The Ultimate Gloucestershire Football Season Preview 2024/25

We are back with yet another Ultimate Gloucestershire Football Season preview post, where we look at all things football within the county this season.

Once again, Butler is joined by Sam Yapp and Gloucestershire Live’s Cheltenham Town reporter, Jon Palmer, to cast their eyes on local football ahead of the big kick-off this week.

In case you missed it, they named their overall team to watch this season over the weekend – click here to read more.

There is plenty to cover, so let’s get started with the Southern League Division One South and Cinderford Town.

RB: Cinderford bounced straight back following relegation into the Hellenic League and they were good value for the promotion in the end. Having to make up games, they ended the season by beating 2nd and 3rd in the table to clinch the play-offs.

Matty Driscoll has done a terrific job to retain the squad that he put together 12 months ago, and that will put them in a good position to keep building as a team. The Southern League is that little bit extra, in terms of travel, in terms of quality and in terms of difficulty.

A solid return from a tough first five, though, and the Foresters should give themselves a platform to build on.

Elsewhere in the Division, Bishop’s Cleeve look to continue building on their last two seasons at the level. Jon Palmer takes a look at how they may fare.

JP: Cleeve have enjoyed a goal-filled pre-season so far and they always seem to be entertaining to watch. Manager Paul Collicutt will be eyeing a play-off place after posting the two highest placings in the club’s history of ninth in the last two campaigns.

Losing attacking midfielder Toby Holland to Swindon Supermarine is a blow, but Isaac Pearce is capable of stepping up if he can end his bad run of luck with injuries and Aaron Evans-Harriott offers another creative option, as well as a goal threat, in that position.

Ross Langworthy, Ethan Dunbar and Jay Malshankyj is a formidable front line and Cleeve look ready to push for a top five finish.

The final team in the Division is Evesham United and Butler takes a look at Mike Ford’s side.

RB: Evesham only managed to win two of their opening eleven league fixtures last season, and by the time November came around looked destined for a dog-fight to stay up. But credit Ford’s side, five wins from their next eight games had them on the up at the turn of the year.

They showed improvements during the season and were only seven points outside the play-offs when the curtain closed, so that will highlight the importance of a good start for the Robins.

Losing the likes of Levi Steele isn’t ideal, but by bringing in players such as Harry White and Reegan Messenger they are bringing in players who are experienced for the level and should have a positive impact to the squad.

Next up is the Hellenic Premier, with the gents simply naming their Winners, Team(s) to Watch and Player(s) to Watch.

The Hellenic One has been one discussed at length during the off-season, due to the expansion of the division and with the length of travelling expected for step 6.

The Gloucestershire County League saw Gala Wilton reprieved due to Little Stoke’s withdrawal and the promotion of Chalford, Filton Athletic and Totterdown United.

The Gloucestershire Northern Senior League looks set to be tough to call in both Divisions, with sides continuing to expand and show great ambition.

Like last season, each of the three guys have been asked to name their “Other Team to Watch” this season – so a side not in any of the above leagues.

RB: My “other team to watch” is Cirencester Town Ladies. They soared to the GCWFL Division One title and make their bow in the South West Regional League this campaign.

Dan Ray and Karen Messenger have installed a great family spirit within the squad and you can see that on the pitch. They took the champions of the Regional League, AEK Boco, all the way to penalties last season and I would expect them to ruffle a few feathers once again this time around.

JP: Cheltenham Saracens U18s (CYFL U18s League). I’ve been really impressed with the pathway at Cheltenham Saracens and the Under-18s team is full of potential.

The quality of coaching and experience in the management staff at the club means players are in a great environment to be able to fulfil that potential.

SY: After finishing third in successive seasons, it’s about time Tetbury Town get their chance to earn promotion to the Gloucestershire Northern Senior League Division Two. Right?

Last season saw Tetbury’s first team reach their highest points record in Stroud Div One finishing on 50 points showing the impressive growth of the club over recent years.

Not only are the first team doing well but their Reserves came agonisingly close to earning back-to-back promotions last season.

A second place finish saw Tetbury’s Reserves secure a play-off spot in Stroud Div Four South but lost were denied promotion by Rising Stars.

And with an abundance of youth talent coming through the club, the future is looking bright at Preston Park.

And to conclude, each of the three most senior sides go under the microscope, with Jon assessing Cheltenham Town, Sam looking at Forest Green Rovers and Butler taking on Gloucester City ahead of the kick-off.

RB: What a disaster last season was, for Gloucester City. Looked like relegation candidates early on and were left trying to claw back any hope throughout the campaign from hell.

However, even though they are now back in the Southern League, there is plenty of positivity around the place – although a couple murmurs have followed pre-season results from supporters still suffering from the PTSD of the Monster Burger, keeping their power dry and the horrors of the Tim Flowers era.

Mike Cook has put together a side that, on paper, should be up there for an instant return to the National League North – but as we all know, it is a lot different when you have expectation weighing you down – hopefully City are up for the fight.

Predicted finish: 4th

SY: It wasn’t the easiest of seasons for Forest Green Rovers fans to watch last time around as Rovers were relegated, for a second successive season, from the Football League after an eight year stay.

But optimism reigns high heading into the Vanarama National League season with manager Steve Cotterill remaining in the dugout hoping to lead his side straight back to League Two.

And it helps that some main starters have been retained with the squad heading into next season along with some high profile additions to the squad.

Sean Long and Liam Sercombe joined Rovers from Cheltenham Town, experienced defender Ben Tozer arrived from Wrexham, tricky forward Tom Knowles was snapped up from Walsall alongside midfielder Adam May who joined from League One side, Cambridge United.

Cotterill’s side will be on their travels for most of the opening weeks of the season with their first four games all away from home starting with a trip to Aldershot Town on the opening day.

Predicted finish: 3rd

JP: Some 13 new signings and counting this summer, for Cheltenham Town, along with an almost completely new staff makes it a difficult one to predict with the new season a fortnight away.

Several more recruits are expected and it feels like the club’s League One days are already a distant memory, but Michael Flynn is an astute appointment as manager to steady the ship. I am not expecting a promotion push at this stage, but if some of the players plucked from lower leagues handle the step up well, there should be enough in the squad to steer clear of another relegation battle.

The club’s hierarchy is under significant pressure and rightly so, with a succession of questionable decisions made over the past 12 months. Retaining EFL status is absolutely vital and Flynn’s motivational abilities will be vital in this being achieved in 2024/25, because there are plenty of examples of teams dropping from League One and enduring further struggles in the fourth tier.

Predicted finish: 15th

And there we have it. The 2024/25 season previewed in full! Who will be the ones to watch or the surprise packages of the campaign? Let us know on Twitter @SevernSport

Follow Jon and Sam on Twitter @JonPalmerSport & @SJY_journo