2014–15 Bristol Rovers F.C. season
The 2014–15 season was the 132nd season in Bristol Rovers' history and first in the Conference Premier, the fifth tier of English football, following their relegation from Football League Two on the final day of the previous season.
During the course of the season, they met A.F.C. Telford United, Alfreton Town, Altrincham, Braintree Town, Chester, Dover Athletic, Eastleigh, F.C. Halifax Town, Forest Green Rovers, Gateshead, Nuneaton Town and Woking for the first time in a competitive fixture. They also played Southport for the first time since 1974 and Welling United for the first time since their only meeting in 1999. Rovers' first ever appearance in the FA Trophy saw them play former landlords Bath City for the first time in a competitive fixture since 1995. As well as this, they played their first game at Barnet's Hive Stadium.
Rovers' season came to a triumphant end at Wembley Stadium as they defeated Grimsby Town 5–3 on penalties in the play-off Final, in the process becoming the first side since Carlisle United in 2005 to secure an immediate return to the Football League. Rovers' regular season saw them come agonisingly close to winning automatic promotion, ending the season just one point short of champions Barnet.
Season events
Pre-season
March
- - Ollie Clarke agreed a contract extension at Rovers, committing to the club until 2016.
April
- – Second year scholars Danny Greenslade, Dominic Thomas and Aaron Ward-Baptiste agreed their first professional deals.
- – Avonmouth based safety equipment retailer Arco were announced as Rovers' new home shirt sponsors. Water cooler supplier Office Beverages, based in Yate, were drawn as the club's new away shirt sponsors.
May
- – Youth team forward Donovan Wilson signed a one-year professional contract with Rovers.
- – John-Joe O'Toole activated his release clause with Rovers.
June
- – Rovers agreed a deal with former Salisbury City striker Jamie White. White had formerly worked under manager Darrell Clarke at the Wiltshire club.
- – Former Forest Green Rovers forward Matty Taylor signed for Rovers.
- – Lee Brown agreed a new deal with Rovers.
- – Gibraltar international Jake Gosling joined Rovers.
- – Midfielder Lee Mansell joined Rovers from fellow Conference Premier new boys Torquay United.
- – Striker Matt Harrold left Rovers for League One side Crawley Town.
- – Salisbury City midfielder Stuart Sinclair joined Rovers.
July
- – Winger Alefe Santos rejected a new contract with Rovers and elected to sign for Championship side Derby County with the fee to be decided by tribunal. Marcus Stewart was promoted to the role of assistant manager.
- – Experienced winger Andy Monkhouse signed for Rovers following his release from League Two side Hartlepool United.
- – Defender Michael Smith joined League One side Peterborough United for an undisclosed six figure sum. Smith had previously submitted a transfer request on 14 July after Peterborough's initial bid was turned down.
- – Former Hereford United defender Daniel Leadbitter joined Rovers.
August
- – Defender Neal Trotman joined on an undisclosed short-term deal.
- – Rovers youngsters Danny Greenslade and Dominic Thomas joined Mangotsfield United on a months loan and Jamie Lucas joined Conference South side Weston-super-Mare on loan, also for one month.
- – Goalkeeper Will Puddy joined on non-contract terms to cover the absence of Kieran Preston who was called up to the Scotland under-19 squad.
- – Winger Dave Martin joined Rovers on loan until January from Luton Town.
- – Former chairman Geoff Dunford resigned from the club's board of directors, bringing an end to his 30-year association with the club.
- – Rovers signed forward Adam Cunnington from Cambridge United on loan for three months.
September
- – Rovers signed winger Ángelo Balanta after his release from Premier League side Queens Park Rangers the previous summer.
- – Striker Ryan Brunt joined League Two side York City on a month-long emergency loan deal.
October
- – Rovers manager Darrell Clarke was awarded the Football Conference manager of the month for September. Rovers picked up 16 points from 21 available, winning five games in a row bookended by defeat to Braintree Town and a draw with Eastleigh.
November
- – Fulham midfielder Lyle Della-Verde signed for Rovers on a month's loan.
- – Rovers' participation in the FA Cup was ended by a 1–0 defeat to League One side Tranmere Rovers.
- – Striker Jamie White agreed to a mutual termination of his contract with Rovers in order to join Conference South side Sutton United.
- – Rovers signed strikers Bradley Goldberg and Nathan Blissett on loan from Dagenham & Redbridge and Kidderminster Harriers respectively. Blissett, who had scored against Rovers five days before, will sign a permanent deal in January.
- – Alex Wall joined Rovers on loan from Luton Town until January. Defender Pierce Mitchell and forwards Ryan Brunt, Jamie Lucas and Donovan Wilson were loaned out to Weston-super-Mare, Stevenage, Gloucester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers respectively. Wilson's move will become permanent in January.
December
- – Lyle Della-Verde's loan was extended by a further month.
- – Notts County goalkeeper Fabian Spiess joined on an emergency loan following injuries to both Steve Mildenhall and Will Puddy. Young forward Aaron Ward-Baptiste was loaned to Taunton Town.
- – Less than one week after having his loan extended, Lyle Della-Verde returned to parent club Fulham having suffered an ankle ligament injury in the recent fixture with Wrexham.
- – Rovers participation in the FA Trophy ends in a humiliating 2–0 home defeat to Bath City.
