Bristol Rovers, on and off the pitch, will never not be interesting, and the stage is set for a side that specialises in the ridiculous to deliver again on Saturday.
A week on from the late heroics at Rochdale that encapsulated a dramatic, turbulent season for Joey Barton's side, the Gas enter the final day of the League Two season with automatic promotion still to play for as rock-bottom and already-relegated Scunthorpe United visit the Mem.
That they even have a chance is remarkable. On New Year's Day, they were 17th, 12 points adrift of the top three and had plenty of bugs in the system for Barton to address. Since that day, only Exeter City have matched their form. Nine defeats in their first 21 games have been followed by just three in their past 24.
They are a team transformed, and for that Barton deserves enormous credit. Not only have the January signings of Elliot Anderson and James Connolly paid huge dividends but the manager has fostered a culture of belief and togetherness that has been leaned on in moments of strife. That feeling of confidence has gripped the fanbase, too.
They remain a paradoxical bunch. At their best, they are measured, controlled, authoritative and suffocating. Yet at their most entertaining and captivating, they are a wild grouping of rare individual talent. “We’re just a mad team," Antony Evans declared pitchside at Rochdale after their most bonkers comeback yet. On the pitch, they resemble their manager, who could police a game while also having a knack for producing moments of madness.
There were shades of November's Oxford miracle as Aaron Collins turned home at the death as the Gas turned 3-1 into 3-4 in double-quick time at Rochdale. The reward: A clinched play-off place and more than an outside chance of automatic promotion on the final day.
To do that, fourth-placed Rovers must usurp third-placed Northampton Town by bettering the Cobblers' result at Barrow, or winning by five more goals than Jon Brady's side if both secure victories. Few teams have had much fun at Holker Street this season, but Barton is not counting on any favours from Phil Brown's side.
In that case, a glut of goals will be required, but after the Spotland spectacular, there is a sense of charm surrounding this team, a feeling that no task is beyond them in this richest vein of form.
The chances of putting six or seven past Scunthorpe, for all the faults and scars of a terrible season, remain remote – and it would be hugely disrespectful and foolish to assume that even victory alone for the Gas is a formality – but we should stop being surprised by this version of Bristol Rovers that produce in the biggest moments, be it last-minute winners, scintillating comebacks or timely wonder-goals.
A huge occasion awaits at a sold-out Mem and drama is a certainty. Is there a Lee Brown 2.0 in the Rovers ranks? All the evidence so far suggests there are plenty of contenders to be the hero if required.
But if the fairytale ending does not materialise on Saturday, Barton and his players will believe it has only been delayed. Unbeaten at home since mid-December and with multiple match-winners throughout the starting XI and the bench, the Gas would not be anyone's first-choice opponent in the play-offs.
That might be a conversation for another day, though. Today is ladened with possibilities.
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