Matt Taylor has Bristol Rovers problem that Leyton Orient had the answer to | OneFootball

Ruel Sotiriou had a tremendous season in League One last campaign, but is yet to impact Matt Taylor's Bristol Rovers side, to the confusion of many.

Cyprus international Ruel Sotiriou has endured a difficult start to life at Bristol Rovers, despite arriving with some fanfare.

Joining in late June, the Enfield-born forward had been with Leyton Orient since the start of his young career, notably standing out for the U17's side at just 14-years-old.

Improving year-on-year, he appeared 42 times in the Os' League Two title-winning campaign in 2022-23, and followed that up by becoming one of the most impactful young players in the third-tier last season.

The now-24-year-old, who has been known to play anywhere from attacking midfield upwards, was considered a huge coup given the destination of players producing similar numbers.

However, while goal involvement by no means paints the whole picture, the forward has contributed just twice in his maiden 19 appearances for the Gas, with supporters excitement over their new signing beginning to wane.

Sotiriou's torrid return to Brisbane Road

Sotiriou would refamiliarise himself with the ground in which he spent the entirety of his young development on December 3rd, as Rovers visited a Leyton Orient side six-points and seven places beneath them.

What transpired, however, was perhaps the Pirates' worst outing of the season, as they lost 3-0 on a cold Tuesday night, having failed to record a shot on target all match.

With onus on the team's creativity in transition, Sotiriou was one of a select few singled out as particularly poor performers as boos echoed from the away end.

An embarrassing return to his childhood club, but with youth on his side, and clear competency at League One level, could his as-yet ineffective tenure be a tactical failure, rather than a spot on the Cypriot?

Matt Taylor must replicate Sotiriou's Orient form

Rovers boss Matt Taylor, to his credit, was not present for the nadir of Leyton, taking some time out for a personal family matter. However, his use of Sotiriou thus far suggests that the former Rotherham manager is yet to work out how best to deploy him.

Taylor clearly had a distinct pre-season plan, with each of his opening seven league fixtures seeing Rovers deploy some iteration of a 3-5-2 formation.

Sotiriou started five of these, all in a centre-forward position, alongside strike partner and fellow newcomer Promise Omochere.

However, with just five shots on targetcombined from the pair in that time, the system was promptly abandoned. Sotiriou was dropped back into a number ten position by the end of September, where he has exclusively played since.

This, on paper, wasn't a disaster, as positional versatility is one of Sotiriou's strong traits. What has been an issue, is that his overall impact has not improved, as he still has just one shot on target total in the league this season.

His 36 league starts last campaign saw him exercise a variety of attacking positions, including both wings, a position in which Taylor is yet to try him.

While the sample size is small, Sotiriou has enjoyed tremendous success playing on the wide-right. Having started just a quartet of games there last season, he collected four goals and an assist, excelling particularly in arriving late from left-sided crosses.

While it is unknown what extenuating factors may be contributing to the Cypriot's disappointing performances, from a tactical point of view, it may be a perfect time for Taylor to try a 4-3-3, in an attempt to jump-start Sitoriou, and Rovers' rapidly derailing campaign.