January
- – Darrell Clarke was named the Football Conference manager of the month for December, the second time he received the award during the season. Rovers began the month with successive 0 – 0 draws away to Wrexham and Welling United followed by wins against Gateshead at home and Torquay United away before ending the year with an impressive 4 – 0 home win against Macclesfield Town.
- – Former Welsh international striker Jermaine Easter signed for Rovers.
- – Leicester City winger Adam Dawson joined on loan for one month with an option to extend the deal until the end of the season.
- – Striker Ryan Brunt left Rovers, having his contract cancelled by mutual consent.
February
- – Midfielder Josh Wakefield joined Rovers on a month's loan from Championship side A.F.C. Bournemouth.
March
- – Rovers manager Darrell Clarke was named the Football Conference manager of the month for February, his third such award of the season. Clarke had led Rovers to five wins out of five during February as they overhauled long time leaders Barnet to lead the table by two points going into their final nine games. Young forward Jamie Lucas won the Conference South player of the month for February while on loan at Weston-super-Mare.
- – Midfielder Chris Lines re-joined Rovers on loan from Port Vale until the end of the season. Lines had previously played for the club between 2002–11.
- – Winger Abdulai Bell-Baggie joined Rovers on a deal to the end of the season.
April
- – Rovers' final regular season fixture saw them hammer Alfreton Town 7–0, a result which saw the Derbyshire side relegated to the National League North, in front of a Conference Premier regular season record attendance of 11,085. The result equaled Rovers' biggest ever league win and was the club's biggest margin of victory in 51 years.
May
- – Rovers book their fourth trip to Wembley Stadium with a 3–0 aggregate win over local rivals Forest Green Rovers in the play-off semi—finals, exactly a year on from suffering relegation to the Conference Premier.
- – Rovers win promotion back to League Two, beating Grimsby Town 5–3 on penalties at Wembley Stadium.
First team
Transfers
In
Loans in
Out
Loans out
Squad statistics
Appearances, goals and cards
Goal scorers
Penalties
Disciplinary record
Suspensions served
Competitions
Summary
| Games played | 52 |
| Games won | 28 |
| Games drawn | 17 |
| Games lost | 7 |
| Win % | 53.84% |
| Goals scored | 84 |
| Goals conceded | 39 |
| Goal difference | +45 |
| Yellow cards | 64 |
| Red cards | 6 |
| Worst discipline | Ollie Clarke |
| Biggest win | 7 – 0 vs. Alfreton Town, 25 April 2015 |
| Heaviest defeat | 0 – 2 vs. Barnet, 12 August 2014, 0 – 2 vs. Braintree Town, 6 September 2014, 0 – 2 vs. Bath City, 13 December 2014 |
| Highest scoring match | 7 – 1 vs. Dorchester Town, 25 October 2014 |
| Most appearances | 51 |
| Top scorer | Matty Taylor |
Note: Games which are level after extra-time and are decided by a penalty shoot-out are listed as draws. Rovers score listed first.
Overall
Conference Premier
League table
Results summary
Results by round
Scores overview
Bristol Rovers score given first.| Opposition | Home score | Away score | Double | Point | Agg. |
| A.F.C. Telford United | 1 – 0 | 1 – 0 | 6 | 2 – 0 | |
| Aldershot Town | 3 – 1 | 2 – 2 | 4 | 5 – 3 | |
| Alfreton Town | 7 – 0 | 0 – 0 | 4 | 7 – 0 | |
| Altrincham | 1 – 0 | 1 – 2 | 3 | 2 – 2 | |
| Barnet | 2 – 1 | 0 – 2 | 3 | 2 – 3 | |
| Braintree Town | 2 – 1 | 0 – 2 | 3 | 2 – 3 | |
| Chester | 5 – 1 | 2 – 2 | 4 | 7 – 3 | |
| Dartford | 1 – 0 | 2 – 2 | 4 | 3 – 2 | |
| Dover Athletic | 1 – 1 | 1 – 1 | 2 | 2 – 2 | |
| Eastleigh | 1 – 2 | 1 – 1 | 1 | 2 – 3 | |
| Gateshead | 3 – 2 | 1 – 0 | 6 | 4 – 2 | |
| Grimsby Town | 0 – 0 | 1 – 0 | 4 | 1 – 0 | |
| F.C. Halifax Town | 2 – 1 | 2 – 2 | 4 | 4 – 3 | |
| Forest Green Rovers | 0 – 1 | 1 – 1 | 1 | 1 – 2 | |
| Kidderminster Harriers | 1 – 1 | 3 – 0 | 4 | 4 – 1 | |
| Lincoln City | 2 – 0 | 3 – 2 | 6 | 5 – 2 | |
| Macclesfield Town | 4 – 0 | 0 – 0 | 4 | 4 – 0 | |
| Nuneaton Town | 3 – 1 | 2 – 0 | 6 | 5 – 1 | |
| Southport | 2 – 0 | 1 – 0 | 6 | 3 – 0 | |
| Torquay United | 1 – 1 | 2 – 1 | 4 | 3 – 2 | |
| Welling United | 2 – 0 | 0 – 0 | 4 | 2 – 0 | |
| Woking | 2 – 0 | 0 – 0 | 4 | 2 – 0 | |
| Wrexham | 1 – 0 | 0 – 0 | 4 | 1 – 0 |