Rarely is a discussion about the January window not accompanied by the adjective “difficult”; with clubs reluctant to sell their best players, you either have to overpay, take a risk or strike it lucky by benefiting from someone else’s oversight in terms of their judgement of a player.
Bristol Rovers, like everybody else, have done a bit of all of that in their recruitment at this time of year which at times has been inspired, but with each success there have been inevitable misfires - that’s just the way the game works, unfortunately.
Joey Barton is once again targeting a busy window of improvement for the Gas and based on last year’s haul, has every reason to enter this month with confidence that they can emerge in February a better squad than how they entered it.
We’ve taken a look back over the last five January transfer windows for the Gas and a review of the 19 first-team players they’ve brought in over the years with some serious significant hits, some notable misses and a few individuals you may well just shrug your shoulders at in recognition…
2022
Ryan Loft
Signed for £50,000 from Scunthorpe United, Loft was the pure targetman Barton had craved since the summer. However, it was a modest return from the former Tottenham academy product as he started just twice in League Two, with a further 11 appearances off the bench. However his solitary strike was a memorable one - the killer third at Port Vale. But 12 months on, that fee looks outstanding value based on how Loft has adapted to life in League One and his developmental arc which is very much trending upwards. It’s just a shame he got injured when he did.
Verdict: Hit
Jon Nolan
On signing Scott Sinclair this season Barton noted that sometimes, for all the planning you can make, sometimes when good players become available, you sign them and then worry about fitting them into the team afterwards. That appears to have been the rationale with Nolan who was allowed to leave Ipswich Town and, in theory, his talent would far exceed many of his peers in League Two. However, the injury issues that dogged his time at Portman Road continued and he played just 26 minutes in the promotion campaign.
Verdict: Miss
James Connolly
A virtual unknown when he appeared on the teamsheet for a FA Cup tie at Peterborough United, Rovers took a sizeable gamble on the centre-back who had never played senior first-team football before. But he quickly settled into life in the Gas defence, impressing with his maturity, reading of the game and use of the ball. Plus his consistency and chemistry with Connor Taylor as they two formed a formidable partnership. It was enough for Rovers to pay a low six-figure sum to make the loan deal permanent this summer.
Verdict: Hit
Elliot Anderson
We won’t waste too much of your time here. Arrived on deadline day after a move for Callum Camps fell through. There was some hype and expectation but within a few moments of his first touches of a ball in blue and white it was clear the Gas had got themselves a very special talent; seven goals and six assists and arguably the main catalyst behind the run to promotion - probably Rovers’ greatest ever loanee and very much in the conversation (along with another man on this list) for their most important January signing.
Verdict: Do we even need to say?
2021
George Williams
A steady-eddie defender who arrived with considerable experience in League One and was well known to head coach Paul Tisdale from their time together at MK Dons. The right-back did make 26 appearances, but did so in a losing side which tumbled towards relegation and the ultimate judgement is that within six months of arriving, Barton had shipped him out to Cambridge United. That being said, he’s clearly of a quality much higher than what he showed in BS7.
Verdict: Miss
Joe Day
Signed on loan due to Anssi Jaakkola’s injury problems, it looked a smart addition with Day one of the most consistent of the established lower league goalkeepers who was kicking his heels on the bench at Cardiff. But his performances never matched his reputation and although there were some excellent displays - most notably against Portsmouth and Peterborough - and he wasn’t helped by a porous defence, but as he was caught up in all the chaos of relegation the Welshman’s time in north Bristol was not a particularly memorable one, for him and the club.
Verdict: Miss
2020
Josh Barrett
A rough diamond from Reading who with the right guidance and coaching could prove to be a masterstroke. Barrett unquestionably had something, and with a progressive technical-first coach like Ben Garner, maybe he just needed to be managed right. Except the playmaker could never get or stay fit and very quickly his manager lost patience with him, to the point he was nearly released the following September. Tisdale and Barton then tried to get something out of him but he proved something of a lost cause, at EFL level, at least.
Verdict: Miss
James Daly
A honest, hard-working and energetic young striker, there was a lot to like with Daly’s game and while the Covid-affected season curtailed his chances of minutes, he did make some notable appearances and scored four times in his only full season with the Gas. But relegation allowed for a clearout under Barton and Daly found himself as part of the cull. There were never any questions about his attitude or application, just perhaps his quality as it never quite worked out for him at the Mem.
