Football / Bristol Rovers
Bristol Rovers have now failed to score in almost 13 hours of football
768 minutes of football. Nearly 13 hours. That’s how long it has been since Bristol Rovers last managed to put the ball in the back of the net.
This unwanted record completely eclipses the club’s previous longest goal drought, a statistic Matt Taylor won’t be in any rush to put on his managerial CV.
Rovers scored their most recent goal on March 2 when Chris Martin headed the ball home on the half-hour mark away to Leyton Orient.
is needed now More than ever
But the goalless month is just part of a much wider run of poor form, which has seen Rovers only win five of their 19 League One games since the turn of the year.
Matt Taylor is coming under increasing pressure – photo: Bristol Rovers
The constant poor performances have caused many Gasheads to lose patience with Taylor, who will need his attacking players to start firing on all cylinders if he is to avoid giving the club’s hierarchy a choice to make come the end of the season, or even before then.
If the sheer number of empty seats during Rovers’ lacklustre display against Reading on Tuesday evening didn’t make the fan’s discontent known, then the loud boos that rang out around the Mem at full-time certainly did.
In response to fans voicing their frustration, Taylor said: “It’s always hard when you hear people disappointed. I totally understand and accept it. I’d be the same if I was a supporter of Bristol Rovers at the moment.”
Unfortunately for Taylor, the anger didn’t come to a halt after the fans left the Mem that evening – some well before the final whistle – as Gasheads took to social media to make their voices heard.
1983richings tweeted: “People forget MT has had a window.. but the players he brought in are totally shit. Can’t let this guy have a summer window, get him gone. Time to take the rose-tinted glasses off. It isn’t working… simple.”
joshgardna wrote: “Awful. Empty stands, shite football. It’s time to go.”
However, there are some Gasheads who think Taylor should remain at the helm of the club, including host of the GasCast podcast Michael Willet.
Speaking in the most recent podcast, Willet said: “I feel like the logical thing to do is to stick with Taylor and back him in the summer.
“That’s not to say I don’t hold him accountable for what we’re seeing now – but logically – what do we gain from sacking him now? No guarantees the next person is a success either.”
Main photo: JMP
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