Terrace Talk

May 13 2009 with Sam Tennent, Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser

IT is hard to find many positives in the end-of-season statistics for 2008-09.

Rovers finished eighth in the table but had to depend on an Elgin victory over Berwick to attain that position.

It would have been nice to secure that spot unaided by recording a last day victory over Montrose, breaking the 40-point barrier in the process, but it wasn’t to be.

However, if we take a look beyond the stats, it’s certainly not all doom.

There has been much to enjoy this term, and it’s been one of the most interesting and entertaining seasons for years.

Much of that entertainment has come from the talented feet of Bobby Barr, the third division player of the year.

Bobby gets my vote as our outstanding performer, but there have been others who have contributed well to the cause.

I’ve enjoyed the performances of Michael McGowan, a solid defender with some nice touches and a penchant for making driving runs at the opposition. Marc Pollock, too, has provided some great moments with his dribbling skills and if he can add a finishing touch, he will be a real force next season.

A mention also for Ross Harris who provided some classy midfield play and scored some spectacular goals before a mid-season injury after which he struggled to recapture that early season form.

So much for the individual contributors, but football is a team game and there have been some stand-out Rovers performances this season. Two of my favourites were the cup games against Queen’s Park and eventual second division champions Raith Rovers.

Although both games ended in narrow defeats, for me, they typified the team spirit that was evident earlier in the season. In these games we showed a real willingness to take on superior opposition and play to our own strengths.

However, the outstanding display of the season for me was the 4-2 defeat of Annan Athletic at Galabank.

The SFL new boys were on a good run at the time and had surprised most observers with the start they had made in senior football.

There would not be much debate amongst Rovers fans about the worst performance of the season.

The embarrassing 3-0 defeat to Elgin takes that dubious accolade and is perhaps the most stark illustration of Rovers’ dramatic decline in the final quarter of the season.

It’s difficult to put a finger on exactly what precipitated our poor end-of-season run, but the moment in which our fate was sealed, in my view, was when Dumbarton scored a last minute equaliser at Cliftonhill in March.

Although the wheels had somewhat come off the play-off bandwagon in previous games, I’m sure that if we had held on to secure a victory over the Sons, we would have enjoyed a much better return than the three points from the nine games that followed.

Rovers, especially in the first half of the season, didn’t always get the outcome they deserved in terms of points but certainly earned the respect of opposition fans and managers.

Paul Martin’s policy of bringing in players on loan has kept things interesting and undoubtedly contributed to our short-lived but enjoyable play-off challenge.

Many of the regulars also contributed well during the season and deserve the chance to repeat that in the next.

But Paul must bring in fresh talent.

A goalscorer is a priority and some additional creative presence in midfield would also be very welcome. The problem, of course, is resources or rather the lack of them.

Rovers simply cannot afford to buy the finished article. Therefore, we depend on the manager and his staff to spot potential talent and develop it.

It could be that Paul and the management team will make their most important decisions regarding next season long before a ball is kicked in anger.