Rovers winger Jermaine McSporran had an MRI scan on his injured knee on Tuesday, and will enter hospital next Monday for an operation to investigate the injury and repair the damage. He suffered the injury during the second half of Rovers' home game against Bradford City, and will miss the closing matches of this season.

Former Rovers midfielder Neil Redfearn, currently player/coach at Nationwide Conference club Scarborough, has been offered a new contract for next season, along with manager Nicky Henry. Redfearn, who will be 40 during the summer, has scored 14 goals in 34 games so far this season.

As most of you will already know, Tony Christie is due to make an appearance tomorrow evening before the Rovers' home game against Colchester United. He is due to appear on the pitch at about 7.15pm, when his number one smash hit (Is this the way to) Amarillo will be played. We also understand that a lookalike of Peter Kay, who appears in the video for the song, will appear with him.
Get there early, and SingalongaTony! The words of the song will be printed in tomorrow's match day programme, so you have no excuse!

After Monday's performance, which was probably Rovers' best display of the season, Rovers manager Dave Penney insisted that his side could still improve.
He said of the game: "It's a great result for us. I thought we were an excellent unit. We started brightly and looked sharper and fitter. But we need to be more professional. Some aspects of our play bothered me."
"Whether we can still make the play-offs remains to be see, but I doubt it."
Of the sending off of Eugene Dadi just after the half-hour mark, he commented: "It was a bruising game and the sending off seemed justified. Their player definitely swung his arm. The referee saw it and decided it was to be a red card.

John Doolan has confirmed that Doncaster Rovers have offered him a new contract. The deal on offer is for one year, but John has said that he wants to stay at the club, and is very hopeful that the matter can be finalised in the near future. The news was given during an interview on Radio Sheffield on Monday.

The collection at Tranmere on Easter Monday raised £139.87, taking the total to £30,553.26.

This afternoon's home reserve team game against Boston United has been postponed. The match will now be played on Wednesday, 4th May, with a 2pm kick-off.

The Rovers' youth team drew 1-1 at home to Macclesfield Town on Saturday. Unfortunately we have no further details at the moment.

Don't believe them when they tell you that Rovers cannot reach the play-offs! Although some teams may have games in hand, Rovers are now placed handily in ninth place, just three points behind sixth place after this great win at Prenton Park. Rovers got off to a great start, with McIndoe and Blundell firing Rovers into a 2-0 lead after just five minutes. Tranmere were sent off when Eugene Dadi was shown a red card for striking John Doolan after 33 minutes play, but still managed to claw back to 2-2 by half time. Rovers eventually proved to be too strong, with second half goals from Ricky Ravenhill and Neil Roberts giving Tranmere's play-off hopes a slight jolt, although they still hold on to third place in the League One table.
The "Man of the match" voting has now closed. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to vote. We will publish the result of the poll on Thursday morning. All other updates from this game should be available by Friday.

Ross Flitney, the young goalkeeper who signed for Rovers on loan this season from Fulham, has signed for Ryman League Premier Division leaders Yeading in a loan deal until the end of the season.

A review of ex-Rovers players scoring goals yesterday begins in League One, where Adebayo Akinfenwa socred the opening goal of Torquay's home game with leaders Luton Town - but the league leaders went on to win 4-1 to open up a three point lead a the top.
In League Two, Richie Barker scored twice for Mansfield as they won 3-1 at struggling Kidderminster Harriers. The Nationwide Conference saw Jon Maloney score for York City in their 2-2 draw at Accrington Stanley, and Neil Redfearn equalised for Scarborough in their 1-1 home draw against Burton Albion.
Finally, Neil Grayson scored Stafford Rangers' final goal in their 3-3 draw at Runcorn.

The web site of the award-winning Popular STAND fanzine has launched a new on-line shop, offering T-shirts, bags, badges, hats etc. All profits will go to the Rovers' youth team running costs - if anyone has any suggestions for any more designs/slogans etc that can be printed on merchandise, please let them know! The web site address is www.inboxnews.co.uk.

