2006–07 Bristol Rovers F.C. season

The 2006–07 season was the 124th year of

The pre-season period was a turbulent one, with a potential take-over of the club by Mike Turl being rejected by then-chairman Geoff Dunford. Directors Kevin Spencer and Colin Williams left the club in protest at the rejection,^[2] followed shortly after by the Bristol Rovers Supporters Club representative on the football club's board, Kim Stuckey.^[3]

This is a list of the significant events to occur at the club during the 2006–07 season, presented in chronological order. This list does not include transfers, which are listed in the transfers section below, or match results, which are in the results section.

• 28 July: Played a pre-season friendly against Plymouth Argyle wearing pink shirts.^[8]
• 22 August: Knocked out of the
  League Cup at the first round by Luton Town on penalties, having drawn the match 1–1.^[9]
• 15 September: The club submit plans for a new 18,000-seat stadium to Bristol City Council.^[10]
• 27 September: Rovers record their first win in a home midweek evening game for almost two years. The 2–1 win over
  Hereford United was the first since beating Chester City 4–1 on 7 December 2004. This was also the first game this season where Rovers scored more than one goal in the match.^[11]
• 6 October: Chairman Geoff Dunford announces that he will step down from his position at the end of April 2007, but intends to remain as a director of the club.^[12]
• 7 October: Back to back home wins recorded for the first time since May 2005, thanks to a 1–0 win over
  Hereford United the previous week.^[11]
• 9 October: Kevin Hodges is appointed as head of youth football. He also takes charge of the reserve team as part of his duties.^[13]
• 16 October: Rod King is appointed to the club's board of directors.^[14]
• 17 October: Former player Carl Saunders is appointed as the club's Community Liaison Officer.^[15]
• 11 November: Sean Rigg suffers a broken jaw after being punched by James Cotterill during an FA Cup first round match at Barrow.^[16]
• 10 January: Rovers receive £50,000 as part of the deal taking Scott Sinclair to Chelsea^[17] after he makes his debut for the London club.^[18]
• 17 January: Bristol City Council grant planning permission for a new 18,000 capacity all-seater stadium to be built on the site of the Memorial Stadium.^[19]
• 27 January: Rovers knocked out of the FA Cup in the fourth round by Derby County.^[20]
• 27 February: Rovers reach the final of the
  aggregate over the two legs of the southern area final.^[21]
• 29 March: Rovers announce that Ron Craig will succeed Geoff Dunford as chairman of the club from 2 April 2007.^[22]
• 1 April: Rovers are beaten 3–2 (after extra time) by
  Doncaster Rovers in the final of the Football League Trophy at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.^[23]
• 21 April: Byron Anthony signed a new 2-year contract with Rovers, tying him to the club until the end of the 2008–09 season.^[24]
• 30 April: Steve Phillips signs a two-year extension to his contract, which was due to expire in summer 2008. This keeps him at the club until 2010.^[25]
• 5 May: Rovers finish the season in 6th place, earning a spot in the
  playoffs.^[26]
• 11 May:
  Mike Green and James Palmer were offered new contracts.^[27]
• 16 May: Stuart Campbell signs a new two-year contract.^[28]
• 17 May: Rovers beat
  League Cup final at the Millennium Stadium on 25 February 2007 and played the FA Cup
  final on 19 May 2007.
• 26 May: Rovers beat
  Richard Walker scored two goals and Sammy Igoe one after having gone 1–0 down. A record crowd for a League Two playoff final of 61,589 watched the game.^[30]
• 5 June: The club announce that the first team will play their home games at Whaddon Road in Cheltenham while the Memorial Stadium is being redeveloped. The move is due to happen in December 2007.^[31]
• 21 June:
  Steve Elliott signs a new three-year contract, running until June 2010.^[32]

FA Cup

League Cup

Football League Trophy

League progress

This chart shows the league position of Bristol Rovers F.C. over the course of the season. The green area represents the automatic promotion positions (positions 1 to 3), the yellow area represents the play-off positions (positions 4 to 7) and the red area represents the relegation places (positions 23 and 24). The lowest position in the league that Bristol Rovers reached during the course of the season was 23rd, after the first game, and their highest placing was 6th, after the final game.

