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Post by titchthephot on May 13, 2017 14:25:57 GMT
I know I am going to get slated for this....but....here goes anyway. Last night my son's team (Ashcott FC) booked Ashton Gate. The kids played a few games then the adults divided into three teams and played three half hour games against each other. They had the presentation in the Sports bar. I haven't been to ground for quite a few years - when it was a dump - but I have to say their revamped ground is bloody impressive. It is a big City ground (city as in town/area etc). They obviously built it for Premiership football. If I were a neutral and had to chance to play football at the Gate or the Mem then it would without doubt be City's ground. This now brings me round to our new owners - who have stated many times that they want to get the infrastructure right. I cannot agree more. It won't happen overnight but a new ground, marketed the right way (for concerts, weddings, parties etc, etc,) nice state of the art bars with large screens able to show live link football, state of the art training facilities ...we would then be able to entice better players, bigger crowds. We are years behind City in that respect. Yes, this season they have had a crap team, a crap manager and an owner whose petty mind thinks it is okay to buy your rivals star striker -not because you needed him but because you wanted to bugger up the Gas's promotion push - but they are building for the future with their ground and I pray that sooner rather than later we will start to catch them up. We will have one major advantage in that we can build our ground from scratch. They have had to update on the hoof. Ollie was right when he said they had three quarters of an impressive ground. The one original stand looks out of place and dated. Ours will be the dogs doodahs! I made sure I wore my Gas tie and one of the lads wore his Rovers shirt in the bar afterwards . Keep the faith...it will happen.
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Post by titchthephot on May 10, 2017 8:30:43 GMT
In 1974 the Gas did a tour of Oz, Hong Kong. I was in the RN on a world cruise and when we were in Hong Kong, they were in Oz and we went to Oz they were in Hong Kong. I literally missed them by a couple of days. Stuart Taylor must have been the tallest player and would the promotion game against the Teds our biggest gate at Twerton?
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Post by titchthephot on May 8, 2017 16:28:28 GMT
It will be nice to get 'proper' sprinklers (or whatever they are called!!). Those old hoses made us look like a 'Rag ass Rovers' so at least the pitch will be moving into the 21st Century. Nice to see the Thatchers end getting a good wash against Milwall!! I'm still upbeat about UWE.
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Post by titchthephot on May 6, 2017 21:34:14 GMT
I'd take Luke back. I know he never scored but he assisted in several goals and his skills are worthy of our team. To be fair to him most of the time we pumped high balls to him and expected him to reach his full five foot, f**k all, and win the ball. Maybe if he was here permanently they could learn to play it to his feet and see what he could do. But, at the end of the day, we have no idea what DC is thinking so I am happy to leave it up to him. I think he knows a bit more about it than the rest of us. I just can't wait until the start of the next season. What the heck am i going to do on my Saturdays until August? I think everybody knows more than you based on this post Just my opinion based on the fact that DC signed him. Maybe you are just trying to live up to your name!
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Post by titchthephot on May 6, 2017 11:06:33 GMT
I'd take Luke back. I know he never scored but he assisted in several goals and his skills are worthy of our team. To be fair to him most of the time we pumped high balls to him and expected him to reach his full five foot, f**k all, and win the ball. Maybe if he was here permanently they could learn to play it to his feet and see what he could do. But, at the end of the day, we have no idea what DC is thinking so I am happy to leave it up to him. I think he knows a bit more about it than the rest of us. I just can't wait until the start of the next season. What the heck am i going to do on my Saturdays until August?
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Post by titchthephot on May 5, 2017 9:28:23 GMT
If the Evil Post says it's true then.......................
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Post by titchthephot on May 1, 2017 10:45:10 GMT
the media are only interested in bad news because that's want people want!!!! So how come the Teds get so much coverage? Must be because they are bad news personified!
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Post by titchthephot on May 1, 2017 10:10:29 GMT
I always thought people were being slightly paranoid about the Pro Ted and anti Gas coverage by the media but now I am not so sure. Listening to Radio Bristol yesterday on the way home from the game, they said 'We are now going to play a compilation of Rovers highlights this season' and then proceeded to play recordings of goals - home and away. I estimate about 80% were of goals against us. It made it sound like we'd had an awful season. Put that alongside the Evil Post photo of the Snake, fist pumped with a stupid grin on his mug, with the headline 'Rovers miss out on the Play-offs' and also Points West and HTV coverage - where the only time we get a good coverage is when we lose! Maybe Pantsdown has put money into these media outlets and threatened them if they try to be impartial. I am a great believer in Karma (Swindon - charging us for the replay of the abandoned game being one example. That won't happen next season!!) and I hope what goes around, comes around and one day soon we will be the top dogs.