Following news on the Sky Sports web site that Chester City were considering a bid for Rovers striker Gregg Blundell in the summer, they are now reporting that Rovers' price tag prevented Chester bidding before the transfer deadline.
Chester boss, Ian Rush, commented: "Blundell at Doncaster was one we had a look at but they wanted too much for him." City chairman Stephen Vaughan hinted that they may try again in the summer.
After yesterday's performance, how much will Blundell's price have gone up by? :-)

The absence of Jermaine McSporran means that Rovers will be forced to make at least one change for this afternoon's vital away game at Tranmere Rovers. With still no word about the seriousness of McSporran's knee injury, the scene looks set for the recall of Michael McIndoe, who was left out of the squad on Thursday after as he was not fully fit following a chest infection.
Iain Turner, back from duty with Scotland's Under-21's squad at the weekend, is likely to replace Andy Warrington in the starting line-up, with Warrington obviously being hampered with his kicking on Thursday night owing to his hernia.
Defender Tim Ryan is available for today's game, but misses the next two after picking up his tenth booking of the season against Bradford City.
Much of the rest of the team selection will depend on whether Dave Penney again tinkers with the team formation, as he did in the last away game at Blackpool. If he does, Gregg Blundell may drop back into a wide midfield role, leaving Neil Roberts on his own up front, with Ravenhill set to be restored to midfield.

Tranmere Rovers' boss Brian Little will be missing several players for this afternoon's vital game for his promotion-seeking side. Defender Gareth Roberts will be absent, as he is on international duty with the Wales squad for the World Cup qualifying match against Austria. David Beresford (hamstring) and Gary Jones (toe) definitely miss the game, but striker Theodore Whitmore may feature after being an unused substitute against Chesterfield after being hampered by a hamstring injury recently. Ian Goodson has a foot injury, and faces a late fitness test along with Mike Jackson (back) before Little names his side.
Also missing is Steven Jennings, who is suspended for this afternoon's game.

Please remember that Donny Dog is running in the Doncaster Half Marathon on Sunday 3 April to raise money for the VSC's "Coin Trail". To help him with his efforts, please consider sponsoring him - either contact Andy Liney to give him sponsorship details, or you can sponsor him via the VSC web site (www.vikingsc.co.uk). No matter how small the amount of your sponsorship, it all helps!

The following former Rovers players scored goals in the few matches remaining to be played on Saturday afternoon.
Adebayo Akinfenwa scored the opening goal of Torquay's game at Sheffield Wednesday, but despite his relegation-threatened club taking a 2-0 lead, two second half goals by the home side meant the game finished 2-2.
Dropping down into the Conference North, Neil Campbell opened the scoring for Barrow as they registered a valuable 2-0 home win over Altrincham, and Neil Grayson scored a late goal from the penalty spot for Stafford Rangers, but they still went down to a 3-2 home defeat at the hands of Nuneaton Borough.
Meanwhile, north of the border, Graeme Jones scored one of Clyde's four goals as they won 4-2 at Airdrie on Friday.

With the end of the season in sight, we thought that you might be interested in how the "Player of the Season" voting is shaping up. All votes that are placed in the "Man of the Match" are carried forward towards the grand total for the season, so even if the player you voted for in an individual match did not win, your vote is not necessarily wasted!
Unlike in past years, where the winner was well clear by this stage of the season, any of the top five still have a realistic chance of coming out on top - and the next three aren't totally out of the race!
The top ten, including the voting for the Bradford City game, is:
1 Paul Green (12.51%)
2 James Coppinger (11.96%)
3 John Doolan (11.45%)
4 Neil Roberts (10.17%)
5 Michael McIndoe (10.03%)
6 Andy Warrington (8.16%)
7 Tim Ryan (7.82%)
8 Gregg Blundell (7.30%)
9 Dave Mulligan (3.25%)
10 Simon Johnson (3.08%)

