Bristol Rovers' fan's view: Our trophy cabinet needs attention
We have had a strange seven days starting with a good win against Millwall, then we threw away a lead against Brighton & Hove Albion and last Saturday just about summed up our inconsistent season.
Ok, Swindon and Brighton desperately needed the points more than we did but we are entitled to see the 11 players wearing a Bristol Rovers shirt turning in better performances.
We were up for the Millwall game but once we took the lead against Brighton I think our boys thought the visitors would fold. However, the Seagulls fought back to give their magnificent following the win they deserved.
At Swindon, the collision between Byron Anthony and Steve Phillips was unfortunate but Darryl Duffy's equaliser certainly evened out the luck.
To lose a centre-back yet again tells the story of our frustrating campaign. We have found the net 75 times which has been a great effort but it has been our defending which has been sadly lacking. It is vital that Danny Coles regains full fitness by the start of next season.
So is the glass half full or half empty as we go into the last game of this season? I think I can just about say mine is half full, I was never under any illusions that we were going to challenge for promotion this season.
Rickie Lambert's goals have been the highlight for me and it would be good to see him finish on the 30 mark and the leading marksman in our division. Older fans have said the Scouser is not as good as the legendary Geoff Bradford whose 33-goal Rovers record he has been chasing.
That is probably true but Bradford had to be a great player to play for England in the Lofthouse and Matthews era although his 33 goals came in a promotion-winning team in the days when sides turned out with five forwards and didn't defend in depth the way they do today.
We need to beat Hartlepool on Saturday to avoid ending the season on a low with three straight defeats.
Paul Trollope has been saying how important it is to finish in the top half of the league. I don't necessarily go along with that because come next August people will not remember where we finished this campaign.
I would have preferred to have seen us building for next season by giving more youngsters a run out. We have had plenty on the bench lately but they have been left kicking their heels.
On Friday Bristol Rovers celebrated its 125th anniversary with a thoroughly entertaining evening at the Marriott Royal Hotel that included footage of our famous Watney Cup win. Let's hope the next 125 years is just as entertaining – but with a bit more silverware.
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