It's Quite Simple For Rovers

Bright, breezy football, the changes that have occurred at Bristol Rovers over the summer months have been incredible. It may be hard to put your finger on what exactly has changed, there has been so many, but let's have a look at some of them.

There are obviously some of the major differences in tactics, some complicated, but what is really notable is that Paul Buckle has got the simple things right, as seen in the 2-0 pre-season victory over Championship side Burnley.

Defensively the side are much improved with the line the back four are holding far higher than seen in previous years while the whole team press further up the pitch. Whereas last season a ball cleared out of the Rovers defence would not draw the side out of their defensive formation, often resulting in the opposition coming straight back on the attack, Buckle has instilled an attacking mindset, instructing his players to follow the ball out of the back and put immediate pressure on the adversary potentially resulting in errors and winning possession back.

The high pressure tactics aren't just restricted to defending in Rovers own half, early on in the game against Burnley we saw right back Michael Smith overlapping winger Jo Anyinsah and challenging in the opposition defensive third. Such forthright defending would have been unthinkable under Paul Trollope or Dave Penney and is a breath of fresh air for fans who had become well acquainted with their team backing off to the edge of their own area as soon as the ball was lost.

Aside from that fans also saw the full backs closing down their opposition wingers, aiming to prevent crosses into the box with great success. Never for a second were Burnley given the time to settle themselves into a passing rhythm, aside from the first minute the threat to the Gas was non-existent up until the last twenty minutes when the passing intensity was turned up a notch and Ross Wallace struck the crossbar with a spectacular long range effort. Rovers were comfortable right the way through the match and dominated in their own right, as poor as Burnley were the Pirates were excellent.

There were also insights into other attacking ploys that Buckle may use. The second half, for instance, saw Mustapha Carayol, the cheeky, jinking winger, and youth team graduate Ben Swallow take to the pitch in the wide positions. What was most notable about this was that Carayol, a right footer, and Swallow, a left footer, played on the flanks that opposed their stronger feet, often leading to the pair cutting inside or running along the byline when coming forward, showing a direct running approach that puts defenders on the back foot as they look to stop the dashing wide men.

That's not to say that you don't want to see high crosses put into the penalty area, when you've got players with the height and power of Matt Harrold and Chris Zebroski it is an excellent outlet, but there is the variation there whichever way Rovers want to play.

Even when defending corners Buckle's charges also showed an attacking approach by often leaving two or three players up by the halfway line, even when two goals to the good, resulting in Burnley having to leave more of their own players back to keep tabs on them.

One other notable point about Burnley was how dirty a side they were, numerous bad challenges resulted in Rovers players being thrown to the floor, perhaps though, this isn't a bad thing. The way Rovers have been playing thus far under Buckle, keeping the ball on the floor and free-flowing in their movement, is all very well in pre-season but when it comes to the real thing there are teams, especially in League 2, who will do their best to stop this game plan in anyway possible.

Carayol, Swallow and Joe Anyinsah amongst others will no doubt be a target for such treatment, the first was taken out at various points by the Clarets, but, having spent the best part of three seasons in lower league football, he will be used to this. It's not what any fan likes to see but it happens, some managers set their teams up for outright physicality, and this is one style that Rovers will have to deal with at some point during the long, arduous season and the way they hold themselves, both physically and mentally, will determine their success.

The goals on the night came from beanpole forward Harrold in the first half and substitute Eliot Richards in the second, both putting in excellent displays. Harrold gave what was expected of him, showing great strength and aerial ability to hold up and push the ball on, what was also good to see was a will to chase down the odd overhit pass as well as a couple of his own flick-ons. The goal was taken well, it came from a driven Matt Gill corner, and shows that Rovers have the capabilities to score from any situation.

Richards ran his socks off too and scored his goal very coolly, it was his second of the pre-season. Add that to his first league goal, scored against Colchester in the final game of last season, and it seems that the young Welshman is beginning to develop the talent and promise that he showed during his youth career. The experience of Scott McGleish will of course be a great help to the nineteen year old who will be battling for a place in not just the squad but the starting eleven as the season progresses.

All in all it was another excellent performance from the Gas, putting an experienced second tier club to the sword, and shows further promise for the season to come and much of it is down to perfecting the simplicities of the game.