# Cheltenham Town’s Incredible Goal Drought: 8 Games, No Goals
May 7, 2023, was a memorable day in the football season. On the final day of the League One campaign, Plymouth secured the title and Morecambe and MK Dons succumbed to relegation. Meanwhile, Charlton drew 2-2 with Cheltenham in a mid-table clash of seemingly little significance. Little did anyone know that this would be the last time Cheltenham Town would score a league goal for four months.
Eight games into the current campaign, Cheltenham’s record reads no wins, one draw, seven defeats, no goals scored and 12 goals conceded. That’s eight times their loyal supporters have turned up in hope and gradually diminishing expectation, and eight times they have gone home without having been given reason to celebrate.
When Alfie May netted in the 88th-minute at The Valley four months ago, few of us had heard of Luis Rubiales and tennis fans still had three of the year’s four majors to look forward to. The first of cycling’s three grand tours had begun only the day before and golf nuts still had the US PGA, US Open and Open Championship on their calendar. The Ashes were a month away.
Unwanted achievements like this transcend coaching, transfer budgets and injury lists. Not since Halifax Town – in 1991 – has a Football League club drawn such an elongated blank in front of goal. And Cheltenham aren’t really that bad. There are four clubs in their division with a worse defensive record – including third-placed Port Vale. Elliott’s men had kept a clean sheet and four of their defeats have been by the only goal of the game. This isn’t a terrible team, just one that simply cannot score a goal.
The bottom team in every other division has found the net on multiple occasions – League Two basement boys Sutton have scored 11 times. Fourth-tier Swindon have scored 13 times in their last three home games yet Cheltenham, somehow, have not managed one all season.
# What’s Behind Cheltenham’s Goal Drought?
Wade Elliott has left Cheltenham after Tuesday’s 3-0 defeat at Peterborough. Elliott impressed in his first season at the helm of one of the more modest clubs in the division and has been badly hampered by injuries and the failure to adequately replace the threat of May, who was sold – to Charlton, ironically – once the season was done.
Football is a game of organised chaos. Winning games is hard but scoring goals really isn’t. Really bad teams manage it all the time. This is act of God stuff.
It’s also a reminder that, in football, glory can be fleeting and misery is relative. Manchester United fans may have their reasons to worry but they have won some games, they have scored some goals. Things are really not that bad.
So, the next time you hear that glorious clank as the ball hits the back of the net and the stanchion rattles, leap in the air, bellow, smile, embrace and, above all, savour it. Because you never quite know when it will happen again.
# Conclusion
Cheltenham Town’s incredible goal drought is an anomaly in football history. It serves as a reminder that even when things look bleakest, there is always hope that things will turn around. It also serves as a reminder to appreciate each goal we witness – you never know when it will be your team’s last for a while!