Gas V Bolton match day thread

Not read the rest of the thread so haven't seen what general opinion is of today.

For my view, an automatic promotion chasing team beat a midtable team with a flattering scoreline. No biggie and I thought we at least showed some fight.

First half - contained them well. Bolton may have shaded it slightly but not enough to deserve a lead.

Second half - gas come out well and were good value for a goal, a very good save from Martin header. Connelly allows Collins too much time with his positioning and Collins does what he couldn't seem to do when he was here, score from a 1on1 with a tidy finish. A decent reaction from us and some huffing and puffing but no clinical edge.

Apart from one dive that got a free kick on the half way line, Collins didn't deserve any stick today. Bit silly from fickle fans imo.

The only poor performances I saw today were Wilson and the ref. Everyone else I'd argue had an average 6 or 7 out of 10 game.

Connelly played more football than I've ever seen him play but was caught defensively at times, need a new CB to partner Taylor but we should keep him as backup. I'd be happy if Evans was our captain at the start of next season, he clearly cares and we don't need to change an entire team every summer. We need a striker under 30! Grant ward has started shooting which I didn't expect. We need to find an LT for the other side of the pitch. Sinclair is worth another season. I don't think finley will be here by August.

Good post.
Although I think we desperately need pace up front as Sinclairs legs have gone and who else on the squad is quick ?
We’re so slow and I like Thomas but he ain’t quick either to be fair.
We need to keep Martin for the experience and lose Marquis who has mostly offered nothing in two years.
With Marquis and Collins gone that means two strikers in I think one who can hold it up / win headers and one who’s quick and can run at people so we’ve got more than the one option as we currently have.
In replacement to Sinclair we need a similar player to what Sinclair was 10 / 15 years ago , we are crying out for a quick wide player who scares the crap out of league 1 defenders , they hate running back towards their own goal with a quick player running on to a through ball and we just haven’t had that option at all this season and are so one paced its predictable to play against.
The hate for hoole and Gordon personally I don’t get as they’re in their 3rd and 2nd years as pros and are good enough for this level and with the right coaching and game time could be top league 1 full backs.
In midfield we need at least one more Conteh type as Finley is aging and becoming injured more often as is Ward snd we need another of the Evans mould for creativity because when he’s not available we’re lacking creativity in midfield.
I don’t think a massive overhaul is needed in the summer.
Just shipping Marquis Sinclair and Wilson out for a striker who’s up and coming, a quick quality wide player and a solid centre half who’s not aging and injury prone could make the difference between mediocre and top half next season.
To push on further we probably need a bit of luck, Taylor to be the right man and the recruitment to be absolutely spot on and I’ve got no idea of any of those three things will happen and if they do we’ll have to finish above clubs that have a better stadium , better non Matchday income etc.
We’re miles behind the top clubs in league 1 every season it feels to me like if we make the top 6 next season it’ll be by doing it the Wycombe / Stevenage way because that’s where we are as a club.

Agree regarding Marquis , however Chris has scored 15 in 30 appearances and around Christmas was on fire, the worry is why has that scoring dropped off a cliff? and why are we not creating chances for him like we were?

We have (as proved only a few months ago) one of the best strikers in League One. Without whom I dread to think where we would be. 

Yet again, our lack of desire and quality in front of goal cost us dearly. It's plain that Chris Martin has no support and now seems less interested. As for Brown, let him go.

Positives: Connolly, Thomas, Evans, Ward x2 and Conteh.

Negatives*: Sincs has lost his pace, Brown is a waste of time, Aguilera is lightweight and Taylor can't man manage.

Thought 2-0 flattered Bolton though and genuinely believed we would score yesterday and change our name from Bristol Rovers Nil.

*The sponsors were plainly either hammered or on the sarcasm pills as MOTM was the truly woeful Wilson.

UTFG and in Taylor some trust. 🏴‍☠️

Just gone on the rovers ticketing page to have a look see if Wigan away tickets out to be greeted with a picture of Collins celebrating a goal (in a rovers shirt)

God sake rovers 🤣

FWIW I just watched Matt Taylor's interview and he talks a lot of sense IMO. Give him time, backing and a transfer window and I think he'll do well for you.

TBH your strikers weren't ruthless enough yesterday but even so I genuinely thought you were going to score just after half time when the ball was bouncing around our box and Baxter had to claw the ball off the line. If I was a gambling man I'd put money on you scoring against Reading if you work their back line because they were frequently pulled out of shape when we played them last week and the likes of John Marquis have the experience/calmness to take full advantage.

