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Post by mehewmagic on Dec 17, 2014 11:22:17 GMT
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Post by pirateman on Dec 17, 2014 14:34:01 GMT
Practically unreadable due to pop-ups. Will try again later
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Post by mehewmagic on Dec 17, 2014 15:22:27 GMT
BRISTOL ROVERS BLOG: G is for Gas - A matter of perspectiveDecember 17, 2014 By Martin Bull Saturday’s game against Bath City was beautifully described as a fragment of a ‘special relationship’ between our two clubs, rather then the usual ‘special rivalry’ chestnut. At the risk of sounding shamelessly self promoting, I feel that one of the more succinct contributions to the book I have recently released (256 pages of pure gas for only a tenner; available from www.awaythegas.org.uk, the club shop at the Mem and the Supporters Club shop on Two Mile Hill - end of advert) actually sums up my own feelings so admirably that it is worth reproducing verbatim. “When Home is Away by FabGas” “One of my best away day memories was actually when we played Bath City in the FA Cup First Round at Twerton Park in November 1994. As we were officially the away team some Gas supporters went into the away end, but with almost 7,000 there Gasheads were spread out everywhere. Some, like myself, stood in the same place as usual, often finding a Bath City fan or two in ‘their’ space.” “We crushed our hosts 5-0, with Paul Miller bagging four, and Vaughan Jones on the ‘wrong’ side, but that was almost not as important as the whole experience, which was possibly unique and will probably never happen again. It was all good natured and proved that it is possible to have a match where all fans can behave without the need for segregation (like those rugger fans manage to do every match).” Lovers of ‘Bovver’ will perhaps roll their eyes at such sentimental claptrap, but whilst I do like a bit of a bite to a match, and a smattering of caustic banter between fans, I feel that modern life is already hostile enough without adding football violence and blood-boiling hatred into the mix. I don’t know if it crossed our clubs mind to consider advertising the match as un-segregated but I wish they had. It would have been a lovely touch, and for once would have got our fans some positive press coverage. Many Gasheads hold a special place in their heart for Bath City, with great memories of their offer to host us at Twerton Park for what turned out to be ten long years of exile, and I can’t imagine any trouble would have occurred. I know I am not alone among Rovers fans by trying to see the Romans play once or twice each season, if only just to stand on the same terrace that we used to bounce up and down on, and to unearth a cup of tea for only 60p. A lot of non-league games are un-segregated, and apparently we are a non-league team now. Judging from the boos and negative chants at the end of the match it seems like some Gasheads may need reminding of that fact. Losing to Bath City really isn’t the end of the world, and although some may accuse me of having low standards, I would answer that a more prosaic response to Saturday’s defeat is not about lowering expectations, it's about keeping your powder dry for a game that really matters. If we are still fighting for promotion in April and we lose our last two home games to Southport and Alfreton, then I will be more tempted to get myself worked up. Bath City are only one level down from us at the moment, and merely provided us with a dose of our own medicine. How many times have we been to a cup tie, provided most of the atmosphere, got ourselves and our team 'up for a shock', and then provided it? Then we invariably rubbed the home fans noses in it and they ran off to the local media calling for the head of their manager. In return we considered them to be conceited and disrespectful of our efforts, whilst we ourselves took our eye off the ball and would lose our next league game. On Saturday the reverse happened. And it will continue happening in cup matches until the world gulps its final breath. Yes, it was an awful performance. Yes, we lost. Yes, it was the first time an away team had scored twice at the Mem this season. But I'm not going to start singing 'what a load of rubbish', especially to a team that was significantly weaker than our best starting XI. I just fail to see how that helps. It is blindingly obvious to everyone that it was a very poor performance from us, and a decent, committed performance from the Romans. As Arnold Beisser wrote: “The tragic or the humorous is a matter of perspective.” There are only two good times to depart this competition; at Wembley, or in the first round. This isn't the FA Cup or the League Cup. There is zero chance of a 'big game' until five punishing rounds later, in North London, and even then it would most probably be a smaller payday than drawing an away tie at a top Premier League team. The important lesson to learn whenever tempted to play a weakened team again is that it wasn’t just the personnel changes themselves that made a real difference, but also the fact that Trotman, Leadbitter, Clarke, Wall, Gosling and Martin have played very few games in the last two months and looked rusty, and perhaps even more importantly have not been playing regularly TOGETHER, unlike our best team has. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Martin Bull became a Gashead in 1989 and immediately fell in love with Twerton Park, standing near G pillar. In 2006 he wrote, photographed and published the first independent book about the artist Banksy. Having been exiled for much of his past, away games have always been special for him; so much so that he has just produced a new book about them, in collaboration with Rovers fans far and wide, young and old - www.awaythegas.org.uk
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Post by pirateman on Dec 20, 2014 12:09:56 GMT
Thanks for posting this here Martin.
