The winners of Bristol Rovers' end of season awards were announced just under two weeks ago as Antony Evans and Jed Ward picked up the big prizes for the men's first-team, claiming Player of the Season and Young Player of the Season respectively.

Meanwhile, Brandon Aguilera's debut strike away at Exeter City was deemed goal of the season while last weekend's debutant Kofi Shaw won Academy Player of the Season.

However, just because the Gas have had their official awards doesn't mean awards season is over with plenty of alternative prizes to hand out, although the word "prize" suggests that something positive has taken place and not all of the awards are that.

Bristol Live has taken the opportunity to reflect on the entire 2023/24 season and put together a list of alternative Bristol Rovers awards and its winners.

Seven goals and nine assists across all competitions makes this campaign the winger's best in front of goal of his career so far which is a vast improvement on his contribution during his first season in League Two, while on loan from Barnsley.

It was no doubt a risk for the Gas to invest in the forward again just over a year after his loan spell ended. Thomas hadn't had the most spectacular campaign for the Tykes in League One upon his return with a four-month injury layoff no doubt a contributing factor. However, the gamble has well and truly paid off with the 25-year-old establishing himself as one of Rovers' most integral players.

Up and down the flank, Thomas gets himself stuck in with his work rate possibly one of the wide man's most underrated traits. In games where the Gas struggled to break their opponent down, early games against the likes of Cambridge, Wycombe and Lincoln spring to mind, the winger was helping out with the defensive side of things before trying to cause issues for the opposition defenders.

Although he did endured two separate one-month injury layoffs, Thomas' availability was one of the best in the squad with injuries certainly proving costly throughout Matt Taylor's roster as the winger played the third-most minutes in the squad with just shy of 3,500, only behind Harvey Vale and leader Evans.

No doubt with some of the positions that he's gotten himself in over the course of the season, the 25-year-old certainly could have broken 20 goal contributions and that will be a target for next term but he adds a different dimension to Rovers' attacking quality with his trickery and is one of the paciest players in the squad which is a rarity. Regardless of who comes into the building over the course of the summer, Thomas has to be one of the players that this new-look team is built around.

The 10 Bristol Rovers players with the most minutes across all competitions this season (according to Transfermarkt):

Antony Evans - 3,998 Harvey Vale - 3,541 Luke Thomas - 3,485 Connor Taylor - 3,235 Matt Cox - 3,060 Chris Martin - 2,762 Sam Finley - 2,692 Aaron Collins - 2,574 James Wilson - 2,442 Tristan Crama - 2,407 Alternative young player of the season Undoubtedly a strong contender for the official award alongside Ward, Harvey Vale has been a delight to watch over the course of the season and it's a real shame to see him depart to return to Chelsea. As they warn, never fall in love with a loan player but admittedly the 20-year-old's ceiling is considerably higher than League One.

The Blues loanee finished second in the most minutes table with 3,541 with a surprise trip to hospital in February the most alarming situation regarding his availability. Again, in a season where so many key players were absent because of injuries and suspensions, Vale deserves to be commended for the amount of games he was available for.

Of his own admission, getting this season right was vital for Vale who had been limited to just three appearances on loan at Hull City last season before making an early return to Chelsea. Turning 20 last September, the youngster was at the stage of his career where he needed to start getting exposed to senior football and regular minutes which is exactly what he's earned at Rovers. There's emphasis on 'earned' as well because that's exactly what those minutes were. No token gestures were going to be handed out by any manager.

But if getting regular minutes was the most important task on the checklist for this season, the youngster has certainly ticked that off and will also enter the hopefully long and prosperous spell that is the remainder of his career more versatile as a result of his year with Rovers which will then open up more potential opportunities.

Best on-pitch moment... Admittedly, there's not an abundance of major highlights but there's still a handful that stick out in the mind as the best of the campaign for Rovers. Coincidentally, most of them fall within the same period of a few weeks at the back end of 2023.

Those victories against Bolton, Portsmouth and Charlton over the festive period certainly got supporters excited for what was to come in the second half of the season while wins over Charlton (away), Wigan and Cheltenham are also up there with the most enjoyable days of the campaign, coincided with the draw at Norwich in the FA Cup with the performance deserving of a victory.

