Bristol Rovers vs Wigan Athletic | League One Preview
With the first international break now over, Wigan Athletic return to League One football this weekend against a Bristol Rovers side who look to have been transformed...
Part One | An overview of our opponents. 🔎
Part Two | “Who to Watch” players. 👓
Part Three | What can we expect from this game? 🏟️
I might be in the minority with this opinion, but I enjoy the international breaks, especially when Wigan Athletic players represent their countries. I watched some enjoyable football games that featured Ireland U21s, Scotland U21s, and Northern Ireland U21s.
Baba Adeeko, Thelo Aasgaard, Dale Taylor, and Calvin Ramsay took part in the 2025 Euro U21 Qualifiers, which are now set up nicely for the final two group fixtures in the October break. Luke Chambers represented England U20s as they embarked on a new U20 Elite League campaign, where they picked up four points over the two games and climbed to second. They have four more games this year, two in October and two in November, which will see them play Italy, Czech Republic Germany, and Poland 🌍
I want to see our players, whether permanents or loanees, test themselves so we can see them develop their abilities to perform at higher levels. The more they learn, the better it will be for Latics this season and beyond 🙌
That said, I am glad to see League One football back. Shaun Maloney has had an extra week to work with our squad in training to implement ways we can improve our game plans, and our players will have been thankful for the time to reset after such a testing opening month of league and cup fixtures.
Our opponents this week are Bristol Rovers, who have won both of their home fixtures so far without conceding a goal at the Memorial Stadium. They will be yet another big test, but I am feeling optimistic.
Let’s dive into the match preview 👇🏼
Bristol Rovers
The last decade has been tough for Bristol Rovers, who have only managed to finish as high as tenth in League One over that period. However, they have had some success along the way.
In the 2014/15 season, Rovers finished second in the National League and gained promotion back into the football league via the Conference Premier Play-Offs by beating Forest Green Rovers in the Semi-Finals and Grimsby Town on penalties in the Final. The following season, Darrell Clarke led them to yet another promotion with a third-placed finish in League Two.
Those two seasons are the only time Rovers have had back-to-back promotions, and they join a list with Wycombe Wanderers, Doncaster Rovers, Carlisle United, Exeter City, Stevenage, Crawley Town, and Wrexham, as the only teams to achieve back-to-back promotions from National League to League One 📈
The 2016/17 season was the campaign where they finished tenth in the third tier, and it remains their highest finish in the football league since they finished seventh in the old Second Division in 1999-2000. Clarke was given a five-year contract extension for leading the club on such a strong trajectory, and a season later he kept them midtable with a respectable thirteenth-place finish. However, after 7 defeats in a run of 10 matches in the 2018/19 season, Clarke was sacked in December ‘18 and the downward trajectory began 📉
Graham Coughlan took over from Clarke in January ‘19 and guided Rovers to a fifteenth-place finish. With 10 wins and 4 draws in the first 19 games of the 2019/20 season, things were looking good for Rovers under their new gaffer, but they allowed Coughlan permission to speak to League Two side, Mansfield Town, about their managerial job opening. Coughlan departed Rovers while they were fourth in League One, and they won just two of their next sixteen league games with Ben Garner in charge.
Surprisingly, Garner remained in charge over the summer and led a rebuilding of the squad as over twenty players departed. In the first eleven games of the season, Garner picked up just three wins and three draws and was dismissed in November 2019 following a 4-1 home loss to Fleetwood Town with his side in 18th place.
Paul Tisdale took over, but he too managed just three wins and three draws in fifteen matches before being relieved of his duties in February 2020. He hinted that a lack of a recognised striker was punishing them 👇🏼
"We have got strikers for the future. We have not got the ones for here and now. I am not a magician. I cannot get a rabbit out of the hat."
Paul Tisdale speaking to BBC Radio Bristol
Things quickly went from bad to worse for Rovers, as they hired Joey Barton as their new gaffer. His first game in charge was at home to Wigan Athletic, with Callum Lang and Scott Wootton on the scoresheet in a 2-1 loss. Is right 👊
Barton led Rovers to just three wins and two draws in their final eighteen league games, and they were relegated back to the fourth tier.
