Goals galore for Rovers as City get used to Division Four

As the cold, dark evenings of October 1982 were setting in, there was one ray of sunshine for Bristol Rovers fans – goals, and plenty of them.

Neighbours City, meanwhile, were adjusting to life in the basement division.

Pirates manager Bobby Gould was celebrating his first year in charge at Eastville, and was gradually assembling a squad of players capable of returning to Division Two.

Rovers carried on from where they left off as they thumped Bradford City 4-1 at home on October 2, four days after walloping Plymouth Argyle 4-0.

And the man leading the goal charts was Paul Randall, who's double in this match gave him figures of seven goals in as many matches.

A trip to Newport County's Somerton Park, the following week, saw Rovers suffer only their third league defeat, as they went down 2-0.

This proved to be a blip as Wigan Athletic, who were led by former Rovers favourite Larry Lloyd as player-manager, came to Eastville for the first time in any competition. It certainly was a baptism of fire, especially for the club's £5,000 summer signing Graham Withey, from Bath City, who scored his first two goals in his second appearance, when he came on as substitute for Archie Stephens. Randall contributed with one goal, as did Geraint Williams, in a 4-0 win.

Just three days later, another star substitute ran out for Rovers in the shape of former Southampton and England forward Mike Channon, as another goal-fest was witnessed by 7,241, with Millwall dispatched 4-0.

Next, goals from Ian Holloway (2), Withey, Randall and a David Williams penalty saw off Leyton Orient in a 5-1 win.

The football being played by Gould's side was certainly drawing the crowds to Eastville as October was rounded off by a 3-0 win over Reading – 7,270 fans, the highest gate of the season, turned up for Channon's full debut.

The bitter pill of relegation, for the third successive season, placed City's new manager Terry Cooper with, not just an uphill struggle in halting this slide from Division One to Division Four, but the difficult task of turning fortunes around on a limited budget.

By the time the Robins began the month of October, they had just one win to their name – a 2-1 home victory over Hull City.

The resulting 3-0 defeat at Peterborough was the team's fourth straight league defeat and sent them to the foot of the table. Go back 38 months and City were sixth in Division One.

A little respite was found in the 2-2 draw with York City on October 9 as Alan Crawford, a free transfer from Chesterfield, scored his first in City colours in front of a paltry 3,370 supporters and was joined, later in the game, by Ricky Chandler – a product of the youth scheme at Ashton Gate – who also netted his first goal of the season to help lift the club off the bottom.

Another free transfer was former Barnsley striker Glyn Riley, who's seventh goal of the season was a mere consolation in the 3-1 defeat at Hartlepool, a week later, as the side went back to the bottom of the Football League.

City then came away from Halifax with a 2-2 draw, with Tom Ritchie, returning to the club on a free transfer from Sunderland, grabbing his fourth goal of the season, and Rob Newman opening his season's account.

This result proved to be a springboard for a run of five unbeaten matches that began on October 23 against Wimbledon at Ashton Gate.

A hat-trick from Glyn Riley, and one from Alan Nicholls, saw City, roared on by a 4,723 crowd, to a 4-2 win.

Finally, on October 30, all those goals dried up with a 0-0 draw at Aldershot.