Player details

During the 2006–07 season, Rovers used 24 different players, and there were nine squad members who did not make an appearance on the pitch. The table below shows the number of appearances and goals scored by each player. Play-off appearances are included in the league appearances column.^[34]

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		playoffs )		FA Cup		League Cup		Football League Trophy
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	ENG	Steve Phillips	59	0	47	0	5	0	1	0	6	0
23	GK	SCO	Scott Shearer	3	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
31	GK	ENG	Mike Green	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2	DF	WAL	Ryan Green	42	0	36	0	2	0	1	0	3	0
3	DF	WAL	Joe Jacobson	13	0	13	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	DF	EIR	Robbie Ryan	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	DF	ENG	Craig Hinton	38	0	30	0	3	0	0	0	5	0
6	DF	ENG	Steve Elliott	54	5	42	5	5	0	1	0	6	0
11	DF	ENG	Chris Carruthers	54	0	41	0	5	0	1	0	7	0
15	DF	WAL	Byron Anthony	33	2	26	0	3	1	1	0	3	1
16	DF	ENG	Samuel Oji	5	0	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
21	DF	ENG	Ollie Barnes	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
28	DF	ENG	Tom Parrinello	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
32	DF	ENG	Aaron Lescott	43	0	34	0	4	0	1	0	4	0
35	DF	ENG	Ben Willshire	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	MF	ENG	Sammy Igoe	55	5	43	3	5	0	1	0	6	2
7	MF	SCO	Stuart Campbell	57	2	44	2	5	0	1	0	7	0
8	MF	ENG	James Hunt	14	1	14	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
17	MF	ENG	Andy Sandell	48	3	36	3	4	0	1	0	7	0
20	MF	ENG	Craig Disley	61	6	48	5	5	1	1	0	7	0
22	MF	ENG	Chris Lines	9	0	8	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
24	MF	WAL	Paul Trollope	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
25	MF	ENG	Darren Mullings	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
26	MF	WAL	Lewis Haldane	60	6	48	6	5	0	1	0	6	0
30	MF	ENG	James Palmer	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
9	FW	GHA	Junior Agogo	3	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
9	FW	ENG	Rickie Lambert	49	9	39	8	5	0	0	0	5	1
10	FW	ENG	Richard Walker	61	23	49	16	5	4	1	1	6	2
18	FW	WAL	Jamal Easter	4	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
19	FW	ENG	Stuart Nicholson	26	7	22	6	0	0	0	0	4	1
19	FW	ENG	James Walker	5	1	4	1	0	0	0	0	1	0
27	FW	ENG	Sean Rigg	26	2	21	2	2	0	1	0	2	0
29	FW	WAL	Lewis Powell	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Transfers

In

Five players were signed during the 2006–07 season, with a total transfer cost of £200,000, all of which was spent on

The players that joined Bristol Rovers during the 2006–07 season, along with their previous club, are listed below.

Date Player Previous Club Cost 19 July Steve Phillips Bristol City Free[37] 29 July Sammy Igoe Millwall Free[38] 4 August Byron Anthony Cardiff City Free[39] 31 August Rickie Lambert Rochdale £200,000[40] 26 September James Walker Charlton Athletic Loan[41] 27 October Jamal Easter Cardiff City Loan[42][43] 16 November Stuart Nicholson West Bromwich Albion Loan[44][45][46] 31 January Stuart Nicholson West Bromwich Albion Loan[47] 15 February Joe Jacobson Cardiff City Loan[48] 16 February Samuel Oji Birmingham City Loan[49][50] 11 May Josh Klein-Davies Bristol City Free[27] 16 May Alex Kite Youth team n/a[51] 16 May Charlie Reece Youth team n/a[51] 16 May Tom Godsell Youth team n/a[51] 16 May Ryan Paddock Youth team n/a[51] 16 May Matt Groves Youth team n/a[51] 16 May Adam Mahdi Youth team n/a[51] 16 May Charlie Clough Youth team n/a[51]

Out

Six players were loaned out during the 2006–07 season, and seven left the club permanently. The club received a transfer fee for one player only, Junior Agogo, but the amount received was not made public.

Listed below are the players that were transferred out, loaned out or released during the season, along with the club that they joined. For players that were transferred or loaned, this is the club that they joined from Rovers. For players that were released by the club, the next team that they joined after leaving Bristol Rovers is listed, even if they did not join that club immediately.

