The Gas - Escapologists!

My blog post of 27th December 2012 ("BBC Points West Sport - Swindon is in Your Region!") included a gloat at the misfortunes of the two rival clubs to Swindon Town from down the M4 in Bristol; City and Rovers. At the time of writing, whilst Bristol City are still locked in a relegation dogfight and are bottom of the Championship, Bristol Rovers, "The Gas", have hauled themselves to mid-table (15th) and look to have given themselves a great chance of avoiding the perilous drop from league to non-league football. I have, therefore, decided to eat my humble pie now and give a congratulatory nod to the man who has turned Rovers' season around - John Ward.

Appointed on 17th December 2012, this is his second stint with "The Pirates", a club with which he has had some success in the past. His first spell with the blue half of the West Country city saw him in charge of the team from 1993 to 1996, having won promotion from the then Third Division to the Second with York City the previous season (1992/93). Relegated at the end of the 1992/93 season, he came close to gaining promotion from the Third Division when he took Rovers to Wembley in the play off final in 1995, only to lose to Huddersfield Town 2 - 1. At the end of the following season, Ward was sacked and replaced by the  irrepressible Ian Holloway.

Since then, he has developed his managerial career having been in charge at rivals Bristol City (promoted to First Division), Wolverhampton Wanderers, Cheltenham Town (promoted to League 1), Carlisle United and Colchester United before returning to the Memorial Ground. His appointment has had a galvanising effect at the club and he must surely be given a new contract when his current one expires at the end of the season. If the Bristol Rovers board decide to dispense with his services, I can see him having a successful career in leading motivational seminars. Let's face it, anyone who has managed to get a football club from what seemed at Christmas an impossible position at the foot of the league, where the team couldn't hit a barn door with a banjo, to where they are now, must have a magical way of instilling confidence into a group of individuals and get them to work as a team.