Taken from the Post by Martin Bull Forgive my un-Roversâ like positivity but I donât understand some of the negativity surrounding our manager and our new players. Whether you call it cabin fever, sun stroke, or the continued depression from four dreadful seasons; I call most of it plain unhelpful. Maybe it is too Utopian of me, but wouldnât it be lovely if we could peacefully welcome new players with open arms and judge them when they actually step on a blade of grass, rather than via a quick foray onto Wikipedia? I can appreciate that some feel the managerial vacancy should have been put out to tender, but Darrell Clarke is the boss now so it would be rational to give the guy a fair chance. Darrell achieved two promotions in three seasons as a player-manager with Salisbury City, and did very well in several cup competitions, so Iâve been surprised to see this labelled a tin pot achievement by some, with the logic presented being that they were a relatively big fish in a little pond. Yes, but success is never a 'gimme' at any level of the football pyramid and numerous experienced managers and/or big budgets have failed to get âbigâ teams promoted. Darrell may âonlyâ have four years managerial experience, but apart from the memory that âOlly had zero and Gerry Francis only one disastrous season at Exeter, surely what really matters is that he DID actually achieve this success, and that many of the managerial responsibilities he obviously coped with well at The Whites, such as recruitment, contracts, training sessions, tactics, fitness, motivation, research, human dynamics, and his own relationship with his board of directors, will, to some degree, be similar at any level of football. A winner is a winner at any altitude. In fact, when analysing those three seasons, gaining promotion through the play-offs both times showed immense character and a winning mentality. His team, which he was physically at the heart of, could handle pressure and never gave up. They werenât the best team in the league for either season but still dragged themselves over the finish line. In 2010/11 Clarke and Mikey Harris were thrown in the deep end after the clubs financial problems and double relegation. The Whites suffered a poor finish to the league season, yet still won the play-offs, against teams in better form than them, both of whom had already beaten them during the regular season. 2012/13 saw the opposite mode of pressure, as they had long dominated second spot and a weight of expectation hung around their necks. On the pitch at Rovers there simply isnât enough evidence to have any strong opinion on him yet. Having just eight games after the transfer window had closed was not enough time to begin to judge him. Blaming Clarke for relegation is like holding Gerald Ford responsible for the Vietnam war. Off the pitch Darrellâs quest for human and financial discipline, and the pursuit of hungry non-league players, is admirable for our present state. In 2011 we temporarily had a gruff Northerner as a manager who was going to shake the club up after the gluttonous conclusion of Paul Trollopeâs reign. If the Board hadnât lost their bottle by sacking Dave Penney two months into the job, we probably wouldnât be where we are today. The only thing worse in life than not having any morals and discipline, is discovering some and then chucking them out of the window at the first sign of tribulation. Even if we had still gone down under Penney that season I suspect he could still have shook the club out of its ineffective slumber off the pitch and at least laid some groundwork for a brighter future on it. Dare I even offer up a prospective comparison to Ian Atkins at this point? A man often viewed as dislikeable, but a manager who stopped the rot of the early Noughties and whose squad became the backbone of the wondrous double finalists of the 2006/07 season. âPlayer powerâ famously helped oust Martin Dobson in 1991 and also Penney two decades later, propelling them both into the record books as the two shortest lived permanent Rovers managers ever (merely 12 and 13 games respectively). I dearly hope that this dubious honour is never allowed to transpire again. Iâm not suggesting that Penney, or Clarke, are the best managers since sliced bread, but at least they are individuals who could leave a lasting legacy of human and financial discipline within the club, rather than all the other managers who left us with the futile status quo intact. After saying âthank you very muchâ when offered a fat budget and minimal interference, they proceeded to bring in crocks, and hand out lardy three-year contracts to 30-year-old also-rans and 19-year-old kids whoâd had a couple of good games. This method was known as âhereâs a gold plated spade, now go and dig a big hole with itâ, and it needlessly kept alive the unhealthy reputation Rovers had of offering big salaries with scant performance related clauses. I am therefore rather exasperated with unhealthy criticism of ROVERS players who most people have never even see kick a ball. Most Gasheads asked for some younger, hungrier, attack-minded players and we seem to have signed several. They all appear genuinely motivated to be here and that sort of enthusiasm should not be taken for granted. If youâve ever had a job you donât really like, youâll know how harmful it can be on your performance. Many wanted a few old heads down the spine of the team, and surely we potentially have that with the âMâ team; Mildenhall, McChrystal, Mansell & Monkhouse. Iâm not a âhappy clapperâ. I realise this disciplined approach may not result in an immediately competitive squad for the Conference. BUT I will try to be patient and I will let our players do their talking on the pitch. At least when Iâm asked who I support I can now look a person in the eyes and say, ok, we may be down in the dumps for the time being, but weâve found a bit of backbone and arenât a pushover for washed up players or indifferent managers anymore. Now, if only we can bring about world peace as well . . . Martin Bull became a Gashead in 1989 and immediately fell in love with Twerton Park. In 2006 he wrote, photographed and published the first independent book about the artist Banksy. Having been exiled for much of his life, away games have always been special for him; so much so that he is asking for contributions from fellow Rovers fans to a new book he is compiling. To contribute go to: www.awaythegas.org.uk Read more: http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/BRISTO...tory-21879710-detail/story.html#ixzz38Z1FgRpM Read more at http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/BRISTO...1879710-detail/story.html#yVV8OpHqGter41vm.99
What a fantastic read. Take a bow Martin Bull. I hope that helps to silence some of those 'supporters' spouting negativity and even trying to stoke up tension between themselves and the club's board.
Yes a great read and no wonder the poster of the original article has appeared in print. That said the proof is in the pudding and all who contribute to this Forum are entitled to their views and opinions. Indeed the Board do have an awful lot to answer for in respect of the failings of BRFC over recent years. Its them not the supporters that dictate what goes on in public and behind the scenes and THEY HAVE FAILED big time. Until we are back in League Football they are accountable, they not the supporters have made the wrong decisions and reading the lack of solid answers following the recent Q & A's are still dancing and feel non accountable. If it was down to the supporters input we'd be Championship material at least, sadly we still appear too not really be heard from the Suited Mobsters.
