Bristol Rovers' League Two relegation fate has been sealed

Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info

Bristol Rovers have been relegated from League One, three years on from that famous 7-0 win over Scunthorpe that sealed promotion out of League Two in the most sensational fashion.

The Gas were all but down on Saturday evening after Burton Albion beat Cambridge United 2-1 following their 2-0 defeat to Reading, but Burton's 1-1 draw with Wigan Athletic on Tuesday night has mathematically sealed their destiny.

17th and 15th place finishes saw Rovers consolidate themselves back in the third tier over the last two seasons, but this campaign has been nothing short of a disaster. Ambitions of pushing into the top half and laying foundations for giving promotion to the Championship a real shot now look implausible as, yet again, the football club will have to pick themselves up and dust themselves off.

Hours upon hours of tireless graft to pull the Gas away from doom and gloom have been neglected. Like him or loathe him, Rovers should have been in a strong position to take the next step and build upwards when Joey Barton and his backroom team left in late 2023. However, the club find themselves back where they started…again.

This is Rovers’ fifth relegation this century. Prior to the turn of the millennium, the club had just three in their entire existence since formation in 1883. The feeling of the drop has become far too familiar for Gasheads and, yet again, that Championship dream feels as distant as ever.

The Pirates’ current predicament certainly isn’t what was pledged by the Al Saeeds when they arrived at the club in August 2023, and also wouldn’t have been what they had anticipated.

Rovers’ hierarchy have spent good money in the 20 months since purchasing a majority stake in the club’s holding company Dwane Sports, before then acquiring all of Wael and Samer Al Qadi’s remaining shares in November. Money that should not have the Gas anywhere near the threat of relegation, let alone actually dropping back into League Two. In fact, it has been some effort to invest as much as has been spent, only to go backwards.

Mistakes have been made and fans are rightly angry. The key now is how the hierarchy communicates with their supporters. Contrary to what some supporters may say, chairman Hussain Al Saeed has spoken publicly more in almost two years than plenty of EFL club owners. However, the understanding is that most of the day to day work at the club falls into the remit of his son and executive vice president Abdullatif Al Saeed and most of the calls for communication from supporters are directed his way.

A Supporter’s Club Q&A in February 2024 and December's appearance on the GasCast podcast are the two occasions where the executive vice president has spoken publicly since arriving at the club. For his own sake, that has to change before the start of next season, especially when you consider that there are rumours and allegations towards how the club is operating.

Regardless of whether or not ongoing rumours and allegations surrounding interference in footballing matters are proven true or not, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out that something is not right behind the scenes and that something needs to change.

As seems to always be the case at Rovers, the club once again faces a major summer. That job, largely, will fall into the lap of new director of football Ricky Martin who has now been at the club for the best part of a month, watching the Gas’ League One status crumble before his very eyes. None of this has been Martin’s causing, but it’s his problem to fix.

(Image: Will Cooper/PPAUK)

Unfairly, the new director of football has already been written off by sections of the fanbase having hardly stepped through the door. A lack of success at Stoke City has meant that, in some’s viewpoint, he was a poor hire, but there have been few success stories at the club over the past seven years. He deserves the benefit of doubt at the very least to start off.

The hope is that Martin will speak publicly for the first time soon now that relegation is official and boy will he have a lengthy to-do list going into the summer.

First on the agenda will have to be making a decision on Inigo Calderon’s future. The head coach deserves clarity on whether he will be dismissed or entrusted to lead the club’s effort of being promoted back into League One at the first time of asking. He wasn’t Martin’s hire and his team’s collapse over the past seven weeks cannot be ignored, but he is still in the job.

Not only do fans need clarity on who is going to be in charge of their side next season, current and prospective players do too. No one is going to buy into a project when its leadership is yet to be resolved, especially after a relegation of this manner.

Bristol Rovers Live on Whatsapp Join Bristol Rovers Live's Whatsapp community for all the biggest Bristol Rovers stories sent straight to your phone Bristol Rovers Live is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our community. Through the app, we’ll send the Bristol Rovers news, live match coverage, team news, transfers, fixtures, analysis and more straight to your phone. To join our community you need to already have WhatsApp. All you need to do is click this link and select ‘Join Community’. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Bristol Live team. We also treat community members to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out at any time you like. To leave our community, click on the name at the top of your screen and choose ‘Exit group’. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Click here to join our WhatsApp community.

This fanbase needs to be picked back up. It needs confidence and excitement reinstalled. It needs to be inspired, which it hasn’t been for too long. Suggestion that Rovers are on course for back-to-back relegations at this moment in time are premature and, frankly, farfetched, and perhaps represents the fickleness of the average football fan. But it comes from a place of hurt. These supporters are suffering and need to be brought back on side.

They have been patient for long enough, but may be forced to sit waiting for the summer to really kick into gear. Once again, significant overhaul will be expected while Rovers will feel the effect of signing 16 players with a club-record budget while handing out numerous lengthy contracts, only to have been relegated.

What the Gas need to do in the transfer market is a conversation for further down the line once there is more clarity on who will be leading the team and how many players set to be out of contract will be offered fresh deals.

There is also the matter of stadium redevelopment news, with hope that there will be a fresh and encouraging update in the near future.

Before anything else, Gasheads want to be communicated with. They want mistakes to be realised and learned from and they want key figures to hold themselves accountable. Whether or not that happens will have a significant say on whether the already-glum mood will improve or worsen going into this summer. The hierarchy cannot afford for it to be the latter.

Click here to read article