How Cardiff City rejection and non-league led Bristol Rovers defender Rollin Menayese back to EFL
Rollin Menayese has signed a new contract with Bristol Rovers, but the path to the Mem has not been straightforward
Bristol Live
Saturday 6th June 2020
Aged 18, Rollin Menayese got the dreaded call for a young footballer.
Then Cardiff City boss Neil Warnock wanted to change the club’s academy structure, and midway through the season the centre-half was told his time with the Bluebirds was over.
But just six months later, the Welshman – born in the Democratic Republic of Congo – had forced his way back into professional football thanks to half a season in the rugged school of non-league football with Weston-super-Mare in 2016/17.
In the week it was announced Menayese had signed a contract extension to stay at Bristol Rovers for another year, his former manager at the Seagulls Scott Bartlett explained why the defender’s time on the outside of the Football League bubble was so short lived.
Rollin Menayese of Bristol Rovers after being named man of the match against Bromley (Image: Ryan Hiscott/JMP)
“When Neil Warnock went in, he restructured the under-23s. A lot of boys got told early that they were not going to get deals,” Bartlett
“He joined in the December and we got beat 5-3 by Hemel Hempstead the week before.
“We weren’t big enough. Rolls had been released and we were looking, but we would have been quite far down his list of choices. When you leave Cardiff, it’s hard for them.
“We managed to persuade him to sign for us on non-contract terms, because the only thing missing from his game was he hadn’t played any games. Managers would look at him and think ‘yeah, but he hasn’t been out on loan’.
“We said to Rolls ‘come and play for us, play 30 games and see where it takes you’. He did, and once we got him in the building he loved it.
“But no-one grows up wanting to play for Weston and I mean that in the nicest possible way. If you’re in the academy at Cardiff, you want to go to Cardiff and beyond.
“His attitude changed towards us and he was absolutely fantastic.”
Barlett told Bristol Live Menayese was confident yet humble, recognising that he had plenty to learn about playing men’s football.
The presence of Chris Barker, Bartlett’s assistant and veteran of hundreds of Football League games with Cardiff, Barnsley and Southend United and others, proved to be hugely influential on Menayese.
Barker died suddenly in January, aged 39, prompting a wave of tributes from many across the game, and part of him lives on in the form of his mentee – who he helped in many ways.
“Rollin couldn’t drive,” Bartlett said. “He was lucky because we had Barks to bring him in and out. He picked him up every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Without us doing that for Rolls, I don’t know where he’d have gone.
“He learnt a lot playing alongside Barks, and Rolls is a real success story for us.
“We put a lot of faith in Rolls to play centre-half as a 19-year-old, but it worked because he played alongside Barks.
“Barks taught him to concentrate, read the game and make better decisions on the ball. It was the right place at the right time for him.
“He obviously had a close bond with Barks straight away. All of a sudden he’s gone to Weston but there’s someone there that’s played 500 games in the Football League.
“He was very fortunate to have him to lean on and learn from.”