Bristol Rovers 2 Bradford City 1

Mark McGhee's winning start to life as manager of Rovers continued on Saturday with a deserved win against the Bantams and it was good to hear him pay credit to not only the players, but also the backroom staff.

Arguably Rovers upturn in form started once coach Shaun North had taken the reins following the departure of Paul Buckle and while North told me (following the win at Hereford) that he believed he had what it took to be a manager, I think he knew that the board were under pressure to employ a recognised face. Enter McGhee.

Over the years I've seen new managers bulldozer their way into a club and change the personnel (both on and off the pitch) immediately - often with disastrous results. And so credit should go to McGhee for spotting that the spirit in the camp was already improving and therefore opting not to rock the boat.

Of course, given the money the board has thrown away on previous appointments, it could be that McGhee was told he had no money to make changes anyway. But that's the cynical point of view and I'm prepared to give McGhee credit.

At this point in the season, Rovers aren't anywhere near where they expected to be in the table when they dropped down a flight last term and McGhee is understandably cautious about getting carried away.

He agreed with me that this season was really all about preparation for next season and I suspect that most sensible Gasheads will go along with that.

However, having chatted briefly to both Lee Brown and Eliot Richards after the game, I got the impression that the players are ready to give it their best shot and I have a sneaky feeling for them after watching them take on Villa, Hereford, Crawley and now Bradford in recent games.

The Gas also have 'previous' when it comes to putting together a promotion run. No-one on the blue side of the city will forget the late charge that took them to a Play Off Final victory against Shrewsbury back in 2007.

But as Richards told me: "We just have to take it one game at a time."

* Rovers today signed Northern Ireland U-21 midfielder Matthew Lund, 21, from Stoke City on a one month loan deal.

My clipping from the morning paper

Wycombe Wanderers 3 Rochdale 0

Just back from a business trip to Tel Aviv and so apologies for this late post concerning the Chairboys/Rochdale clash nine days ago!

At the final whistle I was really encouraged by the way Wycombe went about their business and so was Gary Waddock by the smile on his face. On my previous visit to Adams Park Waddock should have been on suicide watch given his demeanour after the 6-1 thrashing by Jordan Rhodes and his Huddersfield mates, but the Bucks boys showed they weren't going to leave League One without a scrap when they d9ominated Rochdale.

Sadly, following the 5-2 reverse at Brentford on Saturday they reached rock bottom and now prop up the division. However, it is still very tight down there and a little run could still see them move up the table.

The target for the club still remains the same as it did back in August - fifth from bottom and survival - and there's no reason, in my opinion, why they can't do it.

My clipping from the morning paper

Claude Davis and his Crawley Crew

Following the game on Saturday it was refreshing to spend some time with Claude Davis the Crawley Town central defender.

Jamaican international Davis, 32, has played for Preston, Derby, Sheffield United and Crystal Palace (costing £5.5 million in transfer fees) in his time and told me that he took a pay cut in order to sign for Crawley in the expectation that the club would gain promotion and he would get his money back - once they had achieved success.

Davis has played over sixty games for his country, but is also prepared to put his international ambitions on the back burner to play his part in Crawley’s League Two promotion push.

The 6’ 2” defender told me that while he would have to make himself available for any important games such as World Cup qualifiers, he would be putting Crawley first when it came to friendly fixtures. Good news for Red Devils fans if his solid performance on Saturday is anything to go by.

I also saw Davis play against Oxford in the first fixture of the year and remember how impressed some Us fans were with him ... even though little Alfie Potter up-ended him at one point in the game!

Top travel tip: While we were talking, Claude did his bit for the Jamaican Tourist Board and was recommending that anyone who visited the island spent time in Negril which he thought was wonderful!

A lot of attention is being paid to 17 goal striker Matt Tubbs this season and understandably so, but Crawley are a good all round outfit . In fact manager Steve Evans was keen to point out that they haven’t just thrown money at the project. He explained that they had sold one player for £200,000 and spent £150,000 and so suggested that some people in the game buy themselves new calculators if they thought the club were spending excessively.

Pablo Mills looks comfortable alongside Davis while midfielder David Hunt and substitute Scott Neilson also caught my eye on Saturday. And Tyronne Barnett - who looks handy and plays up front with Tubbs - can be a lethal finisher as Oxford found out when he blasted in a sublime equalising volley in the dying seconds of the game at the Kassam.

The race for the League Two promotion places is going to be very interesting this season, but I suspect that if Evans signs the two players he was suggesting he needed on Saturday, Crawley will be in that top three.

