Based in Nailsworth, which has a population of less than 6,000, Gloucestershire club Forest Green were taken over by green energy pioneer Dale Vince in 2010.
After a rapid rise, they spent seven seasons in the English Football League before relegation in 2024-25 and defeat in last season’s play-off semi-final.
Vince has raised Forest Green’s profile by implementing eco-friendly initiatives such as making Rovers all-vegan and winning recognition from the United Nations as the world’s first carbon-neutral football club in 2018.
Savage’s 22-year-old son Charlie – who has since joined Reading and been capped by Wales – spent the second half of the 2022-23 season on loan at Forest Green from Manchester United.
“Dale’s brilliant,” said Savage, who played 346 Premier League games for Leicester City, Birmingham City, Blackburn Rovers and Derby County.
“We get on so well. I knew him from when Charlie was here. He cares.
“The food’s high in protein, it’s high in fibre. It’s a brilliant football club run by passionate, caring people who want you to do well, so I’ve embraced everything.
“Dale’s not employing me because of my profile. He said he didn’t know I was a celebrity – I was Charlie’s dad.
“That’s nice, because he’s appointed me because of what I did as a player and what I did as a manager.”
