New Bristol Rovers Match thread

[Modgull]

Memorial Stadium
Saturday 13th August
KO: 3pm

Our first away league match of the new era takes us back to the new stomping ground of our old boss. A lot has been said about the way his departure occurred, most of us pissed off at the timing of it. However, there is a much more positive vibe around Plainmoor now, in my opinion. The full backing from us, the supporters, has been turned back to the man in the hotseat, which seemed strangely lacking while it was occupied by Buckle - I don't think he ever won over every Torquay fan, despite the promotion and success he brought the club. I was never his biggest fan, so in a way I'm glad he's gone and we can move on. Which we have done, by bringing in Martin Ling. [Here I would go on to talk about the signings, pre-season and all that jazz but it's been done by Matt, on the Burton thread, so I'll move on].

GULLS NEWS.

No fresh injuries for us. Dan Leadbitter suffers another setback, so he won't be in the squad. Billy Kee returns from International duty having hit a hat-trick for Northern Ireland u21's in the week, meaning that Ling has a tough decision, as it's been suggested that Atieno and Howe worked well together at St Marys on Tuesday night.

THE OPPOSITION.

Onto tomorrows rivals, Bristol Rovers. They've had a whole revamp since Buckle started working at the Memorial Stadium. Several players have come through the doors, while several have moved on for pastures new. Here's a quick review of all the comings and goings at the MemStad, and what we're likely to be up against tomorrow.

Starting off at the back, Buckle has signed two keepers. Scott Bevan holds the number 1 jersey, as he did for us last season. We know all about the tall goalkeeper, having seen him play at Plainmoor for the past few years. His backup is Lance Cronin. The 25-year old has appeared 7 times at England C level, having spent four years at Ebbsfleet, making 176 appearances. In that time, he picked up an FA Trophy Winners Medal, in 2008, as Ebbsfleet beat us at Wembley. Last season, he was at Gillingham, where he made 7 appearances.

Onto the defence, then. Michael Smith is a young rightback, signed from Irish side Ballymena United. Smith, who "has high potential", is looking to further his footballing ability at the MemStad, to help him create a fruitful career in the game. Michael Boateng, also a young right back, joined Rovers in the summer, after a successful trial. Onto the left side of defence now, we have Lee Brown, who was signed from QPR in the summer. Having made one appearance at Loftus Road in 3 years, and spending time at Salisbury and Hayes & Yeading, he has made the permanent move to Bristol to gain some more experience and playing time. Gary Sawyer is a more well-known name to some of you, I'd imagine. The experienced left back has spent time at several Westcountry sides, since starting his career at Plymouth Argyle. He has been to Weymouth, Exeter, Bristol City, before permanently moving to Rovers. He made 37 appearances for the Gas in League One last season. Into the heart of the defence, I'll start with Cian Bolger, a youngster on loan from Leicester. Bolger spent time at Rovers last season, making 6 appearances, and he has made the same move to further his knowledge. The expected central partnership is made up of Byron Anthony and Adam Virgo, both well known to the lower leagues. Anthony has built a good career at the MemStad, making 133 appearances so far, since joining in 2006. Virgo, appointed vice captain, has signed after rejecting a new deal at League One Yeovil. A central defensive brute, similar to Guy Branston, has had a successful game higher up the pyramid, once sparking a £1.5m move from Brighton to Celtic.

