Bristol Rovers star branded 'best in League One' by Joey Barton to leave with captain and five others

Bristol Rovers pair John Marquis and Sam Finley along with five other players will depart the club this summer.

Finley and Marquis have not featured for three or more games. Finley's last game was against Shrewsbury Town on April 1 whilst Marquis made a 16-minute cameo appearance in the 2-0 defeat to Bolton Wanderers.

Liverpool-born Finley joined Rovers in May 2021, reuniting with Joey Barton after the pair worked together at Fleetwood Town. The 31-year-old was a key member of the squad that won promotion from League Two on the final day of the season, wearing the captain's armband as the Gas took their place back in the third tier. Finley played a total of 43 games last season but played five games fewer this term.

Club captain Finley broke the news last week as he published a photo on Twitter alongside Antony Evans, James Connolly and Jordan Rossiter captioned with: "Scouse mafia. it’s been a pleasure."

As for Marquis, he arrived on a free transfer from Lincoln City. At the time of his arrival, Barton claimed they had 'the best striker in League One' and in his first season at the club, he notched up 11 goals in 42 appearances. This season he has played the same amount of games but has scored five goals fewer.

Josh Grant and Lewis Gordon will also be departing. Grant joined from Chelsea in 2020 and went on to make 102 appearances for the club over a four-year spell. Gordon joined in 2022 and notched up 73 appearances in just under two years.

James Gibbons who spent the second part of the season on loan at Cambridge United has also been allowed to depart. Gibbons appeared 48 times for the Gas but fell out of favour under Taylor.

Lifelong Rovers fan Harvey Greenslade will depart having been unable to make the pathway in to the first-team. He had successful loan spells in the non-league with Chippenham Town, Truro City and Oxford City. Ryan Jones who joined from Weston-super-Mare is another member of the academy that will be moved on.

Chris Martin and Jerry Lawrence will be remaining at the Mem for a further season at least however. The club had one-year options on the pair and the news that Martin is staying put is a boost after finishing as their top scorer with 16 goals in 34 games.

Loanees Brandon Aguilera, Elkan Baggott, Harry Vaughan, Harry Vale, Matt Cox and Tristan Crama will all return to their parent clubs following the end of their loan spells.

The club's Head of Data and Analysis Adam Mahoney confirmed earlier this week he would be departing the cloub too. He had only just taken up a new role within the recruitment structure but is saying goodbye to the club after four years.

In a post published on X, Mahoney wrote: "Yesterday was my last day at Bristol Rovers. What a rollercoaster the last 4 years have been. Been a pleasure to work with each and every player and member of staff. Bristol has become my home and I'll never forget those memories of the final day of the League 2 season."