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Post by gasandelectricity on Mar 18, 2017 23:10:28 GMT
Just a bit of fun to stimulate discussion.
It's now almost three years on since we got relegated on that awful day back in 2014.
Ever since that date, or not too long after at least, we've been on the rise ever since and if you'd have told someone back at the end of May 2014 where Darrell Clarke would end up taking us to this point they'd probably have called an ambulance to try and get you sectioned, or at least asked for a little bit of what you're 'on.'
If you could go back to April 2014, and were given the option of taking that hit of relegation but finding our feet and bouncing back immediately to find ourselves in what is looking ever more likely to be our strongest position in almost 20 years, or staying in the league but not progressing for 3 years, what would you take? (both options are guaranteed, so no risk of promotion in the former and nothing bad nor good will come of the second option)
For me, as much as it hurt our pride and history to drop out of the league, it seems to have been the catalyst to a huge amount of change in the football club and some may argue the best thing that could of happen to us. I'd take the hit.
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Post by Gas Go Marching In on Mar 18, 2017 23:25:46 GMT
Just a bit of fun to stimulate discussion. It's now almost three years on since we got relegated on that awful day back in 2014. Ever since that date, or not too long after at least, we've been on the rise ever since and if you'd have told someone back at the end of May 2014 where Darrell Clarke would end up taking us to this point they'd probably have called an ambulance to try and get you sectioned, or at least asked for a little bit of what you're 'on.' If you could go back to April 2014, and were given the option of taking that hit of relegation but finding our feet and bouncing back immediately to find ourselves in what is looking ever more likely to be our strongest position in almost 20 years, or staying in the league but not progressing for 3 years, what would you take? (both options are guaranteed, so no risk of promotion in the former and nothing bad nor good will come of the second option) For me, as much as it hurt our pride and history to drop out of the league, it seems to have been the catalyst to a huge amount of change in the football club and some may argue the best thing that could of happen to us. I'd take the hit. Bit of a no brainer this. Stupid poll, no offence. |
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Post by gregsy on Mar 18, 2017 23:29:51 GMT
hypothetical or what....
que Sera Sera
whatever will be will be
mansells takin a penalty
que Sera sera
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2017 23:32:31 GMT
There is a good chance that, if we had stayed up, John Ward and all of the pathetic journeymen would have remained here and we would have continued to struggle, with DC soon sacked by Piggsy.
Relegation was a blessing in disguise. No brainer on the poll.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2017 6:30:19 GMT
I think that the club had to bottom out in order to be forced to change the pattern of couldn't care less journeymen, only here for their last payday.
We were extremely lucky that DC was in the right place at the right time, his football philosophy is exactly what the club needed. Although John Ward brought him to club, I often wonder how frustrating DC must have been in his assistant role, as he does things very differently.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2017 6:43:33 GMT
I think that the club had to bottom out in order to be forced to change the pattern of couldn't care less journeymen, only here for their last payday. We were extremely lucky that DC was in the right place at the right time, his football philosophy is exactly what the club needed. Although John Ward brought him to club, I often wonder how frustrating DC must have been in his assistant role, as he does things very differently. My view of DC was initially "that bloke we got from Salisbury who shouts "stop crosses" at Eliot Richards. Then, I heard him interviewed and found he sounded like he talked a good game. When he got the job I was never in the Clarke out camp as he seemed bright and canny in interviews. Also, I was absolutely disgusted...that's not the word, horrified, by the abuse he had from the terrace. We were a club eaten out from the inside with annual struggles for survival. He had 8 games with a team which wasn't his. I think the big winner for me were the tears at Mansfield. Whether they were for him, or for the club is immaterial - both Clarke and us as fans shared that moment of trauma together. Ever since the first few wins got going in the conference, it has truly been a vertical ascent into heaven. Each time you think we've plateaud and on this club goes, improving. Now we are a feared league one team. Clubs like Sheffield United, Millwall and Charlton Athletic think twice about trying to win at the Mem. To think, we used to be scared when we got a visit from Eastleigh. We played for a point at home to the mighty Wycombe. It's been my best years as a Gashead and we had the pleasure of starting at the bottom and rebuilding this club together. Long may DCs reign continue. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2017 9:40:45 GMT
Said it at the time and still believe it now - relegation was best thing to happen to us as it allowed us to clear the decks and start from a clean slate and was the shock needed to force us to do things differently and create a team worthy of the shirt....
