30 is very much the theme for Rovers and myself this season.

Of course, this season is the 30th Anniversary of Rovers’ Premier League title victory and on a personal note is my 30th season as a season ticket holder.

To mark the occasion and to mark 30 days to Christmas, I set myself the challenge of choosing a ‘Match of the Season’ from each of the last 30 years. One a day until December 24th 2024.

Each season's game has been chosen as one that stands out for a particular reason (not always the best reasons) and I’ve included some context and perspective to go along with it.

I hope you enjoy the countdown. Your thoughts and comments, along with which game you would have chosen is welcomed on the messageboards. Look for the Roger‘s Advent Calendar thread.

Let the Countdown commence!

Day 1/30

Season: 2023/24 

Fixture: Leeds United 0-1 Rovers – Championship – 13/4/24

Highlights

Why Chosen

A calamitous first four months of the calendar year saw yet another January transfer debacle, the end of the JDT era, John Eustace take charge and oversee just one win in twelve fixtures (albeit with seven draws) whilst protests dominated the stands and headlines once more. Only the most optimistic of Rovers fans could have envisaged what turned out to be a huge 3 points away at promotion chasing Leeds United, especially coming just days after Rovers were beaten 0-5 by Bristol City at Ashton Gate. Furthermore, it was all happening whilst I was getting married! The seven minutes of added on the time was the most nervous I was the whole day! Cue a day I and many other Rovers fans will never forget.

Aftermath

Rovers made hard work of the remaining three fixtures as they ‘choked’ at home to Sheffield Wednesday (look away Aynsley Pears) and couldn’t muster a winner at home against Coventry the week after. Survival was assured at the King Power as Sammie Szmodics cemented his legacy with a brace to keep Rovers up, by the barest of margins!

Honourable Mentions

Harrogate Town 0-8 Rovers – League Cup 2nd Round (30/8/23) – Cup dominance with youngsters scoring for fun

Rovers 1-1 Newcastle (Newcastle win 4-3 on pens) FA Cup 5th Round (27/2/24) - BBC1 entertainment doesn’t come much better as Rovers “rolled back the years”

Leicester City 0-2 Rovers (4/5/24) – Thanks Sammie, we are forever grateful.