Actions ..

Over the course of the last few weeks i have been reading a lot of ” no- hopers ” on the forums talking about the lack of signings , the poor communications  and what a waste of time our Manager is etc etc. its a continuation of the negative feelings from last season. We had the season ticket issues and the £15 cards – but at last it went quiet and boy did we need that period of silence from the club and for things to settle down.

I havent commented on anything social media wise as i  was in hibernation mode on all things gas related but having risen from my slumbers – it is time to pick up my virtual pen and write.

From my own business background and attending many Board meetings  – you realise that there are always extremes  ranging from individuals who will over promise and say the right thing at the right time and tell people what they want to hear in the belief that it will make them happy  – to the other extreme and there are people who put their heads down and just get things done. In my view you want someone towards the middle but favouring action rather than words..

 It didnt concern me that we were quiet  and not shouting about signings like some clubs . We seemed to do  that last year and whilst the  final League position did not reflect it – I think that that was one of the poorer seasons – in terms of the overall morale/ spirit within the club – that i can remember.  We have had relegation and even relegation from the League thrust upon us but the fans were never as divided  as they have been recently. There needs to be a time of healing.

Now  the fixtures are out and signings are being announced without all the hype and controversy that surrounded us last year and it is evident that people have just gone on doing their job. Thank the Lord for the new season.

The article that i read in a Middlsbrough paper led me to believe that George Friend would be good at his job and whilst the jury is still out and players have to  prove themselves – the signings look promising and i think that there are more still to come and perhaps more money spent.

I wrote a bit earlier in the year about the owners and how the jury was still out and to be honest i still cannot really work them out – but that is probably going to remain the case as i do not know them and i rely of the media for my information. In the past i did have inside knowledge and things were often not as decribed publicly  but now i just read the press like most fans. The owners are consistently sending out the message that this is a long term project and everything points that way. Even the signings are investments  rather than short term wins .

I equate what we have gone through recently to the Paul Buckle era – when we employed a strong willed manager to sort out the playing problems, He did that but upset so many others in doing so and that time is remembered for all of the wrong reasons. 

This time it has been harder in that whilst we did not have the player power of past years – but player disillusionment which inevitably happens when a team with great spirit and togetherness go their seperate ways. The disruption went deeper than just the dressing room. 

Maybe the new owners went too hardball when they first came in but Matt Taylor handled it much differently from Buckle in that he was more diplomatic and just weathered the storm. The whole culture with the club needed changing in BRFC are now a different animal . There wil always be casualties and whilst people are always anti change – sometimes it has to happen to survive.  The fact that everything has been tackled quite quickly and Rovers did not get relegated in the process has to be seen as a positive.

It is  not all going to be plain sailing from hereon and the naysayers will have their opportunity to strike back but for now i am quite happy to think that Bristol Rovers FC are more action than words.

 All opinions are my own – CC