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Post by mehewmagic on Dec 24, 2014 11:35:46 GMT
My last article before Christmas is now up on the Bristol Post website. Albert Einstein said that "The measure of intelligence is the ability to change". We may not have the best players in the league, and seemingly not the best coaches, but we have the best adaptable tactician at the helm. The slight concern though is why we didn’t counter Gateshead right from when we announced our line-up, as presumably we had done our due diligence on their style of play? www.bristolpost.co.uk/BRISTOL-ROVERS-BLOG-G-Gas-measure-intelligence/story-25755848-detail/story.html
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Post by Deleted on Dec 24, 2014 11:45:39 GMT
Great read.
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Post by mehewmagic on Dec 24, 2014 11:50:43 GMT
For those yet to download an adblocker BRISTOL ROVERS BLOG: G is for Gas - The measure of intelligence is the ability to change Posted: December 24, 2014 By Martin Bull If Barnet manager Martin Allen considered Rovers fans ‘rambunctious’ whilst playing our best football this season and narrowing beating his table topping team last month, I doubt he would be able to find a superior superlative in the dictionary for Friday’s 3-2 win against Gateshead when we were mediocre at times but showed astonishing fight to come back from behind twice. At half-time the natives were restless, not just because we were one down, but because Gateshead had a clear and effective game plan, whilst we misplaced passes and showed skill levels and confidence on the ball that were far below those from the Heed. Their opening goal just about summed it up. A 60 metre cross field ball from a right back was taken down on a sixpence and opened up our right hand side who were already struggling due to the worst performance so far from Angelo Balanta (hauled off after 29 minutes, possibly injured) and still having a centre back playing at right back. Not that long afterwards the ball was in the net. ‘Ultra long ball and grab’ may be a new phrase I have just invented, but it worked well and was not just kick and rush. I have been a basketball fan since becoming friends with Tony Brown, a retired semi-pro, 15 years ago. Basketball has a Ronseal entitled tactic called a ‘full court press’ where instead of the usual policy of defending in your own half and allowing the opposition to get to the half way line before getting in their faces, you press them in both halves. As basketball is a game for only five players this leads to five one-on-one battles which can be exhilarating, but creates huge spaces on the court, and is often only used towards the end of a game, and by a team losing and desperate to force the issue, to fatigue the opposition and to save some clock time. Rovers were faced with the same dilemma, but in this situation the decision was needed right from the start of the game. As Gateshead confidently passed it around the back five waiting for spaces and opportunities to appear Rovers had to either press them high up the pitch, or accept that we would rarely acquire any possession, and as they say, you can‘t score without the ball. The crowd of course wanted the former, and to be blunt it was dull to watch for a considerable while. Bringing on Ollie Clarke for Balanta and switching The Beard to a more advanced role was a master stroke and gave more bite to our midfield, in a game patrolled by a ref who never whistles (more on him later). Full credit should be given to Darrell Clarke, who has not been afraid to make several early changes this season, something that Albert Einstein would have been proud of. We may not have the best players in the league, and seemingly not the best coaches, but we have the best adaptable tactician at the helm. The concern though is why we didn’t counter Gateshead right from when we announced our line-up, as presumably we had done our due diligence on their style of play? The following is hardly a spectacular revelation, but Conference Premier football, nay football of most levels, seems to be as much about who makes the least mistakes as to who is positively excelling. Individual errors made a huge contribution to their goals, the first brace for a league team at the Mem this season. The first saw Mark McChrystal play everyone onside and then fail to clear a ball that deflected across the box, leaving Matty Pattison to slide in behind him (not helped by Tom Lockyer being the wrong side of his man, the scorer). Their second saw Ollie Clarke dispossessed in midfield, and Lockyer allowing himself to unnecessarily get sucked into the centre, whilst