Chelsea v Bristol Rovers. Stamford Bridge. Tuesday August 23rd, 2016

Like a lot of football mad kids growing up in the 80's, my older brother supported Liverpool. Living in the South West meant there was little opportunity to ever see them play at Anfield. Aged about 11 though he did manage to persuade our Dad to take him to watch Barnes and Beardsley and co. Not fancying a trip to Liverpool, my Dad opted to watch them play away at Chelsea, far easier to get too along the M4. It was 1990 and Liverpool eased past the west Londoners on their way to the title. Sitting in the home end though, my brother had been turned and came back a Chelsea fan. The fickleness of youth. And that was that for the next ten years or so. Whilst we still watched Rovers play, Chelsea were 'our' top flight team. Dad didn't mind as he'd been a casual supporter of them himself in his younger days. For most of the 90's we went to Stamford Bridge a couple of times a season.

It was an interesting time to follow Chelsea. From my first visit in 1993/94, to when I last went, sometime in the early 2000's, the club and stadium changed a great deal. At my first game, Glenn Hoddle had recently taken over as manager, having jumped ship from Swindon and was trying to mould a group of mostly English and Scottish players in to an easy on the eye, Diamond formatted team who were all comfortable on the ball. In terms of Stamford Bridge, the only remaining stand from my first visit is the three tiered East stand, built in the 70's, it towered over the rest of the ground and almost bankrupted the club. Opposite back then was the very old looking West Stand, complete with wooden seats at the back and benches at the front where you could still see the old terraces. The old Shed end was still there, shortly to be knocked down and used as a car park from memory, with the new South stand built a few years later. I can't recall what was going on at the North end, but do remember the current stand slowly growing in those early visits. On the pitch, Chelsea were gradually morphed in to the club they are today. Then they were a decent mid table premiership club with plucky little players such as John Spencer, Mark Stein, Gavin Peacock and Dennis Wise as the main man in the middle. The money that poured in to the club, first from the late Matthew Harding and then from Roman Abramovic bought in the global maegastars that are now a main stay at Chelsea.

I was delighted then, as well as worried about a potential thrashing, when Rovers edged passed Cardiff and set up a second round tie away at Stamford Bridge. Before I got excited about a first visit in over a dozen years there was the small matter of trying to get a ticket. The 4,000 allocated to Rovers, sold out within a few hours, way before non season ticket holders like my self were able to get one. Chelsea had lowered the price to £25 and their twitter feed advised that they were pretty confident the game was going to be a sell out. Like a lot of Rovers fans, I started looking at buying tickets online for the home end but was told that any one trying to purchase a ticket with a BS post code would be blocked. In the end my mate Rich got a mate in London to buy us our tickets and all was well.

We left work early and set off up the M4 in sweltering heat, ready to sit on our hands in the home end, or more likely, cheer enthusiastically as Chelsea picked their league one opponents apart. We were meeting the guy with our tickets in a home supporters only pub. On the way up we discussed our plan of pretending to not be Rovers fans if challenged by bouncers, stewards or any Chelsea firms. I was pretty sure I could still name their entire squad from the 1994/95 season, this might have taken a bit too long, our mate Rich had the strongest Bristolian accent so we figured we'd be alright if he kept quiet. If things got really bad I was sure I could escape a kicking if I said I used to pray with Gavin Peacock.

In the event we cunningly split in to two two's and sailed past the doorman at the Rose pub and in to it's busy bar. Pleasantly surprised to buy a round of four pints in this part of London and get change from a twenty, we picked up our tickets and were soon our way to the ground.

"At least the Mem doesn't look like the Galaries"

Approaching the ground from the South, Rich made a fair point that the Chelsea hotel looks a bit like Bristol's second most popular shopping centre, the Galleries. We made our way to the upper tier of the West Stand, the newest and biggest side of the ground. It was a still and sweltering night, there was no need for windshields, but the West Stand had a beautiful panelled effort on each side.

