Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
We’ve all heard of Accrington Stanley … but Bristol Rovers and Grimsby Town – who are they?
You don’t have to look far in the modern game to find the ‘glory-hunter’ fans who liberally attach their allegiance to one of the most successful sides of the current era but you really have to respect the hard-core fans that follow the fortunes and failures of their beloved teams.
For example, at this present moment in time you have to really feel for fans of struggling Blackpool, a side steeped in footballing folklore, that are fighting against the owners who, assuming they do have a plan that genuinely serves the best interests of the club, are keeping it well hidden from the supporters and players.
However, much further down the treasure trove that is English professional football we saw two sides relive past memories last weekend in their fight to return to the ranks of the Football League.
The Pirates from Bristol were relegated last season after a bizarre sequence of results saw them drop into the relegation zone, for the first time all year, with only minutes of the season remaining, thereby ending a run of 94 years in the higher echelons.
Grimsby know how hard it is to return to the main tiers of the professional game, having taken the dreaded drop themselves in 2010 after 99 years in the ranks. This was their third successive play-off final.
Bristol Rovers, also known as The Gas, will rue their opening three fixtures at Conference level where they collected only one point, ultimately missing out on automatic promotion by a single point, despite winning their final match of the regular season 7-0.
If you believe that English football is amongst the best supported in the world and the heartbeat of the nation then can there be better evidence of this than seeing 47,000 fans turn up at Wembley Stadium for the Conference Play-Off Final?
The match did not disappoint although in the latter stages of the 1-1 draw nerves and caution were understandably evident. With penalties looming, Rovers’ manager, Darrell Clarke, pulled a ‘Van Gaal’ by removing his regular goalkeeper, Puddy, for the taller, ex-Grimsby stopper, Steve Mildenhall.
While he did not make a save the Pirates became the first team for a decade to return to the Football League at the first time of asking with a 5-3 penalty victory after Grimsby’s Jon-Paul Pittman, who had presumably been inspirationally told before the match to shoot for the stars, did just that. Nothing fishy about this victory!
Both teams will be seeking inspiration in their hope to rise to the elite levels. The Pirates don’t have to look too far as bitter rivals, City, return to the Championship having won League One.
The highest profile success story this season is that of Bournemouth who have now risen within seven years from near extinction to the English Premier League. While they are owned by another Russian billionaire and have paid some of the highest wages to escape the ‘toughest division in the world’ their rise from rags to riches is one that Bristol Rovers will hope to emulate, particularly as they seek their own external investment from the Gulf States and a move to a new super stadium.
With the Premier League title having been decided weeks ago and the Champions League places now finalised, attention turns to the bottom of the table where three teams are trying to avoid being the one remaining side to be relegated.
Online conspiracy theorists can’t agree whether Steve Bruce will receive a favour from his former employers at Manchester United or whether Hull City are being driven into the Championship by an owner intent on forcing through a change in name of the club to Hull Tigers, the rationale being that he will face less opposition if relegated.
City need a victory at home against a Manchester side that has nothing to play for and will presumably provide a last hurrah for several likely-to-soon-be-departing stars such as Radamel Falcao and Robin van Persie. North East rivals Newcastle United and Sunderland will need to win to survive if Hull City achieves this.
Sunderland’s task looks the hardest with (at the time of writing) away fixtures against both Arsenal and Chelsea, the latter likely to take the opportunity to blood some of their academy starlets against Dick Advocaat’s side which will be aiming to secure his record of never having been relegated.
Newcastle face what, on paper, should be the easiest task with a home fixture against an out-of-form West Ham side, although on the Toon they rarely make life simple. Further up the table there is a battle between the teams battling to stay out of the Europa League. Fans are divided whether entry to Europe’s second-tier competition is a blessing or curse.
While it provides valuable revenues, experience and adventure, Thursday evening matches in wintery climates and a season starting in early July rarely translates into solid domestic league returns, as witnessed by Everton’s lowly position … and Hull’s. Now that seems a distant memory.