Moving on up the field, now to the midfield. In the engine room, the two big names are Craig Stanley and Matt Gill, both of whom are new to life in Bristol. Both should be quite recognisable names to Gulls fans, for different reasons. Stanley was a key instrument in our charge to the playoffs last season, and was so close to joining us again, but unfortunately opted for Bristol and life under Buckle once more. Matt Gill, another who's previously worked with Buckle, but his path is somewhat longer and windier than Stanleys. Gill & Buckle worked together at Exeter, but after Buckle took the reins at Plainmoor, Gill moved on and joined Norwich. Two years at Norwich saw him make 12 appearances, and he was loaned out twice in the time - once to Peterborough, the other to Walsall. Gill is well known for becoming the first player to receive a red card at the new Wembley Stadium. As backup, they have Stuart Campbell. He has been a stalwart at the MemStad for several years, and he also had a stint as manager, in a last ditch attempt to keep the club in League One, which didn't pay off. He has made 258 appearances, in 7 years, since joining in 2004. Wayne Brown is a young centre-mid who joined after being released by Fulham. He has spent time on loan at Brentford, TPS Turku and Rovers, before making the permanent move. In 23 appearances, he has scored 3 goals. As recent as today, they also had Chris Lines on their books, but he has moved to Sheffield Wednesday. On the wings, they have several outlets. Firstly, we know that Chris Zebroski, Mustapha Carayol and Jo Kuffour can all play there, having seen them do it in the past at Plainmoor. All 3 are speed merchants, and all have the ability to skin their opponent, so we will need to be careful, as I would even go as far as saying this is one of Rovers' strongest areas on the pitch. Adding to those 3, they have Joe Anyinsah, who has carved a career out at a higher level than he is now. His most prominent spell was at Carlisle, where he made 59 appearances, scoring 16 times. Last season he was at Charlton, before moving West to Bristol.

Finally, onto the attack line. Zebroski and Kuffour can both cause mayhem in the middle, aswell as on the wings, so it'll be interesting to see if either take part in the front line tomorrow. However, two more shrewd signings have created a fearful front line for this division. The experience of Scott McGleish will be vital for Rovers, in my opinion. He scored one and set up another at Kingsmeadow, on the opening day of the season. A true journeyman, in every sense of the word, McGleish has been at 11 clubs. Since the turn of the Millenium, he's turned out for Colchester, Northampton, Wycombe, Leyton Orient and now Bristol Rovers. The veteran knows where the net is, and he'll be looking for one more prolific season before hanging up his boots. The other striker expected to start is Matt Harrold. We know all about him, from our recent two-legged playoff success over Shrewsbury. Personally, I've never been worried about lining up against him, as whenever I've seen him, he's been shocking. I'm hoping that continues tomorrow. In reserve, Rovers can turn to Ben Swallow, Lamar Powell, Eliot Richards or Kayne McLaggon, but neither of them have much experience. Swallow is the most experienced, having played 40 times in the blue and white quarters.

So there we have it. That's what we're up against. A little further, I don't know if it'll interest any of you, but if you don't want to read all that, heres a list of the "Ins and Outs" over the summer.

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HOW THEY LINED UP.

This is how they lined up at Wimbledon:

Bevan

Smith
Anthony
Virgo
L. Brown

Anyinsah (Carayol 70)
Stanley
Gill
Zebroski (Lines 52)

Harrold
McGleish (Kuffour 62)

Subs: Bolger, Lines, Carayol, Kuffour, W.Brown

HEAD TO HEAD.

Bristol Rovers wins - 33 (28 in League)
Torquay wins - 21 (19 in League)
Draws - 16 (13 in League)

It seems Rovers have the upper hand in this fixture, as things stand. This is also the first meeting between the two clubs since 2007, where we lost twice at the Memorial Stadium, both by a 1-0 margin (once in the JPT, once the League). I remember many meetings between the clubs. In 2003/04, where we edged them out 2-1 at Plainmoor, before bottling a 2-0 lead at MemStad to draw 2-2. The next meeting, we somehow snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, at Plainmoor, leading 2-0 with 15 minutes remaining, leading 2-1 with 3 minutes remaining, yet somehow we contrived to lose 2-3. I remember seeing Rovers fans go absolutely manic that day. (How much I'd love for it to happen for us tomorrow!!)

REF WATCH.

