NO OVERNIGHT SUCCESS STORY
Bristol Rovers supporters have been able to enjoy the inventiveness of Billy Bodin these last two years.
The son of the cultured left-back Paul Bodin, Billy, a Welsh international player, was born in Swindon on March 24th 1992.
He has scored 13 league goals in each of the last two seasons and excites the crowd every time he picks the ball up in the Billy Bodin Zone.
His team-mates, the crowd, the coaching staff and even the opposition know what he is planning to do in his zone of control.
This craft and skill has not developed overnight but is the product of a total of 197 professional first-team matches.
Billy Bodin has spent 7 years playing football at the professional level and he has overcome serious injury along the way.
He has played for Swindon Town, Torquay United, Crewe Alexandra, Northampton Town and Bristol Rovers.
From the 2010/2011 season until the 2014/2015 season he played 115 league games and scored 14 goals.
In the last two seasons for Bristol Rovers he has scored 26 goals in 74 league matches; 20 as a substitute.
In both seasons he had a period of time at the start when he was not a regular starter for different reasons.
Will he score 20 plus goals in the 2017/18 season if he can be a regular starter all season? Maybe.
His long and winding road to adulation and praise is clearly shown below.
(The goals scored in 2016/17 should be 13 and not 15. Apologies.)
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