Biggest game of the season

[Guest DanC]

And we ###### it up, Well in my eyes it was anyways, It may have been the JPT or mickey mouse cup but it was more than that, Much much more. It wasn't even about getting to the final at the Millennium stadium, To me this was the real final and the trip to the Millennium stadium would have just been a bonus.

We had been waiting five years for this, Half a bloody decade to remind them that they are still just the small club from down the road.

You would have thought the players would have been fired up for this in the same way they were for the Coventry and Boro games, This was time to make themselves local heroes, The pride of Bristol was up for grabs FFS.

On paper we should have had the tie wrapped out in this first leg, Team flying high in the league, A team that took Boro all the way, We should have walked it.

But no, There was none of that was there, Rovers wanted it much more than are players did and they worked hard and got there reward at the end of it. Much helped by having a sag head linesman, A game conveniently called off in between the two legs so there confidence would still be high from the first leg, But still were league one and flying high whilst they are League two and not having the best of seasons.

I really can't believe it, I see more passion in a Sunday league game than I did over them to games from our players. Players that you would have thought would know what derbies mean to fans' considering we have a lot of scoursers in our squad.

I find it hard to try and name one player who tried that bit extra, The closest I saw was in the 2nd half where I saw Noble trying to encourage the other players, Carey that's your job, Not his, You off all people should know what a game against the sags mean to us.

Over these two games I have certainly learned a lot about some of our players and I'm sure watching Gj's post match comments he also thinks the same and there will be some players who will need to start looking for a new club.

At the moment after a performance like that against or fieriest rivals I am truly ashamed to be a City fan, If we were going to lose at least make it be a defeat where after we can say well we tried our hardest and gave it are all. Unfortunately we can't even say that. Every player, The management team and all the backroom staff tonight need to take a long hard look in the mirror and ask themselves, Do I really want to be at this club?

Some fans' of this club also need to take a look at the support the gave the team from the stands. Over two legs the support a lot of fans gave was simply rubbish. Many tried but even more didn't. Ashton Gate should have been a cauldron of hate, But instead it was full of people happy to sit there and summarise on the game. How about doing that after the game and try supporting the team throughout the game, Your support is what can make a difference. They scored with 25 mins left to play, And for them 25 mins you could hear a pin drop in our end with the occasional song breaking out, We should have been encouraging the players even more at that moment in time, But just like the players we rolled over and died.

From players and fans' alike over two games it simply wasn't good enough.

[Spud55]

How in the hell was that our biggest game of the season ? Forest at home is massive compared to that, Yeovil at home is a bigger game, in fact every single one of our remaning league fixtures is bigger than that game, if Rovers had a solid chance of the Playoffs or auto from league 2 any sane fan of theirs would say exactly the same. This game means very little in the cold light of day, you could see the difference on the pitch as well. This game meant everything to Rovers as they have sod all else to play for, this game was their season, we frankly have many, many more important things to play for.

I don't get the fixation on Rovers anymore, they aren't in our league and frankly i couldn't care less what they are doing most of the time, as long as we are above them i wish them all the luck in the world, they like us have the potential to be much higher in the league pyramid, but are for whatever reason are severly underachieving. Frankly after the derby in i think it was the 1997/98 seasons when for a league game Rovers managed to bring only 1,400 odd fans to ag they frankly lost all credibility as fierce rivals for me at least, give me a game against Cardiff any day over a bristol Derby.

Well we lost to Rovers, it was going to happen at some point, we had nothing to gain and everything to lose from this game, we win and we have achieved nothing because frankly it's expected, loose and some people are determined that the world has come to an end, Rovers had nothing to lose unless they get absolutely stuffed they have nothing to be ashamed of.

Frankly i was more irritated when we lost to Cheltnham than i was after losing to Rovers, as that actually mattered, now we can just concentrate on the league, which is where sucess is important, id rather get beaten 15-0 by rovers but get out of this division, than beat them and have it affect our season, by getting the Forest game postponed and have it stuck in somewhere random near the end of the season.

[Pete1975Legend]

How in the hell was that our biggest game of the season ? Forest at home is massive compared to that, Yeovil at home is a bigger game, in fact every single one of our remaning league fixtures is bigger than that game, if Rovers had a solid chance of the Playoffs or auto from league 2 any sane fan of theirs would say exactly the same. This game means very little in the cold light of day, you could see the difference on the pitch as well. This game meant everything to Rovers as they have sod all else to play for, this game was their season, we frankly have many, many more important things to play for.