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Post by titchthephot on Apr 30, 2017 19:11:26 GMT
Way, way too many 'Bing Bongs'. If someone's car/bike etc is in the way just get the police to tow it away. Bing Bonging every five minutes trivialises the real reason for having an emergency 'Bing Bong' (plus, does anyone actually listen to the messages?)
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Post by titchthephot on Apr 16, 2017 10:44:51 GMT
"Really? And there was me thinking that he had already left the managers job."
When you are in a boat that is rapidly filling up with water - almost to the point of sinking- because you were the one that pulled the plug out, it can hardly be the fault of the poor guy left in it when it does eventually sink!! To repeat....Ward got us relegated. Clarke restored the club.
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Post by titchthephot on Apr 15, 2017 10:10:29 GMT
The day we went out of the league was probably the worst day of my football life but it turned out to be a blessing. We needed that jolt to get rid of dead wood and take on a new direction. The problem now is that we have been spoilt. Two consecutive promotions and we all automatically think that is how it should be every season. Yesterday against Gillingham was a reality check. We do now need to stop and take stock of where we are and where we are going. I really believe that the owners must now focus all there efforts on UWE (or wherever) but I am sure they are doing this anyway. We have a huge amount to be cheerful about this season. Yes, our away form hasn't been what it should have been but the games at home have been a joy to watch (most of the time!). In marathon terms we have 'hit the wall' so we must now catch our breath and look towards the future. New ground, better infrastructure, new exciting players and more content supporters. I am the happiest I have been with Rovers since the mid seventies - and I really believe this setup can go on to better that. UTG.
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Post by titchthephot on Apr 11, 2017 8:02:26 GMT
"I can understand football, rugby, maybe even basketball 🏀 but why would anyone want to own a badminton team. ..?" ......or as we used to call it in the Navy...'Poofs Tennis'!!
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Post by titchthephot on Apr 10, 2017 10:31:52 GMT
To err is human.....to Arrrrrrrr is Pirate!!
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Post by titchthephot on Apr 10, 2017 10:05:39 GMT
Just wondered why football teams such as ourselves have the name 'Rovers'? I can understand how some have 'Athletic' (obviously a former athletics club that formed a team), and City/Town but 'United' is a bit of a puzzle as well. I seem to remember ready about Plymouth somewhere but I can't remember the whole story. 'Hotspurs' is another odd one. If 'Rovers' is due to the fact that they 'Roved' about before finding a home then they could just as easily have been called 'Roamers'. (or 'Moaners' as them done the road could be called!!). Any ideas?
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Post by titchthephot on Apr 10, 2017 9:52:11 GMT
There seems to be two sides to the man. On the positive it is good to see an owner backing his manager through thick and thin. Too many owners just sack the managers as soon as they lose two or three games in a row. On the negative side, how can someone have so much money to waste and just buy their rivals star striker just to stop them from having him. Maybe he is schizo! Maybe he should just stick to owning the Basketball team, they seem to be the only ones that are giving him a return for his money.
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Post by titchthephot on Mar 13, 2017 18:42:21 GMT
The punishment is for the aggression shown. Every player knows that it's a big 'no-no' to show any dissent or become physical with a referee. The player basically lost the plot and lost control. It's all about discipline. Even if the ref is wrong he is still right. That is the law of the game. They all know the laws and whether or not you agree or disagree with him that's just tough. Don't get me wrong, I get frustrated when I see some of the awful refereeing decisions at the Mem but there is nothing you can do. The player knocking the card out of the refs hand was never going to change the situation and I agree it was proved to be an incorrect decision but the player must learn to have control. Boring though it may be, Rugby refs have total power and the players respect them. That certainly isn't the case in football. Kerching! (that's the sound of me, putting my 10p's worth in!!)
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Post by titchthephot on Mar 11, 2017 11:36:50 GMT
I wonder if it's possible to get this thread sent over to MT and explain to him that THIS is how the Gas responds to someone who was 'faithful and true' to Rovers. It is a shame that he has been let go but I do trust in DC and he has to make decisions about the future of the club. Macca will always get a huge response if ever he visits us again. Mark McCrystal, I raise my hat to you and thank you for all you have done for our club. You may now enter the room marked 'Legends'.
