Marked for Mathias Blårud
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market17 Jun 2030
The bid was some way short and Estrela da Amadora did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
The terraces17 Jun 2030
The accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Daniel Banjaqui was one of the reasons people came, and $27.0M does not replace that by itself.
Transfer targets17 Jun 2030
The clubs have shaken hands with Amora; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
Transfer targets17 Jun 2030
Everything agreed with Amora, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Market17 Jun 2030
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Estrela da Amadora, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets17 Jun 2030
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Varzim have kept their man, and Estrela da Amadora go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Market17 Jun 2030
The name of Alex Sola has come up in conversations Estrela da Amadora were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad17 Jun 2030
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Henrique Torcato has just signed for Estrela da Amadora, and for once the answer mattered.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad3 Sep 2029
A fracture rules Mathias Blårud out for 31 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bristol Rovers will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Boardroom3 Sep 2029
He arrived for a fee and leaves for a fraction of it. $145.3K of what Bristol Rovers paid for Omari Benjamin is money the club will not see again, and the boardroom will be asked about it for two seasons.
Player ratings3 Sep 2029
Marked 7.94 at 20, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Transfer targets3 Sep 2029
The clubs have shaken hands with Wrexham; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
Market3 Sep 2029
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Boardroom3 Sep 2029
Bristol Rovers close the window on a squad of their own making
28 in and 20 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Market3 Sep 2029
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Bristol Rovers heard it as anything else.
Transfer targets3 Sep 2029
Everything agreed with West Bromwich Albion, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad3 Sep 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Emanuele Lulli and Bristol Rovers agree another 4 years.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout27 Aug 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Bristol Rovers may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad27 Aug 2029
A fracture rules Mathias Blårud out for 38 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bristol Rovers will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market27 Aug 2029
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Bristol Rovers people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Market27 Aug 2029
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Bristol Rovers, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings27 Aug 2029
Successful dribbles: 25. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The dugout27 Aug 2029
This is not rotation. Kelvi has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Bristol Rovers is pretending otherwise.
Transfer targets27 Aug 2029
The paperwork begins on Noah Okafor
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Bristol Rovers have done the hard part with Leeds United, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Transfer targets27 Aug 2029
$830.0K was the most the club would pay and Portsmouth were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
Squad27 Aug 2029
Chris Richards and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market20 Aug 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bristol Rovers can pretend not to have heard.
Squad20 Aug 2029
45 days out for Mathias Blårud after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Bristol Rovers will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market20 Aug 2029
The offer from HJK for Emanuele Lulli was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Player ratings20 Aug 2029
Ben Tree, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 7.87
A mark of 7.87 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
The dugout20 Aug 2029
Chukwuemeka Obi: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Bristol Rovers have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market20 Aug 2029
The paperwork is done: Tristan Gill joins from Luton Town in a deal worth $1.5M. Now comes the harder part.
Transfer targets20 Aug 2029
The offer went to Portsmouth this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Boardroom20 Aug 2029
Adam Wilson signs on for the long haul
Bristol Rovers moved before anybody else could: a new deal for Adam Wilson, agreed quietly and announced loudly. Boards extend managers for many reasons; the good one is the one this looks like.
Squad20 Aug 2029
Chris Richards was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad13 Aug 2029
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 52 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market13 Aug 2029
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Transfer targets13 Aug 2029
Bristol Rovers offered $8.6M; Southampton said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
The dugout13 Aug 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Bristol Rovers may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Transfer targets13 Aug 2029
Everything agreed with Luton Town, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Player ratings13 Aug 2029
Successful dribbles: 26. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Market13 Aug 2029
Adam Davies has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Bristol Rovers they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Match11 Aug 2029
Every run ends on an afternoon somebody had marked down as routine. This one went 9 matches, which is long enough that a town had stopped counting, and short enough that it will remember exactly who stopped it.
Squad13 Aug 2029
Jack Rudoni and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad6 Aug 2029
59 days out for Mathias Blårud after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Bristol Rovers will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market6 Aug 2029
Kelvi puts it in writing
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Bristol Rovers, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market6 Aug 2029
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Market6 Aug 2029
Southampton pay $1.8M, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
Transfer targets6 Aug 2029
Everything agreed with Newcastle United, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad6 Aug 2029
Chris Richards and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad6 Aug 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Segundo Rodríguez and Bristol Rovers agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Transfer targets6 Aug 2029
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Market6 Aug 2029
No place for Ben Wiles in the plan
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Ben Wiles has his answer from Bristol Rovers; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad30 Jul 2029
A fracture rules Mathias Blårud out for 66 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bristol Rovers will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market30 Jul 2029
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Bristol Rovers have lost him in all but the paperwork.
The dugout30 Jul 2029
This is not rotation. Kelvi has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Bristol Rovers is pretending otherwise.
Market30 Jul 2029
Jay Bird has left for Wrexham in a $1.2M deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Squad30 Jul 2029
Chris Richards and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Transfer targets30 Jul 2029
Bristol Rovers asked and Sheffield United said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Transfer targets30 Jul 2029
A loan enquiry to Newcastle United: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Transfer targets30 Jul 2029
A loan enquiry to Crewe Alexandra: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market23 Jul 2029
Terms done: Jay Bird is going
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Wrexham waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Bristol Rovers is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Squad23 Jul 2029
A fracture rules Mathias Blårud out for 73 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bristol Rovers will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market23 Jul 2029
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market23 Jul 2029
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Bristol Rovers, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets23 Jul 2029
Everything agreed with Bolton Wanderers, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad23 Jul 2029
Abraham Odoh and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Transfer targets23 Jul 2029
Bristol Rovers asked and Notts County said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Transfer targets23 Jul 2029
A loan enquiry to Sheffield United: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Transfer targets23 Jul 2029
Villarreal have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad16 Jul 2029
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 80 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market16 Jul 2029
The offer from Sunderland for Daniel Phillips was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Market16 Jul 2029
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market16 Jul 2029
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Bristol Rovers heard it as anything else.
