Bristol Rovers F.C. Player of the Year

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

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The 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]

Season Player Nation Position Age Notes Refs
1982–83 Aidan McCaffery  England Defender 24
1983–84 Brian Williams  England Midfielder 27
1984–85 Tim Parkin  England Defender 26
1985–86 Tim Parkin  England Defender 27 First multiple winner
1986–87 Geoff Twentyman  England Defender 27
1987–88 Gary Penrice  England Forward 23
1988–89 Nigel Martyn  England Goalkeeper 21 Youngest ever winner
1989–90 Ian Holloway  England Midfielder 26
1990–91 Carl Saunders  England Forward 25
1991–92 Carl Saunders  England Forward 26
1992–93 Gary Waddock  Republic of Ireland Midfielder 30
1993–94 Worrell Sterling  England Midfielder 28
1994–95 Andy Tillson  England Defender 28
1995–96 Marcus Stewart  England Forward 22
1996–97 Andy Collett  England Goalkeeper 22
1997–98 Barry Hayles  Jamaica Forward 25
1998–99 Trevor Challis  England Defender 22
1999–2000 Andy Thomson  England Defender 25
2000–01 Steve Foster  England Defender 25
2001–02 Scott Howie  Scotland Goalkeeper 29 First non-English-born winner
2002–03 Vitālijs Astafjevs  Latvia Midfielder 31 First non-UK-born winner
2003–04 Kevin Miller  England Goalkeeper 34 Oldest ever winner
2004–05 James Hunt  England Midfielder 27
2005–06 Richard Walker  England Forward 27
2006–07 Steve Phillips  England Goalkeeper 28
2007–08 Stuart Campbell  Scotland Midfielder 29
2008–09 Rickie Lambert  England Forward 25
2009–10 Stuart Campbell  Scotland Midfielder 31
2010–11 Stuart Campbell  Scotland Midfielder 32 First three-time winner
2011–12 Danny Woodards  England Defender 27
2012–13 Michael Smith  Northern Ireland Defender 23
2013–14 Michael Smith  Northern Ireland Defender 24
2014–15 Tom Parkes  England Defender 22
2015–16 Matty Taylor  England Forward 25
2016–17 Ollie Clarke  England Midfielder 24 [5]
2017–18 Ellis Harrison  Wales Forward 23 [6]
2018–19 James Clarke  England Defender 28 [7]

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

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Four 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

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Nation Number of wins
 England 28
 Scotland 4
 Northern Ireland 2
 Jamaica
 Latvia
 Republic of Ireland
 Wales
1

Number of wins by position

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Position Number of wins
Goalkeeper 6
Defender 13
Midfielder 10
Forward 9

Bristol Rovers Football Club Player of the Year

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Bristol 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

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Season Supporters' Club winner Football Club winner
2017–18 Wales Ellis Harrison England Liam Sercombe
2018–19 England James Clarke England Ollie Clarke
2021–22 England James Belshaw
2022–23 Wales Aaron Collins
2023–24 England Antony Evans

References

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  1. ^ a b Byrne & Jay (2018), p. 323
  2. ^ "End of Season Awards". Bristol Rovers Football Club. 19 April 2018. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  3. ^ "Player of the Year awards". Bristol Rovers Supporters Club. 14 April 2018. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  4. ^ "Ex-Bristol Rovers chairman Geoff Dunford dies at the age of 66". BBC News. 21 October 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  5. ^ Vittles, Jack (16 May 2017). "YOUR Bristol Rovers player of the year revealed". Bristol Post. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  6. ^ "Presentation Evening". Bristol Rovers Supporters Club. 29 April 2018. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  7. ^ "Supporters Club". The Pirate. Vol. 2019/20, no. 3. Bristol Rovers Football Club. 10 August 2019. p. 48.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ Evely, John (10 April 2019). "Bristol Rovers 2019 awards RECAP: updates from the end of season event". BristolLive. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  10. ^ "Oh What a Night!". www.bristolrovers.co.uk. 13 May 2022.
  11. ^ "End of Season Awards 2022/23". www.bristolrovers.co.uk. 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  12. ^ "Rovers celebrate campaign at End Of Season Awards". www.bristolrovers.co.uk. 22 April 2024. Retrieved 22 April 2024.

Bibliography

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  • Byrne, Stephen; Jay, Mike (2018). Bristol Rovers Players' Who's Who. Bristol: Mike Jay.