A helping hand for Paulton?
November 4, 2009 in News, Norwich City FC by Nelson's Revenge
Paul Trollope
As preparations pick up a pace ahead of this weekends fixture in the West Country, Paulton Rovers have been offered a helping hand as they look to cause a major upset in the first round of this seasons FA Cup competition.
Bristol Rovers manager Paul Trollope, who had City extensively scouted ahead of their recent league meeting at Carrow Road has offered to meet with Andy Jones, Manager of the FA Cup minnows, ahead of Saturdays fixture in order to pass on any information which may help in Rover’s quest to pull off a giant-killing.
Quite what Trollope will be able to pass onto the Paulton’s manager remains to be seen as the Pirates were convincingly beaten 5-1 in the recent fixture, and you would have to say that any information that Trollope possesses is about as much use as the keys to the bat-mobile.
The Pirates manager has more than a vested interest in the Saturday lunch time kick off, with his League One outfit having loaned a couple of youngsters to Joneses side who are both playing their part in the Somerset club’s progress.
Meanwhile, it has been reported that Paulton are just 50 tickets short of a sell out on Saturday. After the Somerset side started selling their 1650 allocation on Sunday, the remaining 180 went on general sale last evening, with just 50 left late last night.
The allocation of 500 that was sent to Norwich has reportedly been sold and the report suggests that City could have sold four times that amount were it not for the restrictions put on the attendance by the local authority, although the validity of that report appears questionable.
After installing a temporary 400 seat stand, the Paulton’s chairman is expecting a record crowd for the first round fixture and believes the remaining tickets will be sold in the coming days.
With the game being live on ITV, commentary team Clive Tyldesley and Jim Beglin are being sent to Bristol to cover the match, and a decision will also be made by the TV company on whether pitch covers should be installed.
The Somerset club, are close to completing the required logistical changes to their ground which include temporary turnstiles and segregation, additional refreshment outlets and portable toilets.
Meanwhile, Rovers skipper Dan Cleverley is facing a race against time to be fit for the game after fracturing a metatarsal in his foot three weeks ago, although his chances are rated as 50-50 at this time.
