The First Impressions Are The Most Important

The summer without football feels like an eternity, last year we had the World Cup to entertain footy fans but this year there has been nothing with such importance. That's why July the 6th was a special day, the pre-season fixtures have started and there's no turning back from here.

And so it began at Cossham Street, Mangotsfield, a squad that was largely unrecognisable from the previous season being displayed over the course of two separate teams in each half and the end result looked just as good on the pitch as it did in Thursday's local newspapers, a 5-1 win thanks to a deflected Lee Brown strike, a cool finish from Scott McGleish, a solid strike from Eliot Richards and a Ben Swallow brace.

The most impressive aspect was the way Paul Buckle had set his team out to play, knocking the ball around with a great deal of comfort, using the wide areas and going at the opposition who failed to cope with the speed of the game. Admittedly there were a few stray passes but this is the squads first game together and they have only been in pre-season training with each other for a week, some even less than that, while the pitch was a typical non-league affair, more akin to the rolling hills of the Quantock's than the bowling greens Buckle would like to see his team playing on, meaning that when they stroll out onto Football League standard pitches their game should come together rather better.

That's not to say the football was dire, it was clearly the makings of some attractive stuff and the players on display proved they are capable of performing with a style and vigour unseen at the Memorial Stadium for a number of years. The stand out performances from the first half came from 37 year old Scott McGleish and central midfielder Craig Stanley.

McGleish threw the doubters off his back as he worked tirelessly and rewarded himself with a goal. Even though he is closer to climbing over the hill than he is to his late twenties McGleish ran with a youthful exuberance and wanted to be involved in everything. What was most noticeable was the fact that the Leyton Orient legend never strayed too far away from the play, always keeping close to the ball where he could feed off of the midfield with his canny runs.

There was also passion on display, a refreshing site for those who have had to watch the likes of Mark Wright and Dominic Blizzard happily take the clubs money. McGleish is not just out for one final payday, he has a hunger for the game which was on display, most notably in the first half when, despite the game being no more than a friendly, the striker reacted to having a header cleared off the line with a brim, Cockney 'F**K OFF'. The goal he scored was a tidy finish, what you would expect from a man with as much experience leading the attack as he has, moving outside the line of the ball and bending it across the keeper with cucumber-like coolness.

The assist on that goal came from Craig Stanley, partnering the rather anonymous Chris Lines in the centre of midfield. Despite not being the tallest of central midfielders Stanley has a bulky frame, broad shoulders and a fair old set of ears to boot. He made this count as he proved to be the battler, getting stuck in with his defensive duties yet also stroking the ball around, building up the play and moving forward towards the Mangotsfield third himself, box-to-box seems a good description of the 5' 8" midfielder on this display.

As the game moved into the second half Rovers took the liberty of making nine changes to their side, goalkeeper Lance Cronin and centre back Charlie Clough the only men to keep their places. Though the attacking instincts of the side were unchanged there was a little less width, Wayne Brown, a central midfielder by trade, playing on the right hand side, a position from which he proved highly dangerous, setting up Ben Swallow's second.

From the second half kick off it looked as though Swallow would be playing on the left but after a couple of weaving runs Paul Buckle appeared to give him more of a free role, allowing him to roam across the front line, popping up on the left, right and centres of midfield and attack, a capacity that he looked to have the utmost pleasure in.

He continued to take on defenders with jinking runs, spread the play and keep his team ticking over, very different to the displays that Gasheads became accustomed too under Paul Trollope, the limiters seemingly being put on the winger under the former gaffer, and he fully deserved the two goals he put way, the first being a tasty left foot curler. Players such as Carayol and Anyinsah may have been brought in above the little Welshman but if he continues in the same vein over the course of pre-season then he will no doubt be a regular starter in the first XI.

Kudos too has to go to the trialists who provided Paul Buckle with some food for thought; Cian Hughton, son of Birmingham manager Chris, and Reggie Lambe who applied themselves to the task at hand and came out with a great deal of admiration heading their way, as did debutant Michael Smith, playing his first game since joining from Ballymena United.

So a great start to the Buckle era, though it will likely remain a forgotten footnote if all things go to plan, but it still made interesting viewing for the crowd of over 1,000, many of whom would have spent the ninety minutes playing who's who with the new faces.