JONATHAN MOSS
Ashley Slaughter and Neil Radford
Fourth Official Carl Berry

Jonathan Moss is the referee for this affair. An experienced official, having spent 5 years in the profession. He refereed the League One playoff Final at Old Trafford last season, so has good pedigree. He also officiated our narrow defeat at Chesterfield, and from what I remember, there were no dodgy decisions, so I'm hoping he has enough about him to control tomorrows game.

PREDICTION.

Errm, 2-goal margin either way.

COYY!!

---------------------

Hope that's not too much to read. Any complaints and I'll be more than happy to deal with. Cheers!

Given the fantastic result and performance of team and fans yesterday I thought it was worth creating a new thread for more feedback etc

[Modgull]

Loved the Football League Show storyline - great to see Mr B brought down to size and loved the obvious contribution from the Yellow Army!

[Southampton Gull]

The loss of that matchday thread is a crying shame, it had real quality throughout right from the OP.

All I can do is apologise on behalf of Louis, Chris, Scott and myself but it was totally out of our hands and I've just been informed that we won't be able to retrieve it so sincere apologies to all. We hope it hasn't spoiled what has been an otherwise fantastic weekend for players supporters and staff of TUFC.

[brucie]

Our greatest result for many a season and the board collapses. Pisser.

[Southampton Gull]

It was your fault Terry. Millions of Torquay fans were clamouring to join the site to comment on your happiness

[Richinns]

It is also a shame as we had some great comments from the likes of oasisgas who congratulated us on 'the best team won the game' and then we had BritishGas crying like a little baby about luck and they being the best team and the ref and it being our biggest game of the season but it meant nothing in comparison to them etc etc.

If your big enough to give it you have to be big enough to take it on the chin pal!

Great work by all the yellow army that went and rightly acknowledged by Manse on twitter.

[Jeff]

Ah my incisive match report will forever be lost! To be fair it's no bad thing as after watching the highlights last night it became clear it was Manse who set up the first rather than O'kane (3rd time this season I've got them muddled up - just shows how manse's passing has improved!) and McGleish rather than Virgo who had Rovers best chance in the first half.

Can't believe they didn't show the Atieno miss either. Fantastic composure but how did he not score from there?!

Still, we didn't pay the price and it was a great result. Rovers will be a top 7 side with that squad, so for us to match them on their own park was particularly pleasing.

As I said in my long lost match report, I went for Robbo as MOTM which I'd be interested to hear other views on. I felt that he bossed Harrold all game, winning plenty in the air and was solid throughout. He and Harrold were fouling each other all game, so although we know Robbo is a big fan of wrestling I don't think he can be blamed for anything.

I was also extremely pleased with how Saah played. Shaky start to the season, but yesterday was much improved. Also was able to have the measure of Harrold when needed, and the challenge at the death was game saving, make no mistake.

Morris was another to put in an improved performance, and I really like the Howe - Atieno partnership. Strength, pace, touch, composure - it's all there on both of them.

All in all I thought we were good value for our win. Sure, we soaked up some heavy pressure (as you'd expect at any away game in this league) but it was all pressure rather than clear cut chances. We had the better chances, and had plenty of the ball for an away game against such a fancied side. Like I said, it seems like the areas which needed improving have been worked on, which leads me to like Ling even more.

So on to Aldershot, who have had a mixed bag of results so far. Could next weekends Crawley game by a top of the table clash?

[Southampton Gull]

I agree with you Jeff, Robbo had Harrold under control for most of the game, just as we've become accustomed to seeing over the last 12 months. I thought Mansell and O'Kane bossed Stanley and Gill too. Saah had a good solid game, Nico used his brain to keep things tight at his side of the back four, I thought Oastler did ok but not as assured as he was a few games ago. Morris is a bit like Zebroski in that he does all the defensive work and also holds the ball up well, Stevens..................was Stevens. Up front I thought Howe and Atieno were inspired, Howe looked real class and was a handful all game for Rovers.

