bristol rovers

Ep 293: Back once again with another in the ‘Your England Journey’ series. This time Bristol Rovers fan Matt L takes us to his first tournament as an England fan, Qatar 2022, unbelievable that it was only a year ago!

Running Time: 45:26 

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Never a dull week at Bristol Rovers, not that us podcasters are really complaining! As the Gas appoint their third permanent manager of the season, the GasCast team assembled to chat about the controversial appointment of former Fleetwood Town boss Joey Barton.

In part one the team talk Joey Barton: the manager - does he have what it takes to keep Rovers up? What attributes can he bring to the team? And what we can expect from his reign.

In part two, Joey Barton: the man is discussed - if  his history of controversy will come into play, how the appointment has divided the fans, and whether or not Barton's baggage makes the appointment worth it.

Tonight's huge six-pointer against Wigan Athletic at the Mem is also previewed in this episode.

UTG!

In this week's episode, Neno is joined by Harley & Mets to gush over the Gas' scintillating performance at the Plough Lane on Saturday - with Rovers running out 2-4 winners over AFC Wimbledon.

The lads discuss Tisdale's switch to a diamond, Nicholson's stunning solo effort, the rehabilitation of Upson & Leahy and Ehmer's stellar showing on the right of defence.

Finally, the pod ends with the crew answering listener questions, including whether sweetcorn is ever an acceptable pizza topping...

Thanks for listening & UTG!

Duke is joined by Matt from Gills In The Blood to discuss another Rovers capture of a Gillingham player - this time it is 23-year-old forward, Brandon Hanlan.

Maybe not the marquee signing that some were expecting but the 23-year-old forward joins the Gas on a two-year deal and has scored 16 goals across 84 appearances for Gillingham. Garner describes Hanlan as a powerful and skilful forward who can both create and score goals who also has the work ethic and energy he wants at the front end of the team.

We hear about Hanlan as a player and whether there is more to come from him, including if he will be able to become a prolific bagsman?

Matt also gives us the lowdown on what the fee might be and also gives us his thoughts on how Rovers will fare this season as well as giving us some intel on Gillingham.

Yes, you did read that right.

Today, Wael Al Qadi reached an agreement to acquire a controlling stake in the holding company at Bristol Rovers, Dwane Sports, from other members of his family. This provides him with full control of Bristol Rovers.

As if this news weren't enough, Wael has also left the club "substantively debt free" - capitalising over £30m of debt. 

Gasheads, you aren't dreaming. And to prove it, we bring you a special REACTION GasCast that was streamed live on Facebook originally.

The unmistakable voice of Nick Day spoke to Gasheads over a period of 25 years and he chatted to Jack about how he first got the gig, the eccentric Keith Valle, what makes a good PA announcer, his memories both on and off the field, life after the role and we even get treated to that famous line of his. 

In this special A Chat With Episode, Max speaks to former Bristol Rovers centre-back and vice-captain Adam Virgo.

In an incredibly interesting and revealing chat, Adam lifts the lid on working under Paul Buckle, and where it all went wrong for Rovers in the 2011/12 season.

He also talks about a horrendous knee injury that ultimately forced him to retire from the game completely. Adam discusses Mark McGhee’s reign, why it didn’t work out for the Scotsman, and playing up front at AFC Wimbledon despite being in severe pain. 

With the lockdown still firmly in place, the lads took a different approach in this episode by taking part in "The Gurt Big GasCast Quiz", hosted by self-professed quiz-master Ollie Neno.

From former Gas managers and players to the scorers of some of the most memorable Gas goals, this one's sure to make you nostalgic - and of course feel free to play along!

This episode is sponsored by Kahuna Flooring. 

Kahuna Flooring can supply and fit all types of flooring for your home or workplace. They come to you with a sample selection service and offer deals on supplied & fitted carpets, vinyls, LVT (such as Karndean and Amtico), engineered wood and more! 

Get in touch with Steve today on 07917 667 777, and mention GasCast to receive 10% off all orders. 

Gibraltar's all-time top goalscorer, and double-promotion winner Jake Gosling joined Max to discuss his time at Bristol Rovers. Jake talks about the key part he played in the National League season, from those difficult few months, to the highs of Wembley. He also talks about the challenges of going on loan, and how important it was to hit the ground running upon his return.

Jake shares insights into the differences between playing against Nuneaton one week, and World Cup winners Germany the next, as well as the moment he became Gibraltar's all time top goalscorer.

This was a great chat, with some interesting dressing room stories and reflections on memorable moments - enjoy!

This week, Jack is joined by Mets and Max to discuss the future of the 2019/20 season, and the financial impact on Rovers.

They cover the latest proposals from the EFL to form a group of representatives from each league, and discuss whether a blanket 20% pay reduction for players is a realistic outcome.

They also talk about the Al-Qadi ownership, and the ongoing dispute with the Supporters Club, who had it's complaint to the EFL swiftly rejected last week.

This episode is sponsored by Kahuna Flooring. 

Kahuna Flooring can supply and fit all types of flooring for your home or workplace. They come to you with a sample selection service and offer deals on supplied & fitted carpets, vinyls, LVT (such as Karndean and Amtico), engineered wood and more! 