I don't get the fixation on Rovers anymore, they aren't in our league and frankly i couldn't care less what they are doing most of the time, as long as we are above them i wish them all the luck in the world, they like us have the potential to be much higher in the league pyramid, but are for whatever reason are severly underachieving. Frankly after the derby in i think it was the 1997/98 seasons when for a league game Rovers managed to bring only 1,400 odd fans to ag they frankly lost all credibility as fierce rivals for me at least, give me a game against Cardiff any day over a bristol Derby.

Well we lost to Rovers, it was going to happen at some point, we had nothing to gain and everything to lose from this game, we win and we have achieved nothing because frankly it's expected, loose and some people are determined that the world has come to an end, Rovers had nothing to lose unless they get absolutely stuffed they have nothing to be ashamed of.

Frankly i was more irritated when we lost to Cheltnham than i was after losing to Rovers, as that actually mattered, now we can just concentrate on the league, which is where sucess is important, id rather get beaten 15-0 by rovers but get out of this division, than beat them and have it affect our season, by getting the Forest game postponed and have it stuck in somewhere random near the end of the season.

Well done spud, at last some more forum members that want to get out of this league. As I have said in another post for Rovers this game was huge as its this that has made their season for us its probably been too much of a distraction. I thought we weren;t really going 100% and then when Jevo got substituted that just makes you think that Saturday is far more important than that game on Tuesday.

[BCFC Grim]

Northampton on saturday is easily a bigger game than both legs. Fair play to rovers, they won fair and square,but unfortunately the 'Bristol Derby' is knowhere near as intense as it used to be. I think this was reflected in the stands as the Gate, in the first leg. The atmosphere was poor to say the least.

i think i would have been a tad more pumped up to play Cardiff than Rovers. It felt flat against the Gas.

[Pill red]

I agree with Spud, Oete and Grim. The last time we played Swansea at Ashton Gate, there was one hell of an atmosphere. We won 3 1 if I remember rightly. I think the lack of passion for many at Ashton Gate was a reflection of what was happening on the pitch. Although I agree that the crowd should stand up and cheer regardless of how well the team are playing.

Although it hurt at the time, i'm over the gas game. Who gives a toss about that when we're 4th in our league, two points away from automatic promotion, with a game in hand?!! NOT ME!!

[robins72]

I agree with Spud, Oete and Grim. The last time we played Swansea at Ashton Gate, there was one hell of an atmosphere. We won 3 1 if I remember rightly. I think the lack of passion for many at Ashton Gate was a reflection of what was happening on the pitch. Although I agree that the crowd should stand up and cheer regardless of how well the team are playing.

Although it hurt at the time, i'm over the gas game. Who gives a toss about that when we're 4th in our league, two points away from automatic promotion, with a game in hand?!! NOT ME!!

It was 1-0 Louis Carey. We can create an atmosphere if we want to but I think the football dictates the crowd. We seem to make alot more noise once weve scored as was proved against Coventry and Boro in the cups this season.

[bh_red]

And we ###### it up, Well in my eyes it was anyways, It may have been the JPT or mickey mouse cup but it was more than that, Much much more. It wasn't even about getting to the final at the Millennium stadium, To me this was the real final and the trip to the Millennium stadium would have just been a bonus.

From players and fans' alike over two games it simply wasn't good enough.

should have, couldn't have, but didn't

NOT be biggest game of the season by any strecth, personally my main hope from the two games wasn't about winning or losing, it was more about players getting injured or further suspensions.

Unfortunatly that happened and we lost Murray and he hasn't played since and is still a doubt for saturday, one thing this TIE has proved is that alot of fans aren't bothered by Bristol Rovers anymore, most are more concerned about getting out of this league so we don't have to play in that bloody competition anymore.

It was always a tough tie decisions wise, because although you always want to beat the gas, if we had we would have had to play the final at the Mill Stad which in the long run is just another distraction from the league which is more important by a mile.

