‘Rovers need to go out and show their ambition’

It’s been a tough few weeks at the Gas, with the summer of number nines undoubtedly proving a challenge for the club. After the loss of Rory Gaffney and later Ellis Harrison, we surprisingly began the season with no new reinforcements up top, which has clearly left Darrell Clarke a frustrated man.

Not since 2011 have Rovers come away with three points on the opening day of the season, a 2-3 win against Wimbledon under Paul Buckle, so the disappointment as we slumped to a 2-1 defeat at Peterborough on Saturday came as no major surprise to Gasheads.

A slow start to the game saw Rovers dominated in the first half by a Peterborough side fielding nine debutants, as Mark O’Hara headed home in the 26th minute to make it 2-0 to the home side.

I don’t know if it was just me, but I felt as though our pre-season was a lot shorter than usual, with fewer matches played. It therefore came as no surprise to me that we started the opening match slowly, given a few of our starting lineup received very few minutes over the last few weeks.

The lack of a physical presence up front for us proved a real issue, as the loss of key man Ellis Harrison hit home. Darrell Clarke said in the days leading up to the game that he was “hoping to get the deal done before the weekend, but that can hit the buffers”. Hit the buffers this did. As of the following Tuesday, we have still been unable to make a signing, having missed out on the player in question, Walsall’s Amadou Bakayoko.

In the latter stages of last season, Rovers switched to a 4-3-3 formation, thriving with a particularly fluid front three. I believe Darrell’s intention was to continue this way, with Bennett and Rodman in the advanced wing positions, but the lack of a powerful number nine to play in the middle of this three left the whole team struggling in the final third on Saturday.

What perhaps was more surprising was the lack of a physical and aerial presence in our own box – as Peterborough saw two headed efforts hit the back of the net under little pressure. The arrival of Tony Craig last season saw the Rovers defence improve dramatically in the second half of the season, but the pairing of Craig and Lockyer on Saturday was far from dominant in their own area, and maybe Darrell should look towards Tom Broadbent to add some aerial dominance in the future.

We deserved to lose the match, but gasheads can take some positives from the second half. Rovers came out with a much higher tempo and a desire to attack and were unlucky that it took them until the 90th minute to score what turned out to be only a consolation. In fact, by the end of the game, Rovers had managed four shots on target compared to Peterborough’s three, and 18 shots overall to Peterborough’s six. While the game is only won on goals scored, it’s promising that we were able to put pressure on the opposition given our awful start, and our lack of some key signings at the top end of the pitch.

Another positive was the debut of Ed Upson, who I think looked superb in central midfield – especially in the second half. Calm in possession and tough in the tackle, he looks a promising signing just as he did on paper. His championship experience certainly stood out when he was brought in and he didn’t disappoint.

Darrell described the first half as “unacceptable” and I think supporters would agree. He was, however, perhaps too harsh on his side when he said there were no positives. That second half has certainly given me something to look forward to in our first home game of the season against Accrington on Saturday.

The stats also suggest too that the aim to add firepower before the transfer window shuts on Thursday night is the correct priority, and these key signings will make a huge mark on how this season is to play out. Having lost so many key fans favourites over the last few years, Rovers need to go out and show their ambition in the final days of the transfer window if there is to be any progress made this season.

Off the pitch, the appointment of commercial director Tom Gorringe has shown positive signs over the last few months, with new shirt sponsorships secured, a new club bar refurbishment, electronic turnstiles and other improvements to the Memorial Stadium underway to bring the club kicking and screaming into the 21st century.

Hopefully this is just the beginning of an increase in revenue that – as Darrell has highlighted so many times – will go some way to improving his budget over the coming seasons.

So how would I summarise my expectations for the coming season? A lot is down to the signing of a quality physical striker, maybe even two. We needed to add goals for this season even before Ellis Harrison departed, but I am really pleased with our other transfer business and certainly believe our midfield is one of the strongest in the division.

If we can finish strongly in the transfer window before Thursday there is no reason we can’t be pushing towards a top-seven position, and I really hope Darrell and the board can pull a rabbit out of the hat following what is undoubtedly a real setback in missing out on Bakayoko.

Harley Thorne, along with friends Max and Ollie, run GasCast, a Bristol Rovers podcast. Listen to the latest episode at www.gas-cast.co.uk