Late winners can be a rarity for teams over the course of a season but Gasheads were lucky enough to get a decent amount with both wins over Charlton, the victory against Pompey and the Gas' final success of this term against Cambridge all sealed by goals scored after the 86th minute. However, Thomas' winner against Pompey, the eventual League One champions, has to be the best of the bunch.

Already supporters were in a jolly mood having had the festivities of Christmas Day to enjoy the day before while Rovers had put in an excellent shift against the league leaders who, at that point, were yet to lose on the road. Seeing Antony Evans' free-kick cancelled out by a Paddy Lane strike was frustrating but still, a draw against Portsmouth wasn't going to be reflected on too negatively even if it would have been the second game against the Hampshire side where the Gas should've won but drew 1-1.

However, a late burst of quality ensured that Taylor's men got their just rewards with the Rovers boss admitting post-match that afternoon that he had run down the touchline in celebration, which annoyingly didn't get caught on camera.

The belief of what was to come in the second half of the campaign was a feeling that if you could bottle up and sell would make you considerably rich. Of course, with hindsight, that didn't come to fruition but at the time it was the best noise the Mem ended up making all season and gave supporters hope that big things were on the way.

Most disappointing on-pitch moment... There were certainly some particularly poor matches in the league with defeats to Reading, Fleetwood, Exeter and Lincoln particularly damning but in terms of which game gave the biggest feeling of deflation when the final whistle blew, the replay defeat to Norwich stands at the forefront.

Naturally, it was the context of the game that made it such a disappointment with a trip to Liverpool the prize for the victorious side. Who knows whether the draw would have sprung up such a mouth-watering tie had Rovers won the initial meeting at Carrow Road but the League One side outperformed the much-changed Championship outfit who brought a great deal of their cavalry down to the Mem for the replay which proved the difference.

Additionally, with the influence the city of Liverpool has had over Rovers over the past couple of years, it would have been a dream tie for so many in the squad, particularly captain Sam Finley who you couldn't help but sympathise with when he was put forward for press just a matter of minutes after missing out on a childhood dream of playing at Anfield.

Off the pitch, it would have also been an extremely helpful financial boost with the tie picked for television coverage but it just wasn't meant to be.

Biggest off the pitch moment... Naturally, a great deal happened off the pitch with the managerial change certainly up there. However, that decision came as a result of the Kuwaiti investment in the football club as the new-look hierarchy opted to replace Joey Barton early into their tenure.

Hussain AlSaeed's purchase of a 55 per cent stake in the club's holding company Dwane Sports was announced just days before the first game of the season away at Portsmouth last August which saw the Kuwaiti businessman become a co-owner alongside Club President Wael Al-Qadi as well as becoming Chairman while his son Abdullatif AlSaeed joined as Executive Vice President.

Since their arrival, plans have been set out for the reconstruction of the Mem, expansion of The Quarters, introducing a development team, bringing the Gas Girls back to club management and, arguably most importantly, taking the first-team to the Championship within three years. Admittedly, the South Stand project was very much Al-Qadi's work but the decision to draw a line through the plans to build a new stadium at the Fruit Market site and instead increase the Mem's capacity to around 16,000 was made by the Kuwaitis.

Of his own admission, the Rovers Chairman has learned a great deal while being involved in the club and the job was tougher than he envisaged but no doubt there are ambitious plans in place for the Gas' future, it's just a case of how many come to fruition over time.

The academy product seemed set for a season out on loan in the National League with Wealdstone with Matt Cox coming in on loan from Brentford and starting the campaign as No1. Admittedly, the 20-year-old's start to life at Rovers was impressive but performances started to get shaky and mistakes begun kicking in around December time before he eventually lost his place to Ward at the end of January.

The academy product was recalled from Wealdstone in November for an EFL Trophy match against Newport County for which Cox was away with England Under-21s while Matt Hall hadn't, and still hasn't, made his debut for the club. At the time, caretaker manager Andy Mangan didn't know what was next for the young shot stopper but no one foresaw what was on the horizon.

Ward has made some mistakes and was always going to but the potential that the young goalkeeper boasts is seriously exciting and he certainly has a strong claim to be first-choice next season unless Matt Taylor decides he wants a more experienced 'keeper as his number one.