[friendlygas]

This is the interesting side of football because I saw the game completely differently in that I felt that Harrold bossed the player he was marking all game but unfortunately yesterday McGleish was way off the pace as was Anyinsah. Agree on the midfield area where surprisingly I think you came out on top although I think it has to be said that there wasnt a great deal of fottball from either side with both sides hitting the front men early.Truth is also that you cant afford to give ANY side a two goal lead in the manner we did let alone in a passionate derby.As regards the referee well Mr Moss has never endeared himself to us and how he never gave a stonewall penalty in the first half amazed me. We cant however blame the referee for the defeat because we lost to the better side overall and for clear chances alone you won. Kuffour changed the game with his direct running and I felt he should have been on at half time but coulkdnt understand why carayol was brought off at a time when he was absolutely terrifying you and Anyinsah was doing nothing. I felt your team finally felt they had it won when he left the pitch and it handed the initiative back to you. My Motm was rene Howe as he was trouble everytime he had the ball although he definitely hasnt lost his failure to take good chances.
Anyway we have to put that performance behind us and hope that defensively we are a lot tighter on Tuesday as I fear Northampton will turn us over if we play the same way.
Once again well done and hope you enjoyed your stay in Bristol.

[Southampton Gull]

Pretty fair assessment, although I'd point to the Harrold/Robertson duel and ask what Harrold actually contributed to the cause? Kuffour and Carayol caused us trouble with their pace but we did well enough to keep them out. As you say, Howe caused you a lot of problems throughout and I wouldn't argue with anyone who has him as their MOTM.

I enjoyed my visit to Bristol, I did expect a better atmosphere from your fans, only really heard them when you scored to be honest but I guess going two goals down early on contributed to that.

[Colorado Gull]

As I couldn't get on the site last night I'll post my Report now.

Bristol Rovers v Torquay United – Match number 2
Saturday 13th August 2011
The Memorial Stadium
Attendance: 8,427

Result: Rovers 1-2 Torquay
Referee: Mr J Moss

Scorers
Atieno 11
Howe 15 (Pen)
Anthony 55

Torquay United lined up as follows:

Olejnik
Oastler
Robertson
Saah
Nicholson
Stevens - (Chris Mcphee 62)
O’Kane
Mansell - Booked
Morris
Howe
Atieno - (Billy Kee 80)

Subs not used: Rice, Lathrope, Ellis

Bristol Rovers lined up as follows:

Bevan
Smith
Anthony
Virgo
Brown
Carayol - Booked - (Zebroski 70)
Stanley - Booked - (Brown 70)
Gill
Anyinsah
Harrold
McGleish - (Kuffour 65)

Subs not used: Swallow, Bolger

Before I start this report I would just like to say that the Yellow Army were absolutely fantastic! The fans made such an immense noise and got behind the players from start to finish!

Martin Ling made everyone at Torquay United proud by getting a victory over Torquay’s ex-manager Paul Buckle. The result was 2-1 with goals from the two front men Taiwo Atieno on 14 minutes and then Rene Howe from the penalty spot, all within the space of 4 minutes! Bryon Anthony got a goal back for Rovers on 55 minutes but United held on to take the 3 points home.

Bristol Rovers started the game well, with some attacking play starting from Buckles’ danger man Craig Stanley, who Buckle had on loan when he was Torquay manager. However the Gulls got into the game with great link up play with Eunan, Mansell and Morris. Rene Howe was dangerous all game and gave Rovers a hard time. That should when he shot towards goal which went wide. Just a few minutes after that, United scored the first goal of the game from Atieno. The play started from Danny Stevens, Danny passed the ball straight to Atieno who then turned towards goal and easily beat former Torquay keeper Scott Bevan. The Yellow Army went mad, 0-1.

