Torquay Party Tomorrow

Thousands of Gasheads are set to descend on Torquay over the course of tonight and tomorrow to celebrate the end of the season and the miracle produced by John Ward since Christmas. With the weather forecast suggesting spells of sunshine tomorrow it promises to be a wonderful day down by the sea for everybody who makes the trip.

John Ward's Barmy Army! Lifted from: www.bristolpost.co.uk

While Gasheads party it's an altogether different story for our hosts who still need a point to guarantee their Football League status. Anything less would put them at risk of dropping out of League Two should results go against them. That scenario seems unlikely as you wouldn't expect every relegation-threatened team to pick up final day victories but it remains a possibility. It will certainly add tension to the fixture as well. Rovers versus Torquay always attracts a good crowd and given the dealings between the two clubs in recent years there's been an extra bite in the last few meetings, making it a very interesting game. With all things considered tomorrow's is the biggest one so far. If we were to assist in relegating Torquay then the good-natured banter between the two clubs would turn very sour and trouble could ensure around the ground come 5pm. 

Hopefully it won't come to that though. The ideal scenario would be to enjoy the day with Gasheads, watch Rovers win and still see smiling Gulls afterwards with their league survival ensured by results elsewhere. I'd be a happy man if that were to happen.

I shall be among the early birds descending on Torquay tomorrow morning as I'm booked for the 6.55am train from Temple Meads. There is a change half way through the trip but it won't delay us for too long. We should make it down there for a Wetherspoons breakfast! Whilst it is a ridiculously early wake up it's all perfectly acceptable in my book given the nature of the celebration we will enjoy down in Devon. I'm not sure how many other Gasheads will be up quite so early but there will be a lot of us arriving between 9am and 12pm tomorrow morning. Torquay won't know what's hit it!

It promises to be a great day and I look forward to seeing as many of you down there as possible. It's our last football fix of the season so let's go out on a high! Lee Brown looks as though he may miss out due to a bug although Matt Harrold may be included on the bench for the first time since he sustained his knee injury away to Gillingham in September. Ollie Clarke seems likely to retain a starting berth while Tom Parkes will revert back to central defence from centre midfield as Clayton McDonald has returned to parent club Port Vale.