Swindon v Bristol Rovers. The County Ground. Tuesday 20th September, 2016

This was a rearranged fixture from August, the original having been called off due to a torrential down pour after an hour.
When Swindon announced that tickets for the August game would not be valid for the rearranged date, a lot of home and away fans were miffed. When Rovers fans who had been in the open away end, and consequently got soaked, were told that that end would be shut for tonight's game meaning they would have to buy the most expensive tickets in the ground at £25 a piece, they were even more miffed.

In the build up to the game, a large contingent of Rovers fans were planning a boycott. I was in two minds. Whilst I agreed that people who had paid for the original game were being treated poorly, due to family commitments I'm not able to get to away games on Saturdays.  This meant the prospect of a Tuesday night trip to Swindon is more attractive to me than most.

I bought the tickets a few days in advance but then doubted myself further when even Rovers manager Darrel Clarke, who had already had harsh words for Swindon's owners, came out and said if he was a Rovers fan he wouldn't go. When Clarke speaks, people listen at Rovers, successive promotions means he walks on water in many fans eyes. There is no doubt that he commands respect from players and supporters alike. This was evident at the last home game from my position just behind the dugouts: Rovers were 1-0 down v Walsall when towards the end of the first half, a bloke near me was moaning a bit. Much to his surprise Clarke turned round and barked: "Get behind them for f@#k sake!". Most managers would shy away from such exchanges. But fair play to him, it shows his passion and that he's got the players backs. At the end of the game, perhaps realising he'd gone a bit far, he sought the bloke out and they apologised to each other and exchanged warm words and an embrace. During the game though, his comment had the desired effect, all of us around the dug outs bucked our ideas up and an abundance of positivity flowed from the terrace. Even miss placed passes and missed tackles were met with "Hard luck"s and "keep going"s. What a man.

With the managers view on the boycott made clear, I ruminated some more but my own selfishness and the fact I'd already agreed to drive a mate meant I was going.

It had been 10 years since I was last at the County ground. Back then I'd watched the corresponding fixture, Rovers had taken an early lead through Richard Walker before Swindon, then managed by Dennis Wise came back to win 2-1. I like the County Ground, it's nestled far away enough from too many roundabouts at the edge of a big cricket ground complete with a picturesque pavilion.
The only West Country ground to have hosted permier league football (93/94), it's an all seater stadium, with two big single tiered stands on it's sides, with the much smaller 'Town end' behind one goal, where the vocal Swindon fans congregate. Opposite is the uncovered away end, an unremarkable terrace which had seats plonked in 20 years or go or so.

As we neared the ground, I tuned in to the local radio and heard the charming Swindon Chairman, Lee Power being quizzed on his decision on the ticket arrangements. When invited by the interviewer to consider if he regretted his decision in light of all the criticism, he repeatedly said he would do the same again "one million percent". He also had a pop at Darrel Clarke for getting involved and when it was put to him that Rovers fans were having to pay twice and buy the most expensive tickets, he patiently explained that he wasn't here to look after Bristol Rovers fans. In short, he sounded like a bloke who could start a fight in an empty pukka pie packet.

An empty looking away end concourse 20 mins before kick off

Eerie... is the word I'd use to describe the away end when we arrived 20 minutes or so before kick off. Even the gents was pretty much empty, I exchanged a few words with the one other guy in there, clearly we both felt a bit sheepish not having joined the boycott. As I went in to the stand I heard a few guys referring to each other as 'scabs'. I wonder if this was what the picket line crossing Nottinghamshire miners felt like in the 80's?

Closed for the night. Where Rovers fans got drenched last time out

2800 Rovers fans made the short trip up the M4 in August. Tonight there were about 350. All penned in the corner of the Arkells stand though, the atmosphere was still pretty good. Looking at the team sheets, Rovers made changes following three consecutive draws, bringing big Rorry Gaffney and Ollie Clarke in to the starting line up. I didn't recognise many names from the Swindon team sheet, though noticed that son of Chelsea and QPR legend Paul Furlong, Darnell, was lining up at right back.

Swindon were quick out the blocks with lots of possession and looked threatening going forward. It wasn't a big surprise when they took the lead through Lloyd Jones's header from a corner on 6 minutes.

Shocked by the early goal, Rovers seemed to wake up, Gaffney was holding the ball well upfront and it wasn't long before Lines hit the top of the cross bar from a free kick. Rovers had ten corners in the first half but Swindon defended them well and it remained 1-0 at the break.

A half time trip to the gents; it seemed that an angry Rovers fan had gone down the trusty protest route of filling the urinals and sinks with paper hand towels resulting in wet feet all round.

