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The Guardian
01-07-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
‘I'm not scared of taking risks': Robbie Savage sets sights on Forest Green revival
Off the roundabout at the summit of Spring Hill, the billboard on Another Way that usually displays Forest Green Rovers' next opponents is shouting about their new manager. 'Welcome Robbie,' it reads in block capitals. A club famous for doing things differently have appointed Robbie Savage on a four-year contract, enthused by his sole, record-breaking season in the dugout at Macclesfield FC – the 50-year-old led the team to the Northern Premier League title after transitioning from the role of director of football – rather than fretting whether he is qualified for the job. 'I know there will be a bit of scepticism because I've only had one year in management,' says Savage. 'I know I will have to win fans over. But I'm not scared of that. I got released from the biggest football club in the world [Manchester United] at 19, told I wasn't good enough. But I've always proved people wrong because I've got a great work ethic. I spoke to Brendan Rodgers, Martin O'Neill and Sean Dyche and they all said: 'What an opportunity.' Everybody wants to help me so that goes to show I must be OK because they're willing to help.' In many ways, Savage's arrival in the Cotswolds began in earnest when his eldest son, Charlie, joined Forest Green on loan under Duncan Ferguson in January 2023. Savage Sr sat alongside the Forest Green owner, Dale Vince, at matches and he remembers Charlie starring in the team that beat Sheffield Wednesday in League One a little more than two years ago and scoring a first career goal a couple of weeks earlier against Bristol Rovers. Forest Green also recently appointed Mark Bowen, Savage's former Wales teammate, as director of football. Savage is the latest high-profile appointment, after Ferguson, who lasted six months, and Troy Deeney, who lasted 29 days. Savage succeeds Steve Cotterill, who reached the milestone of 1,000 games en route to the National League playoffs last season. 'Robbie is not a high-profile manager, he is a high-profile person,' Vince says. 'The media keep saying to me: 'He has only managed at Macclesfield, does that worry you?' It is a valid question but, no, it doesn't.' Savage's departure from Macclesfield was not an ordinary exit given he had a 10.9% stake in the club reborn four years ago after the collapse of Macclesfield Town. He previously spoke of building the club 'from the first brick' with his best friend, Robert Smethurst, the co-owner. Savage concedes confirmation of his being removed as a director on Companies House last weekend hit home and he plans to sell his remaining Macclesfield shares. He believes his experiences of being a part-owner at Macclesfield will help him as a full-time manager. 'I'm not scared of taking risks. As an owner sometimes you can feel isolated if results go against managers; I've seen it and witnessed it. But we're all in this as one. Whatever happens, I'm a football person. If results don't go our way, I understand football. I can take it. I've sacked a manager when we've been top of the league [Danny Whitaker at Macclesfield]. So I get it. No problem. But one thing I couldn't do with this opportunity with good people was not have a go.' Savage plans to immerse himself in the Cotswolds town. 'I want to embrace the culture,' he says. 'I'll be moving here, I'll be looking for a place. I've signed a four-year contract, I want to be here for four years. I want to take this club back to the EFL. It was the first village club to get into the EFL. When you walk into the training ground, you see the ambition and you want to be a part of that. Hopefully we can grow the fanbase as well … At Macclesfield in the league [when we started] we had an average attendance of 1,250 and when I left it was 3,150.' Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion Savage met Forest Green staff on Monday and took training for the first time on Tuesday at their new base off junction 13 of the M5, over the road from the site of their planned new all-timber 5,000-capacity stadium, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects. Vince, who is working to turn discarded fishing nets and lobster pots from waters in Scotland into goal nets at Forest Green facilities, says of the stadium: 'If we're lucky, we're a year away from starting work on it. It's coming, we've got consent. There's a road issue we've got to resolve. The stadium is part of the plan to get ourselves into the Championship.' Savage, Forest Green's sixth permanent manager in two years, jokes he will be in the running to replace Pep Guardiola at Manchester City if he achieves the feat within his contract. Vince believes Savage's positivity will permeate. 'This was not part of why we recruited him but I saw him as a pundit when Man United were playing Lyon [in the Europa League quarter-finals],' Vince says. 'There were only a few minutes left and all the other pundits on the panel were saying: 'They've blown it.' Not Robbie. He was like: 'They just need two goals. They just need to get the ball to [Harry] Maguire.' And they won. Imagine having that on your touchline.' Now it is a reality. 'I'm not here because I know Dale, I'm not here because I know Mark Bowen,' says Savage, whose first game is a friendly against Slimbridge AFC on Friday. 'I'm here because they believe in me and I believe in the project.'
Daily Mail
01-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Robbie Savage lands new job in management as he replaces sacked head coach - after rejecting offers higher up the pyramid
Robbie Savage has been appointed as manager as Forest Green, replacing Steve Cotterill at the National League side. The former Manchester United youngster resigned from his role as head coach of Macclesfield FC - a club he part owns and acted as a director up until last week - having secured promotion to the National League North last term. The 50-year-old, who made 356 Premier League appearances for the likes of Leicester City, Birmingham City and Derby County during his playing days, is believed to be close friends with Forest Green director of football Mark Bowen, his former Wales international team-mate. Savage, whose resignation as Macclesfield FC director paved the way for his appointment, looked forward to his chance to create an 'an attacking brand of football' in their pursuit of returning to the Football League. 'I want a fast, exciting style but the most important thing is to win games,' he told the club's website. His predecessor Cotterill was dismissed last week after Forest Green failed to achieve promotion through the National League play-offs. Despite finishing third, they were dumped out by Southend on penalties and missed out on a place at Wembley. According to The Mirror, Savage rejected offers from higher up the pyramid to take charge of the National League outfit. He signed a new two-year contract with Macclesfield just last month, having steered his side to promotion with a whopping 109 points, 26 clear of second place. Speaking after penning his extension, he said: 'It's a club that's close to my heart. 'What myself and Rob and the volunteers, the staff have all achieved: three promotions in four years, an FA trophy semi-final, record-breaking season last year. 'You know interest from other clubs, as Rob has alluded to, I just wanted to show everybody my commitment to this football club. 'It's my future. For the next couple of years, it's going to be here. It's a project. It's a journey. I can't leave that dressing room. 'The lads have been spectacular, been amazing. Togetherness has been incredible. So I'm on that journey with them.'