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Post by Quartermaster on Mar 19, 2017 9:54:12 GMT
I too think that relegation was the best thing to happen to us, but had we not gone down, we'd have still been in league 2 when Wael went football club shopping and he did say he wouldn't have looked twice if we were in the conference still. Perhaps had we not gone down he would still have bought us when he did.
All that said, in the conference year leading up to the buy out, the club got its soul back again. You can't put a price on that.
I'm pretty sure that had we been bought out and not had any promotions in the last couple of years that there wouldn't be the same feeling about the club right now.
I wouldn't say we were lucky to come back first time, but it's not common. I wouldn't want to risk it again!
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Post by Strange Gas on Mar 19, 2017 10:04:15 GMT
I wouldn't ignore the impact it specifically had on DC too which I suspect has been a large factor here. We don't know he was frustrated under JW, although at Wycombe it felt like there was new blood in charge. I strongly suspect it was his biggest learning experience and forced him to take control and sort it out from the ground up.
What I'd really love to know is if we'd have got the new owners without relegation, was Wembley our beauty parade, without which? Or would they have come in anyway with us clanking around the bottom of league 2? And would Higgs have sold in this scenario as readily?
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Post by beaver132 on Mar 19, 2017 10:23:01 GMT
What happened in 2014 was necessary. Too often I watched a team of players who gave the impression they didn't care. That the match on Saturday was an interruption to their social life. Coventry City fans find themselves there now. We've got our club back, our team back.
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Post by warehamgas on Mar 19, 2017 10:25:16 GMT
Interesting poll! Nothing but nothing will ever heal the hurt and awful feelings in those Summer months of 2014 and that awful afternoon when it dawned on me about 3.30 that no matter what we did that afternoon we won't score and we're going out of the league. I leant on the crash barrier in the Thatchers and thought that I'd seen this happen to others on Sky Saturday in other years but never thought it would happen to us. I've loved the past three years but nothing could heal thar hurt in 2014, nothing.
Had we stayed up I honestly think DC would have done what he has only a year earlier. The players he got rid of in 2014 would have gone anyway although the recruitment into the league might have been different that summer. The spine of the team he kept he would have kept in League 2 as well. So whilst I agree with some of what people have said I would have opted for a late equaliser on that afternoon, I think it would have acted in the same way that the Mansell penalty did. And I also think John Ward would have gone that summer anyway just not in such a vitriolic way. But it's all ifs and buts so well done DC whatever.
UTG!
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Post by rusho'gas on Mar 19, 2017 11:19:37 GMT
Would I change one thing? No chance.
As many have said the club was dying on its ass, rotting from inside out. Relegation out of the league, was and is, the best thing to happen in the last 25 years. Where we can count ourselves lucky was by having God waiting in the background for the opportunity to do what he has done. What is remarkable, utterly remarkable, is how he has identified the issues, cleared out and rebuilt a squad of players and kept those hungry and passionate enough to buy into his dream and carry this forward in such a short amount of time. The man is truly remarkable. A remarkable leader.
There were times in the early campaign of the conference season where you wondered if he could do it or be given enough time but he proved us all wrong. After Braintree where the gobby element were baying for him to go with the "not fit to manage this team" crap.
I believe that one of the factors involved in the buyout was also DC, why ignore one of the brightest managers outside the top division as a major asset in the football club. We are lucky, very lucky. It could be worse, it could be a lot worse. We could be any number(s) of (insert to suit) ................... FC
The future is bright, the short term pain was worth the net gain. In God (DC) we trust.
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Post by long john silver on Mar 19, 2017 12:23:50 GMT
The truth is we needed to drop out the league, the club had been rotting for years and relegation gave us the wake up we needed. If you look at the bottom of league two there are a few clubs in similar position the were we were post relegation, Leyton orient , Notts county , Hartlepool all would probably benefit from a year or two in non league. It's ironic that falling out the football league was the best and worst thing to ever happen.
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Post by justin blue on Mar 19, 2017 13:02:03 GMT
A truer picture would be to compare today with 2007 which is when we were last in this league. At that time we had a progressive set up with a young ambitious manager and experienced director of football and we were establishing ourselves in whatever this league was called then. Would we have continued to progress had we not sacked Lenny or given Trollope more time are questions we can only speculate on. Personally I think as had always happened previously the club could not match the ambition of the coaches. Hopefully we now have owners who are building a solid platform for this club to eventually progress.
So while I could have done without the horrible years between then and now it was worth it to have what we have at this club now.