Play resumed and Rovers again probed for the equaliser, the best chance came when Ollie Clarke found himself in space just out side the area, he hit a hard low shot which beat the keeper but came back off the inside of the post. Gaffney was first to the rebound but could only find the side netting from a tight angle.

On the hour mark, Darrel Clarke made a treble substitution in an effort to keep knocking on the Swindon door. It was the home team themselves though that had a clear cut chance to double their lead, only for Rovers keeper, Roos, to make a great save from close range. With less than ten minutes to go it was still 1-0. On 84 minutes, Rovers won a penalty. The wily Jermain Easter on as sub had already had a decent shout for a handball in the box turned down. He now got himself in between the ball and a defender and went down on contact giving the ref little choice but to award the spot kick. Matty Taylor duly obliged for his 8th of the season teeing off scenes in the away end. Less than a minute later and the away fans were ecstatic. A Swindon defender hesitated on the ball and was dispossessed by the tireless Ollie Clarke, pressing mid way in the Swindon half. He played in Easter who's cross towards Harrison at the far post was turned in by the unfortunate Branco for an own goal.

Rovers saw out the final few minutes whilst the sparse 6000 crowd traipsed out of the stadium to the taunt from the minority of "2-1, and all you paid twice".

Hereford v Romulus. Edgar Street, Tuesday 6th September, 2016. FA Cup replay

I worked out it would take about an hour and twenty to get from home to Hereford. With the time it takes me to get in from work, say hello to the family and jump in the car, I thought this was just about doable. I'd been keen to visit Edgar Street for a while and their 1-1 draw in the FA Cup at Romulus had given me the opportunity to attend this mid week replay.

By all accounts the game at Romulus had been a feisty affair. Both teams went in to the game unbeaten in their respective leagues, the game finished 1-1, both had a player sent off and reportedly there was a bit of needle between players and fans. To add extra spice for the replay, the draw for the next round meant whoever won would visit Romulus landlords, Sutton Coldfield.

The drive to Hereford took me over the old Severn Bridge before directing me north. It was a lovely sunny evening and the route took me through the picturesque town of Cheptsow, past the dramatic Tintern abbey before the road meandered along the River Wye. Invigorated by the cultural scenery I arrived in good time and parked up near the ground.

The recent history of Hereford FC is a very interesting one. A phoenix club, they have only been in existence under their current name since 2015. The immediate period before that was a turbulent one to say the least. After their last high water mark of promotion to league one in 2008, Hereford United, as they had been known since 1924, saw a steep decline on an off the pitch. By the end of the 2013/14 season, things had began to unravel dramatically. Although ex player Peter Beadle had arrived as manager and helped his side avoid relegation from the Conference, the Club was in big trouble financially and it's owners were looking to off load. Their chosen successors purchased the club and it's debts for £2. What followed was a disastrous few months which culminated in the club being wound up in the Royal Courts of Justice in December 2014. In between there had been a series of false promises from the new owners, multiple failed Owners and Directors Tests (ODT's) and a host of exasperated and unpaid creditors including players and staff. The Hereford United Supporters Trust (HUST) was formed in 2013 and was so concerned about the new owners that they quickly applied to have Edgar Street registered as an Asset of community value (ACV), fearing that the new regime were manoeuvring to possibly sell the ground off. They subsequently went as far as boycotting the whole club including attending games.  Why they felt compelled to take such drastic action becomes evident when you read the excellent account of this period on the Bulls News website which can be found here: goo.gl/hsnBxA

2015/16  was Hereford FC's first full season. Back under the management of Peter Beadle they romped to promotion and got to the final of the FA Vase. Now they find themselves in the Southern League Division One South & West. They are strong favourites to go up again with their crowds -and presumably their resources- dwarfing those of most of the others in the league. Tonight's opponents, Romulus are in the Northern Premier Division One South, the same level as Hereford in the pyramid system.

I'd purposefully booked my ticket the night before as from what I'd seen and read about the ground online, I was adamant that I wanted to sit in the Len Weston Stand. When I arrived at the Edgar Street I quickly realised it was all I hoped it would be and more. First of all, to a man and woman, the programme seller, security guards and ticket booth lady all exuded helpfulness and friendliness. When the supporters own or at least part own the club, such positivity seems to come easily.

The Len Weston stand really is a beaut. Built in 1974, it oozes character. A narrow two tiered stand, it has terracing on the bottom with thick brutallist concrete pillars holding up the second tier which is all seated.