Bristol Rovers 0 Crawley Town 0

This relatively dull goalless draw was greeted with enthusiastic applause by the Memorial Ground faithful - and so it should have been.

Rovers fans have suffered this season. The initial expectation that they would bounce back into League One following last year's relegation has now been replaced by an acceptance that they now need to just secure their league status and start planning for 2012/13.

But much of that planning will be done by Chairman Nick Higgs who hasn't exactly covered himself with glory in the last 18 months or so.

Five managers or caretakers have come and gone (well the fifth will have gone when Shaun North is replaced this week by a permanent boss) and Higgs is the man who has made the appointments and issued the dismissals.

The most successful of the five was Stuart Campbell who ironically took Rovers down. But while relegation will be a scar on Campbell's CV, he did get the players fighting for the club and nearly pulled off the impossible by saving them.

Campbell was replaced by Paul Buckle whose employment was terminated two weeks ago and coach North has seemingly revitalised the players.

They were always going to be second best against Villa in the Cup, but did put in the effort. They turned over Hereford last Tuesday evening and helped knocked Crawley off the summit of League Two on Saturday. Not a bad little run, but North been in this fickle business long enough to know he's not going to be given a chance.

Equally veteran striker Scott McGleish isn't being considered despite letting it be known that - at 38 years next month - he is now preparing to move into management or coaching. I had a chat with Scott on Saturday and I think he was a little put out that he hadn't even got an interview. He didn't really expect to get the job, but was hoping to be given the experience of a job interview just so that he "could begin to understand the process involved". Personally, I think he has earned that opportunity given the honest effort and endeavour he has put into the game during his career.

Mind you, I suspect that most Gasheads would prefer to see him bouncing off the bench as he has done in the last three games and cause mayhem. He managed a goal against Villa (we won't mention the last second penalty miss!), grabbed the winner against Hereford and his enthusiasm for the cause never wavers no matter which club he turns out for - and he's had more than Tiger Woods!

Higgs has got to get the next appointment right. They have the players to get over the safety line, but, then again, they had the players to stay in League One.

Keith Curle and Richard Money were both at the game on Saturday and former player Curle would be a favourite with most fans. He's also making all the right noises in the media and Higgs knew exactly which private box he was sitting in when he was interviewed on Saturday before the game. I think the smart money isn't on Money or even Geraint Williams - who is also being mentioned as a contender. If I were a Rovers fan, I'd get down to the bookies and put a fiver on Curle getting the job, but I won't be reimbursing anyone if I've got it wrong!

(Noel Edmonds was also at the game apparently, although I suspect that even Mr. Higgs won't have asked Mr. Blobby to take over at the helm, although ...)

This week will be a big one for Rovers and could be the turning point in the club's fortunes. I certainly hope so.

My clipping from this morning's paper

Rovers Return

I will be going to the Memorial Ground tomorrow to watch Bristol Rovers for the third time in seven days having seen very little of them in the first half of the season.
By all accounts I haven't missed much either.
Even though the Gas lost in the FA Cup to Aston Villa last weekend (see the report below from Monday), I felt that they applied themselves in the right way and didn't look like a side lacking confidence or interest.
Villa had too much in their locker for Rovers, but I suspect that even die hard Gasheads expected their team to bow out of the competition. They will have been pleased with the application and attitude shown by the players though.
On Tuesday evening I was at Hereford to see Rovers take on the Bulls and, again, the players looked up for it.
It has to be said that Hereford were poor in the first half and so that helped the visitors, but whatever was said by manager Jamie Pitman at half time did the trick. In the second period Hereford showed that they too were up for the fight.
Unfortunately for the Bulls, they had Benoit Dalibard sent off. From my side of the pitch it looked like a very harsh decision. The French full back appeared to catch striker Elliot Richards in the face with a high boot without realising the youngster was anywhere near him. I would have chalked it up as an accident, awarded Rovers a free kick and got on with the game. Maybe the Rovers fans who were closer to the incident will disagree.
Rather than crumble though, Hereford - having equalised - rolled up their sleeves and actually went looking for the winner. A positive attitude that must have pleased Pitman.
But it was to be Rovers evening. Caretaker boss Shaun North threw on Scott McGleish, 37, to score his eighth goal of the season and seal the points.
North told me on Saturday that this game was always going to be more important to the club than the Villa tie and given their slide down the table, he was spot on.
He also told me afterwards that he wanted to be "the master of my own destiny" and break into management. If the results keep going for him, who knows he might just get his wish. Scott McGleish also told me last weekend that he fancied the job, but recognised that the club probably wanted someone with more experience.
Indeed they might, but is there any money left in the bank to pay front runners Richard Money, Sean O'Driscoll or Paul Ince?
The Rovers board have rid themselves of five managers (or caretakers) in just over one year. The only one who appeared to be getting it right and had the players on side - Stuart Campbell - was dispensed with and is now sunning himself in Florida having signed for Tampa Bay.
I wonder whether - if the results continue to go the right way - a dream ticket of North and McGleish might be the way ahead? Rumours are circulating around the Mem that whoever gets the job will only have a contract seeing them through until June anyway.