For all of Barton’s flaws, he did have a good record of bringing in quality players to the club. Over the summer of 2021, he brought in players such as; Aaron Collins, Antony Evans, Glenn Whelan, Luke Thomas, and Harry Anderson, and released over twenty players who he felt were not up to the right standard.
New signing, Aaron Collins, scored 16 goals in the 2021/22 season as Rovers achieved a third-place finish to bounce straight back up to League One ☝️
On their first season back in the third tier, Barton took Rovers to a 17th-place finish, but they won just two and drew two of their final eleven games. He was given a preseason and thirteen league games to find a solution, but after just four wins in thirteen games, Barton was finally sacked in October 2023 as Rovers sat sixteenth.
First-team coach, Andy Mangan, stepped up as interim manager between October 26th and December 1st, leading Rovers to two wins and two draws in five games, however, he departed when Matt Taylor was appointed as the new manager. Mangan has since joined Stockport County as a coach and has been approached by Real Madrid. After being refused a work permit, his Spanish move is currently on hold 🇪🇸⏸️
Despite a short ‘New Manager Bounce ™️’ in December 2023 with 3 wins and a draw in five games, the remainder of the 23/24 season was incredibly inconsistent for Matt Taylor, and it was becoming clear that he needed a full preseason and summer transfer window to sort this squad out.
Taylor has secured loans for Josh Griffiths (GK from West Bromwich Albion), Michael Forbes (Def from West Ham), Lino Sousa (Def from Aston Villa), Jake Garrett (Mid from Blackburn Rovers), and Gatlin O’Donkor (Fwd from Oxford United) 🤝
Alongside the loanees, Taylor has strengthened every outfield position with some incredibly strong signings for this level. They include; Clinton Mola (Def from Reading), Dan Ellison (Def from Chippenham Town), Joel Senior (Def from Morecambe), Taylor Moore (Def from Bristol City), Bryant Bilongo (Mid from Middlesbrough), Kamil Conteh (Mid from Grimsby Town), Isaac Hutchinson (Mid from Walsall), Jamie Lindsay (Mid from Rotherham), Ruel Sotiriou (Fwd from Leyton Orient), Promise Omochere (Fwd from Fleetwood Town), Shaq Forde (Fwd from Watford), and Micah Anthony (Fwd from QPR) ✍️
The strong transfer activity and a full preseason have allowed Taylor to build a squad that he wants, and time to implement his ideas into how he wants them to play. After five games so far this season, Rovers have won both of their home games, drawn one of the three away games, and have kept three clean sheets. They currently sit 9th with seven points and are one of three teams yet to concede at home alongside Reading and Stockport County.
Bristol Rovers Opening 5 League One Results
Bristol Rovers 1 - 0 Northampton Town
⚽️ (Bilongo 90+2’)
Rotherham 0 - 0 Bristol Rovers
Stockport County 2 - 0 Bristol Rovers
Bristol Rovers 2 - 0 Cambridge United
⚽️ (Omochere 30’, 48’)
Barnsley 2 - 1 Bristol Rovers
⚽️ (Sotiriou 37’)
Matt Taylor has a strong squad available to him for this game, especially with the return of Kamil Conteh and Michael Forbes from international duty. However, these are my top three ones to watch 👇🏼
Bryant Bilongo (#27, Left Wing Back, Age: 22, joined on July 3rd 2024 from Middlesbrough)
Former AFC Wimbledon youth product, Bryant Bilongo, joined Middlesbrough in January 2022, but only went on to make one senior appearance under Chris Wilder in an EFL Cup tie against Barnsley. He spent most of his time at the club playing for the Under 21s in the Premier League 2 competition.
Bilongo spent time on loan at Woking and Ebbsfleet in the National League, managing one goal and five clean sheets in fourteen total appearances.
Matt Taylor has found a gem here, not only because Bilongo scored their first goal of the season and has assisted the last two goals, but he looks strong and capable of winning/keeping possession incredibly well. The left wing-back is third in the league for ground duels won with a 63% win ratio, and tenth for aerial duels won. Whether Ramsay or Carragher are tasked with defending Bilongo, they will need to be at their best to stop him.
Luke Thomas (#11, Right Midfielder, Age: 25, joined on June 24th 2023 from Barnsley)
No, this Luke Thomas is not the same one you may have heard of playing for Leicester City. However, you may know him from his 44 appearances for Coventry, or 95 appearances for Barnsley.