Best signing... It may seem odd that Martin isn't alternative player of the season despite being the best signing, given that Thomas was also signed last summer, but it's the nature of the striker's arrival and how well he's done that makes him the best bit of business.

Ultimately, Rovers were in a major predicament regarding their strike force in the immediate aftermath of missing out on a deal to sign Jonson Clarke-Harris from Peterborough United on deadline day. A club-record agreement was made to bring the striker back to the Gas but the deal wasn't completed in time and the two-time League One golden boot winner remained at Posh. Additionally, Ryan Loft had been sold to Port Vale in order to make way for his return. At the time of the debacle, John Marquis stood alone as Rovers' only recognised striker.

It felt like a no-brainer to at least take the former Derby County, Norwich and City front man on for training to at least get a glimpse of him while signing him gave Rovers another option until January. The fact that the former Scotland international has scored 16 of the Gas' 52 League One goals has made the deal absolutely vital. Without such a contribution, you really do fear where the club could be right now.

Worst signing... It may feel like a bit of a cop out given that Bogarde saw his loan concluded early but that's part of the reason why the Dutchman's second stint at Rovers just didn't work out the way in which anyone hoped.

After a promising second half of the 2022/23 season on loan at the Gas, the Aston Villa youngster's return was met with widespread excitement but ultimately he never looked convincing that he could match the physicality required of the league. That's not to say the 20-year-old isn't destined for big things but Bogarde never took his chance when it was handed to him and also had pretty strong midfield competition to compete with.

As for Bogarde, rumours suggested that the midfielder was going to be sent out on loan to a Championship club but that never materialised and he has been back playing with Villa's Under-21s.

Best away atmosphere... From a home perspective, there were some memorable moments at the Mem this season but away from home, the atmosphere that stands out in the mind is undoubtedly Lincoln City's. Of course, winning 5-0 would have helped but the LNER Stadium was evidently filled to the brim on the back of an outstanding unbeaten run that saw the Imps catapult up the table and unluckily finish just two points outside of the play-off positions.

That victory put Michael Skubala's side seventh, just two points off sixth-place Oxford United which is a remarkable statement given that they were 11th in the table and two points and two places behind Rovers going into 2024.

A raucous din from the Imps faithful helped their side along to scoring three goals in the opening 22 minutes and Lincoln are probably the best example of a side that managed to put together the run that the Gas longed for throughout the campaign but just couldn't muster.

Most memorable press conference... There were some stark contenders for this one with Mangan's final presser in caretaker charge and a good few of Taylor's standing out in the mind but Barton's comments after the Peterborough defeat in September stands out for the wrong reasons as the former Rovers manager blasted Luke Thomas publicly.

As a reminder, Barton said to BBC Radio Bristol, "We had a mountain to climb because of Luke Thomas' decision to play on in the second half. I've never known anything like it.

"He reported he felt a bit stiff one minute before we went back out having had 13 minutes to speak to the physios then got to told to go out and test it, says, 'No I feel alright.' Two minutes into the game his side's compromised because he can't run, feels the hamstring. In his infinite wisdom, I don't know why, he goes pressing the ball instead of sitting on the pitch.

"The ref probably would have stopped the game, we could have got the sub on and we're back up to full compliment. In the midst of that chaotic spell of two minutes when we were compromised from within, they score the second goal.

"It's frustrating. You work hard all week, the lads have worked incredibly hard this week and if one idiot makes an idiotic decision it costs everyone their graft.

"I wish I could fine him and pay for the travelling Gasheads' tickets with it and I'll be speaking to the CEO about that because it's a ludicrous decision. He shouldn't get paid this week for what he's just done because he puts us 2-0 down.

"I just don't know in his infinite wisdom what he's thinking. It's frustrating, we've got to be better than that, but you come to a good place like Peterborough, you can't play with 10 men, especially in wide areas, for a two or three minute period because as we found out they'll punish you."

The clip then went semi-viral amongst football supporters that evening and it's never a good look when a press conference from a League One game gets that much attention, especially for negative reasons. It also baffled many with replays showing that actually Thomas appeared to do very little, if anything, wrong.

With hindsight, the former Gas boss was dismissed less than a month later and it certainly isn't ludicrous to suggest that that moment was the beginning of the end.