Bristol Rovers – clarification

WEDNESDAY’S Western Daily Press carried a comment piece in which I drew comparisons between the late stoppage at Bristol Rovers last Saturday and the late kick-off between Coventry and Bristol City in 1977.

In both cases, there was a happy ending for the Bristol clubs – Rovers promoted in remarkable circumstances, City retaining their top-flight status.

The point of my article was that one game being out of kilter with another on the final day of the season changes the perspective for the teams in question. The final-day games all kick-off at the same time for a reason.

But, to be clear, I am not trying to do Bristol Rovers down in any way. To win any game of football 7-0 is remarkable, more so in the professional game, and especially with such high stakes.

Rovers’ promotion last week, in terms of what it means to fans of the club, essentially ranks alongside Manchester United scoring two in the last minute to defeat Bayern Munich in the 1999 Champions League final, Manchester City doing likewise to beat QPR 3-2 to claim the Premier League title in 2012, or Arsenal winning 2-0 at Liverpool on the final day of the season to take the old Division One title in 1989.

In no way was the pitch invasion at Rovers on Saturday organised – and I certainly did not suggest anything of the sort – but my own view is that everything would have been better if it had not happened until full-time.

But I’m not an idiot. I know full well that Rovers fans will recall Saturday, May 7, 2022 as possibly the greatest day in the history of Association Football, and rightly so. Those who aren’t Rovers fans can think what they like – but that shouldn’t matter to Gasheads.