Alex Rodman galloped up to the left hand side of the penalty area, exactly where a right back should be. Having said this, all of the five goals also showed some considerable individual skill. Lee Mansell is a genuinely top class free kick taker and Ollie Clarke has been a long range shooting sensation this season. The weakest part of Stuart Sinclair’s game is his goal scoring, and it still will be next game as he has failed to put away several chances this season, but his left footed blaster when two defenders were covering their errant goalie was a fabulous net buster to top yet another heroic man-of-the-match performance. On the other side veteran John Oster will be disappointed to pick up two goal assists from his threatening cross balls yet still come home empty handed, and their attackers in general can be proud of their considerable skills. However, for all of Gateshead’s swagger and admirable football, all three teams in recent history who tried to play it about the back five at the Mem left with plaudits but no points (Barnet losing 2-1 in February 2013 and Nuneaton failing 3-1 in September this season). The lesson seems to be that penetration is more important than pure possession. Referee Brett Huxtable must live in Southmead and only ask for a couple of pasties as payment as we were also allocated him for FC Halifax Town in August and Kidderminster Harriers in November. His performances are certainly remarkably consistent. Consistently terrible, with a comedic routine more akin to Cliff Huxtable from ‘The Cosby Show’, and the fitness of an asthmatic snail. I suspect he may have been a warder at Guantanamo Bay in a previous life as you’d need to have your leg severed into two burnt portions by a bolt of lightning for him blow his whistle. Whilst I appreciate a ref who allows the game to flow, I don’t appreciate a ref who won’t even allow a physio onto a pitch when Mark McChrystal stayed down after a head-on collision with his own keeper, and was very clearly seriously hurt, all whilst the ball had naturally gone out of play minutes before. Thirty years ago the prompt actions of Rovers’ physio Roy Dolling helped save the lives of both Aiden McCaffrey (at Southend United in April 1984) and Ian Alexander (Fisher Athletic in November 1988) when they ‘swallowed’ their tongues. It seems like the Conference have learnt little in the intervening decades. We all know the quality of the officials at this level is appalling, but then again we are in the fifth tier, so we are getting officials that are even worse than anything we’ve ever experienced before. Mr Huxtable never gives anything so you might as well get used to it, and you might as well tell your players to get stuck in when he is in the middle. We did that in the second half and even the normally level headed Lee Mansell almost lost his rag before turning a would-be Glasgow kiss into a Bristol bromance. Although our home form is great we must still work on our away performances, as amongst our 10 remaining away games we are playing the entire current top eight teams, except Barnet. We haven’t lost at Plainmoor since 2003 (a five game streak), and what price another piece of Mansell magic, back at a club where he is sixth on their all-time appearance list? ------------------------------- Martin Bull became a Gashead in 1989 and immediately fell in love with Twerton Park, standing near G pillar. In 2006 he wrote, photographed and published the first independent book about the artist Banksy. Having been exiled for much of his past, away games have always been special for him; so much so that he has just produced a new book about them, in collaboration with Rovers fans far and wide, young and old - www.awaythegas.org.ukRead more: www.bristolpost.co.uk/BRISTOL-ROVERS-BLOG-G-Gas-measure-intelligence/story-25755848-detail/story.html#ixzz3MoZseBKy
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Post by mehewmagic on Dec 31, 2014 10:34:34 GMT
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Post by mehewmagic on Dec 31, 2014 10:36:35 GMT
