These notes were written before last Saturday’s trip to Birmingham where let’s hope a first win of the season was achieved at the ‘Sky Blues’ latest ‘home from home’. All those of us who are of a certain age know exactly what the Coventry fans are going through and the trouble for us visiting clubs is that the problem of ‘homelessness’ just make the host even more determined than ever so I’m sure it will not have been an easy game!

Losing a ‘home’ then is not something new to BRSC and I think we coped very well when we had to leave our base at Kingswood and relocate to cabins here at the stadium. Without doubt the biggest problem for the Committee, apart from having to make full-time staff redundant, was losing control of our away travel and membership functions which had previously been linked-up with the Football Club’s computer system. The plan was to link our sales cabin to the Rovers’ system but this proved impossible so we ‘bit the bullet’ over the summer and completely overhauled our website and booking systems.

The opening couple of games has proved difficult with lots of members who are not ‘on-line’ having to queue up (in the pouring rain against Wycombe) in order for our match-day staff to sign them in and sell coach tickets. After this tough start we now think we are ‘over the hump’ and hopefully all is becoming easier as volunteers and customers alike have got used to the new way of working.

Thanks to all our members for their patience during this trying spell and especially to our match-day workers and committee members for all the unpaid hours they have put in to make things work. It’s not been easy but we are getting there.

Four Rovers now Five

Throughout my long football-watching ‘career’ there has usually been four, now five thanks to the rise of FGR, ‘Rovers’ in the Football League and it was quite a culture shock when Doncaster became the first of ‘us’ to be relegated to the then Conference. It’s a strange thing then when we followed them just five years ago only for our Merseyside namesakes to take our place when we swopped Leagues just months later.

It’s nice that all three Rovers quickly regained their status and have gone on to improve even further – Tranmere copying our consecutive promotions just last May to provide another all-Rovers night out this evening.

Get behind the Rovers of Bristol tonight and let’s get the home League campaign up and running!

50/50 Winners

Wycombe Wanderers 10th August

First Prize £850. Phil Cole ofLongwell Green. Ticket number 030060

Second Prize £100. Unclaimed. Ticket Number 025346

Third Prize £50. Tony Hendy of Sea Mills. Ticket Number 0303266

Cheltenham Town 13th August

First Prize only. Richard Box of Yate. Ticket Number 031039

SC Online

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