It's okay, Gasheads, you can open your eyes now

Few Rovers fans could hide the grin that spread from ear to ear once they had read the latest update from the club's official Twitter feed on Tuesday evening.

"BREAKING NEWS: Paul Buckle has been relieved of his duties," there may be some hope for the club yet.

For the majority of Gasheads, it had been a long time coming. The clubs slump from the safety of League 1 towards the foot of the basement division over the past season and a half has made for horrific viewing, but what made it all the more cringeworthy was the sideshow that had developed around Buckle.

Upon his appointment, there was a new life breathed into a club that had gasping for air like a drowning rat. The pre-season campaign was comprised of exhilarating attacking football, not seen at Rovers for many years, I even wrote a number of articles praising his approach and the tactics he employed. How wrong it proved to be.

All the furore that surrounded those results seems a long, long time ago, as things went wrong within a few of weeks of the league season kicking off.

It wasn't just the fact that the team was being beaten, it was the manner of the defeats. Rovers have conceded three or more goals on seven occasions in League 2 thus far, including home games against Cheltenham and Port Vale.

Team selection is an area where every armchair fan believes they can outdo their manager, that is so often true at any club, but with Buckle, the mistakes seemed fairly obvious to the thousands of unqualified Mourinho's within the Memorial Stadium. Chris Zebroski is the case in point for this; the man is a striker, yet he was continually played out on the wing.

He has the pace to be a wideman; it's his skill, or lack of, that lets him down when played on the flanks. His one and only method of beating his man comes straight out of the David Pipe handbook: push it ten yards down the line and use your outright speed to get there before the fullback. Unfortunately, his crossing ability is also reminiscent to that of the Welshman, while I won't go so far as to compare his temperament and distinct lack of hair.

That's not to spread a dislike for Zebroski, his physicality and pace offer a threat to centre backs and he can be a key player for the season to come, though only if he starts up front. Similarly notable incidents include playing Scott McGleish out wide, Gary Sawyer in the centre of defence for a sustained period and, in his last game and a half, Eliot Richards in the centre of midfield.

It's as though Buckle was using Scrabble tiles to play Connect 4. 'Quiz' may score you 22 points on a Scrabble board, but it will earn you nothing on the league table.

It was the game against the Valiants that proved the turning point for many supporters, the players and staff left the field to a chorus of boos after a listless performance that culminated in a 3-0 defeat. What occurred afterwards, however, made up the majority's minds.

Rumours abounded amongst internet forums that, once back in the dressing room, Buckle had slammed Bristolians as '****s'. This was leaked out from within the club and, while never confirmed until a Bristol Evening Post article the day after the 41 year old's sacking, set fans against the manager for good, as well as getting the board of directors' backs up.

There is a line of argument that what is said in the heat of the moment within the sanctity of the changing rooms should be taken with a pinch of salt, but to come out with such a comment when you are already under an inordinate amount of pressure was moronic to say the least.

It was not the first time Buckle's attitude had come up against him; throughout his post-match interviews he appeared overtly arrogant. Very rarely did he admit to his own mistakes, often creating a raft of excuses as to why his side had failed, and generally coming across as smug to the point he believed the sun shone from within one of his own orifices. No-one is quite sure which, but it certainly helped to keep his tan topped up.

This egotistical persona created ruptures within the dressing room; Jo Kuffour left on loan to Gillingham after being left out of the squad for a Carling Cup game, a decision Buckle claimed to make after the striker told him his head wasn't in the right place. The ex-Bournemouth striker's parting shot countered this version of events, though that was only given minor coverage compared to the high profile fall out with fans favourite Stuart Campbell.

The pair played out a war of words through the local media, eventually, chairman Nick Higgs was forced to come in and settle the matter like the proverbial weary parent driving the car. Campbell never made another appearance in a quartered shirt before being released, meaning that Gasheads never got the chance to say goodbye to their former captain, manager and club stalwart for seven-and-a-half years, the anti-Buckle sentiment growing inextricably.

