Clubs Rivals

[Greenacres]

I don't know who FGR's rivals are - you can pretend there's something with Cheltenham if you like, but if we ever play Gloucester City in a meaningful game again, then FGR games wouldn't even be on the radar.

It's no different to before FGR got into the Football League and we used to concoct fake rivalries with Bristol Rovers and Swindon, or even bloody Rushden and Diamonds. They cared about us because we were local (Rushden wasn't even that), but their hate was for someone else really.

I'm prepared to shake your hand, agree with you, and step away from this rivalry thread...regardless of any opposing view or someone labelling me a traitor. I can't be bothered to dig up the records but there have been decades where we weren't even in the same league...maybe five or six seasons in the last twenty or so...that isn't really what you need to form or maintain a rivalry.

 

[gainsparkshrew]

We have no rivals in L1, TBF because of our geographic position we've always struggled to have any real rivalry.

History books suggest Walsall but the only link is that we had our highest attendance at The Gay Meadow against Walsall in the early 1950s.I think Walsall were going for promotion and it was a game at the end of the season

There's no link between an industrial,urban, town in the West Midlands and a rural county town 50 miles away in Shropshire .

Certainly can't claim rivalry with Crewe or Vale, they just hate each other, and Wolves are out of our league

 

[valefan16]

We have no rivals in L1, TBF because of our geographic position we've always struggled to have any real rivalry.

History books suggest Walsall but the only link is that we had our highest attendance at The Gay Meadow against Walsall in the early 1950s.I think Walsall were going for promotion and it was a game at the end of the season

There's no link between an industrial,urban, town in the West Midlands and a rural county town 50 miles away in Shropshire .

Certainly can't claim rivalry with Crewe or Vale, they just hate each other, and Wolves are out of our league

We don't hate Crewe as a rule. Not even a fraction of the level we do Stoke.

 

[Ninety Per Cent]

This is a proper rivalry by the way… when your Rivals tweet about you more than their own club

 

[gainsparkshrew]

Must only be my Alex supporting son in law then. He wasn't that bothered when Crewe got relegated but was furious when Vale won the play off final

 

[Chris FGR]

I'm quite happy for Cheltenham to win when we aren't playing them tbh. Good to see any Glos football club do well. Same goes for Shortwood. The clubs we've had real grudges with in the past are not local, Altrincham & Worksop, the latter being one of the few times I've seen anything resembling a proper tear up inside a ground involving a few of our fans.

 

[LeonTheGreen]

Good idea and good study but I gave up, the questionnaire is way to long

 

[FGR-Star]

I don't know who FGR's rivals are - you can pretend there's something with Cheltenham if you like, but if we ever play Gloucester City in a meaningful game again, then FGR games wouldn't even be on the radar.

It's no different to before FGR got into the Football League and we used to concoct fake rivalries with Bristol Rovers and Swindon, or even bloody Rushden and Diamonds. They cared about us because we were local (Rushden wasn't even that), but their hate was for someone else really.

I am really not convinced Gloucester vs Cheltenham would be a proper derby! You haven’t played them for years. They are also far smaller than both our clubs. Much larger catchment area than FGR in theory, but Gloucester just does not have the passion for football as a place.

 

[FGR-Star]

I'm quite happy for Cheltenham to win when we aren't playing them tbh. Good to see any Glos football club do well. Same goes for Shortwood. The clubs we've had real grudges with in the past are not local, Altrincham & Worksop, the latter being one of the few times I've seen anything resembling a proper tear up inside a ground involving a few of our fans.

Add Tranmere to that list too.

 

[Chris FGR]

Add Tranmere to that list too.

Their fans love Vince.

 

[Si Robin]

I am really not convinced Gloucester vs Cheltenham would be a proper derby! You haven’t played them for years. They are also far smaller than both our clubs. Much larger catchment area than FGR in theory, but Gloucester just does not have the passion for football as a place.

