Best Of

We were imperious at home that season until losing to Cardiff to a dodgy goal (foul in the build-up IIRC) but terrible away. And a few months later came that night against Blackpool and arguably the beginning of the end for Sanchez. As you say, lack of squad depth told in the end. Feels very different 20+ years later!

Thinking about it last night, I'm convinced that Bristol Rovers have been placed on this planet purely as a joke for us over recent years. They provide almost unlimited entertainment:

- Lightning gate. 3-1 up with 20 mins to go, before losing the replayed game 2-0

- Invading our pitch and then getting relegated 7 days later

- The general hilarity of that relegation in 2014. Horse punching, Mansfield wearing their own away kit, hitting the woodwork 3 times, the fantastic fan interviews afterwards

- Beating them in Feb 2016 with a late Luke O'Nien header, the week they were taken over by the Kuwaitis

- Joey Barton's antics and bitterness ("Brandon Hanlan couldn't hit a barn door")

- Joe Low scoring two years in a row at the Mem and celebrating in front of their fans

- The angry bald men in the stand next to us who get thrown out for complete head loss every time we go to the Mem

- And somehow we've got an almost uncanny ability to beat them, no matter how badly we've been playing. They were the only team we beat in that awful 17 match streak last season under Blooms (and we played with 10 men in that game after Scowen was sent off). They were also Blooms' first away win during the awful run of form after he took charge

- They're also the only other EFL team to wear quarters, but they adopted them two years after us so they can't even claim to be original

Most certainly, I enjoyed Doddsy's interview. He seems to articulate very well the small things he sees as a coach and ways players can improve. Hopefully it won't be soon, but it'll be interesting to see how he deals with poor performances - how will he cover for players? Will he be blunt and critical?

Oh oh.....that beard suggests he's evolving from 'tech bro' to 'Rasputin'.

I agree and I don't mind his style at all . Nervous pulling of the earlobes scratching of the nose and the chin coming out actually makes me feel warm to him .

That post-cup run team in 2001 was one of my favourite WWFC squads in my time following the club, we looked like genuine contenders for promotion for the first half of the season but lacked the strength in depth needed to sustain it as much as anything else.

Stuart Roberts, Jermaine McSporran and Darren Currie were meant to be sort of creative player you mentioned, but they had their own particular shortcomings. In the end, the money from the cup run was quickly eaten up and in the end the death spiral of lower budgets and Sanchez losing the plot meant players like Dell, Bell and Mapes (with all due respect to them) were our main summer signings when previously their arrival would barely have merited a footnote in the BFP Midweek.

I think the digression to Dell and Bell possibly clouded my comment! I also liked them both and they were decent players.

But most of our better attacking play came when Simpson/Bulman spread the ball to Currie/Roberts/Brown on the wings. They weren’t players that would pick the ball up and drive or glide past people. Back in the day I felt we missed that extra bit of ingenuity and class that would’ve taken a good side to a great side. Now we have it, and it’s magnificent.

That’s my ham fisted point :D.

I absolutely adored Darren Currie

I always stick to second names so I don't have to worry when I'm shouting 'Go on Humpty pass it to Cluedo...'