Forest Green v County: Match Thread (29/03/2024)

Oh go on then, after a week off courtesy of a horrible chest and sinus infection, I'll ask the question: FGR, what can we say about them?

Well at W 8 D 9 L 22 F 38 A 65 they are Rock Bottom, yes, lower even than (no-longer) Rock Bottom Sutton. They've scored the fewest goals in L2 although, strangely perhaps, 6 teams have conceded more than their 65: Cole U (66); Morecambe (68); Swindon (70); Sutton (71); Salford (73) and Notts County (74); - Grimsby are level with FGR on 65.

Their H record is just as bad W 4 D 4 L 12 F 18 A 33. They have picked up a bit in 2024 though W 4 D 5 L 7 F 15 A 22 which is much better but probably in a lost cause because just look at their run in: - County (h); Crewe (a); MKD (h); Mansfield (a); Wrexham (a); Morecambe (a) and Notts County (h). So it's hard to feel any hope for them out of that lot. Good luck next year, because I can't see them staying up.

Their Ws are Harrogate (a) 0-1, Sutton (a) 0-1, Cole U (h) 5-0, Crawley (h) 2-1, Barrow (a) 1-2, Tranmere (h) 1-0, Walsall (h) 2-0 and Bratfut (a) 0-2. Their Ds are AFC Wombles (a) 1-1, Grimsby (h) 2-2, Walsall (a) 0-0, Gillingham (h) 0-0, AFC Wombles (h) 1-1, Salford (a) 2-2, Gillingham (a) 1-1, Cole U (a) 3-3 and Wrexham (h) 1-1. Their Ls are Salford (h) 0-2, Swindon (h) 1-2, Newport (h) 0-3, Crewe (h) 1-4, Donny (h) 1-2, Notts (a) 4-3, Morecambe (h) 1-2, County (a) 2-0, Accy Stanley (a) 2-1, Barrow (h) 0-2, Tranmere (a) 3-0, Bratfut (h) 0-3, MKD (a) 2-0, Newport (a) 4-2, Swindon (a) 2-1, Harrogate (h) 0-2, Accy Stanley (h) 0-1, Mansfield (h) 0-4, Crawley (a) 2-0, Grimsby (a) 1-0, Sutton (h) 0-1 and Donny (a) 2-0.

So to their credit they've kept 8 clean sheets, but they've conceded 3 or more 8 times. Up front they've scored 3 or more just three times, once against Notts County and twice against Cole U, but they've been blanked 16 times.

Their top scorer, on 9, is former Amateur boxer Matthew Stevens, he has 37 in 101 apps for FGR. Next comes MF-cum-F Kyle McAllister, he has 5 this term and has scored the same number over 49 career apps. His previous clubs include St Mirren and Partick Thistle. Troy Deeney scored 4 in 16 apps in his time at FGR, including a short-lived spell as player-manager. Three players have each scored 3 and two players have scored two apiece, and a further 6 players have each scored once.

Deeney was replaced as manager by Steve Cotterill, a name to conjure with, on 25th Jan. His first order of business was to re-sign the club's all-time leading goalscorer Christian Doidge (62 goals in 117 apps), he'd been at Hibernian and Kilmarnock since his original spell at FGR in 2016-2019. After deadline day they signed Norwich 6ft 4 GK Vicente Reyes initially on a seven day emergency loan and has since made 9 starts. FGR also signed veteran RoI D Richard Keogh (previously of Derby County, Huddersfield and many others) although he has only made one app so far.

So it certainly looks like a game County should win but we can count on FGR making it as difficult as possible and I wouldn't rule them out of getting a goal somewhere along the way. So a Full Banana Skin Alert is in order.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in L2 on Easter Friday:

AFC Wombles (9th) v Harrogate (13th)
Barrow (6th) v Grimsby (21st)
Crawley (7th) v Donny (18th)
Gillingham (8th) v Crewe (5th)
MKD (4th) v Walsall (10th)
Wrexham (3rd) v Mansfield

So for once I'd quite like Wrexham to get a big win to damage Mansfield's GD, coupled with a decent win for County we could even be top again....fingers crossed, hey.

My first meeting with other Heaveners was with the pair of you at Telford - around a month later, I think, Duds? Happy days... at least, off the pitch!

Friday night afternoon is County
Afternoon as the confidence from Saturday
Continues and the goals keep coming
Three - Nill being the final score

I'm not getting carried away one bit, mate. That Dons game really could have gone the other way, we were mostly awful until their keeper gifted Camps that first goal, which seemed to knock the wind out of them.

Every game should be treated in isolation, forgetting what's gone and only consider ourselves as good as our next game - simple as that.

The fixtures we have left aren't just league games now, they're all cup finals.

We really can do without these midweek games in hand piling up, so hopefully it goes ahead.

County 2 up already and with Wrexham beating Mansfield by 1-0, our GD is 37 and Mansfield's is 41. I reckon we can reverse their lead and pull ahead of Mansfield on GD.