Transfer targets16 Jul 2029
Bristol Rovers asked and Fulham said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad16 Jul 2029
Kelvi and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Transfer targets16 Jul 2029
A loan move for Dennis Bossman is in the works
Bristol Rovers have made the call to Crewe Alexandra. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The dugout16 Jul 2029
The manager makes an example of Adam Davies
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout16 Jul 2029
Ben Wiles has been promised minutes
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Ben Wiles has written the date down.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad9 Jul 2029
87 days out for Mathias Blårud after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Bristol Rovers will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market9 Jul 2029
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad9 Jul 2029
Chris Richards and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets9 Jul 2029
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Market9 Jul 2029
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Squad9 Jul 2029
9 new faces, and Bristol Rovers are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
Transfer targets9 Jul 2029
Las Palmas have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
Transfer targets9 Jul 2029
A loan enquiry to Sunderland: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Market9 Jul 2029
1 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Bristol Rovers money.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad2 Jul 2029
A fracture rules Mathias Blårud out for 94 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bristol Rovers will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market2 Jul 2029
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Bristol Rovers they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Market2 Jul 2029
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Transfer targets2 Jul 2029
Luton Town wanted more than $1.4M and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
The dugout2 Jul 2029
This is not rotation. Kelvi has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Bristol Rovers is pretending otherwise.
Transfer targets2 Jul 2029
Everything agreed with Newcastle United, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad2 Jul 2029
Chris Richards and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Transfer targets2 Jul 2029
Bristol Rovers asked and Brighton said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The dugout2 Jul 2029
Jay Bird gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad25 Jun 2029
101 days out for Mathias Blårud after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Bristol Rovers will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market25 Jun 2029
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Transfer targets25 Jun 2029
The offer went to Luton Town this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Market25 Jun 2029
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Transfer targets25 Jun 2029
$770.0K was the most the club would pay and Port Vale were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
Squad25 Jun 2029
Ben Garrity and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad25 Jun 2029
A move Luciano Strey would have made for nothing
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Luciano Strey is living that version at Bristol Rovers, and it tends to show in the first month.
Squad25 Jun 2029
Jack Rudoni falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Transfer targets25 Jun 2029
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Notts County have kept their man, and Bristol Rovers go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad18 Jun 2029
A fracture rules Mathias Blårud out for 108 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bristol Rovers will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market18 Jun 2029
The bid was some way short and Bristol Rovers did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Transfer targets18 Jun 2029
The offer went to Port Vale this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Transfer targets18 Jun 2029
Leyton Orient wanted more than $930.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
Squad18 Jun 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bristol Rovers this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market18 Jun 2029
Brad Young has left for Wrexham in a $710.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Market18 Jun 2029
Walsall pay $410.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
Transfer targets18 Jun 2029
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
The dugout18 Jun 2029
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad11 Jun 2029
A fracture rules Mathias Blårud out for 115 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bristol Rovers will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market11 Jun 2029
The offer from Wolverhampton for Daniel Phillips was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Market11 Jun 2029
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Bristol Rovers people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Market11 Jun 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bristol Rovers can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets11 Jun 2029
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Bristol Rovers have done the hard part with Birmingham, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Transfer targets11 Jun 2029
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Sunderland have kept their man, and Bristol Rovers go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Boardroom11 Jun 2029
The number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $315.0K — a club that wants Ryan Sweeney enough to be asked twice.
Squad11 Jun 2029
Chris Richards and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets11 Jun 2029
$290.0K was the most the club would pay and Blackburn Rovers were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad4 Jun 2029
A fracture rules Mathias Blårud out for 122 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bristol Rovers will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market4 Jun 2029
Adam Davies hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bristol Rovers can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets4 Jun 2029
$240.0K on the table at Blackburn Rovers. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Squad4 Jun 2029
Abraham Odoh was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad4 Jun 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Andrea Gallo and Bristol Rovers agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Transfer targets4 Jun 2029
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
The dugout4 Jun 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Abraham Odoh, and the manager let it.
Market4 Jun 2029
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Bristol Rovers have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Market4 Jun 2029
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad28 May 2029
A fracture rules Mathias Blårud out for 129 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bristol Rovers will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market28 May 2029
Kelvi hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bristol Rovers can pretend not to have heard.
Market28 May 2029
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Squad28 May 2029
Kelvi and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The dugout28 May 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Riley Ebho, and the manager let it.
The dugout28 May 2029
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad12 Mar 2029
Ben Garrity was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings12 Mar 2029
Successful dribbles: 22. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Squad12 Mar 2029
Words at Bristol Rovers training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jean Galindo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad12 Mar 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Mathias Blårud commits to Bristol Rovers for another 1 years.
The dugout12 Mar 2029
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout12 Mar 2029
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Adam Wilson after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
The dugout12 Mar 2029
Luke Southwood knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Bristol Rovers, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Match10 Mar 2029
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Port Vale came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.