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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

Nation | Number of wins

|

England | 28
Scotland | 4
Northern Ireland | 2
Jamaica
Latvia
Republic of Ireland
Wales | 1

### Number of wins by position[edit]

Position | Number of wins

|

Goalkeeper | 6
Defender | 13
Midfielder | 10
Forward | 9

## Bristol Rovers Football Club Player of the Year[edit]

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]

## Comparison of Supporters' Club and Football Club winners[edit]

Season | Supporters' Club winner | Football Club winner

|
|

2017–18 |  Ellis Harrison |  Liam Sercombe
2018–19 |  James Clarke |  Ollie Clarke
2021–22 |  |  James Belshaw
2022–23 |  |  Aaron Collins

## References[edit]

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.

## Bibliography[edit]

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

* v
* t
* e

Bristol Rovers F.C. Player of the Year

* 1983: McCaffery
* 1984: Williams
* 1985: Parkin
* 1986: Parkin
* 1987: Twentyman
* 1988: Penrice
* 1989: Martyn
* 1990: Holloway
* 1991: Saunders
* 1992: Saunders
* 1993: Waddock
* 1994: Sterling
* 1995: Tillson
* 1996: Stewart
* 1997: Collett
* 1998: Hayles
* 1999: Challis
* 2000: Thomson
* 2001: Foster
* 2002: Howie
* 2003: Astafjevs
* 2004: Miller
* 2005: Hunt
* 2006: Walker
* 2007: Phillips
* 2008: Campbell
* 2009: Lambert
* 2010: Campbell
* 2011: Campbell
* 2012: Woodards
* 2013: Smith
* 2014: Smith
* 2015: Parkes
* 2016: Taylor
* 2017: Clarke
* 2018: Harrison/Sercombe
* 2019: Clarke
* 2020: N/A
* 2021: N/A
* 2022: Belshaw
* 2023: Collins

* v
* t
* e

Bristol Rovers Football Club

The Club|

* History
* League record by opponent
* Seasons
* Managers
* Current season
* Women's team
* Wael al-Qadi

Grounds|

* Eastville Stadium (1897–1986)
* Twerton Park (1986–1996)
* The Memorial Stadium (1996–present)

Rivalries|

* Bristol derby
* Swindon Town
* Severnside derby

Players|

* Players (100+ appearances)
* Players (25–99 appearances)
* Player of the Year winners
* International appearances

* v
* t
* e

Lists of male footballers in England by club

Premier League|

* AFC Bournemouth
* Arsenal
* 100+
* 25–99
* 1–24
* POTY
* Aston Villa
* Brentford
* 100+
* 25–99
* 1–24
* Internationals
* Hall of Fame
* POTY
* Brighton & Hove Albion
* Burnley
* 100+
* Internationals
* Chelsea
* 100+
* 25–99
* 1–24
* POTY
* Crystal Palace
* 100+
* POTY
* Everton
* 100+
* Internationals
* Hall of Fame
* Fulham
* 100+
* 25–99
* 1–24
* Liverpool
* 100+
* 25–99
* 1–24
* POTY
* Luton Town
* 100+
* POTY
* Manchester City
* 100+
* 25–99
* 1–24
* Manchester United
* 100+
* 25–99
* 1–24
* POTY
* Captains
* Newcastle United
* Nottingham Forest
* 100+
* Internationals
* Sheffield United
* 100+
* 25–99
* Internationals
* POTY
* Tottenham Hotspur
* West Ham United
* Wolverhampton Wanderers

Championship|

* Birmingham City
* 100+
* 25–99
* 1–24
* Blackburn Rovers
* Bristol City
* Cardiff City
* 100+
* 25–99
* 1–24
* Captains
* Internationals
* Coventry City
* 100+
* Internationals
* POTY
* Huddersfield Town
* Hull City
* Ipswich Town
* 100+
* Hall of Fame
* POTY
* Leeds United
* Leicester City
* Middlesbrough
* Millwall
* Norwich City
* 100+
* 25–99
* Hall of Fame
* POTY
* Plymouth Argyle
* 100+
* POTY
* Preston North End
* 100+
* POTY
* Queens Park Rangers
* Rotherham United
* Sheffield Wednesday
* All
* Internationals
* POTY
* Southampton
* 100+
* 25–99
* 1–24
* POTY
* Stoke City
* 100+
* 25–99
* 1–24
* POTY
* Sunderland
* Swansea City
* 100+
* Internationals
* Watford
* 50+
* 1–49
* POTY
* West Bromwich Albion

League One|

* Barnsley
* Blackpool
* Bolton Wanderers
* 100+
* 25–99
* 1–24
* POTY
* Bristol Rovers
* 100+
* 25–99
* Internationals
* POTY
* Burton Albion
* Cambridge United
* Carlisle United
* Charlton Athletic
* Cheltenham Town
* Derby County
* 100+
* POTY
* Exeter City
* Fleetwood Town
* Leyton Orient
* Lincoln City
* 100+
* 25–99
* Northampton Town
* Oxford United
* Peterborough United
* Port Vale
* 25+
* 1–24
* POTY
* Portsmouth
* Reading
* 100+
* 25–99
* 1–24
* Internationals
* POTY
* Shrewsbury Town
* Stevenage
* Wigan Athletic
* Wycombe Wanderers

League Two|

* Accrington Stanley
* AFC Wimbledon
* Barrow
* Bradford City
* 50+
* 1–49
* Colchester United
* 100+
* 25–99
* 1–24
* POTY
* Crawley Town
* Crewe Alexandra
* Doncaster Rovers
* 100+
* 1879–1918
* Forest Green Rovers
* Gillingham
* 50+
* 25–49
* 1–24
* Grimsby Town
* Harrogate Town
* Mansfield Town
* Milton Keynes Dons
* Morecambe
* Newport County
* Notts County
* Salford City
* Stockport County
* Sutton United
* Swindon Town
* Tranmere Rovers
* 100+
* 1921–1939
* 1945–present
* Walsall
* Wrexham

Non-League /
Defunct|

* Bradford (Park Avenue)
* Bury
* 100+
* 25–99
* 1–24
* Chester
* 100+
* 25–99
* 1–24
* Chesterfield
* Darlington
* 100+
* 25–99
* 1–24
* Dagenham & Redbridge
* Halifax Town
* Hereford United
* Macclesfield Town
* Nelson
* Oldham Athletic
* 100+
* 25–99
* 1–24
* Rochdale
* 100+
* 25–99
* 1–24
* Scarborough
* Southend United
* Torquay United
* Wanderers
* Wigan Borough
* Yeovil Town
* 100+
* Internationals
* York City
* 100+
* 25–99
* 1–24
* POTY

Clubs are grouped by their division in the 2023–24 season.
Includes the Welsh clubs where lists have been created. 'POTY' = 'Player of the Year / Season'.
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