I'VE seen a sign of the future today - and it scares me a bit.
Bristol Rovers have unveiled plans for a 21,000-seater stadium just around the corner from where I live at the University for the West of England site.
Wow! It looks all-singing, all-dancing and there is no doubt it is something the club needs to move with the times.
But when I think of what it means to be a Gashead a small part of me fears that some of our identity will be stripped away.
For so long we have been football's nomads, moving from one rented ground to another before settling in at what, to be honest, is a down-at-heel rugby arena.
Through it all we've stood shoulder to shoulder on pretty dilapidated terraces, shouting on our team in the face of adversity.
It's the things that have gone wrong that have bound us together as Gasheads, always the poor relation compared with football's money-grabbing, soul-destroying headline grabbers.
I realise it is adapt or die.
But the Gashead spirit must go on.
And I think I've a couple of suggestions that would help.
A few years ago, working and living in London, I used to get along to White Hart Lane on the odd weekend off.
Not because I had any particular affinity to Spurs, it was mainly because it was the only ground for which I could get tickets at short notice.
I quickly noticed, though, how they quickly reminded fans of the club's history - thanks to a big TV screen which constantly played footage of action from their past to the refrain of Glory, Glory, Tottenham Hotspur.
Imagine a similar thing at the new UWE stadium. Before the players run out a looping piece of film portraying some of the great moments featuring the Gas: The crowds outside Eastville for that famous FA Cup tie against Newcastle in the 60s, the eight goals at Brighton, Paul Randall's two goals in the FA Cup win over Southampton in 78, the 2nd May 1990, Sammy Igoe's last minute charge against Shrewsbury at Wembley, the list is pretty endless.
You could play the footage with Goodnight Irene or Tote End boys playing in the background - reminding people that this is Bristol Rovers, this is what we are all about.
As has been mentioned before, we could also use poignant names for each part of the ground.
Wouldn't it be great to have the Tote End back, for starters.
Yes, let's move with the times.
But let's also remember the long, long road that got us there.
Friday, 9 March 2012
Thursday, 8 March 2012
The Fat Boy sings
I WAS sorely tempted to make the trip to Sixfields on Tuesday.
Then I thought about it.
The last time I went there was when Bristol Rovers were playing their first-ever season in the bottom division.
It was a wet, cold, miserable night and we lost 3-0.
Driving to and from London every week for work, it seemed a bit beyond the call of duty to do that soul-destroying M4, M25, M1 trek, particularly as for some reason I didn't fancy us getting anything from the game.
Still, there was another option - the game was live on Radio Bristol.
Admittedly, I've had some pretty bad times listening to the Gas on there, too, but at least it has evened out. The last time I tuned in on a Tuesday night we won at Hereford 2-1; Even though from the commentary available I must admit I had no idea what was happening in the match.
Still, I was quite excited.. a feeling that lasted less than a minute.
For it was then that Adebayo Akinfenwa found himself clear in our penalty area to open the scoring.
For Goodness sake, the guy is built like a giant Marshmallow. How had he managed to outwit our younger, fitter central defensive pairing?
It was like our old managers Paul Buckle and Paul Trollope had never gone away, that familiar old sinking feeling in the pit of the stomach telling me that we are in for a regulation hiding.
Pretty strange, really, because our defensive record under new boss Mark McGhee had been pretty exemplary. We had just had three clean sheets in a row, and had only conceded three goals in our last seven games.
It got worse, though. After 20 minutes we had conceded three goals ... and Akinfenwa had scored two. It's not over til the Fat Lady sings? Well, the Fat Boy was in full cry.
I couldn't listen any more and turned the radio off with a mixture of anger and confusion.
How could this be happening?
I didn't give up completely though. I decided to turn on Sky Sports - it wouldn't hurt so much seeing the goals going in on there - you wouldn't hear the Cobblers fans celebrating.
Not only that but I could flick over regularly to monitor Arsenal's amazing attempt to overturn a 4-0 deficit to AC Milan in the Champions League. They were already 2-0 up.
As the evening wore on, though, a strange thing happened. Rovers didn't concede any more goals.
Over the last two seasons, conceding three goals in the first 20 minutes would have led to losing by a cricket score by the final whistle.
Instead, with 25 minutes left, midfielder Craig Stanley grabbed his first goal for the club. 3-1.
Arsenal meanwhile were 3-0 up ... if they could pull off the impossible then we could certainly come back against the team lying bottom of the entire football league.
86 minutes gone ... and it's 3-2. Lee Brown capitalises after Chris Zebroski is brought down in the penalty area to hammer home the spot kick.
