Marshy
Proper Gas
Posts: 14,119
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Post by Marshy on May 23, 2019 6:06:03 GMT
Once you’ve played for Rovers you have hit the pinnacle of your career, so I fully understand why they retired. Has this gone above everyone's head Marshy ? f**k me ! Obviously, lol!
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Post by hungdrawnandquarters on May 23, 2019 11:24:47 GMT
These last few years have been one of the most memorable spells of our club’s entire history and has been built up on the spirit, camaraderie, effort and skill of a really good group of people. Clarke, Stewart and Yates were a fantastic management team of people who really got and cared about Bristol Rovers. We have had a succession of players who have really cherished the shirt and fought for the cause. Over time, bit by bit, that squad has been diminished, firstly with Mansell and McChrystal leaving, then the game changers; Taylor, Bodin, Ellis. The dependable no-nonsense pair of Lee Brown and Tom Lockyer have also gone, along with the entire management team and now the indefatigable Sincs and the classy Lines. The losses of the last three named have really signalled the very end of that magical era and it has taken me a while to come to terms with it and make sense of it all. Sorry if this is a bit incoherent but I felt I just needed to get it written down. Up until Bodin left, it really felt like we were living in a dream and there have been some good moments since as well, particularly with Ellis last season fighting such a brave lone battle up front. The dream included the hope brought by the Al-Qadi family of a sustainable future, when they arrived three years ago. We have well and truly woken up from this dream now. We now have a pragmatic, no-nonsense manager who has no time for sentiment. He may well go on to do a great job but it will be done in a very different way. Thank you sincerely to all those who made this journey so special, full of great memories. To Monkhouse and Brown, who were unplayable down the left in the conference season, Mansell and McChrystal, who were rocks for us just when we needed them, to Lines for being majestic in the league 2 season, Bodin for his portfolio of worldie goals, Ellis for being a lovable rogue who turned into a hero for us, Brown and Locks for not jumping ship at our lowest ebb, when they could easily have stayed in the league, Sincs for being an absolute credit to the human race. Thanks also to many others. I can’t be the only one who have now adopted Walsall as my second team? Truly sometimes you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone. Thank God for Ollie Clarke! I would love if if he could stay fit and really kick on and fulfil his potential next season. Now, it’s a new era, a clean slate. Coughlan does deserve respect for what he achieved last season and now because of who he has released, he has the chance to truly model his squad in his way. Good luck Graham. Our dream has died now, seemingly on and off the pitch. He has a very tough job on and I would bite your hand off for anything above 21st place next season if offered it right now. I think Darrell did a better job than other managers of recent years but really we haven't achieved big success just temporarily undone the terminal decline we were in. Early 90s Twerton era is the best in my time, we'd never seen the forth division back then let alone non league. I think league one was Darrell's limit,but a great conference and lg2 manager, maybe with more money he could have taken us further who knows. A successful period for Rovers should be a few seasons in the championship not ok lg1 survival, people have let their ambitions be crushed I think.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2019 19:32:51 GMT
I understand that and absolutely respect the great teams of the past. I wish I'd seen them myself but unfortunately the team that Gerry took to 13th in the Championship remain statistically the best I've seen. But we are miles away from either of those teams now and were rescued from obscurity by the management and team of the 2014-18 era. Sadly, given the importance of finance these days, I think League 1 probably is our promised land. So, in essence, not a golden era, currently? In comparison with our entire history and the great team of the 50s, no, it's not a golden era. But in comparison with our recent history, let's say...21st century history, a period we've largely languished in the lower reaches of the fourth division, then the Darrell Clarke years have to be viewed as a successful time in our history, particularly given the absolute shambles of a club he took over and rescued. Shall we compromise and say silver?!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2019 19:35:46 GMT
These last few years have been one of the most memorable spells of our club’s entire history and has been built up on the spirit, camaraderie, effort and skill of a really good group of people. Clarke, Stewart and Yates were a fantastic management team of people who really got and cared about Bristol Rovers. We have had a succession of players who have really cherished the shirt and fought for the cause. Over time, bit by bit, that squad has been diminished, firstly with Mansell and McChrystal leaving, then the game changers; Taylor, Bodin, Ellis. The dependable no-nonsense pair of Lee Brown and Tom Lockyer have also gone, along with the entire management team and now the indefatigable Sincs and the classy Lines. The losses of the last three named have really signalled the very end of that magical era and it has taken me a while to come to terms with it and make sense of it all. Sorry if this is a bit incoherent but I felt I just needed to get it written down. Up until Bodin left, it really felt like we were living in a dream and there have been some good moments since as well, particularly with Ellis last season fighting such a brave lone battle up front. The dream