Eight years ago we saw Forest Green Rovers get promoted to the football league for the first time in the club’s history. With them back down in the National League and being minimal games away from securing promotion back to the Football League for the second time in their history.
Ranging from the Premier League to the Malaysian Super League, where is that promotion winning squad now?
GK- Sam Russell
The goalkeeper only went on to play eight games in the clubs first season in the Football League. He left the following summer for Grimsby Town where he made 11 appearances in three years before retiring. Russell then stayed at Grimsby as a goalkeeper coach before returning to Rovers as an academy goalkeeping coach.
LB- Manny Monthe
Embed from Getty ImagesManny Monthe featured in 13 football league games before being sent out on loan to Tranmere Rovers in February 2018. After impressing out on loan, the Cameroonian signed for Tranmere on a permanent deal. He stayed there until the end of the 2020/21 season before leaving for Walsall where he spent two years. After leaving Tranmere, Monthe spent one season at Northampton in League one, and is now at Oldham Athletic back in the National League.
CB- Mark Ellis
Mark Ellis spent the 2016/17 season on loan at Forest Green from Carlisle United and then spent the following season on loan at Leyton Orient. For the 2018/19 season Ellis left for Tranmere Rovers, where he spent three years (with the final year on loan at Notts County). After that, Ellis joined Barrow for the 2021/22 season, but spent most of his time at the club on loan at Solihull Moors, Torquay United and York City. The centre back has spent the last two years as a regular starter for Chorley.
CB- Ethan Pinnock
After sealing promotion with Forest Green, Ethan Pinnock was off to the championship with Barnsley on a three year deal. The defender then left for Brentford ahead of the 2019/20 season. He has since then won promotion to the Premier League, making 22 appearances in the current season. He has also represented Jamaica on 19 occassions.
RB- Dale Bennett
After helping the Gloucestershire club to promotion, Bennett was a regular starter for Forest Green in their first season in the football league. He left at the end of the season for Sutton United where he spent just over a season playing before he retired due to injury.
CM- Drissa Traore
Traore only stayed at Forest Green for half of their League Two campaign before leaving for Tranmere where he only made three appearances before departing. Since then, the midfielder has spent time at AS Beauvais and is now at US Chantilly in the third tier of France.
CM- Charlie Cooper
Cooper spent the 2016/17 season on loan with Forest Green and his performances in the promotion winning campaign earned him a permanent transfer to the Gloucestershire team. Cooper made 25 League Two appearances in 2017/18 but was loaned out to Newport County and Boreham Wood in the following season. Cooper left Rovers at the end of that season and spent one season each at Halifax Town, Woking, Wealdstone and Oldham Athletic. In 2022/23, the midfielder moved to Yeovil Town to link up with his father, where he has been a regular starter for the past three seasons.
CM- Liam Noble
Noble was another player who only lasted half a season in Rovers’ first League Two season before going off to Notts County where he spent the second half of the season before leaving for Hartlepool United, where he played for two campaigns. Noble then spent five years at Morpeth Town and has played the last two seasons at Hebburn Town.
LW- Kaiyne Woolery
Kaiyne Woolery spent Rovers’ promotion winning campaign with the club but did not return as he signed for Swindon Town for £350,000. He spent three years at the Robins from 2017-2020 and then one year at Motherwell. Since then, the winger has spent time at Sakaryaspor, Ionikos, Panserraikos and Anorthosis Famagusta over in the Cypriot First Division.
ST- Christian Doidge
Doidge kept up his prolific scoring in League Two for a season and a half with Forest Green before going on loan to Bolton Wanderers in the Championship. At the end of the 2018/19 season, Doidge left the Gloucestershire side for Hibernian for five seasons, where he spent five seasons with one year on loan at Kilmarnock. Doidge rejoined Rovers for the 2023/24 season and is still there now.
RW- Keanu Marsh-Brown
Marsh-Brown was another player who stuck around for half of Forest Green’s opening campaign in the Football League before being shipped off to Dover for the second half of the season. The winger then spent two seasons at Newport County before going to Memphis 901, Gloucester City, Wrexham, East Riffa, Kuching City, then back to Gloucester City, then back off to FF Jaro and Kuching City over in the Malaysian Super League.
It’s a very mixed bag of players who have had very different career paths since they helped Forest Green to their first ever promotion to the Football League. Forest Green will find out their semi-final opponents tonight.
