2014–15 Cheltenham Town F.C. season explained

The 2014–15 season was the 75th season of competitive association football since joining Southern Football League in 1935 and the 16th season in the Football League played by Cheltenham Town Football Club, a professional football club based in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. Following relegation from League One in 2008–09 season it was the 6th consecutive season in League Two.

Mark Yates started his fifth full season as the club manager. The summer transfer window saw eight players join the club, while eight players including veteran striker Jamie Cureton and long-served first-choice goalkeeper Scott Brown left the club.

Cheltenham Town started the season brightly, going top of the league after a draw at Morecambe on 6 September.^[2] The Robins won five games of eight in all competitions, losing only League Cup tie to Championship side Brighton & Hove Albion.

However, during September club's form deteriorated as Cheltenham failed to win a match till 18 October. On 25 November, following fourth straight league defeat, club have parted company with Yates, with immediate effect.^[3] The next day ex-Luton Town manager Paul Buckle was appointed as his replacement on a one-year contract.^[4]

The managerial change did not affect the results as the Robins lost to Conference National side Dover Athletic in the FA Cup and continued to struggle in the league. On 13 February another losing streak saw Buckle leave Cheltenham on mutual consent after only one victory in 13 games.^[5] Head of Academy Coaching Russell Milton took charge as a caretaker manager.

On 30 March with the club bottom of the table Milton stepped down to an assistant role after ex-Yeovil Town manager Gary Johnson was appointed with seven games until the end of the season.^[6] As both of his predecessors, Johnson managed to win only one game and following the home defeat against Shrewsbury Town on a penultimate day of the season Cheltenham Town were relegated to the National League.

Despite poor performances, on 29 April it was announced that Gary Johnson signed two-year contract with Cheltenham Town aiming to an immediate return to the Football League.^[7]

Background and pre-season

See main article: 2013–14 Cheltenham Town F.C. season.

Pre-season matches

Review

August

League Two

See main article: 2014–15 Football League Two.

Matches

The fixtures for the 2014–15 season were announced on 18 June 2014 at 9am.^[8]

FA Cup

See main article: 2014–15 FA Cup.

The draw for the first round of the FA Cup was made on 27 October 2014.^[9]

League Cup

See main article: 2014–15 Football League Cup.

Football League Trophy

See main article: 2014–15 Football League Trophy.

Players

First team squad

Only players participated in official matches are listed.
Players sorted by numbers, players joined during the season sorted by the time they joined the team.

Transfers

Transfers are listed from the last day of the previous season till the final day of this season

In
Date	Player	Age	Signed from	Ends	Fee
19 May 2014	Lee Vaughan		Kidderminster Harriers	1 July 2016	Free[10]
28 May 2014	Asa Hall		Shrewsbury Town	1 July 2016	Free[11]
24 June 2014	Paul Black		Mansfield Town	1 July 2015	Free[12]
24 June 2014	Andy Haworth		Tamworth	1 July 2015	Free[13]
30 June 2014	Trevor Carson		Bury	1 July 2016	Free[14]
21 July 2014	Jack Deaman		Eastbourne Borough	1 July 2015	Free[15]
21 July 2014	Omari Sterling-James		Redditch United	21 January 2015	Free[16]
25 July 2014	Matt Taylor		Bradford City	1 July 2016	Free[17]
5 September 2014	Matthew Gould		Hawke's Bay United	1 July 2015	Free[18]
24 September 2014	Raffaele De Vita		Bradford City	24 December 2014	Free[19]
28 January 2015	Durrell Berry		Torquay United	1 July 2015	Free[20]
2 February 2015	Eliot Richards		Tranmere Rovers	1 July 2016	Free[21]
2 February 2015	Jordan Wynter		Bristol City	1 July 2016	Free[22]
2 February 2015	Mathieu Manset		Walsall	1 July 2015	Free[23]
6 March 2015	Danny Haynes		Notts County	6 May 2015	Free[24]

