Heroes & Villains – Forest Green Rovers
Heroes – 1981/82 team
I try my best to look for someone different for something slightly different for this article. I could have taken the easy option and written a paragraph about Dale Vince being Forest Green’s hero. Instead, I have gone for the team of 1981/82 who won the Hellenic League and the FA Vase at Wembley.
Forest Green defeated Rainworth Miners Welfare 3-0 at Wembley in the Vase Final. It was Rovers’ first appearances at Wembley. They also won 23 of their 30 league games, conceding only 20 goals over the course of the league season.
Any team that reaches Wembley are likely to be held in high regard by the club’s fans. The fact that the team also won the league championship as well in the same season gives them extra gravitas.
The 1981/82 team were: Graham Day, Brendan Guest, Andy Leitch, Kenny Norman, David Moss, Steve Millard, David Dangerfield, John Turner, Jimmy Jenkins, Steve Doughty, Peter Higgins, Keith Hardcastle and Mike Burns. The manager was Bob Mursell.
Villain – Meat!
Yes, meat has been chosen as Forest Green Rovers’ villain! Millionaire owner Dale Vince has run Rovers as a vegan club for the past five years. Gone are the meat pies, burgers and hot dogs and the fans now have a choice of vegan food in outlets around the ground.
Vince has overseen the club’s colours change from black and white to green and white and plans to build a new eco-friendly stadium made out of wood. Their current stadium is relatively new, having been used for the past years. It is run by energy run from solar panels on the roof of the stadium!
Any Forest Green fan wishing to chomp on a meat pie whilst watching their heroes play will have to go and watch them play away from home. It seems as if the vegan lifestyle is around for a long while yet in Nailsworth!
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