The Rovers Return will be opening on Saturday morning from 11am for the convenience of fans awaiting their buses for the Rotherham match. All fans of all ages are welcome, whether they require a drink or just to take advantage of the shelter. Buses depart at 1.00 pm.
Why not come down and enjoy the build up to our eagerly awaited visit to our local rivals in the company of other Rovers' fans?
Please note that no alcohol is allowed on any coaches travelling to the match.
Whilst it has been well below freezing point in South Yorkshire for the past couple of days, a thaw is expected to start later today, so the match is currently expected to go ahead.

In an interview given to the New Zealand press before Christmas, Rovers defender Dave Mulligan has said that he would "jump at the chance" to return to New Zealand to help the struggling New Zealand Knights in the A-League.
He said: "If the deal was right, I'd love to play in the A-league. I would love to be playing back in Auckland in front of my friends and family," said the 23-year-old who was born in Liverpool, but moved to Auckland as a five-year-old.
The Rovers defender therefore hopes New Zealand Soccer boss Graham Seatter will succeed in his mission to secure a series of international matches for the All Whites against World Cup finalists in May and June. "That would be fantastic," he said.
Mulligan acknowledged the international stage would be ideal to play himself into the spotlight. "But not just for me. It would be great for all the guys overseas and all New Zealand footballers if we can show the world that there is talent in New Zealand."

As with virtually every other home game this season, this evening's home game against Brentford is a "Category A" game, meaning that admission prices for the match will be:
Seating: Adults £18.00, Concessions £12.00
Standing: Adults £15.00, Concessions £8.00
Please note that, whilst tickets have been on sale in advance, the game is NOT all-ticket and you may pay on the gate as usual.

The Supporters Club are running coaches to next Friday's away FA Cup match at Port Vale (6th January). They will leave Retford at 3.05pm, Bawtry 3.20pm, Hare & Tortoise 3.25pm, Punches 3.30pm, Infirmary 3.45pm, Belle Vue 4.00pm, Harworth 3.15pm, Rossington Styrrup 3.20pm
The North Doncaster bus will leave Skellow Grange at 3.30pm, Bentley Pavilion 3.40pm, York Road, Esso garage 3.45pm, Don Valley (Jossey Lane) 3.50pm, Woodlands (opp. Cooplands) 4.00pm
The fares for all coaches will be: Members £10.00, OAP’s £9.00, U16’s £8.00
Non-members £12.00, U16’s £10.00
To book, contact: Len South on 01302 817347, Paul Mayfield on 01427 880154 (Mobile 077404 53066) or Warren Hanson (North Doncaster) 01302 337303 or 07787 926809.

There are still plenty of tickets for sale for Saturday's away game at Rotherham United. According to the Rovers' official web site, the ticket office at Belle Vue will re-open at 12 noon tomorrow - Wednesday, 28th December. The Rotherham match is all-ticket, with prices being: Adults £15.00, Concessions £9.00.
Rovers report that tickets for this game cannot be booked on-line, so you will therefore have to go down to the ticket office if you want to attend the match.

Goalkeeper Dino Seremet has returned to Luton Town following the completion of his one-month loan at Belle Vue. His return has been made possible by the return to fitness of keeper Tonny Nielsen, who will take his place on the bench for this afternoon's game at Nottingham Forest.
Striker Jonathan Forte has returned to Sheffield United following the completion of his loan period at Rovers. Rovers have had Forte for the maximum allowable length of time - the only possible options now are to take him on a loan for the rest of the season or to sign him on a full transfer.
Finally, Adriano Rigoglios has returned to Rovers after a one-month loan at Southport was cut short owing to a knee injury.

With a collection that totalled only 36p short of their all-time record (set on 8th May 2004, the Division Three Championship game against Carlisle), the Viking Supporters' Co-operative have reported that they collected a magnificent total of £806.50 on Wednesday evening at the Arsenal match. Thanks go to everyone who contributed - the total has now increased to £42,740.69. All money will go towards the cost of running the Rovers youth team.