John Ryan was so impressed that the VSC's Coin Trail had passed £30,000 that he invited the collectors on to the pitch at half time to thank them personally, and tell them that they will each receive a bottle of champagne as a personal gesture from him. The lucky three were Andy Liney, Mel Rothwell and Andy "Rigo" Webb.
A further £231.63 was collected in the ground on Thursday, along with a further £177.56 in the Viking Supporters' Bar, meaning that the new total for the Coin Trail is £30,409.19.

Sky Sports' web site have reported that Chester City are set to make a swoop for Rovers striker Gregg Blundell in the summer. Chester chairman, Stephen Vaughan, has said ""We understand he has indicated he wishes to return to the North West. While there isn't time to do anything before Thursday, I intend to talk to John Ryan and see if we can open negotiations."
Vaughan also insisted that ex-Rovers midfielder Paul Carden, the club captain at Chester, will not be leaving the club despite approaches from other clubs."We are building a squad here and intend to sit down with Paul and thrash out a new contract next week," he added.
The "Transfer Deadline" for all Conference clubs is Thursday, 31st March 2005.

Dave Penney's reaction following Thursday's 1-1 home draw against Bradford City was that both side had now too much ground to make up on the top six in the League One to realistically make the play-off positions. He said: "One of us needed to win and it didn't happen - I certainly think that's the end of it for us now. It could have gone either way, but I think a draw was a fair result overall."
However, it will probably not have gone unnoticed by Rovers fans that no team above Rovers in the table in Friday and Saturday's games won, so Rovers are now just four points behind sixth place Bournemouth, although the Cherries have a game in hand.
Mickey Walker insisted in his post-match interview with Radio Sheffield that Rovers would not give up on the prospect of the play-offs until it was mathematically impossible.

Thank you for the many votes received over the last two days for the "Man of the Match" at Thursday's home game against Bradford City. A total of ten different players received nominations, but there were only two serious candidates to win your vote - Neil Roberts and John Doolan. The leading votes were cast as follows:
1 John Doolan (45.45%)
2 Neil Roberts (28.57%)
3 Tim Ryan (9.09%)
The next vote will open on Monday evening, following the away game at Tranmere Rovers.

With this weekend's fixtures being split between Thursday, Friday and Saturday owing to the international matches being played today, the following is a review of the goals scored by ex-Rovers players up to the Friday evening matches.
In League Two, Ben Futcher scored Lincoln's second goal as they won 4-1 at Rushden & Diamonds - keeping Lincoln in the play-off zone, and sees Rushden just four points from the relegation places.
In the Nationwide Conference ex-Rovers skipper Barry Miller scored for the second match in a row as he equalised for Burton Albion with just six minutes to go as they drew 2-2 at home to Accrington Stanley.
Also in the Conference, Jon McCarthy scored the winner for Gravesend & Northfleet, who won 2-1 at Northwich. The pity is that Jon currently plays for Northwich Victoria!

Rovers midfielder Adriano Rigoglioso did his prospects of staying at Belle Vue no good at all on Thursday, with an interview published in the Yorkshire Post suggesting that he is resigned to leaving the club in the summer. Rigoglioso expressed his frustration at his lack of first team opportunities, and feels that he is not suited to Dave Penney's favoured 4-4-2 team formation.
He said: "I have spoken to the manager about the situation and I know there are a couple of teams who have mentioned my name. You can only play if selected and you cannot score goals when you are watching from the stands. Sometimes it just doesn't work out at clubs and you have got to hold your hands up and move on. Maybe Doncaster Rovers is not the right club for me."

Former Rovers striker Rod Thornley looks to have played his last match of this season after being injured at Droylsden on Monday evening. An X-ray failed to confirm it, but it is feared that he has fractured his tibia, and another scan had been arranged for yesterday afternoon.
Rod is currently with the England international squad as a masseur for their weekend's games, and so is unavailable for Altrincham's game at Barrow in any case.