We lost to Rovers and are out.....but quite honestly........so what

the next four games over the next 12 days are far more of a concern to me than beating Rovers, if we can take 10-12 points from those we stand a EXCELLENT chance of Automatic Promotion, if we go up this season, no one will remember or care that we lost to the gas........it's only 37hrs after the event and I'm not bothered by it.

Roll on Saturday and 3 VITAL points

[old_man_terry]

we lost to the Gas, oh well never mind! personally it doesn't bother me, hope they enjoy the final.......it's another distraction we could do without, these cup runs have been a bloomin nightmare and had a bad effect on recent league performances,

Promotion is all that matters! Auto is in OUR GRASP and in OUR OWN HANDS and play-offs are almost secure.

losing to the gas doesn't have the same effect it used to

[RedTop]

it's another distraction we could do without

My thoughts exactly. I said it before the game and I still think the same. It would have been nice to beat the Gas but the policing upset me far more than the result, to be honest. I couldn't get myself that worked up about it. It's not as if we're in the same division and the match could be used to suggest one team is bigger or better than the other. The league mean's there no dispute. It was just a sideshow. A moneymaking one, maybe, but if a few distracted players dreaming of the final cost us a few crucial points in the league and, with it, an automatic promotion place, even that would be dwarfed by the financial loss of not making the Championship.

So thanks, Rovers. You've probably done us a favour. And....Up the Dons!

[Redtucks]

We had been waiting five years for this, Half a bloody decade to remind them that they are still just the small club from down the road.

But still were league one and flying high whilst they are League two and not having the best of seasons.

Doesn't your second quote answer your first point far better than a two legged tie in a second rate cup???

The fact that we are "league one and flying high whilst they are League two and not having the best of seasons" must surely remind them that "they are still just the small club from down the road".

If we achieve our main objective this season it will only prove to remind them even more.

[TinnionForEngland]

It was nowhere near the most important game and i'd much rather we found our way to the new Wembley for a game to reach the Championship or made our way into 2nd place and went automatic.

[cidercity1987]

Some fans' of this club also need to take a look at the support the gave the team from the stands. Over two legs the support a lot of fans gave was simply rubbish. Many tried but even more didn't. Ashton Gate should have been a cauldron of hate, But instead it was full of people happy to sit there and summarise on the game. How about doing that after the game and try supporting the team throughout the game, Your support is what can make a difference. They scored with 25 mins left to play, And for them 25 mins you could hear a pin drop in our end with the occasional song breaking out, We should have been encouraging the players even more at that moment in time, But just like the players we rolled over and died.

From players and fans' alike over two games it simply wasn't good enough.

Nice essay, but I think this part shows that it was far from our biggest game of the season. If it really was as huge as you make out then the fans would have been able to motivate themselves no problem.

It was a big game for both clubs, but far bigger for them because they're going nowhere. Whereas we've got bigger fish to fry.

[Vespa Red]

It depends on whether you watch football regularly, week in,week out and are sick of this division. I am personally and although the pain of losing to the Gas is still there, can see that the bigger picture is about getting out of this piss poor division.

Dan C, you may not appreciate this at the moment, but sometimes you have to lose a battle to win a war! And other such cliches.

[megansdad]

there are 13 more important games than this one before the season finishes- as I said on another post the gas are an irrelevance. Persisting in thinking they are anything else is thinking that is holding us back- Reading are the closest team we should judge ourselves against not Swindle or the mob from the Mem.............

[RobtheRed]

I think the Rovers game was actually the least important game we had left of the season, every point from every league game is far more crucial. The opportunity of taking the p*ss out of gas mates and a day out in Cardiff is nothing compared with the real chance we've got of getting out of this godawful league this season.

I also completely disagree with the idea that Ashton Gate should have been a "Cauldron of Hate". Rivalry yes, intimidating atmosphere yes, but I think that's going too far.

[TinnionForEngland]

I think the Rovers game was actually the least important game we had left of the season, every point from every league game is far more crucial. The opportunity of taking the p*ss out of gas mates and a day out in Cardiff is nothing compared with the real chance we've got of getting out of this godawful league this season.

I also completely disagree with the idea that Ashton Gate should have been a "Cauldron of Hate". Rivalry yes, intimidating atmosphere yes, but I think that's going too far.

Rovers said they were going to make their atmosphere like "Galatasaray" i was stood next to a Gloucester City player and it was more like them, than Galatasaray.