Bristol Rovers had a dismal conclusion to the previous season, winning just two of their final 11 games, and ultimately finishing 15th in the standings. However, manager Matt Taylor has been retained at the Memorial Stadium, despite significant opposition from the fan base.
The summer transfer window saw 16 new players join the team under Taylor’s strong support, but there were also some departures, including James Connolly, Luca Hoole, Sam Finley, Jordan Rossiter, Antony Evans, and John Marquis.
The Gas lost 2-1 to Barnsley at Oakwell on Saturday, their second loss of the season, but Taylor’s team has had a respectable start to the season, sitting ninth in the standings after taking seven points from their opening five games.
Prior to Saturday’s loss at Barnsley, Goodman stated that Rovers might make a run at the play-offs this season if they can strengthen their offensive threat. However, he thinks it might be challenging for them to finish in the top six considering the calibre of some of the best teams in the division.
“Matt Taylor has had a full pre-season and they won at the weekend, now sitting in ninth with seven points from four games, which I think is great,” Goodman added.
“They gave up 68 goals last season, which is much too many, when I look at them. Additionally, they only scored 52 goals; 15 clubs scored more goals than them. Rovers had issues almost everywhere on the pitch. House form was also an issue for them, winning just eight out of 23 games at the Memorial Ground.
However, since Josh Griffiths was added from West Bromwich Albion, they have won both of their home games this season and have preserved three clean sheets from five games. However, there appears to be a dearth of inventiveness, so if they’re playing close games, consistency will be crucial. They only managed three goals prior to Saturday, with a poor XG of 3.4, so Matt Taylor needs to work on finding his balance.
“Bristol Rovers is a massive team that is eager to participate in championship football. As long as Rovers don’t lose to the superior Stockport County, I don’t see many problems. All they have to do is enhance that artistic result.
“They will face competition from both strong and large teams in League One, which will be challenging for them. However, Rovers won’t be too distant from the play-offs if they can establish themselves in the top half of the league. For them, it’s one step at a time.
Goodman is correct when he says that Rovers’ offensive problems might cause them difficulties this year.
With only four goals in their opening five games of the current season, it appears like the Gas’ problems persist after going on a club-record seven games without a goal near the conclusion of the previous campaign.
Rovers lack a consistent goal scorer, despite having some formidable attacking players in Promise Omochere, Ruel Sotiriou, and Luke Thomas. It is also a major setback that Chris Martin, the team’s top scorer with 16 goals the previous season, is expected to miss a significant amount of time due to a broken leg.
The Gas find it challenging to compete financially with some of the top League One teams, and it appears doubtful that they will be able to advance past the play-offs in an exceptionally competitive division.
