| view Magera's match-by-match record |
| Lukáš MAGERA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A Czech international forward, the signing of Magera was seen as a huge coup for Swindon - prior to the deal being finalised, Town chairman Jeremy Wray initially described Magera as a signing that would "blow the socks off", also stating that he had been the Town's main target all along. The deal became possible after Magera had initially rebuffed Swindon's interest due to concerns about the club being in the fourth tier - instead choosing to join up with Ukrainian Premier League side Volyn Lutsk - but after Magera was unimpressed with the professionalism of the team in Lutsk, he travelled to Swindon to witness the local derby with Oxford in August 2011, in front of a packed County Ground. Obviously impressed, soon signed a two year deal, two months after Town boss Paolo di Canio had registered his interest - and he made his debut in the last fifteen minutes of a Carling Cup victory over Bristol City the following day. Magera's first Town start came in a televised match against Rotherham at the beginning of September, but he was withdrawn with twenty minutes remaining with a hamstring knock that would keep him out for three weeks. Despite his limited game time, the bullish comments and resulting high expectation levels didn't help Magera at all - with his giant frame, many Swindon fans seemed to be expecting Magera to be a quintessential goalscoring target man, despite the fact that he was most often utilised as a second striker or even in midfield for his previous clubs. Perhaps lacking in match fitness, and despite his obvious quality on the ball, Magera only demonstrated his talent in glimpses - and he soon became a scapegoat for the less patient element of the Town's support. Returning from that injury at the end of September, Magera spent October on the bench, before being recalled to the starting eleven for the trip to Port Vale in November - and the Czech gave arguably his best performance in a Town shirt, opening his goalscoring account with a well taken effort from the edge of the area. After scoring, Magera headed straight for fitness coach Claudio Donatelli to acknowledge the work he had done with the striker - and there was hope that Magera had finally turned the corner, but coming off the bench in the next game - a Johnstone's Paint Trophy tie against AFC Wimbledon - he lasted just ten minutes before his hamstring injury reoccurred. Magera returned to action again at the end of the month, and started in five of the six games in January, but it appeared that his style just didn't suit the English lower leagues - highlighted further by an improved performance against Premier League Wigan in a superb FA Cup giantkilling. That proved though to be his penultimate game in a Town shirt - after starting the first leg of the JPT Area Final at Barnet, Magera was named on the bench on three more occasions, before agreeing a loan move back to Czech top flight side Banik Ostrava at the end of February for the rest of the season. With Swindon looking for promotion, it was thought by some that League One may suit Magera's style more - and when the season finished, di Canio stated that he was ready to welcome Magera back - but only if he showed the desire and application to be a success at Swindon. A month later, at the end of June, it was announced that the two parties had come to an agreement to terminate his contract - di Canio conceding that though he still rated him as a player, Magera couldn't handle the pace of English football - and he went on to sign for Mlada Boleslav, where he would play in the Europa League the following year. PLAYING RECORD:
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date of birth
usual positions centre forward other positions central midfield youth career senior career |
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CZECH REPUBLIC