We've had this discussion before - you do Gloucester a hell of a disservice. On more than one occasion last season they had bigger attendances than Forest Green, and that's with FGR having their best ever season and Gloucester fighting relegation.

Their crowds have dropped significantly this season, but they have the potential to dwarf FGR, and I daresay get bigger attendances than Cheltenham.

 

[Chris FGR]

Also there is the historic rivalry between the two places, nothing of the sort exists with Nailsworth obviously.

 

[Si Robin]

I'm prepared to shake your hand, agree with you, and step away from this rivalry thread...regardless of any opposing view or someone labelling me a traitor. I can't be bothered to dig up the records but there have been decades where we weren't even in the same league...maybe five or six seasons in the last twenty or so...that isn't really what you need to form or maintain a rivalry.

16 years between games (1999-2015) then there's been two seasons since then that we haven't played.

As I've said many times - I'm not a fan of how the club was financially doped, and I'm concerned about what happens to FGR when Vince goes - but I don't dislike FGR per se. How can I hate a club that I used to go and watch, and actually own a shirt of.

 

[Greenacres]

I am really not convinced Gloucester vs Cheltenham would be a proper derby! You haven’t played them for years. They are also far smaller than both our clubs. Much larger catchment area than FGR in theory, but Gloucester just does not have the passion for football as a place.

The rivalry between Cheltenham and Gloucester goes far deeper than just football...that is just a convenient way for it to manifest itself.

 

[YEO YEO YEO]

The Forest Green Cheltenham rivalry gathering momentum again!!! Whens the first derby game of season?

 

[Chris FGR]

The Forest Green Cheltenham rivalry gathering momentum again!!! Whens the first derby game of season?

10th December. Just 68 more sleeps to go!

 

[Bartonyellow]

We used to have a good ding dong when we was non league with Tamworth.
They used to be a well supported conference club back then ( step 4 now ) and used to come in big numbers to our place.
Nothing now - they have fell so far down the pyramid and the place is a Birmingham overspill so it’s all blues and villa.
That leaves no one geographical to us apart from derby who apart from our championship stint is not a rivalry really, although it might be a bit more this season hopefully if nothing else to give us something to get fired up for two games.
It is strange having no rival - good in one way as you don’t have all the needle that goes with it, but I do miss a good old ding dong derby.
Walsall, vale, notts county, chesterfield and Mansfield are too far away to mean anything to us.

 

[FGR-Star]

We've had this discussion before - you do Gloucester a hell of a disservice. On more than one occasion last season they had bigger attendances than Forest Green, and that's with FGR having their best ever season and Gloucester fighting relegation.

Their crowds have dropped significantly this season, but they have the potential to dwarf FGR, and I daresay get bigger attendances than Cheltenham.

You do FGR a disservice, actually with your patronising rhetoric.
We do very well for crowds considering our small catchment area.

FGR are proportionately much better supported than Gloucester and Cheltenham.

Woopy do, Gloucester got one attendance in-line with FGR in their first home game back in their new home after years away!

The attendances at Gloucester have been really low for years, especially given that Gloucester is a city of over 145,000.

It’s funny for somebody who states that Gloucester is such a huge derby, you seem to speak very highly of them!

I think you dislike FGR more than you let on...

 

[FGR-Star]

The rivalry between Cheltenham and Gloucester goes far deeper than just football...that is just a convenient way for it to manifest itself.

I actually agree, as places there is a definite rivalry, just not with the football clubs particularly, it’s more a cultural thing.

 

[Si Robin]

You do FGR a disservice, actually with your patronising rhetoric.
We do very well for crowds considering our small catchment area.

FGR are proportionately much better supported than Gloucester and Cheltenham.

Woopy do, Gloucester got one attendance in-line with FGR in their first home game back in their new home after years away!

The attendances at Gloucester have been really low for years, especially given that Gloucester is a city of over 145,000.

It’s funny for somebody who states that Gloucester is such a huge derby, you seem to speak very highly of them!

I think you dislike FGR more than you let on...