A draw was a fair result in an entertaining game at Belle Vue this evening - neither side deserving to lose, but neither side doing their lingering play-off hopes any good. Rovers winger Jermaine McSporran had contrasting fortunes, after scoring Rovers equaliser in the 22nd minute (although the deflected shot was put down as an own goal by Mark Bower), but more seriously, was stretchered off in the 63rd minute after falling awkwardly as he crossed the ball in from the right wing. Early reports suggest that he has dislocated his knee or fractured his knee-cap, but more will not be known until he has had a scan at the hospital.
The "Man of the Match" voting has now closed. Thank you to everyone who voted. We will calculate the result and post them on this site on Sunday morning.

Former Doncaster Rovers striker Brian Deane, 37, moved from Leeds United to Sunderland, currently in pole position for promotion back to the Premiership, in a transfer deadline day move yesterday. The move sees him at his eighth club during a 19-year career, which began at Belle Vue back in 1986.

The Supporters Club are running coaches to the away game at Tranmere Rovers on Easter Monday, 28th March.
Coaches depart from Retford 9.45am, Bawtry 10.00, Hare & Tortoise 10.05, Punches 10.10, Doncaster Royal Infirmary 10.15, Belle Vue 10.15 and Waterdale 10.30am.
The North Doncaster branch coach departs from Carcroft Club 10.40am, Bentley Pavilion 10.45, Don Valley (Jossey Lane) 10.50 and Woodlands (opp. Cooplands) 11.00am.
The fares for all coaches will be: Members: £10.00, OAP's: £9.00, U16's: £8.00
Non-members: £12.00, U16's: £9.00
To book, or for further information, contact: Len South on 01302 817347, Paul Mayfield on 01427 880154 or Warren Hanson (North Doncaster) 01302 337303 or 07787 926809.

Doncaster Rovers increased their bid for Warren Feeney to £175,000 this morning, with their bid being accepted by Stockport County. However, the bid appears to have hit the buffers due to the financial demands made by Feeney's agent, which - quite rightly - Rovers refused to agree to.
It now appears that Feeney is bound for Luton Town who, whilst not matching the transfer fee, do appear to have agreed personal terms - and can virtually promise Championship League football next season.
John Ryan confirmed this morning that, whilst they were disappointed by this news, every effort would be made to sign a top class striker for next season.

Andy Warrington will be recalled to the starting eleven for this evening's home game against Bradford City, as on-loan Everton keeper Iain Turner is on international duty with Scotland's under-21 squad. Youth team keeper Lee Cockerham will be on the bench. Apart from that, Rovers have no new injury concerns, but are likely to make changes to the side as they revert to their normal 4-4-2 formation. This should mean recalls for Michael McIndoe on the left, who has recovered from a chest infection, with either Gregg Blundell or Lewis Guy likely to partner Neil Roberts in attack.
Today marks Dave Mulligan's birthday, and also ought to see Steve Foster's 100th first team start in Rovers colours.
Bradford City also have no new injury worries, and could be boosted by the return of Darren Holloway, Lee Crooks and Paul Tierney, all of who have an "outside chance" of playing. Marc Bridge-Wilkinson is likely to be making his last appearance for the club as he reaches the end of his current loan spell.

The web site of the award-winning Popular STAND fanzine has launched a new on-line shop, offering T-shirts, bags, badges, hats etc. All profits will go to the Rovers' youth team running costs - if anyone has any suggestions for any more designs/slogans etc that can be printed on merchandise, please let them know!
The web site address is www.inboxnews.co.uk - click on the badge to the left to reach it.

