Bristol Rovers provided Brighton with bargain as England honours followed £100k deal | OneFootball

Having struggled for game time in the south-west, Bobby Zamora went on to have a glistening Premier League career

Very few players have ever donned the famous blue-and-white quarters of Bristol Rovers while possessing the potential to one day play for England, no matter how brief. With this in mind, it may be seen as a great shame that Bobby Zamora didn't spend more time on Gloucester Road.

Barking-born Zamora made over 250 Premier League appearances, with spells at four different London clubs.

While his career flourished most in England's capital, it began, rather forgettably, in the South West.

Bobby Zamora's time at Bristol Rovers

The striker's eventual prominence wasn't all that surprising, as he was highly touted from a young age. Zamora played in the now-famous east-London youth club Senrab FC, alongside fellow future internationals Jermaine Defoe, Ledley King, Paul Konchesky, John Terry and the late great Jlloyd Samuel.

Graduating to academy football, failed spells at West Ham and Norwich saw a now 18-year-old Zamora join Bristol Rovers ahead of the 1999-2000 season.

Unfortunately for Zamora, this was to be one of the most impressive squads the Gas had ever assembled, particularly in terms of striking options.

Competition from Jason Roberts, Jamie Cureton and Nathan Ellington, all strikers with similar retrospective Premier League pedigree, would mean the teenager could only collect six-minutes before the turn of the millennium.

In January, Zamora moved to nearby Bath City on a short-term loan. The Southern League Premier was clearly too big a step-down, however, as he scored 11 goals in seven games for the Romans.

Returning in February, the forward failed to see game time as the Pirates pushed for a playoff place. Clearly without a place in the side, he was then shipped out again, this time to fourth-tier Brighton and Hove Albion.

Zamora announced himself to the Brighton faithful in emphatic nature, scoring a hat-trick in a 7-1 away win against Chester City, before scoring a brace in a 2-1 win over Halifax Town the following weekend.

Returning once more to Rovers, Zamora had now scored 17 times in 14 appearances away from the club, but would see just three more late substitute appearances before the season's conclusion. The Gas finished an agonizing seventh, just outside the play-offs.

Brighton, still amazed by the performances of their short-lived teenage loanee, offered to buy the Londoner on a permanent basis, to the tune of £100,000.

While it may seem difficult to imagine in the present day, at that time, a transfer from Bristol Rovers to Brighton was seen as a step-down, but Bobby, experiencing complete Bristolian obscurity, was keen to join the Seagulls and begin playing regular first-team football.

"Bobby was keen to join us and I'm delighted we've got our man at long last." said manager Micky Adams.

Zamora spoke of disappointment that his Rovers career never took off.

"It was a bit of a wrench to leave Bristol, as I had been there for three or four years. But Brighton is a big place, and there's lot's going on here, and I'm joining a big club.

"I'm very pleased to be here, and hopefully I'll be able to get some first-team games. I know there are already three strikers here, but hopefully I'll be able to break into the team."

There was a dramatic irony to the final statement, as Zamora couldn't have known how impactful he would soon become for the West-Sussex side.

Zamora's post-Rovers career

Zamora quickly became a fan favorite at the Withdean Stadium. He scored 83 goals in 136 appearances, helping Brighton secure two successive promotions from the Third Division (now League Two) to the First Division (now the Championship).

In 2003, he joined Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League but struggled for game time and moved to West Ham United in January 2004, the team he supported as a boy.

At West Ham, Zamora enjoyed a resurgence, scoring crucial goals, including one in the 2005 Championship playoff final that earned the Hammers promotion to the Premier League. Premier League exploits included imperative winning goals against both Arsenal and Everton in April 2007, single-handedly accruing four points that would have otherwise seen the Irons relegated.

Zamora later transferred to Fulham in 2008, where he reached new heights. He was instrumental in Fulham’s incredible run to the 2010 Europa League final, earning him wider recognition.

His performances led to an England call-up in 2010 under Fabio Capello, at the age of 29. Zamora made his debut against Hungary, then earned just one more cap in 2011. Despite limited international success, his call-up reflected his late-career renaissance.

He moved to QPR, where he once again scored a dramatic winner in the Championship play-off final, an extra-time strike against Derby County. Zamora remains the only player to score in two separate Championship play-off finals.

Zamora eventually returned to Brighton in 2015 for a final season before retiring in 2016.

Zamora is a massive 'what if' for Bristol Rovers

At a time when Bristol Rovers were knocking on the door of the second-tier, it must be frustrating for fans to look back and think they had a player of such quality waiting in the wings to give them that final push.

By the end of 2001-02, just two seasons after his departure, Zamora's 28 goals helped Brighton achieve back-to-back promotion, while Bristol Rovers finished 23rd in the fourth-tier.

While £100,000 was a sizable fee for a teenager in those days, Zamora's case proves a stark, and somewhat depressing example of under appreciating talent. Brighton's acquisition of Zamora arguably shaped their modern era; a true club legend.