BRISTOL ROVERS FORMER PLAYERS ASSOCIATION

ANNUAL DINNER 8 MARCH 2024

It was a pleasure to welcome the former players of Bristol Rovers to their annual dinner and to present caps to those who had not yet received them.

In case some of you are unaware of the background of the Supporters Club cap initiative, the following provides an explanation.

 A couple of years ago Keith Brookman, one of our committee members and now secretary of the Supporters Club read an article regarding the fact that West Bromwich Albion had launched a scheme whereby they would issue a cap to every player who had represented West Brom in the Football League.

 Keith thought that this was something that Rovers could do if the funding could be found to purchase caps for every Rovers player, though first of all he had to trawl through club appearance records from the first ever game played in the league, back in 1920.

 Each player who represented the club was given a number and where more than one player made his debut in the same game, then they were classified alphabetically.

 As you can imagine, looking at starting lineups for over 100 years of league football took quite a while to get right and checking and rechecking took time. Keith reckons he went over those lineups at least five times!

 The result was that he then wrote an article for the matchday programme, hoping that the club would be impressed enough to offer to purchase the required number of caps.

 However, it was the Supporters Club that decided it was a worthwhile cause and offered to purchase 1200 caps (1,100 of which were numbered, the rest blank for future reference).

 The hope was that the club could be persuaded to invite two, three of four former players to every game, whereby they could be club ambassadors and ‘work’ the hospitality sectors before and after the game and be presented with their caps at half time out on the pitch.

 Unfortunately, that idea hasn’t yet taken off and half time pitch presentations have been sporadic, to say the least. The majority of caps have been presented at our last two Annual Dinners, and/or presented to a number of individuals away from the Memorial Stadium.

 We sincerely hope that the situation will change and our Chairman, Tony Mills, will shortly meet with Abdulatif Al Hussein, one of the club’s new owners, to discuss how we might move forward with future cap presentations.

 On Friday 8th March, we held our Annual Dinner at Gloucestershire Cricket Club when over 20 former players were in attendance, 11 of whom received their caps, namely; Wayne Carlisle, Trevor Challis, Ryan Clarke, Richard Dryden, Mike Green, Alfie Kilgour, Christian McClean, Wayne Noble, Phil Purnell, Gary Smart and Bobby ‘Shadow’ Williams.

 In addition, we were delighted to be able to present a cap to the family of Malcolm Norman who sadly passed away last October at the age of 89. His wife and three sons were in attendance and were presented with his cap.

 Whilst the cap initiative is a Supporters Club innovation, we work closely with them and many of the committee members were present at our Dinner.

 The caps, by the way, bear the Bristol Rovers logo and the number on the back of the cap represents the number that player was given when he made his debut (we are currently up to 1005 players to have represented the club in the league).

 Unfortunately, statisticians give priority to league appearances only, so those players who have only appeared in cup ties or in our Conference season are not included.

 The feedback we have received from players who have received their caps has been very positive and we have already received a number of enquiries from former players since our dinner asking when they can receive theirs!

 The first presentation of the evening was made to Malcolm Norman’s family. A goalkeeper by trade, Malcolm made his Rovers league debut against Leyton Orient in December 1958 when Rovers lost 3-1 at Eastville. He was the 338th player to represent Rovers in the league and it was the first of his 69 league games for Rovers.

  Keeping up the goalkeeper theme, next up was Ryan Clarke, who made his debut at Rochdale back in 2002. I was at Spotland that day and it was agreed, beforehand, that Scott Howie would play in the first half to preserve his 100% appearance record for the season but that he would make way for Ryan at some point in the second half.

 And so it was that Ryan appeared for an eventful final 14 minutes of that game. He saved a late penalty but, unfortunately, the referee ordered the spot kick to be retaken and he was beaten at the second attempt and Rovers lost 2-1. Ryan became the 687th player to play league football for the club and went on to appear in 23 league games.

 Next up came defender Trevor Challis, who arrived at the club from Queens Park Rangers in the summer of 1998 and who made his debut against Burnley, at Turf Moor, on 8th August, becoming the 621st player on the list.  