BRISTOL ROVERS BLOG: G is for Gas - If you want to get ahead, follow the Hatters Posted: December 31, 2014 By Martin Bull It comes as a minor relief to Gasheads to be going into a New Year placed second in a football table -even if it is at the lowest level of we have played at since joining the Football League in 1920. We may have many minor gripes about the season so far, but the table tells a decent story, and it is the first time since 2009 that we are even in the top half of the table at the end of a calendar year. In nine dreadful seasons in League Two we were time and again no-where near the top half of the table on New Year's Eve; our average position in fact being a dismal 17th. I could never see how we could be promoted if we didn't get into the top half of the division. Being in or near the top twelve by New Year at least gives you some chance of pushing up and into the play-offs (like in 2006/7), or in the case of League Two, the only division where four go up, maybe even into one of the three automatic promotion places. The fact that in those nine seasons we only had one play-off slot, and even that came courteous of an unexpected and late win against Hartlepool United on the final day of the campaign, was a lasting disgrace to our club and our loyal supporters. We only finished in the top half of the table on two other occasions - finishing 12th both times. Thankfully we can finally enjoy a Christmas period as we continue to cement a play-off place and keep within a reasonable distance of runaway leaders Barnet in the hope they may slip up, or that we can at least chip away at a lead that has now been slightly reduced to seven points. Another 1,000+ following of ever dependable Gasheads made the Boxing Day trip to the English Riviera, and were rewarded with a win that was apparently comfortable in the main, but in typical Rovers style left fans heavy breathing until the final bell. On Sunday we dismantled a really pitiable Macclesfield Town team and registered our first three goal (or more) win of the league season. I appreciate that every team has an off day now and again - and having a paltry three subs on the bench tells its own tale of the injuries they must have - but on that performance it seems quite shocking that the Silkmen are third in this league. You could certainly see why they have scored the least goals amongst the top 12 teams. It has been encouraging that many fringe or previously injured players were reported to have had a good game at Plainmoor, and I saw some proficient performances myself against Macclesfield Town. Before this week some fans seemed to have given up on Daniel Leadbitter, as his defensive abilities are weak, but I have always seen an exciting footballer in there; we just need to work out where and when to use him effectively. It’s great to hear that Neal Trotman is back to his dominant best, whilst Tom Parkes has quietly been winning plaudits for several months now. To have three centre backs of the quality of Macca, Parkesy and Trotters is reassuring as we go into our final 18 games with the best ranked defence in the League. Jake Gosling has struggled to make much impact until now, but he was some people’s Man of the Match on Friday, finding the space of an away game and the heavy conditions to his liking. He was excellent on Sunday as well. Nathan Blisset sorely needed a goal after a few close-range misses, so being positioned where all good poachers operate (namely the six yard line) to slot home Andy Monkhouse’s cut back could be a really important moment for our new signing, who after all is still a young lad tentatively finding his way. Tom Lockyer has coped well at left back, and although Monkhouse is certainly not your conventional winger, he adds height and a goal scoring threat to our team. Indeed our team for the last few games must have been the tallest team we’ve had for a long time, with Leadbitter and Monkhouse adding a threat few teams can boast in those positions. Although our current form is good we will still have to work on our away performances as amongst our nine remaining away games we are playing six of the teams currently occupying the top eight positions. We shouldn’t be totally disheartened by this tough task though, as overall most teams have hard games to come. Barnet have 10 games left against top 12 teams, whereas we have nine. Macclesfield have nine as well (but seven of them are away), Grimsby Town have nine (six of which are against the top five teams), and Eastleigh have 13 such games left and so far have only registered one win against a top 12 side in nine attempts. The following may sound slightly ambitious but I feel we need to target a win at EVERY home game until the end of the season to stand a chance of automatic promotion. We only have three of the current top 12 left to play at home (Eastleigh, Torquay United and Lincoln City), with six of the bottom 12 still to come. Whilst I’m not suggesting we are anywhere near as good as Luton Town last season, they certainly showed how to flat track bully the lower teams, dropping only a brace of points at home against the bottom 12 clubs, and rattling in 37 goals to only a handful conceded. It’s easy to forget but we did actually dispatch the lower teams at home last season quite well, picking up 22 points at home to the bottom half teams, out of a possible 33 on offer. Having already opened Pandora’s box by mentioning last seasons’ eventual runaway Champions Luton Town, I may as well go the whole hog and recall that they didn’t actually hit the top of the table until their biggest home win of the season to that point in time, on, yes, you guessed it, the 28th of December, which had followed a 2-1 away win on Boxing Day! Both teams also had poor starts to the season and neither hit the Top 10 until exactly their 10th game. Co-incidence or fate? You decide. I’m off to stick pins in my John Akinde doll. