Roy of the Rovers 1983 Roy swapped Melchester Rovers for ambitious London side Walford Rovers after a fallout with the Melchester directors, but his stint away was short-lived and he was back at his spiritual home by the end of the year. In July 1986 eight members of the Rovers team were killed during a club tour of the fictional Middle Eastern country of Basran, when terrorists accidentally crashed a bomb-laden car into the team bus. Roy escaped with a dislocated shoulder. Author Mick Collins has commented that "Even as youngsters, we knew that this certainly bordered on bad taste, and probably overstepped the
Tranmere Rovers F.C. a kit of blue shirts, white shorts and blue socks since 1904 – the same colours as local rivals, Division One club Everton. Russell introduced an all-white strip to set the teams apart; these have been Tranmere's usual colours since. Russell also developed a successful youth policy which included England international Roy McFarland among its graduates. Russell guided Rovers back to Division Three in 1967, a year before a new 4,000-seater main stand was opened, and Rovers reached the fifth round of the FA Cup for the first time. Three years later the club's record attendance at Prenton Park was