Good Luck Lads !

[Sargent Pepper]

I'm going to be leaving for work soon, then going straight to the rugby ground so i'm going to take this oppurtunity to say good luck boys and give them a damn good hiding !!!

I know we shouldn't need any luck, but i've just got a funny feeling being that we haven't played them for years and we won't be playing them for a long long time (unless we draw them in the first round of a cup, lets face it there never in the draw for a second round!) maybe this is there best chance to beat us, and we do have a habit of losing to some crap pre season opposition.

I know alot of you don't agree, but i'm pleased Tins has come out and said we're taking this seriously. It was a stupid idea to orginise this game but now its on we need to treat it as a big game. Come 7:45 tonight i will have forgotten all about pre season and i hope the players will have to. The only players in our side that have bristol derby experience are Phillips, Carey, Murray and Stewart (but we don't talk about that!) and they've got probably less. so they're not going to know what to expect. I worry about starting Bridges simply because he hasn't played any pre season games yet and its going to be a hard game to just walk into. So my team would be:

Phillips

J.Smith Heywood Carey Golbourne

Cottrell Brown Wilkshire G.Smith

Brooker Stewart

Although i would'nt be suprised if Stewarts groin injury was perhaps a little smoke screen to maybe make it easier for him to be left out so not to add anymore fuel to a already smoldering fire. So in that case i would start with Gillespie who must be feeling a little deflated again seeing another big signing push him back down the line. But i think Gillespie is the only forward we have with pace so i think he will get more of a look in this year.

People are rightly worried about getting injurys but we could get injurys in any friendly and if players adopt that mentality there more likely to get hurt in the tackle. I know people would say promotion is more important than this game but this close season has had so many ups and downs(the new signings then losing leroy and then the stand fiasco etc) what a good boost it would be to beat the Rovers and how bad would the mood be should we lose....

Lets get stuck in and fight then that should enable us to play our football which they will have no answer to.

Altogether now......COME ON YOU REDS !