The Len Weston stand

The Len Weston stand

 The view from the top was fantastic, high up and so close to the pitch that you really did feel on top of the action. It reminded me a bit of the away end at Brentford, it has the same steep two teired set up with the seats above the terrace. As I took my seat along with a Balti pie, the tannoy man announced that kick off was going to be delayed by half an hour as Romulus were stuck in traffic. At least this gave me time to take in the surroundings. Opposite was the Merton stand, a smart looking single tiered all seater with the dug outs in front of it. Like many stands it incorporates the club offices and corporate boxes. Unusually however, instead of being at the back of the stand, the offices, complete with many windows were at pitch level with the first rows of seats effectively on their roofs. I imagine this has resulted in a fair few smashed windows. To the left was the Meadow End, a good size covered terrace that still curves too accommodate a running track that has long since gone. The Meadow End was quickly filling up and the father and son I was sat next to told me that this was where the more vocal Hereford fans congregated, and also the end where Ronnie Radford scored the famous 1972 goal that saw off top flight Newcastle. The terrace to the right was a fair size, but not in use tonight. The father and son to my left proved good companions for the game, both season ticket holders and founts of knowledge on the club they helped fill me in on all turmoil that Edgar Street had seen over the last few years.

           

                                Pie in foreground shot from my view in the front row of the upper tier of the Lew Weston Stand

The Meadow End

Kick off had finally arrived and the game quickly came to life. Hereford looked decent on the ball but it was the visitors who had the first chance, their number 9, Lima Hailey was put through on goal, raced clear of the last defender, only to shoot tamely and straight at the keeper who easily gathered. I got the feeling Romulus would rue missing what was a great chance. From then on the Bulls started to dominate. Ex Bristol Rovers and Wolves defender Ryan Green was a cool head at the back, the midfiled was moving the ball about nicely and upfront was last seasons top scorer John Mills, who was mysteriously left on the bench in the FA Vase final much to the confusion of the tens of thousands of Hereford fans who made the trip to Wembley. He was partnered by 'The Beast' Mike Symmons. As the nickname suggests, Symmons is a big presence who at first glance looks like he is carrying a pound or two. My new friends said that when he first arrived at the club they were thinking who the hell is this joker? But added that he sure can hold the ball up well. They were right, and in addition, his lay offs and glancing headers were brilliant and it wasn't long before his and Mills interaction were creating chances. The best opportunity fell to Mills when a flurry of quick passes saw him clean through, he decided on an early shot, hitting a fierce effort that smashed against the foot of a post and away to safety.
Romulus meanwhile were still looking capable of scoring themselves, their dimunitive number 7 had apparently made a few enemies amongst the Hereford fans in the original tie, getting drawn in and reacting to some comments from the crowd. He was boo'd from the off tonight and did little to suggest he wanted to avoid the role of pantomime villain, arguing with the ref, reacting to more comments from the crowd and then getting booked after half an hour for theatrically throwing the ball away. He could play though and most of Romulus's best moments involved him on the right wing.
Hereford had the best of the half but it looked like the teams were going to head to the dressing rooms all square. With a minute or two to go though, the dead lock was broken. Tristan Plummer was the scorer. I'd seen him feature last season for Weston Super Mare in a very entertaining mid winter 5-2 victory over Oxford City in the Conference South. After a bit of ping pong in the Romulus box, he picked the ball up on the edge of the area and hit a powerful shot past the keeper that cannoned in off the underside of the cross bar.

1-0 at half time. After a quick cup of tea from the refreshment stand (£1) I perused the programme (£2) some more. The highlight for me was their Ground guide for their next away game at Winchester. Most clubs programmes do these features but they are usually pretty bland affairs limited to directions, parking and ticket prices. This piece written by Simon Wright however highlighted the merits of an overnight visit, pointing out such local attractions as the science centre, named a few local pubs and most impressively named Winchester City's bar manager and revealed amongst other things that he sold Saxon Ale, a 3.8% pale ale at £3.50 a pint. Top effort Simon!


Time for the second half and Hereford were 2 up almost straight away. A long ball was played forward from the back, John Mills spun away from his defender, timing his run perfectly and raced through on goal. Having seen his effort come back off the post in the first half, he opted to take the ball in to the box, draw the keeper out and then coolly slotted it home with his left foot before celebrating with the delighted Meadow Enders.

