Football Season Guide

Forest Green will be aiming to finally make the decisive step and try to reach the promised land of the Football League. The Gloucester side have been one of the most well-backed financially in recent seasons and can rival any side in the division for quality of their squad. But they have just been unable to turn that squad strength into enough good results over the course of a season to secure promotion. They went the closest in the last season as Adrian Pennock’s side made it to the play-offs for a first time, having finished fifth in the table. They found Bristol Rovers too hot to handle in the semi-final, however, and an emphatic 4:0 aggregate loss ended their hopes of promotion. It was still classed as a successful season for the club and the progress made should prove useful for the upcoming season. There is more of a winning mentality in the camp now and the manager will be confident that his side will be stronger and more prepared for a title assault this year. The competition at the top end of the table does not seem that fierce ahead of the new season and Rovers certainly should feature in every conversation about the title contenders. The club acted quickly in acquiring the targets that they had over the summer, with signings made by the start of pre-season to allow the manager to work with them, Darren Jones and Aaron O’Connor arrived from neighbours Newport County and will definitely add a bit more experience and quality to the squad. Keanu Marsh-Brown is a potentially superb signing as the winger is one of the best in his position in this league when on form and fit. But he struggled badly at Barnet last season and was in need of a fresh challenge that Forest Green offer. Sam Russell and James Norwood lost their places in the first team towards the end of the last season and have been released over the summer. They were both key players prior to that and certainly leave a gap in the squad. But the manager will be confident that the replacements will be more than adequate and Rovers will be a stronger team as a result. It will be interesting whether the veteran Jon Parkin can sustain the form from last season when he was at times unplayable on his way to amassing a tally of 25 goals. If he struggles to replicate that form, the team could be in trouble as there are not too many alternatives to the striker in the squad. Still, there are very few weaknesses in the squad and Pennock will be expected to finally deliver promotion.