Football / Bristol Rovers
‘The proverbial three steps back’
If the points gained against Shrewsbury and Plymouth can be considered a small step in the right direction then the 1-0 loss to newly-promoted Luton Town is the proverbial three steps back.
The only player to come away from Kenilworth Road with any glory was our on-loan goalkeeper, Jack Bonham. If it wasn’t for his heroics in goal the scoreline would have been much more one-sided: the statistic of Luton having ten shots on target to Rovers’ zero tells its own tale.
What was most disappointing about the performance was that there seemed to be no fight from the players. No Mansell or McCrystal battling, setting an example to the other players. The only player out on the pitch raising their voice seemed to be Bonham.
Based on that performance and a return of five points after eight games, I’m beginning to worry that we are going to be in a relegation scrap this season. Most worrying is the lack of goals. We’ve scored only six in the league this season. Payne has faded after his impressive debut, Nichols has shown flashes and Reilly and Jakubiak have been restricted in their appearances. I can’t see any of them replacing Harrison’s goals from last season.
Off the pitch there are alarming comments by DC that not everyone at the club is pulling in the same direction. He has consistently complained about the infrastructure at the club, but this season he has stepped up the moaning. Having signed a five-year contract and then seeing no progress made on the training ground and stadium, I think DC has the right to be a bit pissed off. The fans are equally frustrated as there have been few updates from the board on either issue.
Into this void of information has poured rumour about a potential outside investor or new owner, depending on who you believe. I don’t believe that Wael wants to sell, but the fact he could not give assurances that the whole family were committed to Bristol Rovers does make you wonder.
We have Coventry at home next. Hopefully we can take some momentum from beating the West Ham U23s on Tuesday night into Saturday.
Tom Metcalfe is one of the presenters of Bristol Rovers podcast GasCast. Find the latest episode at www.gas-cast.co.uk/blog/podcast/34-hope-on-the-horizon/
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