The BIG matchday thread. WEMBLEY!

I have to say the "singing section" were an embarrassment today.

Yeah exactly I couldn't go today as I was
working plus it was bloody expensive. I don't go to every home game again due to work and money but I do go to about half the home games. A couple of people at work though who haven't been to any games in the last few seasons went and we're suddenly hard core fans. It's great we're back in the league and I hope that the club is finally beginning to be restored to our rightful level of LG 1/championship, but we haven't just won the fa cup, a open top bus tour or something would be a bit embarrassing for winning I think just kinda moved out of negative equity really.

Did we have anyone in our singing section or did they sleep through the game ?
It wasn't much different at Wembley 2007 either, there were a few of us up in block 227 who kept trying to get songs going but whether people are just to shy to join in I don't know but it was dam hard getting people to join in.....I don't really know what the problem is, do we not have any fans who are intelligent enough to use a greater variety of songs, away at Dover and FGR there was a lot of singing throughout the whole match.
Don't get me wrong I love singing Goodnight Irene, but I was rather wishing we had a few drums like Grimsby to get an atmosphere going.
Even after we'd won and the players were coming around to us, I looked around some parts of the ground and there were some of our supporters who just looked so bl**dy miserable, you could say they were plastic fans but loads had colours on why not show your support ?!      

If you take the 5 000 to 6 000 regular Rovers supporters and spread them out amongst the many thousands of day trippers it's bound to dilute the noise. Grimsby were probably less diluted in numbers and more concentrated in space, but they were good, spurred on by the early goal. I wonder if they would have been singing 1-0 down.

I saw it differently. They scored after 90 seconds, and our hearts dropped as if to say we are in for more let down. And even after they scored we could have lost another goal, have got the keeper sent off, heart in mouth stuff.

I'm must be one of the plastic fans, who let my season ticket go a couple of years ago (but still saw 15 or so home games this year). I could hardly shout anything, I was so uptight and frozen with the fear and stress of it all. It meant too much and as crap an excuse, I think it hit a lot of us.

I tend to agree, I think our generally crap display meant I spent all my time worrying. If we had gone behind but were at least playing well it would have been a lot easier to get enthusiastic, however I did seem to be sat in a quiet area, and there was not many joining in outside our small group to Irene. I suppose it was subdued which is disappointing but if everyone was as nervous as me I can understand it.

I'm wondering if you're right that many just froze and couldn't believe we were going to win and were just too much on edge and exhaustion had set in by the end of the event, who knows and does it really matter now ?

Well done to Darrel Clarke in delivering a return to League Football for Rovers at the first attempt. With Rovers the first team to do this in 10 years it shows what a fine achievement it is.
Its really hard on Grimsby as the margins are so fine. They could just as easily have won it as they arguabley played better than us on the day.
I thought we were good in patches but were unable to sustain it for any length of time. For me Lines and Harrison were probably the pick of the team yesterday with an honourable mention for Mark Mac who after a torrid first half dealt with Lewis much better in the second half.
We kept standing off them and were slow to close them down and Brown looked vulnerable against their wide man. Its probably harsh to criticise one player in particular but Puddy failed to convince between the sticks and perhaps this unsettled the back 4, however his handling was clean in the second half and he dealt with crosses competently.
The lads stuck at it and the job is done. Great show of nerves with the penalties in particular Mansell - £1m spot kick!
The 2007 play off game was a better match to watch IMO however I think this had so much riding on it playing fluent football was always going to be difficult.
Once again well done Darrel, all the players and coaching staff.

By Watola's rather warped logic, he probably didn't see it coming.

We were still non-League before Lee's penalty crossed the line, the game ended when the ref blew his whistle and signaled that the goal stood, maybe 1 second between the ball crossing the line and the whistle? So Toni, we were only in a promotion position for 1 second, should we write to the FA and complain claiming that it shouldn't have happened? Who should we blame, maybe Wycombe?