Forest Green can look back on a successful season in which they came close to promotion but eventually fell short. Adrian Pennock knew that he was expected to deliver improvement in one of the most well-backed clubs in the league in what was his first full campaign, having seen the team stutter badly in the chase of a play-off spot at the end of the previous season. Some solid singings like Danny Coles, David Pipe and Clovis Kamdjo brought solidity into the squad, if not much stardust. Jon Parkin was the biggest signing up front and the striker would indeed prove an absolute hit in Gloucester in his first season with the club. The start of the season was pretty solid and encouraging after going six games without a loss in the first month. Rovers suffered a few defeats after that but continued to get wins on regular basis and remain in and around the play-off slots. The likes of Robbie Sinclair and Sam Wedgbury were providing solidity and some creative flair in midfield while the defence was performing quite well overall. Just three losses in the opening 22 games of the season meant that Forest Green remain close to the top places as the season reached the start of December. But wins were a bit too rare during that period and the team was finding it hard to get the better of some spirited opposition on a number of occasions. A run of three losses in five games during the festive period moved them further away from the play-off zone and it seemed like a big ask to make it to the top five, with a three-point deduction handed for fielding an ineligible player as well. But the team showed incredible consistency and resilience in the next few months and were one of the best teams in the league from January onwards. An excellent 4:2 win at Kidderminster, a direct rival at that time, on New Year’s Day kick-started a run of 12 games without a league loss, winning eight of them. As opponents toiled and flagged, Pennock’s troops kept on marching with some assured, effective and determined showings. Parkin developed into the fulcrum of the side, leading by example from the front and scoring some excellent goals as well. Elliott Frear was excelling on the wing while the defence had a settled and solid look, with Charlie Clough and Aarran Racine being bedded in as a pair since the turn of the year. That excellent run included a superb 3:1 win away at the leaders, Barnet, and suddenly a play-off spot looked all but certain. There were some stutters at the start of April as Aldershot surprised the Gloucester side for a 3:1 win in their own backyard, but three wins in a row in the next games, including a vital 3:1 success in a six-pointer at home against Macclesfield, put Rovers in control of their fate. They still went through the wringer on the last day of the season as the home game against Dover yielded only a 0:0 draw. That meant that Macclesfield would overcome them with a win in their respective game, Thankfully for Pennock and his men, the opposition drew as well and Forest Green finished fifth. Their play-off clash against an in-form Bristol Rovers side was not much of a contest, disappointingly for the entire club, as the opposition proved too strong over the two legs for a 3:0 aggregate win. But it is all part of the learning curve and Forest Green certainly come out as a better side after the experience from the last nine months, with the hopes of something bigger next season with a strong and settled squad in place.
