Less than two months ago, Forest Green Rovers looked doomed. Sitting bottom of the table with an ever-growing gap, a return to the National League after seven seasons in the EFL looked a formality.
The past several years have been difficult for the Gloucestershire club. After winning League Two in the 2021–2022 season, they struggled in League One and were demoted right away to the fourth division.
The goal of this season was to stabilise and reorganise in preparation for the upcoming years’ push for promotion. But they soon discovered that they were in a struggle to keep their league standing.
The man in charge of the team was Dave Horseman, who took over for Duncan Ferguson in the summer. The Green Devils’ poor early-season performance caused them to fall to the bottom of the standings by October, when they suffered six straight losses.
In the weeks that followed, Rovers gave glimpses of their potential, most notably in a 5-0 annihilation of Colchester United, but in the end, they proved to be fleeting moments of brilliance. For December, Horseman had no work.
The Troy Deeney Era
The next thing that happened caught everyone off guard. Troy Deeney, a former striker for the Premier League who joined the team in August as a free agent, was given his first managerial position.
His first game began with a crucial point that gave them optimism that things would soon turn around, but things quickly got worse from there. The writing was on the wall, as Fankaty Dabo’s performance in the 2-0 loss to Harrogate Town in January was rated harshly. The former Watford and Birmingham City player vanished five days later.
After just 29 days in command, the 35-year-old was unable to secure a victory. The Greens appeared to be lost.
Last Throw Of The Dice?
A week after Deeney’s departure, club chairman Dale Vince swooped to bring in Steve Cotterill. The 59-year-old had been out of work since leaving from Shrewsbury Town last summer, shortly after guiding the club to an impressive 12th-placed finish in League One.
Cotterill was seen as somewhat as a major coup for the Nailsworth side, and it’s easy to see why with their recent form. Nine points adrift of safety in late January, the former Bristol City manager has produced a revival over the past few weeks.
In addition to leading the team off the bottom of the table, he also helped Forest Green escape the bottom two for the first time since October with yesterday night’s 2-0 victory over Bradford City at Valley Parade. On Saturday, they will play host to Sutton United, their relegation opponents, and will be heavy favourites because they have only lost once in their previous five games.
Naturally, the elevation from last night was somewhat fortunate. Colchester’s match against Doncaster Rovers was called off this morning. Despite having two games remaining, Danny Cowley’s squad now sits in the bottom two, the U’s. Nevertheless, Cotterill would prefer to see the points on the board since they are what matter.
Will Forest Green Survive?
Yes, you would have to, with Cotterill leading the charge. He is a seasoned player who is renowned for his ability to bring out the best in his team. He’s already pulling a song out of his previously unsatisfactory team, where his predecessors failed.
Having received four promotions in his career, two of which were with Cheltenham Town, his hometown team, he possesses a winning mindset that will translate to his players. That benefits Rovers much, particularly considering that they still have to play a number of teams vying for promotion.
It’s critical that they win both of their next games against Sutton and Doncaster Rovers. It doesn’t get much harder after that when they play all five of the top players consecutively. The team will truly need to demonstrate their mettle in these games.
Thankfully for the players, there is no better man to guide them into that run, but for the time being, all attention needs to be on this weekend’s six-pointer. In football, the phrase is perhaps too frequently used, yet Forest
There are nine cup finals for Green to compete in between now and the end of April.
Even though it seems like it’s between them and Colchester for the drop, other teams will give up points (Sutton looks doomed). Salford City may be involved if they can’t stop their worrying recent form, while Grimsby Town has opened up a gap thanks to their recent upturn in luck.
Cotterill will undoubtedly battle valiantly to keep Forest Green in the Football League, and it will be fascinating for the neutrals to watch as it all plays out.
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