Unsung Heroes of Promotion - Final Part, including Number 12
Jul 8, 2015 12:24:55 GMT
Bridgeman likes this
Post by mehewmagic on Jul 8, 2015 12:24:55 GMT
This will be up on the Bristol Post site soon-ish.
What started as a two part article, slowly became five! This really is the last part.
Onto the JPT next week.
G is for Gas
--------------------
Unsung Heroes of Promotion - Part 5
In the last few weeks I’ve been having a look at some of the (relatively) unsung heroes of our promotion
season. Today a final crop of rich pickings have their deserved moment in the spotlight.
Although Neal Trotman was not offered a new contract, he was given the chance to stay until his injury
cleared, and as no bridges have been burnt by either side I’m sure there will be a warm welcome if we ever
see him again in the famous blue and white quarters.
Given that most fresh memories of Mark McChrystal are of him steadily improving since New Year and
then wearing the Captain’s armband as he lifted the Play-Off Winners Trophy at Wembley, it is easy to
forget that until Neal Trotman’s injury at the New Bucks Head on the opening day of November Trotters
was actually the preferred partner to seasonal ever-present Tom Parkes at the heart of the most frugal
defence in the Conference, nay the most parsimonious Rovers defence since the 33 goals conceded by
the famed 1973/74 promotion winning side. Darrell Clarke, yet again, has to take some of this credit as
Macca had played all 270 minutes of the first three games of the season, but after the trip up to Altrincham,
and only one point from three games, he took the fearless decision to drop his Captain and keep him on
the bench until an opening arose.
As Trotman’s 19 league appearances all came at the beginning of a season that didn’t exactly get off to the
best of starts, it is a testament to his old fashioned rugged Centre Back style that we gained an impressive
1.89 league points per game with him in the team, which is far closer to the full season league average of
1.98 points per game than many Gasheads may have expected.
A sure-fire unsung hero of our promotion wore the Number 12 shirt. A loud character, well respected in
football circles, well travelled, passionate, and always available in any weather, but whinged occasionally,
was often a spectator, and lacked confidence at times. The instant promotion meant a huge amount to
him… and her, and the dog, because number 12 is allocated to the Gasheads themselves, and by God we
deserved it for enduring those five previous seasons!
Although I was always confident Gasheads would not desert their team, even in non-league, it shouldn’t be
taken for granted that not only did overall attendances rise, but the amount of Gasheads in the Mem rose
even higher because the number of away fans visiting Horfield was slashed in half. There was also an
official average of 867 Gasheads travelling to each regular season or Cup away game, where we provided
34% of the total crowd despite a longer than usual 293 mile average round trip (from Bristol), lots of all-ticket
restrictions, Tuesday night matches and other obstacles. It’s easy to forget that we rarely won
games easily and only sporadically provided excitement for money until towards the end of the season.
The recent talk of a possible foreign-backed take over of the club actually made me more proud to be one
of the Number 12‘s at the club. Long derided for being a backwater in English football, the reasons given
why someone could be interested in investing in Bristol football put a glow in my cheeks. Instead of all the
usual pessimism and misery about how Rovers were under-achieving, badly run, and at an aging stadium
not built with football in mind (admittedly all sadly true!), it was nice to feel wanted, despite that huge hairy
wart slap bang on the middle of our hooter. As much as I love the laid back, unassuming and self-effacing
Bristolian style, we do occasionally need to get a box of pound shop party poppers out and comprehend
just how attractive we could be. A huge fan base in a massive City, with little English football competition
for many miles around, and currently playing two levels below what could be sustainable with the right
governance and the right stadium. That is essentially quite an attractive proposition, especially when
considering so many other teams have to exist in smaller catchment areas.
Although I would love to go through a huge list of unsung volunteers, supporters club stalwarts, and even
paid staff who often go well beyond the call of duty (you know who you are!), it would be slightly off the
remit of this series as I really did hope to concentrate solely on players, plus any backroom staff who are in
a position to have a more direct impact on player performance on the pitch.
It is therefore maybe fitting to finish on the Mem’s unspoilt pitch itself. Groundsman Eric Kingscott and
his merry band of pixies and match day volunteers worked so hard to give us a literal bowling green of a
pitch at the Mem. This suited our style of play and with the best home record in the league it certainly
seemed to be yet another unsung hero for us. The beauty of league football is that it is a true test of the
resilience of a squad, their tactics and their leadership. 46 games spread over eight months, home and
away, Bank Holidays and Christmas congestion, a Tuesday evening in Wrexham and a Friday night under
the lights, in all weathers and on all pitches. Knowing that 23 of these games would be on an even surface,
full of grass, benefited us and our struggles on the appalling surfaces of FC Halifax Town and Dartford, and
the rock hard slope at Dover, made us appreciate the Mem even more.
So, here’s a toast to the unsung heroes of a memorable promotion season. I hope we will find even more
of them to venerate next season.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Martin Bull became a Gashead in 1989 and immediately fell in love with Twerton Park, standing near
G pillar. In 2006 he wrote, photographed and published the first independent book about the artist
Banksy. Having been exiled for much of his past, away games have always been special for him; so
much so that with 40 other fans has published a new book about them - www.awaythegas.org.uk
What started as a two part article, slowly became five! This really is the last part.
