Rovers Greats: Dave Pritchard
By Gerry Prewett
Who was the first football player in the World to be sponsored by an Internet group? Maradona? Beckham? Step forward David Pritchard, whose kit was sponsored by Internet Gas.
Others soon followed but there is only one ever first and David Pritchard holds that never to be beaten record. A tenacious full back his never say die attitude won him the nickname of ‘Pitbull’, but to the Internet Gas he was always ‘Our Man Pritch’.
A lifelong Wolves fan, Pritchard had signed for West Bromwich Albion as a youngster and made one appearance (and four substitute appearances) for them in the 1991/92 season before dropping down to play for Telford United. Between August 1992 and February 1994, he played 64 games in the Conference for the Bucks and scored one goal. At 5’8” tall he was never the most intimidating presence but what he lacked in height he made up for with determination.
Signed by John Ward for £15,000, he made his Rovers debut on 15th March 1994 in a 1-0 defeat at St James Park, Exeter. He cemented his place in the team and made the right back spot his own. The run in of the 1993/94 season was very disappointing. In the final 14 games The Gas won just four, drew one and lost nine and fell short of the Play Offs by just three points. Burnley, the team that finished in that last Play Off spot, won promotion.
At the start of the following season, He played an important role on 10th hSeptember in a 3-0 win at Rotherham. After Rovers’ took an early lead the Evening Post reported; ‘Rotherham immediately responded and Pritchard needed to be really sharp to check Hayward before the first corner was floated straight to Parkin.’, and later ‘Goater took the ball on his chest and would have been away but for excellent covering work by Pritchard’.
He completed 43 League games that season as Rovers sealed a Play Off place and narrowly missed out on promotion losing the Final 2-1 to Huddersfield Town. Having personally had a very good game, Pritchard clearing a Gary Crosby shot off the line.
The Evening Post reported; ‘Probably Rovers best performer during a difficult first half, with a handful of telling tackles and blocks when the pressure was on. Faded slightly after the break but always looked to go forward down the right.’
1995/96 was not a good season for Pritchard, having started the first 15 League and Cup games of the season, he only appeared in one more League game and in the embarrassing FA Cup loss at Hitchin before his season was over. It was almost exactly a year later that he pulled on the ‘Tesco Carrier Bag’ Rovers shirt in 1996/97 season in another FA Cup defeat this time at home to Exeter City.
He kept his place in the team and secured a further 26 appearances. By this time Rovers had re-established themselves back in Bristol, having bought a 50% share of the Memorial Ground and brought back Ian Holloway as Player Manager. In the home game with Luton on 15th February 1997, the away team took an early lead, but Rovers equalised on 22 minutes. One minute later Bontcho Guentchev elbowed Pritchard in the face and received a straight red card. It resulted in ‘argy bargy’ between the benches. Rovers eventually came out on top in a 3-2 victory.
Just one week later Pritchard’s cross to Andy Tillson allowed him to head down for Jamie Cureton to lash the ball home for the opening goal in a
2-0 defeat of Plymouth, Cureton later missed the opportunity of a hat trick goal from another Pritchard cross.
Match reports from this time are littered with details of Prichard’s telling crosses into the box.
1997/98 proved to be a memorable season for Pritchard and not for the best of reasons. He missed the opening three games of the season and then cemented himself in the team as a full back before an infamous midweek game on a wintery night in Wigan on 2nd December in front of a crowd of just, 2,738.
On an ice-skating rink of a pitch Referee Kevin Lynch seemed to think that instead of sending out Christmas cards he would hand out yellow and red cards. Coming up the half time ‘Pritch’ received his second yellow card of the night. As the free kick was waiting to be taken a fight broke out on the edge of Rovers penalty area and Andy Tillson, Jason Perry and Wigan’s Graeme Jones were all shown straight red cards. Jones headbutted Tillson on his way off the pitch!
In the second half Josh Low received a second yellow card and joined his three other colleagues in the dressing room! At the time Wigan’s Martinez begged Mr Lynch not to send Low off. Peter Beadle realised that if one more Rovers’ player received a red card the game would be abandoned, he duly spent the remainder of the game looking to be that man!
These extracts are typical of the match reports from that season. 21st February 1998 Rovers 3 Oldham 1; ‘Kelly was soon in action as he just managed to tip away Pritchard’s cross from under the bar’. 10th April 1998 Rovers 5 Wigan 0; ‘In the 50th minute David Pritchard’s long ball over the top was just perfect for Beadle to control inside the box and smash home’; April 24th 1999 Pritchard Star Man Blackpool 1 Rovers 2.
Under Ian Holloway’s managership he cemented his place in the team in midfield where he flourished, being able to display his bravery and commitment. In March he was rewarded with a place in the Wales ‘B’ team in a game against the Scotland ‘B’ team.
The 1999/2000 season saw Rovers battling out with Preston for top spot. 14th August 1999 Gillingham 0 Rovers 1 Star Man; ‘He typified Rovers tigerish spirit. Particularly impressive after the break.’ 4th September 1999 Scunthorpe 0 Rovers 2 Star Man; ‘Olly is right, he is playing the best football of his career.’ 2nd October Rovers 3
Blackpool 1, Pritchard is brought down in the area for a penalty resulting in the opening goal. Later he was at the end of flowing move that brought a great save from Blackpool’s debutant keeper Adam Rachel. Evening Post Man of the Match
In November 1999 he scored his only ever goal, in a Rovers win 1-0 at Chesterfield. Just before half time Chesterfield’s Chris Perkins failed to clear a ball from the left, and it found Pritchard who gleefully smashed it home from 19 yards. One Rovers fan Ben Davies had pledged that wherever Pritchard scored his first Rovers goal, he would walk home from the game. Unfortunately for Ben it wasn’t a home game but in true GasHead fashion he stayed true to his word and two months later walked 154 miles to Bristol from Chesterfield and raised a considerable amount of money for charity.
At the start of the millenium Rovers lost 5-4 at Colchester having led 3-1. Just after half time a Titus Bramble challenge left Pritchard in a heap to give Jamie Cureton a scoring penalty. Despite his injury it was another
Man of the Match performance. That injury effectively ended his season and with Ronnie Mauge also out for the season soon afterwards the team fell away dramatically.
After missing the whole of the 2000/01 season he managed just five games in the following season before the reality struck that his knee injury had effectively killed off his career. He was rewarded for his loyalty to the club by being given a testimonial game in 2003, when Rovers faced a Wolverhampton Wanderers side.
There was a brief spell as temporary assistant caretaker manager of the club at the end of the 2001/02 season, but that summer he moved to Spain where he still lives and works.