Ian Morris was another United player that looked dangerous. The pace, and skill of the former Championship player was key for Torquay. The Gulls scored another goal in just 4 minutes after United took the lead. Some very clever play from Atieno made Bevan take him down in the penalty area. The Rovers goalkeeper was very lucky not to see a card. Rene Howe stepped up with confidence and struck the ball home. The Torquay fans then went crazy, 0-2.

Rovers came back looking for an immediate goal. Harrold looked very dangerous and over powered Robertson at times, although Robertson held his own as well. A few runs and crosses came in from the wing but no real danger was made. When shots came towards the United goal, Olejnik was very comfortable and made very good decisions. Mustapha Carayol got booked on 32 minutes and that had a very verbal response from Paul Buckle. After that referee Mr J Moss gave a stern warning to Buckle.

Torquay then was on top. Nicholson took a corner later in the 1st half, Brain Saah got up well and headed it towards goal, but the ball went just over the bar. When the half-time whistle blew the Yellow Army were more than happy, but always knew Rovers were going to come back.

After the break Carayol looked the most dangerous player for Rovers. Carayol got past Oastler a good few times and that lead to some dangerous crosses from the yellow carded winger. Later on Rovers won a corner which was very threatening. Eunan O’Kane then cleared the ball away to safety. All that pressure then came to a goal for Rovers on 55 minutes. Olejnik made a good save firstly, but then was headed home by Anthony. The Rovers fans then awoken for 5 minutes, 1-2.

Torquay then piled on the force and made Bevan make another good save from Atieno. Martin Ling then turned to his Bench taking off Stevens for Mchpee whereas Buckle made two changes. McGleish for United’s old time favourite Jo Kuffour. Rovers looked good coming forward after Kuffour came on, he really looked on form. Kuffour shot towards goal later on in the game and Olejnik made an unbelievable save! Before that chance, Buckle made two more changes, Brown for Stanley and then Zebroski for Carayol.

Robertson had some more stress from Harrold in the 2nd Half, Robertson pulled on the shirt of Harrold and had to be strong, but having said that Harrold done the very same thing. The other United centre back had a great game. Saah was very comfortable at all times and made some great decisions.

Martin Ling then brought on Billy Kee for Taiwo Atieno on 80 minutes. Billy showed laziness and did not chase the ball when Torquay desperately needed to get hold of the ball. Lee Mansell lead by example throughout the whole game, played fantastically well.

When the Final whistle blew the Yellow Army cheered as if Torquay won the FA Cup. United totally deserved the victory, Martin Ling really showed that he is the new messiah of TUFC with a victory over the old boss! The Gulls go on to play Aldershot on Tuesday.

Olejnik - Played great throughout, made some great decisions and made some terrific saves.

Oastler - Carayol made it hard work for him in the 2nd half but played well in the 1st.

Saah - He was one of the best players in my opinion. He looked so confident and comfortable even when he was put under pressure. Very good!

Robbo - Had a hard time with Harrold today but he cleared balls away when he needed to.

Nico - In the 1st Half he made a few mistakes, but we are all human and when he got into the game he read the game well as always and cleared danger away quickly.

Stevens - He wasn’t really in the game to be honest. Got sucked in the middle again, but he used his pace at times in the 1st half.

O’Kane - Played very well. Some mistakes were made but overall he played well. He made a few great runs straight through the Rovers defence which really made them work hard to get rid of the danger.

Mansell - He was my man of the match. He lead by example, defended well and when he came forward he played well also. Fantastic Manse!

Morris - I thought he played quite well. He stretched the Rovers defence at times and showed a great presence when he came forward.

Howe - He is one of the best signings for us in my opinion. His pace is an issue yes but he is so strong and never gets pushed off the ball. His touch is good and his ball skills are top class!

Atieno - Fantastic! Never stops working and never stops running. He deserved a goal and he finished it well.

Mcphee - Didn’t do much when he came on, but he didn’t do anything bad so that’s good. He was good when he came forward although other than that he didn’t do much.

