Pass masters

SO the Campbell bounce lasted one game.
A wonderful 1-0 triumph at Tranmere was followed by a brave but ultimately futile attempt to derail Huddersfield's promotion push.
We conceded a goal after just five minutes and although our on-loan keeper Conrad Logan saved a penalty and we had two attempts disallowed it was all to no avail.
Players' Democratic Republic of Bristol 0, Yorkshire Terriers 1
A great initiative from the board of directors - to allow each season ticket holder to bring one guest free - pushed the gate above 7,000 and, by all accounts, the fans really got behind our team and their fourth manager of the season.
But, despite the words of hope from supporters who felt we did enough to have won the game, by Tuesday night I was sinking into the depths of misery again.
Plymouth - that team which had 10 points deducted after going into administration - climbed above us on goal difference thanks to a last-minute equaliser at Carlisle.
And now we are bottom of the pile again, with 10 games to save our League One status.
But, still, there is hope on the horizon.
Our centre back Danny Coles, who has been helping out Captain fantastic Campbell since he took over the side, says that we are going to "pass our way out of trouble".
This sounds a very worthy sentiment and one which I am sure all Gasheads will applaud.
The only problems I see are two fold:
1. We were supposed to be playing a "passing" game when we were getting thumped by the likes of Oxford, Peterborough and Southampton at the start of the season under manager no 1 Paul Trollope.
2. We are not Barcelona.
I've seen some very good Rovers sides who liked to pass the ball in the past. Our former manager David Williams produced a very exciting and entertaining team to watch and was very unlucky to go agonisingly close before missing out on promotion in three successive seasons.
It shouldn't be too hard to do, after all.
You see a player wearing the same coloured shirt as you and give them the ball. Then you move into a position where you might be able to receive it back.
Unfortunately the Rovers side of which Danny Coles now plays haven't managed to do that very often this season.
In fact, I would suggest one of the reasons we are where we are is that we have tended to give the ball to the opposition far too often, allowing them to score a hatful of goals against us and leaving our goal difference so badly in the negative you might think we were a basketball side.
I know why this has come up. It is because the team which Dave Penney was managing were accused of just playing "hoofball". This is a game where you pick the ball up in your own half then boot it as far down the field as possible.
It's not attractive to watch and, to be fair, under Mr Penney it wasn't very successful either.
But it does leave me to ask another question.
Did Dave Penney actually tell his players: Don't pass the ball to each other?
Because I cannot believe that was the case.
Every footballer likes to think of themselves as a Xavi or Iniesta in the making. But, to be fair to those Barcelona geniuses, look how hard they work to win back the ball.
So unless you can marry the two qualities together you are on a hiding - as Rovers have been far too often.
Yes, I want to see us pass the ball to team mates. But I also want us to fight to win it back when we have lost it.
And even once we have done both those things we need to put it in the back of the net which, since our star striker Will Hoskins' goals have dried up, is something we are doing far too infrequently.
Ten games to go. Ten cup finals, as Stuart Campbell points out.
Mind you, we've never been very successful in cup finals.
The only one we have actually won was in the Watney Cup back in 1972.
And that was on a penalty shootout.
You don't get those in league games.
So maybe we should re-think that policy, maybe pretend they are FA Cup third or fourth round games against top flight opposition. We've done much better in matches like that.
Notts County up next, away from home.
They play in black and white stripes.
Perhaps our caretaker boss should convince his troops we are facing Newcastle United.
Howay the Gas!