From our lofty position we took in the team news. Matty Taylor being on the bench was the biggest concern. The Chelsea team was strong. The prospect of watching Stu Sinclair up against Cesc Fabergas, Daniel Leadbitter v Pedro, Harrison v Cahill, Ollie Clarke v Matic etc etc was both mouth watering and terrifying.

The West Stand Wind shield

The game began with Chelsea all over us. From our vantage point, most striking was how quick the Chelsea players moved the ball around, always seeming to know exactly what they were going to do with the ball before it came, but at the same time, able to adjust instantly if a pass wasn't on and pick another one, or take a player on instead. Moses and the new 33 million pound man Batshuayi looked particularly dangerous but somehow Rovers managed to keep them out for half an hour, before conceding two in quick sucession. Both goals close range finishes after quick runs down the wing, low crosses and the goal scorers getting ahead of their markers with apparent ease. At this point we were fearing the worst but hope was restored when Chris Lines delivered a lovely cross in to the box from a free kick for Hartrey to glance a header past Begovic. 2-1. Game on. Chelsea scored again a few mins later, another from Batshuayi. 3-1 at half time.

Luke James and Billy Bodin had both struggled to get in to the game and were replaced by Taylor and Easter at the break. Rovers started the second half well and it wasn't long before Taylor dropped deep and sensing Chelsea's defence playing a high line, spun quickly and played a perfectly weighted ball for Stu Sinclair to run on too. Sinclair raced in to the box and just when he looked like he was going to pull the trigger or was hoping for Harrison to take over, he was bundled over by Pedro. Penalty! Taylor lost the battle to take the pen and Harrison cooly dispatched it down the middle. 3-2.

Ellis Harrison about to smash his penalty passed Begovic

Miraculously Chelsea looked to be holding on for large parts of the second half. Harrison was posing a threat, Taylor, though not all his touches came off, added quality, Easter was another calm influence on the ball and bought numerous free kicks with his canny habit of falling on to and then picking up the ball. Lines was constantly dropping back in to the quarter back role, looking for possession and getting things going with a bit of vision. Sinclair and Clarke were grafting and scrapping for their lives. Whilst Chelsea still looked very dangerous, Harrison had a volley that brushed the bar and Easter bought an acrobatic save from Begovic. Conte even bought on Terry and Hazard to steady the ship. They did just that and the fariy tale was not to be.

Final score: Chelsea 3 Bristol Rovers 2.

We made our way out in to the balmy summers night, a memorable away day for Gasheads. Watching their team run Chelsea close and score two goals in front of 40,000 crowd at Stamford Bridge.

Stevenage v Bristol Rovers. Lamex Stadium. Tuesday, April 19th 2016

It had been a while since I'd been to a game with my Dad, so I was well chuffed when we hatched a plan to travel to Stevenage for Rovers penultimate away game of the season. They were in the middle of an incredible run of form which had included 6 straight wins in March and ensured that an automatic promotion place, having looked a pipe dream until just a few weeks previously, was now very much possible.

The plan involved me leaving work at 3 and driving to a lay by on the A46 where I'd park up, get in Dad's car and enjoy the M4 and M25 all the way to Stevenage. By 3.30 the first part of the plan had been executed flawlessly. It was a beautiful sunny spring afternoon and we were headed east. Pleasantly surprised by the lack of traffic, we even had time to stop at Leigh Delamare services for a coffee. Fuelled by Americanos and a Bruce Springsteen CD the journey went by in a flash. Even the M25 at rush hour didn't cause us problems.

Pulling in to Stevenage a couple of hours before kick off we headed to a pub called 'Our Mutual Friend' which Rovers fans had identified as a friendly watering hole in the days leading up to the game.

'The Mutual' was a nice pub, it's sunny garden was full of both home and away fans mixing happily. A good selection of ales was on hand and I opted for a pint of Timothy Taylor Landlord whilst my Dad had a half. Sat down and supping on our ales, it wasn't long before my Dad had pulled a Dickens book off the shelf and was reading passages aloud to me. Not typical laddish away day behaviour, but well within the context, it turned out the pub was named after a Dickens novel and that he was known to have drank in the area back in the day when visiting a near by Lord. 