Out
Date	Player	Age	Status	Signed to	Fee
6 May 2014	Sido Jombati		Released	Wycombe Wanderers	Free[25]
6 May 2014	Ashley Vincent		Released	Shrewsbury Town	Free
6 May 2014	Ed Williams		Released		Free
6 May 2014	Sam Deering		Released	Whitehawk	Free
7 May 2014	Jamie Cureton		Released	Dagenham & Redbridge	Free[26]
13 May 2014	Connor Roberts		Released	Chester	Free[27]
16 May 2014	Jermaine McGlashan		Transfer	Gillingham	Free[28]
28 May 2014	Scott Brown		Transfer	Aberdeen	Free[29]
27 December 2014	Raffaele De Vita		Released	Ross County	Free[30]
7 January 2015	Jason Taylor		Released	Northampton Town	Free[31]
9 January 2015	Adam Powell		Released		Free[32]
19 January 2015	Paul Black		Released	Atlanta Silverbacks	Free[33]
27 January 2015	Byron Harrison		Transfer	Chesterfield	Undisclosed[34]
2 February 2015	Terry Gornell		Released	Accrington Stanley	Free[35]
3 February 2015	Steve Elliott		Released	Bath City	Free[36]

Contract extensions

Date	Player	Age	Ends
28 May 2014	Harry Williams		1 July 2015[37]
28 May 2014	Bobbie Dale		1 July 2015
29 May 2014	Joe Hanks		1 July 2015[38]
29 May 2014	Adam Powell		1 July 2015[39]
1 July 2014	James Bowen		1 July 2015[40]
16 December 2014	Omari Sterling-James		1 July 2016[41]
19 December 2014	Zack Kotwica		1 July 2016[42]
21 December 2014	Joe Hanks		1 July 2016[43]
25 December 2014	Bobbie Dale		1 July 2016[44]
31 December 2014	Harry Williams		1 July 2016[45]
8 January 2015	Jack Deaman		1 July 2016[46]
29 January 2015	Jamal Lawrence		1 July 2017[47]
?	James Bowen		1 July 2016

Loans

In
Player	Age	Signed from	Date
			Started	Ended
Koby Arthur		Birmingham City	25 July[48]	14 September[49]
Jordan Wynter		Bristol City	21 August[50]	22 September[51]
John Marquis		Millwall	28 August[52] [53]	26 November
Eusébio Bancessi		Wolverhampton Wanderers	9 October[54]	5 November[55]
Kane Ferdinand		Wolverhampton Wanderers	20 November[56] [57]	20 April[58]
Kevin Stewart		Liverpool	1 January[59]	2 February
Jack Dunn		Liverpool	1 January	2 February
Lloyd Jones		Liverpool	1 January[60]	15 February[61]
Jake Gray		Crystal Palace	16 January[62]	12 February[63]
Denny Johnstone		Birmingham City	2 February[64]	9 March[65]
Wes Burns		Bristol City	2 February[66]
Pablo Mills		Bury	26 February[67]	20 April
Matt Sparrow		Scunthorpe United	26 February[68]
Shaun Harrad		Notts County	26 February
Will Packwood		Birmingham City	11 March[69]
Shaq McDonald		Derby County	26 March[70]	20 April

Out
Player	Age	Signed to	Date
			Started	Ended
Bobbie Dale		Bath City	5 September[71]	13 October[72]
Harry Williams		Evesham United	5 September[73] [74]	17 November[75]
Adam Powell		Cinderford Town	22 September[76] [77]	20 November
Bobbie Dale		Cirencester Town	10 October	10 November
Harry Reynolds		Cambridge City	10 October[78]	10 November
Jason Taylor		Northampton Town	1 January[79]	7 January
Matthew Gould		Bishop's Cleeve	13 January[80]	13 February
Andy Haworth		Barrow	23 January[81]
Bobbie Dale		Cinderford Town	5 February[82]
James Bowen		Cinderford Town	5 February	5 March
Jamal Lawrence		Bishop's Cleeve	6 March[83]
Harry Reynolds		Bishop's Cleeve	6 March	6 April
Harry Williams		Gloucester City	12 March[84] [85]	18 April[86]
James Bowen		Gloucester City	12 March	18 April

Squad statistics

Source:^{[87] [88]}

Numbers in parentheses denote appearances as substitute.

Players with squad numbers struck through and marked left the club during the playing season.

