Bristol Rovers signing Jordan Rossiter dubbed ‘model professional’ - Key Fleetwood insight into new recruit

Bristol Rovers made their first move in the transfer market yesterday with the signing of Jordan Rossiter from Fleetwood Town.

Joey Barton has returned to his former club to sign the midfielder for an undisclosed fee, joining on a two-year deal.

The addition was needed given the departure of Glenn Whelan, whilst Paul Coutts will miss the first three games of the League One season after his red card against Rochdale.

The 25-year-old is a tenacious and tough tackling midfielder that is likely to line up alongside his former Fleetwood teammate Sam Finley, allowing Antony Evans to do the business in the ten role.

But what are the Gas getting for a player that they have exchanged a transfer fee for?

We spoke to Tom Sandells, who has covered Fleetwood Town for the Blackpool Gazette for the last number of years to get an understanding of the first new face of the summer.

What kind of player are Bristol Rovers getting in Jordan Rossiter, he was captain at the start of the season...?

Rossiter is a model professional, he will do everything he can for the cause. He is not the flashy type but he will steadily go about his job. He’s a good character and person to have around the place, he was promoted to captain last season and seemed to thrive in the role. Although he was injured for the majority of the season he would get into training gear and warm up with the subs towards the end of the season, then he’d trick the officials and sit on the bench, warm up down the side of the pitch and try and help his teammates through the game. Although if they ever counted the number of players, or checked his squad number with the subs, he’d be sent back out to the stands!

He didn’t play a competitive game from October onwards. What was the injury and was it a recurrence/bad reaction to his ACL injury in previous years? What was his injury record like at Fleetwood?

We never got total clarity on the nature of Jordy’s injury, but it seemed like more of a niggly one than anything, with setbacks. There were a couple of occasions when then head coach Stephen Crainey was hopeful of getting him back and it didn’t materialise. The season before however he played 36 times.

What are his strengths and weaknesses?

His strengths definitely lie in his defensive capabilities. He’s the type to sit in front of the defence and break play up. He does not have the most expansive passing range and he won’t get you goals, but what he does do can often go unnoticed. He will make tackles, offload the ball and keep things ticking, which can be very important in disrupting the opposition.

He was under contract for another season, why perhaps do you think Scott Brown has let him leave?

When he was appointed, Brown spoke about getting in robust players that can deal with a 40 plus game season, unfortunately Rossiter has never been that man at Fleetwood. He did reach 36, but otherwise he’s not hit 20 in his two other season. He is a good player and would also be on a decent wage, but he also represents a risk and why risk it if you feel you could get someone in who will be more available?

Rossiter will have crossed paths with Sam Finley and Paul Coutts, playing in midfield together. Did they feed off one another and have a good understanding?

Particularly with Paul Coutts, Rossiter links well. They both like to sit deep but they are different types of players. Rossiter is the terrier type, he will break up play and cover the ground, Coutts on the other hand sits deep to control possession, which Rossiter would be happy for him to do. The 25-year-old could go and get Coutts the ball and let him dictate. It would also free up someone like Sam Finley to get forward a little more and have to worry less about what’s behind him.