The Pirates have climbed their way up the league table and remain unbeaten in eight matches following a deserved 2-0 win against Oxford United at the Kassam Stadium. Goals from Ollie Clarke and Stuart Sinclair.

Back on deadline day in January, Bristol Rovers’ top goalscorer, Matty Taylor made the move from League One to Championship. However, it left fans in anger after he’d signed for Bristol City, rivals of the Pirates. Also, the club had issued a complaint about the transfer deal after claiming that the Robins knew of the release clause in Taylor’s contract which is against the EFL rules as those details are confidential and should not be disclosed with any other club.

Taylor signed for Bristol Rovers back in 2014, after his loan spell at Chester. He scored a total of 64 goals in 134 appearances including league and competitions. The Pirates were fighting to make it back into the Football League when they played Grimsby Town in the play-off final at Wembley which ended 1-1, (Bristol Rovers 5-3 Grimsby Town on penalties), with Taylor scoring the second penalty against James McKeown.

They went on to play Dagenham and Redbridge in May 2016, who were struggling in the relegation zone in League Two, where Taylor’s shot hit the post but was deflected by Lee Brown, making the winning goal that brought the Pirates up to League One.

Some fans were worried about how well the team would perform without Taylor. However, they remain unbeaten since 21 January where they lost 3-1 to Walsall. The goals have all been from midfielders such as Billy Bodin, Ollie Clarke and even a goal from Byron Moore when the Pirates played promotion-chasing Bolton Wanderers.

Personal Response:

Since the publicity and outrage of Taylor’s move to the Robins (who currently are fighting their way out of the relegation zone), I always believed that we could still do just as well without him. I had my faith set on Gaffney, James and Harrison as they’re our strikers in the squad, yet our midfield has been outstanding and the performance of our players has been amazing. There have been a few mistakes such as Bob Harris’ own goal at Port Vale and the accidental own goal from Lockyer against Scunthorpe United.

Do I think we can reach the top six? It’s not impossible as we sit in 8th, two places away from a Play-Off position. However, we would have to start winning matches instead of drawing. Millwall are currently in 6th place, with a seven point difference. We play Southend United next and Bury the week after. If we win both matches, we have the potential to push into 7th. The next few matches will be easier for us as we play teams that are lower down in the table. With a bit of luck, and if we keep the performances going that we’ve had recently, it could happen.

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