Rovers manager Dave Penney conceded after Saturday's home defeat against Chesterfield that Rovers' chances of reaching the League One play-offs are "highly unlikely". However, with many other clubs also continuing to drop points, he said that "I'm not going to write off our chances yet."
Of the game, he said: "This was a lost opportunity. We had 75 or 80% of the play but their keeper never had a shot to save - and that just about sums it up. We just didn't have a cutting edge in the final third, despite all the good football we played. It was disappointing to get beaten because I thought we were the better team. But there was no end product, and the longer it goes the more you start to fear the worst in a game like that."

Doncaster Rovers Internet Football Club is on the lookout for new players. The team, better known as the R'sonists, plays occasional fixtures, usually on a Saturday morning before Rovers home games. We also appear at several tournaments, including "Land Ut Gods" in Huddersfield (in April) and Worldnet (in Leeds, in July).
We are looking for players of all abilities, especially goalkeepers, to join our squad. We would also be interested in hearing from anyone who would be interested in refereeing our home games (fees paid!). Please contact me at the following email address:
johnlcoyle07@yahoo.com
Our next game will be against Motherwell (an "International Friendly") at home on Saturday 26th February (the morning of Rovers' game with Swindon Town), with a likely kick-off time of 11am.

The Rovers' Supporters Club are running coaches to Saturday's away game at Peterborough United. The will leave Retford at 10.15am, Bawtry 10.30am, Hare & Tortoise 10.40am, Punches Hotel 10.45am, Doncaster Royal Infirmary 10.45am and Belle Vue 11.00am.
The North Doncaster Branch coach will leave Carcroft Club at 11.15am, Bentley Pavilion 11.20am, Don Valley (Jossey Lane) 11.25am, and Woodlands (opp. Cooplands) 11.30am
The fares for all coaches will be: :
Members - Adults: £10.00, OAP’s: £9.00, U-16: £7.00
Non-members - £12.00, Under-16’s £10.00
To book or for further details, please contact: Len South on 01302 817347, Paul Mayfield on 01427 880154 or Warren Hanson (North Doncaster) 01302 337303 or 07787 926809.

No tickets are reported to be on sale in advance of Saturday's away game at Peterborough, with admission being "pay on the gate".
Prices for the match are:
Seating - Adults: £16.00, Concessions: £8.00
Terracing - Adults: £11.00, Concessions: £8.00

It would be diplomatic to say that neither side truly mastered the windy conditions which affected this afternoon's game at Belle Vue. That would not be untrue - but it would disguise the fact that both sides played very poorly overall - particularly Rovers in the second half, when they had the benefit of the strong wind. Rovers had played with promise in the first half against the cross-wind, and it appeared likely that they could score after the break. However, they failed to master the strength of the through-balls, with far too many minutes of the game seeing the ball ping-pong about as if it was on a pinball machine. A goalless draw was on the cards - neither side had forced the opposiiton's goalkeeper into a save - until rather surprisingly Chesterfield captialised on Rovers' failure to clear the ball with N'Toya dribbling into the penalty area before firing across the goal into the far corner of the net.
The Man of the Match voting is now closed. Thank you to everyone who voted. The results will be announced on Tuesday morning.

Doncaster Rovers' youth team lost their first match in the Merit League yesterday morning, when they lost 2-1 at home to Bury. Despite playing well in the first half, they went down to defeat with a poor second half showing. Despite Bury having a player sent off in the second half, Rovers couldn't score the equaliser.

Former Rovers striker Steve Burton has signed on a one month loan for Nationwide Conference side Canvey Island from Scarborough, and was included in their squad for yesterday's match against Northwich Victoria.
It must have been an eventful match, with the Canvey manager reported to have been arrested after the match for using "threatening language".

After many months delay, Rovers have announced that they have launched their Online ticket sales service, meaning that fans will be able to buy tickets via the Internet instead of having to travel to the ticket office at Belle Vue. The first match that tickets will be sold on-line is the Barnsley game, but only tickets for the Town End will be available, as Rovers wish to trial the system before making tickets available online for all parts of the ground.
Ticket will still, of course, be available at the ticket office. Check the official site if you wish to book on line.

