Unthinkable. Impossible. Unimaginable. All words that, before 3pm on Saturday, were used to describe the task in front of Bristol Rovers. The doubters far outweighed the believers. But the naysayers hadn’t accounted for one key thing – this team is capable of defying logic.
This is a team that simply won’t lie down and refuses to be beaten. This is a team full of individual quality but is also a closely stitched cohesive unit that puts their bodies on the line for one another. It’s a team Gasheads can be proud of and having done the impossible, it’s now a team we’ll remember forever.
There has been nothing better than rhe Mem in recent months. Sell-out crowds, a fan zone with a buzzing atmosphere and performances to match. The Mem is also now resemblant of the club’s recent progress, with improved matchday experience, a shop now professionally run with good quality merch and more space for Gasheads in the ground, with the entirety of the East Terrace now a home section.
My hopes for the Scunthorpe game peaked early doors. A long journey that started off with the latest episode of GasCast Podcast was finished with cold beverages and another new friend made on the train. What we hoped was the final game of the season was fast approaching by now and the time couldn’t pass quick enough.
The fanzone and club bars were packed to the rafters an hour before kick-off and a 100-yard queue for the East Terrace had built up. Neither of those are things we’ve seen at the Mem in a long time. What we have seen more recently though is an incredible atmosphere and Gasheads around the stadium delivered that in style.
Rovers seemed to be stuck in second gear for the opening exchanges, with Luke Thomas taking up great positions but failing to capitalise. We needed a helping hand from Oliver Lobley in the Scunthorpe backline to get going, before Connor Taylor towered over his opponent to double the lead. The chances continued to flow, but the killer instinct was missing until after the break.
I usually dislike being glued to a phone checking other scores during the game, but this was different. Watching the Barrow vs Northampton score was almost as tense as watching Rovers. Josh Kay’s response to Northampton’s three first-half goals had restored some hope on the terraces that the great escape could still be on.
A fine goal from Collins and a well-taken Evans finish brought the dream closer to reality. At 4-0, belief seemed to fill the stands. Half an hour of normal time was more than enough with the quality we have on the pitch. When Evans curled a trademark free-kick into the top right corner, my belief had morphed into certainty.
Sure enough, the goals came. An Aaron Collins flick sparked jubilant scenes, but what followed after Elliot Anderson’s header was both sheer relief and ecstasy. Fans spilt out onto the pitch, unable to contain themselves after a long season looked to be coming to the most incredible of climaxes.
The next 20 minutes or so felt like an eternity. The fans had long cleared the pitch before the players had come back and it was then clear what we needed to do. Hold on to a 7-0 lead and the dream was ours. A painstaking amount of injury time later, we had done it. Nobody was stopping the masses from invading the pitch this time.
The scenes after the final whistle were simply unforgettable. Grown men and women crying, players atop fans' shoulders and strangers hugging each other. Nothing compares to some of the emotions football can give you and this was one of the best we’ll ever experience.
I’ve experienced some real lows with this football club. I sat and cried in the East Stand as we were relegated in 2001. The 2006/7 season saw the Gas at the Millennium and Wembley Stadiums in the same season, with an incredible day at Wembley again in 2016 bringing equal measures of jubilation. The unspeakable relegation to the Conference was almost as bad as the covid-hit relegation of 2021, as Rovers went down without a fight.
This comes close to topping all of those. We were down and out early in the season. Humiliated at Exeter, a real negativity around the club and 19th at one point in the league. It looked as though the hangover from relegation could not be shaken and that the club was destined to be downtrodden for another year.
But things would turn. It arguably took far too long to turn, but our fortunes changed. After the Oxford comeback, belief ran through this team and that was seized upon by Barton and never let go. A bond and an unbreakable team spirit were forged throughout the squad that has seen us through to promotion.
We must remember where we have come from this year. To overhaul a squad, be hit so badly by covid and injuries was always going to be a challenge. But we would not have ever believed, with the talent in this squad, that we’d ever sit near the trap door of the football league. Then again, months ago we would never have believed we’d go up automatically.
This promotion shows the strength and determination of everyone at this club. We have ridden the crest of the wave for months and never backed down. We’ve risen from 16th before Christmas and 14th in early February to do the impossible. With just a minute left of the penultimate game of the season, we were out of the play-offs until a remarkable comeback. We were out of the picture for many with 1 game left and still managed to score 7 to beat the odds. That is simply incredible and I have no words to describe what has happened at this club in recent months.
Whatever your opinion on him, you have to hand it to Joey Barton and his team. Firstly, he has managed to get us playing some beautiful football at times. We spent much of the first half of the season moaning about a lack of a gameplan or clear style of play, but after many square pegs in round holes, lots of tinkering and returns from injuries, he got there. Our style of play now is attractive, fluent and direct and whilst he knows his best XI, competition for places is strong which means consistent delivery of performance through challenging each other for their jersey.
Secondly, Joey Barton has attracted talent to a League Two Rovers side that should be playing in leagues much higher. Whether through his playing style, his standing in the game or his way with words, the manager has brought some incredible players to our club. Sam Finley, Paul Coutts, Antony Evans, Harry Anderson, Aaron Collins, Connor Taylor, Luke Thomas, Elliot Anderson; the list goes on. That only bodes well for the future and if we can recruit above our level for next season, we’ll be well placed to succeed.
As I mentioned earlier, Barton and his management team have managed to seize the initiative and ride the crest of a wave. What that means, in reality, is a set of statistics for the second half of the season that are incredibly impressive and at times, stunning. Bristol Rovers have managed to achieve more points than any other team in the English Football League in 2022, a stat which also includes the Premier League. Case in point.
Bristol Rovers sit atop the 5, 10, 15, 20 & 25 game form standings in the League Twp form table. That is simply outrageous when you remember that we were close to the basement of the Football League months earlier. Translated, Rovers have achieved 2.16 Points Per Game (PPG) in the second half of the season. That PPG figure goes as high as 2.6 when taken over the last 5 games, when it really mattered.
This team always has a goal in them. At Rochdale away, with a minute remaining, we found 3. At half time against Scunthorpe, we found 5 and in extra time against Oxford, we found another 3. When it really mattered, The Gas hit the back of the net. If you followed the previous season closely and someone told you Rovers would score 71 goals in a season – the third-most in the league – with a goal difference of +22, they’d understandably think you were under the influence.
But it is the fight, the passion and the tenacity of the players who wore the blue and white quarters this season that stands out the most. To be downtrodden, to have no hope and to come back and achieve the impossible tells you everything you need to know. This team refuse to lie down and will never give up. Ask any Gashead in the land and they’ll tell you passion and tenacity are all they demand, so to see those levels of commitment from a group who care so much translate into promotion, given the circumstances, feels like a dream.
It’s been four days now and I still haven’t come down from Saturday. The hangover may only just have shifted, but the memories will remain for decades. As Gasheads, we have backed our team to the end and helped make the impossible possible. To be a small part of that feat is special.
I know I speak on behalf of all of us in thanking everyone at the club for their part in what we’ve achieved. It’s time now for a break and a refresh before we look forward to League One football again. I can’t tell you just how nice it feels to write the words League One again in the context of Bristol Rovers.
Until next time… Up The Gas!
Benji
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