FAN FILE FAN FILE

Last season was so strange. The media team did an amazing job, but now it’s time to get off the sofa and feel it for real again. The big talking point among the fans is money! We actually have some to spend on players.

I won’t be happy unless I see some potential turn into reality. I’m proud of what our young homegrown team achieves and I want to see the experienced players around them lead us up the table. We don’t want to be in League Two forever… Our most underrated player is

Archie Collins. To be fair, we rave about him but he also does so much off the ball to help win back possession. He’s added sublime passing and the odd screamer to his armoury, too.

Look out for young striker Sonny Cox. He’s been with us since he was seven and turned down some big clubs this summer. Let’s see if he can become the next Ollie Watkins. The one change I’d make would be to increase protection from the authorities. Ethan Ampadu was stolen from us by Chelsea, and sides like ours need the incentive to keep producing players. Our academy is one of the best, but how can we carry on if the rich clubs cherry- pick players from us for peanuts?

Save the date for Hartlepool away! The furthest fixture, but so much fun to have it back. Fantastic pubs. The best thing about matchday at

Exeter is the volunteers – heroes who help to make the experience special and keep the club’s running costs reasonable. Our key player will be Jack Sparkes [ above], a brilliant youngster with a wicked left foot. I’d like to see him used further up the pitch, if possible. The fans’ opinion of the gaffer is split. It was pretty risky taking on a manager with no previous league experience in 2018, but Matt Taylor [ below] has many good attributes. The surprise is that a great defender like him has failed to build a robust back four so far, but he has lots to offer and will succeed. We’ll finish top. Ever the optimist.

Last season was best summed up by our chaotic play- off semi- final defeat to Newport. We were cruising for the first 30- odd matches of the season, then nearly slipped out of the play- offs. Mark Cooper lost his job, then Jimmy Ball came in and so nearly led us to Wembley. This season will be different to

last because for the first time since 2016, we kick off with a new coach in Rob Edwards [ below].

I’ve really missed getting home from a Tuesday night game up north at some ungodly hour and asking myself if it’s all worth it.

I won’t be happy unless we avoid the play- offs. We’ve finished there in five of the last seven seasons and it’s not good for the heart! Our most underrated player is

Baily Cargill. The defender has real quality on the ball and was a smart January pick- up from MK Dons.

Look out for Taylor Allen. From centre- back to centre- forward, the

21- year- old has played almost everywhere – even he’s not sure where his best position is. The opposition player I secretly

admire is Walsall’s Rory Holden, a silky No. 10 who tore us apart towards the end of last season.

The pantomime villain will be Mark Cooper, when he returns with his new club Barrow in November.

The best thing about matchday at

Forest Green is the confused look on away fans’ faces as they walk up Spring Hill for the very first time. “It can’t be up here?!” they always say. The ground I’m most looking

forward to visiting is Sutton’s Gander Green Lane. It’s nice to have some different places to visit.

Our key player will be Jamille Matt [ above]. The goalscorer Rovers fans have been crying out for since Christian Doidge departed in 2019. Our form took a big dip while he was out with that horrific hand injury. The fans’ opinion of the gaffer is that there’s a feeling of excitement around Edwards. Having coached the country’s elite youngsters at the FA, he should really enjoy this squad.

We’ll finish 5th.