Full name: Cheltenham Town Football Club
Nickname:The Robins
Founded: 1887
League: League Two
2012–13
League Two, 5th
Average Attendance:
2012-2013: 3,253 (League Two)
Chairman: Paul Baker
Ground: Abbey Business Stadium (Whaddon Road)
Whaddon Road, Cheltenham, GL52 5NA
capacity: 7,066 (3,912 seated)
Year Ground Opened: 1932
Pitch Size: 111 x 72 yards
Undersoil Heating: No
Shirt Sponsors: Mira Showers
Home Kit Colours: Red & White
Away Kit Colours: Black & Blue Stripes
Kit Manufacturers: Errea
Official Web Site: http://www.ctfc.com
Unofficial Web Sites: http://www.robinsnestforum.co.uk http://www.cheltenhamtown-mad.co.uk
AWAY FANS:
Away fans are housed in the 'Hazlewoods Stand' behind the goal to the right of the Main Stand. It holds 1,100 fans although more can be put into part of the In2Print Stand to the right of the Hazlewoods Stand.
PRE MATCH:
Cheltenham is one of the more friendly grounds we’ll visit this season. There are a variety of pubs in the area starting with their version on the Far Post Club the imaginatively named ‘Robins Nest’ which is located at the Ground, Away fans are permitted in small numbers although you may have to pay to get in.
Near to the ground is the Parklands Social Club, where you can also park your car safely for a small fee. A little further away are the 'Sudeley Arms' and 'The Conservatory' on Prestbury Road and The Hewlett Arms which is at the top of Hewlett Road, all are about a 10 minute walk from the ground.
The Kemble Brewery Inn on Fairview Street is listed in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide for the connoisseurs out there.
Current Management Team:
Manager: Mark Yates
Assistant Manager: Neil Howarth
Goalkeeping Coach: Steve Book
Director of Academy: John Murphy
Academy Manager: Russell Milton
Assistant Academy Manager: Jamie Victory
Professional Phase Coach: Alex Penny
Development Phase Coach: Antoine Thompson
Head Physiotherapist: Ian Weston
Academy Physiotherapist: Tommy Cosh
Academy Secretary: James Murphy
Transfers:
Players in: Jamie Cureton, (Exeter, free), Troy Brown, (Aldershot, free), Matt Richards. (Shrewsbury, free), Ashley Vincent, (Port Vale, free) Terry Gornell, (Rochdale, free) Craig Braham-Barrett (Macclesfield, six-month loan), Ryan Inniss (C Palace loan)
Players out: Kaid Mohamed (Port Vale, free) Harry Hooman, (Inverness) Darren Carter (Northampton, free), Bagasan Graham (released), Marlon Pack (Bristol City £100k) M Hector S Harrad P Benson (Returned to parent clubs after loans)
First Team Squad:
1 England GK Scott Brown
12 Wales GK Connor Roberts
2 England DF Keith Lowe
3 England DF Billy Jones
5 Wales DF Troy Brown
6 England DF Steve Elliott (Club-captain)
20 Portugal DF Sido Jombati
22 England DF Craig Braham-Barrett (on loan from Macclesfield Town)
15 England DF Ryan Inniss (on loan from Crystal Palace)
4 England MF Jason Taylor
8 England MF Sam Deering
11 England MF Jermaine McGlashan
14 England MF Matt Richards
16 England MF Russell Penn (Team Captain)
17 England MF Joe Hanks
18 England MF Ed Williams
21 England MF Ashley Vincent
7 England FW Jamie Cureton
9 England FW Byron Harrison
10 England FW Terry Gornell
19 England FW Zack Kotwica
Last Home League Game;
Cheltenham 2 2 Burton Albion
S Brown
S Elliott (YC) C Braham-Barrett S Jombati T Brown
M Richards, R Penn, S Deering (YC) J McGlashan (A Vincent, 83)
J Cureton (B Harrison, 21), T Gornell (YC) (Z Kotwica, 82)
Subs not used: C Roberts, K Lowe, J Taylor, R Inniss
Last 3 Results;
H Burton Albion 2-2 FL2
H Crawley Town 3-3 (4-3 AET) LC
A Chesterfield 0-1 FL2
Injuries:
Jamie Cureton (dislocated shoulder) is out until September and Terry Gornell (Groin) is also doubtful.
Cheltenham clinched a second successive play off spot last season much thanks to midfielder Marlon Pack. The Robbins failed to win promotion once again and their star player has since moved on to Bristol City. That hasn’t stopped them being tipped as promotion contenders again this season but they have only mustered 1 point from their opening two league games.
Manager Mark Yates has added 7 players to his squad which Pack was the only key departure from. Much travelled Jamie Cureton has linked up with Rochdales Terry Gornell to form their new strike partnership and Matt Richards has arrived from Shrewsbury to fill in for Marlon Pack. Troy Brown & Craig Braham-Barrett have also arrived from fellow League Two clubs to add to the defence although they have shipped 7 goals in their first 3 games.
Players to look out for might be Byron Harrison, with Cureton not fit enough the 6’ 3” former Wimbledon striker will feature, playing most of his career in the lower leagues where he found scoring a little easier the step up to league football has taken him some time to adapt to but he’s beginning to make his presence felt by opposition defenders.
Welsh U21 international CB Troy Brown likes playing against Argyle, one of his 3 goals for Aldershot came against the Greens. Forced out of his previous club during their Administration he turned down offers from Torquay & Bristol Rovers to join the Robins. He’ll be paired with club captain and former England U21 international Steve Elliott at CB.
Matt Richards is another former England U21 international who came to prominence at Ipswich in the Championship. His past few years have been spent in League One with Walsall and Shrewsbury where he was named the players & fans player of the year. At 28 he has a good amount of experience to add to the Robbins midfield.
Ashley Vincent was a crowd favourite at Whaddon for 5 years before agitating for a move out of the club. Spells at Colchester & Port Vale followed and while at Vale the pacey wide man was credited with contributing much to the goal record of Tom Pope although having missed much of pre season he is lacking match fitness and sharpness at the moment.
Cheltenham have not really clicked in the way Mark Yates will have hoped this season despite a good win over Crawley in the League Cup. Injuries to both the strikers how started the season has left them short up front although Yates is trying to bring in loan cover, with Steven Gillespie thought to be close to returning from Fleetwood Town.
Its hard to predict what will happen on Saturday, Argyle have a habit of going to places like this and helping the home teams get their season going but if we can turn in an away performance like at Birmingham maybe we can get our own season going.