Bristol Rovers have extended their winless run to seven straight defeats in the league, and the current state around the club has been beginning to grow towards ‘toxic’.
Last weekend’s trip to Cheltenham almost felt ‘must win’ for the Gas, having burned through a few matches against other teams around them including Tranmere Rovers, Gillingham, and most recently Accrington Stanley.
Steve Cotterill has fired up his side and they took 10 points from the opening 12 available once he re-entered the dugout; a two-goal win for his side would see them leapfrog Darrell Clarke’s Gas.
Unfortunately for Rovers they lost the game against the Robins and the pressure on Clarke mounts even further. The Gas are now just TWO points clear of 23rd placed Harrogate Town.
Things don’t get any easier for Rovers either as high-flying Notts County visit next weekend.
But what’s changed for Bristol Rovers?
Ultimately there is no clear catalyst for the drop off seen in BS7. But focus has shifted above the heads of just those on the touchline and pitch.
Chairman Hussain Al Saeed acquired a controlling stake in the club back in August 2023 from the popular Wael Al Qadi, and in just over two years since have sacked three managers.
He has also overseen a relegation, failed in their early plans to build a new stadium at a fresh site, and been accused of behind-the-scenes meddling.
Causation or just correlation? Regardless, he and family have come in for a lot of criticism after the drop and now again this past week with a lot of noise has been made among supporters about ‘what needs to be done’.
Rovers’ own Supporters Club have released a statement in the past few days, in part seeking patience.
Even with a win this weekend though, friction is more apparent than ever and it does feel like a threshold has been passed on the mattes.
Clarke to leave Bristol Rovers?
Essentially, fans deserve communication, though a parting of ways now seems somewhat inevitable.
Accountability for the current form can’t solely fall on the higher-ups though: while some naive decisions were made with regards to unseasoned appointments, for one, last campaign, those roles swiftly changed hands this summer (officially, with Ricky Martin entering the building at the end of March) – importantly, towards a more experienced duo.
Darrell Clarke is of course the other half of that pair, and it’d be fair to suggest any ‘honeymoon period’ for the returned club legend has comfortably ended.
Some fans are calling for time to end on his second spell.
Him and his squad have to take part of the blame, for lacklustre performances and ‘long ball tactics’, but forcing a change in the dugout would be futile.
There’s still plenty of time for Rovers to turn around the current situation.
A couple of good performances and results and the mood will be lifted beyond the current vicious cycle involving silence, negativity, and poor results.