You can have a rivalry with a team and still respect them. It's not always black and white. This was a club that spent 13 years having to play away from their home city. That's why they've had low attendances. That they still have a club is nothing short of miraculous. Other clubs have given up following much less hardship. When they were last in the same division as Cheltenham their attendances were higher - in the derby games they got the higher attendances. These games were a couple of the only ones that got 4 figure attendances that season in the Southern League Premier.

They have practically lost a whole generation of fans because of it, yet despite Forest Green having their best season ever, they managed on more than one occasion (not just their first game) to have more fans in their new ground. You can still dislike a team and be impressed by how they've done.

You say that you agree with the areas having a rivalry, but this doesn't equate to the football teams - I'm telling you now, you could not be more wrong if you tried. The reason they lost a lot of fans was because they had to play games at Whaddon Road. A large number simply refused to fill our coffers.

You can call me patronising all you like, but FGR's attendances should be a concern. They show how much Dale Vince has held the club up. That you can't get 2,000 home fans regularly in the 3rd tier means that when he goes - and he's going to go sometime, he's not immortal - the club will have to sustain itself without his backing. The catchment area is a red herring - it's common knowledge that Vince has been touting the club in Gloucester and surrounding areas.

The one club that comes to mind is Rushden and Diamonds. They were a club backed up to the 3rd tier and once Max Griggs went they became unsustainable and are now AFC Rushden and Diamonds in the Southern League Midland Division. I don't want to see FGR, a club with much more history than Rushden and Diamonds ever had, end up like that.

 

[Stroud]

Some interesting posts regarding FGR & Cheltenham local club rivalry. There is undoubtedly local rivalry between both teams: they are only 20 miles apart and are nearest league club to each other and are within same county. Both sets of fans probably want to win against other team above all others.

Having said that recent rivalry only started when Cheltenham were relegated to Conference in 2015. Until then their paths had not crossed since the 1930’s when Cheltenham turned professional and joined the Birmingham Combination. Prior to that both clubs were regular opponents in various Gloucestershire leagues.

Cheltenham looked on FGR as just another local football club until multi-millionaire Dale Vince bought the club, cleared its debts and invested heavily on the playing staff.

The season after Cheltenham was relegated in 2015 both Gloucestershire teams were constant Conference table toppers. FGR won first nine games of season and were being hailed as Champions-elect until Cheltenham went on a stupendous run to win title with 101 points, finishing 12 points clear of second-placed FGR.

In fact Cheltenham boast that since the 1930s they have always finished above FGR. Truthfully the only record that FGR can better Cheltenham is that they secured more League 2 title winning points last season that Cheltenham have ever done.

There are few games worldwide that are known by their nickname: - FGR v Cheltenham is ‘ElGlosico’. Some claim that the nickname originate when Cheltenham had regular matches against Gloucester City in Southern League during the 1990s!!

A survey conducted in August 2019 revealed that Cheltenham fans consider fellow West Country sides Bristol City, Bristol Rovers, Oxford United and Swindon Town as rivals (FGR not included). But the only club Cheltenham fans sing against is FGR!!

As for the future it looks as if Cheltenham are inching away from relegation while FGR are heading back to Non-League. Dale Vince’s electricity company is up for sale. The energy crisis possibly lessening its profits and preventing him from fully investing in FGR. Plus also he has split from his partner and she might sue him for half his money.

 

[Si Robin]

Some interesting posts regarding FGR & Cheltenham local club rivalry. There is undoubtedly local rivalry between both teams: they are only 20 miles apart and are nearest league club to each other and are within same county. Both sets of fans probably want to win against other team above all others.

Having said that recent rivalry only started when Cheltenham were relegated to Conference in 2015. Until then their paths had not crossed since the 1930’s when Cheltenham turned professional and joined the Birmingham Combination. Prior to that both clubs were regular opponents in various Gloucestershire leagues.

Cheltenham looked on FGR as just another local football club until multi-millionaire Dale Vince bought the club, cleared its debts and invested heavily on the playing staff.