Today is "transfer deadline day" for the 2004/05 season - with the introduction of "transfer windows" next season, this will be the last March deadline day. All transfers must be registered with the Football League by 5pm this afternoon.
It looks set to be a quiet day from that point of view at Doncaster Rovers, with the apparent collapse of Rovers' bid for striker Warren Feeney. Rovers' bid of £150,000 appeared to meet Stockport's demands, but Feeney's hat-trick at the weekend seems to have increased their price.
Rovers have said that they will not increase their offer, but interestingly worded their statement to leave the door open for the deal should Stockport alter their stance.

Doncaster Rovers appear to have failed in their bid to make Northern Ireland international Warren Feeney a Doncaster Rovers, with Dave Penney reported to feeling that the deal would be rejected by Stockport County. Rovers had made a bid of £150,000 for the player, with the Doncaster Star reporting that the offer was for £125,000, with a further £25,000 dependent on other factors.
The wording on the official web site does suggest that the deal is not definitely off, but the inference is that the ball is in Stockport's court.
Dave Penney said that no other player movements in or out of the club were expected before tomorrow afternoon's 5pm transfer deadline.

In an interview on Radio Sheffield yesterday evening, Dave Penney has insisted that Rovers will not be held to ransom by Stockport County over Rovers' bid to sign striker Warren Feeney. Rovers have confirmed that they have made a £150,000 bid for the player, but Penney concedes that Feeney's hat-trick may have put Stockport's valuation of the player up. However, the Rovers bid will apparently not be increased, although Dave Penney is still very hopeful of the deal being completed before Thursday's transfer deadline.
Feeney has been included in Northern Ireland's squad for their World Cup qualifying matches against England and Poland, and so will not be available for Thursday's home game against Bradford City, even if he signs in time.

Doncaster Rovers Belles won the Sheffield & Hallamshire Women's County Cup Final for the third successive season at the weekend after landing a resounding 7-1 victory over Sheffield United. The Belles' goals were scored by Katie Brash, Vicky Exley (2), Michelle Walsh (3) and Frankie Waller.
The victory comes as a welcome distraction to the season-long fight against relegation. They are currently one place, and two points ahead of the drop zone, with Bristol City and Liverpool below them.

The latest totals in the Retford branch of the Supporters' Club "Away player of the season" are as follows:
1 - Paul Green (48), 2 - Michael McIndoe (42), 3 - Tim Ryan (40), 4 - John Doolan (38), 5 - Neil Roberts (34), 6 - James Coppinger (31), 7 - Andy Warrington (30), 8 - Gregg Blundell (22), 9 - Ricky Ravenhill (21), 10 - Dave Morley (20), 11 - Mark Albrighton (18), 12 - Steve Foster (15), 13 - Nick Fenton (12) , 14 - Dave Mulligan (10), 15 - Chris Beardsley, Michael Ingham (6), 17 - Adriano Rigoglioso (5), 18 - Leo Fortune-West, Jermaine McSporran, Simon Marples, Francis Tierney (3), 21 - Jamie Price (2), 22 - Stuart Jones (1)

The semi-finals and the final of the "Rovers Big Quiz" will take place in the Viking Supporters' Bar at Belle Vue this evening, with the event starting at 7.30pm. Rovers will also be showing a video of the away game at Blackpool.

Rovers' goal scorer from Saturday, Tim Ryan, emerged as the clear winner of your "Man of the Match" vote from the away game at Blackpool. Polling just over a third of all votes cast, he came in ahead of John Doolan. With a total of nine Rovers players being nominated, the leading votes were cast as follows:
1 Tim Ryan (36.59%)
2 John Doolan (19.51%)
3 Nick Fenton (9.76%)
Thank you to everyone who voted. The next poll will open following Thursday evening's home game against Bradford City.

