground icon | OneFootball

Swindon Town goalkeeper Fraser Digby became an icon between the sticks at the County Ground

Swindon Town will be thanking Manchester United for club legend between the sticks, Fraser Digby.

The name Fraser Digby is one that many wider football fans may not have heard of. However, after coming up through the Manchester United academy to then having a flourishing career at the County Ground with Swindon, Digby was an outstanding goalkeeper in his time, and is still fondly remembered by Robins fans for his long-standing service to the club.

Digby began his career as an apprentice goalkeeper at Manchester United in 1985 and, shortly after, earned a move to join Swindon the following year after seeking to impress whilst on loan at Oldham Athletic.

It was in Wiltshire that Digby made a name for himself between the years 1986-1998. After playing for over a decade in the Red and White of Swindon, the experienced goalkeeper then made the move across to London as he transferred to Crystal Palace. He spent two years at Selhurst Park until he signed for Barry Town and subsequently, Huddersfield Town.

After such a long spell with Swindon, Digby could never seem to get settled, and ended up at QPR before finally hanging up his gloves with now non-league side Kidderminster Harriers.

He was a well travelled player who will most notably be remembered for his time at the Robins, where he contributed to an era of success for the club - Swindon certainly have Manchester United to thank for his signature.

Fraser Digby, the Manchester United apprentice that Swindon fans adore

After a successful apprenticeship with Premier League giants Manchester United, Digby was a 19-year-old on the rise with an exciting career ahead of him when Sir Alex Ferguson took on the role as the Red Devils manager in 1986.

Digby made the move on a loan deal to Division Three side Swindon Town and had a faultless start to his young career under the management of Lou Macari. With Macari keen to keep Digby at the club, the goalkeeper then made his contract permanent and quickly became the club’s number one choice in between the sticks. It was a transfer that was more than welcomed by the Robins fans, with Digby more than happy to continue his footballing journey at the County Ground.

Digby said via the Swindon Advertiser: "I’d enjoyed my time at Swindon, and we’d started to play well, and were moving up the league, and I thought I could do well here, so in the end I agreed to sign."

After producing good performances on a consistent basis for the Robins, Digby became a reliable figure and very much a leader within the group. He was recognised for bringing stability to Swindon's defence with his commanding nature from his own box.

In the 1992/93 season, Digby made a brief return to Old Trafford for two months when he was recalled to Sir Alex Ferguson's side before returning down south to Swindon, taking up his position once again in the Robins net to help the club earn promotion to the Premiership as Swindon came out on top in their famous play-off final victory against Leicester City.

Despite being brief, Digby has fond memories of his time in the first-team at Manchester United. As he told the Swindon Advertiser: "I was fortunate that I did go back on loan and spend two months at United, which was probably the best two months of my career... It was under Sir Alex and I worked with Peter Schmeichel. It was fantastic to be around them for two months and, when I came back to Swindon, I was like a rejuvenated person."

Fraser Digby is regarded a cult-hero at the County Ground

In the late stages of Digby's Swindon career, this was an era for the club where battles for promotion and relegation became the norm. Steve McMahon took the reins in the dugout and was unable to stop the rut that the club was in at the time as the Robins suffered back-to-back relegations in 1993/94 and 1994/95. Despite an immediate return to Division One the following year, Digby's relationship with McMahon cast a dark shadow over his final years at the County Ground and, as a result, joined Terry Venables’ at Crystal Palace.

Speaking on his exit from Swindon Town, Digby said: "At the time I didn’t really want to leave but, with the people who were involved with the club at the time, I wasn’t enjoying it. I felt it was time for a new challenge.

"To have had 12 years at a club and still have the relationship I have with the people of Swindon and the fans."

After spending over a decade with the Robins, Digby will forever be held in the hearts of Swindon fans. Although his time with the club came to a somewhat sour end, his long service and brick wall performances as their number one is the core memory that the fans hold at the forefront of their minds.