Kee - He didn’t do well even if he was only on for 10 minutes. He looked lazy and didn’t attempt to run to retrieve the ball back in Torquay’s favour. I think with Atieno and Howe, Billy will be on the bench for most of the time.

As I said earlier on, Torquay go on to play Aldershot on Tuesday, the Yellow Army has always brought a good amount of fans there and I’m sure it’ll be the same on Tuesday.

[Plymouthgull]

First time I have posted for a while and yesterday ws the first time I had seen Ling's team in action. Well done to him and the boys for a hard fought win. I felt we were the better team but not a lot in it. I thought our defence was a little unsure in the first half but felt our midfied was stronger and our forward line a real handful. I like both our new forwards and feel they complement each other well. Also thought Morris showed promise as Eunan and Manse were very good. Did not think Danny contributed much nor did Mc Phee or Billy (he ws really off the pace - is there a fitness issue here?). However overall, a very encouragung result.
On a less postiive note on leaving the gound with my wife, I was subjected to verbal abuse three times by some Rovers fans being told to 'F*** Off back to Torquay! (Felt quite threatened at one point). I ignored the abuse whilst walking back to my car. It was also interesting listening to other comments of some of the Bristol fans. They blamed the ref for poor decisions. and suggested that we only won because we were 'up for it' and it was our Cup Final!!!!! Please! our cup final when we have been to Wembley (X2) and Old Trafford? Cannot help thinkng that some of their fans might be in need of a reality check. Would have been nice for someone to say, 'well done you deseved the win today' as many of the yellow army do to fans of other teams. Oh well you live and learn. Really enjoyed the win but cannot say enjoyed the visit - in my experience not a very friendly place.

[royalgull]

PauLOL BuckLOLe
BROFListoLOL ROFLoveROFLs
MemoROFLiaLOL Stadium
Goodnight IROFLene
BROFLitishGas and all the other Rovers bellends on here
bROFLucie


2-1 cya and fukk off.

[HRG]

I don't think I've ever been so elated with a win as I was yesterday. Gutted I missed the previous thread, I would've loved to read what BritishGas had to say.

It was good to say hello to SG and Forever, albeit briefly. So that was a nice start to the day.
I never really wanted to get involved in the Buckle abuse but when the smug git came out it was hard to resist joining in with the boos. He went from applauding us before the first whistle to not even glancing at us before the second half restart.
Harrold irritated me immediately with his pulling and fouling but then Robertson got stuck in to him too so it was half a dozen of one... Danny I thought tried hard, we all know with his height and build that strength is not his gift but from what I saw he tried to get stuck in and win the ball, it didn't work much but he showed intent. Howe and Ateino are showing all the signs of being an effective double act at this level. Howe particularly impressed me. A lump he may be but he's strong and works damn hard. It was obvious how tired he was at the end but he never stopped trying. The same cannot be said for Billy. I'm a fan of his and believe he will come good, but I wish he would just attempt running after a ball sometimes, he may not win it but it may put some presssure on the oppoition player forcing them to make a mistake. Instead Billy gave them the room to try and lump the ball back up to Kuffour or Zebs, putting us in a risky position.
My heart was in my mouth the last 10 minutes or so, it was unbearable, but when that final whistle went relief mixed with complete and utter joy. It was plain to see what it meant to Mansell and Nicholson particularly but even Howe looked overjoyed. It didn't feel like a normal league win, it was something special.

Sorry this isn't an in-depth report, I'm not one for all the tactics and what not, I lack the football knowledge of so many on here, but just wanted to give my view on what was a great day.

[Southampton Gull]

Good stuff Danny, like the first video too, mind you I did have a seemingly starring role lol.

Nice to meet you too, HRG, you might not lack as much knowledge as you think, you picked up on what it meant to Howe which is probably due in no small part to his loan spell at Rovers where they apparently didn't rate him as much as they do Harrold..........................
I know which one my money would be on to score the most goals this season