Despite confirming that they have lodged a club-record fee for a striker, Rovers are still waiting for an answer from the player's current side. Rovers remain confident that they will land the player before Thursday's transfer deadline, with John Ryan saying: "As far as I'm aware ours is the highest. The manager doesn't want to sell but they have promised us a decision before the deadline."
Dave Penney has refused to name the player concerned, although he also remains optimistic that the deal will go through. He said "I'm optimistic and I think something will happen next week. I can understand the chairman wanting to keep the fans informed but I'm always reluctant to talk about these things because it causes so much disappointment for supporters if it doesn't come off."
Radio reports have continually linked Rovers with Stockport striker Warren Feeney.

The Viking Supporters' Co-operative collected a further £106.43 at Saturday's away game against Blackpool, which takes them through the £30,000 barrier, which is a magnificent effort by all concerned. Their total now stands at £30,004.20, which is being raised to help with the cost of running the re launched Youth Team. The VSC are hoping for a further increase a week on Sunday, when Donny Dog is running in the Doncaster half-marathon. Why not sponsor him - visit the VSC's web site www.vikingsc.co.uk to place your sponsorship pledge on-line?

Rovers' strikers Gregg Blundell and Neil Roberts are understood to be due to appear at the Streetwise Sport store in Doncaster town centre this afternoon for a shirt signing session between approximately 2.30pm and 4pm.

Despite failing to capitalise on Blackpool playing with only ten men for 75 minutes of Saturday's game, Dave Penney was happy, but thoughtful, after their 1-1 draw. Rovers went in front five minutes before the break, but despite much Rovers pressure, could not gain a second, thanks to the heroic performance of the Blackpool goalkeeper, who was voted as their "man of the match".
Penney said of the game:"There wasn't a lot wrong with our performance. I tried to change things and tried new systems. When Blackpool were down to 10 men it became a bit of a tactical game and their goalkeeper being man of the match tells you what sort of game it was."

Andy Liney will be running the Doncaster Half Marathon on Sunday, 3rd April in the Donny Dog costume to help raise funds for the Rovers' youth team via the VSC's "Coin Trail" appeal. Please sponsor him to make his efforts worthwhile - last year he finished in 2 hours 59 minutes, but will Andy be any quicker this year?
Sponsorship can be made either as a "per mile" contribution, a flat rate for completion - or, if you feel like a gamble, how about sponsoring him for every minute that he finishes under the three-hour mark?
You can make your sponsorship via the following methods: via the VSC's website (www.vikingsc.co.uk), by seeing Andy on the door of the Viking Supporters' Bar at Belle Vue before home matches, on the bus at away matches, by phone on 01777 703757 or via e-mail at andy.liney@virgin.net.
Help Andy, Donny Dog and the VSC to raise money for the Rovers!

The Rovers' youth team drew 0-0 at Hull City on Saturday. No further details are currently available.

Despite playing for all but fifteen minutes against ten men, Rovers had to settle for a 1-1 draw at Bloomfield Road this afternoon. Rovers went ahead five minutes before the break thanks to a Tim Ryan goal, but Murphy equalised for the home side in the 53rd minute. Rovers put out a much changed team, perhaps an admission that the chances of the play-offs are now out of reach, with new keeper Iain Turner making his debut after signing for the club on loan yesterday. Despite the introduction of an impressive trio of substitutes - Blundell, McIndoe and Fortune-West, Rovers could not get the desperately needed winner, which would have kept them handily placed, as other results generally went in their favour. As it is, they moved up a place to tenth, but still seven points behind sixth place, with only eight games to go.
The "Man of the match" voting has now closed. Thank you to everyone who voted - we will let you know the result on Tuesday morning.

Rovers' chairman John Ryan confirmed in an interview on Radio Sheffield yesterday afternoon that Stockport County striker Warrren Feeney will sign for Doncaster Rovers on Monday for a club record £150,000 fee. Feeney, who scored a hat-trick for Stockport yesterday, is likely to be unavailable for Thursday's home game against Bradford City as he has been called up for international duty with Northern Ireland for their games against England and Poland.