Football Factory like shenanigans in 'The Mutual'

After an educational time at 'The Mutual' we made the short walk to the ground. Rovers had been given the South stand, a single tiered all seater behnid the goal. It was quite a modern stand, close to the action and gave good views with no supporting pillars and quite a steep incline. An impressive 1300 gas heads had made the long journey on a Tuesday night and the stand was pretty much full to capacity. The Lamex is a nice neat stadium. It felt quite modern but also had a good mix of different stands with both seating and terraces. Right up to kick off the sun was still shining brightly which I think always helps a ground look at its best. The main stand to our left was a smart all seater in the club colours of red and white. Opposite was the East Terrace where the rowdier Stevenage fans could be found including an enthusiastic drummer. Whilst there are plenty of behind the goal terraces in the football league, I can't think of many that run the whole length of the pitch with no seating incorporated or behind. This one was a nice one, complete with a gable giving the ground a bit of character.

The main stand

After the long journey our hunger had caught up with us and I joined the long que for the snack bar and bought a chicken and mushroom pie. Taking our seats right behind the goal I took a greedy bite and burnt my tongue straight away. Too eager.

The majority of the Rovers fans were in good spirits, though nervous as they knew that 3 points was essential to keep the automatic promotion place in our own hands.

View of the Rovers end from the front of the snack bar que

Darrel Clarkes team selection was a big topic of conversation, he'd reverted to a more defensively minded 3-5-2 and bought Jake Gosling in from the cold and in to the starting line up. Gosling had been farmed out on loan to Newport in the new year, had played for them a bit, mainly from the bench, come back, scored a fantastic individual goal against Forest Green in a Gloucester cup came and now found himself back in the starting line up.

Watching football with my Dad is fun. In his mid 60's, he's sharp as a tack, has good eye sight and has a strong sense of fair play and doesn't mind speaking up for the oppo even in a partisan crowd. He's also got a slightly annoying habit of making very loud sound effects, especially when a strong tackle goes in 'OOOPH' or a pass is a bit short 'UGGH'. It's difficult to put in to words but you get the picture. He's also on the road to being deaf as a post. When I was younger he was often embarrassing me and my brother at football. When I was about 12, he took us to watch Southampton v QPR at the Dell in the mid 90's. From memory Southampton were desperate for the points to avoid relegation (throughout the 90's they always seemed to be producing great escape after great escape). At a particular tense part of the game, Ray Wilkins, who was then QPR player manager and knocking on 40, subbed himself on. My Dad, delighted that someone almost as old as him was still playing top flight football, stood up and whilst beaming, clapped loudly and kept on repeating "WELL DONE RAY!". My brother and me turned crimson.

There wasn't as much embarrassment here. At one point though, frustrated by a lack of decisions going their way, pretty much the whole Rovers end were enjoying a verse of "The Referee's a wanker". It was at this point that my Dad turned to me and said loudly, "I THINK THE REFS HAVING A BLOODY GOOD GAME - DON'T YOU?". I wasn't sure if he was just being deaf or if it was the sense of fair play again. Either way he keeps me on my toes.

Match action including the Gable on the East Terrace

There were some indicators that Rovers were a couple of places from the top of the league and Stevenage were near the bottom. In truth though the end result, a nil nil draw was pretty much a fair one. Rovers huffed and puffed, but didn't create enough chances, Matty Taylor's golden touch wasn't quite there, Gosling had a long range effort clip the bar and the best chance of the night unfortunately fell to Rovers right back Leadbitter who fired wide from close range. Stevenage defended resolutely but rarely looked dangerous when ever they got in the final third.

We vanished off in to the night with the rest of the away fans with Rovers having lost ground on their promotion rivals. A couple of weeks later however, on the final day of the season, the point gathered here at the Lamex would prove to be a very valuable one indeed.

