"Surprised it took so long" - Bristol Rovers, Matt Taylor sack decision welcomed | OneFootball

FLW's Bristol Rovers fan pundit has his say on Taylor's sacking.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Bristol Rovers sacked manager Matt Taylor on Monday after a disappointing start to the 2024/25 season.

The Gas currently find themselves sat 20th in League One, with a slender gap of just two points between themselves and Crawley Town in the final relegation place.

Taylor’s departure comes after an unsurprising 2-0 loss away at Birmingham City and while that result alone is certainly not sackable, Rovers have been in an extremely poor run of form. They’ve won just one of their last seven in the league and have scored just once in their last five.

Rovers announced that first-team coaches David Horseman and Lee Cattermole (who only joined the club on Friday) will take charge of the team until a new permanent manager can be found.

Bristol Rovers fan pundit welcomes Matt Taylor decision from Gas hierarchy

Pressure on Taylor has been building at the Memorial Stadium and conceding seven goals and scoring zero in their last three league games has ultimately proved to be the final straw for the former Rotherham United and Exeter City boss.

That run included a 3-0 hammering at the hands of fellow strugglers Leyton Orient, in what could prove to have been a crucial ‘six pointer’ at the end of the season.

FLW asked our Bristol Rovers fan pundit, Joshua Hemmings, whether he thinks the board have made the correct decision, and he believes that new owner Hussain AlSaeed has done what was neede to be done.

“Matt Taylor being sacked is 110% the correct decision, and I’m surprised it took so long," Joshua told Football League World.

“The best way to summarise it is, when your players stop running for you, when your players feel uninspired by what you’re trying to get across to them, it’s an uphill battle from there.

“It’s definitely the right decision, he wasn’t the right guy to take us forward. He’s a very nice man, polite, well-mannered, good values, but just not the gaffer that we need to take this club to the next level.

“Unfortunately, it just didn’t work.”

Bristol Rovers must get their next appointment right at a crucial stage of their season

With a key chance to give their squad a reset and instil some new ideas approaching, in the form of the January transfer window, it’s imperative that the Rovers board get their next appointment right.

Perhaps the one positive of their season so far is that Taylor did at least manage to pick up points against some of the third tier’s fellow strugglers in the early stages of the season.

He oversaw wins against Northampton, Cambridge, Burton and Shrewsbury (four of League One’s bottom six) before October and without those victories, the Gas could be in even more danger than they already are.

Taylor’s sacking comes at a crucial time of the season with games piling up over the Christmas period.

It’s also extremely important that the new man hits the ground running, with potential pivotal clashes against Leyton Orient and Cambridge United on the horizon in the first week of January.

Fail to win those games, and the new boss may well find his side inside the relegation zone almost immediately.

Rovers haven’t progressed as they would’ve hoped since a dramatic 7-0 win over Scunthorpe on the final day saw them snatch automatic promotion from League Two back in 2021/22, with consecutive finishes of 17th and then 15th in League One.