Sky Sports Pundit Reveals What Issue Bristol Rovers Must Fix

Pundit Don Goodman has been impressed by Bristol Rovers’ start to the season in League One, but he believes the strength of the division could make it tough for them to challenge for the play-offs.

It was a disappointing end to last season for Bristol Rovers as they won just two of their final 11 games, and they eventually finished 15th in the table, but despite some pressure from supporters, manager Matt Taylor has remained in charge at the Memorial Stadium.

Taylor was strongly backed by the board during the summer transfer window, with 16 new signings arriving at the club, while there were also a number of departures, including the likes of James Connolly, Luca Hoole, Sam Finley, Jordan Rossiter, Antony Evans and John Marquis.

The Gas suffered their second defeat of the season as they were beaten 2-1 by Barnsley at Oakwell on Saturday, but it has still been a decent start to the campaign for Taylor’s men, and they currently sit ninth in the table after picking up seven points from their first five games.

Don Goodman on Bristol Rovers’ play-off hopes

Speaking prior to Saturday’s defeat at Barnsley, Goodman said that Rovers could challenge for the play-offs this season if they can improve their attacking threat, but he believes it may be difficult for them to reach the top six given the standard of some of the teams at the top of 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 said.

“When I look at them last season, they conceded 68 goals which is way to many. They only scored 52 goals, too, with 15 teams scoring more than them. Pretty much, Rovers had a problem at both ends of the pitch. Home form was also an issue for them, winning just eight out of 23 games at the Memorial Ground.

“But this season they’ve won both home games so far and they’ve kept three clean sheets from five games after bringing in Josh Griffiths from West Bromwich Albion. There does seem to be a lack of creativity, however, so solidity will be important if they’re competing in tight games. Before Saturday, they only scored three goals from an low XG of 3.4, so Matt Taylor needs to try and find the balance.

“Bristol Rovers is a huge club and they’re craving the opportunity to play Championship football. I don’t see a lot wrong at Rovers at the moment, they’ve only lost to the excellent Stockport County. They just need to improve that creative output.

“It will be difficult for them in League One as there are some big teams and some good teams competing with them. But if Rovers can establish themselves in the top-half, then they’re not going to be too far away from the play-offs. It’s one step at a time for them.”

Goodman is right that Rovers’ attacking issues could be a problem for them this season.

The Gas went on a club-record run of seven games without a goal towards the end of last season, and having scored just four goals in their first five games this campaign, it seems that similar issues remain.

Rovers do have some dangerous attacking threats, such as Promise Omochere, Ruel Sotiriou and Luke Thomas, but they do lack a prolific goalscorer, and the fact that Chris Martin, who was the club’s top scorer with 16 goals last season, is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines with a broken leg is a huge blow.

It is difficult for the Gas to compete financially with some of those at the top of League One, and in what is an incredibly strong division, it seems unlikely they will be able to reach the play-offs.