Swindon Supermarine v Forest Green Rovers

Swindon Supermarine v Forest Green Rovers. The Webb's Wood Stadium, Tuesday August 2nd, 2016

As I sat in traffic waiting to get on to the M32 with my wipers on full speed, I questioned the wisdom of trying to rush from Bristol to Swindon after work to watch a pre season friendly. 
I shouldn't have doubted my self. The traffic cleared, the rain stopped and I arrived at the Webb's Wood Stadium in time for kick off and ready to enjoy some mid week football.

Swindome

First impressions are important. As soon as I arrived at the Webb's Wood stadium I knew I was on to a winner. After paying my £5 entry I was greeted by an immaculate pitch and lines of connifers providing the backdrop for the side opposite and the end behind the goal to my left. The turnstiles were between two all seated stands to the right and the clubhouse, complete with decking and cafe table and chairs going right to the pitch on the other side. The most impressive and unusal end of the pitch however, was the end to my right, where an imposing white bubble like domed building rose above the goal. 

After a quick trip to the bar, I settled at a pitch-side position with a pint of Hurricane Ale, from local brewers, Arkell's. A lovely drop. I quickly got chatting to two friendly supporters next to me. The bloke to my right was a font of knowledge of all things Supermarine. He easily answered my first question about the name. Apparently it refers to the Supermarine Aircraft company that used to operate on the site of the ground post world war II.

Having watched Larkhall and Mangotsfield last season, I'd been keeping half an eye on developments in the league that Supermarine play in, the snappily titled: Evo-Stick Southern League Division One South & West. Two big clubs have entered in time for this season, Hereford and Salisbury. At this level they have stadiums and playing budgets that will dwarf most teams in this division. Both 'Phoenix' clubs, Hereford still play at Edgar Street, regularly attracting crowds of 3,000 plus in a stadium that hosted football league games as recently as 2012. The respective relegation and promotion of Bideford and Barnstaple also means that the Evo-Stick Southern League Division One South & West will also showcase the fiercely contested North Devon derby.

I assumed that this influx of non league behemoths would be well received by supporters excited by the prospect of away days at bigger stadiums. My friend to my right though was more apprehensive, fearing that even clubs like Supermarine, who finished 4th last season, would be reluctant to spend any money on pushing for promotion, assuming Hereford and Salisbury will have it sewn up between them.

As we mulled this over, a good game was unfolding before us. Forest Green had bought a full strength squad, for me Charlie Clough stood out at the back, having started his carer at Bristol Rovers. It was also good to see Rob Sinclair, brother of Rovers cult hero Stuart, pulling the creative strings in midfield. Forest Green came second in the conference last season, loosing out at Wembley in the play off final to Grimsby. Owned by the eccentric green energy mogul, Dale Vince, they've had substantial investment over a sustained period in an effort to secure promotion in to the football league. With the recent arrival of the likes of Matt Tubbs and talk of a new stadium, it seems there is no sign of this slowing as they look for the final push to get them over the line.

                                 

Supermarine started brightly themselves, their impressive red haired left back was only 18 and looked strong and composed. The number 7 was also making things happen in midfield and for the opening exchanges you wouldn't have thought there was 3 divisions between the sides. After Forest Green scored their first goal though, when a point blank header was bungled in at the far post, the gap between the two clubs in the football pyramid became more apparent.

The bloke to my left turned out to be a Slough Town fan exiled in Swindon who watched Supermarine pretty often too. By the time he'd given me a potted history of Slough, including the exciting news of their moving in to brand new stadium, hopefully by August bank holiday, it was half time. 3-0 to Forest Green.

Clubhouse

Forest Green made 11 changes at the break including introducing the prolific lower league striker Matt Tubbs. As the evening darkened my eyes kept on being drawn to the now floodlit Swindome. Rising up immediately behind the goal like a giant spaceship It is quite a landmark and certainly makes the Webb's Wood stadium a unique looking ground. The friendly bloke to my right said he knew Keith, the vice chairman and I should ask him to have a look inside the dome after the game.

