Ex-Bristol Rovers midfielder without a club at 36 and up for grabs as promoted side release EFL veteran

A big summer is ahead at Bristol Rovers. After the disappointment of relegation from League One was confirmed earlier this month, recently-returned head coach Darrell Clarke and his backroom staff will have a big job on their hands with immediate promotion the clear target.

A huge club with Football League history dating back to 1920, instant success will be demanded and Clarke already knows what it takes, having guided the Gas to two successive promotions in his first spell at the club in the mid-2010s. He will need to call on all that experience in what looks to be a competitive League Two campaign in 2025/26.

Rovers will be on the lookout for potential bargains on the transfer market over the coming weeks, amidst news that a veteran former player, a Memorial Ground star during the club’s former League Two days, has been released following the termination of his contract with a club going in the opposite direction to the Gas.

Former Bristol Rovers ace now a free agent at 36

John-Joe O’Toole has been released by AFC Wimbledon, it has been announced by the club following their play-off final victory over Walsall on Monday which secured a return to League One.

O’Toole enjoyed a successful 18-month spell in Bristol, scoring 18 goals in 64 appearances for the club after joining on an initial loan spell from Colchester United in 2013. O’Toole found a home with the Pirates, joining permanently the following summer.

As versatile as they come, O’Toole has played in as many as eight different positions across his career, often featuring as a central or attacking midfielder during his time at Rovers. His 15 goals in 2013-14 earned him a place in the PFA Team of the Year for League Two, but couldn’t prevent the Gas from suffering relegation from the Football League for the very first time since admission 94 years prior.

O’Toole then chose to activate a relegation release clause in his contract, meaning he departed the club on not the best of terms, having already antagonised fans with a controversial BBC interview mid-season where he claimed he could be playing at a higher level.

How has John-Joe O’Toole’s career gone since leaving Bristol Rovers?

Rovers fans will have been keeping a keen eye on O’Toole’s career, particularly after those comments he made to the BBC. He joined Northampton Town in summer 2014 and enjoyed some successful times there, as the club was promoted to League One in his second season at the club. Scoring 35 goals in 194 appearances O’Toole was a fan’s favourite, before he joined Burton Albion when Town were relegated in 2019 as he remained in the third tier. Later spells with Mansfield Town and AFC Wimbledon followed as O’Toole entered the autumn of his career.

Wimbledon director of football Craig Cope has said following the end-of-season announcement: "It’s always hard saying goodbye to players at the end of the season, but it is especially tough this year as we say goodbye and thank you to some incredible people and families who have truly impacted this club. Our promotion is not a one season piece of work, it has been nearly three years in the making. Each of the players leaving have made an impact on our promotion and I know the everyone involved with the Club will extend their thanks.

"Not only being fantastic teammates but impacting on the pitch as well. John-Joe O'Toole coming in from not playing for 12 months to debut in that famous game last March. Lewis Ward making a great impact to our GK department, pushing Owen Goodman all the way to conceding 35 goals in 49 matches.”