Player Profile

Few, if any, footballers have experienced signing for Town on four separate occasions, but that is exactly what Ben Gladwin achieved over a ten year period between 2013-23. Gladwin first arrived from Marlow in November 2013 having done the rounds in the Non-League scene - he had previously been a member of the youth set-up at Reading.

His first season at Swindon was one of finding his feet in the professional game, making sixteen appearances without ever really standing out but started the 2014/15 campaign in the starting eleven in an attacking midfield role sitting just behind Michael Smith. Gladwin seemed expendable throughout the first half of the new season, either finding himself substituted or himself coming on but his growing worth within the squad was becoming more and more apparent. His first league goal was a winner against Fleetwood Town, heading in a Harry Toffolo cross, with just four minutes remaining.

In April 2015, with his gliding, effortless style, Gladwin seemingly became one of the most formidable players in the division. It started with a hat-trick in the 4-2 away win at Rochdale and a brace (both penalties) followed in a 3-3 draw against Walsall. His place in the starting eleven was firmly secured by the time the Play-Off Semi-Finals against Sheffield United had arrived. The first leg at Bramall Lane was a hard-fought encounter with Kieron Freeman putting the Blades ahead before Nathan Byrne was tripped in the box much to the disdain of the hosts. It was Gladwin who stepped up but his effort was well saved by Mark Howard much to the delight of the furious home fans. Despite this, Town equalised through a Sam Ricketts header, and then grabbed a last-gasp winner courtesy of Nathan Byrne to take a goal advantage to the County Ground. The second leg would go down as one of the most entertaining games in modern Town history and Gladwin played a major part in this thanks to his glorious rasping fourth minute half-volley to put Town 1-0 up and then following it up with second, this time a tap-in, minutes later. The rollercoaster game finished 5-5 with Town going through 7-6 on aggregate.

Unfortunately, Swindon would go on to be utterly humiliated by Preston North End - losing 4-0 at Wembley in the Final, Gladwin was one of several players who failed to get a look-in. He was replaced for Louis Thompson with over 30 minutes left to play. Despite the disastrous performance by Town, the squad was ripped apart in the transfer market with Gladwin and Massimo Luongo both joining Queens Park Rangers for an undisclosed fee, less than a week after the Wembley loss.

Gladwin struggled for gametime in the Championship with QPR and returned to Swindon on loan in October 2015, less than 5 months after leaving the club. He played 13 times, scoring twice during this spell. Although he showed glimpses, Gladwin struggled to rediscover the form that earned him a move away in the first place. He was then sent out on loan to Bristol City where he played once before getting injured.

In January 2017, Gladwin re-joined Swindon for a second time as Town desperately tried to find a way out of the relegation zone. By this point, however, injuries seemed to have taken its toll on Gladwin who really struggled to make a major impact in what was a poor Swindon side. He played 18 times, scoring twice, as Town were relegated to League Two. Shortly afterwards, Gladwin joined Blackburn Rovers where his progress was severely halted by further injuries. In 2020, he joined Milton Keynes Dons where he was reunited with former Town coach, Luke Williams.

An unprecedented fourth spell at the County Ground began in July 2021, becoming the first signing made by Ben Chorley and Ben Garner under the ownership of Clem Morfuni, signing a one-year contract. Aged only 29, but with a lot of football behind him, Gladwin clearly wasn’t the player he had been at his peak but still had plenty to offer in League Two in something of a job-share with the equally injury-prone Jonny Williams.

Gladwin scored on the opening day of the season at Scunthorpe in a 3-1 win, and signed a new contract in January 2022 for the following season. Over the second half of the season, he was more regularly used from the bench than as a starter, but still managed to make 41 appearances, the most he had ever made in a single season across any of his Town spells.

His final season in Town colours was the 2022/23 season under Scott Lindsey. With the departure of Jack Payne, Gladwin was called upon to play a more central role in Town’s midfield plans, starting the season alongside Louis Reed and Jonny Williams, but soon being joined by the significantly more mobile Saidou Khan, with Williams shifted into the front three. Gladwin but in a number of strong performances, and linked up particularly well with new signings Remeao Hutton and Jacob Wakeling going forward: a typical Town chance over the first part of the season tended to involve a through ball from Gladwin to Wakeling or a cross from Hutton, set free by Gladwin. His lack of mobility did cause defensive issues in open play however, leading to some criticism from fans, and a few injuries in late November and December meant that he was in and out of the side over the festive period.

It was still a surprise though when Gladwin followed Scott Lindsey to Crawley in the January transfer window for an undisclosed fee. With his contract expiring at the end of the season and there seemingly being a desire to bring in younger players, Town were looking to cash in, but it didn’t seem that Gladwin was desperate to make the move and he looked less than delighted in his unveiling photos at the Sussex club. He was appointed as Crawley’s club captain a few days later, just a month on from his final game for Swindon in their New Year’s Day loss to Colchester. He featured 23 times in his final season, including captaining the side on five occasions.

Playing Record

Senior

Career details

Club	Details
Eldon Celtic Eldon Celtic	(youth)
Reading Reading	2001 (schoolboy)
Aldershot Town Aldershot	2006 (schoolboy)
Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers	(trial)
Southampton Southampton	(trial)
Paris Saint-Germain PSG	(trial)
AFC Wallingford Wallingford	cs 2009
Hayes and Yeading United Hayes & Yeading	July 2010
Salisbury City Salisbury	rptd October 25th, 2010
Windsor and Eton Windsor and Eton	January 2011
Burnham Burnham	February 2011
Hayes and Yeading United Hayes & Yeading	August 2011 (dual registration); released (January 2012)
Reading Town Reading Town	January 2012
Marlow Marlow	August 2012
Hayes and Yeading United Hayes & Yeading	rptd January 24th, 2013
Marlow Marlow	March 1st, 2013 ; transferred out (November 22nd, 2013)
Swindon Town Swindon	November 22nd, 2013 (transferred in, undisclosed fee); transferred out (May 28th, 2015)
Queens Park Rangers Q.P.R.	May 28th, 2015 (transferred in, undisclosed fee double deal with Massimo Luongo - believed to be a combined fee of £3.5 million,with a sell-on clause); transferred out (rptd June 28th, 2017)
Swindon Town Swindon	October 9th, 2015 (loan); expired (rptd January 9th, 2016)
Bristol City Bristol City	January 19th, 2016 (loan); recalled from loan (rptd March 29th, 2016)
Swindon Town Swindon	January 9th, 2017 (loan); expired (2016/7)
Blackburn Rovers Blackburn	rptd June 28th, 2017 (transferred in, undisclosed fee); released (rptd January 2nd, 2020)
Milton Keynes Dons MK Dons	January 10th, 2020 (unattached); released (2020/1)
Swindon Town Swindon	July 26th, 2021 (unattached); transferred out (January 27th, 2023)
Crawley Town Crawley Town	January 27th, 2023 (transferred in, undisclosed fee); retired (rptd July 5th, 2024) rptd July 5th, 2024 (appointed coach)