At 25 years old, Thomas is quickly approaching 300 competitive appearances and has featured in over 115 League One fixtures. Last season, Thomas netted 5 and assisted 6 in the league, which was his best career return in a single season for both aspects so far.
This season, Thomas assisted Bilongo from a corner for Rovers’ first goal of the season and played a brilliant ball through the Cambridge United defence from near the halfway line to assist Promise Omochere. He also sits third in the league for key passes, making him the most creative player within Taylor’s new-look side.
Promise Omochere (#9, Forward, Age: 23, joined on July 19th 2024 from Fleetwood Town)
Dublin-born Omochere joined Rovers with very mixed reviews from Fleetwood Town fans after his two-year stint on the coast. Despite scoring 13 and assisting 3 in 71 appearances for the Cods, there were frustrations that his contributions to the scoreline do not match his contributions in the build-up play, and for a forward that is often frowned upon.
Taylor has the opportunity to transform Omochere from contributing to one goal every 4.5 games to becoming an attacking force involved in the scoreline every two or three games. If this transformation occurs, Taylor will have a powerful attacking option at their disposal and this will help the club in their bid to finish within the top 10 at this level for the first time since 1999/2000.
So far this season, Omochere has scored two goals with his brace against Cambridge United on August 31st. Both goals were scored centrally inside the penalty area, and our defence are going to have to be prepared for his physicality in the final third. Omochere is not afraid to get stuck in.
Thankfully, I think we can expect a very different game to the one we suffered at the Memorial Stadium last season. That 4-1 loss was one of the worst performances we have seen in the last twelve months, and Maloney even admitted post-match that we were lucky to go into the halftime break just 2-1 down.
“I thought we were nowhere near it in terms of desire without the ball. With the squad we have, I think there were certainly moments in the first part of the season - when we had won three or four - where we think everything is very very good. Then we have two back-to-back defeats. We have to play every single game like it means the absolute world to us.”
Shaun Maloney post Bristol Rovers | September 2023
In terms of how Rovers will set up, we can expect Taylor to stick with his three at the back of Clinton Mola, James Wilson, and Taylor Moore. Their formation isn’t too dissimilar to what Maloney played with last season when Kerr, Hughes, and Morrison would feature as a back three with the two wider centre-backs able to move forward with the ball slightly. This allows them to have strong cover should there be a counter-attack, but also allows them to build from the back with an extra player upfield instead of building with a back four.
Bilongo and Thomas will most likely start on the wings, with Omochere and Sotitriou up top as a partnership. With this, Rovers will look to stretch our backline, keep our wingbacks in defensive areas, and move the ball quickly when space opens up.
I am not convinced that Rovers are going to have enough ability to really test our backline as they are averaging just 10 shots with 3 on target per game. For comparison, Reading - who Rovers are currently tied with on seven points - averages 15 shots and 4 on target per game. Rovers have also scored the least (4) in the top eleven sides despite playing a game extra than most during the international break.
For Wigan Athletic to pick up our second victory this season, we are going to have to try something different in the way we perform in the final third. We have become the definition of a *nearly* side in this area. We nearly get the final pass right, we nearly find a player in the box with a cross, and we nearly hit the target.
“We get in some brilliant positions, and it’s that final action that we have to make. That is the difference between us scoring goals, drawing games rather than losing, then winning games. It’s that final action.”
Shaun Maloney Pre-Match | September 12th 2024
After a week away from action, time on the training pitch, and a mental reset, I am feeling optimistic that Latics are going to come out and surprise us all in this game. In fact, I think we will get our revenge. Is that blind optimism? Time will tell, but I am ready for it.
👕 Starting XI Prediction: Tickle, Carragher, Kerr, Aimson, Chambers, Weir, M Smith, Rankine, Aasgaard, Thomas, Hugill
⚽️ Score Prediction: Wigan Athletic 4 - 1 Bristol Rovers
Up the Tics 🔵⚪️
🙌 Thank you for reading!
✍🏼 Charlie Keegan / Central Wigan
📲 Follow the X account! (www.x.com/CentralWigan)
☕️ Buy me a coffee: buymeacoffee.com/centralwigan
