ROVERS FANZ VIEW COLUMN
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Winning is a habit. When you work out how to do it, it's not too hard to keep doing it, but once you completely lose the plot it can take ages to remember what to do. Gone are the days when we would turn up at the Rovers (be it the Mem or indeed Twerton) confident that we could win most of those home matches, and then any bonus away points might put us in or around the play-offs every other season. It may be excruciating, but at the moment we are witnessing the current crop learn how to win all from scratch, a bit like watching a kid learning to walk. Thankfully Gasheads can be applauded for their patience, as I know many other clubs' fans would have begun booing the team off long before now. I liken it to waiting for a bus - working yourself up into a state in the bus shelter won't make the bus arrive any quicker, so what else can you do but wait? Bus number two arrived on Tuesday night with the win over Bury, but I actually think we played better in the draw with Exeter on Saturday. The wing play was fantastic on both flanks at the weekend as Challis and Astafjevs linked up superbly on the left, while Danny Boxall put in his best performance to date on the opposite side. Paul Tait's glancing header was a beauty for the equaliser, and I have to applaud him for his mental strength by proving his doubters wrong. He followed that up with a stunning solo goal in midweek, when he outpaced (believe it or not!) Bury's defence and smashed the ball past the keeper just seven minutes into the game. Then right on half-time he found himself inside the Rovers box, and showing great awareness in that alien position, he sent up a real up-and-under some 80 yards right into Giuliano Grazioli's path and it was 2-0 out of virtually nothing. I'm sure he would admit that he had not been playing well recently, and the penalty miss at Carlisle must have plagued on his mind for a few games. Like Diego Forlan for Manchester United this week, he was handed the ball at a penalty in the hope that he would break his duck, but Tait failed to even hit the target. He did open his account in the following match with Swansea, but maybe he could have done with scoring from more than a yard out, just to give him a bit more confidence. Similarly to Mickey Evans last year, Tait has declared that he is not the target man you expect when you look at all 6'1" of him, but as long as he keeps banging in the goals I don't think anyone will mind too much. With Christer Warren joining the club and injury-prone Kevin Austin finally getting fit, there has been a marked improvement at the back now people are breathing down their necks. Warren looks to have a decent left foot and showed at Macclesfield that he can deliver a dangerous long throw. Blimey, we haven't seen one of them since Vaughan Jones was at the club! But with Trevor Challis moving his performances up a gear, the new man might not get a game for a while. Meanwhile Austin boasts glowing references from his former clubs, but his problems with injuries have seriously curtailed a career that was going places when he was at Barnsley and representing Trinidad & Tobago a couple of seasons ago. Anwar Uddin is a few years younger and looks set to raise his reputation immeasurably if he carries on the way he played on Tuesday. He definitely has the physique to muscle it out at the top level, and the experience he gains now I'm sure will only make him a better player. At least he knows with Rovers he will be seeing a lot of action back there in defence!
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