Rovers manager, Dave Penney, has warned off potential bidders for any of his players, following Rovers' valiant performance in their penalty shoot-out defeat against Premiership Arenal.
Penney is adamant that he will be keeping his squad together, and far from selling his stars, Rovers may well be looking to strengthen the squad in the January transfer window.
He said: "We're not in debt, John Ryan has backed us to the hilt and hopefully we will be adding players to the squad. We need to do that if we want to this team into the Championship. We have made some decent money off this cup run and it will have to be a big offer for us to part with any of our players."
Dave did warn that Rovers may well sacrifice their free-flowing attacking football in their quest to achieve promotion to the Championship, saying: "I have got to make sure they do this week in, week out and if we do we will beat most teams and be somewhere near the top. But sometimes you have to do the other side of things, especially in our division. As well as we played out there, we have got to be able to do the ugly side as well."

Rovers were just sixty seconds from spectacularly dumping Premiership side Arsenal out of the Carling Cup this evening, but faced a penalty shoot-out after an injury-time of extra-time equaliser by the Gunners. Michael McIndoe had given Rovers a sensational fourth minute lead when firing home from a narrow angle, a lead which Rovers held into the half time break. Arsenal equalised when Quincy Owusu-Abeyie's shot took a huge involuntary deflection off Sean Thornton which totally wrong-footed Budtz.
Rovers then threatened another cup upset when they had the nerve to regain the lead - Senderos delayed on clearing the ball only a yard from his goal line, and Paul Green powered in to force the ball over the line The heartbreaking equaliser by Arsenal set up the penalty shoot-out, and whilst McIndoe scored Rovers' first penalty, Neil Roberts' spot kick hit the post, Paul Heffernan's rather weak penalty was comfortably saved, and Paul Green's effort was spectacularly saved by Almunia - one of several great saves the Arsenal keeper pulled off in the evening.
The dream may have died, but the Rovers players will earn nationwide plaudits for their performance - they're still in the FA Cup, so maybe the cup fairytale season may yet continue!
The "Man of the Match" voting has now closed. Thank you to the many who voted. We will let you know the results on Saturday morning.

Rovers manager Dave Penney praised his players following last night's narrow defeat to Premiership side Arsenal, in which they came within two minutes of adding a third Premiership scalp to their trophy cabinet for the season.
Penney said: "It's a cruel way to go - we know the ecstasy of winning on penalties against Manchester City and now there's the dejection of losing tonight. But the players were magnificent - they were up against top-quality players and our work ethic was excellent - and so was the quality of football. It was just good to show we can play football - not just kick and rush."
He continued: "Yes we should have seen it out but there were some tired legs out there. We had to try to pick the players up before the penalties because they thought they had won it - but Isaid to them 'you can still win it. Almunia made some good saves so you can't blame the penalty takers."
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger hinted that he may well bring back a number of his established stars for their semi-final clash against Wigan in January.

Ex-Rovers left winger Ian Clark has been told that he can leave Scarborough in the January transfer window. New Seadogs boss Neil Redfearn commented: "I need a bit more from my attacking players, and maybe it's time for a change."
Clark, now 31, joined the club from Darlington in the summer, and has been ever-present in their Conference campaign to date.

David Jones, a former Rovers youth team player who made two senior appearances for the club during the 1998/99 season - one in the Conference League Cup and one substitute appearance in a Conference match, has been transferred from Brodsworth Welfare to Rossington Main, who play in the Northern Counties East League.

Hot on the heels of being put out on Radio 5 yesterday, the lads singing "Hammer Villa" on the bus to Milton Keynes last week will close the item on the Rovers on Calendar tonight!

Rovers may make three changes to the squad for this evening's Carling Cup quarter-final, with Paul Green and Dave Mulligan fit again after recovering from injuries, and James Coppinger after recovering from illness. Apart from that, we expect Dave Penney to name the same squad as has appeared in the last couple of League One matches.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has already named his squad for this evening's match, which shows three changes to the side that beat Reading in the last round. Included are Alexander Hleb, Gilberto and Alex Song at the expense of Jose Antonio Reyes, Mathieu Flamini and Matthew Connolly.

