ROVERS FANZ VIEW COLUMN
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When Rovers beat Oxford at the Mem a couple of weeks ago, we moved up to fourth in League Two and back among the pace-setters at the top of the table. After beating such a difficult side, the prospect of facing a relatively weak Cambridge in the next game, who had won only once all season, appeared far less daunting. With England playing host to Wales live on TV later that afternoon, the atmosphere at the Abbey Stadium was more subdued than normal as less than 3,000 fans made the effort to get up there for the lunchtime kick-off. Maybe it was the unusually early routine or the half-empty terraces that affected our players but Rovers fell well short of their best and handed the home side a welcome win. The decisive goal came just seconds after the restart as we got caught half-asleep by a sudden barrage of pressure. Whilst there was still almost the whole second half to recover and level the match, the timing of the goal could not have been worse in Ian Atkins' eyes. Some Gasheads will have noticed that Rovers nearly always take to the field before the opposition at the end of the interval and this is because Atkins wants to ensure that his charges are fully warmed-up again before the whistle. Apparently the Rovers players are kept active in the dressing room at half-time with stretching exercises and by making them stand up instead of slouching on a bench and feeling the leg muscles tighten up as a result. The fact that Atkins has researched the notion that most goals are scored in the fifteen minutes after the break should have ensured that we would be fully prepared for the inevitable onslaught. Instead of seeing his players reaching for their toes or keeping themselves warm with a bit of running when they went back out onto the pitch, the match video revealed to the manager that most of the team stood around laughing and joking in the centre circle as they waited for Cambridge to run out. Not only were the players not warmed up properly, their body language suggested an arrogant complacency that we would beat this lot easily, and so there was a lot of egg on various faces when the ball ended up in Kevin Miller's net moments later. Rovers never looked like conjuring up an equaliser and Atkins locked the players in the dressing room for the best part of an hour afterwards to hold an inquest. It is no wonder the boss is thinking of jumbling up the team once again, with Richard Walker the latest name to be mentioned as a possible starter. One man who is unlikely to earn a start for Rovers as long as Miller stays upright is Ryan Clarke, who joined Southend on loan during last week. Although brought about by an injury crisis in Essex, this temporary move is a wonderful opportunity for Ryan to add to his limited first-team experience and he will have some familiar faces around in the form of Adam Barrett and Che Wilson, who should help him settle in quickly. Miller is due to make his 600th league appearance this coming week against Yeovil and he won't be around forever. Clarke is the ideal long-term successor but while he is away, cover has been provided by drafting in young shot-stopper Martin Horsell from Filton College.
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