Rovers entertain Chesterfield this afternoon in a match which will hopefully see Rovers close the gap on the play-off places. With Bristol City surprisingly being defeated last night at home by Walsall, there is every chance for Rovers to climb the table again - with the number of points being dropped by the leading clubs, a win could be very useful indeed.
Rovers have no new injury worries for this afternoon's game, with everyone coming through last weekend's away match without picking up any knocks. Neil Roberts and Jermaine McSporran have both recovered from illness which kept them out last weekend, and are set for recalls to the squad this afternoon.
Simon Marples, Stuart Jones and Leo Fortune-West continue to be absent, although Fortune-West could be back in action by the end of the month.
Roberts' return means that Dave Penney appears to have to choose between Blundell, Roberts and Campbell for the two starting places in attack, with McSporran looking to have to settle for a place on the bench as Coppinger retains his place.

Chesterfield will welcome back Aaron Downes, Steve Blatherwick and Derek Niven to the squad for their trip to Belle Vue this afternoon, although Blatherwick is unlikely to start, as he has only just recovered from an achilles injury, and is short of match fitness. Jordan Fowler misses the game through suspension, with Niven due to replace him in the side.
After a good start to the season that saw Chesterfield battling with the top clubs, a worrying slump in form has seen them drop to 14th place, with only three wins out of 15 away games so far, and only two victories since the beginning of December.

Rovers striker Guy Ipoua has joined Lincoln City on loan to gain some first team match practice, having found it difficult to force his way into the Rovers side this season. He will join the Imps for an initial one-month loan, and is available for Lincoln's game at Rochdale this afternoon.

Rovers announced this morning that, whilst tomorrow's home game against Chesterfield remains all-ticket, tickets can be bought from the ticket office until kick-off (i.e. 3pm) tomorrow. Rovers have stated that this due to a number of fans finding it difficult to get to the ticket office during the week, and they are aiming to get as many people to the match to give the side that extra support to hopefully close the gap between Rovers and the play-off places.
Whilst Rovers are appealing for fans wishing to buy a ticket to turn up in advance to ensure that they can gain admittance to a part of the ground that they prefer, we understand that there is still plenty of capacity in all parts of the ground.

Dave Penney believes that Rovers have to start converting a higher proportion of the goal-scoring chances that come their way for teh remainder of the season. With Rovers still needing six points to achieve Penney's target of 50 points to avoid relegation - even though they are already 15 points above the clubs in the relegation places.
Penney said:"We are still six point from safety as I see it. We always play attacking football we just need to start scoring a few more goals, it's not something we have been concentrating on more in training because we do it everyday. We need that little bit of luck and quality. Last season in a lower league it was slightly easier to score goals, but the chances don't come as easily in this division so we need to try and take them when they come."
He conceded that Rovers have found it harder to score goals this season, with just nine goals coming in the last eight games.

Simon Marples has been ruled out for the rest of this season after news has emerged from the Rovers that he is to have two operations to try and cure a persistent groin injury next Tuesday (February 15th). Marples has missed much of this season, and also suffered from a similar injury last season, when he again had to have an operation just after Christmas.
Better news comes with Stuart Jones making good progress from his foot injury, and should back in action by the end of the month. Leo Fortune West appears to have made very good progress lately, and is due to start running next week, with a possible return to action by the end of the month.
Jamie Price has responded well to his injection on a troublesome foot injury, and is now back in training. He should be avaialble for selection next week.

John Ryan's recent appeal for more investors to join the Rovers board looks like it will bear fruit, wtih up to three interested parties having been in touch. Progress is expected to be announced by the end of the season.
Ryan is keen to bolster Rovers' resources to enable the club to be able to compete with any increased costs that may be involved with promotion to the Championship (in due course!).

Rovers have reported that Denton Media will be recording the crowd at tomorrow's home game against Chesterfield as part of their preparation for the release of a new CD single later this month.
A framed limited edition of the CD will be on sale in due course at the price of £55.

Doncaster Rovers have comprehensively denied that they are interested in signing Luke Beckett, currently on loan at Huddersfield Town. Dave Penney checked on the player before he moved to Sheffield United last November, and due to fears over his future fitness with an on-going knee problem, did not bid for him. It seems very unlikely that this viewpoint would change in such a short space of time, so the denial does appear genuine.

