Football Rovers boss Tisdale’s got no illusions about transfer window
PAUL Tisdale describes the January transfer window as something of a “circus”, and the Bristol Rovers boss is set to step into the ring once again with January 2 looming.
Tisdale, veteran of 15 years in management, knows all too well the mid-season window is a lottery.
The Gas are set to enter the market, primarily in search of a striker and a right-back, when dealings begin at the end of the week.
Rovers, like all clubs, have seen mixed results from their January recruits over the years.
2020 In Ben Garner’s first transfer window, the Gas were busy. They completed seven deals across the month, with varying success.
Jamal Blackman proved an excellent addition in goal with four clean sheets in his 10-game stint on loan from Chelsea with Anssi Jaakkola out injured. Winger Jayden Mitchell-Lawson - on loan from Derby County - featured regularly too and mustered two goals before the campaign was curtailed. He was loaned to Rovers again this season, but sent back to his parent club before Christmas.
Preston North End’s Josh Ginnelly was another winger to make a temporary move to the Mem. He scored once - the winner against Blackpool, Garner’s first win - in nine appearances before returning to Deepdale injured.
Rovers also borrowed Timmy Abraham from Fulham. The striker, brother of Chelsea star and former Bristol City loanee Tammy, played 69 minutes across four substitute appearances, failing to score.
The Gas inked three permanent deals, too. Cian Harries, James Daly and Josh Barrett, all in their early 20s, signed two-and-a-half-year deals for nominal fees. Striker Daly has Rovers’ best goal-per-minute ratio in League One this season, with his three goals coming every 222 minutes. His progress has been stunted by injury, but the 20-yearold is a promising prospect.
Harries was a mainstay of the Rovers back three at the start of the season. He has made 13 appearances this term after being used three times before the curtailment in March. He has been a victim of Tisdale’s shift to a back four and hasn’t featured at all in December.
Playmaker Barrett joined from Reading with high expectations, but Gasheads are yet to see the best of the Republic of Ireland youth international. He was exiled to the development squad by Garner due to fitness concerns, but Barrett has been reintegrated by Tisdale.
The verdict: Building for the future with the permanent deals, but the loans offered mixed success.
2019 The Gas were far from busy two years ago, but the two signings they did make went a long way to securing their League One status.
A day before the deadline, then head of recruitment Tommy Widdrtington raided former club Coventry City to sign lung-busting midfielder Abu Ogogo on a free transfer. He made his debut two days later in an important win over Southend United and played a key role in the centre of the park as Rovers stayed up.
Rovers’ other signing of the window was one of their best: Jonson Clarke-Harris. The striker, signed on deadline day from Coventry for an undisclosed fee, was the driving force behind Rovers’ revival with 11 goals in 16 games, including eight goals in March which saw him named the League One player of the month. A year and a half later, he was sold to Peterborough United for a fee of around £1.25million. The verdict: Proof that quality over quantity in key areas rather than scattergun panic is the correct way to approach the January window. 2018 Rovers completed three deals in 2018, signing Tony Craig and Kyle Bennett on free transfers from Millwall and Portsmouth respectively. Bernard Mensah also joined from Aldershot Town. Craig proved to be one of Rovers’ best signings in recent years, with the centre-back making more than 100 appearances before leaving in June 2020. However, Bennett started well, but failed to deliver as the club’s bestpaid player and is currently on loan at Grimsby Town with his Rovers contract running until the summer. Mensah is now playing with Gloucester City in the National League North.
The verdict: The signing of Craig was a masterstroke, but Bennett’s bloated contract has been a millstone around the club’s neck.
2017 Defender Joe Partington joined from National League Eastleigh and made 53 appearances across three seasons. Goalkeeper Joe Lumley impressed in his sixmonth loan from Queens Park Rangers and Ryan Sweeney’s temporary move from Stoke City earned him another loan at the Mem. But there were less successful deals in the form of centre-back Johnny Burn and left-back Bob Harris. Burn joined from Middlesbrough but made only six appearances across two seasons. Harris joined from Sheffield United, made five appearances, scoring an own goal at Port Vale on his debut. Verdict: Some solid business marred by two big busts.
2016 With Darrell Clarke searching for an extra striking option to boost a promotion bid, he found success signing Rory Gaffney from Cambridge United on loan in November 2015. After five goals in seven games he made the deal permanent. Liam Lawrence, also added experience after joining on a free transfer. New Zealand international Rory Fallon also joined as a fee agent, making three appearances. The verdict: Added experience helped Rovers over the line and into League One.