Onto the JPT next week.
G is for Gas
--------------------
Unsung Heroes of Promotion - Part 5
In the last few weeks I’ve been having a look at some of the (relatively) unsung heroes of our promotion
season. Today a final crop of rich pickings have their deserved moment in the spotlight.
Although Neal Trotman was not offered a new contract, he was given the chance to stay until his injury
cleared, and as no bridges have been burnt by either side I’m sure there will be a warm welcome if we ever
see him again in the famous blue and white quarters.
Given that most fresh memories of Mark McChrystal are of him steadily improving since New Year and
then wearing the Captain’s armband as he lifted the Play-Off Winners Trophy at Wembley, it is easy to
forget that until Neal Trotman’s injury at the New Bucks Head on the opening day of November Trotters
was actually the preferred partner to seasonal ever-present Tom Parkes at the heart of the most frugal
defence in the Conference, nay the most parsimonious Rovers defence since the 33 goals conceded by
the famed 1973/74 promotion winning side. Darrell Clarke, yet again, has to take some of this credit as
Macca had played all 270 minutes of the first three games of the season, but after the trip up to Altrincham,
and only one point from three games, he took the fearless decision to drop his Captain and keep him on
the bench until an opening arose.
As Trotman’s 19 league appearances all came at the beginning of a season that didn’t exactly get off to the
best of starts, it is a testament to his old fashioned rugged Centre Back style that we gained an impressive
1.89 league points per game with him in the team, which is far closer to the full season league average of
1.98 points per game than many Gasheads may have expected.
A sure-fire unsung hero of our promotion wore the Number 12 shirt. A loud character, well respected in
football circles, well travelled, passionate, and always available in any weather, but whinged occasionally,
was often a spectator, and lacked confidence at times. The instant promotion meant a huge amount to
him… and her, and the dog, because number 12 is allocated to the Gasheads themselves, and by God we
deserved it for enduring those five previous seasons!
Although I was always confident Gasheads would not desert their team, even in non-league, it shouldn’t be
taken for granted that not only did overall attendances rise, but the amount of Gasheads in the Mem rose
even higher because the number of away fans visiting Horfield was slashed in half. There was also an
official average of 867 Gasheads travelling to each regular season or Cup away game, where we provided
34% of the total crowd despite a longer than usual 293 mile average round trip (from Bristol), lots of all-ticket
restrictions, Tuesday night matches and other obstacles. It’s easy to forget that we rarely won
games easily and only sporadically provided excitement for money until towards the end of the season.
The recent talk of a possible foreign-backed take over of the club actually made me more proud to be one
of the Number 12‘s at the club. Long derided for being a backwater in English football, the reasons given
why someone could be interested in investing in Bristol football put a glow in my cheeks. Instead of all the
usual pessimism and misery about how Rovers were under-achieving, badly run, and at an aging stadium
not built with football in mind (admittedly all sadly true!), it was nice to feel wanted, despite that huge hairy
wart slap bang on the middle of our hooter. As much as I love the laid back, unassuming and self-effacing
Bristolian style, we do occasionally need to get a box of pound shop party poppers out and comprehend
just how attractive we could be. A huge fan base in a massive City, with little English football competition
for many miles around, and currently playing two levels below what could be sustainable with the right
governance and the right stadium. That is essentially quite an attractive proposition, especially when
considering so many other teams have to exist in smaller catchment areas.
Although I would love to go through a huge list of unsung volunteers, supporters club stalwarts, and even
paid staff who often go well beyond the call of duty (you know who you are!), it would be slightly off the
remit of this series as I really did hope to concentrate solely on players, plus any backroom staff who are in
a position to have a more direct impact on player performance on the pitch.
It is therefore maybe fitting to finish on the Mem’s unspoilt pitch itself. Groundsman Eric Kingscott and
his merry band of pixies and match day volunteers worked so hard to give us a literal bowling green of a
pitch at the Mem. This suited our style of play and with the best home record in the league it certainly
seemed to be yet another unsung hero for us. The beauty of league football is that it is a true test of the
resilience of a squad, their tactics and their leadership. 46 games spread over eight months, home and
away, Bank Holidays and Christmas congestion, a Tuesday evening in Wrexham and a Friday night under
the lights, in all weathers and on all pitches. Knowing that 23 of these games would be on an even surface,
full of grass, benefited us and our struggles on the appalling surfaces of FC Halifax Town and Dartford, and
the rock hard slope at Dover, made us appreciate the Mem even more.
So, here’s a toast to the unsung heroes of a memorable promotion season. I hope we will find even more
of them to venerate next season.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Martin Bull became a Gashead in 1989 and immediately fell in love with Twerton Park, standing near
G pillar. In 2006 he wrote, photographed and published the first independent book about the artist
Banksy. Having been exiled for much of his past, away games have always been special for him; so
much so that with 40 other fans has published a new book about them - www.awaythegas.org.uk