Doncaster Rovers took a youth team to Askern yesterday evening for a friendly fixture against Askern Welfare, and achieved a 2-1 win, with the goals being scored by Nelthorpe and Brailsford. Apparently a good crowd attended, despite the England match against Holland being shown on television.

Striker Leo Fortune-West has begun some light training after making good progress from his knee surgery. He is expected to return to competitive training in around two weeks time, with a return to competitive action before the end of the season.

The Yorkshire Post and Radion Sheffield have reported that Rovers have made a £100,000 bid for Sheffield United striker Luke Beckett, who is currently on loan at Huddersfield Town, and has scored five goals in four games for the Terriers. His loan deal at Huddersfield ends after Saturday's game, and Blades boss Neil Warnock is considering bringing him back to Bramall Lane for their match on Sunday.
Warnock has said that five League One clubs are chasing the player - but Huddersfield are not one of those, but they have requested that his loan period is extended.
Beckett has made just one substitute appearance since arriving at Sheffield United from Stockport last November.

Rovers manager Dave Penney says that the outcome of the next four games, three of which are at home, are vital to the success of Rovers' season - and with it the chances of getting into the play-off positoins by the end of the season. Penney has set a target of ten points from those four games, and feels that a few wins out of the away matches, allied to Rovers' good home form, will give them a good chance of achieving his aim. He said: "If we want to be doing anything this season then we've got to pick up points from these games, getting 10 points would leave us in a good position. We'd been doing okay away from home before the Torquay game and if we can pick up a few more wins away then we'll be in good shape."

Doncaster's Mayor, Martin Winter, is due to attend this evening's meeting of the Intake branch of the Supporters Club, which is to be held at the Intake Social Club. The meeting starts at 7.30pm. All fans are welcome - it is your chance to ask the mayor about the new Community Stadium.

A total of £117.07 was raised for the Viking Supporters' Co-operative at the away game at Torquay at the weekend. This means that the new total collected is £26,696.72.

In last night's fixtures, former Rovers striker Richie Barker scored the only goal of the game as Mansfield beat Swansea City at Field Mill. The result denied Swansea the chance to go top of the League Two table.

Simon Johnson has returned to Leeds United at the end of his second month on loan at Doncaster. Dave Penney said of the situation: "He wants first-team football instead of being on the bench so we decided not to extend the loan."
Johnson scored three goals in 11 games, but has recently lost his place in the starting eleven. We wish Simon well in his future career.

Former Rovers striker Brian Quailey returned to Nuneaton Borough for a third time last week, this time initially on loan from Stevenage Borough. He has made just nine starts for Stevenage, and his future chances appear restricted following the arrival of Darryn Stamp recently.

With the number of votes being unsurprisingly much lower than of late, we still received nominations for eight different players as your "Man of the match". Even though he only went onto the pitch in the 86th minute, Simon Johnson did enough to earn second place in the voting. The leading votes were cast as follows:
1 Michael McIndoe (37.5%)
2 Simon Johnson (20.83%)
3 Dave Mulligan (12.5%)
Thank you to everyone who took part. The next vote will open after Saturday's home game against Chesterfield.

There are still tickets available for Saturday's home game against Chesterfield. The match, which is all-ticket, has been designated a "Category A" match, meaning that admission prices are:
Seating: Adults £18.00, concessions £12.00
Standing: Adults £15.00, concessions £8.00
The ticket office is open between 10am and 4pm.

Rovers' assistant manger Mickey Walker blamed a slow start for their 2-1 defeat at Torquay on Saturday, with two goals conceded within the first 20 minutes proving to be their undoing. Walker said: "We never got out of the traps, it's as simple as that. If we had started the first half like we did the second it could have been a different story. We had a few words at half time which were all about commitment. Torquay are a good passing side but we absolutely battered them in the second half."