The season after Cheltenham was relegated in 2015 both Gloucestershire teams were constant Conference table toppers. FGR won first nine games of season and were being hailed as Champions-elect until Cheltenham went on a stupendous run to win title with 101 points, finishing 12 points clear of second-placed FGR.

In fact Cheltenham boast that since the 1930s they have always finished above FGR. Truthfully the only record that FGR can better Cheltenham is that they secured more League 2 title winning points last season that Cheltenham have ever done.

There are few games worldwide that are known by their nickname: - FGR v Cheltenham is ‘ElGlosico’. Some claim that the nickname originate when Cheltenham had regular matches against Gloucester City in Southern League during the 1990s!!

A survey conducted in August 2019 revealed that Cheltenham fans consider fellow West Country sides Bristol City, Bristol Rovers, Oxford United and Swindon Town as rivals (FGR not included). But the only club Cheltenham fans sing against is FGR!!

As for the future it looks as if Cheltenham are inching away from relegation while FGR are heading back to Non-League. Dale Vince’s electricity company is up for sale. The energy crisis possibly lessening its profits and preventing him from fully investing in FGR. Plus also he has split from his partner and she might sue him for half his money.

Regarding the highlighted points - the first you're wrong. The clubs played against each other in the 98/99 season. Cheltenham won 2-1 at The Lawn, and the teams drew 1-1 at Whaddon Road.

The second highlight - no-one, literally no-one has ever referred to the Cheltenham-Gloucester game as El Glosico. The term, as embarrassing as it is, came to light when FGR and Gloucester played each other in an FA Cup 4th Qualifying round in 2014. It was then coined again the following year when we played FGR for the first time in 16 years.

The last point - I still hear Gloucester City songs now, and we haven't played them for 25 years, so I don't know where you made that up from.

Your last paragraph seems somewhat defeatist - it's still far too early to tell how the season will pan out. I'm certainly not confident of us staying up at the moment.

 

[Stroud]

You can have a rivalry with a team and still respect them. It's not always black and white. This was a club that spent 13 years having to play away from their home city. That's why they've had low attendances. That they still have a club is nothing short of miraculous. Other clubs have given up following much less hardship. When they were last in the same division as Cheltenham their attendances were higher - in the derby games they got the higher attendances. These games were a couple of the only ones that got 4 figure attendances that season in the Southern League Premier.

They have practically lost a whole generation of fans because of it, yet despite Forest Green having their best season ever, they managed on more than one occasion (not just their first game) to have more fans in their new ground. You can still dislike a team and be impressed by how they've done.

You say that you agree with the areas having a rivalry, but this doesn't equate to the football teams - I'm telling you now, you could not be more wrong if you tried. The reason they lost a lot of fans was because they had to play games at Whaddon Road. A large number simply refused to fill our coffers.

You can call me patronising all you like, but FGR's attendances should be a concern. They show how much Dale Vince has held the club up. That you can't get 2,000 home fans regularly in the 3rd tier means that when he goes - and he's going to go sometime, he's not immortal - the club will have to sustain itself without his backing. The catchment area is a red herring - it's common knowledge that Vince has been touting the club in Gloucester and surrounding areas.

The one club that comes to mind is Rushden and Diamonds. They were a club backed up to the 3rd tier and once Max Griggs went they became unsustainable and are now AFC Rushden and Diamonds in the Southern League Midland Division. I don't want to see FGR, a club with much more history than Rushden and Diamonds ever had, end up like that.

[#] I have total respect for Gloucester City in retaining their support during those 13 years in the wilderness. I can remember when City v Town attracted tons of publicity and crowds and the two teams were not far apart in the league.

[#] Yes attendance at TNL is pitiful, bloody awful. Whether it improves if/when FGR move to Eco Park remains to be seen. However adding FGR & Cheltenham’s attendance would still be less than some other clubs in our division AND less than Gloucester Rugby.
Reasons could be: - TNL is in the middle of nowhere while the residents of Cheltenham are more rugby supporting than association football.

