The goal drought continues to drag on for Cheltenham Town, as they matched the EFL record of going the first 11 league games without scoring a goal.
It’s bad enough that the Robins are currently beginning to be cut adrift at the foot of the EFL League One table but what is worrying is that even the recent appointment of Darrell Clarke has not galvanised the Gloucestershire-based side, following their 2-0 home defeat against Fleetwood Town on Tuesday night.
Let’s take a look at some of the factors behind why they haven’t yet found the back of the net.
Embarrassing start
Most people at the start of the season would not have predicted Cheltenham to be in the position that they currently are. Losing Alfie May to Charlton Athletic would have obviously made this campaign a more difficult one, but the fact that they have not scored a single goal yet in the league is a massive concern.
It gets more embarrassing when you realise that if there was a goal of the month competition for September, Bristol Rovers’ right-back James Gibbons would have won it, seeing as he scored the only goal for the Robins in their 4-1 EFL Trophy Defeat against the Gas earlier in the season.
Of course, if anyone is to get them out of their current predicament, it is former Rovers and Port Vale boss Darrell Clarke who replaced Wade Elliott following their dismal start to the campaign. It will be his toughest challenge as a manager to date, but his first task will be trying to get the best out of his new side as they lack any sort of cutting-edge when it comes to trying to attack the opposition box.
Poor recruitment
When Micky Moore was poached by fellow League One side Shrewsbury Town earlier in the summer, the transfer window plans were thrown into disarray.
The first thing that the Robins had to get right was to find a suitable replacement with someone who had a decent contact list and had experience in scouting and finding the right players to improve the squad. What no one expected was that the Cheltenham board would appoint Russell Milton – the ex-player, assistant manager and interim manager at certain stages, as Moore’s replacement, despite having no prior experience as a Head of Recruitment.
This decision has cost Cheltenham Town this season. There’s no hiding from the fact that the recruitment has made the squad worse off than it was last season. Despite the early positivity at the start of the season, replacing Alfie May with a striker who had only scored seven goals in 64 EFL appearances in Rob Street has backfired massively.
Furthermore, the decision to bring in seven loan players has also been met with criticism, especially when only five are allowed for the matchday squad.
In his opening interview, Darrell Clarke identified that all aspects of the club need to be looked at, and this included the recruitment side of things.
When will the drought end?
It is hard to say when Cheltenham will next score a league goal. The lack of creativity is concerning, with the likes of Aidan Keena, Will Goodwin, Rob Street, Nathan Butler-Oyedeji and Jovan Malcolm failing to get any meaningful chances, albeit Sean Long did miss a sitter after Malcolm hit the post on Tuesday night.
The style of play may have to change if Cheltenham’s fortunes are going to improve. Playing someone like Cameron Peupion in the attacking midfielder role would also help link the midfield and the forward line.
These are all things that Darrell Clarke has to figure out. However, with Derby County visiting the Completely-Suzuki Stadium on Saturday, it is looking extremely likely that Cheltenham Town will break the all-time EFL record of league games without a goal.
Writers’ View
This is possibly the worst start to the season any fan can remember in their years of watching even worse than the 2014/15 relegation season, where the team went through three different managers but were at least able to actually score goals. Nevertheless, there are some far better players in this current Robins team compared to then, but the fact of the matter is that this start is completely unacceptable.
Darrell Clarke has a huge task on his hands if he is to do the unthinkable and keep Cheltenham Town up. However, most Cheltenham fans may have already accepted the inevitability of relegation back to the fourth tier of English football.