Andy Warrington looks set for a recall, despite news that he is suffering with a hernia, as new on loan keeper Iain Turner will be unavailable owing to being on international duty with Scotland's Under-21 squad. In an interview on Radio Sheffield, Dave Penney confirmed that there is no prospect of Turner signing for the club on a full transfer, but that he is merely on loan at Rovers from Everton to gain some experience.

Pride of place in the former Rovers players scoring goals yesterday must go to striker Chris Brown, who came on as a substitute to score the only goal of the game for Sunderland against Coventry, which propelled the Black Cats to the top of the Championship table.
Dropping down into League Two, Richie Barker scored the first goal of the game for Mansfield in their away game at Bristol Rovers - the match finished in a remarkable 4-4 draw, with the home side coming back from two goals down with just eight minutes to go.
The Nationwide Conference saw Dino Maamria score Stevenage Borough's goal in their 1-0 away win at promotion hopefuls Aldershot, and Barry Miller headed home Burton Albion's third goal as they cruised to a 4-1 win at relegation probabilities Leigh RMI. The Conference North had Neil Grayson scoring for Stafford Rangers in their 1-0 win at Kettering Town.
North of the border, down Scotland way, ex-Rovers striker Colin Cramb equalised for Hamilton from the penalty spot to earn his side a 1-1 home draw against Queen of the South.

Doncaster Rovers have signed Scottish under-21 goalkeeper Iain Turner on loan from Everton until the end of the season. Turner arrived at Everton from Stirling Albion in January 2003, and spent two months at Chester City on loan at the end of last season.
Turner will be available for selection for this afternoon's game against Blackpool.

Dave Penney may be forced into making changes for this afternoon's away game at Blackpool, with Michael McIndoe having missed training this week with a chest infection. Also doubtful for the League One clash are Lewis Guy and Neil Roberts, who both have knocks and may be rested.
Penney hinted heavily that Rigoglioso may be given another chance to prove his worth to the side, although Paul Green and Ricky Ravenhill are available this afternoon after recovering from injuries.
New signing, goalkeeper Iain Turner, is available for the game today, but we expect that he will be on the bench this afternoon. Leo Fortune-West has reported no ill effects from his reserve team game last week (and brief first team appearance), and will be in today's squad.

Blackpool manager Colin Hendry looks set to include new signing Ciaran Donnelly in the squad for this afternoon's match at Bloomfield Road. Donnelly is a 20-year old midfielder and has signed from Premiership club Blackburn after being on loan at the club last season.
Apart from that, Hendry appears to have a full squad to select from, with defender Danny Coid, who missed last week's game against Sheffield Wednesday, being fit.

Rovers have reported that they have received many entries for the "Miss Doncaster Rovers" competition. If anyone wants to enter the event, which is due to take place next month, they should contact the Rovers club offices on 01302 539441.

Veteran singer Tony Christie is set to appear at Belle Vue before prior to the Rovers' home game against Colchester United, on Friday, 1st April. Christie, who is due to appear at the Dome that evening, has agreed to an appearance by popular request from the Rovers fans, with his song "Is this the way to Amarillo?" selling well after being re-released in collaboration with Comic Relief, and set to be number one in the charts by the time he arrives at Belle Vue.
Christie, who was born in Conisborough, spoke to the Free Press this week of how he wishes that Rovers would play the song as the players run out onto the pitch. His song has recently achieved cult status, and has been adopted by Bolton, Wigan and Chesterfield's fans, as well as being widely used at games in Germany's Bundesliga.

Today finally sees the release of the new Coca Cola TV advertising campaign, which features footage shot at several Football League grounds, including Belle Vue, in recent months. Filming was also done at Sunderland, West Ham, Bristol City, Tranmere, Bournemouth, Rushden & Diamonds, Luton, Boston, Oldham, Grimsby and Huddersfield.