[#] Cheltenham always bring up example of Rushden & Diamonds going bust. But a more recent example is Bury FC which is just as worrying. For years Cheltenham were walking the financial tightrope with fears of auto-relegation. BUT they had good fortune of a home draw against Man City in FA Cup that cleared all their debts and put them in good financial credit. Just one game from ‘in the red’ to ‘black’. It might not happen next time.

 

[Stroud]

The last point - I still hear Gloucester City songs now, and we haven't played them for 25 years, so I don't know where you made that up from.

I've been to Whaddon Road on a few occasions when 'Fuck, Forest Green Rovers' is always sung.
Agreed there were moans about Gloucester City when they shared Whaddon Road which apparently the playing surface could not cope with.
Since they moved out, I've not heard any songs about them.

 

[Stroud]

Regarding the highlighted points - the first you're wrong. The clubs played against each other in the 98/99 season. Cheltenham won 2-1 at The Lawn, and the teams drew 1-1 at Whaddon Road.

You gotta laugh, no Cheltenham fan has seen his team beat FGR this century.
Agreed Cheltenham did beat FGR 2-1 in October 2020 but that was behind closed doors [COVID].
But the way FGR are playing this season your team could do the double over them, something FGR have never managed against Cheltenham.

 

[FGR-Star]

16 years between games (1999-2015) then there's been two seasons since then that we haven't played.

As I've said many times - I'm not a fan of how the club was financially doped, and I'm concerned about what happens to FGR when Vince goes - but I don't dislike FGR per se. How can I hate a club that I used to go and watch, and actuall

You can have a rivalry with a team and still respect them. It's not always black and white. This was a club that spent 13 years having to play away from their home city. That's why they've had low attendances. That they still have a club is nothing short of miraculous. Other clubs have given up following much less hardship. When they were last in the same division as Cheltenham their attendances were higher - in the derby games they got the higher attendances. These games were a couple of the only ones that got 4 figure attendances that season in the Southern League Premier.

They have practically lost a whole generation of fans because of it, yet despite Forest Green having their best season ever, they managed on more than one occasion (not just their first game) to have more fans in their new ground. You can still dislike a team and be impressed by how they've done.

You say that you agree with the areas having a rivalry, but this doesn't equate to the football teams - I'm telling you now, you could not be more wrong if you tried. The reason they lost a lot of fans was because they had to play games at Whaddon Road. A large number simply refused to fill our coffers.

You can call me patronising all you like, but FGR's attendances should be a concern. They show how much Dale Vince has held the club up. That you can't get 2,000 home fans regularly in the 3rd tier means that when he goes - and he's going to go sometime, he's not immortal - the club will have to sustain itself without his backing. The catchment area is a red herring - it's common knowledge that Vince has been touting the club in Gloucester and surrounding areas.

The one club that comes to mind is Rushden and Diamonds. They were a club backed up to the 3rd tier and once Max Griggs went they became unsustainable and are now AFC Rushden and Diamonds in the Southern League Midland Division. I don't want to see FGR, a club with much more history than Rushden and Diamonds ever had, end up like that.

Haha, utter drivel.

Your long-winded rant shows you dislike FGR with a passion!

The catchment area is not a red herring at all, it’s far smaller than both you and Gloucester fact!

What rubbish that we get loads of fans from Gloucester! Any floating fans from there will go to Cheltenham it’s much closer! What does touting mean, I have not seen any touting going on around Gloucester for FGR, would be utterly pointless,.

You don’t say one good thing about FGR, yet reel off a host of non-existent make believe points about your beloved Gloucester!

They are back in Gloucester now and their crowds are extremely low, far lower than their Chairman budgeted for! Is that not a concern for Gloucester! Barely scraping 600 home fans using your own logic.

To be honest FGR are a very small club at this level crowds wise, so are Cheltenham by the way.

I would be happy to be in League 2 where there are far more clubs of equivalent size.

League 1 is probably a League too high for us at present.

