Football Season Guide

After narrowly missing out on a play-off place in the 2016/17 season, Bristol Rovers have had a tougher campaign last time around and even battled against the drop at times. Their boss Darrell Clarke kept insisting early in the campaign that promotion was the goal and was quite open regarding his disappointment with his side's performance later in the campaign. Clarke acknowledged in several interviews that Bristol Rovers cannot compete with the league's biggest spenders, but remained adamant that this did not mean that promotion was not possible. Clarke was also quite open regarding his belief that several of his players were not in the right state of mind, but an expected summer clear-out never arrived, as only nine players left, three of which were loanees, whose deals with the Gas had expired. The biggest loss is certainly the departure of Ellis Harrison, who was snapped up by Ipswich less than two weeks before the start of the season. The Gs are now looking for a striker as a replacement. The Gas rarely bring in proven League One quality, but were able to complete two coups this time around, as they signed Ed Upson, who had been a key player for Milton Keynes Dons for years, as well as Alex Rodman, who was superb with Shrewsbury last season. Somewhat surprisingly, Bristol Rovers have not signed a replacement for club stalwart Lee Brown, who left to Join Portsmouth. With defenders Marc Bola and Ryan Sweeney once again leaving without being replaced, fears persist regarding the Gas's back four. The Rovers were a side that was far better going forward than at the back over the recent years and it seems that this gap could increase further this season.