My piece from Wednesday's paper

And another item from the same day

Bristol Rovers 1 Aston Villa 3

On recent form, this FA Cup 3rd Round tie was never going to be in doubt ... and so it proved.

Premier League Villa may not be having the smoothest of rides this term, but they definitely had more class than Rovers and with Bulgaria international Stiliyan Petrov pulling the strings in midfield, they never looked bothered by their League Two opponents.

It was interesting to note that when Scott McGleish scored and missed his penalty right at the death, Petrov had already been subbed.

McGleish looked down in the dumps after his penalty miss, but the truth was that, even if it had gone in, there wasn’t enough time for Rovers to earn a draw and Villa would have played ‘keep ball’ for the remaining few seconds.

I had half expected Rovers to roll over given their recent form and the fact that manager Paul Buckle had been sacked only days before, but they worked hard and played with a fair amount of pride. If they can take this attitude into the game at Hereford on Tuesday evening, it could prove to be the turning point in their season. As McGleish told me afterwards: “We just need a lucky 1-0 win to get the ball rolling."

McGleish has his ‘B’ licence and also told me he was interested in the managerial vacancy. He said:

“I’ve told my agent that I’m interested if the club are looking for applications, but I think they want someone with more experience.”

Well, as I’ve said on here before, the board at the Mem don’t always get it right when it comes to going for ‘experience’. In my view they missed a trick by not giving Stuart Campbell the job in the summer after he nearly rescued the club from relegation despite being given the thankless task when Rovers already looked doomed.

Campbell is now plying his trade in the Florida sunshine for Tampa Bay Rowdies while the gloomy, dark winter is set to go on for some time in the blue half of Bristol.

My piece from this morning’s paper

Wycombe Wanderers 0 Huddersfield Town 6

Wycombe boss Gary Waddock looked as crestfallen as I have ever seen him after this game and as Gareth Ainsworth pointed out to me as I was leaving: “He’s a decent man and he didn’t deserve that.”

Ainsworth also pointed out that the players needed to take a long hard look at themselves as the responsibility for this defeat was all theirs – and I agree.

I’m not taking anything away from Huddersfield as I don’t think many sides in League One could have coped with them on Friday night. They were on fire and – in Jordan Rhodes – they have the best striker I’ve seen in the bottom three divisions this season. Wingers Danny Ward and Gary Roberts in were outstanding and helped write the headlines for Rhodes.

A special mention should also go to defender Jack Hunt and Oscar Gobern (who scored the opener) and Lee Novak. Novak was Rhodes strike partner and worked his socks off unselfishly so that Rhodes could take the glory.

But as Wycombe are one of the teams I spend time writing about, my focus lies with them. How many Novak’s did they have in their team on Friday? The answer sadly is none.

I said before the game that the main focus for the club from Day One was to stay in the division. Ainsworth agreed.

The advantage they had was the fact that they knew this was going to be the case from the outset. While other relegation strugglers, come early April, may be shocked to find themselves in a scrap against the drop and might not be able to cope (remember Swindon and Bristol Rovers last season), Wycombe had all summer to prepare to roll up their sleeves and fight for their lives.

On Friday night there was very little fight to be seen and after the second goal went in, it really was a case of just basking in Rhodes’s reflected glory and being able to say “I was there the night ....”. While it’s okay for the people in the stands to take that attitude, the Wycombe players should have done more to ruin the young marksman’s night.

With luck, the Chairboys will take this as the massive slap in the face it was and hopefully Waddock, his coaches and senior players like Ainsworth will get their message across on the training ground.

Waddock has proved his credentials as a coach and Ainsworth as a player – it’s time for the rest of the Wycombe lads to step up and show that they can make it in League One or higher ... or accept that they are really only League Two quality at best.

My clipping from the paper

Kick it out! Football really does have a role to play.

Stories of alleged (and actual) racist language used by footballers have been headline news in the UK for a number of weeks now and it has been interesting (and sad) to hear some Public Bar apologists for these cases claiming it was merely language used in ‘the heat of the moment’ and so, in turn, was understandable on the field of play.

