In a series such as this,we must be seen to record the bad as well as the good, the tragic as well as the memorable. Today we look back on the Rovers' poorest ever season, where they equalled the worst ever points tally in the long history of the Football League.

Hopes were high at the old Intake Ground during the summer of 1904, as Rovers were voted back into the Second Division along with Leicester Fosse and Glossop, after losing their League status two seasons earlier. The pre-season games had gone well, and the club was looking forward to securing a firm tenure in the Second Division.

What followed beggared belief as the Rovers mustered just EIGHT points from their thirty four league games - an appalling record equalling that of Loughborough Town, who raised the same miserable total during the 1899/1900 campaign. Yet, when we look through the actual results, three is a degree of respectability to be found. Only occasionally did the team lose by a large margin, with West Bromwich Albion and Manchester United putting six goals past the Rovers, whilst Gainsborough managed five.

On the contrary, no fewer than ten fixtures were lost by a margin of a single goal, one such instance occurring at Liverpool in the last week of the season, when the 'Reds' were edging towards the Second Division Championship. Despite their desperate plight, the Rovers did not have to suffer the further indignity of having the worst defence in the Division, that 'honour' fell to Burton Albion, who conceded eighty four goals to the Rovers' eighty one.

It will come as no surprise to learm, however, that the Rovers scored fewer goals (23) than any other club, although, these were shared between no fewer than eleven players, with four players equal top scorer with just three goals apiece. The highlights of the season were undoubtedly the three home wins over Barnsley, Leicester Fosse and Glossop, coupled with two home draws with Blackpool and Port Vale. It is, perhaps, kindest to draw a veil over the Rovers exploits on their travels. Suffice to say, that the seventeen league games failed to produce a single point

On the playing staff front, no fewer than thirty two different players featured in the Rovers' first team, although the regular goalkeeper, Tommy Thorpe, obviously retained the confidence of the Rovers' hierarchy, as he missed just three league games all season.

The Rovers had yet to play in the FA Cup proper, and once again went out in the Qualifying Rounds to Mexborough Town in a replayed tie away from home.