Thackley AFC are pleased to confirm that Joint Managers Tom Greaves & Danny Forrest have committed to Thackley AFC for the upcoming 2023/2024 season and will continue as Joint Managers. Greaves, who scored 26 goals last season to finish the Club’s top scorer and the 4th top scorer in the league overall, will also continue in his Player / Joint Manager role.

In December 2022 Greaves stepped up to the Interim Manager Role at a difficult period at the Club and, together with the management team he assembled at the time, made a quick impact with a dominant away win at local rivals Eccleshill United.

In January 2023, Forrest joined the Club alongside Greaves in a Joint Manager role, and between the pair led the Club in January and February with some impressive results which, following a mid-season refresh of the squad with some new faces joining the First Team, saw Thackley AFC pull comfortably away from the relegation places. The season eventually concluded with a 4-0 away win against Handsworth, a game which Greaves bagged the final 4th goal of the game.

Chairman Ben Oliver had the following to say:

“We are delighted that Tom and Danny have committed to the Club for the upcoming season. Whilst only confirming this now, in reality all parties were keen to continue the work which the Tom, Danny and their coaching staff have done in the second half of the season and I know planning from both of them started the day after the Handsworth game for the next season, meaning we are in a good place for next season already. We will shortly be announcing our pre-season schedule and there is a good mix of teams in there including some exciting ones who will be making their way to Dennyfield. This is testament again to how Tom and Danny are regarded in the game that those teams are looking to Thackley as a place to come for their pre-season. It was clear from everyone associated with the Club what a lift the pair brought to the place at the turn of the year, and we are excited to see how their vision shapes out next season. As a Club, we will do what we can to support them."

Joint Manager Danny Forrest also commented as follows on the re-appointment:

“Tom and I are both delighted to be staying on and we are grateful for the support we have had from everyone at the Club since taking over. The Club has displayed real signs of progression on and off the pitch since January and we are committed to giving everything to push on again. Tom and I are ambitious and we feel both ourselves and the Club are aligned in terms of the way we want to build and grow in the future which is hugely attractive.

Regarding current players, we inherited a strong and committed group who are a pleasure to work with. We were also really pleased with some of the recruitment we did in the second half of the season and we are looking to add some more prior to pre-season in order to strengthen.”

Please do keep an eye on our social media accounts for further information on pre-season, player recruitment, sponsorship opportunities and the 2023/2024 season. You can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.