The Bristol Rovers Player of the Year award has been presented annually to the player voted the best in the preceding season by the fans of Bristol Rovers Football Club. The winning player has been awarded a trophy by the Bristol Rovers Supporters club every year since 1983,[1] and in 2018 the Football Club also began naming their own player of the year at an end-of-season awards dinner.[2]
Bristol Rovers Supporters' Club player of the year
editThe first trophy was presented in 1983, but due to there being little space to engrave the names of any more winners the supporters' club commissioned a new trophy in 2018,[3] which was named the Geoff Dunford Memorial Trophy in honour of the former football club chairman who had died the previous year.[4]
Notes:
- Footballing nationality is defined as the national team the player has represented at senior or youth level, or the player's country of birth where they have never played for a national team.
- Age shown is the players age at the beginning of the season during which they won the player of the year award.
- All winners from 1983 to 2018 are from Byrne & Jay (2018).[1]
Players who have won more than once
editFour players have won the award on more than one occasion. The record for most wins belongs to Stuart Campbell, who was player of the year in 2008, 2010 and 2011, while three other players have won the award twice.
| Player | Nationality | Number of wins |
|---|---|---|
| Stuart Campbell |  Scotland |
3 |
| Tim Parkin |  England |
2 |
| Carl Saunders | England |
2 |
| Michael Smith |  Northern Ireland |
2 |
Number of wins by nationality
edit| Nation | Number of wins |
|---|---|
| England |
28 |
| Scotland |
4 |
| Northern Ireland |
2 |
 Jamaica Latvia Republic of Ireland Wales |
1 |
Number of wins by position
edit| Position | Number of wins |
|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | 6 |
| Defender | 13 |
| Midfielder | 10 |
| Forward | 9 |
Bristol Rovers Football Club Player of the Year
editBristol Rovers Football Club held their inaugural end of season awards dinner in 2018, where they presented their own player of the year award. This went to midfielder Liam Sercombe.
| Season | Player | Nation | Position | Age | Notes | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017–18 | Liam Sercombe | England |
Midfielder | 27 | [8] | |
| 2018–19 | Ollie Clarke | England |
Midfielder | 26 | [9] | |
| 2019–20 | Not awarded | |||||
| 2020–21 | ||||||
| 2021–22 | James Belshaw | England |
Goalkeeper | 30 | [10] | |
| 2022–23 | Aaron Collins | Wales |
Forward | 25 | Also League One Player of the Year and Club's Golden Boot winner | [11] |
| 2023–24 | Antony Evans | England |
Midfielder | 24 | [12] | |
Comparison of Supporters' Club and Football Club winners
edit| Season | Supporters' Club winner | Football Club winner |
|---|---|---|
| 2017–18 | Ellis Harrison |
Liam Sercombe
|
| 2018–19 | James Clarke |
Ollie Clarke
|
| 2021–22 | James Belshaw
| |
| 2022–23 | Aaron Collins
| |
| 2023–24 | Antony Evans
|
References
edit- ^ a b Byrne & Jay (2018), p. 323
- ^ "End of Season Awards". Bristol Rovers Football Club. 19 April 2018. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
- ^ "Player of the Year awards". Bristol Rovers Supporters Club. 14 April 2018. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
- ^ "Ex-Bristol Rovers chairman Geoff Dunford dies at the age of 66". BBC News. 21 October 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
- ^ Vittles, Jack (16 May 2017). "YOUR Bristol Rovers player of the year revealed". Bristol Post. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
- ^ "Presentation Evening". Bristol Rovers Supporters Club. 29 April 2018. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
- ^ "Supporters Club". The Pirate. Vol. 2019/20, no. 3. Bristol Rovers Football Club. 10 August 2019. p. 48.
- ^ Taylor, Laurence (26 April 2018). "Liam Sercombe on Ellis Harrison being a 20-goal striker, being Bristol Rovers player of the year and next season's target". Bristol Post. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
- ^ Evely, John (10 April 2019). "Bristol Rovers 2019 awards RECAP: updates from the end of season event". BristolLive. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
- ^ "Oh What a Night!". www.bristolrovers.co.uk. 13 May 2022.
- ^ "End of Season Awards 2022/23". www.bristolrovers.co.uk. 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
- ^ "Rovers celebrate campaign at End Of Season Awards". www.bristolrovers.co.uk. 22 April 2024. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
Bibliography
edit- Byrne, Stephen; Jay, Mike (2018). Bristol Rovers Players' Who's Who. Bristol: Mike Jay.