While Rovers boss Matt Taylor will be largely happy with the way his side are growing into a highly competitive League One season, as always, there will be players who simply do not keep up with the task at hand.
One such player who may fall foul into this category is young goalkeeper, Matthew Hall, who at 21-years-old, needs to begin thinking about where he can play first team football.
| Bristol Rovers – Goalkeepers 2024/25 | |||
| Name | League apps (Start of 24/25) | Age | Signed |
| Joshua Griffiths | 109 | 23 | July 2024 (loan) |
| Matt Hall | 0 | 21 | July 2023 |
Desperately struggling for minutes this season, and not even making the bench on numerous occasions, Hall’s descent into footballing obscurity could indicate a departure from the club this winter.
On-loan goalkeeper takes to Instagram to compliment the Gas’ stellar support
Matt Hall needs to play first team football
Joining Rovers from then-Championship side Southampton last year, Matt Hall may have fancied his chances at securing the number one spot at the Mem.
What has transpired, however, is just a handful of cup appearances for the young shot-stopper.
While there is no shame in a 21-year-old keeper sitting on the sidelines, as so many young GK’s do, if Hall truly does believe he can reach the heights, it may be a case of one step back to go two steps forward.
Josh Griffiths is currently making the goalkeeping position his own, impressing Gasheads week-on-week with his impressive accumulation of saves.
While Griffiths is only a loan-signing, for this season at least (barring injury), the West Brom man will not be usurped for the remainder of the campaign.
With this in mind, Hall would do well to secure at a high-end National League loan to improve his first-team experience, though given the lack of trust the young man has had so far, you wouldn’t besmirch him leaving altogether.
Matthew Hall does not even make the bench under Matt Taylor
Astoundingly, in today’s modern game, Matt Taylor generally does not include a goalkeeper among his substitutes this season.
In what seems like an accident waiting to happen, Taylor instead opts for seven outfield options to maximize potential tactical tweaks.
For Hall, it must be infuriating to not even be part of Taylor’s matchday squads, further exemplifying his need to recharge an otherwise stagnant career.
Having said this, Hall has been entrusted with two starts this season. EFL Trophy appearances against Swindon and Tottenham U21 saw Hall conceded seven goals in two games, as well as losing a penalty shootout in which the young keeper failed to save a single spot-kick.
Although the sample size is small, with a record like this, can you blame Taylor for not trusting Rovers’ number 35?
It appears that both parties would benefit from Hall moving on, at least temporarily, though whether this becomes an actuality come January remains to be seen.
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