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Had they not won their most recent match, then there would be no argument that, from a footballing perspective, the current suspension of sport in the UK would have suited Forest Green Rovers more than most.

Prior to Christmas, Mark Cooper’s side were in the thick of the battle for automatic promotion, even reaching the summit of Sky Bet League Two.

However, things began to go wrong in December, and since the turn of the year Rovers' form has fallen off the edge of a cliff.

After a solid, if unspectacular, start to the season, Forest Green began showing their promotion credentials with an impressive run throughout September and into October.

Rovers won four matches out of six, drawing the other two, and only conceded one goal in that run, the 3-1 home victory over Crawley at the end of that sequence, which took them to the top of the standings.

Exeter and Plymouth were among those to check that momentum, but impressive away triumphs at Leyton Orient and derby rivals Cheltenham meant they remained contenders.

However, December saw fortunes decline. Alongside a limp FA Cup exit at Carlisle, Rovers lost two League games in a row for the first time this season, and completed a pair of goalless draws with basement boys Stevenage.

A last-gasp equaliser at home to Swindon, a hard-fought 1-0 home victory over Macclesfield, and a crazy 4-3 win at Mansfield at least kept Rovers in the play-off picture, but that success over the Stags was their only three-point haul in 11 matches in 2020, until taking that surprise 2-0 win at table-topping Swindon in their most recent match.

Amid the bad run, which has seen Forest Green slide down to 11th place in League Two, Cooper has bemoaned two main issues – an inability to put away scoring chances, and a worrying habit of conceding sloppy goals at the other end.

Injuries to key players, such as the talismanic Joseph Mills, have not helped either, but some of Cooper’s own decisions warrant assessment.

Questionable goalkeeping policy

Take, for example, the goalkeeping situation. Back in the summer, Cooper brought in the experienced Adam Smith on a two-year deal following his release from Bristol Rovers, yet handed untried youngster Lewis Thomas his Football League debut on the opening day of the season, while also signing Joe Wollacott on loan from Bristol City.

Cooper then downplayed Thomas’ fine performance at Walsall in the next game and selected Wollacott for the rest of the matches in August.

Wollacott, however, made a costly mistake and was sent off against Newport at the end of the month, meaning Thomas was recalled, and it was he who kept the five consecutive clean sheets as Rovers surged to the top of the table in October.

A 1-0 defeat and a 2-2 draw later, though, Wollacott was back in, but he carried the can for the sloppy 2-2 draw at home to Carlisle in the cup, so Thomas returned for the 2-0 home defeat to Scunthorpe.

(Image: ©Thousand Word Media Ltd)

It was then that things got really silly. Having been on loan to Yeovil and only played in the 6-0 drubbing at Walsall in the EFL Trophy, Smith was suddenly picked for the FA Cup replay at Carlisle, and kept his place for the following eight matches.

The 2-1 home defeat to Salford was Smith’s last stand, however, as burly Irishman Conrad Logan was brought in on loan from Mansfield.

He proceeded to concede 12 goals in five games so, lo and behold, Thomas, who has never seemed to let anyone down and perhaps should have been left where he was from the start, came back for the 1-1 draw at Oldham, the 1-0 defeat at Scunthorpe, and the 2-0 victory at Swindon.

Is it any wonder that the Forest Green defence has appeared unsure when they have had four different goalkeepers behind them across eight different spells this season?

Lack of goals proving a problem

At the other end, Rovers have lacked a real goalscorer after seeing Christian Doidge switch to Hibs in the summer, while envious glances could also be made towards rivals Cheltenham, where old boy Reuben Reid is having a positive impact after a delayed start to the campaign.

The aforementioned Mills – fundamentally a left-back, and who has missed a fair portion of games through injury – is currently the club’s top scorer with eight goals in all competitions, while, in terms of League goals, no-one else has more than midfielder Carl Winchester’s tally of five.

Jack Aitchison, Aaron Collins, Matty Stevens and, latterly, Josh March have all chipped in, but none have come anywhere near to the reliability and quality of Doidge.

But with ten matches to play if and when football resumes, including a game in hand on the teams above them, there is still time for Rovers to make up the nine-point gap back to the play-off positions if they can get it right, something they demonstrated perfectly well in their win over West rivals Swindon.