Players with names in italics and marked * were on loan from another club for the whole of their season with Cheltenham.

Players listed with no appearances have been in the matchday squad but only as unused substitutes.

Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; DF – Defender; MF – Midfielder; FW – Forward

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
				League		FA Cup		League Cup		FL Trophy		Total		Discipline
1	GK			46	0	2	0	1	0	2	0	51	0	0	0
2	DF				0	1	0	1	0	1	0		0	6	1
3	DF			45	0	2	0	1	0	2	0	50	0	10	0
4	DF				1	1	0	0	0	2	0		1	6	0
5	DF				1	2	0	1	0	2	0		1	11	0
6	DF			17	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	19	1	1	0
6	DF		*		0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	3	0
7 20	MF				1	0	0	0	0	0	0		1	2	0
7	MF		*		0	1	0	0	0	0	0		0	0	0
8	MF				2		1	1	0		0		3	2	0
9	FW				4	2	3	1	0	1	0		7	1	0
9	FW		*		1	0	0	0	0	0	0		1	0	0
9	FW				1	0	0	0	0	0	0		1	0	0
10	FW				3	2	1	1	0		1		4	2	0
10	FW		*	14	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	14	4	3	0
11	MF				0	0	0		0		0		0	1	0
12	GK			0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
14	MF				0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	0	0
15	DF				0	1	0	1	0	2	0		0	1	0
16	MF				2		0	1	0	2	0		2	4	0
17	MF				2		0	0	0	0	0		2	1	0
18	DF				0	1	0	0	0		0		0	0	0
18	FW				1	0	0	0	0	0	0		1	2	0
19	MF				1	0	0		0	1	0		1	1	0
20	FW		*		3	0	0	0	0	1	1		4	2	0
21	MF				0		0	0	0	0	0		0	0	0
22	FW				0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	0	0
23	DF				0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	0	0
24	MF		*		0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	0	0
24	MF		*	11	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	11	1	3	0
25	MF			16	0	2	0	1	0	2	0	21	0	4	1
25	DF				2	0	0	0	0	0	0		2	4	0
26	FW		*		1		0	0	0		1		2	6	0
26	MF		*		1	0	0	0	0	0	0		1	2	0
26	DF		*		1	0	0	0	0	0	0		1	0	0
27	MF				0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	0	0
28	MF		*		0	2	0	0	0	1	0		0	0	0
28	FW		*		3	0	0	0	0	0	0		3	1	0
28	FW		*		0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	1	0
29	MF		*		0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	0	0
29	DF		*		0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	1	0
29	FW		*		1	0	0	0	0	0	0		1	3	0
30	GK			0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
33	DF			0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
39	FW				0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	1	0

No.!scope="col"

