My Bristol Rovers transfer deadline day dream involves Matt Hall exit | OneFootball

A deadline day dream scenario could prevent a crisis

Deadline day is fast approaching, and Bristol Rovers are expected to be busy before the window closes at 11pm on Monday. The Gas are languishing near the bottom of the League One table and despairing fans anxiously await activity in BS7.

There is a palpable fear among Gasheads that the team is heading in the wrong direction and reinforcements are drastically required.

One area of concern for some fans – though not all – is in the goalkeeping department. Currently, the Gas only have 21-year-old Matt Hall as backup to on-loan super-goalie Joshua Griffiths. The West Brom loanee has been championed as the reason the Gas aren’t in deeper trouble as we move towards the business end of the season.

Bristol Rovers also have youngster Jed Ward currently out on loan at Forest Green Rovers, who are riding high in the National League.

With Hall having only made two somewhat disappointing performances for the Gas so far, he is still very much an unknown quantity for supporters.

Griffiths will return to West Brom at the end of the season and Jed Ward is currently expected to be number one going into the next campaign. That is still likely to leave competitive opportunities for Hall few and far between, and should Ward struggle next season through performance or injury, the Gas would still be without an experienced and dependable goalkeeper to fill in.

Goalkeeper not within Bristol Rovers' budget

It’s seemingly not been a priority target for the Gas in this window and Rovers boss Iñigo Calderón told Bristol Live recently that although he would prefer three goalkeepers, budget restraints prevent that. Perhaps in contradiction to the ownership recently claiming that the new coach would receive financial backing in this window and the next.

If a new goalkeeper is brought in – and we’re speaking about an experienced keeper – then it presents an opportunity to send Matt Hall out on loan where all parties can get a proper gauge of where Hall’s development is currently at. And, of course, it would offload a small proportion of the wage liability.

Deadline day signing would prevent a crisis

A signing like this will, of course, call for a particular type of goalkeeper which presents challenges in itself. There aren’t too many goalkeepers who would be happy to just make up the numbers, but at the same time, it presents an opportunity for an experienced keeper to show the youngsters how it’s done and develop their own coaching skills.

Ultimately, it would probably be a keeper that is at the latter stages of their career, preferably a well seasoned veteran in the EFL, now looking at moving into coaching. Those who see this as a deadline day must know that sooner or later this is an area where the Gas will have to act. And the former would be the surest way of preventing a situation that forces the hand of the Bristol Rovers hierarchy, as well as presenting an opportunity for young Hall to flourish away from the Mem.