ROVERS FANZ VIEW COLUMN
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Why is it we have to keep going behind in games in order to start playing? After turning a one-nil deficit into a 2-1 win at Notts County, we had to do it all over again on the Monday by going 3-1 down at home to Darlington before clicking into gear. While Richard Walker sparkled up front against Darlo, Ryan Williams was the engineer behind our umpteenth fightback of the campaign as he set up the last two goals after coming off the bench. Williams follows in a long line of under-used Rovers talents that includes Vitalijs Astafjevs, Lee Hodges and Wayne Carlisle – all players whose superior quality was often ignored by short-sighted and negative managers, who preferred more rugged options in order to stop the other team scoring. Ask most Gasheads who our most creative player is and they will say Ryan Williams. Just witness the effect he had down at Yeovil, when a comatose Rovers team bereft of any ideas suddenly came to life and gave the champions elect a battering with everything going through the sprightly winger – he set up one goal and nearly dragged us back to 4-4 in that game. Although Ian Atkins seems to prefer a narrow midfield with players like Disley, Savage and Lescott on the outer edges, Williams has at least been seeing some action as a substitute, though usually when we are losing. The spell he had on loan at Forest Green earned rave reviews and showed the manager what he was capable of, and when a virus caused the number of fit players to dwindle, he got his chance to impress back at the Mem and he has been involved ever since. Lewis Haldane is another darling of the crowd who has been made to bide his time in the stands and he too joined Forest Green last week in what we hope can be a similarly successful loan move. Haldane has played less games than last season under Ray Graydon and subsequently his goal return is down on last year, with only one in the LDV Vans at Orient. He is scheduled to return for our last two league matches, and with any luck he will get another go up front. At the other end, Ryan Clarke apologised in the week for trying too hard to please the fans, who have seen him make a few errors since the spectre of Kevin Miller was removed after the Bury game and he was handed the gloves. He was very impressive during the period Miller was out injured, when there was the pressure to impress the manager or else be dropped when the big Number 1 got fit. Now he has effectively been guaranteed the jersey until the end of the season, the pressure is different and having earned his run in the team, his performances are under greater scrutiny to determine whether he should be next year’s long-term first choice or whether the club needs to sign a new goalkeeper, such as Matt Glennon. Statistically, Clarke has conceded far more goals than Miller and only kept the one clean sheet in 22 outings, if you include his stints at Southend and Kidderminster. Miller registered 14 shut-outs this season, letting in 33 goals in 36 appearances at less than a goal-a-game, while Clarke’s tally of 44 so far averages double that. Of course, conceding goals is not the sole responsibility of the goalkeeper because the back line and half of the midfield are selected primarily to defend. But if Clarke is to establish himself, he needs to keep a few more unblemished scoresheets or he’ll be back on the bench.
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