Installment II: The Summer of Discontent

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 II: The Summer of Discontent

The prospect of promotion was gone, torn from our grasp, yet from it Ian Holloway and Geoff Dunford promised loyal gasheads that we would prevail this time around. There was one problem, however. The great goalscorers Jamie Cureton and Jason Roberts, both, within days of each other handed in transfer requests. Roberts left for West Brom in a deal worth about £2 million, Cureton played and scored a penalty in the first game of the 2000/1 season only to be sold to Reading for a measly £250,000.

The deal that provoked the most surprise, however, involved the young Bobby Zamora. The striker bagged six goals in six games for Division Three Brighton, while on loan – so it seemed natural that Bobby Zamora and Nathan ‘Duke’ Ellington were the future Gas strikeforce. Holloway’s decision to take just £100,000 and a 25% sell on clause for Zamora must go down as one of the single worst decisions ever made by anyone anywhere.

Other notable departures were made by ‘Keeper Lee Jones and club captain Andy Tillson. Jones was adequately replaced by Man Utd’s Nicky Culkin, who joined on loan for the season. The void left by Tillson, not just as a defender, but as an on-the-pitch leader could not be filled.

The replacements rolled in, Crewe duo Mark Foran and Marcus Bignot spoke of their desire to play in Division One again, and the signing of Mickey Evans – a player who scored goals in the Premiership for Southampton, seemed shrewd business. He was bought for £250,000 from West Brom. Left-footed centre-half, Scott Jones also arrived for £250,000, from Barnsley. The aim was clear – promotion.

The season began with an eight game unbeaten league run, including a 6-2 demolition of Brentford at Griffin Park, however despite holding the longest unbeaten run in England, Rovers had only won three league games, and lay in mid-table. The League Cup provided another outlet for early season optimism, two 1-1 draws with Walter Smith’s Everton, followed by a Rovers penalty shootout victory gave further grounds for optimism.

However, the warning signs were there early on, two Ellington goals had helped Rovers to a 3-1 lead at home against Luton, but a final 18 minute collapse left Rovers with a point and still searching for their first home win. This was followed by the first defeat of the season away at Bury, and a run of just 9 points from 12 games, culminating in a 3-0 home defeat at Stoke.

The midfield was hopelessly ineffective two kids, a Latvian who couldn’t tackle and Mr. Anonymous, David Hillier, (who you could play the game of ‘how many times does Hillier touch the ball in 90 mins?’, and still count the number on one hand!). Up front we were completely reliant on Ellington for goals, Evans couldn’t score against the Blind School. Questions were being asked about Holloway as a manager, whose favourite phrase had become ‘encouraging 0-0 draw’, and we still by January had not won a game at home, and were perilously close to the drop zone.

A spirited defeat in the Bristol derby by 3 goals to 2, did little to improve morale, a 3-0 win at home in the LDV Vans trophy at least gave the gas that elusive home win, but it was dark days at the Memorial Ground – a 1-0 loss at Reading, ironically the scene of a 6-0 Gas victory two years before, was to be the last of Ian Holloway’s reign.