‘I’d love City & Rovers to be in same league’

Last week’s blog started with me congratulating Leicester City for their heroic Premiership achievements. This week it is the turn of our City rivals. So, here it is, well done Bristol Rovers for gaining promotion to League One.

I know that many of my City supporting friends find it hard to comprehend my feelings towards what they consider to be our enemy, but, in the big scheme of things, I have many more ties to the Gas than I do to most other teams across the country.

I have many friends who support them, friends I actually like and who I get genuine enjoyment from by seeing them all so happy. I have family that live right by the ground. I use to work in, and still frequent regularly, a pub just near the stadium that I am very fond of. Over the years of working their I got to know lots of the Rovers fans who were regulars and enjoyed many an hour of footballing chat with them.

Of course, I always want City to be doing better than Rovers but I’d genuinely like that to be us above them in the same league. Taking six points off them every year. Anyway, I guess this is a minority view amongst City fans but there you go.

I was slightly drunkenly making my way home from London when we heard Rovers had won promotion in such dramatic fashion. Returning from Loftus Road where I had been watching the final moments of the 2015/2016 season unfold.

It was a strange game. City were definitely the better team but struggled to make their dominance pay, again. QPR, both fans and players, looked disinterested yet still managed to stage a post-match pitch invasion to celebrate I’m not too sure what.

It was great to see our youngsters, Dowling and Vyner, again get a run out. Dowling in-particular looked very assured in the centre of the park although I’m not too sure my brother’s comparison to Iniesta is that fitting just quite yet.

The players were sent off on their summer holidays earlier this week, a well earned break for sure although Johnson may have other ideas having issued the players with heart rate monitors to keep tabs on their exercise levels over the break.

For Johnson himself he will no doubt be working tirelessly to try and write the wrongs of last seasons pretty abysmal summer transfer wise. It’s hard to know where to start really when thinking about which areas we need to strengthen. As discussed last week a lot will depend on which, if any, of the current loan signings stay.

I think I am in agreement with Johnson however that we should be on the look out for quality. If the right player is available, and at the right price of course, we should be considering them no matter what position they play. No one has been good enough this year that they are untouchable and its important we have competition for places if we want to finish higher up the league.

This is the last blog of this season, so, I want to say thank you to the good people at Bristol24/7 for giving me this opportunity to rant/ramble on week after week about the football team that I truly adore. Thank you too for reading, I look forward to speaking to you again at the start of next season, have a wonderful summer and all the best.