The comedy moment of the match came shortly after. Big Mike Symmons received the ball with his back to goal on the edge of the area, he easily managed to out muscle the young centre back marking him and turned away with the ball looking to get a shot away, the young centre back lost his balance and on his way down to the floor stuck an arm out which appeared to pull one side of Symmons' shorts down. The Hereford target man continued to try and get the ball out of his feet but was now having to concentrate on pulling his shorts up as well. Meanwhile the Romulus defender was desperately trying to block his path, but was now on the floor so improvised by doing an impression of the worm dance in an effort to keep moving, head first in pursuit of the striker, somehow he pulled it off and another Romulus defender arrived to block Symmons shot and clear the danger.

The Meadow End, which Hereford were now attacking in the second half, was a delight to see and hear in full flow from my vantage point. A beautiful curved terrace, it was rocking tonight. Responding too, and adding to the excitement of the match. Bearing in mind tonight's attendance of 2,200 was quite low compared to Hereford's average so far this season, it must create some atmosphere when full.

Hereford attack the Meadow End in the second half.

Romulus made changes and looked to get back in to the game. They clearly had quality and you could see why they hadn't been beaten this season, if anything they perhaps lacked a striker to make the most of the chances they created, but in truth they were not quite as good all over the park against a Hereford side that are very strong at this level. Jamie Edge added a third for the hosts just before the end to ensure a safe passage through to the next round.

Full time: Hereford 3 Romulus 0.

Due to a series of road works and the late kick off I made it home just gone midnight. A thoroughly enjoyable night though at a lovely traditional stadium. After years of hurt there is definitely a buzz around Edgar Street at the moment and it was great to be welcomed in for the evening. With a couple of Southern League South & West teams on my door step I will try and catch Hereford on their travels before the end of the season if I can't manage to get back to Edgar Street any time soon.

Yeovil v Portsmouth. Huish Park. Tuesday 30th August, 2016. Checkatrade Trophy

The EFL Trophy. Sponsored by Checkatrade. What a mess.
This seasons shambolic rehash of what was known as the Johnston's Paint Trophy has pissed off a lot of fans.
What was more or less a straightforward knock out competition for teams in Leagues one and two, has spawned in to something much more toxic.

Huish Park

Group stages have replaced the early knock out stages and most controversially, some Premiership and championship clubs have entered the fray but have been invited to play their under 23/ reserve sides. Many supporters fear this is the thin end of the wedge in a sinister plan to meddle with this country's beautiful pyramid system, paving the way for introducing premier league development teams in to the lower leagues.

As a Rovers fan, I've got some fond memories of the trophy during it's Johnston's paint sponsorship. In 2006/7, we went all the way to the final, eventually loosing in extra time, 3-2 to Doncaster at the Millennium stadium in what was a fantastic day out. That year the competition had also delivered a two legged area final against Bristol City, we hadn't played them for 6 years, both legs were sell outs and Rovers won 1-0 on aggregate courtesy of a Rickie Lambert thunderbolt. Fond memories indeed.

Rovers first game tonight was against Reading under 23's. This was not an attractive proposition and I was well up for voting with my feet and joining the #Bteamboycott. I did want to take in a game though and had a look at the fixture list; both Brislington and Hallen were playing in the Western league but going to a game so close to home with Rovers playing at the mem seemed weird. Plus I was keen to get back on track with the long and winding road to doing the 92. I settled on a trip to watch Yeovil play Portsmouth. Only one problem though, this was also a EFL Trophy game. I justified going along as both were league two teams so I could still sort of maintain that I wasn't endorsing the new format.

I set off for Yeovil from Bristol at 6, due to a bit of rush hour traffic and getting stuck behind numerous lorries and tractors on the way, it took a lot longer than it should have. This did give me time to enjoy BBC radio Somerset on the way though and I learned another ridiculous fact about the new format for the competition: Apparently if the game finished as a draw, both teams would get a point but they would also have a penalty shoot out for the grand prize of an extra point in the group table. Usually when there is a penalty shoot out, there is a lot at steak. I wondered what it would be like to watch one where neither side would care that much, would the players still do that huddle thing in the centre circle? Would the goalie go on a wild sprint down the touch line if he saved the decisive penalty? The team news was that Pompey had made 11 changes to the starting eleven from their last league game. They clearly weren't that inspired by the new format either then.

I parked up just a couple of minutes before kick off ensuring this would be very much a smash and grab job. An in and out ground hop. No sampling of a local ale in a nice pub and doing a lap of the ground before going in. I trotted from my car toward Huish Park. First impressions were good, set on the edge of town, it was surrounded by a lot of tress and I walked through a nice training pitch to get to the ticket office. After paying £10 to get in I just had time to buy a pasty for the rather steep price of £4 from the snack bar.