The next issue of the award-winning Popular STAND fanzine is due to go on sale on Saturday, 23rd April at the Hartlepool United game. If you would like to submit any articles, art work etc., please email it to fanzine@inboxnews.co.uk by 9th April. Help to make sure that it stays as the Football League's number one fanzine!!

Rovers' next home game, against Bradford City on Thursday, 24th March, will not be an all-ticket game, with admission being payable at the turnstiles. However, as usual, tickets for the seating in the main stand will be sold in advance, but Rovers have still not announced when tickets will go on sale.
The match is a "Category A" match, with prices being:
Seating: Adults £18.00, Concessions £12.00
Standing: Adults £15.00, Concessions £8.00

As he appears to concede that the play-offs are now out of reach, Dave Penney has praised his defence for improving during the season, but says that his side need to sharpen their edge in attack if they are to progress next season.
In an interview reported by TeamTalk, he said: "We've come up another division so it's very much about consolidation. We're mid-table. We're only five places off the play-offs, so we've done well. The defence has improved over the season and we've come to terms with this division defensively - now we just need more quality at the other end."

The Rovers ticket office will open for its normal hours of 10am to 4pm today, with no late night opening planned. Please also note that the ticket office will close for sale of Blackpool tickets at noon tomorrow (Friday), although tickets will be available at Bloomfield Road on match day.
Rovers have a total of 1,867 tickets available in uncovered terracing - but at least the weather forecast suggests a good afternoon! Ticket prices are: Adults £14.00, Concessions £10.00, Under-18's £7.00. Disabled tickets are £6 for both the disabled person and their career.

The forthcoming away game against Huddersfield Town has been designated as being all-ticket. Tickets will go on sale to season ticket holders on Tuesday, 29th March with a limit of one ticket per season ticket book, and on general sale (subject to a maximum of two adult tickets per person)
Tickets for the newly named Galpharm Stadium (formerly the McAlpine!) are priced as follows:
Adults £16.00, Students £11 (NUS card required), Senior Citizens £8.00, Under-16's £5.00.
A limited number of wheelchair places are available from the Rovers ticket office at £10.00 for the wheelchair user, and free for their carer. Anyone wanting a disabled parking space at the stadium will need to contact Huddersfield Town on 01484 484123.

Rovers have reported that the company which is producing a Rovers CD are to record the crowd at the home game against Hartlepool United on 23rd April. The track will be played to the crowd, who will then be asked to sing along whilst the recording is made.
The CD is due to be released in May 2005 in an exclusive deal with hmv.co.uk. Puzzlingly, Rovers report that the CD single will be available until it is released, and then deleted. If someone can work out their way through that contradiction, can someone please explain it to us?

TeamTalk reports that Dave Penney has laid the fact that Rovers look like falling short of the play-off places on their inability to create chances for their strikers. He said:"We need more quality going forward. We haven't created enough chances for our strikers - although saying that, I though we had a couple of chances last week which we could have done better with. We haven't been able to put a run of wins together, and that comes down to goalscoring. We haven't got anybody above 10 goals this season."

Former Rovers defender Dean Barrick successfully plotted the downfall of Nationwide Conference side Hereford United last night. After holding the Bulls to a 2-2 draw on Saturday, his Hucknall side scored the only goal of the game to send them through to the semi-finals of the FA Trophy last night, where they will meet Nationwide South club Bishop’s Stortford or Conference National side Gravesend & Northfleet.
In other action last night, Tristram Whitman opened the scoring for Tamworth in their 2-2 draw at Scarborough in the Conference National fixture.

Chris Brown, who spent most of last season on loan at Doncaster Rovers, has signed a two year extension to his Sunderland contract, which will keep him at the club until June 2007. Still only 20 years old, he has made 31 appearances so far this season, mainly from the bench.

Lincoln City's official web site has reported that Rovers striker Guy Ipoua returned to Doncaster yesterday following the completion of his month-long loan spell, during which he failed to score a goal.