Date Player New Club Cost 30 August Junior Agogo Nottingham Forest Undisclosed[52] 22 September Mike Green Mangotsfield United Loan[53] 25 October Lewis Powell Mangotsfield United Loan[54] 26 October Scott Shearer Shrewsbury Town Loan[55][56] 4 November Darren Mullings Clevedon Town Loan[57] 8 December Ollie Barnes Gloucester City Loan[58] 14 January James Hunt Grimsby Town Loan[59][60] 1 February Robbie Ryan Welling United Released[61][62] 14 May James Hunt Grimsby Town Free[63] 27 May Scott Shearer Wycombe Wanderers Free[64] 30 June Ollie Barnes Salisbury City Released[27][65] 30 June Darren Mullings Torquay United Released[27][66] 30 June Lewis Powell Weston-super-Mare Released[27][67] Team kit The team kit for the 2006–07 season was produced by Erreà and the main shirt sponsor was Cowlin Construction. The home shirt featured the traditional blue and white quarters, however the shade of blue was lighter than in earlier seasons, and the blue and white were reversed from the previous year. The away kit was dark blue with yellow trim, and the third choice kit was yellow with black trim. 2006–07 home colours 2006–07 away colours 2006–07 third choice colours Awards During the course of the 2006–07 season, Bristol Rovers staff won three divisional awards. First team coach clean sheets.[68] The other two awards both went to Steve Phillips, who won the League Two player of the month award in November and also won the Puma Golden Gloves award for League Two after keeping 28 clean sheets during the season.[69] At the end of the season, Steve Phillips was voted the Bristol Rovers Supporters Club player of the season, and Sean Rigg was voted young player of the year in his debut season, who scored two goals in 26 appearances and missed a portion of the season after suffering a double fracture of the jaw during an FA Cup match in November. Award Recipient League Two player of the month (November) Steve Phillips[70] League Two Manager of the Month (April) Paul Trollope[71] League Two Puma Golden Glove award Steve Phillips[72] Bristol Rovers player of the year Steve Phillips[73] Bristol Rovers young player of the year Sean Rigg[73] See also 2006–07 in English football References ^ ISBN 0-7524-2717-2 . ^ a b Turl hits out at Bristol Rovers BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 October 2006 ^ a b Kim Stuckey steps down from board Archived 5 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine Bristol Rovers Supporters Club website. Retrieved 16 October 2006 ^ "Rovers bag Bulls defender Green". BBC Sport. 31 May 2006. Retrieved 17 August 2007. ^ "Atkins sacked - your views". BBC Bristol. Retrieved 20 August 2007. ^ "2006 summer moves". Gasheads.com. Archived from the original on 6 July 2007. Retrieved 17 August 2007. ^ "Peterborough 4-1 Bristol Rovers". BBC Sport. 5 August 2006. Retrieved 21 August 2007. ^ Walker strike sinks pilgrims bristolrovers.co.uk. Retrieved 16 October 2006 ^ Penalty heartbreak for Rovers bristolrovers.co.uk. Retrieved 16 October 2006 ^ Club submit revised stadium plan BBC News. Retrieved 16 October 2006 ^ a b BBC Radio Bristol, 7 October 2006 ^ Rovers chairman to leave position BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 October 2006 ^ Hodges joins to head up youth bristolrovers.co.uk. Retrieved 16 October 2006 ^ The new King of the board bristolrovers.co.uk. Retrieved 17 October 2006 ^ Welcome back Carl Saunders bristolrovers.co.uk. Retrieved 17 October 2006 ^ Barrow launch probe into 'punch' BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 November 2006. ^ Chelsea compensation figures confirmed[permanent dead link] The Football League. Retrieved 2 February 2007. ^ Wycombe 1–1 Chelsea BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 February 2007. ^ Memorial Stadium given go-ahead BBC News. Retrieved 18 January 2007. ^ Derby 1–0 Bristol Rovers BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 January 2007. ^ Bristol Rovers 1–0 Bristol City BBC Sport. 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Retrieved 16 October 2006. ^ "Transfers - September 2006". BBC Sport. 29 September 2006. Archived from the original on 1 June 2007. Retrieved 25 May 2007. ^ "Around the Southern League". This is Wiltshire. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 25 May 2007. ^ Shrewsbury take Shearer on loan BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 October 2006 ^ Shearer loan extended by Shrews BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 January 2007 ^ "Around the Southern League". This is Wiltshire. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 25 May 2007. ^ Losing Start for Barnes bristolrovers.co.uk. Retrieved 11 December 2006. ^ Grimsby Hunt Down James bristolrovers.co.uk. Retrieved 15 January 2007. ^ Grimsby extend Hunt's loan deal BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 March 2007. ^ Robbie Ryan Leaves Rovers bristolrovers.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2007. ^ "Welling recruit three defenders". BBC Sport. 17 July 2007. Retrieved 13 August 2007. ^ Grimsby give Hunt permanent deal bbc.co.uk. 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