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Post by titchthephot on Mar 5, 2017 9:46:18 GMT
Listening to Radio Bristol yesterday 90% of the calls were about the demise of 'them down the road' and yet not one even mentioned MT. I think it just goes to show that they believe it was just a childish whim by Pantsdown to try to belittle Rovers. They didn't want him, they just didn't want us to have him. He, and their fans, obviously thought it would really hurt us but now they see that it hasn't. Once again the mighty Gas have turned a bad situation into a positive. City always thought calling us 'Gasheads' was a terrible insult and laughed at us until we turned that around and we have done the same with MT. Maybe we should be good neighbours and invite all the Teds to the Mem and then say 'This is how you run a football club, these are what you call honest and loyal players and these are what you call true fans!'
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Post by titchthephot on Feb 26, 2017 11:10:08 GMT
All this City hatred is a little bit alien to me in some respects. I am not from Bristol so I have never felt the need to hate 'them down the road'. Don't get me wrong. I want them to fail more than ever now. When I was a kid, growing up in the heart of Somerset, your local team was chosen on a whim. You either liked the colour red or the colour Blue. On those grounds could you decide which team to support. I never really got into the Gas until I was 16. Bristol was too far to go by bus so I never went to any games. My decision to choose Rovers was probably my brothers. I came home on leave from the navy and asked him what we were doing at the weekend and he said we were going to Eastville. Fair enough. His reason for choosing Rovers was probably that a mutual friend was the son of a Gas Legend (George Petherbridge's son, Terry). I sat next to Terry when he first joined our primary school and remember laughing at his strange sport shirt - blue and white quarters. It was his Dad's old one. Anyway, Rovers was chosen and I never really worried about City. I've even been to watch them at Wembley. My ex brother-in-law was a ted and I went along for the booze up. It was so memorable that I couldn't even tell you who won! The only thing I remember is two girls, fans of the other team, joined in a group photo and suddenly bared their breasts!! (much better than the 11 tits that were playing in red that day!!). Right, now to my point. Snakegate has changed my opinion about City. Not so much about the team but about their owner and manager. I am now convinced that Snakey's move to them had nothing to do with football. It was like being a kid again. We had something better than they had and although they didn't want him, they just didn't want us to have him. All that 'Welcome to Bristol' ,' Playing football at a higher standard' (yeah right, sat on the bench all the game yesterday), Pantsdown's statement that he wanted to name Bristol Rovers to disappear all point to a man with more money than sense. I don't blame Taylor totally for what he did. He is 27, probably Div 1 was his real level, and if some mug offers you a huge amount of money (knowing your career could end tomorrow) then you'd be a fool not to go. It was the way he went, at the very last moment, not really giving us a chance to find a replacement. It was a vindictive, childish, nasty way to do business and for that I hate the City setup. I wish them nothing but failure. Revenge is a dish best served cold and I am prepared to wait. All of this has made me even more appreciative of DC and Wael and Hamer. UTG
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Post by titchthephot on Feb 26, 2017 10:44:25 GMT
Forget the back pass...just one of those things. Harrison's problem is his lack of consistency and concentration. When he played against Northampton he was in the zone for every ball. Yesterday I noticed him several times doing the same thing. A ball would be near him and instead of immediately going for the ball he would seem to be in a 'pause' mode...only for a split second...then he would go after it. Only by then it was just too late. The defender would get the ball and the moment was gone. Had he reacted sooner he could have given himself a chance. He obviously has potential (otherwise DC would have let him go) but he just needs to be alert 100% of the time..not 80% or even less. Gaffney has the ability to do better and has shown us before what he can do. He is going through a barren patch at the moment but I am happy to keep faith with him for a while longer. On FB there is so much talk about 'we should get so and so'. The transfer market is closed. DC didn't want to get just anybody and there was no point getting someone in for Snakey...just in case he didn't jump ship - which would have left us with another striker on the books and more headaches about who to play and who to drop. What we have at the moment is what we will have until the end of the season. Hopefully Harrison, Gaffney or James will hit form (or all three) and we will all be happy. I have great faith in DC. He knows far more about our team and football in general than all of us put together. Keep the faith UTG.
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