When I read through the various online forums and talk to fellow gasheads I sometimes wonder what Paul Trollope has to do to win them over. Complaints come in from all quarters, we play poor football, we're tactically naive, et cetera, it all mounts up and the pressure on the gas gaffer builds, but one thing that Trolls can't argue with is the recent run of poor results.
Before Saturday's win against Yeovil the Gas had failed to win in their eight previous competitive games. Admittedly this was split between two seasons but the same manager was the basis for these failures, of which only one was a draw. It's not just the defeats, though, it's the manner of them, that sequence I've mentioned includes a 3-0 home reverse to Norwich and a 5-1 loss to Southampton at the same venue. Throw into that a 6-1 humiliation at League 2 Oxford and Rovers really do find themselves in a sticky patch.
One of the biggest complaints is that Rovers play unnatractive, defence minded football and fans have different views amongst themselves as to performances and the style of play. Some complain that they would rather pay their money for entertainment value, sacrificing defensive responsibilities for scoring goals and generally keeping the tempo up, while some fans don't care about style points, its getting the results that matter, a la Colchester's brand of football from last season. At the end of the day it's a results business and while Paul Trollope's job is at stake we can expect to see the team play cautiously.
Something that Rovers do have trouble with is changing matches once they've fallen behind, something that happened far too often last term. The problem is that over the past season there has been nobody on the bench with the ability to come on and turn the tables. Ok Andy Williams showed some spice but there was little end product from the vibrant youngster, and now he's gone anyway. This season the onus will be on the youthful Charlie Reece and Ben Swallow to change things up, but with little experience behind them this will be a risk in some games, and Paul Trollope doesn't like risks. One player who has potential is Lamar Powell who we will hopefully see more often as the season wears on.
Over the past two and a half months since the transfer window opened you can't really complain about what Trolls has done in the footballing marketplace. Will Hoskins was chased by other teams in our league, Charlton to name one, while Wayne Brown and Gary Sawyer are both quality signings but there is one problem, a targetman. The saga has been going on since Rickie Lambert left last August and it's now been over a year that Rovers have failed to replace him. Much of the interest was focused on Chris Wood, a New Zealand international, who has been touted as the answer to all Rovers problems.
It was the January window this year when fans first put him forward as an option and rumours grew and went on as West Brom picked up injuries and claims were made that he didn't want to drop to League 1 before the world cup until the loan window closed and it all looked dead in the water, especially with a chance to shine in the summer. After a period of quiet his name was brought up again, only this time it was about a possible loan deal to Barnsley. Nothing came of this however and he is still available but it does seem to have been a problem of Paul Trollope putting all of his eggs into a single basket. With little over a week of the transfer window to go it could still happen, but some fans hold the opinion that the whole situation has been a bit of an embarassment.
There could, however, be problems caused by bringing in these supposed 'Championship quality' players. If results continue to go poorly Trolls management skills will be continually questioned until it all comes right or it all goes wrong. Indeed the most interesting comment I've heard is that 'we've got the players, but there's a clown in charge of them', harsh words perhaps while the players are still gelling but as the season draws on it could be the most accurate assessment of Trollope's managerial skills yet.
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