Rovers boss praises goalkeeper Jordi after his crucial save
JORDI van Stappershoef overcame family tragedy to be Bristol Rovers’ unlikely hero deep into stoppagetime on Saturday.
The Dutchman’s fiancee’s grandfather recently died, and Covid travel and isolation regulations would have forced him to miss several games for the Gas had he travelled home to mourn with his loved ones. The back-up goalkeeper was granted leave by the club, but opted to stay in Bristol and remain part of the club’s relegation battle.
With 93 minutes played on Saturday, van Stappershoef certainly thought his afternoon was over and he would not be needed from the bench, but Joe Day took a boot to the face with the score at 2-1 and was forced off.
The 24-year-old took his place between the posts with a corner to defend and one minute to survive. Rovers cleared, but the ball came back and Dave Edwards sent a header on target. The outstretched hand of the Dutchman batted the ball away and the final whistle arrived, sparking jubilant celebrations with the goalkeeper mobbed by his team-mates as the Gas pulled two points clear of the relegation zone.
He later received an ovation in the dressing room, and Rovers boss
Joey Barton believes deserved.
“We said to the lads when we came in that if we’re going to get the job done, if we’re going to climb Everest and get the club where we need to get it, everyone’s going to be involved,” said the manager.
“That’s the sense of team spirit you’ve got to build. It’s not just about the 11, you see over the course of a 46-game campaign everyone has to be involved, whether it’s for one minute or for every single game.
“You have to perform and credit to Jordi. He’s had a bit of a tough period. His girlfriend’s grandfather passed away recently, and being it was fully here he has not been able to do what you normally would do had there not been a pandemic.
“I’m really pleased for him, delighted, and the lads gave him a massive round of applause in the dressing room.
“You’re a goalkeeper, you could be thinking it’s 90 minutes and I won’t be called upon, but it shows his mental state how he was ready to come on and make that save.
“If they scored that goal, it would’ve been daylight robbery. Let’s be honest, they didn’t deserve it. They got dominated for 91 minutes and credit to them, they kept knocking on the door. That will do our confidence the world of good.”
BRISTOL City CEO Mark Ashton has been linked with a £17.5 million takeover of League One club Ipswich Town.
The Athletic reported on Friday that a United States-backed consortium, led by Los Angeles-based Brett Johnson, want Ashton to take over the day-to-day running of the club if the purchase is completed.
The Bristol Post understands those reports to be accurate, although Ashton remains totally committed to his position at Bristol City with Nigel Pearson installed as manager and optimism that the club is moving forward.
Johnson, founder of investment and real estate firm Benevolent Capital, has been co-chairman of Phoenix Rising FC, who play in the United Soccer League (USL), since 2015.
In 2019, Bristol City held a summer pre-season training camp in Florida, playing friendlies against Derby County and local teams and to also, according to a club statement at the time, “strengthen their partnership with the USL”.
As stated by the club, Ashton also attended and delivered a presentation at the 2018 USL Winter Summit.
Ashton has held significant power and influence at Ashton Gate since January 2016 after being brought to the club by owner Steve Lansdown, having previously worked at Watford and Oxford United. He has become a muchmaligned figure at BS3, particularly over the last six months in the wake of Dean Holden’s appointment as head coach in August.
His management of the recruitment team has often led him open to criticism as, while City’s record in selling players has remained excellent, the success rate over the
raft of incomings over the last two years has been somewhat inconsistent.
Part of Ashton’s remit to ensure sustainability and balance the books at BS3 has been to “trade” in the transfer market, with a “buy low, sell high” concept.
While that has benefitted the balance sheet with notable sales such as Bobby Reid, Josh Brownhill, Lloyd Kelly and Adam Webster, it has also led to a high frequency and often challenging turnover of players.
Although Ashton was heavily involved in the recruitment of Pearson as new Robins manager until the end of the season, owner Steve Lansdown has taken a notably more public and hands-on approach as opposed to the summer when Holden was promoted from assistant to head coach.
Lansdown issued a steadfast defence of Ashton on BBC Radio Bristol last week, when he said: “Mark gets a lot of stick from fans, but it’s unjustified.
“Mark’s an easy target, but I can tell you now that Mark works so hard for this football club, he deserves a lot of praise for what he’s done”
Ipswich are owned by events millionaire Marcus Evans who took control of his local club in 2007 but the Tractor Boys have been unable to return to the Premier League and are marooned in eighth in League One under Paul Lambert, whose position looks increasingly uncertain.
The Athletic also report that former Wigan Athletic manager Paul Cook, who was considered for the City job last summer only to miss out to Holden, is the consortium’s preferred managerial appointment should their takeover be successful.