From our perspective we are delighted with the win but critical of the performance. We just never got going, even when you threatened to score which was worrying - how many wake up calls do we need? I felt we were sleepwalking into trouble for most of the game and the fluency and movement in attack we are capable of never materialised until Thomason won the ball and played through a superb pass for Collins to chip in - that aside, nothing - well, apart from CJ mugging the defender into making a rash tackle in the box. The posters who mentioned "Bolton were nothing special"/ "they knew they were in a game"/ "they were worried" etc etc - absolutely can't disagree with any of that. Poor performance, but we somehow came away with the points and move on. There's a slight concern that Santos and Sheehan may be joining our already massive injury list but we'll have to see how that pans out.

I don't know what's going on the heads of some of your fans who are talking about relegation - is that even statistically possible? If so, the likelihood of it happening is zilch IMO.

In reality, you have no pressure to deal with and although Taylor is probably feeling the weight of expectation personally, this is a great opportunity to focus on calming the players down, getting them to gel as a team, sorting the wheat from the chaff and building the foundations for a stronger team next season. He's had 4 months so far and he wasn't brought in to make a short term fix - he was brought in to build the team for the future and that takes seasons not months, especially when inheriting another manager's players, style and culture. Taylor's tenure this season is about building and preparation for future seasons - the start of a process which will involve introducing younger players with potential who are not the "finished product". Losing to us is no big deal in the scheme of things.

We've been there recently but have stuck with our manager despite huge criticism but slowly we're getting there overall so I think it would be rash for your fans to throw their toys out of the pram and not renew STs because next season will be a new and hopefully improved beginning. Get behind the manager and the process, recognise it will take time and stop worrying about results in the short term - it's your team FFS so the last thing you need is for fans to undermine it.

And BTW the ref was appalling - players on both sides incredulous at the randomness of his decision-making. It was as if he'd accidentally left his cards in the changing room during the first half, remembered to pick them up at half time and then went on a mission to make up for lost time after the break.

I actually thought we played some decent stuff at times yesterday but our absolute inability in front of goal is now becoming an embarrassment. Again we had chances that were easier to convert yesterday and contrived to either miss the ball completely or tap the ball so softly it became a retrieve for their keeper.

I have been a huge critic of Connolly but he had a real go yesterday - was caught out a few times but at least he showed some fight and carried the ball forward well yesterday. He was the best of a back three where Taylor is now looking nervous and ponderous at times and the seriously awful Wilson is more worried about his hair being out of place - that guy seriously has to go in the summer somehow.

No chance Chris Martin would manage against a really well drilled CB pairing for Bolton especially now he is rehearsing for the the Old Vic with his acting at times.

It's hard to really shout about too many positives ... We had a go but there was clearly no real plan , we were very narrow down the middle and here we are a record breaking team smashing a 102 year old achievement of not scoring... every likelihood that will continue for a while yet.

Ward - Did very little wrong but I sense he will not be our No 1 next season.

Wilson - Hate this guy and for the Sponsors to call him MoM was a total embarrassment to them and to the other players on the pitch.

Taylor C - Has lost his way I think - seems nervous and slow coming forward - the penalty he conceded yesterday was ridiculous.

Connolly - Apparently been given the next five games to show what he can do - Did well against a promotion chasing side.

Aguillera - Didn't do much , I think he would be better playing as a 10

Evans - Good Captains performance, showed he cared. Got stuck in.

Conteh - Ran into trouble a few times but some of the passes he received were fired at him like exocet missiles. Put a shift in.

Brown - Someone shouted at him ... " Get your boots dirty Brown" - he just laughed back probably sums him up in a Rovers Shirt.

Martin - Too slow , throws himself to the ground and has now missed a few sitters by his own high standards.

Thomas - Played out of position and wasted his attacking ability

Sinclair - Not for me and poor again yesterday.

Not sure any of the subs added anything yesterday - Was nice to see one of our long term injured midfield warriors back in the match day squad and hoping we might see him on the pitch at some point over the next few matches.

No idea why we went to a back three unless it was for Taylor M to have a look at Connolly, the wing backs did not work yet again and to leave Luca on the bench after some decent performances from him was strange to be polite.

I did laugh though when BOTH sets of fans started singing " We've got a sh** ref" - Everyone agreed to that 

More concerning than the performance yesterday was hearing that we are now negotiating contract extensions / renewals for players and I dread to think who that could be ... Club will also be telling a few contracted players that they are not in plans for next season and that they can find a new club - owners are back in the UK this week so expect that to ramp up quickly over the next 14 days.

Martin an embarrassment…. Marquis maybe but Martin?