And then comes an agonising eight minutes or so, until the final score flashes up. Northampton 3, Bristol Rovers 2.
A bad night. But not as bad as it could have been.
And at least we can be proud of a team that is prepared to put up a fight - not surrender meekly in the face of adversity.
Still, we can't afford to repeat that early lapse in our next game - at home to promotion-chasing Torquay on Saturday.
Then I thought about it.
The last time I went there was when Bristol Rovers were playing their first-ever season in the bottom division.
It was a wet, cold, miserable night and we lost 3-0.
Driving to and from London every week for work, it seemed a bit beyond the call of duty to do that soul-destroying M4, M25, M1 trek, particularly as for some reason I didn't fancy us getting anything from the game.
Still, there was another option - the game was live on Radio Bristol.
Admittedly, I've had some pretty bad times listening to the Gas on there, too, but at least it has evened out. The last time I tuned in on a Tuesday night we won at Hereford 2-1; Even though from the commentary available I must admit I had no idea what was happening in the match.
Still, I was quite excited.. a feeling that lasted less than a minute.
For it was then that Adebayo Akinfenwa found himself clear in our penalty area to open the scoring.
For Goodness sake, the guy is built like a giant Marshmallow. How had he managed to outwit our younger, fitter central defensive pairing?
It was like our old managers Paul Buckle and Paul Trollope had never gone away, that familiar old sinking feeling in the pit of the stomach telling me that we are in for a regulation hiding.
Pretty strange, really, because our defensive record under new boss Mark McGhee had been pretty exemplary. We had just had three clean sheets in a row, and had only conceded three goals in our last seven games.
It got worse, though. After 20 minutes we had conceded three goals ... and Akinfenwa had scored two. It's not over til the Fat Lady sings? Well, the Fat Boy was in full cry.
I couldn't listen any more and turned the radio off with a mixture of anger and confusion.
How could this be happening?
I didn't give up completely though. I decided to turn on Sky Sports - it wouldn't hurt so much seeing the goals going in on there - you wouldn't hear the Cobblers fans celebrating.
Not only that but I could flick over regularly to monitor Arsenal's amazing attempt to overturn a 4-0 deficit to AC Milan in the Champions League. They were already 2-0 up.
As the evening wore on, though, a strange thing happened. Rovers didn't concede any more goals.
Over the last two seasons, conceding three goals in the first 20 minutes would have led to losing by a cricket score by the final whistle.
Instead, with 25 minutes left, midfielder Craig Stanley grabbed his first goal for the club. 3-1.
Arsenal meanwhile were 3-0 up ... if they could pull off the impossible then we could certainly come back against the team lying bottom of the entire football league.
86 minutes gone ... and it's 3-2. Lee Brown capitalises after Chris Zebroski is brought down in the penalty area to hammer home the spot kick.
And then comes an agonising eight minutes or so, until the final score flashes up. Northampton 3, Bristol Rovers 2.
A bad night. But not as bad as it could have been.
And at least we can be proud of a team that is prepared to put up a fight - not surrender meekly in the face of adversity.
Still, we can't afford to repeat that early lapse in our next game - at home to promotion-chasing Torquay on Saturday.
Thursday, 1 March 2012
A-TAX, A-TAX, A-TAX A-TAX A-TAX
IN the manner of all good journalists I can't reveal my sources (and I hope Lord Leveson isn't watching former News of the World journalists too closely) but I happened to come across a transcript from a Football League boardroom this week.
It went something like this...
FINANCE DIRECTOR: I've no wish to pour gloom on proceedings gentlemen but I thought I had better bring something to your attention.
DIRECTOR NO. 2: Surely there can't be much to upset us old chap. I mean... we've bought in a number of really top players during the summer, have established a squad to be proud of, have reappointed the manager who was so impressive for us before he decided to leave us for greener pastures and are now pushing for the play-offs.
FINANCE DIRECTOR: Yes, mmm, I realise that... the problem is that all this has had a rather substantial impact on our wage bill. Not only that but our average attendances of just over 4,000, paying their entrance fee of £20 a time at the turnstyles, doesn't exactly cover the wages of all these top players as well as the top-notch manager and his staff. And don't forget we had to pay substantial compensation to the bloke who went before him AND his assistant.
DIRECTOR NO 2: Hmm, I see your point.
CHAIRMAN: So, um, how bad is it? And what can we do about it?
FINANCIAL DIRECTOR: I'm afraid to say, your majesty, that we are talking about a fair few million.
CHAIRMAN: Can we hang on until we get promoted, hopefully via the playoffs, and get a nice tidy sum from the gate plus the cash for going up? If need be we could melt down that nice silver cup they give you, too, and put a cheap replacement in the cabinet...