Verdict: Miss
Cian Harries
A borderline call, really, because Harries was as culpable for the relegation season in 2020/21 as any of his teammates but he was retained under Barton and did prove a useful squad player in League Two, able to operate across multiple positions. Granted, he didn’t play as much in the second half of the season but his presence in that squad shouldn’t be overlooked and while he was released last summer and is now with Swindon Town, 56 appearances isn’t a bad return.
Verdict: Hit
Jayden Mitchell-Lawson
There are two Jayden Mitchell-Lawsons for Rovers; the one who signed on loan in January 2020 and the one who signed on loan in the summer. The former looked a real talent, bright and inventive and in a Garner team that was misfiring looked a real bright spot with bags of potential. His second temporary spell was not as impressive, though, as he quickly slid from view and was sent home ahead of schedule in December.
Verdict: Miss
Josh Ginnelly
Garner wanted to break away from the stoicism of Coughlan-ball and with a mercurial talent like Ginnelly - similar to Barrett and Mitchell-Lawson - with the right set of circumstances could mould the Gas attack around the X-factor the winger brought. He threatened it on occasions but over nine appearances it always felt like we were waiting for something to happen, rather than it ever actually happening.
Verdict: Miss
Jamal Blackman
Another loan signing to mitigate the absence of Jaakkola to injury and Bristol proved the latest stop on Blackman’s rather interesting loan tour while under contract at Chelsea. He only made 10 appearances as Covid cut short his time at the Gas but, in truth, he did okay and ultimately covered a potentially huge issue in the squad, albeit in a season largely rendered redundant due to the pandemic.
Verdict: Hit
Timmy Abraham
The brother of Tammy but unfortunately nowhere near the quality and presence of the now Roma frontman and he made just four appearances for the Gas over a loan spell. If anyone can remember anything about those games please post in the comments below because they really were deeply unremarkable.
Verdict: Miss
2019
Abu Ogogo
The sort of player fans can easily get behind with his no-nonsense, fully committed brand of midfield play. He may not have the most graceful or creative of operators but he did exactly what was asked of him and was perfect for the brand of football Graham Coughlan wanted to play. A consistent 7/10 man in the second half of that season and into the 2019/20 campaign, injury then ruined his final year with the Gas, although it was telling of his attributes that Barton wanted him to stick around in League Two, albeit with a contract offer that represented his lack of football over the previous 6-12 months.
Verdict: Hit
Jonson Clarke-Harris
Akin to the impact made by Anderson three years later, Clarke-Harris was a hugely influential player for Rovers: his 11 goals in 17 games helped keep them in League One under Coughlan and he continued that scoring record with 16 in 32 the following season under the Irishman and Garner before an initial £1.25m transfer (the fee now having surpassed £2m in add-ons) to Peterborough United that helped the club recover some of their losses during the pandemic. And all that for a free transfer brought to Bristol in the dying embers of the January window.
Verdict: Hit
Gabriel Osho
Now a regular for Luton Town in the Championship, it’s evident there was plenty of talent in the defender when he was brought in on loan from Reading but he never made a single appearance for the Gas and returned to Berkshire barely having made a ripple.
Verdict: Miss
2018
Tony Craig
Although, strictly speaking in an administrative sense he wasn't a January arrival as he was signed after the window closed, it was a Darrell Clarke masterstroke to grab the experienced campaigner from free agency and while his two-and-a-half-year deal may have raised eyebrows, given his age, boy did Rovers get value for money out of the centre-back. Along with his leadership, aggression and defensive organisation was his durability as Craig made 120 appearances during his time at the club and didn’t miss a game during the 2018/19 season. A costly mistake by Garner not to renew his contract in the summer of 2020 only emphasises his impact.
Verdict: Hit
Kyle Bennett
While Craig was the embodiment of value for money, his fellow late arrival in the new year was the yang to that yin. For two-and-a-half years Bennett’s excessive contract hung over the club’s finances as such was his salary, they couldn’t move him on, and it prevented other deals being made, plus his diminishing influence and impact on the field proved an expensive mistake.
Verdict: Miss
Bernard Mensah
Signing players from non-league is always a gamble and while Mensah had the profile of somebody who could make the step up into the EFL - having been reasonably prolific for Aldershot after his release by Watford - it didn’t prove to be the case. Nine appearances over two seasons later, and loan moves back to Aldershot and with Lincoln City, he was released. Is now plying his trade for Gloucester City.
Verdict: Miss
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