Football / Fan's View
‘Anything less than League One unacceptable’
If ever there was a victory of spin, it would be to present Bristol Rovers’ best start to a season in a decade as the truly momentous achievement it plainly isn’t.
This is not to decry the outstanding achievements of Darrell Clarke in resurrecting a club that was locked in a downward spiral from which there seemed to be no respite, but to see the club challenging on the edge of the League Two play offs should be a matter of pride only in relative terms.
None of this should decry the restoration of better days to the Memorial Stadium.
is needed now More than ever
There is firm momentum in BS7 these days and a sense of purpose, at least on the pitch, and I do not believe the club’s resurgence will end any time soon. Off the pitch, well, we all have our views and I still see preciously little evidence of a long term plan. It was ever thus.
In Clarke, I see the first Rovers manager since Paul Trollope (and Lennie Lawrence) who has a vision that stretches beyond this week’s game. I see genuine enthusiasm and, crucially, a manager who has his best days ahead of him and not, as we have recently become so familiar, in the past.
This week, Rovers’ visitors are York City. They are, for a reason, second from bottom of the league. That reason is that they are a very poor side. I am very confident that this will be a one-sided drubbing – in favour of the home team, I hasten to add – and the Christmas period will represent the start of better days for Gasheads.
Nothing below League One will do and no one should accept less. The third tier of football has always been the club’s natural level and it still should be today. I am sorry to come across all Scrooge-like just before the festive season, but I see promotion to League One as being the least we should expect. Anything less is unacceptable.
None of this is to say that a football club has a divine right to be in a particular decision but realistic expectation is hardly unfair. My expectation is that the club should be in a far better position on and off the pitch – and League Two in a worn out old rugby ground is not that position.
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