When I finally took the decision to make my divorce with Bristol Rovers absolute, so to speak, I decided to keep my Eclectic Blue handle. Why not, indeed, since I’ve been using it since 1999? I’ve not been to a Rovers game for a very long time and there is not the remotest prospect of me going to another, but I still retain a passing interest in my old club. And today, I even listened to some radio commentary of the trip to Southend United, as well as the subsequent phone-in on Radio Bristol. All I can say is that when it comes to Bristol Rovers, very little changes.
That the team lost to a team doomed to relegation and, from all accounts, deservedly, was no surprise. And neither was the post match criticism and, specifically, to whom it was generally directed. The manager.
Rovers have now won one of their last 18 games, form that, if they had not already accumulated a shed load of points under the previous manager, would spell certain relegation. That’s unlikely to be the case this season, because of the disappearance of Bury and the points deduction against Bolton. It’s not good, is it, but can the manager, Ben Garner, be wholly responsible?
I do not know the ins and outs of what is happening at BRFC but Garner did not appoint himself. From what I can tell, he was appointed by the CEO Martyn Starnes and fun-loving Jordanian playboy and occasional club president Wael al Qadi. I remember reading Starnes’ gushing welcome to the new boss. It was they what done it. But that’s not all they’ve done.
Under the al Qadi’s, the club is losing more money than ever in its history. In the early 2000s, the club struggled to stay alive with losses barely a third of what they are today and now it relies on its survival to the whims of owners living thousands of miles away, owners with no familial, geographical, historical or emotional connection with the club. For the first time I can remember, none of the board members or senior employees, with the exception of joke figure Ken Masters, are Gasheads. They have promised lots, they have delivered absolutely nothing.
The Memorial Stadium, which in my opinion should be renamed Memorial Ground, is still unfit for purpose. There is no new training ground. There is little talk of a new stadium. There is lots of gossip about new owners and new investment but Gasheads are treated like mushrooms, kept in the dark and fed shit. We hear Wael al Qadi is desperate to stay at the Rovers but moneyman brother Hani wants out. Is any of this true? No one says anything. And Rovers stagger on, year after year, from crisis to crisis, with no obvious plan for the future and whose fault is it? Of course. The manager.
My dead horse has long been flogged to excess so I can only repeat what I have been saying for the best part of two decades: if Gasheads want things to happen at BRFC, they need to get active and to challenge the powers-that-be. They should demand clarity, they should demand honesty and they should demand truth. No more hiding behind empty slogans like “We are committed to BRFC in the long term”. Tell people why and how and give supporters something to believe in. Demand better.
From the outside, based on no knowledge whatsoever, it could be that Ben Garner is a truly great coach, just like Steve McClaren was a truly great coach. Sadly, we know that whilst McClaren was a great coach, he’s a rubbish manager. Time, I guess, will prove whether Garner is a great manager as well as a great coach, although the signs don’t look good.
Sack Garner if you like, but then what? Support the new bloke and then blame him when things go tits up, as they always do at BRFC? Or look beyond the green, green grass of the Mem and look towards the Gods sitting in the executive boxes? In a decade, none of the suits and moneymen will be anywhere near BS7, but you might be. This, Gasheads, is your club, as it once was mine. You have more power than you can possibly imagine. But only if you use it. My honest advice is for you not to use it because if you lose the fight, as I did, it spoils everything. Bit of a dilemma, eh?
Garner out, and all that, but then what?
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