Forest Green Rovers F.C.
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| Forest Green Rovers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Forest Green Rovers Football Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nickname(s) | Rovers The Green FGR The Little Club On The Hill |
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| Founded | 1890 (as Nailsworth & Forest Green) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | The New Lawn Nailsworth, Stroud Valley (Capacity 5,147) |
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| Chairman |  Colin Gardner |
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| Manager |  Jim Harvey |
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| League | Conference National | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007–08 | Conference National, 8th | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Forest Green Rovers F.C. is an English football team based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire. They play in the Conference National.
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[edit] History
The club was founded in 1890 as Nailsworth & Forest Green and joined the Stroud & District League where they remained for the first 32 years of their existence. They were founder members of the Gloucestershire Northern Senior League in 1922 which they were to win three times in 1935, 1950 and 1951.
In 1968 they were founder members of the Gloucestershire County League where they remained for seven seasons with an average finishing position of 6th. They joined the Hellenic League in 1975. The 1981–82 season saw the club win the Hellenic League championship and the FA Vase under manager Bob Mersell. They moved upwards into the Southern League where they finished third in their maiden season in the Midland Division. However in subsequent seasons they failed to make much impact, and in 1989 the club changed its name to Stroud F.C.. This highly opposed move failed to improve the club's fortune and the name was changed back to Forest Green Rovers for the 1992–93 season.
Under manager Frank Gregan the club enjoyed two successive promotions in 1997 and 1998 to the Conference National where they finished 12th in their first season. A run to the final of the FA Trophy saw them lose 1–0 at Wembley Stadium to Kingstonian. They went on to appear in the FA Cup First Round for the first time, defeating Guiseley 6–0 to set up a home tie with Torquay United, which they lost 3–0.
Another appearance in the FA Trophy final in 2000 saw another 1–0 defeat, this time to Canvey Island at Villa Park.
[edit] Colours and crest
The club badge is very similar to the FC Barcelona badge. The flag of Saint George appears on both badges, showing his links to England as well as Catalunya.
[edit] Stadium
The Lawn Ground had been home to the club since it was founded in 1890, and remained little more than a field until the club's continued progress demanded a series of upgrades from the 1950s. This included terraces, famously partial leveling of the pitch, the Trevor Horsley Stand and new Barnfield Terrace sponsored by Rockwool, the latter two being moved to the new facility in 2006.
At the start of the 2006–07 season, Forest Green opened The New Lawn. The northern covered terrace is known as the Rockwool Stand because of its sponsor. This was the liveliest part of the ground.[citation needed] The supporters have begun to call themselves the "Rockwool Army" after the stand.[citation needed] The western covered seated stand contains the 7 boxes and 'Green Man' bar. The eastern open terrace was allocated for away fans and the southern covered terrace (Trevor Horsley Stand) remains uncompleted. The western stand also contains the 5 Valleys Leisure Centre. Although the stadium can hold 5147 fans, the highest attendance was 3021 against Oxford. The usual attendance is 700 - 1000 for conference fixtures and around 500 - 1000 for cup fixtures.
[edit] Rivals
[edit] First team squad
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[edit] Coaching staff
- Jim Harvey
- Jamie Pitman (player/assistant manager)
- Jack Russell (goalkeeper coach)
- Keith Marfell (physio)
[edit] Managers
- 2006– - Jim Harvey
- 2005–2006 - Gary Owers
- 2004–2005 - Alan Lewer
- 2003–2004 - Tim Harris
- 2002–2003 - Colin Addison
- 2001–2002 - Nigel Spink
- 2000–2001 - Nigel Spink & Dave Norton
- 1994–2000 - Frank Gregan
- 1992–1994 - Pat Casey
- 198?–19?? - John Evans
- 1980–198? - Bob Mursell
- 1968–1979 - Peter Goring
[edit] Records and statistics
- Best league position: 8th in Conference (level 5), 2007–08
- Best FA Cup performance: 2nd round, 1999–00
- Best FA Trophy performance: finalists, 1998–99 and 2000–01
- Best FA Vase performance: winners, 1981–82
- Best Football League Trophy performance: 1st round, 2003–04
- Best Lifestyle Plus Shield: winners 2006
[edit] Honours
- FA Vase winners 1982
- Southern League Premier Division champions 1998
- Southern League Southern Division champions 1997
- Hellenic League champions 1982
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Official Site
- Audio interviews, news, match reports
- Forest Green Rovers at the Football Club History Database
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