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Post by Cosmic Pasty on Mar 19, 2017 13:07:49 GMT
One of the memories that sticks with me the most was being in the supermarket the day after we went down and seeing a kid of about ten years old casually wearing a Rovers shirt (the Purple Shirt of Doom, no less!) as he went about shopping with his family. In that moment I got the fleeting feeling that we still had a future, even though things continued to feel raw for some time afterwards. DC and the change of ownership have been great for us (club-saving), but without the fans who continued to wear the shirt and get behind the club there would have been nothing to manage, and nothing to own. I'll always remember too, tentatively reaching for The Non League Paper for the first time, as if it were about to burst into flames. ' We're in there - I've got to do it!' I do think our relegation was the best thing that could have happened to us (and actually went on to enjoy a lot of that year), and agree that a lot of other clubs could benefit from the same shock treatment. But only if they've got the kind of fans willing to walk through fire for the club - or at least risk picking up a potentially blazing copy of the NLP - rather than the glory-hunting kind who will jump ship in favour of another club the minute the brown stuff hits the fan. I do know we're not special - I just like to think we are  |
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Post by Topper Gas on Mar 19, 2017 13:23:44 GMT
The truth is we needed to drop out the league, the club had been rotting for years and relegation gave us the wake up we needed. If you look at the bottom of league two there are a few clubs in similar position the were we were post relegation, Leyton orient , Notts county , Hartlepool all would probably benefit from a year or two in non league. It's ironic that falling out the football league was the best and worst thing to ever happen. Not sure Tranmere fans, or Grimsby fans in the past, would agree with that view! We were a bit lucky to beat Grimsby at Wembley if we hadn't god knows where we'd be now, plus there's the Wael good factor last season, which has continued into this season. I don't think it's as straightforward as a club just bouncing back from going down . |
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Post by gasincider on Mar 19, 2017 13:40:09 GMT
Not sure Tranmere fans, or Grimsby fans in the past, would agree with that view! We were a bit lucky to beat Grimsby at Wembley if we hadn't god knows where we'd be now, plus there's the Wael good factor last season, which has continued into this season. I don't think it's as straightforward as a club just bouncing back from going down . Did you realise that Grimsby didn't have a shot on target after half time through to the end of extra time? They only had three to our five in the whole match. We werent lucky, we were the better of two very nervous teams on the day. |
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Post by warehamgas on Mar 19, 2017 13:47:29 GMT
Yes, you are right gasincider and that is why I've never considered us lucky to have won. We were, as you say, the better of two fairly equal but nervous teams and having finished 2nd, 5 points (?) ahead of them we deservedly beat them to the Football League. And 4 of those penalties would have graced any penalty competition in the world, brilliantly placed and struck. No we're weren't lucky despite what some might say about the referee in the first half. That day was about the result pure and simple and we won!
UTG!
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Post by pilninggas on Mar 19, 2017 13:58:20 GMT
Had we survived and DC kept us up I suspect things would be similar. He would have shipped out the chancers and got in players who he does his miracle work with.
but,
Would we have caught the eye of the Al Qadis, if we not had already pulled off an instant return from the Conf? Without the non-league rennaisance, we may not have got bought and therefore would still be utterly skint, we would have lost the snake last january (and we cant deny his part in getting us out of L2), DC would have gone when Leeds called [Higgs would have snapped up compensation] and we wouldnt have funds for loans like Lumley and Sweeney. At one time going to the Mem on saturday was a ritual, you did it even though the performances were poor - it was purgatory, now it's realy, really entertaining.
This last three years has scarcely been believable, set against the background of years of utter rubbish. Every Rovers fan I speak to is always buzzing, there so much less moaning from crowds, even when we have a bad day. Long may it continue.
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Post by trojandog on Mar 19, 2017 14:12:03 GMT
A good thread. I went to my first Rover's game in 1961. This by is far the best time to be a Rovers fan. Chatting to some Oxford fans in the bowling alley bar at the Oxford game, they were unanimous in their respect for Darrel Clarke and what we have achieved as a club. It was also interesting to hear them say how Goodnight Irene drives them up the wall. However, they were quite jealous of the fact that we have a song that is so closely associated with our club.
Although I would never have said it at the time, it is now obvious that relegation was the best thing that could have happened to the club. I also think that promotion this season to the Championship would be a bad thing; we just aren't ready, both team and infrastructure wise. That said, I'll be leaping up and down with everyone else if we manage to pull it off.
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