FINANCIAL DIRECTOR: It's a bit of a gamble and I am not sure if we could do that PLUS pay all our bills til the end of the season.
DIRECTOR NO 2 (face lighting up and lightbulb flashing on above his head): Hey, wait a goddamn minute. What if we actually delayed paying our tax? Those buggers at the revenue have far more things to tax themselves than little us, if you'll pardon the pun... and that would give us the leeway to see the season through, win promotion via the playoffs, sell all the players who got us there, get a nice little bit of compensation when a bigger club poaches our manager AND melt down the trophy, replacing it with a cheap imitation.
CHAIRMAN: That is brilliant. That's why you're on the board. All in favour...?
Of course, this is all a bit of tomfoolery, but the news that Port Vale are the latest team to hit dire financial straits does make me beg the question: Why oh why do clubs continue to put off paying their tax bills?
HMRC have obviously had enough of being taken for a ride and the evidence of Portsmouth's continuing demise and the fact Cardiff were pushed to within 24 hours of going bust must have been lost on all these other clubs.
It's all by the grace of God I know but I am sure Gas chairman Nick Higgs and his board must be aware of the pitfalls by now and are running a tight ship.
It would explain why two of our more experienced players, Byron Anthony and Scott McGleish, have gone out on loan recently and why we didn't make any permanent transfers during the January window.
Nice to see, also, that the man we have appointed to the hot seat, Mark McGhee, has been prepared to work with the staff already at the Mem rather than bring in his own entourage, as others have done before him.
Hopefully the next step will be to have a good look at some of the other younger prospects on our books like Shaquille Hunter and Lamar Powell - players that could become worth something to the club in years to come and keep our head above the parapit.
It went something like this...
FINANCE DIRECTOR: I've no wish to pour gloom on proceedings gentlemen but I thought I had better bring something to your attention.
DIRECTOR NO. 2: Surely there can't be much to upset us old chap. I mean... we've bought in a number of really top players during the summer, have established a squad to be proud of, have reappointed the manager who was so impressive for us before he decided to leave us for greener pastures and are now pushing for the play-offs.
FINANCE DIRECTOR: Yes, mmm, I realise that... the problem is that all this has had a rather substantial impact on our wage bill. Not only that but our average attendances of just over 4,000, paying their entrance fee of £20 a time at the turnstyles, doesn't exactly cover the wages of all these top players as well as the top-notch manager and his staff. And don't forget we had to pay substantial compensation to the bloke who went before him AND his assistant.
DIRECTOR NO 2: Hmm, I see your point.
CHAIRMAN: So, um, how bad is it? And what can we do about it?
FINANCIAL DIRECTOR: I'm afraid to say, your majesty, that we are talking about a fair few million.
CHAIRMAN: Can we hang on until we get promoted, hopefully via the playoffs, and get a nice tidy sum from the gate plus the cash for going up? If need be we could melt down that nice silver cup they give you, too, and put a cheap replacement in the cabinet...
FINANCIAL DIRECTOR: It's a bit of a gamble and I am not sure if we could do that PLUS pay all our bills til the end of the season.
DIRECTOR NO 2 (face lighting up and lightbulb flashing on above his head): Hey, wait a goddamn minute. What if we actually delayed paying our tax? Those buggers at the revenue have far more things to tax themselves than little us, if you'll pardon the pun... and that would give us the leeway to see the season through, win promotion via the playoffs, sell all the players who got us there, get a nice little bit of compensation when a bigger club poaches our manager AND melt down the trophy, replacing it with a cheap imitation.
CHAIRMAN: That is brilliant. That's why you're on the board. All in favour...?
Of course, this is all a bit of tomfoolery, but the news that Port Vale are the latest team to hit dire financial straits does make me beg the question: Why oh why do clubs continue to put off paying their tax bills?
HMRC have obviously had enough of being taken for a ride and the evidence of Portsmouth's continuing demise and the fact Cardiff were pushed to within 24 hours of going bust must have been lost on all these other clubs.
It's all by the grace of God I know but I am sure Gas chairman Nick Higgs and his board must be aware of the pitfalls by now and are running a tight ship.
It would explain why two of our more experienced players, Byron Anthony and Scott McGleish, have gone out on loan recently and why we didn't make any permanent transfers during the January window.
Nice to see, also, that the man we have appointed to the hot seat, Mark McGhee, has been prepared to work with the staff already at the Mem rather than bring in his own entourage, as others have done before him.
Hopefully the next step will be to have a good look at some of the other younger prospects on our books like Shaquille Hunter and Lamar Powell - players that could become worth something to the club in years to come and keep our head above the parapit.
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