Football Season Review

It was a season of two halves for Forest Green Rovers as they secured their status in their first ever Football League campaign. The Green Devils are very much built in the image of owner Dale Vince and manager Mark Cooper, neither of whom can be described as conventional. Having finally secured promotion, Vince confidently declared that reaching League One will be easy. As the saying goes “pride comes before a fall” and the team made a desperate start to life at a higher level. They looked totally ill-equipped to deal with it and were rooted to the bottom of the League Two table following a New Years Day defeat at home to Wycombe Wanderers. Cooper has already allowed last season’s player of the year Liam Noble to leave to re-join Notts County in October, despite having rejected a series of bids during the summer. If that decision was a little bemusing, he then spent the January transfer window replacing more than half of his squad. The transfer fee received for teenage midfielder Jordan Stevens from Leeds United helped to fund the revolution of the squad and it paid dividends. Having won just five of their opening 23 league matches, they went on to win five of their next nine games to climb out of the relegation places and although they were unable to sustain that form, they managed to keep their heads above water to finish in 21st place in the League Two table. Striker Christian Doidge was their stand-out performer, finishing the season as leading goalscorer with 27 goals. It is a remarkable achievement in remarkable circumstances. Cooper’s unorthodox managerial style remains unpopular with supporters but is already planning for the summer. Vince meanwhile continues with his plan to move from Nailsworth to a new eco-stadium on Junction 13 of the M5.

Player of the Season: Christian Doidge