He remained at the club over the festive season, however, despite a 4-1 mauling at Gillingham, where he had claimed his charges had been on top for periods of the game, not that any of the travelling fans had seen domination of any form.

At 2-0 up come the half time whistle on Boxing day against Plymouth, one of the few sides left beneath Rovers, it looked as though Santa had brought Buckle some salvation for Christmas, only for the manager to throw it away the very next day. Argyle mounted an epic fightback, snatching an injury time winner to leave the gaffers position almost untenable, though the final step was taken soon enough.

The 5-2 humbling at the Mem by an average Crewe side made up the board's mind, even though he was left in charge for the Bank Holiday loss at Barnet. It was against the Alex that the manager appeared to finally lose his marbles, using all three substitutions at half time, including the goalkeeper and centre back Byron Anthony, with the Pirates 4-1 down.

But it's all over now, there finally seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel. When that light steps out onto the Memorial Stadium turf remains to be seen, but Toni Watola, the club's financial director, announced to Points West that it would be 'seven to ten days'.

Gary Johnson's name has been banded about, after he refused to deny that he would apply for the job when asked on live TV, around an hour after the sacking was confirmed, though the smirk on his face gave away his vulture-like intentions to jump straight onto Buckle's still warm corpse.

The former Bristol City boss would be a brave choice for the board, given the 56 year old's history with Rovers. After his last two managerial appointments, any attempt by Higgs to make a move so gallant, will most likely rear calls for him to ride his white horse into the sunset if it all goes belly up.

Whoever takes the spot in the dugout deserves a medal for grasping the seemingly poisoned chalice, there is a huge task ahead of them, not just in terms of sustaining Football League status, but also in repairing the fractious state the club finds itself in.

Campbell's On His Way Out, But Buckle's Going Nowhere

The season of good will has proved less so for Stuart Campbell - and it looks as though it will go the same direction for Paul Buckle.

Campbell's unceremonial departure from the Memorial Stadium has been on the cards for weeks, the saga finally coming to an end on Tuesday with the announcement that the midfielder had agreed mutual terms to cancel his contract.

Shocked supporters have raged at Buckle's decision to let the ever-popular Campbell leave, his status at the club far outwaying the fans view of the underperforming manager.

But however much Buckle remains unpopular, it seems that he is here for the long haul.

After five managers in the space of six months the club needed stability and, for better or for worse, that is what Nick Higgs is going to provide with his backing of the under fire boss, even if it means letting a living legend pass through the exit door.

Campbell's seven and a half years at the club have been filled with pride; a leader on the pitch who helped the club to two major finals in 2007 and an FA Cup quarter-final a year later. A complete professional who never gave less than 100% and stepped into the breach in a last ditch attempt to prevent relegation last year.

For the past two seasons there have been question marks over his ability to maintain a regular starting place, a view that was shared by Buckle, though not so by Campbell himself.

His wishes to extend his playing career at the club were rebuffed by the former Torquay boss, who claimed to have received an ultimatum from the players agent, details made public after the pair took part in a slanging match via the Bristol Evening Post.

Since taking the helm at the Memorial Stadium the 41 year old manager has had a track record of falling out with his playing staff. Jo Kuffour was shipped out on loan to Gillingham, his story of the events that preceded his departure differing from the details given by Buckle, Craig Stanley also had a reported falling out with the boss, whose popularity with the local media is also in a trough.

Whatever Campbell's reasons were for taking the matter into the public domain, taking on an ego the size of his new gaffers was never going to end with a win in his column. The majority of fans may have backed Campbell throughout the saga, but Higgs was never going allow the midfielder to upstage the manager.

In any walk of life, having a dissenter amongst the ranks will cause nothing but trouble; Campbell made clear that he was going to be a thorn in the managers side. With the chairman having bankrolled an overhaul of the squad in the summer, the release of Campbell was inevitable.