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Martin Bull became a Gashead in 1989 and immediately fell in love with Twerton Park, standing near G pillar. In 2006 he wrote, photographed and published the first independent book about the artist Banksy. Having been exiled for much of his past, away games have always been special for him; so much so that he has just produced a new book about them, in collaboration with Rovers fans far and wide, young and old - www.awaythegas.org.ukRead more: www.bristolpost.co.uk/BRISTOL-ROVERS-BLOG-G-Gas-want-ahead-follow/story-25783224-detail/story.html#ixzz3NTDGHEc6
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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2014 18:57:02 GMT
Did anybody else read that last sentence as "Im off to stick my penis in a John Akinde doll?
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Post by mehewmagic on Dec 31, 2014 23:21:52 GMT
Did anybody else read that last sentence as "Im off to stick my penis in a John Akinde doll? no Hugo, just you. Just you. As usual :-)
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Post by mehewmagic on Jan 7, 2015 11:48:20 GMT
My first article of the New Year is now up on the Bristol Post website. Turkey of the Year award could well go to Angus MacDonald. Thanks for that point mush; it might come in handy one day soon. With a fortnight for rest and rumination, I know which set of players I would prefer to be within right now. The atmosphere in our camp must be electric, whereas for Barnet it has always been their Championship to lose. www.bristolpost.co.uk/BRISTOL-ROVERS-BLOG-G-Gas-Turkey-Year-Award/story-25812570-detail/story.html
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Post by Rovers 12th Man on Jan 7, 2015 13:29:51 GMT
How can someone called Angus MacDonald not be Scottish?? Born in Hampshire apparently, about as far as you can get from Scotland.
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Post by aghast on Jan 7, 2015 15:06:44 GMT
How can someone called Angus MacDonald not be Scottish?? Born in Hampshire apparently, about as far as you can get from Scotland.Not entirely sure that's true?
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Post by mehewmagic on Jan 7, 2015 15:49:26 GMT
How can someone called Angus MacDonald not be Scottish?? Born in Hampshire apparently, about as far as you can get from Scotland.Not entirely sure that's true? The world is getting smaller though. The number 21 bus stops at Botswana these days.
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Post by mehewmagic on Jan 14, 2015 11:17:35 GMT
New article up on the Bristol Post website this morning. Maybe it‘s time for ‘rush goalie’ to finally be added to the rule book? Seeing a grown man hurriedly pulling on a padded jersey three sizes too big for him, then forget the gloves, whilst proceeding to try to look professional in a job he’s most probably never done before is one of the rare joys of being a football fan, but one that had been getting rarer each year since the 1993/94 season, when three subs were first allowed and goalies regularly featured on benches. But it's making a comeback with Matt 'The Cat' Harrold vs Mark 'Clean Sheet' McChrystal. www.bristolpost.co.uk/BRISTOL-ROVERS-BLOG-G-Gas-Rush-Goalie/story-25848444-detail/story.html
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Post by mehewmagic on Jan 14, 2015 12:33:50 GMT
