20Questions - Cheltenham Town FC

Last updated : 14 December 2006 By Bigrich.....

Hello there, Who are yer and how long have you supported Cheltenham?
Paul Chandler - supported Cheltenham about 20 years - I'm 27 now so pretty much as soon as I could understand football!

What made you support your club?
Hometown team - Dads a big fan

Whats your favorite away day and why?
In general I have to say anywhere where we can get all 3 points, there is nothing so satisfying as an away win. We have a good record against Northampton and Lincoln so I have to say those two.

Whats your proudest moment being a Robin?
1998/99 promotion to the football league as conference champions. In retrospect we were by far the best team in the league but as it was our highest ever position, somehow it always seemed that we'd slip up eventually. In terms of an individual game it would have to be Rushden and Diamonds (a) in that same season where we won 2-1 after being 1-0 down after 90 mins with goals from Mark Freeman and Neil Grayson.

And your most embarassing / disappointing?
Some of the performances at the end of the Bobby Gould era were pretty shocking and there was a really bad atmosphere about the club which seemed to make it worse. If I had to single out a game it would be a 5-2 defeat away at Scunthorpe.

Who are your main rivals?
It depends. Older fans view Gloucester as our main rivals from southern league days, this goes deeper than just football as the poor relations up the road make CHELTENHAMshire look bad. They are many leagues below us now so there have been rivalrys with Rushden and Diamonds (based around comparative methods of acheiving success) and Yeovil/Oxford/Kidderminster. I have to say my deepest loathing is reserved for Gloucester as a city and R+D FC.

If Cheltenham Town was a Song, what would it be, and why?
Arctic Monkeys - Bet you look good on the dancefloor : Unheard of when it was released but punching well above the weight of some more established names (sorry Oxford/Swindon/Bristol Rovers!!)

Whos your all time favorite player, and why??
Neil Grayson - for a pot-load of goals and a great attitude to his football, the definitive typical English centre-forward.

What were your expectations for the season, and have they altered?
A long hard struggle to stay up, we got promoted against almost everyones expectations due to some fine form at key points in the season and relatively few injuries. This has proven to be the case, despite a cracking start.

Last years promotion or staying up this season?
We'll try to stay up but don't think we'll be bothering the top echelons of the table.

Are the natives still behind John Ward despite languishing at the wrong end of the table??
Mixed - some seem to want to give someone else a chance, but a 5-year contract is prohibitive. Personally I can't see any better option and last years promotion was such a huge acheivement that he can have as long as he wants. He is building more than a team.

Have the board the money to back him come January?
The sale of Grant McCann should free up some funds, but Ward seems to struggle to attract quality experienced players to the club. Apparently, we've got the 9th richest director in English football but evidence of this seems to be thin on the ground.

One player from this division you would like in your team, and why?
We had him on loan a few years back! Nathan Tyson, or anyone who can stick the ball in the net consistently.

Worried about losing any players come the January sales?
We lost McCann, the other player that would be hard to replace is Kayode Odejayi, who has scored a massive perentage of our goals this season.

Who's your strongest / Weakest link?
Our best player if he turns up is Kayode Odejayi, he can score plenty of goals at this level and fluctuates between unplayable and unforgivable. Any one of the strikers that could be chosen to partner him would be the weekest link: Damian Spencer (lack of quality) Steve Guinan (lack of pace/power) or Steve Gillespie (abundance of injuries)!

Predicted Line-up?
4-4-2

Shane Higgs
Brian Wilson, Shane Duff, Gavin Caines, Jamie Victory
JJ Melligan, John Finnigan, Kristian O'Leary, Craig Armstrong
Kayode Odejayi, Damian Spencer

Predicted Score?
2-2 (Odejayi 2)

Whos going up??
Nottingham Forest, Scunthorpe, Tranmere

And who's going down?
If there are 4 worse teams than us they are Brentford, Leyton Orient, Northampton, and Bournemouth: but that is optimistic, very very optimistic

And finally. Steak & Kidney, Meat & Tatty or Balti??
It has to be the king of pies - BALTI!!!!!!!!!!!!

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