The live coverage of the Torquay v Rovers match on Saturday failed to appear on Rovers World via the official web site, with the official site claiming that it is a Premium TV problem that affected all the League "World" web sites. This is not the first time that match coverage has failed to appear. Whilst Rovers are writing to Football League Interactive (the owners of PTV) to complain, they are urging all dissatisfied fans to write with their complaints as well. The email address for such complaints is customersupport@premiumtv.co.uk

The list of former Rovers players scoring goals is rather short again this week, with the FA Trophy meaning many non-league matches were postponed.
In League One, I guess no Rovers fans need reminding that ex-Rovers striker Adebayo Akinfenwa scored Torquay's second goal as they beat Rovers 2-1.
In League Two, ex-Rovers striker Richie Barker scored a trademark header as his new club, Mansfield Town, defeated Notts County 1-0, and Duane Darby scored Shrewsbury's second goal as they beat Leyton Orient 4-1.
Not a goal scorer, but ex-Rovers keeper Paul Crichton produced what was described as a "heroic" display for Accrington Stanley in the Conference as they registered a 2-1 victory over Scarborough - including a crucial late save from another ex-Rover - Tyrone Thompson.

The Doncaster Rovers' youth side were denied a top three finish in the last matches in the North East Conference as Hartlepool won 6-0 at York. A top three finish would have seen them in the top division of the Merit League, which starts in early March - now they will have to wait for more fixtures to be completed to find out which sides they will meet. Nevertheless, it has been a most commendable season for the youth team, who have generally been up again much older and physically bigger teams in the first season since the side was re-formed.

Rovers' unbeaten record in 2005 came to an end this afternoon as they conceded two goals within the first 20 minutes. Despite a late goal from Simon Johnson - only a minute after coming onto the pitch as a substitute for Gregg Blundell - it was a case of too little, too late, and Rovers again come back from the south-west empty handed.
The voting for the "Man of the Match" has now closed. Thank you to everyone who voted. The result will be revealed on Tuesday morning.

The forthcoming home game against Barnsley on Tuesday, 22nd February is an all-ticket game, and has also been designated as a "Category A" match by Rovers.
Tickets for this match will go on sale tomorrow (Monday, 7th February), with the following prices applying:
Seating: Adults £18.00, Concessions £12.00
Standing: Adults £15.00, Concessions £8.00
The ticket office at Belle Vue is open between 10am and 4pm on weekdays.

A report in the Yorkshire Post this week hinted that Dave Penney may be looking to secure a permanent deal for goalkeeper Ross Flitney, who has just arrived at Belle Vue on a month's loan from Fulham. This stance appeared to have some credence after an interview with the Rovers boss was published on the official web site, and he was clearly impressed by Flitney's performance in the friendly fixture against Crewe last Monday. Whilst appreciating that another club may also move for the player, Penney said: "If we like him and he likes us then we might be able to do something."

Rovers chairman John Ryan is hoping to get Manchester United to play the Rovers' first match once the new Community Stadium opens next summer. He said: "I haven't approached Sir Alex Ferguson yet, but I'm very hopeful he will agree to bring his first team stars to mark the occasion."

Rovers are to change the colour of the "away" kit for next season. Instead of the current all-blue strip, Rovers will play in an all-black kit, with some red piping trim. The home kit will change very slightly, but WILL be red and white hoops.
The controversial white third-choice kit has gone on cut-price sale at the Rovers club shop. However, it has been confirmed that it is not being phased out for next season. Rovers have confirmed that Rovers will wear the all-white kit in a League match for the first time tomorrow, for the Torquay United game.

Leo Fortune-West is progressing well as he continues to recover from surgery on his knee in October. However, he will not be back in action in the originally anticipated three months. Leo saw a specialist on Monday, and Rovers are hoping that he will be able to start some light training in the next few days. Dave Penney said: "We're hoping that we can have him back playing in six weeks to help us out at the end of the season."

Jamie Price continues to make slow progress from his foot injury after having an MRI scan last Friday. He had an injection after the scan, and will not be doing any running until at least tomorrow, as time has to be allowed to let the injection take effect.

After Dave Penney seemed to be in with a good chance of the "Manager of the Month", news emerged yesterday that Hartlepool manager Neale Cooper had been given the award for League One, with three wins and a draw during January. Rovers had won three and drawn three in the month. Considering the jinx that appears to strike the manager winning the award in the following month, perhaps we should be grateful for the decision!
In a separate award, www.squarefootball.net has awarded Dave Penney with their "Manager of the Month" for January.

