Bristol Rovers FC - The Business End Of The Season
Posted on: 05 Apr 2016With just six games left of the season, Bristol Rovers are sitting in the third automatic promotion spot and looking in great form. Lance Cook, Rovers' matchday DJ and PA assistant, talks us through how The Gas came to be in this position and what we can expect from the run-in...
If you would have asked any Gashead on the eve of the 2015/16 season that the club would be sitting in a play-off place, flirting with an automatic promotion spot with 6 games to go, you may have had a few funny looks. Expectation has always been high if you are a Rovers fan, but more often than not that falls flat on its face. No example being greater than the shameful relegation into the Conference almost two years ago, in a season where we were fancied for promotion.
If you would propose the same question to Darrell Clarke however, you would not have had the same reaction. Clarke had been making noises of a top 7 finish, which is quite rightly the aim of any club that finds itself in League Two. It is more often than not, a very competitive league where any club can pull a string of wins together, regardless of their position.
It's a season that started modestly; home form didn't quite sit hand in hand with away form. We couldn't buy a win at The Mem it seemed once the honeymoon period was over. I had the honour to take on full PA duty for three home matches during that time, which unfortunately all turned into defeats, subsequently taking the shine off of the honour of leading the team out!
But once winter came along, and we had suffered the dishonour of being dumped out of the FA Cup in the first round by non-league Chesham United, the first seeds of a push up the league started to show. By the New Year the club found itself in the play-off positions after a fantastic festive period of results and the goal scoring exploits of Rory Gaffney, who was on loan from Cambridge United at the time. Those exploits were enough for the club to sign the popular Irishman on a permanent deal, which has strengthened the attacking areas of the squad.
After defeat to Wycombe at the end of February, the club fell out of the playoff places. But what followed was a tremendous March where 18 points were taken from a possible 21 in the month. The run saw the club reach the automatic promotion places for the first time in the season. With the Carlisle United defeat on Easter Monday ending the run of 6 wins on the bounce, any fears of a late season collapse appear to be over thanks to a fantastic 3-0 win over Crawley Town last Saturday.
So how has it come to be that we occupy a place in the top 7 with 6 games to go?
The management of Darrell Clarke has been immense, treating each game as a project and giving each of the players in the squad the opportunity to strut their stuff. His handling of the media is also refreshing; never one to give away tactics and news of injuries, and always keeping a level head. His team selections always leads to surprising decisions not only for the opposition, but for us as supporters too.
The performance of the whole squad has been quite something to behold. Matty Taylor has racked up his second season of 20+ goals, defying those ‘experts’ on the terraces who said he wasn't good enough for this level. The colossal rise of Tom Lockyer during the season has been a joy to watch, and for my money he has been the player of the season. Don't be surprised to see the Welsh under 21 international play alongside Ashley Williams for the full side in the years to come. He really is that good. After a turbulent start to his season, Steve Mildenhall has proved how lucky we are to have a class goalkeeper between the sticks. Pulling at least one 'worldie' save out of the bag in recent matches.
I could go on and give high praise to each individual player that has put on the blue and white quarters over the course of the season. But the highest praise I can give is that this is the best squad of players I have seen in my combined 23 years of following the team from Twerton Park, The Mem and to the PA Box playing the tunes on matchdays. That might be a crazy thing to say, considering that time has seen me watch the likes of Jamie Cureton, Jason Roberts and Rickie Lambert. They were great individual players, but this current crop play for the shirt, they play for each other and most importantly they never say die. The amount of points we've won through late goals this season is a testament to that. It's these characteristics that supporters have not seen for many years previously.
With the 6 games that we have left, you could say we have one of the easier run ins on paper, with only the game away at league leaders Northampton looking to be the only test for the team. This is as they say the business end of the season, a funny time of year where the bottom teams beat those pushing for honours, and this is what worries me a little about our run in. Yeovil, Stevenage, York and Dagenham & Redbridge make up the bottom four of the table and will be fighting for survival in the league, while you never know what to expect from an Exeter side that has an outside chance of reaching the play offs. Only a truly disastrous run of results will see us fall out of the top 7, but the odd defeat in the run in will surely see any chances of automatic promotion vanish.
It's a nice position to be in. Of course, automatic promotion will make life easier and get the party started in early May. I can dig out the clichéd celebration records and every Gashead will have a lovely time. A play off place will extend the season further but I'm not sure if I can stand another final as nerve wracking and intense as last season's Conference play-off final against Grimsby!
Whatever happens come May 7th, It's been an incredible season which has seen the club get its mojo back in the football league, and behind the scenes via the recent takeover from the Al-Qadi family, which has raised hopes and expectations for a new stadium once more, and a brighter future. It has been a hell of a ride watching it all unfold!
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