Cheltenham Town overview

Cheltenham Town vs Harrogate Town AFC

INTRO:

Founded in 1887, Cheltenham Town spent its first three decades playing in local leagues before beginning a 50-year spell in the Southern League. The 1930’s were a big turning point in the club’s history firstly changing their ruby shirts to red and white shirts giving them the nickname of ‘The Robins’, and secondly moving to their current home Whaddon Road in 1932. Throughout the 1900’s, The Robins experienced the highs and lows of promotion and relegation, most notably finishing 1st in the conference national in 1998/99 meaning Third Division status. In recent history, Cheltenham have fleeted between League One and League Two, spending five seasons in the 4th tier between 2017-2021 before being promoted automatically to League One, making their return for the first time since 2008/09. The club looked to be on the up, achieving their highest ever league finish a year later ending the season in 15th place on 56 points. Despite seeming to cement themselves as a comfortable League One outfit with a couple of mid-table finishes in back-to-back seasons, The Robins were pulled back into the 4th tier last season fighting for survival on the final day of the season, however a narrow 2-1 defeat away to Stevenage decided their fate. Current manager Michael Flynn has led the club to 15th this current season and has his work cut out for if the club look to reach the heights of the 3rd tier once again.

MANAGER:

Current Cheltenham boss Michael Flynn joined The Robins on 31st May 2024 replacing Darrell Clarke due to leaving the club to take over League One side Barnsley. Following their relegation to League Two at the end of last season, Flynn has been out of work since January after losing his job as Swindon Town manager. After kicking off his managerial career back in 2017 with his local side Newport County, taking over as caretaker manager before making his role permanent, he spent over four years with the Wales-based club. Flynn also spent 14 months as Walsall manager and won a Manger of the Month award in October 2022 before being sacked in November 2023, so the Cheltenham job becomes his fourth in the EFL and will be hoping to get the club back to the heights of League One.

3 KEY PLAYERS:Ethon Archer:

22-year-old Ethon Archer has been one to impress the Cheltenham fans this season after signing from National League South side Torquay in the summer. The youngster made 26 appearances for his former club before making the move to The Robins. After making his mark whilst on trial with the League Two club he signed as a free agent after coming to the end of his contract with Torquay. With 9 goal contributions in 19 league appearances this campaign, Archer has been Cheltenham’s main talisman. Coming up with key moments with the winner away to Carlisle in October and again in the FA Cup against League One Rotherham. With a bright future ahead of him, Archer will be wanting to continue his good run of form as he kickstarts his professional career.

George Miller:

After signing for The Robins in the summer from fellow League Two outfit Doncaster Rovers, the experienced striker George Miller has made a good impression on manger Michael Flynn by playing a key role in the Cheltenham forward line. The 26-year-old has given himself a good reputation playing at League Two level having scored 15 goals in 42 games for Doncaster since joining the South Yorkshire side in 2022. Despite being sidelined last season with a long-term injury only making four appearances, Miller is keen to rediscover his goalscoring form having already netted four times this campaign. With spells also at Bury, Bradford and Walsall, Miller is no stranger to the English football pyramid and has been quick to settle into life in Gloucestershire.

Joel Colwill:

20-year-old Joel Colwill has made a fast start to life in the red and white of Cheltenham after trading it for the blue of Cardiff City in the summer. The Bluebirds academy graduate was at the club since he was six and made his first senior appearance last August in the Carabao Cup. Colwill also made two appearances in the Championship for Cardiff and also played on the international stage for Wales Under 21’s. Since joining for The Robins, the midfielder has been prolific in the final third with 3 goals and 3 assists to his name in 17 league appearances this season, as well as a standout performance in the FA Cup second round against Rotherham where he grabbed himself a brace to set up a tie with Salford City. After featuring in every league match except for when on international duty, Colwill has certainly been a key part of Michael Flynn’s side this season.