Rupert Hacker is a Katharine Lady Berkeley’s School Ambassador for Forest Green Rovers.
Forest Green Rovers scored two goals against Yeovil Town yesterday, but for new manager Robbie Savage it was surely three.
What happened on the pitch was pure joy – eventually – but what this scoreline tells us is much more than the 2-0 result against.
Goal one? Convince your audience, because ultimately we are the ones who a manager has to take with him. They call us the twelfth man, and here in the South Stand the crowd is never going to filter its feelings. Today they were all good.
We might have drawn 2-2 in the opener, away against Solihull the week before, but this was Robbie’s first chance to put his beliefs into action, in front of the first home crowd. We all got used to FGR doing brilliantly at home last season and while Robbie has promised a new and less safe – but more exciting – style of play the big fear was that it was a gamble – and that by five o’clock we’d be watching Yeovil fans rejoicing. No chance of that: as proof of the investment our club has made in Robbie and 15 new players, there wasn’t a dull second in the 96 minutes that followed. Frustrating moments, yes. But all that build up made that first goal from Jili Buyabu, at minute 75, all the more satisfying.
Which brings us to goal two: make it fun. Maybe that’s the thing Robbie’s bringing back above everything – and not just for us. It actually looks like the players are enjoying this. And that’s something we’ve not seen for a while.
Robbie said he wants to deliver exciting football and everybody left feeling there was no argument on that. Obviously, we still need to improve on execution – given 26 shots and just 23 per cent of those being on target. Boost that ratio and you’re looking at a team that will rip up the league.
Under Savage the statistics don’t lie. We have had 35 corners in the last two games, but only one led to a goal. Improve on this and we will be a terrifying prospect home and away.
To yesterday’s stats we now also add two new players on the score sheet. With Kairo Mitchell joining Jili, Robbie is sucking the oxygen out of any argument that he’s been changing things too fast and too deeply.
Whatever happens for Rovers this season though, Robbie clearly wants to do things his way – and his way includes reaching out to get to know the fans and acknowledging their importance in a way that we have not seen any manager I have seen so far, going back to Rob Edwards.
He’s a bit crazy too, relishing a yellow card for his celebration at the end of this game, and repeatedly returning to the south stand to join in the singing. He’s clearly one of us.
And of course it’s easy to sing when you’re winning, but it looks like Robbie is putting enough goodwill in the bank to make sure we stick together through the tough times as well. No season comes without them.
So goal three? Belief. He’s already planted that feeling among fans. If you think that’s too much, too quick, find out for yourself: come to see FGR play Sutton on Wednesday night at the New Lawn for the third game. Whatever happens, it will be fun.
