What a difference a week makes. This time seven days ago the mood at Bristol Rovers had plunged into a pit of despair on the back of four consecutive defeats and limited signs of improvement. Matt Taylor was under a heap of pressure and it felt as though there was a good chance he may not have ended the week as Rovers manager. That now feels like a distant memory.
Back-to-back victories over Charlton Athletic and Burton Abion have restored a degree hope and confidence amongst supporters but it will take more time and for more positive results to be picked up in order to see it return in full.
As the first half at Burton showed, there is still so much work to be done with this group of players who were passive and stodgy for the opening 45 minutes at the Pirelli Stadium. 1-0 down, familiar feelings were creeping back in after the Gas had been so positive four days prior at home to Charlton. The turnaround though was commendable.
It was the first time Rovers had come from behind to secure a result, let alone a win, since a 2-1 home victory over Carlisle United in February and, although things looked rather bleak at the interval, there was a wholesale feeling that a strong start would rock the confident of the hosts’ group of vastly inexperienced players.
Rocked they were as substitutes Grant Ward and Shaq Forde combined for an equaliser with the latter completely unmarked when unleashing a composed first-time finish. Seven minutes later they took the lead as Ward again was the architecht, picking out Clinton Mola at the back post for a venemous volley.
Burton still had opportunities to equalise in what Taylor described post-match as a “Jekyll and Hyde” sort of game and Rovers had Josh Griffiths to thank, not necessarily for a number of good saves but improved composure from the 23-year-old goalkeeper.
Securing his title of ‘impact sub’ with a goal, Ward secured the victory late on as the Gas once again looked menacing on the counter-attack, albeit against 10 men with Terence Vancooten sent off for a last-man challenge on Gatlin O’Donkor.
Football is a bizarre sport at the best of times and this week certainly feels as though it will be reflected on as one of the stand-out seven-day periods of the season come May when it has come to its conclusion.
Focusing on the present for now though, here are some of the major talking points on the back of Rovers’ 3-1 win at Burton…
A much-improved impact from the bench
After Tuesday’s win over Charlton, the stand-out negative point from an evening full of positives was the impact, or lack of, from substitutes as Bristol Rovers completely lost their momentum.
Having been 3-0 up, the Gas conceded two late goals which made the final couple of minutes significantly more nervy than they needed to be with the hosts cruising for the vast majority of the contest.
Matt Taylor put that down to the physical state of a number of the players in his squad as opposed to the changes being tactical. However, this time around his substitutions completely changed the game for his side on Saturday.
Grant Ward and Shaq Forde were introduced for Jamie Lindsay and Bryant Bilongo in the 51st minute with the duo coming off looking leggy. Again, evidence of certain players’ minutes still needing to be closely managed, especially in a three-game week. Less than two minutes later, Ward and Forde combined for the equaliser.
Of course, the goal helped but his 40-odd minutes against Burton was easily Forde’s best display in a Rovers shirt so far with the forward looking more threatening than he has thus far. Evidently, coming on for longer helped with the 20-year-old’s performances so far largely being brief cameos but he looked fitter and hungry to make an impact.
As for Ward, it’s tough to truly do the midfielder justice via words to explain just how significantly he changed the game in a positive manner for his side. Having been rested entirely for the Charlton game, the 29-year-old was arguably unlucky not to come straight back into the starting 11 but just the way he galloped up the pitch made the Gas look like an entirely different outfit.
Taylor has called for more impact from his midfielders this season and now there’s genuine competition there with Kamil Conteh also having two strong displays this week. The way in which the senior players stepped up against Charlton was a major talking point on Tuesday with Lindsay certainly one of them. You wonder whether having two midfielders as experienced as the former Rotherham man and Ward together could add a bit more of a spine to this side that they’ve been calling out for all campaign.
A more even spread of goals
Although he’ll want his forwards to be contributing even more, Matt Taylor did admit post-match that he’s pleased with the fact that more players are contributing on the score sheet than last season as Bristol Rovers relied on Chris Martin for contributions in the final third too heavily.
Of course, with the striker’s long-term injury Rovers have had to play the vast majority of matches so far without last season’s top scorer but after three players got their first goals of the season on Saturday, 11 different individuals have contributed to the Gas’ current tally of 13 goals in League One. If you include cup matches, it’s 13 players and 16 goals.
Compare that to last season and after Martin’s tally of 16 in the league, the next-best total was Antony Evans’ six who of course left for Huddersfield Town in the summer. Luke Thomas (five), John Marquis (four) and Scott Sinclair (four) were the next best on that list.
To truly put things into perspective, only 14 players got on the scoresheet in League One for Rovers during the entirety of last term. The season prior it was even lower with 11.
Asked about spreading out the goals, Taylor told Bristol Live: “Yes, but you always want the front boys to be the main contributors. Ruel, I think had a couple of good chances today. I spoke about Gats’ moment, I still think Ruel’s moments will come in terms of certainly in front of goal.
