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Bristol
Rovers Striker Signs
26th April 2006
Lincoln City's promotion ambitions were given a huge
boost this morning, when it was announced that Bristol
Rovers' striker Jamie Forrester will stay at Sincil Bank.
Forrester played the final game of his one month loan
deal at the weekend, which saw him score the equalising
goal in Lincoln's 1-1 draw with Leyton Orient.
Unfortunately, it quickly became apparent that Bristol
Rovers were not prepared to renew his loan contract.
Since Forrester joined in late March, both Bristol Rovers
and Lincoln City have seen their play-off hopes improve
dramatically. They are now vying for final play-off
qualifying spot.
With this in mind, it was quite understandable that
Bristol Rovers were not prepared to allow Forrester to
remain at Sincil Bank. Indeed, many of Rovers' supporters
had openly questioned the wisdom of allowing Forrester to
join Lincoln City in the first place.
Rovers' logic behind the deal was that they wanted
Forrester removed from their wage bill, if only
temporary. Forrester, who was reported to be one of the
club's highest paid players, had made just seven
appearances for Bristol Rovers during 2006.
Forrester, since joining Lincoln, has scored five goals
in seven appearances! This has helped cover the loss of
injured striker Simon Yeo, who had been carrying the
burden of being The Imps' only regular scorer. Now, Imps'
fans are eagerly anticipating the partnership of
Forrester and Yeo, although they might have to wait until
next season.
Forrester joins Lincoln initially on a loan extension
until the end of the season, including any subsequent
play-off fixtures. Then, on July 1st, he will officially
sign the two-year contract, which he has already agreed
to. Although Forrester had one year remaining on his
Bristol Rovers' contract, there has been no mention of
Lincoln paying a fee for his services.
He has an impressive pedigree, having been a trainee at
French club Auxerre. The Bradford born player returned
home to West Yorkshire in October 1992 when Leeds United
signed him for £60,000.
During the three years that Forrester spent at Leeds, he
scored two goals in eleven appearances. During his time
at Leeds, he also had spells on loan at both Southend
United and Grimsby Town.
Grimsby elected to make his loan move a permanent
transfer in October 1995, when they signed him on a free
transfer. Overall, he scored 10 goals in 56 appearances
for Grimsby.
In March 1997, he signed for Scunthorpe United, and this
is when he made his name as a prolific goal scorer. From
the 121 appearances that he made for Scunthorpe, he
scored 43 appearances.
Goal scoring figures such as these are quickly noticed
and in June 1999, he made another move abroad when he
signed for Dutch club FC Utrecht. His stay in Holland was
just one season before he returned to England to sign for
Northampton Town in a £150,000 deal. During his season
in Holland, he had also spent time on loan at both
Walsall Town and Northampton Town.
Forrester scored 50 goals in 136 appearances for
Northampton - including an impressive six goals during
his ten loan games - before he left in January 2003 to
join Hull City. Eighteen months later, and he was on the
move again, when he signed for Bristol Rovers. He had
scored 8 goals in 34 appearances for Hull City.
Having joined Bristol Rovers in July 2004, he quickly
became a regular in their first team. However, he has had
mixed fortunes of late, with just seven appearances made
during 2006. In his time at Bristol Rovers, he has so far
scored 11 goals in 57 appearances.
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