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Ian Weston is one of the few people who can claim to have been promoted with both Cheltenham Town and Forest Green Rovers, who meet at the Jonny-Rocks Stadium on Saturday (3pm).
The Bristol-born midfielder played for the Robins on loan from Bath City in 1993.
He made five appearances and scored on his debut in a 1-1 draw at Farnborough Town in the Southern League Premier Division before his spell was cut short by a broken ankle.
He later turned out for Weston-super-Mare and Clevedon Town before hanging up his boots after no less than 10 knee operations.
His playing career included four seasons at Bristol Rovers, given his big break there by Bobby Gould.
He also played at Wembley for Torquay United in 1989 against Bolton Wanderers in the final of the Leyland Daf Trophy.
But Weston is much more well known in Gloucestershire for his work as a sports therapist, spending 14 years in that role at Cheltenham, before returning to Forest Green in 2015, where he is now head of medical.
He arrived at Cheltenham in his guise as a physio in the summer of 2002, at the age of 34, replacing Andy Mitchell, who is now working at Blackburn Rovers.
The previous season Weston had combined a part-time role at then Conference club Forest Green with a job at the Royal Mail in Bristol and he had also previously worked as Clevedon’s physio before turning full-time at Cheltenham.
“I always had plans to get into the physio side of it when I finished playing, but I didn’t think it would come about so quickly,” said Weston at the time.
“The whole club has changed since I played here and everything is moving in the right direction.
“It’s always been a family club, but it’s an impressive club and they’ve moved on.
“It’s all credit to everyone involved and there’s no reason why it shouldn’t continue.
“I’ve had a couple of informal chats with boss Graham Allner (manager) and Mike Davis (assistant) and they’re very ambitious people.”
After Allner’s departure, Weston went on to work under the management of Gould, John Ward, Keith Downing, Martin Allen, Mark Yates, Paul Buckle and Gary Johnson.
He was a highly valued member of the backroom team, with his extensive medical knowledge supported by the added benefit of having been a professional footballer too.
The worst injury he faced during 14 years at Cheltenham was midfielder Scott Brown’s broken leg at Bristol City in January 2007.
His quick response on the night and his tireless work during the rehabilitation period played a huge role in Brown still being able to play now at the age of 34.
Weston helped countless other players recover from serious setbacks and return fitter and stronger, working in tandem with the club’s fitness coaches: Jason Murphy, Martin Alps and Ian Hutton.
A prime example was flying winger Ashley Vincent, who tore his ACL during a reserve match in August 2006.
After a year on the sidelines, he returned a better all-round athlete and earned a move to Colchester United in 2009.
As well as developing players, Weston made a conscious effort to gradually improve Cheltenham’s medical facilities each season and by the time he moved on, he left an impressive legacy at Seasons.
Weston develops an excellent, but fully respectful, rapport with players and staff, another reason why he has been such a valuable asset for both of Gloucestershire’s Football League clubs over the past 18 years.
He won promotion to League One via the play-offs with Cheltenham in 2005/06 and then to League Two with Forest Green in 2016/17.
Weston was replaced at Cheltenham by Gavin Crowe, another outstanding sports therapist who had previously been with Kidderminster Harriers and the Robins’ academy set-up
Two of Weston’s colleagues at Forest Green are also ex-Cheltenham employees, Joe Baker and Dr Alistair Smith, who like Weston is now in his second spell with the Nailsworth club.
Cheltenham’s goalkeeping coach Steve Book also won promotion with Forest Green, to the Southern League Premier Division, before enjoying two during his spell as number one at Whaddon Road.
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