Here are the main talking points from Bristol Rovers’ 2-0 defeat against Barnet, as the Gas lose their 30th league game in 2025
(Image: James Marsh/Shutterstock)
Bristol Rovers suffered their 30th league defeat of 2025 on Monday night, losing 2-0 at home to Barnet, which meant they ended the year only a point above the bottom of League Two. It was also a seventh consecutive home league defeat for the Gas – an unwanted club record.
By the time Rovers play their next game against Shrewsbury Town, the January transfer window will be open. Steve Evans said that he would give players opportunities to prove themselves when he arrived before deciding on how many changes to make in the market.
With one point from his first three games, and the team still sorely lacking in confidence, the 63-year-old will clearly not hesitate to make swift additions, and with the club destined for non-league on its current trajectory, they are certainly needed.
This verdict will be a slightly different one, with a lot of quotes from Evans, who spoke about a range of important topics in last night’s press conference. Among the issues discussed were the lack of physicality in the squad, the latest on the five loanees at the club and the future of Shaq Forde.
Here are the main talking points from the defeat against Barnet, as a miserable 2025 comes to an end…
OPINION
30 league defeats in 2025
The numbers in 2025 for Rovers are astonishing. As already mentioned, they have lost 30 league games in 47, lost seven consecutive home league matches, and have taken only 39 points from a possible 141 in the calendar year.
Maybe we should have known better than thinking they’d get something against Barnet, given the way this year has gone. Adam Senior and Ryan Glover scored on the night for the Bees, helping them secure a league double over Rovers. Perhaps most troubling was that Dean Brennan’s side didn’t need to be at their best. The fact that they’ve won two league games in their last 11 says a lot, and there are no prizes to guess who those two victories came against.
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Lack of physicality costs Rovers again
After the latest league defeat, Evans was asked about the profile of players he’ll be targeting in January, with physicality and aerial dominance a key feature of important players the 63-year-old manager has had at previous clubs.
Speaking to Bristol Live, he said: “Well, I think if you looked at the teams that we’ve always built and the teams that’s been really successful, they’ve had a physicality, you know, I’d welcome anyone to go back and look at probably the best Rotherham team since then was, you know, the physicality was in there with the Iceland captain, Craig Morgan, who played for Wales, you know, with James Taverner, who’s captain of Rangers.
“So we had really, really physical attributed players. I remember when I was at Stevenage, you look at the Stevenage team that will have played at Cardiff tonight. I don’t know the lineup because I’ve not looked at it, but if you looked at it, there will be a really physical look to that team.
“So that’ll be part of it, but we also need the minimum, of course, they have to work hard for us, when we look at them as a distance, and then when we bring them in, they’ve got to be able to deliver the quality that’s evidently missing because the amount of games we’ve lost – seven home games – been far far, far too many games.
“But, you know, at the end of the day, we’ve always said, if you look at our squad on paper, this is a good squad, but paper’s never won a football match and it’s life. And it may be too many people think that I’m a good player on paper, but if they’re a good player on paper and they do it on the pitch, and people will pick up the phone – my phone’s not rung once about a player coming in.
“I’ve rung plenty of phones about players to come into the football club, but I’ve not had one phone call. Ricky Martin may have different phone calls about players going out in terms of people picking up the phone. But I think it’s highly unusual. Every club I’ve been at, people pick up the phone up at a certain place. Maybe a level below, pick the phone up. We’re not seeing that.”
A lack of physicality was something that even Darrell Clarke stressed during his brief stint in charge during the first few months of the campaign, and it was evident in this one, with both goals coming after set-pieces were not fully cleared by the Rovers defence.
Evans’ quotes about other clubs not picking the phone up for his players is also revealing, which again highlights the difficulty of moving on players under long contracts, especially during such a dismal run of results in BS7 this year.
Will any of the five loanees return?
Freddie Issaka returned to the squad for the first time since the reverse fixture against Barnet earlier this month. The 19-year-old has found minutes hard to come by this season, with the majority of his nine appearances for the Gas coming from off the bench.
Freddie Issaka of Bristol Rovers looks dejected after missing during the Sky Bet League 2 Match between Bristol Rovers and Notts County at Memorial Stadium on 29 November 2025. Photo: Tom Sandberg/PPAUK(Image: Tom Sandberg/PPAUK)
He is one of five loan players at the club, alongside Joel Cotterill, Alfie Chang, Kacper Lopata and Stephan Negru, who Clarke signed in the summer. Speaking to Bristol Live about whether any of these loans could be terminated to free up loan spots in the squad, Evans said: “Of course, you would expect me to be thinking about it. That was part of the strategy meeting I had with the owner today and with Ricky. They are now very, very aware of my views. That was after two games, so it’s obvious after three.
“We’re meeting again this week, so we’ll go back through it again. But the one thing that I’d say to the Gashead fans, I don’t need to sit here and blag it to anyone that the budget here is good. And the ownership model has approved more funds today to help us to do what we’re trying to do.
“We have to be mindful that there’s limits, but myself and Ricky have been working really hard since I walked in the building, because I have a different idea of how this team should eventually shape and play as to what I’ve inherited, but that would be the normal for any manager or head coach coming in.”
Shaq Forde’s future discussed by Evans
Forde missed the Barnet defeat due to suspension after picking up a 53rd-minute red card in the 3-2 loss against Bromley on Boxing Day. Since the start of last season, the 21-year-old has picked up three red cards, and despite some bright performances at times during this campaign, his latest decision to dive in on a yellow when Rovers were leading was heavily criticised by the club’s supporters and Evans himself, who described the second tackle as “atrocious”.
The 63-year-old head coach was asked about Forde and whether he is back in the reckoning after his dismissal against the Ravens. He said: “Yeah, of course he has. Listen, the kid made a mistake. We had a debrief the next morning, like we’ll do tomorrow. The kid was in tears in my office, and he apologised to the group. That was important.
“And he’s been fined in line with the club rules, like you would at any other club. So myself and Ricky implemented that fine and that’s it. We moved back on. I thought for 53, 54 minutes, he was a real presence and a real handful for us, probably for the first time I’ve seen he resembled a bit like his Leyton Orient form. So we need more from him, but we need a lot more from a lot of others.”
Shaq Forde of Bristol Rovers reacts after receiving a red card during the Sky Bet League 2 Match between Bristol Rovers and Bromley at Memorial Stadium on 26 December 2025. Photo: Will Cooper/PPAUK(Image: Will Cooper/PPAUK)
In terms of Forde and whether he’ll be given the opportunity to redeem himself, Evans added: “Yeah, redemption in football’s a wonderful thing, isn’t it, if you can do it. He’s back in the group and listen you make a simple mistake. You can make a mistake, you can make two, you don’t make three. And he’s made a couple of mistakes since he’s joined Gas last 12, 13 months, but he’s been left in no uncertain terms for me, it doesn’t happen again.”
A crucial start to the New Year
Rovers start the New Year with a trip to Shrewsbury Town – a team that have only won once in the league since the start of November and sit only a point above Evans’ side. It is a crucial game and while it might not be of the highest quality given the form of both teams, it is one that Rovers need to get something out of.
(Image: James Marsh/Shutterstock)
Only three days later, the Gas travel to Barrow before a 13-day break until their next league game – a home clash against Colchester United. By the time that match comes around, the squad may well look radically different, with Evans working hard to bring new players in as the club look to arrest the slide down the League Two table.
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