How do Forest Green Rovers rebuild after relegation?

Forest Green Rovers have been relegated back into non-league.

Steve Cotterill has already made it clear that he has “work to do” in the transfer market this summer, and has over-hauled the recruitment department to ensure he has complete control of transfer proceedings during the close season.

Cotterill is always a manager that has brought in experience and players from higher divisions, and Dale Vince has always been a manager to back his bosses well, and so I expect that Forest Green Rovers to be ambitious in the transfers they make.

They will need to add to their squad if they are to be competitive next season, and so I look at where they may need to add and identify some signings that they should make.

Retained Squad

Forest Green Rovers announced their retained list earlier this week, with 16 players still under contract in the 2024-25 campaign.

The general consensus of Rovers’ supporters that I have spoken to is that midfielders Charlie McCann and Kyle McAllister are more than likely to depart the football club in the summer leaving Rovers with 14 players.

As a result, you’d expect that Rovers will bring in at least 6-8 new players in the close season, and in reality that number is probably close to double figures. As such, Cotterill will need to get his recruitment drive up and running to ensure enough time for the players to gel ahead of next season.

The graphic below is the retained players put notionally into a 4-3-3 formation to provide an overview of where overs perhaps need to strengthen during the summer. The XI is based off which players are felt to be likely starters, and is able to highlight the particular areas of weakness and in need of the most work in terms of extra options.

Signings

New Number One – Lawrie Walker (Barnet – free)

Forest Green Rovers need to add an experienced number one, and so an option that they could look at in the summer that has certainly caught my eye as being value for money is Lawrie Walker.

Walker has found himself out of favour with Dean Brennan for whatever reason, and I do find that decision a little bit odd in truth. He has always struck me as being a steady and reliable goalkeeper that is a safe pair of hands, and I feel that he represents a useful acquisition. He has experience of being with Barnet this year and last as they pushed for the play-offs, and so in providing ready made promotion-challenging experience then he ticks the box.

He certainly ticks a lot of the criteria which I would be looking for from a top-end, National League performer. He is a good size at 6ft5in, imposing, is able to dominate his area, commanding, a good leader, a fantastic professional, decent with his feet to be able to play out, a good shot-stopper; there isn’t a great deal that he doesn’t have.

He has consistently been of the best goalkeepers at the level, and despite him being 34, I think he would be more than adequate for being number one for a side looking to get promoted.

Centre Back #1 – Tom Brewitt (Swindon Town – free)

One option that Forest Green Rovers could consider to strengthen their options at centre-back is former Swindon Town defender Tom Brewitt.

Brewitt was let go at the end of the current campaign, and so is available on a free transfer. He has featured regularly for The Robins this term, but in terms of the geography then I think he would be a local, on-your-doorstep option that has a decent level of experience.

The centre-back has good pedigree having come through the academy with Liverpool and has also spent time with Morecambe in League One. He is not a player that is perhaps talked about as being one of the better centre-backs for the level, but there is a lot I like about the 27-year-old. A good athlete that is strong, imposing, aggressive in the tackle and a capable competitor in terms of his aerial ability and physicality, I think that Brewitt is a good profile.

Brewitt provides Rovers with more leadership and organisational qualities – having been captain of the Liverpool youth-team – and is a good character, the like of which you can rely on. He is suited to a right centre-back role, and his confidence in possession enables him to play on the right on a back three. A vocal player, I think he’d slot alongside Inniss and Moore-Taylor for the back three well.

Centre Back #2 – Malachi Fagan-Walcott (Cardiff City – loan)

If Forest Green Rovers are to retain Jordan Moore-Taylor and Ryan Inniss, as well as add another experienced centre-back, I feel Rovers could perhaps bring in a more youthful option and so I think they should look at is Malachi Fagan-Walcott.

Fagan-Walcott is on the books of Cardiff City, and he has spent time out on loan with Dunfermline Athletic in the Scottish Championship. If Rovers are to use a 3-back system, I think that Fagan-Walcott represents a really useful addition for them given his speed, mobility and ability to cover wide spaces.

The youngster has come through a strong academy with Tottenham Hotspur and is comfortable with the ball, capable of playing out from the back and can bring it into midfield; that is well-suited to being part of a back three.

His addition would certainly be an ambitious one, but Cotterill has shown an astute use of the loan market at previous clubs and so this would certainly fall into the category as being a coup.

Right Back – Josh Hare (Dagenham and Redbridge – free)

If Forest Green Rovers are in the market for a right-back, I think there are plenty of good options available. Of those available, I would advise that they try to sign former Dagenham and Redbridge right-back Josh Hare.

Hare was let go by Ben Strevens earlier this week, and the consensus from the Daggers’ supporters is that Hare is perhaps being moved on to open up the scope for further investment in the side and so it is not reflective of him not being a capable operator. Indeed, Hare is a player who I would still class as one of the better right-backs in the National League.

And, I think he would represent a useful option for Rovers. He has experience of pushing for promotion with Eastleigh’s play-off push in 2018-19 that saw him chosen as a Team of the Year inclusion. He also has experience of playing in the Football League, and so he offers Rovers a ready-made option with the ability to play higher.

I am fully expecting that Hare will go and sign for Daryl McMahon’s Hornchurch this summer, but if Rovers want a top-end, right-back of a good age and with a decent number of minutes under his belt, Hare ticks the box. He is energetic, a good athlete, attack-minded, comfortable with the ball and could easily adapt into a wing-back role.

Starting Central Midfielder – Harry Beautyman (Sutton United – free)

I expect Steve Cotterill to go and make some ambitious signings in the summer, and so one that would most certainly fall into that category is former Sutton United midfielder Harry Beautyman.

