Player Profile

A former French under-21 international striker, Péricard signed for the Town on an eighteen month contract, after he refused an extension to his contract at Carlisle United in January 2010. It proved to be a difficult start to Péricard’s Swindon career - after making his debut as a second half substitute in a 3-1 win over Gillingham in January, a combination of the form of strike pairing Charlie Austin and Billy Paynter, plus a recurring hamstring injury kept him out of the starting eleven. He eventually made his full debut in March, but gave a disappointing performance in a 2-1 defeat at MK Dons, and though he kept his place the following week at Brighton, the injury forced him off in the first half.

Though he went on to make a total of sixteen appearances during the season, fourteen of these were from the substitutes’ bench, and though provided a strong physical presence up front, he failed to find the net - after he was perhaps unlucky that a last minute strike to salvage a draw against Exeter in April was recorded as an own goal for an Exeter defender, Péricard cut a disconsolate figure when an injury time diving header from just yards out in the Play-Off semi-final first leg against Charlton came off the post when it seemed easier to score, despite the Town leading the tie 2-1. Péricard made another late cameo appearance against Millwall at Wembley with the Town chasing the game, but he was unable to turn the tide as the Lions went on to record a 1-0 victory.

When Paynter left to join Leeds in the summer, Péricard was tipped by many to come good - and after netting his first Town goal from the penalty spot in a pre-season friendly against Qatari side Al-Sadd, he was widely expected to start the season as first choice striker. However, a superb performance from triallist Thomas Dossevi in the Town's final friendly of the summer saw Wilson quickly sign the Togolese striker, and he was thrust straight in to partner Austin for the season's opener, with Péricard on the bench. After being urged by assistant manager Peter Shirtliff to be more selfish in front of goal in the local media, Péricard got his chance in a Johnstone's Paint Trophy tie at Southampton, and he took it with both hands - scoring a brace in a 3-0 victory. This earned him a starting berth for the next six weeks - a period where he notched his first league goal in a 2-1 win at Walsall - and it finally seemed like he might be turning some of the boo-boys who had jeered him. With Charlie Austin out through injury - Péricard even stated that Austin might be forced to wait for a starting place when he returned after scoring twice in two games - but a groin strain forced Péricard off after just half-an-hour in the next match at Peterborough in mid-October (a game that the Town lost 5-4).

Péricard returned to the first eleven in November, but after scoring again at Plymouth, his groin injury again sidelined him for a period, and with Swindon struggling after high expectations, when he returned, he was again singled out for rough treatment by a section of the Town support, angry at a perceived lack of effort - some fans sarcastically cheering then jeering when he was substituted against Sheffield Wednesday in December - prompting manager Wilson to defend Péricard's performances in the Adver.

However, the Frenchman was to make just four more appearances for Swindon - after starting the following home games against Crawley and Peterborough, he was dropped to the bench in the New Year, coming on just twice, before a knee injury sidelined him for almost three months - the striker having an exploratory knee operation in mid-March to solve the problem. Péricard was named on the bench for a 2-1 home defeat against Notts County, though he didn't get on as the result virtually confirmed the Town's relegation to League Two.

Despite this, Péricard came within just a handful of votes of scooping the Swindon Advertiser's Player of the Year award - with disgrunted fans voting for the striker as a protest vote after such an abysmal campaign - Péricard leaving the club when his contract expired at the end of the season.

Playing Record

Senior

Reserve and Youth Team Appearances

Note that appearance data for reserve and youth teams may not be complete. Expand for more information.

Career details

Club	Details
AS Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne	1988 (schoolboy) July 1999 (signed professional contract); transferred out (July 2000)
Juventus Juventus	July 2000 (transferred in)
Portsmouth Portsmouth	July 22nd, 2002 (loan)
Portsmouth Portsmouth	July 25th, 2003 ; released (2005/6)
Sheffield United Sheffield United	September 16th, 2005 (loan); expired (rptd December 11th, 2005)
Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle	February 10th, 2006 (loan); expired (2005/6)
Stoke City Stoke City	July 21st, 2006 (announced June 19th, 2006) (unattached); released (rptd June 2nd, 2009)
Southampton Southampton	March 14th, 2008 (loan); expired (2007/8)
Millwall Millwall	February 21st, 2009 (loan); expired (rptd May 25th, 2009)
Bristol City Bristol City	July 2009 (trial)
Cardiff City Cardiff City	August 2009 (trial)
Blackpool Blackpool	September 2009 (trial)
Carlisle United Carlisle United	October 13th, 2009 (unattached); released (rptd January 5th, 2010)
Swindon Town Swindon	January 14th, 2010 (unattached); released (rptd May 31st, 2011)
AFC Bournemouth Bournemouth	September 26th, 2011 (trial)
Havant and Waterlooville Havant & Waterlooville	October 6th, 2011 (unattached); retired (December 2011)
Moneyfields Moneyfields	rptd January 28th, 2015 (unattached); retired (February 2015)