Bristol Rovers are yet to make a new signing and have lost five of their first six games of 2024 as anxiety and concern now permeates throughout the fanbase
Bristol Rovers could find themselves at a halt so quickly after it seemed like momentum had finally switched heading into the new year and the second half of the season. In his debut month in charge, Matt Taylor led the Gas into the FA Cup third round and oversaw league wins over Bolton Wanderers, Portsmouth and Charlton Athletic, placing him in the running for League One manager of the month.
It took the 41-year-old about a month to choose his own coach, Jamie McAllister, who hasn’t been formally confirmed by the football team. At the time, however, there were clearly problems going on behind the scenes. As Captain Sam Finley pointed out, the new manager needed support from those above him to bring in his people after the 3-1 defeat at Blackpool just before Christmas but the excellent festive form acted as paper over the cracks.
After Rovers began 2024 with five straight losses, they remain winless in the new year and have not added any new players as of this writing. The paper has crumbled and the cracks appear likely to widen as questions are rightfully directed towards the board regarding the numerous unanswered questions.
At the time, Taylor’s signing was hailed as a coup, and he showed his mettle by turning in strong performances to secure wins over some of League One’s best players. In addition, the 41-year-old has been a much-needed breath of fresh air, providing direct and honest answers in press conferences where excuses are rarely, if ever, offered while he stands up for his own players when needed.
However, this coup has hardly been made to feel welcome with still just one coach provided within almost two months while the biggest problem of all lies in the transfer market.
Only a week remains for Rovers to do what has been a clear priority since before Taylor arrived at the club and that’s add to the squad. Sure, it’s a deep roster with quality individuals but the respective futures of a great deal hang in the balance which creates uncertainty that can’t be easy to play with, or at least play at their very best.
As many as nine permanently contracted players will see their current deals run out in the summer with three loanees on top of that. Eight of the 16 players that played for Bristol Rovers against Exeter City won’t be here next season as things stand, five of whom started the game. Of course, there’s plenty of time for extensions to be agreed and keeping in-form striker Chris Martin on board is a major positive, but until deals are put on the table, there will be uncertainty for a significant proportion of this squad during the next three months of the season.
Furthermore, this is a squad that Taylor has inherited, not built, and no doubt he will want to start making his own changes but right now that’s being limited to how he sets up the current crop of players at his disposal.
Consistent injury woes throughout the campaign haven’t helped either but that also adds to why fresh personnel has to come through the door before next Wednesday’s deadline otherwise the apparent free fall that Rovers currently find themselves in will only worsen. Right now, the club are sleepwalking towards potential struggle which really shouldn’t be the case.
However, the biggest concern right now is just how much uncertainty there is regarding on goings from above. Head of Football Operations Eddy Jennings left the club soon before Taylor’s arrival and just over a month before the January transfer window opened but there has seemingly been no replacement.
Who is actually leading the recruitment process right now is unclear, which is a major worry because the assumption is that it isn’t someone with ‘football’ or ‘recruitment’ in their job title while a scouting set up also seems limited if not non-existent.
Numerous players expected to be out of contract foreshadows another summer window that will have to be busy in order for the Gas to keep up, let alone improve, but the issues that have been put into the spotlight this window have caused concern ahead of the summer. It proves to be a transfer window where recruitment will have to be as close to immaculate as possible to continue moving higher up a league that will surely be more competitive next term when assessing those currently in danger of relegation from the Championship and the sides in League Two pushing for promotion.
Of course, there was significant investment in the summer in way of the wage bill stacking up while money has also been spent on getting the new South Stand built and functionable while further investment on infrastructure is set to be made over the years with the Poplar Insulation Stand and Thatcher’s End subject to redevelopment plans.
That’s all positive for the club’s future and it was admirable to hear chairman Hussain AlSaeed discuss ambitions of getting Rovers into the Premier League one day but right now there are immediate questions that need responses but are being left unanswered.
The longer fans are kept in the dark, the greater concerns grow. If there are issues, the longer they are unaddressed publicly, the worse the situation is going to come across.
Unfortunately, that has led to a feeling of distrust amongst supporters for those sat above which doesn’t need to or shouldn’t be the case. Sure, trust can be tough to obtain in a short period of time after the new ownership structure was confirmed in early August but there has been very little evidence of effort made from the new hierarchy to build trust from supporters.
It’s not like they’re absent. They regularly attend matches both home and away it’s just a case of publicly addressing supporters more frequently and in greater depth. A personal suggestion would be that a fan’s forum could make a great deal of difference. Fans want those running the club put in front of them directly, not just local media every couple of months, or at least public communication on a more frequent basis.
Improving the club’s infrastructure is extremely important for its long-term future but there are more immediate issues regarding on the pitch occurrences that need to be addressed that aren’t. At the end of the day, it’s what happens on the pitch that ultimately decides the direction in which the football club goes and how much revenue it can bring in.
It was all well and good saying that play-offs are the target and that a top-eight budget was invested but if the lack of signings isn’t addressed in the next six days, which is a direly short period of time to address such issues, then the season is going to plummet into mediocrity, if not possibly worse, and we’re going to reflect on the biggest what if…the season itself.
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