Get in touch with Steve today on 07917 667 777, and mention GasCast to receive 10% off all orders. 

Promotion. Finals at both Wembley and the Millenium Stadium, all whilst sporting a cracking tan, this man has done it all in the blue and white quarters. No, not Ryan Green, no, not Sammy Igoe, no, not Chris Carruthers, no, not Sean Rigg, BUT Super Lewis Haldane!

Jack spoke to Lewis about his early breakthrough at The Gas, his struggles with matchday nerves, his debut goal, being frozen out by Ian Atkins and then a cracking couple of seasons under Paul Trolloper - beating City, playing in a JPT final in Cardiff and getting Man of the Match, that end of season form and to top it off, promotion at Wembley. 

We also talk about how the end of his Rovers career left a sour taste, and how two freak injuries at Port Vale ended his career. The first even nearly ended his life after being bitten by an insect and a year later he suffered a double-leg break to end his professional playing career. Lewis also faced your listener questions!

Having been relegated to League Two, Bristol Rovers found itself in a non-league nightmare. Failure to bounce back at the first time of asking would surely lead to financial ruin, and could see the club trapped in non-league for many years to come like so many former football league sides before us.

Step in Darrell Clarke. The man given the task to get the club back into the football league at the first time of asking not just succeeded, but went one better with back-to-back promotions straight to League One. 

In an exclusive interview with GasCast Podcast, Harley Thorne spoke with Darrell Clarke one-on-one, to hear the man give his account of those many phenomenal years in charge. From just how he went about building those promotion winning sides, his man management of certain players, and much more, tune in to an hour-and-a-half of uncut DC. 

Nathan ‘1 nil’ Blissett was our latest interviewee and the cult hero joined Jack to discuss his legendary status, how his move to the Gas came about, what he made of his stickers, promotion to League 2, that shocking offside call in the play-off final, missing out on Magaluf with the squad, his disappointing end to his Rovers career and his goal-scoring return to the Mem.

Bliss shared fascinating insights into the promotion winning dressing room and what it was like to play under Darrell Clarke and he also faced your listener questions. 

This was a real fun one to record and all of us at GasCast would love to see Bliss back at The Mem sometime soon! 

On the 1st of April, Ken Masters resigned as a director of Bristol Rovers. To dissect the fall out to all of this, Jack was joined by Gary Marks, a Gashead since the early 70’s and founder of the Gas Trust which was formed in the early 2000’s to provide a fan's voice and to pursue shares for fans. Gas Trust disbanded in 2006, during which time there was a boardroom split.

We discuss what Masters resignation actually means, the share scheme, Rovers fan activism, the clubs role in all of this and what the hell happens next.

Jack spoke to Adam Tutton, CEO of Bristol Rovers Community Trust, to discuss their efforts during the Coronavirus crisis, how it’s affected their existing work and we look back at the success of the Memorial Stadium Sleep Out event. 

In the debut episode of our new GasCast time machine series, the lads travel back in time to talk about Rovers’ eventful 2010/11 campaign.

The Gas had given Paul Trollope the reigns after letting Lennie Lawrence go, but Rovers ended the season having been managed by four different coaches.

The GasCast lads discuss the highs (Will Hoskins), lows (John Akinde) and share some of their memories from a season full of twists & turns.

This episode is sponsored by Kahuna Flooring. 

Kahuna Flooring can supply and fit all types of flooring for your home or workplace. They come to you with a sample selection service and offer deals on supplied & fitted carpets, vinyls, LVT (such as Karndean and Amtico), engineered wood and more! 

Get in touch with Steve today on 07917 667 777, and mention GasCast to receive 10% off all orders. 

Mets is joined by football finance expert Kieran Maguire to go over the latest accounts published by the club.

The good news for the Gas is that revenues are up, but so too are costs which pushed the clubs losses to nearly £4m. Player sales of Ellis Harrison and Tom Broadbent have softened the blow, but the total debt sits at nearly £25m.

Martyn Starnes expects a £1.7m reduction in costs to show in the next set of accounts, Kieran goes over how this can be achieved and he compares the clubs losses to other League One clubs.

They discuss the disruption caused by Coronavirus and the ramifications for all clubs financially. The EFL have promised a £50m relief package and Kieran describes how that will work in practice.

Jack spoke with Gas Girls Portugese maestro, Rossana Rocha, to discuss the breaking news of the season being cancelled, their 100% winning record, what it means to be a Bristol Rovers player and hoping to inspire the next generation of female footballers.

Jack spoke with Rovers legend/pantomime villain Jamie Cureton for a candid and open conversation about his mammoth career, growing up in Bristol, his spell at The Gas and his thoughts on retiring. 

In this special edition of GasCast we present the panel discussion 'Can Football Tackle Homelessness?' recorded live at the Memorial Stadium Sleep Out event, which raised money for Caring in Bristol.

Jack was joined by panellists Adam Tutton from Bristol Rovers Community Trust and Ben Richardson and Antonia Cross from Caring in Bristol.

You can donate to Jack's fundraising page here - https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Jack-Newcombe1