Football Season Guide

Rovers find themselves back in the bottom tier of the Football League for just the second time in 19 years. They were relegated from League One with barely a whimper as they endured a miserable campaign with Gary McSheffrey winning just seven of 27 league matches after taking over as manager from predecessor Richie Wellens. He inherited a bloated squad with too many inexperienced players and with too many of the experienced players struggling with injury but failed to get to grips with the job and has surprisingly been given the opportunity to right the wrongs. There is a big question mark over whether he is capable and a lack of finance doesn’t help with the board of directors coming in for criticism from supporters following relegation. The injury problems continue with centre-back Tom Anderson and winger Jon Taylor expected to miss the start of the new season. The biggest departure during the summer has been influential midfielder John Bostock whilst loanees Josh Martin and Matt Smith will also be missed. The capture of attacking midfielder Lee Molyneux from Hartlepool United is certainly a coup and midfielder Harrison Biggins appears to a good addition from Fleetwood Town. New signings George Miller and Josh Andrews have plenty to prove however. Centre-back Joseph Oluwu was a rare positive from last season whilst midfielder Tommy Rowe will be crucial once more. McSheffrey will need to make more additions, including a goalscorer, if a second successive battle against the drop is to be avoided.