To this point, there have been 19 signings made either permanently or on loan, and the chairman has hinted that further ins and outs will occur over the January period, so, complete disaster aside, it looks as though Buckle will have at least another six weeks in the Rovers dugout.

Gasheads will look at the situation as the dark side winning over the good, but there is no immediate change on the horizon.

Paul Buckle may not have such a merry Christmas, but he will hope for a happy New Year.

Taufik Hidayat: Is the star burning out?

With 24 career titles in 11 years Taufik Hidayat is rightly regarded as one of the finest players in modern badminton. Yet his star is on wane, and with the London Olympics on the horizon, the Indonesian needs a late pick-up to turn around a torrid year.

At the age of 30 Hidayat is not getting any younger – there have long been retirement plans, stretching back four years, when he should still have been in his prime – meaning that 2012 is likely to be his final chance to recapture the lost glories that have included some of the biggest tournaments on the world calendar.

Only a single game was dropped throughout the 2004 Olympics, Taufik cruising to the gold medal with a comfortable 15-8 15-7 victory over Shon Seung-mo, cementing a place within the sports elite. The World Championships in Anaheim followed a year later, but those illustrious pasts are exactly that, adding to the pressure for one last hurrah when the eyes of the badminton world focus on Wembley Arena next July.

The current struggles began following this year’s Korean Open, Taufik finishing in a defeat to eventual winner Lin Dan in the Seoul quarter-finals. The All England Championships, arguably the most prestigious of the Super Series tournaments, were just around the corner, though a first round loss to unseeded Kazushi Yamada left the Indonesian feeling sorry for himself.

Early exits followed in India and Singapore, while a respectable quarter-final loss to Peter Gade back at his home Super Series event looked fairly respectable, given the circumstances that had preceded it. To the home faithful, however, it was a disappointment.

For almost a decade Hidayat has been touted as the face of Indonesian badminton; the star with the forthright power, deft touch and demon backhand, a star that the nation has not seen since Rudy Hartono and his eight All England titles back in the 1970s.

He has the hopes of an entire nation on his shoulders, Hartono himself telling Today Online that Simon Santoso, the second ranked Indonesian, is simply ‘not a world-class player’. One of the superpowers of world badminton is in decline, in the singles game at least, leaving Hidayat as the pinnacle of the nation’s hopes, bringing all the associated pressures with it.

In the same interview Hartono also stated that Taufik was too old. That can’t be argued with. He won his first international title in 1999 and has been competing ever since. 30 doesn’t seem old for a sportsman, but badminton takes its toll on the body faster than most, Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei have hinted at retiring after the Olympics and they are even younger than Taufik.

Without a title to his name since the 2010 French Open, the perfect time came to claim a winners’ medal with the two tournament tour of North America in July, though there was to be no gold for the falling giant.

The key tournament before the Olympics was undoubtedly the World Championships, staged at the same venue as a test event for the London games. There should have been little trouble until the quarters for Taufik, though he succumbed to Derek Wong in the second round.

Further failures to make any true progress at the Japan and Denmark Opens compounded a truly awful year, the lacklustre displays against Hans-Kristian Vittinghus and Viktor Axelsen in the latter demonstrating Hidayat’s woes perfectly.

The exhaustion he may be suffering is not only physical but also mental, when you watch the Indonesian in recent months there looks to be an air of complacency surrounding his play, as well as a lack of will. Hidayat himself has stated in interviews that he has fallen out of love with the sport, and to hear such a comment from a man who has built his life around the game is disheartening to say the least.

Departures in Japan and France followed, leaving his world ranking down at 8th, with the potential of losing out on Olympic qualification if his countrymen Santoso, in 11th, and Sugiarto, in 16th, overtake him, or if he drops out of the top 16 completely.

Six months are left for Hidayat to maintain his seat on the plane to London, six months that require a mental rethink if the star from Java is to get one final shot at glory. Despite his troubles the Olympic rings hanging above the Wembley courts should be inspiring enough to re-instil the passion in any sportsman, Taufik being no exception.