Rovers goalkeeper Stuart Jones is to have an exploratory operation on his injured ankle today so that they can find out what the problem is. Physio Barrie Windle is not happy with his progress since Jones had a scan last Friday, and whilst the swelling on the ankle has gone down, Stuart is still suffering pain. Windle said "I don't believe in just perservering with an injury in the hop that it will heal itself. He is going to be out for two to three weeks anyway. We need to know the full extent of the injury, so he will have keyhole surgery to look inside the joint, and if they find something they will deal with it there and then."

The Free Press has reported that John Ryan is looking to make some additions to the board in a bid to attract some fresh investment into the Rovers. Ryan argues that Rovers "can't be just a one man band in financial terms" if they are aiming for the Championship League, and is talking to three people at the moment. In an unconnected move, two directors recently left the Rovers board, but it is reported that other boardroom changes are likely to follow.

The website Cheshire OnLine have reported that Crewe's reserves "slumped" to a 2-0 defeat against Doncaster Rovers in a friendly fixture on Monday. Unfortunately no details of the Rovers side or the goalscorers were given.

Former Rovers youth team player Scott Willis has signed for Runcorn FC Halton from Halifax Town this week. The 23-year old midfielder has signed a contract until the end of the season, and is hoping that his stay at Runcorn will be a springboard back into the Football League. Willis began as a trainee at Wigan, before movign to Mansfield, Doncaster, Carlisle, Bamber Bridge, Droylsden, Lincoln, Stockport (loan), and Hereford (loan).

Despite Rovers being just three points outside the play-off places, Dave Penney has continued to insist that his main aim is to avoid relegation. With Rovers on 44 points, just two wins from the remaining sixteen games would see that target attained.
Penney believes that, if they can keep recent good form going, Rovers have a very good chance of challenging for promotion again this year. He said: "We've adapted to this division very well since coming up and the longer we can keep this run of good form going the better. We're only four or five points off being in those play-offs so we're doing alright at the minute. Staying in this league is obviously still our main aim, to get to 50 points, but if we can be around the play-offs come Easter then we'll go from there. We've got 16 games to go this season and they're all important games so who knows where this season will take us."

Former Doncaster Rovers striker Dene Shields has moved to Scottish Division Three side Gretna from Cowdenbeath, with a transfer fee of around £30,000 being involved. Shields has scored 8 goals so far this season. Shields made four appearances for Rovers during the 2002/03 season whilst on loan from Sunderland.

After the great victory over Preston North End on Saturday, the Rovers' youth side have been drawn away again in the quarter-finals of the Football League Youth Alliance Cup. They will travel to play Burnley, with the match scheduled to be played on Saturday, 12th March.

The final Youth Alliance league match of the season saw Rovers pick up a very creditable 2-2 draw at champions Darlington. Rovers needed a win to assure themselves of a top three finish - which would see them go into the top level of the upcoming Merit League - but now need to rely on other results going in their favour. The Rovers goals were scored by Jason Flint and Adam Brown.

Rovers manager was happy to come away from the Racecourse with a point on Saturday after Rovres struggled to break down the Wrexham defence. Penney said: "To be honest the pitch was awful, but that's what happens with clubs with no money - they can't afford to do the pitch. They hit it long and tried to pick up the pieces, but we battled away. I would have settled for a point before the game, but we worked them well in the first half, just not as well in the second."

The youth team will play their final league game of the season this lunchtime, when they travel to play Darlington at Durham (kick-off noon). The game was postponed from a couple of Saturdays ago.
Darlington are clear at the top of the North East Conference table, and whilst Rovers are currently fourth, they will finish in second place should they win today. With the Rovers' youth side only having re-formed this season, that would be a tremendous achievement.

Rovers' young defender Jon Maloney has extended his loan deal at Nationwide Conference side York City for a further month. He has played five games for York, helping them to consecutive wins which have eased their relegation fears. Minstermen boss Viv Busby said: "He's been steady, reads the game well, puts his foot in and his performances have been consistent."