This summer transfer window wasn’t just marked by the business in and out of the club in order to prepare Bristol Rovers for life back in League One, it was also about retaining some of the key individuals already in the building.
There has been considerable upheaval at the club in terms of the playing staff for probably as far back as can be remembered, but that’s an inevitability to an extent in the lower leagues with shorter-term contracts added to a high managerial turnover since Darrell Clarke’s departure in 2018.
Joey Barton brought in 10 new players, said goodbye to 15, including loanees, but crucially also extended the contracts of Antony Evans and Aaron Collins bringing some continuity to the group and the identity of the club as a whole. Barton, himself, is also on a deal running until 2025.
Squad building is a focus of the manager's beyond just the matchday in front of him with the manager focused on a medium to long-term project in north Bristol that will hopefully produce further success and with the summer window now shut, here’s the contract status of every player either in or close to the first-team set-up at Rovers…
2023
- Harry Anderson
- Nick Anderton
- Josh Coburn (loan)
- Paul Coutts
- Jamie Egan
- Sam Finley
- Lewis Gibson (loan)
- Josh Grant
- Harvey Greenslade
- Sam Heal
- Anssi Jaakkola
- Sylvester Jasper (loan)
- Alfie Kilgour
- Jerry Lawrence
- Ryan Jones
- Alex Rodman
- Harvey Saunders
- Bobby Thomas (loan)
- Jed Ward
- Zain Westbrooke
At first glance that (20) is a big number but also needs some context applied which reduces its scope somewhat. We’ve included the four loan signings on there plus Anssi Jaakkola, who is as much coaching staff now as player - at least, as Barton sees it - plus there are six academy starlets who are on the fringes of the first-team and will be on short-term agreements anyway.
So that pretty much halves the number and then when you factor in Zain Westbrooke and Alex Rodman, who aren’t in Barton’s plans moving forward, and Nick Anderton’s situation, the focus is further narrowed to six players, really: Harry Anderson, Paul Coutts, Sam Finley, Alfie Kilgour, Josh Grant and Harvey Saunders.
Of that group you’d imagine that Barton would envisage retaining Finley beyond this summer, plus Anderson depending on how he performs this season, and quite possibly Coutts but the latter midfielder’s age will likely mean he’s constantly in the cycle of one-year deals.
The other trio are in a position where they are bona fide first-team players but need to prove themselves over the course of the campaign amid an injury-disrupted campaign last term. Grant certainly is a big favourite of the manager and his staff but has only made eight starts in 2022 and needs to bring greater consistency to his availability, while Kilgour and Saunders need to fully display their credentials in League One.
2024
- James Belshaw
- Trevor Clarke
- James Gibbons
- Lewis Gordon
- Luca Hoole
- Ryan Loft
- Josh Marquis
- Jordan Rossiter
This group is a mixture of the new arrivals this summer and summer contract renewals for key members of the squad last season, namely James Belshaw and Luca Hoole who, hopefully, will have a long and successful career as a Rovers player.
We’re speculating quite a bit here but should Hoole enjoy the sort of campaign as he did last term, not even necessarily in terms of high performance levels but just continuing his progression, accumulating 30+ appearances and making a seamless transition into League One football, he’s likely to be an individual who Rovers would like to extend next year.
Trevor Clarke’s status sticks out given Barton’s comments about the Irishman last month and the insistence he doesn’t have any kind of a future at the club. That has now seemingly changed, with pride swallowed and an acceptance of the situation and such is his position - with almost two years remaining - it just makes sense to get the most out of him while they can.
2025
- Aaron Collins
- James Connolly
- Antony Evans
- Luke McCormick
The golden boys and the four individuals who Barton would like to build his team around over the next however many seasons in north Bristol.
Those contract agreements also ensure Rovers a degree of security should the individuals concerned make the anticipated step up into League One and start to attract transfer attention from elsewhere and certainly in the case of Collins that is looking probably given how well the Welshman has started the season.
Evans hasn’t quite delivered the same productivity as was the case in League Two but such is his ability that will surely come with time as Rovers settle into a new system in a different division. Connolly’s injury has unfortunately disrupted his start to life as a full-time Rovers players but there’s no doubting his ability, potential and place in the Gas defence.
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