It’s very short notice but under our initiative whereby every player who has made at least one league appearance for the club is given a cap, next Tuesday at the game against Wycombe Wanderers, will see us present former Rovers striker Barry Hayles with his.
Signed from Stevenage Borough in May 1997, Barry was a late entrant to league football, though he more than made up for lost time! He was 25 when he moved to BS7 and although his stay with us was a short one, he became a firm favourite with supporters.
In November 1998, after scoring 32 goals in just 62 league appearances, he joined Fulham for a fee of £2.1m and he later played league football for Sheffield United, Millwall, Plymouth Argyle, Leicester City and Cheltenham Town.
The man just loves the game, it seems, as he has continued to play non league football since leaving Whaddon Road in July 2009 and he has appeared in nine games for Windsor this season, even though he’s now 50 years old!
An England ‘C’ international who also has ten full caps for Jamaica, Barry’s cap bears the number 615 meaning he was the 615th player to represent Rovers when he made his debut in a 1-1 against Plymouth Argyle in August 1997.
It goes without saying, of course, that it was a goalscoring debut!
If you would like to sponsor Barry’s cap, please contact our secretary by Sunday 12th March. secretary@bristolroverssc.co.uk
The cost of sponsorship is £50 for Supporters Club members and £60 for non members.