I strongly disagree.

While I don’t necessarily believe that the perpetrators are out-and-out racist bigots (and would prefer to question their intellectual capacity), I do believe that using this type of abuse is the thin end of a very sinister wedge. For this reason it cannot be seen to be condoned.

If kids see high profile public figures doing this – and getting away with it – and consequently are brought up believing that they too can target others with vitriol, merely because of the colour of their skin, then some of them may not grow up knowing where the line is when it comes to decent human behaviour.

Two men who were either never told where that line was - or told not to cross - it were convicted yesterday for the senseless murder of teenager Stephen Lawrence over eighteen years ago - for no other reason than the colour of his skin differed from theirs.

Coincidentally the subsequent news reports cited both of these thugs as having met at, or played for, local football teams as fourteen year olds. I say 'coincidentally' becasue I'm not in any way suggesting that this was the breeding ground for their sick views, but it was certainly an area of their life where an oppotunity existed to drum in to them acceptable behaviour - something that obviously wasn't being done in their home lives.

And while you cannot possibly directly compare footballers lashing out verbally in a highly charged atmosphere of a Premier League stadium with the taking of a young boy’s life, I believe that the death of Stephen Lawrence was the thick end of that very same sinister wedge.

When our kids play football or watch their heroes on television, they need to learn more than just how to kick a ball and tackle - they need to learn discipline and what is right, what is wrong and what is acceptable.

Tell a youngster off during a game for using abusive language in front of twenty-one of his peers and all twenty-two kids get the message. Rap a multi-millionaire player over the knuckles publicly for using racist language and tens of thousands of kids get it. It might mean that someone playing for 'our' club receives a ban and/or a fine, but frankly that it a small price to pay when you consider the wider - and far more important - picture.

We’ll never eradicate racism overnight, but we can continue to chip away at the number of bigots if we show we’re not prepared to tolerate it at any level of football or in any area of society.

Maybe if we do that we’ll get to a point whereby we never see another victim like Stephen Lawrence.

Three counties in four days

It's been a hectic few days for me and seen my crappy old banger edge a few miles closer to the scrap yard!

On Friday evening I was back at Cheltenham to watch the Robins beat Rotherham to end the first half of the season on a high. While the Shrewsbury draw (see below) was a good point, this was a better performance.

Marlon Pack stood out and is definitely growing into a very accomplished performer at this level, but special praise should go to Luke Summerfield and Russell Penn who work their wotsits off to give Marlon the space to strut his stuff.

It will be interesting to see what sort of business manager Mark Yates can do in the transfer window. I don't think he'll have too much to spend on permanent deals, but the way that Cheltenham are playing must appeal to a few managers of top level clubs who want their talented youngsters to be blooded in the right way.

Another good win yesterday saw Cheltenham consolidate their position just behind League Two leaders Crawley (see below) and so they can now travel to Spurs for their FA Cup 3rd round tie this weekend and just enjoy the occasion.

My clipping from this game

On Saturday I stepped up a division and went to see Wycombe take on Stevenage.

Unfortunately for the Chairboys the result didn't go their way as both Boro wingers combined to give the visitors a late win. Luke Freeman's cross found the hard-working Lawrie Wilson lurking about eight yards out in the 82nd minute and he knocked the ball in gratefully.

The result was harsh on Wycombe as they deserved a point and even Wilson was honest enough to admit that fact. But, as he also pointed out, the league contenders will get away with results like this even when they aren't at their best.

My clipping from Monday's paper

Finally, I was at the Kassam for the first time in what seemed like ages as they took on Crawley yesterday.

Chris Wilder was understandably disappointed not to have walked away with all three points, but in my honest opinion, Crawley deserved something from the game.

Striker John Akinde missed several chances during the game and Sergio Torres saw a spectacular overhead kick from the edge of the box well saved by Ryan Clarke. The fact that Torres was fortunate to still be on the pitch as he should have been shown a second booking earlier in the game is by the by.

Tyrone Barnett's 90th minute volley was a sweet finish though and one that footballers of all levels dream about. So, while it may have ruined Chris Wilder's day, it was a fitting way to finish the game.

Special mention to Jon-Paul Pittman. The sub hasn't had the easiest of starts to his Oxford career (and was even loaned out to Crawley for four games), but he showed he knew who was paying his wages when he charged down Scott Shearer as the keeper dithered over a clearance. Once the ball had bounced into his path, J-P had no problem knocking in his first Us goal.

My clipping from this morning's paper