Unfortunately, his debut ended in a 2-1 defeat, but it was the first of 145 league games in a Rovers shirt. One of a number of players who moved to the area when he signed for the club, Trevor has never moved away, though nowadays he can be found across town as he’s a coach for the Bristol club that plays in red!

Staying with the red half of Bristol, our next guest enjoyed a stellar career at Ashton Gate where he made 187 league appearances, scoring 76 goals in the process. 

Bobby ‘Shadow’ Williams, earned his nickname for the way he ghosted past opponents and was described as creative and ingenious. On leaving ‘The Gate’ he signed for Rotherham and it was from there that he signed for Rovers in March 1967.  Coming in at number 391, his debut came in a goalless draw against Grimsby Town at Eastville and was the first of his 29 league games in a Rovers shirt.

 He moved on to Reading, played in Belgium and then for Weymouth, though his playing career ended following a serious car crash. It wasn’t the end of his football journey, though, as he went on to spend 25 years coaching Reading’s young players, one of whom was future England midfielder Neil Webb.

We then moved on to a player who is truly one of our own, central defender Alfie Kilgour who joined our Academy as an eight year old. He seemed destined for a debut at a young age but suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament injury when playing for Rovers in a Gloucestershire Senior Amateur Cup tie at the Mem against Slimbridge. Undeterred he fought his way back to fitness, went out on loan to Hungerford and to Maidenhead. Recalled early from that last loan he was handed his debut as a late substitute in a 1-0 win at Gillingham.

 Number 920 in the grand scheme of things, he won Goal of the Month in February 2020 for his goal against Blackpool. Underwent knee surgery in March 2022 and joined Mansfield Town in January 2023.

Alfie was followed by Wayne Noble, whose debut, against Bolton Wanderers, on 4th February 1986 saw Rovers win 2-0 and his career was up and running. 

The 516th player to represent the club in the league would make just 21 league appearances whilst with Rovers, his career hugely affected by injuries. He picked up injuries in pre-season training two years in succession which undoubtedly hampered his progress.

He had been an England Youth squad member at the same time as Tony Adams and David Rocastle and had, according to many people, the ‘sweetest left foot ever’. 

He enjoyed a non league career with a number of clubs and worked in the club’s Community Department. There was also a short time spent as kit man and as Wayne was, and still is, a bit of a joker, there was never a dull moment when he was around!

Another player with connections to the red half of Bristol also joined us; Richard Dryden’s 13 league game sojourn for Rovers began on 28th December 1986 when he was in the side that won 2-1 at Griffin Park, Brentford.

 Also making his Rovers league debut in the same game was another of the evening’s guests, Ian Weston who received his cap at our last dinner. 

A somewhat nomadic career ensued for player number 527 for, after leaving Rovers, he turned out for Exeter City, Notts County, Plymouth Argyle and Birmingham City before the team that plays at Ashton Gate forked out £200,000 to relocate him to South Bristol

He was on his travels again some 18 months later but to list all of his clubs would take up far too much time as he’s continued his career as a coach and manager since hanging up his boots and is currently a coach with National League side Aldershot Town.

 Next up came Phil Purnell, whose Rovers league debut arrived on 29th March 1986, a game in which the 517th player to represent the club ended up on the losing side as Rovers were beaten 2-0 at Ashton Gate.

It was the first of 153 league games for Rovers and he was to feature in some important games for the club. On the final day of the 1986/87 season, for example, he scored the goal that gave Rovers a 1-0 win at Newport County which ensured that we avoided relegation to the old Fourth Division.

 A member of the 1990 Championship winning side, he played against Bristol City in that never to be forgotten penultimate game of the season when Rovers clinched a 3-0 win and then scored in the final game of the campaign, at Blackpool, where victory clinched the title.

 ‘Percy’ also played against Tranmere Rovers in the club’s first ever Wembley appearance a few weeks after the title win, in the Leyland DAF Final in which we were beaten 2-1.

 A popular member of the squad, he’s also a very talented local cricketer. His playing career was ended by injury and he was awarded a testimonial match by Rovers which saw Queens Park Rangers visit Twerton Park.

Coming in at number 544 is Christian McClean, whose debut was against Chesterfield on 2nd April 1988, a game in which we were 1-0 winners at Saltergate.

Christian arrived at Rovers via Colchester United, AVV Zeeburgia of Amsterdam, Chelmsford City and Clacton Town and his debut was the first of 51 league games in Rovers’ colours.

