15-01-2018, 16:47
I've never thought of Forest Green as serious relegation candidates. It has seemed to me they were an efficiently run club with massive potential financial backing should they need it. Their long-term aim has been league football and I still can't quite see them surrendering it easily, but ........ the following report reflects an odd feeling around the club ........
Forest Green boss Mark Cooper has accused his top scorer Christian Doidge of diving twice in an attempt to win a penalty in their 1-0 defeat at Swindon. Doidge, who has scored 17 times in 26 appearances, had two second-half appeals waved away after going down in the box.
"I'm very angry with Christian. He dived twice in the box," Cooper said.
"Nobody is near him and he's chosen to fall on the floor when he had a chance to score his 18th and 19th goals."
Referee Dean Whitestone did not caution Doidge after either incident, but his team-mate Reuben Reid was shown a yellow in the 87th minute for his protests following the second appeal.
Now, this seems a very odd thing for a manager to do publicly, as it could lead to the player's suspension. It prompted me to take a look at their fans' forum to see how happy they are. I discovered that, if they aren't that happy with Mark Cooper, his tactics and selections, they are pretty much unanimous in their feeling that his son, Charlie urgently needs to go. They don't think he is close to being good enough for league football anyway and are convinced he needs either to make it, or fail with another club away from his dad. In general they aren't particularly optimistic and don't seem to be too aware of the massive financial advantage they have over their rivals.
Fresh from the Forest Green forum I visited Torquay to see if they were pleased by the signing of Reece Mitchell and found a blistering row with on one side a Torquay fan with Chesterfield connections, who had seen him play for us and whose mates up here all confirmed their low opinion of Reece, which he has passed on ....... and which are being opposed by a Torquay fan in the London area who praises Reece's junior achievements at Chelsea and points out he turned down a contract extension with them. It's a small war. Don't think Reece's twenty odd minutes on Saturday resolved anything either.
All I can say is maybe I was wrong about Forest Green and maybe they should have gone for a change of manager. And if poor old Reece Mitchell thought he could kick start his career by turn over a new page in Devon he was wrong. A lot of baggage has followed him.
Forest Green boss Mark Cooper has accused his top scorer Christian Doidge of diving twice in an attempt to win a penalty in their 1-0 defeat at Swindon. Doidge, who has scored 17 times in 26 appearances, had two second-half appeals waved away after going down in the box.
"I'm very angry with Christian. He dived twice in the box," Cooper said.
"Nobody is near him and he's chosen to fall on the floor when he had a chance to score his 18th and 19th goals."
Referee Dean Whitestone did not caution Doidge after either incident, but his team-mate Reuben Reid was shown a yellow in the 87th minute for his protests following the second appeal.
Now, this seems a very odd thing for a manager to do publicly, as it could lead to the player's suspension. It prompted me to take a look at their fans' forum to see how happy they are. I discovered that, if they aren't that happy with Mark Cooper, his tactics and selections, they are pretty much unanimous in their feeling that his son, Charlie urgently needs to go. They don't think he is close to being good enough for league football anyway and are convinced he needs either to make it, or fail with another club away from his dad. In general they aren't particularly optimistic and don't seem to be too aware of the massive financial advantage they have over their rivals.
Fresh from the Forest Green forum I visited Torquay to see if they were pleased by the signing of Reece Mitchell and found a blistering row with on one side a Torquay fan with Chesterfield connections, who had seen him play for us and whose mates up here all confirmed their low opinion of Reece, which he has passed on ....... and which are being opposed by a Torquay fan in the London area who praises Reece's junior achievements at Chelsea and points out he turned down a contract extension with them. It's a small war. Don't think Reece's twenty odd minutes on Saturday resolved anything either.
All I can say is maybe I was wrong about Forest Green and maybe they should have gone for a change of manager. And if poor old Reece Mitchell thought he could kick start his career by turn over a new page in Devon he was wrong. A lot of baggage has followed him.
