Rovers Return to Town With New Manager and New Hope
Bristol Rovers travel to East Anglia, followed by little under 1,000 Gasheads, seeking to advance to the fourth round of the FA Cup for the first time since the 2006/07 season, but have Premier League opponents Ipswich Town in their way.
Rovers’ FA Cup record over the last 15 years has been poor, with six defeats to lower-tier opponents since the 2010/11 season, including five National League sides.
Last season, Ipswich’s much-loved neighbours Norwich overcame them in a home replay, ending a dream away tie with Liverpool.
New manager Iñigo Calderón aims to improve the club’s performance in League One following a dismal season thus far.
Calderón may see this as an opportunity to demonstrate the fanbase the quality the squad has, something they have only seen in flashes this season.
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Route So Far
Rovers’ FA Cup campaign began with a West Country derby against Weston-super-Mare, a team just 24 miles away and flying high in the National League South, a potential banana skin that Rovers were only able to overcome in extra time with a 3-1 victory thanks to goals from Jamie Lindsey, Connor Taylor, and former Ipswich player Grant Ward.
In round two, Rovers traveled to Oakwell, home of Barnsley, where many fans anticipated our FA Cup journey to end. It certainly appeared to be heading that way, with the Tykes having full control of the encounter.
However, due to goalkeeping heroics and Barnsley’s squandered opportunities, the game remained 0-0, with the South Yorkshire side making 30 attempts on goal. Rovers hung on until penalties, when they won by scoring all four of their attempts after Barnsley struck the post and had another saved.
Current Season Review
Rovers have been back in League One for three seasons after a stay in League Two in 2021/22, finishing 15th the last time out. Rovers fans had high hopes at the start of the season after a successful transfer window that saw them sign 16 new players.
However, it became evident that the fanbase’s patience with manager Matt Taylor was running out, and he was eventually removed of his duties on December 16th, following three games without registering a shot with Rovers only two points away from relegation.
On Boxing Day, Calderón, an ex-Brighton full-back and head coach of the Seagulls’ U18s, was named manager. There has been a noticeable increase in performance, with the Gas displaying occasional periods of good play. However, while Rovers’ build-up play has clearly improved, they are still prone to surrendering goals, with nine in their previous four games.
The Gas are currently 20th in the third tier and five points off the drop after a 1-0 away win over fellow strugglers Cambridge at the weekend, with fans hopeful they can rediscover some form and surge up the table, improving on their last two league positions.
Manager
Calderón was a relatively unknown name in comparison to other reported management contenders. However, with EFL experience and a successful record with Brighton’s U18s, he appears to be a strong candidate. He has a Masters in Sports Psychology and prefers an exciting attacking style of play.
Calderón, 43, began his career in his native Basque region of Spain, playing for Deportivo Alvavès. In 2010, he moved to Brighton where he played over 200 times, captaining them on several occasions before retiring in Asian football. Calderón then returned to Deportivo Alavès to start his coaching career, leading the second team before returning to Brighton. Although he has not managed first teams, the fanbase hopes he will.
Iñigo Calderón has been experimenting with his starting lineup, making it difficult to forecast his tactics for this game. However, I anticipate a 4-2-3-1 system with three changes from the previous weekend.
Joel Senior will replace Taylor Moore at right-back, Shaq Forde will replace the well-traveled Scott Sinclair on the right wing, and Gatlin O’Donkor will take over as centre-forward from ex-Canaries Chris Martin.
Players To Watch
Goalkeeper: Josh Griffiths is a promising goalkeeper on loan from West Brom. Great at shot stopping and is frequently kept busy, but rises to the task, albeit he struggles with balls into the box.
Centre-back: Connor Taylor returned to Rovers following a season on loan from Stoke during the promotion campaign, when it became evident that he was not part of the Potters’ first-team plans. He has been a rock in the back, making the League One Team of the Week three times this season.
Right wing: Shaq Forde, the danger man, arrived on deadline day as a seasoned League One player fresh off a successful loan spell with Leyton Orient the previous season, and he has shown to be a valuable addition to an underperforming club.
Ipswich Connections
Three players in the projected XI have previously played for Ipswich.
James Wilson, a 35-year-old centre-back, played in blue from 2019 to 2021, making 49 appearances before being released and joined Plymouth Argyle, where he helped them win the 2022/23 League One title, before turning down a new contract at the end of that season and joining Rovers.
After a disappointing debut season, he set out to prove Gasheads wrong, and the Welshman has done so.
Grant Ward, who played at Portman Road between 2016 and 2019, made 98 appearances and scored eight goals, including a hat-trick on his debut.
He’s shown quality in his two years at the club, but has been plagued by injuries, preventing him from enjoying a steady run of games.
Finally, Luke Thomas, who made just five appearances for the Blues on loan from Barnsley in 2020/21. The following season, he joined Rovers on loan and helped them win promotion from League Two, making 32 games across all competitions. He returned to the Gas a year later, signing on a free transfer after leaving Barnsley.
Calderón, who had frozen him out of the squad earlier this season, has played him in two of his three games in charge and certainly sees his potential, especially after he scored the winning goal.
Another former Town player who have recently played for Rovers is young Indonesian defender Elkan Baggott, who is now on loan at Blackpool after being loaned to Rovers last season.
After a few disappointing performances, Baggott gained confidence and had a solid run of games, demonstrating his quality at the back, and many Gasheads wanted him back this season.
A man who could start on the bench is Suffolk-born former Norwich striker Chris Martin. The veteran got off the mark for the season against Leyton Orient two weeks ago, scoring two. He scored the most goals for Rovers in League One last season, with 16. The home crowd will undoubtedly dislike him during his four years at Carrow Road.
Marcus Stewart, a Town icon, is perhaps the most important link between the two clubs.
The striker began his career in the West Country, where he played 178 games and scored 80 goals between 1991 and 1996, before leaving Rovers and joining Huddersfield, where he spent four years before moving to Portman Road, where he famously scored in the play-off final at Wembley and then bagged 19 goals in the Premier League the following season as the Blues finished fifth and qualified for the UEFA Cup.
In the twilight of his career, he bounced around various West Country teams before retiring at Exeter, where he continued to coach until rejoining Bristol Rovers as a player development coach, eventually becoming Darrell Clarke’s assistant manager in 2013 and guiding the Pirates to back-to-back promotions from the National League to League One. He left with mutual consent in 2018.
Summary
Rovers’ season has been tense, with the club getting closer to the relegation zone and confidence poor. However, with a new manager and positives from the last few games, fans will want to rise to the occasion.
Town has won six of the last eight meetings between the clubs, with one draw the last time they met in the league, a drab 0-0 in Bristol that signaled the start of Town’s amazing 13 wins in 15, propelling the Blues to promotion.
Gas last won this game at Portman Road in 2019, 2-1 in League One.
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