BRISTOL ROVERS BLOG: G is for Gas - Rush Goalie Posted: January 14, 2015 By Martin Bull One of the best, and simultaneously worst, aspects of Rovers being in the Football League was getting a cursory one minute slot every Saturday on BBC1’s ‘The Football League Show’. The down side was that it would probably be 1am by the time the Pirates were on, and that was after being forced to listen to the dullsville middle of the road remarks of Leroy (“when I was at Torquay…”) Rosenior or the nasal whine of Steve Claridge. Many years ago in the nascent days of the media finally cottoning onto the excitement, colour and skill of the Africa Cup of Nations, I got up early on a Sunday to watch a live match they were showing on some sort of cable channel or early red button invention. Given that about 12 men and a dog were probably watching, the commentator was straight out of a media studies course, and the summariser was Steve Claridge, in his early days away from the smell of liniment in his day job. They encouraged the said ‘crowd’ of viewers to send questions in, so I crank started my brick shaped mobile phone and rattled off a question somewhere along the lines of, ‘Are you going to do any analysis of the game, or just describe things we can see with our own eyes?’. It miraculously got ticker-taped along the bottom of the screen, and I was honoured to be on the end of a Claridge rant and the immortal bleat of, ‘what side of the bed did he get out of this morning?’. In June this year it finally dawned on me that our relegation had so many knock-on effects. We obviously weren’t even a ‘League’ club anymore, so we wouldn’t be on the Football League Show, wouldn’t be in the League Cup, wouldn’t be in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy, and to rub it in even more, not only would any away matches I go to not count towards my long-term quest of seeing a game at all of the 92 League clubs, but that one of the 66 clubs I had visited (my own club!), could no longer even be counted on my list. T Thankfully this myriad of negatives were all neatly balanced by being on TV more than ever before, even if it was only BT Sport, and having a newspaper dedicated to us; the Non-League Football Paper. Muh. Not surprisingly I stopped bothering to even tune in to the Football League Show. Something however drew me back last Saturday evening, as if fate was willing me to witness the uproarious sight of ex-Rovers striker Matt Harrold donning a goalkeeping jersey for Crawley Town when regular keeper Brian Jensen was injured with over 50 minutes still to play. With no sub goalie, the ginger ninja was apparently picked to put on the absurdly over padded gloves because he is somewhat lanky, rather than due to any previous experience or feline like cameos and scorpion kicks in training. The fact that MK Dons put two past him to salvage a draw, and that 2-2 was still considered a good result by Crawley fans and worthy of a MOTM award for ‘the cat‘, puts Mark McChrystal’s clean sheet against Wrexham a month ago into startling perspective. Seeing a grown man hurriedly pulling on a padded jersey three sizes too big for him, then forget the gloves, whilst proceeding to try to look professional in a job he’s most probably never done before is one of the rare joys of being a football fan, but one that had been getting rarer each year since the 1993/94 season, when three subs were first allowed and goalies regularly featured on benches. Although various league and cup competitions now customarily allow five subs to be named, sometimes even seven, the pressure to make crucial creative substitutions that can flip a game on its head, coupled with the modern day absence of true utility men, has somewhat counter intuitively resulted in more Harrold / McChrystal moments of late, as five outfield players preen themselves on the sidelines, waiting to be the feted game changer. Maybe it‘s time for ‘rush goalie’ to finally be added to the rule book? What Rovers fan of a certain age can ever forget David Mehew temporarily going in goal at Trashton on New Years Day 1987 to replace Timmy Carter for about 15 minutes whilst he recovered from the battering of shots that had reined down on him from a dominant Robins side. If it was a boxing match it would have been stopped, but Boris and Timmy kept a clean sheet between them and over 17,000 hungover souls could hardly believe their bleary eyes when a last minute sucker punch from Gary Smart won the game for the brave boys in blue. Bob Bloomer, the classic utility man and hardly blessed with the stature of a Nigel Martyn or the presence of a Kevin Miller, also deserves a special mention for going in goal when Brian Parkin was injured in an FA Cup match against Crewe Alexandra in January 1991. Losing 2-0 at home may not sound so bad today, but as the Railwaymen were a division below and in the relegation zone at the time, it was a mini-disaster for Gerry Francis in his final year as our mercurial manager. When Mr.Glum was sent off against Brighton two months later it was Ian ‘Jocky’ Alexander’s turn to go between the sticks. When his first touch was to save the resulting penalty from John Byrne he was bestowed with instant hero status, as if chopping down numerous City wingers wasn‘t already enough to give him a place in the Rovers ‘Hall of Fame‘. No-one