Football Season Guide

Bristol Rovers are back into League One following a five-year absence, as they managed to reverse a remarkable fall that saw them play their trade in the Conference two seasons ago. They finished third in League Two last season to seal what was their second consecutive promotion and are now set to try and establish themselves as a solid third-tier club. Unlike the majority of the clubs in the division, the Gas have not changed a great deal over the course of the summer. They have lost only two players, with Tom Parkes's departure being the only one representing a true loss, but they have signed a capable replacement in Peter Hartley, who joins from Plymouth. Veteran Rory Fallon has hardly featured last season and will hardly represent a loss, while their signings also include Byron Moore, a proven League One player, who signs from Port Vale, and Luke James, who will try to finally prove himself in the third tier, having been scoring for fun when playing in League Two, but struggling to repeat that in League One. Another player who will also be expected to make the step up is the Pirates' last season's top scorer Matty Taylor, who was prolific in their previous campaign, scoring a total of 27 goals, but has never played in the third tier and has it all to prove. The Pirates do have a few players with quite a lot of League One experience and have an unusually large squad, which is somewhat unusual for newly-promoted League Two sides. They generally look well-equipped for the campaign that awaits them.