Instability finally catches up with Rovers as relegation looms (2025)

Bristol Rovers are in an extremely concerning state of affairs. A sixth consecutive defeat in League One at home to Exeter City on Saturday afternoon saw the Gas drop into the relegation zone for the first time this season with just four games remaining.

With closest rivals Burton Albion in form, boasting an extra game in their schedule and a far superior goal difference, it really doesn’t look good for Rovers.

Although there are still 12 points to play for this season, most Gasheads now seem resigned to the idea of the Pirates playing in League Two next term after their latest loss.

Despite the fact that it was the first time they have ended a match-week in the bottom four this campaign, this has been coming, and it can certainly be argued that it has been coming for over a year.

Even if Rovers do manage to find a resurgence of form and get themselves over the line, this season has been a disaster.

There are numerous reasons as to why that is, with a chain of unfortunate events and poor decisions leading us to this present moment.

Fingers can be pointed in different directions but everything that happens at a football club is overseen by those at the top and, frankly, 20 months into the current hierarchy’s tenure in north Bristol and there has been little to shout about so far.

A football club, or any institution for that matter, can only go through so much change before it becomes too unsustainable and since the Kuwaiti takeover in August 2023, it has never once felt as though there has ever been a period of stability.

Admittedly, turbulence certainly wasn't unknown to Bristol Rovers before their arrival.

Only a few months into the season and it became pretty clear that Matt Taylor was not going to last for the foreseeable future. The former Rovers manager did well to stay in his role for as long as he did with recurring murmurs that he was on the brink of losing his job constantly in the background before he was eventually sacked in December.

Taylor has since come out in an interview, suggesting that it was a “difficult environment to manage in”, “complicated behind the scenes” and that he “never once felt in control - on the pitch or off it.”

There are always two sides to every story but, unfortunately for those currently in charge of running the football club, Taylor’s predecessor Joey Barton has also noted similar issues, albeit in a more expletive manner, on record in recent months.

Amid rumours that there had been interference from above the manager when it came to team selection, executive vice president Abdullatif AlSaeed, in his sole public interview this season back in December, told GasCast podcast when asked that this was “just crazy.”

Unfortunately for the board, those particular rumours have not gone away.

Of course, they remain merely rumours and none of us externally have fly-on-the-wall access but two former managers have now detailed complications behind the scenes and that really is not a good look.

Sure, there is always the argument that sacked managers will have a chip on their shoulder when discussing losing their job, but having personally dealt with Matt Taylor during his entire tenure in north Bristol, the man is certainly honourable and there was enough evidence in the public eye to suggest it wasn’t a straightforward 12 months in charge for the former Gas boss before he confirmed complications himself.

Gasheads are probably tired of hearing this, but the potential of Bristol Rovers is seismic compared to its current stature which makes it so disappointing that this season has played out in the way it has.

Fans should have had plenty to look forward to, particularly in the form of a redeveloped Memorial Stadium while attracting higher calibre players in the future will be boosted by an expanded training ground.

Meanwhile, a three-year plan to get to the Championship was set out by chairman Hussain AlSaeed last season.

No one can fault their ambition, but that particular goal, with hindsight, is now looking incredibly optimistic.

The infrastructural potential of Rovers was one of the key reasons detailed by AlSaeed for getting involved in the football club in the first place. Given that the Kuwaiti made his name in real estate, his decision to purchase the Gas made total sense.

Conversations with Bristol City Council are, according to the chairman, ongoing regarding plans to redevelop the Mem and expand The Quarters.

Despite past setbacks and broken promises to supporters, there is still optimism that both projects will eventually be completed.

That, alongside support for Bristol Rovers Women, bringing the Gas Girls under the club's management, has been the most positive aspect of the Kuwaitis’ reign so far but when it comes to the football, the fundamental element of the club, there has been a severe lack of highlights to shout about.

Within less than three months of their arrival in north Bristol, the hierarchy made the decision to change manager, sacking Barton after a mixed start to that campaign.

However, the lack of a succession plan was majorly criticised at the time as it took five weeks to hire a full-time replacement, eventually selecting a manager that had been in work elsewhere when the recruitment process started and had only been sacked three weeks prior.

Taylor’s reign started brightly with victories over the likes of Bolton Wanderers, Portsmouth, Charlton Athletic and Oxford United but the campaign swiftly petered out as significant change was inevitable.

Rovers ended up in 15th after a lethargic final three months of the season.

From that February when it was announced that George Friend would be hanging up his boots and immediately taking on a director of football role, leading a new-look recruitment team, everything pointed towards the summer.

A significant amount of players were out of contract and a major recruitment task loomed with this the first full summer window since the owners’ arrival.

With an emphasis on bringing in exciting young talent with high potential, Rovers ended up signing 16 players that summer, the eldest of which was then-28-year-old Jamie Lindsay.

Very few had more than a couple of seasons playing regularly at League One level or higher on their CV and it was always going to be a gamble. The Gas needed those players to gel pretty swiftly otherwise they were going to be in for a tough season.

Players have noted fractures within the squad and a lack of chemistry on record in interviews this season but we are now in mid-April with just four games remaining and there is still clearly a lack of cohesion.

A good culture has also seemed to be something seriously lacking, which is imperative for any successful team and, from the outside, looks to have been undervalued.

Less than a year on from the start of the summer transfer window, Friend has resigned. His exact reasons are still unknown and will remain private until/if he makes the decision to share them publicly.

His replacement, Ricky Martin, will surely look to stamp his own ideas and authority on things once the season is over and Rovers know which division they will be competing in next term.

Money has been spent. No one can say that the hierarchy haven’t invested or don’t care. The Gas’ transfer budget has increased since their arrival but the problem is how recklessly that money has been spent.

Rovers have spent more money and have gotten worse which is some statement.

Whether it’s the individuals brought in, transfer fees, wages, or numerous long contracts, so many of the footballing decisions over the best part of the last year-and-a-half have reeked of naivety and, rightly, the biggest concern of supporters is how much actual football experience there is amongst those in charge of running their club. It doesn’t take much to realise that it is limited.

From the outside, it looks as though this ownership needs help. Hussain AlSaeed has confessed that i t has been challenging and hasn’t shone away from that. But the suggestion of complications behind the scenes and managers feeling a lack of control makes for worrying times given how much control the hierarchy have on the final say and how little experience of running a football club their CVs suggest.

After the news that the chairman would be acquiring Wael Al-Qadi’s shares, it seems as though they are here for the long-term and, if that is the case, now is the time to accept that the real estate side of matters are very much their expertise, but the football isn’t and that help on that front is needed.

Whether that comes from external investment or further hires - who knows - but there is only one direction in which Rovers are headed at this moment in time and it is down. You don’t have to have been a Gashead for more than around a decade to know that there is no divine right of automatically coming back up if you are relegated into League Two.

The same applies if the Pirates manage to end the season strongly enough to scrape survival. If the way this club is currently being run doesn’t change, those goals of getting to the Championship won’t be realised and, if completed, a redeveloped Memorial Stadium will be at half-capacity if that.