Tribute to Junior Agogo

RIP Junior Agogo - 1st August 1979 - 22 August 2019

Everyone associated with the Bristol Rovers Former Players Association was saddened to learn of the death of former Rovers striker Junior Agogo at the age of 40, on 22nd August..

Junior Agogo

Manuel Junior Agogo was born in Accra, Ghana, on 1st August 1979 and was with Chelsea as a schoolboy footballer though he signed for Sheffield Wednesday in October 1996.

There followed loan spells with Oldham Athletic, Chester City, Chesterfield and Lincoln City before a move to America saw him turn out for Chicago Fire, Colorado Rapids and San Jose Earthquakes.

On his return to these shores he signed for Queens Park Rangers and, in June 2002 he joined Barnet.

It was from there that he moved to BS7, joining Rovers, initially on trial, in June 2003. The deal became a permanent one after the trial period and, in three years with the Gas he scored 41 league goals in 126 league appearances.

Nottingham Forest paid £150,000 to secure his services in June 2006 and he later played for El Zamalek Sporting Club in Egypt, Apollon Limassol in Cyprus and appeared briefly for Hibernian in Scotland.

Along the way there were also 27 international caps, and 12 goals, for Ghana.

Blessed with blistering pace and a striker’s predatory instinct Junior scored a number of memorable goals for Rovers though it wasn’t until his move to Forest that he scored his first league hat trick.

He was hospitalised in January 2015, after an apparent stroke, but to hear of his passing at such a young age comes as quite a shock and our thoughts go out to his immediate family and friends.