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Savage appointed Forest Green manager
Forest Green Rovers have appointed former Wales midfielder Robbie Savage as their new manager, after Steve Cotterill was sacked last week. Savage, who played for Leicester, Derby, Blackburn and Birmingham among others during his career, has been managing non-league side Macclesfield FC since 2024. Advertisement Cotterill's departure from the National League club was confirmed on Thursday, after the side missed out on promotion through the play-offs last season. "I feel I have an opportunity to develop a squad to create an attacking brand of football - an aggressive form of football to try and get Forest Green back into the EFL," Savage said in a club statement. "I want a fast, exciting style but the most important thing is to win games." Forest Green finished third in the National League last season but were beaten by seventh-placed Southend in the play-offs on penalties, to miss out on a place in the Wembley final. Advertisement Savage links up with former Wales team-mate Mark Bowen at the Bolt New Lawn, who was appointed Forest Green's director of football last month. They have not disclosed the length of his contract. His son, Charlie Savage, also had a spell on loan at Forest Green during the second half of the 2023-24 campaign, scoring one goal in 15 games. The appointment is the 50-year-old's first in management in the top five tiers of English football. However, last season he won promotion to the National League North with Macclesfield - where he has had an association since 2020 - during his first campaign in charge, with the club clinching the Northern Premier League Premier Division title with six games to spare. Advertisement Savage said at the time it would take "an awful lot" for him to leave for another club. A Macclesfield statement said the departure of Savage was "disappointing" but that he leaves with "our very best wishes and eternal gratitude for everything that he has done for our football club". Savage won the first of his 39 caps for Wales in 1995 after beginning his playing career at Manchester United, although he failed to break into the first team at Old Trafford. He went on to play more than 600 games across the EFL and Premier League in a 17-year career, which began at Crewe, before he signed for Leicester in 1997, where he played more than 200 games and won the League Cup. Advertisement He played for Birmingham before joining Blackburn in a deal worth £3m in 2005 and ended his career at Derby in 2011. Aged 45, Savage made a brief one-game comeback for non-league outfit Stockport Town in 2019 but has predominantly been working as a media pundit. Savage becomes Forest Green's seventh manager since 2022, following Rob Edwards, Ian Burchnall, Duncan Ferguson, David Horseman, Troy Deeney and Cotterill.
BBC News
01-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Savage appointed Forest Green manager
Forest Green Rovers have appointed former Wales midfielder Robbie Savage as their new manager, after Steve Cotterill was sacked last who played for Leicester, Derby, Blackburn and Birmingham among others during his career, has been managing non-league side Macclesfield FC since departure from the National League club was confirmed on Thursday, after the side missed out on promotion through the play-offs last season."I feel I have an opportunity to develop a squad to create an attacking brand of football - an aggressive form of football to try and get Forest Green back into the EFL," Savage said in a club statement."I want a fast, exciting style but the most important thing is to win games." More to follow.
Daily Mail
24-06-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Former Premier League star 'emerges as shock candidate for managerial position at Non-League club' following promotion heartbreak
Former Premier League star Robbie Savage has emerged as a surprise contender for the managerial role at National League side Forest Green Rovers, according to reports. Current Rovers boss Steve Cotterill is reportedly close to leaving the club after failing to lead them back to the English Football League last season. The 60-year-old guided the Gloucestershire club to third place in the National League, but they were knocked out in the play-offs by Southend, who went on to lose in the final. And now after nearly 18 months in charge, Cotterill is set to depart as owner Dale Vince continues to shake things up at the New Lawn after appointing a new director of football, Mark Bowen, earlier this month. One of Bowen's first actions in his new role is seemingly to bring in his former Wales team-mate Savage - whose son Charlie spent six months at Forest Green in 2023 - as head coach, according to TalkSPORT. The ex-Leicester and Birmingham midfielder is the current part-owner and manager of Macclesfield FC, the phoenix club of Macclesfield Town, who will take their place in the National League North next season, just one division below Forest Green. The Welshman previously served as Macclesfield's director of football before being appointed as manager in June of last year. He led the Cheshire side to their third promotion in four seasons as they romped to the Non-League Premier title by 26 points. Savage penned a new two-year contract at Macclesfield just last month as they look to continue their climb up the English football pyramid. Speaking after signing the deal, he revealed that he had turned down offers to leave Macclesfield in order to stay put. 'It's a club that's close to my heart,' he said. 'What myself and Rob and the volunteers, the staff have all achieved: three promotions in four years, an FA trophy semi-final, record-breaking season last year. 'You know interest from other clubs, as Rob has alluded to, I just wanted to show everybody my commitment to this football club. 'It's my future. For the next couple of years, it's going to be here. It's a project. It's a journey. I can't leave that dressing room. 'The lads have been spectacular, been amazing. Togetherness has been incredible. So I'm on that journey with them.' However, he is believed to have met Bowen in Stroud on Tuesday following reports that Cotterill was close to being given the boot.
