Why Forest Green Rovers Will Avoid Relegation – Opinion

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.

It’s been a turbulent couple of years for the Gloucestershire club. Having won League Two in the 2021/22 season, they found life in League One difficult and were immediately relegated back to the fourth tier.

This season was about stabilising, regrouping for another push at promotion in the coming years. However, they soon found themselves in a fight to retain their league status.

Dave Horseman was the man tasked with leading the team, appointed during the summer to replace Duncan Ferguson. Poor early season form saw the Green Devils drop into the lower reaches of the table and by October, a run of six successive defeats left them bottom of the table.

Rovers showed glimpses of what they were capable of in the weeks that followed, most notably in a 5-0 demolition of Colchester United, but they ultimately proved to be flashes in the pan. By December, Horseman was out of a job.

The Troy Deeney Era

What happened next took everybody by surprise. Former Premier League striker Troy Deeney, who had arrived at the club as a free agent in August, was handed his first managerial role.

A valuable point in his first game offered hope that their fortunes could be about to change, but it went rapidly downhill from there. A scathing assessment of Fankaty Dabo’s performance in the 2-0 defeat against Harrogate Town in January was the writing on the wall. Five days later, the former Watford and Birmingham City man was gone.

The 35-year-old was in charge for just 29 days and failed to register a win. The Greens looked doomed.

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.

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Not only has he guided the club off the foot of the table, but last night’s 2-0 win over Bradford City at Valley Parade has seen Forest Green move out of the bottom two for the first time since October. They host relegation rivals Sutton United on Saturday, a game in which they will be considered favourites following a run of one defeat from their last five outings.

Of course, there was a degree of fortune to last night’s elevation. Colchester saw their clash with Doncaster Rovers postponed yesterday morning. It is the U’s who have now dropped into the bottom two, although Danny Cowley’s team possess two games in hand. However, it’s points that count and Cotterill would rather have them on the board over the extra fixtures.

Will Forest Green Survive?

With Cotterill at the helm, you’d have to say yes. He is a man with vast experience in the game and is known for his ability to get the best out of his squad. He is already succeeding where his predecessors failed, getting a tune out of his previously underperforming squad.

With four promotions on his CV, including two with his hometown club Cheltenham Town, he has that winning mentality which will filter down into his players. That stands Rovers in good stead, especially because they do have to play several teams still fighting it out for promotion.

It’s important that they pick up some points in their next two fixtures against Sutton and Doncaster Rovers. Following that, it doesn’t get much tougher, when they play the entirety of the top five in succession. These are the games where the team will really have to show what they’re made of.

Fortunately for the players, there is no better man to lead them into that run, but the focus must be solely on this weekend’s six-pointer for now. It’s a term used far too often in football, but Forest Green really do have nine cup finals to contest between now and the end of April.

Other teams will drop points, although you have to feel that it’s between them and Colchester for the drop (Sutton look doomed). Grimsby Town‘s recent upturn in fortunes has seen them open up a gap, whilst Salford City could get pulled into the mix if they fail to halt their alarming recent form.

One thing is for certain, Cotterill will fight tooth and nail to keep Forest Green in the Football League, and it’s going to be entertaining for the neutrals to watch it unfold.

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