included the hope brought by the Al-Qadi family of a sustainable future, when they arrived three years ago. We have well and truly woken up from this dream now. We now have a pragmatic, no-nonsense manager who has no time for sentiment. He may well go on to do a great job but it will be done in a very different way. Thank you sincerely to all those who made this journey so special, full of great memories. To Monkhouse and Brown, who were unplayable down the left in the conference season, Mansell and McChrystal, who were rocks for us just when we needed them, to Lines for being majestic in the league 2 season, Bodin for his portfolio of worldie goals, Ellis for being a lovable rogue who turned into a hero for us, Brown and Locks for not jumping ship at our lowest ebb, when they could easily have stayed in the league, Sincs for being an absolute credit to the human race. Thanks also to many others. I can’t be the only one who have now adopted Walsall as my second team? Truly sometimes you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone. Thank God for Ollie Clarke! I would love if if he could stay fit and really kick on and fulfil his potential next season. Now, it’s a new era, a clean slate. Coughlan does deserve respect for what he achieved last season and now because of who he has released, he has the chance to truly model his squad in his way. Good luck Graham. Our dream has died now, seemingly on and off the pitch. He has a very tough job on and I would bite your hand off for anything above 21st place next season if offered it right now. I think Darrell did a better job than other managers of recent years but really we haven't achieved big success just temporarily undone the terminal decline we were in. Early 90s Twerton era is the best in my time, we'd never seen the forth division back then let alone non league. I think league one was Darrell's limit,but a great conference and lg2 manager, maybe with more money he could have taken us further who knows. A successful period for Rovers should be a few seasons in the championship not ok lg1 survival, people have let their ambitions be crushed I think. Maybe. But I think that's just the reality of the situation these days. We simply cannot compete financially. We may get that miracle season but no way can we sustain it. How can we compete with even City, who despite not being big spenders in the league above, can still afford to pay a seven figure fee for Mo Eisa and then not play him?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2019 19:49:30 GMT
So, in essence, not a golden era, currently? In comparison with our entire history and the great team of the 50s, no, it's not a golden era. But in comparison with our recent history, let's say...21st century history, a period we've largely languished in the lower reaches of the fourth division, then the Darrell Clarke years have to be viewed as a successful time in our history, particularly given the absolute shambles of a club he took over and rescued. Shall we compromise and say silver?! No doubt, a really enjoyable period under DC, apart from 2017/18 and the 1st half of this season. Two summers of terrible recruitment and he was caught out. As a bloke you have to like him, but he failed in the end to take us beyond that which we have already achieved. Let's be real, the team Holloway and Penrice put together in 1999/2000 would have torn apart DC's team.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2019 21:25:39 GMT
In comparison with our entire history and the great team of the 50s, no, it's not a golden era. But in comparison with our recent history, let's say...21st century history, a period we've largely languished in the lower reaches of the fourth division, then the Darrell Clarke years have to be viewed as a successful time in our history, particularly given the absolute shambles of a club he took over and rescued. Shall we compromise and say silver?! No doubt, a really enjoyable period under DC, apart from 2017/18 and the 1st half of this season. Two summers of terrible recruitment and he was caught out. As a bloke you have to like him, but he failed in the end to take us beyond that which we have already achieved. Let's be real, the team Holloway and Penrice put together in 1999/2000 would have torn apart DC's team. Ahhh yes that was a superb team. We endured some dross for a long long long time following.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2019 18:16:49 GMT
In comparison with our entire history and the great team of the 50s, no, it's not a golden era. But in comparison with our recent history, let's say...21st century history, a period we've largely languished in the lower reaches of the fourth division, then the Darrell Clarke years have to be viewed as a successful time in our history, particularly given the absolute shambles of a club he took over and rescued. Shall we compromise and say silver?! No doubt, a really enjoyable period under DC, apart from 2017/18 and the 1st half of this season. Two summers of terrible recruitment and he was caught out. As a bloke you have to like him, but he failed in the end to take us beyond that which we have already achieved. Let's be real, the team Holloway and Penrice put together in 1999/2000 would have torn apart DC's team. I disagree about 2017-18. We stayed up comfortably and played some good football, despite the pitch at the time! Yes, Ollie's team would have beaten Darrell's, although in fairness it was probably more expensively assembled and didn't come from anywhere near such a low starting point as Darrell's. I think Ollie produced the best footballing side I have seen at Rovers. Fast flowing football and a commitment to scoring more goals than the opposition. That was mainly due to his ability to spot a striker in my opinion. Get that position right and you'll probably be a success. Unfortunately, the 'failure' to do that again after the loss of Taylor, Bodin and Harrison was probably what did for Darrell in the end.
