Analysis: Who is Harvey Greenslade?

Yeovil Town have signed former Bristol Rovers forward, Harvey Greenslade, on a two-year deal, after his contract expired at Rovers. The 20-year-old comes in as the Glovers first signing of the transfer window, looking to make a massive impact on our first season back in the National League.

In this article I will be doing an analysis on Harvey Greenslade. The article will include:

• Player Profile
• Key Strengths
• Areas to Improve
• How he suits the “Mark Cooper System”
• Previous History
• Conclusion

Enjoy the read! Any feedback would be massively appreciated as I am going to do one of these for EVERY signing we make through the upcoming season so I will be wanting to improve my work every time. Also, give me your thoughts on the signing of Harvey Greenslade!

Player Profile

Name: Harvey Greenslade
Position: Forward (Striker)
Age: 20 (08/04/06)
Height: 6ft 1in (186cm)
Strong Foot: Right
Previous Club: Bristol Rovers – Oxford City (Loan)
Oxford City Stats: 1024 minutes – 16 games – 3 goals
23/24 Season Stats: 2500 minutes – 35 games – 7 goals

Key Strengths

High potential – One thing that could be vitally important about this transfer is the ceiling of Greenslade’s game. Not only is he a talented footballer in the current moment, he has the potential to improve massively and climb up the leagues with us. There is also a possibility of making some profit off of Greenslade because of how young he is.

Desire to improve – One thing that is important for young players to have, is a desire and motivation to develop their game. This means he is going to put maximum effort in, when pressing his man or running in behind. Having a willingness to develop your game means you are likely to try and perform at a high standard to improve.

Local Based – In his time at Huish Park, Mark Cooper has openly said he wants to recruit locally to build a really tight group that will fight together and be desperate to win. He has proven this with signings such as, Jake Wannell, Jay Foulston and Dylan Morgan, just to name a few.

Familiar Bonds – In his senior career so far, Greenslade has made appearances for teams such as Tiverton, Oxford City, Chippenham and Truro. When playing for Chippenham Town, he was playing alongside winger Jordan Young, who had a fantastic season in Green and White last season. Greenslade scored one goal in his short spell at Chippenham, Jordan Young assisted it!

Physical Benefits – Despite being just 20 years-old, Harvey Greenslade has a lot of Physical attributes which make him really dangerous and suits the type of striker Cooper wants. At 6ft 1, he brings some good height to the front line where he will be able to win headers. He is very quick in behind and pressing opposition defenders, this could cause trouble with players like Young and Morgan either side! One thing that did surprise me was seeing how strong he is for his age. He isn’t afraid to bully defenders and beat them in duels.

Clinical Finishing – One thing we are desperate for after last season is a forward, who will stay fit but has devastating finishing and a real composure in front of goal. Greenslade had this from such an early age, which could help him become a brilliant player if he can continue to tidy up the rest of his game.

Areas to Improve

Inexperienced -Despite the excitement of his age and how much potential he has, there is certainly a lack of experience in his game. This will come with game time, so the best way to improve his knowledge of the game is give him plenty of minutes. He had a successful season last year in terms of minutes played, at Oxford City and Truro he picked up a mass of 2500 minutes! He won’t be coming into the National League cold, as he played 16 games for, relegated, Oxford City last season.

Hold-up play – At such a young age, you would be lucky to find a player who has brilliant hold-up play, with his back to goal. This is something Greenslade needs to work on next season, he could become a massive asset to the team if he continues to work on it.

Winning Mentality – In his loan spells from Bristol Rovers, he spent most of his time on the side that doesn’t win the game. True City had a decent start to their season but dropped off fairly quick, whereas, Oxford City were relegated from the National League! That being said, winning mentality has been engraved into our current players over the previous season, hopefully they can push that across to Greenslade.

Link-up Play -This will come with experience, the more he plays for the Glovers the more he will become used to the play style and needs of a forward under Mark Cooper. Being able to sit in a bit deeper and play a 1-2 with a winger is a vital part of the way we play. He will have a full pre season to understand the “Mark Cooper System” which should help him massively!

How will he fit in?

The first key factor I think we need to understand with Greenslade is that he is only 20-years-old. He has plenty of time to develop his style of play, in a very short space of time. This will be a bonus for Mark Cooper as he can use Greenslade’s physical benefits to mould him into a “Mark Cooper” striker.

Being such a young forward, pre-season is such a vital part of how is career pans out at Huish Park. If he can get firing in our friendlies, he should start the season with real confidence. He may not be a starter straight away but I’m sure he will have a vital impact from the bench.

We know Cooper likes to rotate his formations around but I believe he will mainly use the 4231, similar to last season, with Frank Nouble in the “number 10” free-roam position. In my opinion the formation will look something like what I have shown below. I have noted Greenslade to be as a substitute striker as I believe someone else, with more experience will come in.

Personality wise, I feel Greenslade will fit in perfectly. He is from the South West, like many other players in the squad, meaning he won’t take long to settle in. He is a young player who has a motivation and desire to improve, which matches the sort of person Cooper loves to coach and develop.

Previous History

2021 – Signed his first Professional contract at Bristol Rovers. 

2021 – Cinderford Town (Loan) 3 Games – 0 Goals

2021 – Tuffley Rovers (Loan) 8 Games 5 Goals

2022 – Tiverton Town (Loan) 3 Games 0 Goals

2022/2023 –  Chippenham Town (Loan) 10 Games 1 Goal

2023 – Truro City (Loan) 13 Games 4 Goals

2023 – Truro City (Loan) 19 Games 4 Goals

2024 – Oxford City (Loan) 16 Games 3 Goals

2024 – Released by Bristol Rovers after making 0 appearances for the club in 3 years.

Conclusion

I really like this signing personally, I feel it adds some real depth to our squad in the forward position. Greenslade is a player who has clearly been brought in as a “project player”, being only 20 years-old he is someone who we can plan future squads around and hopefully keep him around for a while. A bonus to this signing is that if he has a very strong season, and gets taken off of our hands by a superior club, we will make some money.

I like the fact he is local, It gives a real feeling of having a tight-knit group.

I think he a striker who suits the exact style of number 9 Cooper wants, a physical build but someone who can run in behind with pace and power. Him being young is only a bonus and the fact he performed well in a poor Oxford City side last season, proves he’s ready for the National League!

What are your thoughts on the signing?

I hope you enjoyed the read, as I previously stated, any feedback would be massively appreciated!