GREEN FOR GO AS JOSH STARS
THERE aren’t many players who have bounced up and down the leagues quite like Josh Davison has in the last 18 months.
But that hasn’t stopped the striker from finding the net wherever he goes.
The 21-year-old has played for four clubs in four different leagues after joining Charlton from Isthmian Premier side Enfield Town in October 2019.
He made nine Championship appearances and scored one goal for the Addicks last season but could not save them from relegation and, after a couple of EFL Trophy appearances, manager Lee Bowyer sent him out on loan this year.
First, he joined Woking in the National League, scoring four times in
14 games, but is now back in the EFL with
League Two high-flyers Forest Green.
Davison has played a pivotal part in keeping the Nailsworth-based side among the leading pack, with two goals in his first three starts for the club, and the striker admits he had a point to prove.
“To go through NonLeague and to come back to such a big team like Charlton and play for the first team, you don’t want to let it go,” he said.
ON-SONG: Jamille Matt
“But since I was 18 I’ve been around a lot of teams, whether it’s been trialling or abroad, so I’m used to playing and getting used to new environments, so it was easy for me to settle in. “When you come into a team as a striker you want to hit the ground running and get your first goal as soon as possible, and to be able to get two in my first few starts was great.
“At Forest Green it’s a lot more technical and a lot more intense than the National League. The step up was a bit of a shock to begin with but now I’ve settled in quite well.”
Davison came through the ranks at Peterborough but was released aged 18, leaving him to fend for himself on the Non-League circuit. That led him to Enfield, where he plundered 16 goals in 21 games.
He was only handed a few chances to impress at Charlton and his stay at Woking was just three months long, but at Forest Green he has found the perfect partner in the shape of one of the country’s most in-form hitmen.
“Playing with Jamille Matt is great, he’s a very good striker, one of the best I’ve played with,” said Davison of the 31-year-old forward, who had seven goals in his last seven games ahead of the weekend.
“The way he holds the ball up helps me because I’m playing off him and making my runs off his flicks.
“He’s scoring loads of goals at the moment, so if I can create space for him and get him on the ball then he’s going to keep scoring. If I can nick a few as well, I’ll be happy with that.”
Away from the field, it’s no secret that Rovers pride themselves on their label as ‘the world’s greenest football club’.
They recently attracted widespread attention with their new kit made of coffee waste and recycled plastic.
“If Forest Green can do it, a lot of other clubs can do it as well, so they’re setting the bar for what the future of football could look like for more teams,” added Davison.
“I don’t know how they do it but it feels just like any other kit, it’s unreal.”
DETERMINED Danny Lloyd is dreaming of scoring for Tranmere Rovers at Wembley this afternoon – and dedicating it to his late brother Jon.
Tragedy struck when Jon took his own life at the age of 25 and it was something Danny, then just 17, had to come to terms with. Now 29, winger Lloyd celebrates every goal he scores by raising his hands to the sky in memory of Jon.
To do so again at the home of football in today’s
Papa John’s Trophy final against Sunderland would be perfect for
Lloyd, who wasn’t selected when former club Salford gained promotion into the EFL by winning the National League playoff final in 2019.
“I love scoring goals, but to do it at Wembley in a cup final would be even sweeter,” he told The FLP. “I suppose you dream of doing it in the FA
Cup final, but I’ll settle for the Papa
John’s Trophy final!
“If I score a goal,
I’ll dedicate it to our
Jon – that would be something to cherish for the rest of my life.
“Saying that, I’ll be happy if I’m selected and we win. I love winning football matches and at this club we have a winning mentality.”
Although the final, like yesterday’s 2020 version between Portsmouth and Salford, is behind closed doors, it will still be a massive occasion for Lloyd. The Liverpudlian served his time in Non-League with the likes of Southport, Colwyn Bay, Lincoln, Tamworth and AFC Fylde before really making his name with Stockport in National League North.
His electrifying displays for the Hatters earned him a move into the Football League with League One Peterborough in 2017 at the relatively late age of 25 for a Football League starter.
That full-time switch allowed him to pack in his day job as a business development manager for waste disposal giants Biffa.
He said: “The lads thought it was something else when we got back from Southend at quarter to four in the morning in midweek (Tranmere won 2-0), but I remember going to Lowestoft in National League North and getting home at 5.25 – and I had to get up for work at 6.30!
Brilliant
“I don’t regret making it the way I did and I wouldn’t change anything. I’ve had some brilliant life experiences and I see myself playing on until my late 30s because I’ve come into the pro game late – I haven’t got the mileage in my legs.”
Not that being a pro is sometimes all that it’s cracked up to be – and Lloyd has first-hand experience of that. He found himself out of work last summer and wondering where his next pay cheque would come from.
He said: “There was a period of nine or ten weeks when I had no club and, with Covid, teams were wary of taking on a player who hadn’t been playing.
“Tranmere weren’t doing so great and there were talks between my representatives and the club.
“They wanted to see me in a game and at first I signed a month-long contract. It’s gone from there.”
While the Papa John’s Trophy has its detractors, Lloyd is definitely not one of them. He made his debut for Rovers in a 2-2 draw against Wigan in the group stages in November and has notched four of his five goals this season in the competition.
Platform
“When I first came in, the rounds were coming thick and fast,” he explained. “It has provided me with a superb platform to get fitter, play minutes and show what I can do against very good opposition.
“I’ve always played in this competition and I’ve never understood teams playing a weaker side. For lower league sides, this is a chance to get to Wembley and a realistic chance to win something.
“We’ve had to beat the best to get there and we know Sunderland are flying and have some really good players. However, we’re flying too and have put ourselves in a great position in League Two. We are going in full of confidence.
“Unfortunately my fiancée Ellie and son Hudson, who has just turned one, can’t be there, but I’ll just have to do it for them - and everyone else watching at home.”