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Post by 2nd May 1990 on May 25, 2019 19:07:44 GMT
No doubt, a really enjoyable period under DC, apart from 2017/18 and the 1st half of this season. Two summers of terrible recruitment and he was caught out. As a bloke you have to like him, but he failed in the end to take us beyond that which we have already achieved. Let's be real, the team Holloway and Penrice put together in 1999/2000 would have torn apart DC's team. I disagree about 2017-18. We stayed up comfortably and played some good football, despite the pitch at the time! Yes, Ollie's team would have beaten Darrell's, although in fairness it was probably more expensively assembled and didn't come from anywhere near such a low starting point as Darrell's. I think Ollie produced the best footballing side I have seen at Rovers. Fast flowing football and a commitment to scoring more goals than the opposition. That was mainly due to his ability to spot a striker in my opinion. Get that position right and you'll probably be a success. Unfortunately, the 'failure' to do that again after the loss of Taylor, Bodin and Harrison was probably what did for Darrell in the end. It’s also worth mentioning that before the Snake left we were well in contention for the play-offs. (5th at one point, a few weeks before his departure, 8th and 3 points off the playoffs when he left). With Lines at near-peak, Taylor, Bodin, Harrison, Locks and Brown, I think that side would have given Ollie’s a good game, even if player for player, Ollie’s team probably did have the edge. It is a bit heartbreaking to have seen how that team has been dismantled bit by bit, but inevitable, I guess. In Ollie’s era we lost all our best players, too.
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Post by aghast on May 25, 2019 22:14:37 GMT
I disagree about 2017-18. We stayed up comfortably and played some good football, despite the pitch at the time! Yes, Ollie's team would have beaten Darrell's, although in fairness it was probably more expensively assembled and didn't come from anywhere near such a low starting point as Darrell's. I think Ollie produced the best footballing side I have seen at Rovers. Fast flowing football and a commitment to scoring more goals than the opposition. That was mainly due to his ability to spot a striker in my opinion. Get that position right and you'll probably be a success. Unfortunately, the 'failure' to do that again after the loss of Taylor, Bodin and Harrison was probably what did for Darrell in the end. It’s also worth mentioning that before the Snake left we were well in contention for the play-offs. (5th at one point, a few weeks before his departure, 8th and 3 points off the playoffs when he left). With Lines at near-peak, Taylor, Bodin, Harrison, Locks and Brown, I think that side would have given Ollie’s a good game, even if player for player, Ollie’s team probably did have the edge. It is a bit heartbreaking to have seen how that team has been dismantled bit by bit, but inevitable, I guess. In Ollie’s era we lost all our best players, too. I agree with that. A great squad which consistently overperformed through sheer effort and belief. If we hadn't lost the best ones we could have made the Championship. We'd have been f*cked once we got there though without a spare £20m or so.
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Post by warehamgas on May 27, 2019 9:23:39 GMT
No doubt, a really enjoyable period under DC, apart from 2017/18 and the 1st half of this season. Two summers of terrible recruitment and he was caught out. As a bloke you have to like him, but he failed in the end to take us beyond that which we have already achieved. Let's be real, the team Holloway and Penrice put together in 1999/2000 would have torn apart DC's team. I disagree about 2017-18. We stayed up comfortably and played some good football, despite the pitch at the time! Yes, Ollie's team would have beaten Darrell's, although in fairness it was probably more expensively assembled and didn't come from anywhere near such a low starting point as Darrell's. I think Ollie produced the best footballing side I have seen at Rovers. Fast flowing football and a commitment to scoring more goals than the opposition. That was mainly due to his ability to spot a striker in my opinion. Get that position right and you'll probably be a success. Unfortunately, the 'failure' to do that again after the loss of Taylor, Bodin and Harrison was probably what did for Darrell in the end. As to whether Ollies team would have torn DCs apart thats debatable. Play Ollies team in March / April and DCs team would have won, play them another time and it might be a different result. Great football under Ollie but when it came down to it they collapsed like a pack of cards, little grit and character come the end which was a shame, whereas DCs had determination in spades as shown in 17/18 when we were the top team for coming back to win after conceding first. Dont know about “golden ages” but I do know that DCs team 14-18 was a much better team, and it was a better time to watch than at any time this century imo. Whether that classifies as a golden age I’ve no idea. I just missed oldies “golden age” of the 50s so it always looked better from a distance and you can’t argue from a POV of being higher up than ever but for most of us DCs team and time did represent a great few years to watch Rovers. Blimey, let’s just be grateful for it and move on. I’m looking forward to seeing what GC can do with a couple of decent signings. UTG!
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Post by farmygas on May 27, 2019 10:30:23 GMT
Players and managers come and go. What really rankles with me is another owner has let an ideal time to push on off the pitch pass us by. It's hard to stay engaged when the club itself can't or won't look to the future.