Back on the pitch, Forest Green were showing the depth of their squad as the 11 who came on all clearly had a lot of quality. They kept on creating chances and it wasn't long before Tubbs had poached a couple of goals. Supermarine had not rolled over however and scored themselves through Morris after he smashed in a long throw from close range. They kept on working and were unlucky not to get another before the final whistle.

Full time: Supermaine 1 Forest Green 5.

As I got ready to head back to the car my new friend introduced me to Keith the Vice Chariman who said he'd be happy to take me around the Swindome if I could wait 5 or 10 minutes. A minute later he was back saying the Chariman would be happy to show me inside the dome right away! Off I went with Jez the Chariman just minutes after the final whistle.

The Swindome definitely has a tardis quality to it. On going inside I was amazed by the space, it has 3 good size 5 a side pitches as well as a cafe bar area and a class room. Jez was rightly proud of the Swindome and spoke with passion about how it will become a valuable asset and focal point for the club and wider community. A youth academy is being set up, Glenn Hoddle is on his way for the grand opening and special shock absorbing underlay has been put down in an effort to protect joints and prolong the carers of the players.

Inside the Swindome: classroom and cafe area.

As we walked back from the dome, Jez chatted about the coming season and enquired of the grounds I'd

visited recently. I thought it spoke volumes of the friendliness of the club that the Chairman was happy to give a guided tour to a random bloke who showed a bit of interest when he could have been quaffing fair trade wine with Dale Vince. Jez's enthusiasm was infectious and I wouldn't be surprised if it rubs off on the rest of the club and Supermarine go on to have another successful season.

Having the chairman show me around was a nice end to a very enjoyable evening. I wish Supermarine all the best. The Evo-Stick Southern League Division One South & West has a lot of nice grounds and I look forward to cheering them on again soon, either back in the shadows of the Swindome or on their travels.

Mansfield v Bristol Rovers, Field Mill. October 17th 2015

Mansfield 1 Bristol Rovers 2

Since becoming a Dad two years ago, opportunities for away trips have been few and far between. Hence the giddy excitement when i woke up on my birthday to be given a pair of tickets from my wife to watch Rovers at Mansfield that afternoon!

An hour later, with the littlun at his grandparents, we were on the M5 heading north.

Happy Birthday

A nice service station coffee and the Warm up on Talksport insured the 3 hour journey went by in a flash. After checking in to our hotel, we went in search of food and drink and found the Brown Cow. A lovely pub. Not only was there a beer festival on with drops of fine ale a plenty, they were also selling stone fired pizzas out of a land rover in the car park.

Fed and watered it was on wards to the ground. Field Mill is situated on the edge of Mansfield, a sign as you enter proclaims that is the oldest ground in the football league. We took our seats in the north stand with plenty of time to familiarise ourselves with the surroundings. To our right was the imposing Ian Grieves stand. A two teared affair running the length of the pitch with offices half way up, an impressive stand at league 2 level.

The Ian Grieves Stand

The away end behind the goal that we were in, and the one opposite, looked pretty similar, single tierd all seaters with no supporting pillars, quite steep and offering good views of the pitch. Whilst these 3 stands have all been built in the last 15 years or so, the Bishop Street side to our left was clearly of a much earlier vintage. With the dug outs in front, it had a central seated stand, entirely boarded up with advertising hoardings with uncovered terracing either side. It is now not used and gives the ground a strange atmosphere. No doubt plans are afoot to replace it. I couldn't help thinking that a lick of paint and a few health and safety adjustments could see it reopened and add to the character of the place no end.

The closed for business Bishop Street Side

With 20 odd mins to go before kick off, I settled  back in my chair and flicked through the programme as the Rovers players warmed up in front of us. Recent history insured todays game had a bit of extra spice to it, the last time the teams met, on the last day of the 2013/14 season, a 1-0 Mansfield win at the Memorial Stadium saw Bristol Rovers relegated out of the football league for the first time in their history. Rovers only needed a draw to guarantee survival that day, to add insult to injury Mansfield forgot their kit and ended up winning the match whilst playing in Rovers away shirts.

