Land of Confusion

Bristol Rovers (A) - EFL League 2 - 13th September 2025

There's nothing like the first moments of an away day. Up early, but on your own terms. Travelling near and far because you want to. Following a cause with like-minded people from all ages and walks of life. In short, the story of a journey. As with most, this one started in the dark before dawn, with James Ramsden to wave us off to Bristol Rovers. Many had been before; for a great FA Cup day-out, in riotous convoy and a smaller number had made a frustrating night game where Niall Canavan received an undeserved red card. But there was a good smattering of younger fans for whom it was their first foray to the Memorial Stadium which has a traditional but slightly ramshackle feel.

Expectations mixed... but with spirits high we belted down the motorway to a wide array of music. Through a tranche of festival indie, via the Anti-Nowhere League we arrived at what I think may be 'hardcore'. As well as amusing the youngsters you could see the thirty-something muscle memory twitching to Blackout Crew. We were loudly encouraged to 'put a banging donk on it', however I was less sure at some of the exhortations of MC Pat Flynn. Good grief.

Anyway, conversation rolled along pleasantly with this cheery cacophony in the background; subjects covered: Japanese horse racing, adoption, peyote, astral travelling, playground games, British psychedelia and Barrow AFC anniversaries. An early arrival in bohemian Bristol and settled in a town-centre beer garden, we fell to discussing the season so far and the welcome return of Rob Kelly. Having established that he isn't some Trojan horse for managerial change we hoped he might clear some of the existential fog that seems to be wafting around Andy Whing just now. The one thing we did agree on is we were up for a dose of 'controlling the controllables' and dog walks. As often happens with Barrow away games, reality bit as hard as an irate canine. To be fair, there's not much you could do with Josh McEachran's looping fluke… but we had looked confused beforehand. Then from farcical to frankly criminal we failed with three clear attempts to defend our box until Cavegn almost apologetically thumped it in.

Another regular happening is that now the pessimists had the upper hand, and it was hard to argue. We were abject, reliving the disjointedness of Harrogate and the coup de grâce was Niall Canavan going off. Half-time I tried to work out if Bristol Rovers were any good. We had effectively handed them the game thus far and a reply looked as likely as me downloading 'Get on Your Knees' on Spotify. MC Pat, we were already there. Subs: Booty for Smith; Fletcher for Cameron. Good, I'm not having 'game of two halves' which appeared to be the post-match view.

We had another 10-15 minutes of mediocrity before we really started to get on terms. Then came the surge, as we started to pull Bristol Rovers around with pace and passing. Eliot Newby, often the scapegoat was having a good game now and his cross was headed home by Connor Mahoney. The away support stirred as we charged forward towards an unsettled Rovers. I really do think there's a player in Isaac Fletcher, a good mix of skill and muscle. Booty was directing traffic, Mahoney finding pockets. Jackson drove wide. Wyll Stanway got up well to turn away a free kick. And injustice, Fletcher wriggled through and was upended. However, the ref had been at the Kool-Aid and was the only person in the stadium to think he had dived. No penalty. At the end I think the bulk of the support felt fed up but confused. What are we?

Injuries have decimated us and we do need calm heads, but many are voicing concerns regarding recruitment again. Six defeats in eight and the two wins were a last-gasp winner and a bit of a resolute away heist. No problem with that but we can't seem to string ninety minutes together. My opinion for what it's worth; we are too early for the 'sleepwalking to relegation' comments and the 'poorest side since we came up' I disagree with wholeheartedly. But we don't know our best team and the players don't understand the formation, I certainly don't. The manager, honest, admirable and committed, appears to be having something of an identity crisis and this is reflected on the pitch. We need luck and a lift for everyone's sake. If we lose at home to Crewe and away to Crawley then I suspect the support's pressure valve will burst on ninety at the Broadfield Stadium. Too many people, too many problems.

And not much love to go round.

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