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Post by baggins on May 27, 2019 10:58:20 GMT
Players and managers come and go. What really rankles with me is another owner has let an ideal time to push on off the pitch pass us by. It's hard to stay engaged when the club itself can't or won't look to the future. Just stay focused on your support for the team when they take to the pitch for each game, that's all you can do really.
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Post by yetigas on May 27, 2019 10:59:19 GMT
Can't agree with the OP. Yes, DC was a nice bloke, very personable, but Walsall as a second team? You must be joking. DC has gone - thanks for the 2 promotions, but he could not sustain it. My magical era with the Gas was back in the 1970s, but that's history. GC was the right man for the job this season, and it was magical that he kept us up. If DC had stayed he would probably have ended up with 2 promotions and 2 relegations on his Gas CV. As for the players...all good servants, but they chose to move on. Bodin was an exceptional player for us, but the rest were not consistent enough for me. Now we need to get behind the current management team and look forward to next season. Let's hope for some more magic from GC. If he can get us out of a relegation scrap, why not into the play-offs? Let's at least start the season with hope!
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Post by Kingswood Polak on May 27, 2019 13:12:12 GMT
Can't agree with the OP. Yes, DC was a nice bloke, very personable, but Walsall as a second team? You must be joking. DC has gone - thanks for the 2 promotions, but he could not sustain it. My magical era with the Gas was back in the 1970s, but that's history. GC was the right man for the job this season, and it was magical that he kept us up. If DC had stayed he would probably have ended up with 2 promotions and 2 relegations on his Gas CV. As for the players...all good servants, but they chose to move on. Bodin was an exceptional player for us, but the rest were not consistent enough for me. Now we need to get behind the current management team and look forward to next season. Let's hope for some more magic from GC. If he can get us out of a relegation scrap, why not into the play-offs? Let's at least start the season with hope! I wish I shared your optimism but I don’t see us getting in players unless free agents or loans, given the cutbacks. I am living in hope that GC does have a more attack minded part of his game plan. As per usual, hope for the best but be realistic about what could happen. I think that the fan base will really want us to start with intent. I’m not sure if we have that but time will tell
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Post by mftc on May 27, 2019 13:41:35 GMT
Funny how its only seems magical and good rapport and team spirit when the teams do well.
Remember the first season under Atkins? If Campbell, Elliott, Dis, Lescott, Walker and Hinton etc left after one season, I honestly don't think people would have been that upset. At the time I would rather have kept Ryan Williams.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing but who knows what fans will think of Kilgour, Kelly, Moore or Kavanagh in the future. Maybe they can give us a team to be proud of and will mix off the field with fans?
At the moment this pre- season has a feel of 86/87 (especially if JCH goes).
That team on paper looked dead certs for relegation but looking back, the teenagers at the club included Carter, Carr, Dryden, Yates, Scales, Peacock and Boris. How many of those got to play for sides in the Prem.
Who knows. The future is not yet written. Let's not write ourselves off.
Like they said back then - the Gas, the Gas, you'll never get rid of the Gas.
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Post by lpgas on May 27, 2019 19:48:43 GMT
End of a Golden Age.....in the Conference and Division 2. Yet another Clarke Love in. Forget it, look forward, not backwards. This is a general malaise in Bristol, this is why very few things get built or changed in Bristol
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Post by gasheadbatesy on May 27, 2019 20:25:06 GMT
Definitely a golden age. The guy gave us our ‘Rovers back’ at by far our lowest of the many lows. Have we forgot the songs of anger when he took over? The genuine tears from someone who felt it was all his fault. The flyers at the training ground? Motivation. The dog$hit start and the hostility (I was part of it) to Start well. The turning point “for me” was the Gateshead game. The beards rising. What happened from that night sparked or ignited a club that needed that injection. We carried the momentum for 3 season and he returned us to normality from oblivion. My biggest regret is he wasn’t given January. The absolute minimum we owed our saviour. Now he’s gone it really feels like he’s took away a massive part of us. “For me”. Definitely a golden era, and probably our most important manager ever. D.c always in my dreams.
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Post by aghast on May 27, 2019 23:02:24 GMT
End of a Golden Age.....in the Conference and Division 2. Yet another Clarke Love in. Forget it, look forward, not backwards. This is a general malaise in Bristol, this is why very few things get built or changed in Bristol What are you talking about now? Bristol is the UK's most prosperous city after London. The only malaise I can see is the attitude of our owners. DC turned down the Leeds offer on the basis of promises of great things to come. Do I know this to be true? No, but I think we all know it must be. The only reason we're now looking backwards on DC's time here, instead of forwards, is that the owners betrayed his faith.
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