Looking at the programme, it was good to see that the Stags had ex Rovers Loanee Reggie Lamb amongst their ranks, as well as ex premier league players, Nicky Hunt and Brian Jensen in goal. Ex Rovers keeper, Scott Shearer was also on the bench.

Whilst I was taking this all in suddenly there was a sharp intake of breath from those around me as well as a wooshing noise and something flashing by out the corner of my eye. By the time I looked up this was followed by a sickening noise of ball on face. The victim was on our row, three seats to my right, and as would later be revealed, an older bloke called Ron. It wasn't just the noise that signalled this was a nasty one, the flailing arms of Ron as he recoiled from the blow had everyone near by worried. Blood was soon flowing freely from his nose as people gathered round to help. One helpful young man shoved a phone in his face seemingly trying to film the whole unhappy incident. Suddenly Rovers Matty Taylor was in the stand amongst us, looking shaken, putting an arm round him and apologising for hitting the wayward shot over the bar.

Things calmed down, though Ron's nose wouldn't stop bleeding, just before kick off he was helped out the stand by a steward for some much needed treatment.

Would the match live up to the drama of the pre match warm up?

The early signs were promising. Rovers were quick out the blocks and soon took the lead after Jermain Easter smashed in a Daniel Leadbitter nod down. Mansfield looked pretty decent but Rovers were matching them and just before half time had a golden opportunity to double their lead. Easter raced on to a through ball and then from where we were sitting, admittedly the other end of the pitch, seemed to blatantly dive in search of a penalty. The Mansfield players were up in arms and seconds later, so were Rovers fans as Easter was shown a straight red for apparently raising his hands to a Mansfield defender. The half time whistle blew.

Things had started so brightly, but as I trudged off for a cup of tea, stepping over Ron's drying blood on the way, the prospect of holding on to this lead with ten men seemed unlikely.

As the second half got under way it was clear the two teams were well up for it, tackles were flying in and players were squaring up to each other at every opportunity. Even Ron was up for more as he made a welcome return to his seat with a comedy bandage patch on his nose .

On the hour mark, tension bolied over and this time Mansfield had a man sent off, following a 20 man brawl in which Tom Lockyer was flung to the ground. With 10 men a piece, Rovers began to look for a goal themselves and a few minutes later, all action hero Stuart Sinclair looked to be racing through on goal before he was felled by the already booked Nicky Hunt. Hunt saw red, and having been a man down, Rovers now found them selves a man up with a one goal lead and only 13 minutes left to play to secure victory.
Disaster stuck however when Mansfield equalised through a long and low drive from Tafozilli. The home fans and players went wild and it looked like the momentum had swing firmly back towards the home team.

With all the fights, injuries, sendings off and substitutions it wasn't a great surprise went the board went up with a mammoth 8 minutes of additional time. Rovers huffed and puffed, attacking the goal in front of all us away fans but it wasn't until deep in to the last of the 8 minutes when a chance came along.

Ollie Clarke picked up the ball in the centre circle and played a long diagonal ball toward the corner flag, Rovers right back James Clarke chased it hard and just managed to reach it before it went out safely for a goal kick. Meeting it on the volley, he brilliantly managed to hit a dipping cross in to the box and out of reach of Jensen in goal. Who was there to meet it but Roy's assailant himself, Matty Taylor to nod in neatly from a tight angle. Que scenes in the away end. Taylor celebrated by pointing towards his victim and tapping his nose 'That ones for you'.

Full time.

Hard to beat that feeling. When you've won away right at the death. We left Field Mill and headed back to the Brown Cow. I found the below photo on the Rovers twitter feed later that night, full marks to the club and Taylor for looking after Ron, and full marks for Ron for coming back for the second half!

Ron gets the last laugh