Beautyman is in his early 30’s and so he may well not get another EFL move in wake of his release from Gander Green Lane, and I think that it will more than likely see him drop down into the National League next term. He was let go by Sutton United, and I think that was more so in terms of being an unfortunate benefactor of Steve Morrison wanting to implement change and strip out the old guard.

In terms of offering his experience and nous as a reliable, goal-scoring option in midfield, and the knowhow of navigating promotion from the National League, I think Beautyman is perfect for Cotterill’s side. He has won the league with Sutton United before, and so he provides Cotterill direct and recent first-hand knowledge of what it takes to navigate such path; one which Rovers will be hopefully doing next season.

What Beautyman does give Rovers which I think they need is an ability to arrive late into the box, get on the end of crosses and be a regular goal-scorer. If Kyle McAllister and Charlie McCann are to depart, the highest scoring midfielder was Emmanuel Osadebe with three, and so I feel they could benefit from having that energetic, box-crashing operator. Experienced, intelligent, a winner and a good leader; he ticks every box.

Central Midfielder – Josh Owers (Yeovil Town – free)

Another central midfield option that I think Forest Green Rovers should look at this summer is former Yeovil Town midfielder Josh Owers.

Owers has been on the books of Yeovil Town over the last year, but was let go upon The Glovers’ promotion to the National League. One may look at that and interpret that he is not up to the level of the fifth tier, but I don’t agree with that assessment; it is more so that he has not been able to break up a steady pair of Matt Worthington and Charlie Cooper in the middle of the park and so I stand by my view that he is a capable player.

The midfielder – son of former Forest Green Rovers player and manager Gary – is an accomplished passer of the ball, with good vision, a strong technician and while he perhaps isn’t the quickest he is a capable ball-carrier, a lovely left foot and is press resistant.

The former Bristol City youngster provides a local option for Rovers, having formerly played for Gloucester City and spending time with Bristol City; thus, he has always been Southern-based. The geography makes a lot of sense for Owers in terms of not having to move or relocate for the move, and I think that he would represent a really smart acquisition.

Starting Left Winger – Callum Powell (Southend United – free)

The first winger that I think Forest Green Rovers should go for during the close season is Southend United’s Callum Powell.

Powell was a mid-season addition by The Blues from National League North side Kettering Town last season, but he has found minutes hard to come by at Roots Hall. He is a winger by trade, and The Blues don’t really operate with wingers, and so he has fell foul of the system that United have employed. But, I do feel he is a good player and with a departure from Roots Hall perhaps likely ahead of next season, I feel that he would be worth consideration.

The former Poppies player is a fabulous athlete; he keeps himself in great shape, is quick and strong, and given the license as one of the wide players in a 4-3-3, I think that role will suit him down to the ground. That would give him the ability to isolate players with his pace, dribbling proficiencies and ball-carrying capabilities.

I think a new start and trying to be part of a side pushing for promotion would be what he needs at this point in his career. Suitably experienced, he is a versatile forward and one that I think would represent smart business on a free transfer.

Starting Right Winger – Gatlin O’Donkor (Oxford United – loan)

While he is not an out-and-out winger, if Rovers want to add speed and direct running on the flanks this season then one player they could look at is Oxford United’s Gatlin O’Donkor.

O’Donkor has spent this season at fellow National League side Barnet, and has showed glimpses of real quality, albeit with minutes at a premium as The Bees favoured Nicke Kabamba and Callum Stead. He will no doubt want to go back out on loan next season to continue his development, and so I think that a move to Forest Green Rovers would be ideal for him.

If Cotterill is going to change between the use of a 3-5-2 and 4-3-3 system, a player of O’Donkor’s profile would be well-suited, being deployed as one of the wide forwards in the 4-3-3 with his pace, directness and ability to run in behind and then can adapt to be one of the strike pairing playing off of Doidge. As such, he covers both bases for Rovers.

One of the key requirements for Rovers was wide players with pace, and so I feel O’Donkor provides that. His more natural position is through the middle, but in a system that will likely be rather fluid, I think the youngster can be a useful acquisition.

Winger Backup #1 – Courtney Senior (Barnet – free)

With pace being highlighted as an area which Rovers need to address during the summer, one player who I think they should look at is Barnet’s Courtney Senior.

Senior has been released by The Bees, but I think he could be a useful option for Rovers in terms of providing the energetic, hard-working, mobile profile of player that they are looking for. He has always struck me as being someone that offers good movement, dynamic, strong acceleration and the attacking, front-foot player that they need to add.

He can play as a winger, centrally in midfield, or deployed as a wing-back, and I think he offers a versatile, experienced option. He has lots of games under his belt in the National League South, and has been part of a winning environment with Barnet and briefly Yeovil Town in the National League South this season.

For much of his career, he has been based in the South of England and so it is likely that he will look to remain in that part of the country for his next move. I think he would represent a useful squad player.

Winger Backup #2 – Elliott Bennett (Shrewsbury Town – free)

The final player on this list is one that has played under Steve Cotterill before at Shrewsbury Town, and that is experienced midfielder Elliott Bennett.

I am often an advocate for managers signing their old players in some cases – it does make logical sense to suggest a manager who has relied heavily on one player before would like to draw upon that same contact again – and I think that the addition of Bennett to this Forest Green Rovers side could represent a good fit for the job at hand; winning promotion back to the EFL at the first time of asking.

Given Bennett’s time playing in the Football League, he has a strong technical grounding and provides an intelligent operator. Not the trickiest, but Bennett is one who will provide good delivery into the final third, clever decision making, a fantastic professional who can set standards in a tricky season and one that provides real value in the high-stake games.

Bennett is 35 years of age and so may not be worth anything more than a year contract, but as an experienced and reliable squad member to have around to provide the nous and big-game knowhow needed to navigate through the tricky challenge of the National League.