Bristol Rovers' top 9 best managers in order of games won (Ranked) | OneFootball

Highlights

Matty Taylor became the latest manager to take over the reigns at Bristol City this season as he looks to take the club up the English football pyramid.

The 42-year-old was welcomed to The Memorial Stadium in December following the sacking of Joey Barton after a difficult start to the League One campaign, with co-owner Hussain AlSaeed confirming the decision was based purely on footballing reasons.

Taylor would be the 36th manager to take the helm with The Gas, and his tenure has started well as he looks to build on the foundations put in place before him to elevate Rovers to the next level.

While Taylor's tenure is only within its infancy, Bristol Rovers have had some successful managers during their 141-year history, but which has accrued the most wins during their time at Ewood Park?

Here, in order to help find out, we've taken a look at the nine of the most successful managers in the history of Bristol Rovers based on wins during their time at the club, with the condition that each spell lasted for at least 20 competitive games.

9 Don Megson - 91 games won

Megson managed Bristol Rovers from 1972 to 1977, winning the 1972 Watney Cup in only his third game in charge at the club. His aim, though, was to take Rovers out of what was then the Third Division and establish them at the next level.

Having ended that campaign on a high, his side went on a 27-match unbeaten run at the beginning of the 1973/74 campaign and were promoted by virtue of finishing second to Oldham Athletic. Unfortunately, the return to the Second Division following an absence of 12 years proved to be a struggle through lack of investment. In November 1977, Don left to manage Portland Timbers and ended his career with the Gas with a record of 91 wins from 269 games in charge.

8 Ian Holloway - 92 games won

Holloway took over Rovers in 1996, returning as a player-manager at a club that was struggling both on and off the pitch. In his first season in charge, he led the club to 17th place in Division Two.

Improvements were made as they made the play-offs, but despite a 3-1 advantage over Northampton Town, lost the second leg 3-0. Holloway retired as a player after the 1998/99 season, having played more than 400 matches for Bristol Rovers, to concentrate fully on management. In 1999–2000, his last full season at the club, Rovers finished 7th, narrowly missing the playoffs. He managed 92 wins during his 249 matches in charge.

7 Gerry Francis - 95 games won

Gerry Francis managed Rovers on two occasions. Originally, he was manager between 1987 and 1991, and briefly in 2001. Francis guided Rovers to the Division Three title in the 1989/90 season. But, he left the club the year after, joining QPR who competed in the inaugural Premier League season.

He would go on to manage Tottenham Hotspur and QPR again before returning to Bristol Rovers, Three successive wins at the start of the 2001–02 campaign gave the Pirates hope for promotion back to Division but injuries soon took their toll on the side's form and Francis resigned just before Christmas. He has not been in management since and his record across his two spells with Rovers saw him achieve 95 wins in 240 games.

6 John Ward - 101 games won

Another manager who had two spells with the club, John Ward managed the side 250 times. His first spell at Rovers was between 1993 and 1996, his second nearly 20 years later, between 2012 and 2014.

Unfortunately, his second spell with the club ended with the club being relegated from the Football League. Ward had been moved to Director of Football 41 days before. During his two spells at The Mem, Ward managed 101 victories from 250 games at the helm.

A modern day manager, Clarke managed Bristol Rovers between 2014 and 2018. Clarke was originally assistant manager to John Ward, but took over as manager in March 2014. He took over during a bad time for the club as they were relegated from the Football League.

In his first full season, he led them to an immediate return to League Two. The following season, Clarke led Rovers to back-to-back promotions as they finished third in League Two. He departed the club in 2018 following a run of seven defeats in 10 matches, leaving the club with a record of 104 wins from 236 games in charge.

Having moved to Bristol Rovers on a free transfer in 2004, Trollope was appointed caretaker manager and was then first-team coach in a two-tier managerial structure, alongside Director of Football Lennie Lawrence in November 2005.

During his five years in charge, Rovers reached Football League Trophy final but lost to Doncaster Rovers, but made up for it winning the play-offs to get the club promoted to League One. Despite his achievements at the club, he was sacked on 15 December 2010, with Rovers lying in the relegation zone. Trollope managed 106 wins from 284 games.

3 Albert Prince-Cox - 115 games won

Albert Prince-Cox took over Rovers during a time of financial instability. He’s credited for turning the club around because of his use of the transfer market to make the club profit.

He left The Pirates, a nickname that he introduced, along with the team's blue and white quartered shirts, which are still worn today, in 1936 to become a boxing promoter before being appointed as manager of Gloucester City in 1938. Prince-Cox left the club with a record of 115 wins from 295 games in charge.

2

Alfred Homer was Bristol Rovers' first full-time manager-secretary in 1899, a job he held for twenty-one years until 1920. Prior to this, he was the assistant secretary of Aston Villa.

During his 20-year stint in charge, Homer won three Gloucestershire Cups, and also one Southern League title. He took charge of 652 games, the second most in the club's history, overseeing 243 wins during this time in the dugout.

1 Bert Tann - 369 games won

Considered one of their greatest ever managers, Bert Tann managed the club for 18 years, making him the Gas' longest serving manager in their history.

Under Tann's guidance, Rovers reached the Football League Second Division for the first time. Tann also guided the team to the FA Cup quarter-finals twice, with his reign is regarded as one of the most successful in Rovers’ history. He managed an impressive 897 games as Rovers manager, picking up 369 wins along the way.