 He became an integral member of the squad put together by Gerry Francis and his physical presence up front, often in the absence of Devon White, caused opposing defences many problems.

 A member of the 1990 Championship winning side, and a substitute at Wembley in the Leyland DAF Final, Christian was a fans’ favourite during his time with the club. 

He has retained an affection for Rovers and this was by no means his first visit back to the club as he has attended a number of functions since his departure in July 1991. 

He enjoyed a long career in non league football and turned out for a team called Boxted Lodgers at the age of 48.  

One of our former players has recently returned to the club in a coaching capacity, so it was a pleasure to welcome Wayne Carlisle, the 684th player to represent the club in the league. 

His debut came in a 1-0 defeat against Plymouth Argyle, at Home Park, on 30th March 2002.

He created an unusual newspaper headline in 2003 when he scored Rovers’ two goals in a

2-0 win at Carlisle.

 Carlisle 0, Carlisle 2 was his gift to the newsprint industry. He also scored against Carlisle in the return fixture at the Mem which we won 1-0. 

Given that he’s previously worked with Matt Taylor at Exeter and Rotherham it came as little surprise when the two teamed up again at The Mem. 

When the cap initiative was set up, the Supporters Club asked if anyone would like to sponsor any of the presentations. Current Treasurer of the Supporters Club, Clive Marshall, agreed to sponsor Gary Smart’s cap and was on hand to make the presentation.

 Gary, of course, is another player with Bristol City connections and pleasant ones at that! He will always be remembered for scoring the winning goal at Ashton Gate on New Year’s Day 1987 to seal a dramatic 1-0 win. 

Gary made the first of his 19 Rovers league games on 19th October 1985 when we beat Doncaster Rovers 2-0 at their former Belle Vue ground. 

The 513th player to make his Rovers debut, he went on to play for a number of local clubs after leaving us and made a substitute appearance at Wembley for Forest Green Rovers in the 1999 FA Trophy Final. 

Given that the presentations began with a goalkeeper, it seemed only fitting to end them with  another shot stopper and it was a pleasure to ask Richard Jarman to present a cap to Mike Green as he had agreed to sponsor it.

Mike was the 791st player to turn out for Rovers in league football when he was in the side that drew 1-1 against Oldham Athletic at Boundary Park.

 There was only one other league game in a Rovers career that lasted from July 2006 – summer 2011 though he was in many first team squads during that time and was on the bench at the two finals reached in 2007.

 After leaving Rovers he appeared in 154 games for Gloucester City. 

As well as those receiving caps, there were also more former players in attendance. They had received their caps at a previous dinner, but it was a pleasure to see these familiar faces again; Peter Aitken, Bob Bloomer, Simon Bryant, Billy Clark, Dave Gilroy, Lewis Hogg, Harold Jarman, Vaughan Jones, David Mehew, Frankie Prince, Tom Stanton, Marcus Stewart and Ian Weston.

Marcus Stewart was only in attendance for the meal which, by the way, was outstanding and the best yet! So, thanks go to Gloucestershire Cricket Club who always make us so very welcome. 

Marcus had to leave early, as he had another engagement to attend, in Portishead. Nevertheless, it was great to see him looking so well and we were delighted when the raffle we held made £1,010 as it was held in aid of his charity, Team Stewart/Darby Rimmer Foundation.

 There was, though, one more very important presentation and that was to our secretary, Mo Bell, without whom this event, and indeed

Mo is going to take a backseat after working so hard on our behalf and it was fitting that our President, Billy Clark, presented Mo with an engraved Bristol Blue Glass vase and a bouquet of flowers.

 It proved to be quite an emotional end to what had been a very enjoyable evening.              

Many thanks to everyone for your support yet again this year – we hope you enjoyed this annual event. 

Thanks are also due to Keith Brookman who wrote this excellent feature, and to Neil Brookman who took many photographs to accompany the article.

If anyone reading these notes knows of any former Bristol Rovers Player who isn’t a member of the Former Player’s Association, please put them in contact with us and we will reach out to them.  Contact Mo Bell by email – mjbell1937@gmail.com, or Keith Brookman – regatrovers@googlemail.com