Forest Green Season Preview: a new chapter

Depending on who you listen to, Forest Green Rovers should either be applauded for their ambition and innovation, or scorned as a soulless club that denotes everything wrong with modern football. Just one thing is certain: you cannot ignore them. Supporter Laurie Martin discusses all at The New Lawn as the club begins the next chapter of it’s controversial journey in League Two.

Many congratulations on reaching the Football League. Will that day at Wembley live long in the memory?

Thanks, we finally made it! I will never forget the scenes when the third goal went in, that’s when we knew we’d done it. It was rather fitting how we saved probably our best performance of the season for the most important game of the season. It was by far the proudest day in the clubs history and I’m sure there will be plenty more to come next season. It was an incredible day but we’ve got a job to do in League Two now.

Chairman Dale Vince has invested a lot of money into the club. How much credit does he deserve?

Obviously he deserves a huge amount of credit as none of this would have been possible without his backing. He’s a very controversial figure but he’s done a lot for the club and he seems to have a good relationship with the Manager and the rest of the staff. It’s all well and good having money but Mark Cooper has spent it very well and has found some real gems from lower leagues like Ethan Pinnock, Manny Monthe and Omar Bugiel.

The heavy spending has also left you in debt. Are you confident that that money will be repaid?

It should be easier to pay the debt now that we’re in the Football League but obviously now Financial Fair Play regulations are in place which is a bit concerning. I’m confident that they’ll be repaid as I’m sure that Dale is in this for the long haul and that he won’t walk away.

You played some tidy, passing football last season with top scorer Christian Doidge netting some belters. Were games good to watch?

I’ve always said that I don’t mind how we play, as long as we get a good result. At times the football was ugly and we had to grind out results but other times we played attractive, free-flowing football where we scored goals for fun. There is no doubt that the football is much better to watch than it was under Aidy Pennock. It was a joy to watch players like Drissa Traore and Liam Noble last season, two of the best player I’ve ever seen at FGR. We were often labelled as ‘pretty but soft’ last term which was probably true, and there didn’t really seem to be any game plan in some of the big games, like the away game at Lincoln. Overall the football was good last season although at times it was very risky and often played ourselves into trouble.

At Swindon, Mark Cooper got the best out of small, creative midfielders. Do you think he will work well with new signing Reece Brown?

He’s also got the best out of small midfielder Drissa Traore whilst at FGR. Drissa is so important to way we play and is probably the most underrated player in our team. However things didn’t work out for Mohammad Chemlal and Fabien Robert had a very hot and cold season at the New Lawn. Reece Brown has mixed reviews from Chesterfield and Birmingham fans and it is clear that there is an attitude problem there. Like Brown, Keanu Marsh-Brown has attitude problems but Cooper did an exceptional job with him and he played a crucial part in helping us get to the Football League. It seems that Reece has lots of talent and I really hope that it doesn’t go to waste. I feel like it was a brave move from Cooper but it seems that Reece has a lot of respect for him.

Goalkeeper Sam Russell has signed a new one-year deal. Did he return to the Lawn a reformed player?

Sam was superb last season and he played all of our 54 games, which is some achievement given that some fans didn’t even think he’d be our first choice goalkeeper. He had his off days especially towards the end of the season but he also single-handedly won us points. He’s very comfortable on the ball and equally as good at shot stopping. He loves the club and he loves the area so it’s great that he’s finally going to get the chance to play in the Football League for us.

Charlie Cooper has returned after an impressive performance at Wembley. What do you see as his best position?

Charlie played in a number of positions last season including full-back and wing-back but his best position is definitely centre midfield. He got a lot of stick from our fans last season but he won a lot of them over with his performances in the play-offs. Although he didn’t have the best of starts to his FGR career, I think our fans treated him harshly and I hope the same doesn’t happen this season. Saying that, his performances in the play-offs were sublime and he completely dominated the midfield at Wembley. He is often very weak on the ball and he often gives the ball away under pressure. He clearly has great potential and it’s important that our fans realise that.

Defender Ethan Pinnock was one of your stand-out performers last term. Are you disappointed to lose him to Barnsley?

I’m not disappointed as it was completely expected. Ethan is by far the best defender I have seen play for FGR and I’m glad that we didn’t stand in the way of his dream move. It really is a mystery of how he didn’t get in the National League Team of the Season. Barnsley have got themselves an exciting prospect, and I’m sure his next move will be to a Premier League club. It’s a good move for him as Barnsley have a good reputation of buying young players from lower leagues and progressing them even further. He will need to be replaced before the season starts and I hope Cooper goes in for Mark Ellis, who impressed whilst on loan here last season. Despite losing Ethan, I’m glad that we’ve kept hold of Manny Monthe, who is a very similar player to Ethan and really came on in the second half of last season. He’ll be a big loss but I’m sure he will have a great season in South Yorkshire.

A large proportion of your goals came about from play down your left flank and some feel more defensive leadership was needed. Does the signing of left-back Scott Laird tick those boxes?