Pos.	Nat.	Name
24	MF
34	MF

Notes and References

1. News: Football League attendance report - season 2014/15 . Football League . 3 May 2015 . 20 November 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20151010080952/http://www.football-league.co.uk/documents/average-attendance549-2598153.pdf . 10 October 2015 . dead . dmy-all .
2. News: Morecambe 0-0 Cheltenham Town . BBC Sport . 6 September 2014 . 30 November 2015.
3. News: Cheltenham Town club statement on Mark Yates . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 25 November 2014 . 30 November 2015.
4. News: Paul Buckle appointed Cheltenham Town manager . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 26 November 2014 . 30 November 2015.
5. News: Club statement . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 13 February 2015 . 30 November 2015.
6. News: Gary Johnson appointed Cheltenham Town manager . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 30 March 2015 . 30 November 2015.
7. News: Gary Johnson to stay on as Cheltenham Town manager . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 29 April 2015 . 30 November 2015.
8. News: 2014-15 Cheltenham Town Fixture List Announced . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 18 June 2014 . 18 June 2014.
9. News: First round draw . The FA . 27 October 2014.
10. News: Robins Snap Up Lee Vaughan . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 19 May 2014 . 9 November 2015.
11. News: Asa Hall Completes Cheltenham Town Transfer . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 28 May 2014 . 9 November 2015.
12. News: Paul Black Signs For Robins . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 24 June 2014 . 9 November 2015.
13. News: Cheltenham Town Seal Andy Haworth Transfer . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 24 June 2014 . 9 November 2015.
14. News: Trevor Carson Completes Move To Cheltenham Town . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 30 June 2014 . 9 November 2015.
15. News: Deaman Becomes A Robin . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 21 July 2014 . 9 November 2015.
16. News: Omari Sterling-James Snapped Up . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 21 July 2014 . 9 November 2015.
17. News: Matt Taylor Is A Robin . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 25 July 2014 . 9 November 2015.
18. News: Matthew Gould Deal Done . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 5 September 2014 . 18 November 2015.
19. News: Robins Sign Italian Winger . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 24 September 2014 . 18 November 2015.
20. News: Full-back Durrell Berry joins Robins . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 28 January 2015 . 18 November 2015.
21. News: Eliot Richards joins Cheltenham Town on 18 month deal . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 2 February 2015 . 18 November 2015.
22. News: Bristol City midfielder Jordan Wynter joins Cheltenham Town . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 2 February 2015 . 18 November 2015.
23. News: Striker Mathieu Manset joins Cheltenham Town . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 2 February 2015 . 18 November 2015.
24. News: Danny Haynes joins Cheltenham Town . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 6 March 2015 . 18 November 2015.
25. News: Cheltenham Town Retained List: 4 Released . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 6 May 2014 . 9 November 2015.
26. News: Jamie Cureton Departs Cheltenham Town . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 7 May 2014 . 9 November 2015.
27. News: Connor Roberts Released From Cheltenham Town . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 13 May 2014 . 9 November 2015.
28. News: Jermaine McGlashan Departs Cheltenham Town . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 16 May 2014 . 9 November 2015.
29. News: Scott Brown Departs For The SPL . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 28 May 2014 . 9 November 2015.
30. News: Raffa De Vita leaves Cheltenham Town . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 27 December 2014 . 18 November 2015.
31. News: It's an honour to be captain - Troy Brown . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 7 January 2015 . 19 November 2015.
32. News: Powell departs, Black available for loan . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 9 January 2015 . 18 November 2015.
33. News: Paul Black leaves Robins and is set for Major League move . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 19 January 2015 . 18 November 2015.
34. News: Byron Harrison signs for Chesterfield . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 27 January 2015 . 18 November 2015.
35. News: Terry Gornell leaves Cheltenham Town . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 2 February 2015 . 18 November 2015.
36. News: Steve Elliott departs after four and a half years with Robins . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 3 February 2015 . 18 November 2015.
37. News: Harry Williams and Bobbie Dale Turn Professional . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 28 May 2014 . 17 November 2015.
38. News: Joe Hanks Extends Cheltenham Town Contract . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 29 May 2014 . 17 November 2015.
39. News: Powell Signs Professional Terms . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 29 May 2014 . 17 November 2015.
40. News: Prospect Bowen Goes Pro . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 1 July 2014 . 17 November 2015.
41. News: Extended deal for Omari Sterling-James . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 16 December 2014 . 17 November 2015.
42. News: Winger Zack Kotwica extends Robins deal . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 19 December 2014 . 17 November 2015.
43. News: Joe Hanks signs contract extension with Cheltenham Town . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 21 December 2014 . 17 November 2015.
44. News: Bobbie Dale shining in loan spell with Cinderford Town . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 23 March 2015 . 17 November 2015.
45. News: Harry Williams signs one year contract extension with Cheltenham Town . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 31 December 2014 . 17 November 2015.