now of course remembers, nor cares, that we lost 3-1. Returning to the present day, we regularly walk the sub goalie tightrope, although Steve Mildenhall will apparently be back soon. With a two week break, two new signings, and more rest to come due to the farcical forced postponement of our next home game for the sake of the FA Trophy, we enter into this final push with the strongest and fittest squad we’ve had all season, and a genuine chance to remind Barnet that their rivals are not just going to stand and watch them march to the title. There is little I can really add to the recent coming and goings at the Mem. I doubt anyone could argue with Fabien Spiess, Dave Martin and Alex Wall all departing (with our best wishes) after disappointing loan spells, nor on the other hand the exciting arrival of number one target Jermaine Easter. Matt Tubbs would have been just as agreeable, and at three years younger a signing with a longer future, but Portsmouth have a tedious reputation for big spending and little success, so if he prefers to be there then he‘s not quite the right player for us. We now have a player who was held in high regard at Millwall and it’s difficult to find a bad word said about his attitude and professionalism, which I imagine is precisely why Darrell Clarke has wanted him for several months now. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Martin Bull became a Gashead in 1989 and immediately fell in love with Twerton Park, standing near G pillar. In 2006 he wrote, photographed and published the first independent book about the artist Banksy. Having been exiled for much of his past, away games have always been special for him; so much so that he has just produced a new book about them, in collaboration with Rovers fans far and wide, young and old - www.awaythegas.org.ukRead more: www.bristolpost.co.uk/BRISTOL-ROVERS-BLOG-G-Gas-Rush-Goalie/story-25848444-detail/story.html#ixzz3OnYTHw4i
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Post by mehewmagic on Jan 20, 2015 12:04:50 GMT
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Post by mehewmagic on Jan 20, 2015 15:38:38 GMT
BRISTOL ROVERS BLOG: G is for Gas - It was on the Cards
Posted: January 20, 2015
By Martin BullOccasionally you will hear a football fan saying ‘that was the best 0-0 I’ve seen for ages’. Sadly that phrase wasn’t used by any of 1,869 Gasheads who were officially counted at Woking on Saturday (nor others who were unofficially in other parts of the ground). This game really was an old fashioned nil-nil dullfest, and both teams were lucky to even get nil. Sadly the atmosphere was also dead as a dodo, not helped by two-thirds of the Gasheads being strung out along the long, thin terrace, whilst the 600 others were away in the seats at the far end. A point is a point, but there was a tinge of disappointment at the result after seeing Barnet lose again away from home, although that defeat was at a tough club that we ourselves will be visiting on Valentine’s Day. If we had been offered a point a month or more ago I suspect most of us would have been happy to take it, but after the Cards had a December slump our expectations had risen. On the pitch it was a woefully turgid game and rather made a mockery of the idea that a two week break would do us good, whereas part-time Woking would undoubtedly wane after tackling two FA Trophy matches during our fallow period. It was actually Rovers who looked languid and rusty, whilst Woking looked as sharp as a fresh deck of cards. Neither team however showed the quality needed to break down the resolute defences whose proficiency cancelled each other out. It might as well have been a game between two bowling machines borrowed from the local cricket club; spitting out balls for the four excellent centre halves to deal with. The obligatory 'guy behind me on the terrace' was spot on when he raised the question-cum-statement of “why all this ball over the top nonsense?!“. We don’t normally play that way and as the first XI hadn’t really changed since that successful festive period (just Ollie Clarke in for an injured Beard), it seemed baffling why we thought that Blissett and Taylor had overnight become the reincarnation of Roberts and Cureton from the late 1990‘s. At least we can be delighted to see Macca back to his best, and what he lacks in pace he makes up with positioning and experience. Tom Parkes gets better every game and his confidence on the ball, his little tricks, and even his passing has improved exponentially. His solidity is now almost taken for granted and if any of the rumours are true about league teams looking to bid for him, then we need to realise that