In Wael we trust?

My great friend and former Bristol Rovers matchday announcer (and so much more, by the way) Nick Day today said this:

‘The actions of Wael Al-Qadi yesterday show incredible intent, the like of which we’ve never seen before at Bristol Rovers FC.Much deserved recognition too for Tom Gorringe. Time now to move forward – all of us – together.’ This was after Wael Al-Qadi confirmed he had taken full control of the football club and, remarkably, made it debt free. I could not agree more.

For as long as I can remember, there has always been something or someone to divide Gasheads. We might have argued about the direction of the club, we might have quarrelled about the motives of those who owned it. The Al-Qadi era has been overshadowed by rumours and speculation. Did the family really want anything to do with Bristol Rovers? Why would anyone, least of all from a family of Jordanian bankers, want to invest in a third tier football club with a rocky past and an uncertain future? They were trying to sell it, right? There were various consortia out there. It was all going to happen next week. But next week never came.

I had my disagreements with the late Geoff Dunford when he ran the club and more so with his hapless successor Nick Higgs. At first I believed in the Al-Qadis, then I didn’t and now I do again. Well, Wael anyway. What choice do I have but to believe?

Nick Day is right when he says it’s time to move forward – all of us – together. The arguments, the distrust, the disillusionment ran deep. Some, like me, stopped going, lost our passion for the football club. Towards the end of last season, before it was curtailed by COVID-19, I was thinking about going to see the odd game again, not just for old time’s sake, but because, to my great surprise, I still cared.

I do see Wael’s statement of intent as more than just populism. Whilst there is short term popularity to be gained by his show of intent – and frankly, who can begrudge him that? – it would make no sense if he ploughed in all that money before walking off into the sunset having achieved next to nothing. I have to believe that he truly means business.

I might even go back to a game or two whenever fans are allowed back in. I miss my friends, I miss the pre match pint, I miss the post match pint, I miss the banter, I miss the fortnightly habit. Sometimes, I even miss the football. Above everything, I really miss writing for the award winning matchday programme, The Pirate. When it comes to Bristol Rovers, like the ageing James Bond in Sean Connery’s final outing, never say never again.

For all that, there can be no going back to how things used to be. The Supporters Club, a relic from a bygone era before the internet and mobile phones, should be disbanded, as should the privileged institutions for middle aged businessmen like the President’s Club. They represent, too, an era of portacabins and temporary stands; Ragbag Rovers, as some called it affectionately. I hated Ragbag Rovers. I always wanted better and I wanted more.

If I have any unease, perhaps it is the absence of any Gasheads on the senior payroll or on the board of directors, not that their presence was always beneficial to the well-being of the club. But we are, as they say, where we are. In Wael we (have to) trust.

I do see this as both the end of an era and the beginning of another. Until now, I struggled to see that much difference between the Al-Qadi era and those that came before. I see the difference now and somehow it feels like a liberation from the past, the final removal of the shackles that were holding us back. I may or may not be there to see the prospect of those sunny uplands. Either way, the past has passed for good. And it’s time to move forward. At last.