Left-back was the one position that we simply had to improve this summer. Dan Wishart played the majority of last season there but he made numerous errors and frustrated fans with his reluctance to cross the ball. I do like Wishart but he is far too error prone to play left back. He is also far more likely to make more mistakes if he plays there this season, as we are playing against far better opposition. Wishart always looks far more comfortable when playing either left wing back or left midfield, as he did at Wembley. Scott Laird is a superb signing as he provides a wealth of experience to what is a relatively youthful side. I was very impressed with his first interview and I can see quickly becoming a fans favourite. He will definitely add some defensive stability down our left side.

Liam Noble gained a reputation in League Two as someone who went from the sublime to the ridiculous. Did he mature last season?

Liam Noble was a real leader last season and he never even looked like getting sent off at any point in the season. He’s very passionate, which is why the fans love him but was also very sensible and didn’t get involved in little scuffles. His dead ball ability is sublime and he scored a few crackers for us last season. He recorded over 20 assists and scored nine goals last term and there is no doubt that we wouldn’t have gone up without him. Hopefully he’ll be able to maintain a cool head for this upcoming season. He’s probably our biggest threat and when we don’t get him into the game we create very little.

Both Drissa Traore and Rob Sinclair are staying on. What do you make of suggestions that they are too similar to play in the same team?

We always look a much better team when Drissa Traore plays. He really is the League Two N’Golo Kante, he makes everything look so easy and he is very consistent. I often hear people saying that Sinclair and Traore can’t play in the same team and I have to say I don’t really agree. Last season, our worst midfield partnership was Darren Carter and Rob Sinclair as they didn’t move the ball quickly enough but I have no problems with Rob and Drissa playing together. However, I can’t see Sinclair getting much game time this season and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he left this summer. He hasn’t played since March and I don’t think he’d get into our starting XI right now, after signing Reece Brown and Charlie Cooper.

Some feel the build-up play could have been quicker at times last year. Would you like to see Keanu Marsh-Brown start more often?

Keanu is a luxury player, and he can play at any level he wants to, but it is clear that there is an attitude problem. We’re a far more exciting team when he is playing but he is known to have a bit of a sulk when things aren’t going his way. However, he is a match-winner who thrives in big matches, which there will be plenty of next seasons. He was frozen out of the team in March, but he returned with a wonder goal in the play-offs which proved just what a valuable asset he is. Mark Cooper deserves credit for giving him another chance when he could have easily shown him the exit door. Cooper often describes him as an “enigma” which is exactly what he is. I hope we see a lot more of him next season because he is a serious talent.

Kaiyne Woolery had an excellent season for you. Are you still hoping a replacement for him can be found?

Kaiyne will go down as a club legend after his brace at Wembley. He was unbelievably quick for us but he lacked composure and only scored four goals, so I hope that we will go out and buy a proven goal scorer at this level. It was disappointing that we didn’t sign Billy Waters despite being heavily linked with him and I don’t think that there are too many proven goalscorers available for us to buy. We need somebody who will take the pressure off Christian Doidge as we relied upon him too much last season. I would expect us still to sign a winger and a striker before the start of the season, as these were the two positions that Kaiyne operated for us.

There is an argument thrown at Forest Green  that clubs that rely on their owners for investment don’t deserve success. Is this a narrow-minded viewpoint?

Fans of other clubs just seem to be extremely jealous of us. I personally don’t care about opposition fans views towards us. Other clubs like Eastleigh and AFC Fylde have huge budgets but face very little criticism in comparison to us, which has always been a mystery to me. Other fans are clearly just envious of our success and bright future.

What are your thoughts ahead of the League Two season as a whole? Any potential dark horses for you?

Obviously I’m looking forward to it as it’s going to be a completely new experience for us. But we’re not here to make up the numbers and I’m sure we’ll surprise a few teams. It’s a very difficult league to call this year after Portsmouth and Plymouth both gained promotion last term, but I fancy Mansfield to go up after making several impressive signings and I also think that Lincoln and Chesterfield will be up there too.

I think Stevenage could be a dark horse. They had a great season last term and were unlucky to miss out on the play-offs but nobody seems to fancy them to be up there this season. They’ve kept Matt Godden and have also added Blair Turgott from Bromley, a player who I wanted at FGR.

The senior figures at the club have talked up the possibility of another promotion. Where will you finish?

13th. It’s hardly surprising that there is talk of another promotion given Dale’s ambition, but I’d happily take a mid-table finish. Last season, we were very poor against the top teams and that will have to change this season if we are going to challenge for a successive promotion. I don’t think there’s any danger of us going straight back down, despite many people predicting us to be in a relegation battle. Many people at the club feel another promotion is realistic but I wouldn’t be disappointed if it didn’t happen.

The Football Lab’s Verdict

Forest Green should play a bold brand of possession football as Doidge should fire while Brown has the talent to light up the division. Pinnock and Woolery won’t be easy to replace though, so a top half finish would represent a positive introduction to the Football League. 12th