How did Bristol Rovers manage to sign Elliot Anderson? Why did Harrogate release James Belshaw? Is Wael Al-Qadi’s lasagne really that lucky? All mysteries that have underpinned the Gas’ season under Joey Barton.
But none are quite as perplexing as what prompted legendary former England goalkeeper Peter Shilton at 6:46pm on a Wednesday evening during an international break to tweet his praise of Rovers and the man at the helm, Joey Barton.
To the surprise of Gasheads far and wide, Shilton took to Twitter to say: “I remember at the beginning of the season Bristol Rovers near the bottom of the league and manager Joey Barton saying they would get promotion, it looks like someone who knows what he is doing!”
The message was retweeted by the official club account with Rovers fans then in the former Leicester City and Nottingham Forest No1’s mentions - some polite, some not so much - many receiving short replies including his declaration, "good luck, I hope you make it."
Shilton was, of course, referencing Barton’s claims at the beginning of the season as he maintained promotion was firmly on the agenda despite the Gas plummeting to the nether regions of League Two.
Six months on, and Rovers are up to fourth in the table, prevented from a place in the automatic promotion spots by virtue of a solitary goal ahead of Saturday’s trip to Carlisle United.
Over his storied 31-year career, Shilton, who won 125 caps for England over two decades, never came up against the Gas until his time as player/manager with Plymouth Argyle during the 1992/93 season when they were in then-Division Two (now League One) alongside Bristol Rovers, recording a 0-0 draw at the Mem and then a 3-3 thriller at Home Park.
Although none of that gets us any closer to establishing why the 72-year-old’s sudden interest in the Gas. Feel free to provide your suggestions in the comments below.
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