My way or the highway

For someone who has fallen out with his – my – football club, I have been writing rather a lot about Bristol Rovers lately. It has invited the odd ‘If you don’t care, why don’t you just shut up comment?’ but like I always say, if you don’t like something, then don’t read it.

Bristol Rovers chairman and owner, Nick Higgs, takes that old adage to a new level. If you write to him about something, he ignores you. Well, I say ‘something’ but perhaps I should change that bit to ‘If you write to him about something about which he disagrees, he ignores you.’ I wrote to him several times last year about a banning order that he imposed on a former director of the club. I was told by those of a more cynical disposition that Mr Higgs would probably only reply if you were to tell him how great he was. How right they were.

I also wrote to another director, the laughably named ‘fans director’ Brian Seymour Smith to see if he could help but he said, ‘It’s a matter for Nick.’ Finally, I wrote to yet another director, Chris Jelf, on two occasions. I am still waiting for a reply but I suspect hell will freeze over before he gets back to me.

Contrast this with the actions of a Bristol Rovers legend, Denis Dunford. I wrote to Mr Dunford numerous times when he was chairman of the club and he always replied, without exception. On one occasion, when the club was playing at Twerton Park, I wrote to him about a private and very delicate matter, in the strictest of confidence, regarding a third party. Not only did Mr Dunford respect the confidence, as I knew he would, but he also dealt firmly and swiftly with the issue. Mr Dunford was nobody’s fool – he was a self-made man, after all – and he could, as we say nowadays, cut through the crap.

I always felt that Bristol Rovers could have been a far better club if all the supporters were united and committed to the same cause, but Mr Higgs is a firm believer in my way or the highway. Those who know him say he is an autocrat of the highest order and listens to no one. If you cross him, he doesn’t forget and whilst his radio and TV interviews make him appear an incoherent, inarticulate bumbler, his success in business, prior to taking over at Bristol Rovers, suggests otherwise.

The good news is that the appointment of Darrell Clarke, after John Ward decided he didn’t fancy a Rovers relegation to the Conference on his CV, has been an excellent one. After a long succession of blunders, Mr Higgs has finally got one right. The law of averages suggests he had to get one right eventually. Just because Rovers are by far the best resourced club in the Conference doesn’t mean they have the right to return to the football league at the first attempt – they were one of the best resourced clubs in League 2 last year, after all – because it needed someone at the helm who understood the division. That man is Darrell Clarke and now he promises to play Mr Higgs’ ‘Get out of jail free’ card at just the right time in order to spare Rovers a financial disaster if they fail to go up this season.

I honestly believe that if Bristol City’s owner had led them into the Conference, he would have been run out of town, but Gasheads are made of more forgiving stuff. Perhaps they have learned from Paul Buckle’s protestations that they shouldn’t expect instant success? I have been waiting for instant sucesss since 1972.

What Rovers have is confidence and momentum, backed by a phenomenally loyal fan base. If they maintain current form, and I firmly believe they will, I cannot see Barnet, who are wobbling, keeping up with them. The only danger is for a team to get on a roll, like Rovers did themselves in 2007, and creep in the play offs right at the death to face a Rovers who have been unexpectedly pipped at the post.

I don’t think Mr Higgs deserves any praise at all if Rovers gain promotion. He has been the architect of Rovers fall into the Conference, he has been economical with the truth about the banning order of a former director and now he seems to have overlooked a former director who should have been made Vice President. Oh, and he has run up record losses and debts, failed to redevelop one stadium and build another.

If and when the Rovers go up, it’s the supporters who will deserve the praise, along with the manager who has built a team that actually seems to care. They deserve the new stadium the chairman has promised. Let’s hope he delivers. After all, there’s a first time for everything.