A Nice Artical About Us For A Change

Gasheadseamge79 · Oct 13, 2014

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2790256/loyalty-bristol-rovers-faithful-drives-boss-darrell-clarke-long-road-football-league.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490

Gastronomic · Oct 13, 2014

Quite a long article too. Great stuff!

GreatWesternGas · Oct 13, 2014

An excellent article telling how it really is, nice to read something positive about our club after certain recent events. Pity some reporters closer to home cant bring themselves to do likewise. I seem to recall The Mail have written nice stuff about us before, but can't remember what the occasion was. Well done The Mail.

DannyBangsAlot · Oct 14, 2014

More press coverage for the right reasons is always welcome here.

Captain Jack Sparrow · Oct 14, 2014

Darrell Clarke choked back the tears on the final day of last season when Bristol Rovers were relegated from the Football League.

The man in charge stifled sobs as he fronted up following their defeat by Mansfield.

He had been Rovers manager only since March, having arrived as assistant in 2013, but insisted it was his fault they were dropping out of the League for the first time since their inception in 1920.

‘The club has changed massively since then,’ said Clarke after his side’s 2-2 draw at Aldershot on Saturday. ‘I’ve got players who are proud to wear the shirt again.’

Clarke has been ruthless, releasing 11 players and transferring nine. He then scoured the lower leagues and non-League, bringing in 11 new faces.

The overhaul does not stop there. Chairman Nick Higgs is working on a deal to sell Rovers’ Memorial Stadium to Sainsbury’s to fund a new all-seat arena near to the University of West England’s Frenchay campus.

That would almost double crowd capacity from 12,011 to 21,700 but the deal has repeatedly been delayed. Higgs remains confident — though getting the club back into the League is crucial to filling the new ground.

The signs are good. The support Rovers have maintained since going down has been remarkable. The average home gate this season is still 5,639, far eclipsing the Conference average.

For Saturday’s game Rovers sold their allocation of 800 tickets and brought 1,255 in total for the 200-mile round trip. Until then Aldershot had averaged gates of just 1,984.

Rovers fans filled the corner of the Recreation Ground — now known as the Electrical Services Stadium — sharing it only with a horse chestnut tree and a few police officers.

Two relegations in four seasons is tough on any team and losing League status can be catastrophic. But Rovers fans have stood firm. ‘If fans were put into league tables, ours would be in the Premier League,’ Clarke said.

Press officer Keith Brookman, at the club for 14 years, said: ‘We’ve been amazed by their loyalty, especially after we only won one point from our first three games.’

That so many travelled to Aldershot, where tickets for the press are handed out from a car boot, is testament to their love of the club.

They went home with a hard-earned point, their trip spoiled by a brilliant 25- yard free kick by Aldershot’s Jordan Roberts in the 77th minute. The home side took an early lead when Brett Williams converted a 16th-minute penalty, but Rovers looked likelier winners when they turned the game around.

Three minutes before half-time Andy Monkhouse looped in an equaliser and Matty Taylor stroked a penalty into the bottom right corner on 68 minutes.

When Rovers’ Adam Cunnington headed against the crossbar in the second half, 500 pairs of hands went to 500 heads in the standing section.

Aldershot were reduced to 10 men in added time when Roberts was sent off for a second yellow card but there was no time to take advantage. Still, the point kept them fourth in the Conference, four points behind leaders Barnet.

‘The target is to go straight back up,’ Clarke said. ‘But that’s easier said than done. It took Luton six years.

‘I’m managing a massive club, but it’s only a massive club because of the supporters. We have to help the players manage the expectations. The fans expect us to go up, and I expect us to go up.’

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A Nice Artical About Us For A Change

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A Nice Artical About Us For A Change

Gasheadseamge79 Well-Known Member Forum Moderator

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