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Forest Green Rovers v Barnet

Saturday 24 November 3.00pm

Forest Green so far have had a steady season. Their lowest position being 14th, they are now in 9th place with 28 points, only 4 behind Barnet.

They've had some high scoring games along the way, 4-1 away to Hayes, a couple of 3-1's (Morecambe at home and Fisher away in the FA Cup.) They got a 1-5 pounding up at Doncaster and lost 2-4 at home to Dagenham, with Boston putting 3 past them with no reply at the Lawn. They drew 3-3 at home to Margate and their last league match ended 3-2 away to Chester City. Recently they've drawn 0-0, Stevenage at home and Telford away.

If their defence could tighten up a bit, they could have a respectable finish in the league and with Barnet's forwards scoring goals by the hat-full at the moment, it should be quite an exciting encounter on Saturday.

(Last match shown is last match played)

Last Six Matches (League)
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Last Six Home Matches (League)
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Last Six Away Matches (League)
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History

The following history (including some players to watch, at the end) has been supplied by my brother and his son, who live a couple of miles from Forest Green's ground.

In 1890 Forest Green were founded by Rev Perch a local clergyman. The club originally played on a small sloping field by what was called the Foresters Inn.

Now formed as Forest Green they entered the Stroud&District Football league finishing their first season claiming second place in 1903. 1920, Forest Green came level on points in the Stroud League only to lose out in a play-off for promotion.

In 1922 The Gloucestershire Northern Senior league was formed in which Rovers were invited to play and finished a highly respectable fourth.

Forest Green won their first 'major' honour in the 1927/28 Season beating Sharpness 4-3 in the final of the Northern Senior League Cup. Rovers moved 200 yards up the hill in 1931 to the lawn (now their present stadium) building a small tin shed as their first proper changing rooms. They eventually won the Northern Senior league in 1938 with an undefeated record.

In 1950 purpose built changing rooms were constructed complete with showers for both teams and by 1961 The Lawn had developed into a proper stadium. But, despite these facilities the club struggled to live up to the new surroundings on the pitch.

Eight years later the Gloucestershire County League was established, bringing together select clubs from the Northern Senior League and the Bristol area. However, Rovers only managed to qualify because of their new ground. In 1975 the Hellenic league was formed and once again Forest's superior facilities enabled them to join, finishing the first season in a creditable fourth spot.

Within six years Forest Green were accepted into The Southern League after capturing the Hellenic League title and the FA Vase in the same season. The club continued to prosper until 1983 when they slipped into a mid table trough and in 1989 changed the name to Stroud Football Club in an attempt to 'kick start' the club's ambitions.

This experiment left the club with a legacy of debt as gates dipped below 50 for some home games. In 1992 the Forest Green name was re-adopted under new directors led by Chairman Trevor Horsley, surviving relegation from the Southern League by one place. The following year an unknown manager, Frank Gregan was appointed but with little immediate effect. A re-organisation of the Dr Martens (Southern) League the following season moved Forest Green into a different pool of clubs, which co-coincided with the construction of a new purpose built main stand complex, completed in 1996.

In May 1997 Forest Green became Southern Division Champions thanks to Gregans emphasis on a direct attacking style supported by strong defence. The following season saw them promoted to the Football Conference with dramatic home wins against Merthyr and Bath City 3-1 and 2-0 respectively.

Their first season in the Conference initially proved to be a struggle from which they emerged with great credit to finish 12th. This season also saw the bonus of an FA Trophy Final place at Wembley. The writer and a handful of Barnet fans watched their lamentable display against Kingstonian, never dreaming that we would ever become league opponents!

The 98/99 season almost saw Rovers relegated as a last gasp win over Kettering saw other results go in their favour. By November 2000 Trevor Horsley felt that he had no option but to replace Gregan who had never managed to fully adapt to the more sophisticated tactics required of conference teams whose pitches boast the occasional blade of grass! Ex Villa Keeper Nigel Spink and initially David Norton became joint managers, leading the team out of the relegation zone and into another Trophy Final, this time at Villa Park. Again your correspondent made the journey only to witness another disappointing display, this time against Ryman League side Canvey Island.

This season has seen the team continue to build for the future and sole manager Nigel Spink has been rewarded has been rewarded with a fine run of results. Undefeated since a 1-5 disaster at Doncaster on 5th October, the Barnet Fixture will be their first league match since beating Chester City away 3-2 on 10th November.

Players to watch:

Goalkeeper Steve Perrin has firmly established himself as the Forest favourite with a string of spectacular saves from an improbable physique.

Former Villa star Tony Daley is only an occasional starter these days but still capable of turning a game. He is also the team's fitness coach, which is a little ironic as few betting men would back him to last the 90 minutes!

Ex Bristol City striker Alex Meechan seems to have hit form at just the right (?) time and his ability in the air needs to be countered.

Forest's midfield has improved dramatically this season and no one represents this more than the hard tackling Martin Foster.

Finally, don't blink if GB Universities wingback Simon Travis gets down the flank, there can't be anyone quicker outside the Premiership.

Below is Barnet and Forest Green's league details based on their Home and Away performances.

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