A lot has changed in a year. Almost 12 months ago to the day, Bristol Rovers made a stuttering start to pre-season at Melksham Town. In Joey Barton's words, they were "threadbare" and "scrapped" a 1-1 draw against their eighth-tier opponents.
A year later, the Gas rocked up at the Oakfield Stadium with a totally different energy. Of course, Rovers should be putting four, five or six past opponents like this, but manager Barton must be encouraged by the vigour with which his players have returned from their summer break with.
As last season showed, pre-season performances are not an accurate barometer of a team's potential with Rovers finding peak form late in the campaign to surge to promotion, but the Gas were scruffy last summer and hit badly by COVID-19 and injuries. It can only be a good thing that key players have raced out of the blocks and several youngsters have staked a claim for further chances in the coming weeks.
