Journalist and CTFC aficionado Jon Palmer on why the summer recruitment was key to Cotterill lifting the club from relegation-threatened to promotion-chasing.
Watch a PREVIEW of the chat below:
Watch or listen to the FULL CHAT below:
A happy anniversary
September 30th marked the one-year anniversary of Steve Cotterill’s dramatic return to Cheltenham Town.
When Cotterill – the man who first lead the club into the football league In 1999 – came back the Robins were adrift at the bottom of the table.
A year on he had the club competing towards the top.
It’s a remarkable turnaround and the begs the question – what has he changed?
“He didn’t have any kind of break. He went away but I think he was on the phone constantly.”
Jon Palmer, who’s followed the club his whole life and reported on them for decades, believes Cotterill’s hands-on approach to recruitment has been huge.
“I don’t think you can put it down to finance,” Palmer told Sport and Life.
“It was the way he recruited in the summer. He didn’t have any kind of break. He went away but I think he was on the phone constantly.
“They brought in nine or ten players and I’ve been really impressed with their calibre.
“It’s a world away from where Cheltenham were.”
Old school management
We’re used to football bosses being called head coaches these days. And the idea of a head coach actively pursuing and signing players feels like something from a longtime ago.
“Steve is definitely in control over who he signs.”
But in this way Cotterill is very much an old school manager.
“Steve is definitely in control over who he signs. He’s kind of a director of football and manager all in one.
“He is data driven, but I think he, more than any other manager, puts a massive emphasis on personality and just will not sign a bad character.”
McCann’s the man
One of the key Cotterill transfer coups was landing free-scoring midfielder Charlie McCann.
“McCann’s finishing has been unbelievable. You given him a sight of goal he’s so composed.
“I think he, more than any other manager, puts a massive emphasis on personality.”
“I’d definitely recommend watching his second goal against Crawley, a disguised side-foot finish that just trickles into the bottom corner.”
The Uni unites with the football club
Palmer is a busy man. He’s covering the Cotterill revolution at Cheltenham on evenings and weekends, but his day job is teaching sports journalism at The University of Gloucestershire.
Although he often unites his two worlds for the benefit of his students.
“We’ve got a great group of first years. We took them down to interview Pierce Sweeney at Cheltenham’s ground. It was like a giant press conference.
“The students really enjoyed it and came up with some good questions for him.”