Huish Park is made up of two terraces behind the goals, one covered, one open and two all seater stands along the sides. Just the two seated stands were open tonight. Built in 1990, Huish Park is a decent lower league ground, fairly modern, there are no supporting pillars in sight, the main stand which I was in was about 2/3 full and there was a decent atmosphere at times. Yeovil Town FC have had a roller coaster few years. A long established non league club, they won the conference in 2003 and entered the football league for the first time and have remained their ever since. It is in the last few years that things really got interesting, in 2013 they gained promotion to the championship via the play offs, masterminded by adopted West County cockney Gary Johnson. Despite some good early results, they were unable to avoid relegation back to league one, things got worse the next season as they got relegated again. The next season (last season) was a struggle and at times it looked like they were going to achieve an unenviable hat-trick of relegation's and find themselves back in non league. Then ex player Darren Way stepped forward, took over as manager mid season, steadied the ship and pulled them to safety. Now they look to build again.

Not having had time to buy a programme, I took in the team news via twitter. The front pair stuck out for Yeovil. Izale Mcleod had joined at the start of the season, a player who has scored plenty where ever he has been, and he's been a lot of places. Tom Eaves was also upfront for them, I knew I recognised the name but it took me a while to remember where from, he'd been on loan at Rovers from Bolton in the 2012/13 season. He must have been about 19 then and did very well. Rovers were a struggling league two team then, he was with us for about half a season and scored 7 goals in 15 games, I remember in particular a wonder strike away to Wimbledon in what was otherwise a miserable 3-1 defeat, in what was mainly a miserable season. A tall, powerful  and skillful goal scorer, the consensus at the time was that he was too good for us and would be making his mark in the Championship or higher before too long. The next season he went on loan to Shrewsbury, then in league one and did pretty well again. After that I couldn't remember hearing about where he was and who he was playing for. I was a bit surprised to see him at Yeovil, a struggling league two club. A quick check online showed me that since leaving Shrewsbury in 2013 he'd not had much luck finding the back of the net in various loan spells and had been released by Bolton. Football is a funny game. I always remember the case of 'The Geordie Gashead' aka Stuart Nicholson. He had a loan spell at Rovers in the 2006/7 season from West Brom. Aged 19 or 20, he was absolutely fantastic for us, tearing league two defences apart, scoring important goals and justifiably keeping Rickie Lambert on the bench. He went back to West Brom with what was thought to be short term injury. Great things were expected. It wasn't until a few years later that I suddenly realised I hadn't heard anything about him. A check on wikipedia showed that the following season he'd had another loan spell in league two, scoring 1 in 15, got released by West Brom the next year and has never played in the football league since, scratching around with a few conference north clubs and some Australian sides. Not to say he hasn't achieved great things in the game and is still probably making a living from it, but it just shows how unpredictable football can be especially if you chuck in an injury or two.

The game got off to a quick start with the home team making the early running. Pompey took the lead though, very much against the run of play when striker Matt Smith powerfully headed in a cross from the left with their first attack of the game. A fair few Pompey fans had made the journey up from the south coast. Even from the opposite side of the pitch, I could clearly make out the unmistakable figure of Mr Portsmouth, rallying his troops with his trusty bell. Yeovil, in an effort to quiet him down replied straight away, with the brilliantly named Bevis Mugabi scoring via a deflected free kick. From then on Yeovil took control, their midfielders were bossing the central areas and Eaves and Mcleod were combining well upfront. Before half time, Eaves had helped him self to two goals, one after a great run from the half way line. Mcleod also scored with a lovely chip after a nice one two. In between all this Michael Smith got another for Pompey after showing his strength with his back to goal and managing to turn his defender before in to the bottom corner. 4-2 at half time!

After a two pound cup of tea (most expensive of the season by far) I was ready for the second half. It wasn't as frenetic as the first, just the one goal was added to the total and that was when Smith completed his hat-trick with a looping header which seemed to wrong foot the young keeper.

Michael Smith nods in his third goal on the night.

Pompey pressed for the equaliser, but it wasn't to be and we were all spared the prospect of a socially awkward penalty shoot out. Full time 4-3. Some impressive forward play on show. Smith's hat-trick was well earned, Mcleod looked a class act as usual and Tom Eaves looked the complete package. I'm sure if he stays fit, he will be a great signing for Yeovil.

As predicted, many clubs recorded their lowest ever attendances for a 'competitive' match in these first round of fixtures in the newly formatted EFL Trophy. Lets hope this proves to be an ill fated, one season only experiment. I enjoyed my trip to Huish Park, though feel I should return and enjoy it with all 4 stands open.

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