"We have to be tactically fluid," Joey Barton said on Thursday when asked about settling on a strongest Bristol Rovers XI. In an ideal world, he would love to have a starting lineup that picked itself, but the manager says the challenge of League One means he has to be flexible.
That is a stark contrast to the second half of last season when Rovers were romping to promotion in League Two; by the end, the Gas changed their tactics and philosophy for no one. Nowadays, Barton believes his approach has to be more malleable. The level of the competition has gone up and the Gas are a rebuilding team, meaning more focus is going into nullifying the opposition than previously.
As a result, predicting the team becomes a complicated task. Rovers have flipped between a back three and a back four throughout the 13 games this season, often pivoting within games too, and with the injury crisis that plagued them for several weeks relenting, there is stiff competition for places in most areas of the pitch.
