Installment I: A Bridge Too Far
Last updated : 14 September 2004 By Chris Barnes
I was sat in the pub the other night with an acquaintance who supports a certain team that play in red on the other side of the river, and he asked me, “so where did it all go wrong for the gas?”. So I told the long arduous tale of disappointment, despair, false dawns and more disappointment and despair. I felt like someone telling the story of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre to Osama Bin Laden, but anyway he enjoyed it so I thought maybe you would as well……
Installment I: A Bridge Too Far
It began in the Spring of 2000, the Gas had a fantastic team, great goalscoring strikers like Jason Roberts, Jamie Cureton, Nathan Ellington and even a young Bobby Zamora graced the turf at the Memorial Ground. At left wing back the talent that was Mark ‘Wally’ Walters, a former England International in the twilight of his career, but still oozing class and skill and an ability to beat a man like no other Division Two player. At the back the dependable trio of Steve Foster, Andy Thomson and Captain Andy Tillson provided one of the meanest gas defences in memory. Trevor Challis and Robbie Pethick were also key players providing extra competitiveness. Gas hero Ian Holloway was manager, popular with everyone from fans to media, assisted by fellow legend Gary Penrice. Holloway had also been allowed to add to his successful squad bringing in Latvian International Vitalijs Astafajevs and Trinidadian Nigel Pierre.
I remember it well, Rovers went top of Division Two on a Tuesday night in March, ‘the Duke’ Ellington scoring the goal to beat Lawrie Sanchez’s Wycombe 1-0. ‘Goodnight Irene’ and ‘The Gas are Going Up’ reverberated throughout the Clubhouse Terrace. We all thought that this Rovers team would go on to repeat the heroics of Gerry Francis’ boys in 1990.
However, the form team in the league soon slumped dramatically, two weeks after the Wycombe game the Gas suffered a 2-0 defeat away at Reading, 3-0 at Millwall, in fact Rovers collected just two points from six games. It was derby day, Holloway drew a line in the sand, to resurrect our promotion dreams we must beat Bristol City. Roberts and Walters duly obliged providing the Gas with an absolutely vital 2-0 win. (In the weeks, months and years gone by I have often wondered whether Holloway made a pact with the devil exchanging those three points and the bragging rights that go with them, for the soul of Bristol Rovers football league status). The fans believed again we could do it, Goodnight Irene reverberated around the ground once more, there was a smile on the face of every gashead, and even better than that a frown on the faces of those from the dark side of the city.
Rovers were surely going to re find the form that had put us top, and if automatic promotion was a lost cause at least we would make the play offs with some form. However, a 2-1 defeat at Blackpool, and a disappointing 2-2 home draw with Bournemouth meant that the Gas needed a point from the final game of the season away at already relegated Cardiff. Holloway pulled a real shock in his team selection dropping first choice Lee Jones and brining in veteran Brian Parkin. A miserable performance saw the Bluebirds win 1-0 and coupled with results elsewhere, Rovers’ hopes of play off glory were utterly crushed.
Coming Soon:
Installment II: The Summer of Discontent
Installment III: The Unready Successor
Installment IV: The Return of the King
Installment V: The Return of the Unready Successor
Installment VI: The Gray Man
Installment VII: Rescued by Rambo
Installment VIII: Out of the Frying Pan into the Fire
Installment IV: The Unlikely Hero