46. News: Jack Deaman signs new contract with Cheltenham Town . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 8 January 2015 . 17 November 2015.
47. News: Jamal Lawrence signs pro contract with Cheltenham Town . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 29 January 2015 . 17 November 2015.
48. News: Koby Arthur Arrives On Loan . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 25 July 2014 . 9 November 2015.
49. News: Koby Recalled . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 14 September 2014 . 17 November 2015.
50. News: Jordan Wynter Set To Join Robins . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 21 August 2014 . 9 November 2015.
51. News: Wynter Back To Bristol . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 22 September 2014 . 17 November 2015.
52. News: John Marquis Joins Robins . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 28 August 2014 . 9 November 2015.
53. News: Marquis Signs On For Two More Months . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 22 September 2014 . 17 November 2015.
54. News: Cheltenham Town to sign Wolves' Eusebio . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 9 October 2014 . 18 November 2015.
55. News: Eusebio returns to Wolves, Marquis cleared to play in FA Cup . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 5 November 2014 . 18 November 2015.
56. News: Kane Ferdinand joins Robins on loan for two months . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 20 November 2014 . 18 November 2015.
57. News: Kane Ferdinand to stay with Robins until end of the season . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 30 December 2014 . 18 November 2015.
58. News: Trio of Cheltenham Town loan players return to parent clubs . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 20 April 2015 . 18 November 2015.
59. News: Liverpool trio sign for Cheltenham Town on loan . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 1 January 2015 . 18 November 2015.
60. News: Liverpool defender Lloyd Jones extends loan until end of the season . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 2 February 2015 . 18 November 2015.
61. News: Loan defender Lloyd Jones returns to Liverpool . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 15 February 2015 . 18 November 2015.
62. News: Crystal Palace's Jake Gray arrives on loan . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 16 January 2015 . 18 November 2015.
63. News: Jake Gray returns to Crystal Palace after loan spell . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 12 February 2015 . 18 November 2015.
64. News: Denny Johnstone in on loan from Birmingham City . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 2 February 2015 . 18 November 2015.
65. News: Striker Denny Johnstone returns to Birmingham City . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 9 March 2015 . 18 November 2015.
66. News: Wes Burns arrives on loan from Bristol City . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 2 February 2015 . 18 November 2015.
67. News: Pablo Mills joins Cheltenham Town on loan from Bury . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 26 February 2015 . 18 November 2015.
68. News: Russell Milton adds two experienced heads to Cheltenham Town squad, third to follow . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 26 February 2015 . 18 November 2015.
69. News: Cheltenham Town sign defender Will Packwood on loan from Birmingham City . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 11 March 2015 . 18 November 2015.
70. News: Cheltenham Town sign Shaquille McDonald on loan from Derby County . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 26 March 2015 . 18 November 2015.
71. News: Bobbie Dale Joins Bath City . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 5 September 2014 . 9 November 2015.
72. News: Patten loan extended to second month . Bath City F.C. . 13 October 2014 . 19 November 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20151119203028/http://www.bathcityfc.com/news_oct14.htm . 19 November 2015 . dead .
73. News: Evesham Loan Harry Williams . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 5 September 2014 . 9 November 2015.
74. News: Williams Signs On-Loan for Third Month . Evesham United F.C. . 3 November 2014 . 19 November 2015.
75. News: Williams Recalled by Cheltenham Town . Evesham United F.C. . 17 November 2014 . 19 November 2015.
76. News: Adam Powell Joins Cinderford On Loan . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 22 September 2014 . 17 November 2015.
77. News: Midfielder Powell extends stay at Cinderford Town . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 20 October 2014 . 18 November 2015.
78. News: Squad update . Cambridge City F.C. . 10 October 2014 . 19 November 2015 . 20 November 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20151120025243/http://www.cambridgecityfc.com/artman/publish/article_3203.shtml . dead .
79. News: Jason Taylor makes loan move to Northampton Town . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 1 January 2015 . 18 November 2015.
80. News: Loan move for goalkeeper Matt Gould . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 13 January 2015 . 18 November 2015.
81. News: Andy Haworth joins Barrow on loan . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 23 January 2015 . 18 November 2015.
82. News: Loan moves for young Cheltenham Town duo . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 5 February 2015 . 9 November 2015.
83. News: Jamal Lawrence's loan at Bishop's Cleeve extended . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 2 April 2015 . 9 November 2015.
84. News: Williams and Bowen extend loan stays with Gloucester City . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 10 April 2015 . 18 November 2015.
85. News: Harry Williams and James Bowen join Gloucester City on loan . Cheltenham Town F.C. . 12 March 2015 . 9 November 2015.
86. News: Stockport County Preview . Gloucester City A.F.C. . 18 April 2015 . 19 November 2015.
87. Web site: Cheltenham Town. FootballSquads. 31 August 2017 .
88. Web site: Squad stats. Soccerbase. Centurycomm. 31 August 2017 .