For you to say that Gloucester would dwarf our attendances has no basis on fact at all.

I think you want FGR to be this tiny club as before so you can patronisingly watch a few games and not feel threatened.

 

[The Jovial Forester]

Always think we do little enough to promote ourselves in Stroud bar the excellent schools stuff, so would be amazed if there's much serious fan outreach going on in Gloucester.

 

[Si Robin]

Haha, utter drivel.

Your long-winded rant shows you dislike FGR with a passion!

The catchment area is not a red herring at all, it’s far smaller than both you and Gloucester fact!

What rubbish that we get loads of fans from Gloucester! Any floating fans from there will go to Cheltenham it’s much closer! What does touting mean, I have not seen any touting going on around Gloucester for FGR, would be utterly pointless,.

You don’t say one good thing about FGR, yet reel off a host of non-existent make believe points about your beloved Gloucester!

They are back in Gloucester now and their crowds are extremely low, far lower than their Chairman budgeted for! Is that not a concern for Gloucester! Barely scraping 600 home fans using your own logic.

To be honest FGR are a very small club at this level crowds wise, so are Cheltenham by the way.

I would be happy to be in League 2 where there are far more clubs of equivalent size.

League 1 is probably a League too high for us at present.

For you to say that Gloucester would dwarf our attendances has no basis on fact at all.

I think you want FGR to be this tiny club as before so you can patronisingly watch a few games and not feel threatened.

What the fuck are you actually dribbling on about?

I don't dislike Forest Green, how in God's name did you get that from anything I've said. The only negative thing I've said about them is that I'm concerned about their sustainability when the well dries up. And that's more out of concern than dislike.

I've not once commented on Cheltenham's attendances, and have always claimed we're a small club. In fact, I've often claimed we're a small club in League 2 - I remember where we came from and where we were when I started going.

I think you're very naive to suggest that Gloucester City won't get decent attendances if they have success - they're crowds are low now because they're struggling, again. A successful Gloucester football team has the potential (that's the key word) to be well supported, as evidenced by a few of their crowd numbers last season. And if they are successful, then I think they have the potential (that word again) to dwarf Forest Green's attendances. The thing with Gloucester though is that they are so very rarely successful.

Now that last paragraph is not me having a love-in for Gloucester, it's just looking at things with a realistic eye.

 

[Si Robin]

You gotta laugh, no Cheltenham fan has seen his team beat FGR this century.
Agreed Cheltenham did beat FGR 2-1 in October 2020 but that was behind closed doors [COVID].
But the way FGR are playing this season your team could do the double over them, something FGR have never managed against Cheltenham.

I definitely watched that game - I may not have been there, but I definitely saw it live.

Regardless - our record at FGR is ok, we usually draw there. Our record at Whaddon Road against FGR is shocking though, and it's usually our own fault.

 

[FGR-Star]

What the fuck are you actually dribbling on about?

I don't dislike Forest Green, how in God's name did you get that from anything I've said. The only negative thing I've said about them is that I'm concerned about their sustainability when the well dries up. And that's more out of concern than dislike.

I've not once commented on Cheltenham's attendances, and have always claimed we're a small club. In fact, I've often claimed we're a small club in League 2 - I remember where we came from and where we were when I started going.

I think you're very naive to suggest that Gloucester City won't get decent attendances if they have success - they're crowds are low now because they're struggling, again. A successful Gloucester football team has the potential (that's the key word) to be well supported, as evidenced by a few of their crowd numbers last season. And if they are successful, then I think they have the potential (that word again) to dwarf Forest Green's attendances. The thing with Gloucester though is that they are so very rarely successful.

Now that last paragraph is not me having a love-in for Gloucester, it's just looking at things with a realistic eye.

The same inane rubbish you sprout, again has no basis of fact around it.

So you are basically saying Gloucester will only get crowds if they are doing well, that’s not a great basis for a fanbase.

The reason Gloucester will never get good crowds in actuality is that it is a city obsessed with Rugby.