“I think anyone could have scored in that second half because they were all going in that direction. Clinton Mola scoring from left-back, Wardy from central midfield. Just the way the team felt in that second half and then when you’re feeling better about yourselves, the goals generally will be shared out a little bit more.
“Delighted that we are doing that. But then you still want your confidence players to be the forwards in front of goal. That’s Promise, that’s Gats, that’s Ruel, Shaq, Scotty, Macca. We’ve got enough there and I’ve spoken about people like Chrissy when they come back because we’ve created a lot of chances in the last couple of games.”
Luke Thomas not selected for squad
Having not made it off the bench against Charlton, Luke Thomas was left out entirely from the matchday squad to face Burton. It’s quite the statement when you consider just how impactful he was at times last season but it’s no secret that the winger won’t play his best football when deployed out of his preferred position when playing as a wing-back.
However, in this current system you then look at where the 25-year-old fits and there isn’t really a space for him to play exactly the position he will want to be in.
Then there’s the form of other players. Jack Hunt has been brought back in from the cold and has massively impressed at right wing-back while Scott Sinclair scored in back-to-back matches upon his return. Is there a place in the starting line up for Thomas right now? Probably not. But you would like to think that he’s still seen as a strong option to have as an impact substitute.
Asked about the wide man’s absence, Matt Taylor told Bristol Live: “That’s competition now. That’s where it is. Obviously, with Scotty’s form and the fact that he can play central and out wide and then Shaq’s introduction. But we have to be on it every single moment of every single day and form and performance will dictate if you’re on the bench or involved in a squad or in the starting lineup.
“I think that’s where I am at with not just Luke but everyone’s situation. There’s nothing untoward other than just competition for places. Michael Forbes missed out today, Jake Garrett missed out today. But the way to be on the pitch is to play well.”
The league table never lies, or does it?
It’s quite interesting that we’re still not a quarter of the way through the season yet 13 points from 10 games only gets you into 18th place. Admittedly, as a result of it still being early days, Bristol Rovers are one of four sides on that tally but their goal difference of minus three ranks them lowest of the quartet.
However, on the back of two consecutive wins, Rovers have opened up a decent-sized gap on those below them with 19th place Leyton Orient five points behind while 21st place Crawley Town are six.
Looking up though, the Gas are only three points off the play-offs, admittedly with sixth place Stockport County boasting a game in hand. Over half of the league are currently separated by the amount rewarded for just one victory.
However, 10 games in is always a good first milestone to really assess how Rovers have started the campaign. Although they will be pushing for improvement on what this club has traditionally achieved in recent years which is generally finishing in the bottom half of League One, their start to this season certainly hasn’t been a poor one comparatively.
Since the Gas’ promotion from League Two in 2016, only twice have they picked up more than 13 points from their opening 10 games when picking up 15 last season under Joey Barton and in the 2019/20 campaign under Graham Coughlan. Interestingly, Barton only lasted another three league games after that opening 10 last campaign when Rovers lost at Oxford United and Burton before drawing 1-1 at home to Stevenage in his final match.
It’s by no means stellar but the point is that, away from the doom and gloom of this time last week, back-to-back wins have sprung this campaign into one of the club’s better starts in recent seasons.
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Bristol Rovers’ points tallies from opening 10 league games since 2016 League Two promotion
2024/25 – 13
2023/24 – 15
2022/23 – 8
2021/22* – 13
2020/21 – 12
2019/20 – 15
2018/19 – 9
2017/18 – 12
2016/17 – 13
*League Two
Matt Taylor’s bigest week as Bristol Rovers manager
Had Bristol Rovers fallen to a fifth consecutive defeat against Charlton, the understanding is that Matt Taylor probably wouldn’t have made it to Saturday’s game against Burton. Likewise, had the Gas not produced their second half comeback at the Pirelli Stadium and lost to the Brewers, there was good chance that also would have marked the end for the 42-year-old.
However, this week has been his week and probably the biggest of his Gas tenure. The way in which the Rovers manager has stood up to the pressure has been admirable while his players have also fought for him in these past two games. Again, as the first half on Saturday demonstrated, there’s still plenty of work to be done but it’s been a colossal improvement to the week prior where the players’ heads stooped as long as they have done for a long time after the Wycombe defeat while sections of the Thatcher’s End could be heard calling for an end to be put to Taylor’s tenure.
The Gas manager admitted post-match that the upcoming break has probably come at a good time in order for him and the players to spend a bit of time apart to reflect on the past couple of weeks. He’ll know that two wins, even three if they beat Swindon Town in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday, doesn’t completely eliminate pressure and that Rovers will have to try to end October as well as they started it.
A win at Swindon would mark the first time the Gas have won three consecutive matches under Taylor and, although it adds to momentum which makes the timing of the break slightly frustrating, it will offer a good opportunity to take a step back from what can’t have been an easy situation and reflect.