The 24 teams that will take part in Sky Bet League One in the 2023/24 season were confirmed at the end of May.
Here, dcfc.co.uk look at each one in focus ahead of the new campaign getting underway.
In this instalment, we assess the fortunes of Cheltenham Town.
Fact File
Established: 1887
Nickname: The Robins
Home: Whaddon Road (7,066 capacity)
Manager: Wade Elliott
2022/23 finish: 16th (Sky Bet League One)
Club History
Founded 136 years ago in 1887, Cheltenham Town are one of the oldest clubs in Sky Bet League One.
Their early years were spent in local leagues but after they moved to Whaddon Road in 1931, they turned semi-professional just a year later and went on to earn promotion to the EFL in 2002.
The nickname of ‘The Robins’ was born in 1938 when the club rebranded their crest to a Robin emblem.
In the 2020/2021 season they earned their first ever EFL title by beating Harrogate Town 4-1 on the final day of the campaign to secure the Sky Bet League Two trophy and win promotion to Sky Bet League One.
The Robins have never played football in the second tier with their highest ever finish being 15th in Sky Bet League One, the year following their recent promotion.
Played For Both
Tim Ward
Born in Cheltenham, the late Tim Ward started his career with the Robins before moving on to the Rams.
During his time in Derbyshire, Ward’s career was affected by World War 2 and he was sent off to Europe to fight. This resulted in him missing all bar one game of Derby’s FA Cup triumph in 1946.
He remained at Derby from 1937 until 1951, making well over 200 appearances, when he was sold to Barnsley.
Ward later returned to Derbyshire in 1962 to manage the Rams until 1967. During that time he signed the likes of Alan Durban, Colin Boulton, Kevin Hector and Ron Webster and they all went on to flourish under Brian Clough and Peter Taylor in the years that followed.
Steve Elliott
Derby-born Elliott gave both clubs great service as a player and won two England Under-21 caps while with Derby.
Having come through the Rams’ youth system, he featured over 70 times for the club before subsequently playing for Blackpool and Bristol Rovers, helping both clubs to the EFL Trophy Final and winning promotion with the Pirates.
In 2010 Elliott switched to Cheltenham with whom he played in the 2012 League Two Play Off Final defeat to Crewe Alexandra. He played 194 games for Cheltenham until a 2015 move to Bath City, before returning to the Robins as assistant manager for a spell.
Luke Thomas
A player that has already made the list of another team Derby will face up to next season after appearing for both Barnsley and the Rams, Thomas’ career started off with the Robins.
He made just one first-team appearance for Cheltenham before going on trial with Portuguese club Benfica and then eventually signing for the Rams' Academy in 2016.
He made two senior appearances off the bench for the Rams before signing for Barnsley in 2019, following a season-long loan spell at Coventry City.
2022/23 Season
Last season was just the second back in Sky Bet League One for the Robins following their promotion from Sky Bet League Two in 2020/21.
Their first year back in the third tier saw them achieve their highest ever position in the English football pyramid in 15th spot under Michael Duff.
Duff left to take up the managerial role at Barnsley and was replaced by Wade Elliott prior to the last campaign getting underway.
They weren’t quite able to better their highest ever position as they fell one short with a 16th place finish.
Record Against The Rams
Last season brought with it the first ever competitive meetings between Derby and Cheltenham.
Both teams had the opportunity to write the beginning of their own records and fortunately from a Rams standpoint – both results went in their favour.
A 3-2 victory on the road in January, thanks to goals from Conor Hourihane, Max Bird and Tom Barkhuizen, was backed up by a 2-0 win at Pride Park a month later as the Rams completed the league double over their opponents with David McGoldrick and Lewis Dobbin on target.