he is the one member of the defence we really cannot afford to lose as he is our lynchpin. Having turned 23 last week he also still has a decade or more in him, unlike Trotman and Macca. There must be a defensive fetish in the Woking area as the only notable relationship we previously had with the Cardinals was paying a whopping £150,000 for impressive centre back Steve Foster in May 1997 after his solitary season for the Cards during their golden period - between 1994 and 1997. Players who have also appeared for both sides include Scott Rendell (a noteworthy striker), Elvis Hammond (surely the only ex-Pirate with a middle name of Zark) and Jefferson Louis - but then again Mr Louis has played for 92.7% of all non-league teams in the UK (fact!). This deadly trio shared between them a staggering… nil goals in the blue and white quarters. Later, in 2012, Hammond was all shook up when sentenced to a year at Her Majesty‘s pleasure for his part in a money laundering operation, but at least he did make the jailhouse rock whilst inside. On his release he joined Farnborough and when the squad was rebranded in a sponsorship deal each player was given the name of a famous footballer to officially adopt and have on their shirt. Hammond, quite inexplicably, got ‘Pele’! There was more drama off the pitch than on it, with several hundred Pirates locked out of the ground after the peculiar sounding away figure of 1,869 was reached. It was an invasion of the likes not seen since the aliens landed at nearby Horsell Common in H.G. Wells’ ‘The War of the Worlds’. Some observers bizarrely held the fans themselves and BRFC responsible. As the blame game has since unfurled it is hard to know quite who to believe, but the bottom line is that it is Woking’s ground, not ours, and Surrey Police‘s patch, not Avon & Somerset’s. For travelling away fans to be locked out of any ground that holds 6,000 yet only had 3,853 actually in it is a complete farce in anyone’s language. The fixture was the perfect storm for us fans and they had been warned, yet failed to adequately provide for us. It was an easy car journey, yet also well served by a busy train station within a suitable walk. Woking is near enough to London and the South-East to attract our numerous fans exiled there and with no game for two weeks before or two weeks after, two new signings to hopefully get a glimpse of, and the Gas on a roll (including winning our last two away games) they really should have thought about this a bit more. They can’t have their cake and eat it can they? Why was there an absurd over abundance of police if they hadn’t expected a huge following, and surely you can’t decide to segregate a match but then also continue the quaint non-league custom of ‘swapping ends’ at half time, as many from the Kingsfield Road Terrace (behind the goal) went to stand in the far corner for the second half, the beautifully entitled ‘Moaner’s Corner’. Anyway, why this siege mentality in the first place? We‘ve never even played each other before, and there is certainly no beef between the clubs or fans; more likely a collective ignorance of one another. Why couldn’t they just treat it as a nice little pay day, and a good sing song between friendly fans. Sadly, if this travesty of a mockery of a sham of a mockery had finished in ‘trouble’ it would have been splashed all over the media, whereas headlines such as 2,000+ Gasheads behave well, with several hundred inexplicably locked out, don’t sell papers do they. Barnet’s lead on us is coming down, and their first back-to-back losses of the season may prove notable, but it’s hardly a two horse race. Whilst I don’t feel the pack behind us will all win their games in hand, when everything is equal the top five could be a very replete clique indeed. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Martin Bull became a Gashead in 1989 and immediately fell in love with Twerton Park, standing near G pillar. In 2006 he wrote, photographed and published the first independent book about the artist Banksy. Having been exiled for much of his past, away games have always been special for him; so much so that he has just produced a new book about them, in collaboration with Rovers fans far and wide, young and old - www.awaythegas.org.ukRead more: www.bristolpost.co.uk/BRISTOL-ROVERS-BLOG-G-Gas-Cards/story-25889018-detail/story.html#ixzz3PNOzpaXq
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Post by mehewmagic on Jan 23, 2015 13:30:07 GMT
Oh, I probably should have added that I wrote the Woking article BEFORE the statement came out from Woking about who was to 'blame' for the lock out.
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