Rovers are just four points above the drop zone, they are the same number adrift of Cheltenham Town in 13th and should have enough about them to secure safety, but will want to get this decided as soon as possible. Their Easter holiday fixtures see them travel to Portsmouth on Good Friday, when Fratton Park will be packed to the rafters and then host leaders Rochdale, so three points today will be hugely valuable and far "easier" to claim. United are adrift at the foot of the table, ten points from safety ( 11 with goal difference), with just 15 to play for and they could actually be relegated today, although it is unlikely to be ratified until next week. However, whilst there is life, there is hope and they will have to look for the three points which will give them a lifeline.
At the toe end of the country, far away from the bright lights of the big city and operating on a tiny budget, it is hard to attract young footballers to Torquay and the perennial strugglers have looked Conference bound for some time.
I have plenty of time for United boss Chris Hargreaves as a man (jury is still out on him as a coach ), from his time at Brentford and hopefully things will eventually work out for him. We last discussed both him and the team in January, shortly after he had taken charge, ahead of a postponed game with Burton Albion:
"Torquay gave former Brentford and Oxford player Chris Hargreaves a win on his coaching debut at Wimbledon, but they were unable to build on that last week with their match postponed and that has stopped the momentum in it's tracks, they have managed a clean sheet in consecutive games just once in 75 starts and another seems unlikely and I favour the home win today. They conceded very early and that was how it remained, 1-0 to Oxford, but the Gulls came into the game more the longer it went, their team spirit was good and they were denied a point by the woodwork late on.
Hargreaves said this morning: "There is huge determination to get straight back on the winning trail and we will need to be up for the fight on a stodgy Plainmoor pitch.‘’Tonight is all about getting back on track,we started really well at Wimbledon and Saturday at Oxford wasn’t a bad performance.‘’We’re disappointed because it was a game where we should have got a point. We now must play on the front-foot tonight and I’m really looking forward to the game, and showing the crowd what we can do.‘’It’s a really proud night for me and great to be leading a team out here at Plainmoor. I did it as a player for the club and it’s great to do it as the manager.‘’I hope this is the start of a good chapter for the football club. It’s not going to be an overnight job but I’m trying to put in place the principles that I want. We’re looking to do the right things to survive in this league.‘’We were very disappointed the Northampton game didn’t go ahead and we know both teams will have to deal with a difficult pitch tonight. It’s a shame it will be like it is, but we just want to play the game.’’
We touched upon their defensive failings there and they have conceded in their last 12 since, add to the equation that they have failed to score in 6 from 8 starts and you can appreciate why they are struggling ! They cannot keep a clean sheet, finding it hard to score, but will forced to push forward, look for the win, take chances and will leave themselves exposed.
Rovers are a big club at this level, with a supporter base which many League 1 teams would envy, there are many reasons why they have been toiling, but they probably need the new stadium to be given the go ahead before really progressing, but they do have Championship potential.
The last time we spoke about Rovers,
a team I know quite well, with a close friend and all his family season ticket holders, in depth, was actually in the reverse fixture on Boxing Day:
"Big game for both teams who sit three and two points respectively above the drop zone. Rovers are far too big a club to be competing at this end of League 2, they were terribly hard hit by injuries early season and I do expect their now customary second half climb up the table to start soon and there are signs that perhaps it has begun. Rovers last three seasons at this level have seen them collect an average of 14 points more over the second half of the campaign, with a split of 31/41, 23/34 and last year 19/41 . They are unbeaten in three, which included four points off highflyers Oxford United and Chesterfield in the league and a 3-3 draw with York City in the FA Cup . This is a very young group of players and with youngsters confidence is key, once lost it is very hard to get back, but when they have it, there is no knowing how far it can take them. Boss John Ward knows this and has spoken several times this week about how important a game this is and that they have to keep this new found momentum up. The get midfielder John-Joe O'Toole (15-4-1 .... scored winner at Oxford and in 2 of Rovers 3 wins this season) back from suspension and Ward is delighted he has been able to extend the loan of Birmingham City's Will Packwood, the young central defender already has a handful of Championship starts and has been very influential in his month at the club. They also got some much needed cover and experience upfront this month, with the signing of Chris Beardsley from Preston." They are a decent 3-3-2 in eight starts since and are definitely on the up. Their injury list is shortening week by week and key central defender Mark McChrystal was the latest to return, playing all 90 minutes in a 2-0 defeat of Portsmouth last weekend, he and the rest of the team came through that tired but OK and boss John Ward has no new problems to deal with and they travel West in very good heart. Defensively they look as solid as at anytime in the last six months and we should keep on the right side of them over the coming weeks. They tend to do well in these "West derby" fixtures posting good records here, where they are unbeaten in four ,scoring two or more in three and also at Cheltenham and Oxford, they are a terrifically well supported club at this level and large numbers will be making the trip to Plainmoor, they are a bit of a sleeping giant and fans have been very patient with the coach John Ward, whom they know has had terrible problems to deal with, but they are expecting a good holiday period and this is much easier than the trip to highflying Rochdale on Monday. If the Gas could get a result from these, they have 4 from 5 January starts at home and once again, that now traditional second half of the season push could be on.
They fell behind early there, dominated the rest of the game and were very unfortunate to only come away with a share of the points. Unfortunately, they never really got that big run going , boss John Ward has now been pushed upstairs and Darrell Clarke has taken charge of the squad, they have four points and two cleansheets in this three games in charge and should perhaps have taken something from the other, a 2-1 defeat at in form Bury. The new coach has had his first full week of training with the players and there can be no excuses today, I am not concerned about team news, but it favours the hosts anyway, United have to gamble and there should be space and chances for Rovers to exploit. Home win.
1.5 units Bristol Rovers 2.08 asian line/Ibramarket.
Good Luck.