Rovers have issued a statement appealing for Rovers fans to stay off the pitch after this evening's Carling Cup tie against Arsenal. The referee reported the crowd invasion which occurred after the Aston Villa game to the FA, so the club are keen to avoid potential severe consequences which may happen if this were to be repeated. Please also be aware that it is a criminal offence to enter the field of play at any time, so please exercise restraint at such times of celebration, and hopefully it will encourage other fans to do the same. Fans who do go onto the pitch may be identified by CCTV and run the risk of being banned from the ground.
The invasion of the pitch also prevents the players from celebrating the moment, and also to receive the fans' applause.
Please help make Wednesday night an enjoyable experience - don't spoil it for everyone else by running onto the pitch at the end of the game.

Rovers face Arsenal at Belle Vue this evening in the Carling Cup quarter final, with the other match being played today being the Middlesbrough v Blackburn Rovers clash.
Yesterday, the other two quarter finals were played, with Manchester United defeating Birmingham City 3-1, and Wigan defeating Bolton 2-0. Both of last night's results saw home wins - will that pattern happen again today?

In an interview previewing this evening's cup game against Arsenal, Dave Penney feels that Rovers' cup run will benefit the club in ways other than financial, with another capacity crowd due at Belle Vue this evening. The cup run, particularly the impressive performance against Aston Villa, may help Rovers be seen as a possible loan destination for younger players from Premiership clubs.
Penney said: "It's nice for us, not just playing Arsenal, but to get some contacts. They see the way we like to play football and the way we like to get it down and pass it - sometimes managers don't want to send their players to clubs where they just kick it and chase after it. We've done ourselves a lot of favours on this cup run by being on television and playing the way we have done."
Of this evening's game, the Rovers boss said: "We'll try to play to our strengths. Belle Vue is a nice surface and people have been asking if we'll mess it all up, not cut it and not roll it. That's not our way. We want to get it down and pass it. We'll try to be positive and play like we have in the previous rounds. Whichever team they send, they will be good footballers. They beat Reading 3-0 and they'd only lost once in the season. But it's slightly different being here at Doncaster, with unfamiliar surrounding which could be an eye opener for them."

The Rovers' Supporters Club are running coaches to the away game at Rotherham United on New Year's Eve. Coaches will leave as follows:
Retford : 12.15pm, Bawtry : 12.30pm, Hare & Tortoise : 12.35pm, Punches : 12.40pm, Infirmary : 12.45pm, Belle Vue : 1.00pm
Harworth : 12.20pm, Rossington Styrrup : 12.25pm
Skellow Grange : 11.30am, Bentley Pavilion : 11.40am, The Drum, Bentley : 11.45am, York Road, Esso : 11.50am, Don Valley (Jossey Lane) : 11.55am, Woodlands (opp Cooplands) : 12.00pm
The fares will be:
Members £6.00, OAP’s £5.00, U16’s £4.00
Non-members £7.00, U16’s £5.00
For enquiries, or to book a place on the coach, please contact: Len South (01302 817347), Paul Mayfield (01427 880154 or 077404 53066) or Warren Hanson (North Doncaster) (01302 337303 or 07787 926809).

Rovers manager Dave Penney has warned his counterpart at Arsenal that Rovers intend to give him a shock on Wednesday evening. Penney stressed that Rovers will play to their strengths against the Gunners, which succeeded in such superb style against Aston Villa in the last round. "We'll try to play to our strengths," he said. "Belle Vue (Doncaster's ground) is a nice surface and people have been asking if we'll mess it all up, not cut it and not roll it.That's not our way. We want to get it down and pass it. We'll try to be positive and play like we have in the previous rounds. Whichever team Arsenal send, they will be good footballers."
Despite the chance of a semi-final place, the Rovers boss reiterated that success in the league is what matters most, both to him and to the club.
"Since I've been here we've been doing well in the leagues, every manager will tell you that is the main thing. I thought if we did have a Cup run it would be the FA Cup, but to knock two Premiership teams out of this competition is a great achievement."
Two of the quarter finals take place this evening: Birmingham City v Manchester United, and Wigan Athletic v Bolton Wanderers.
The other quarter final to be played on Wednesday evening is Middlesbrough v Blackburn Rovers.

Rovers have issued a statement appealing for Rovers fans to stay off the pitch after Wednesday's Carling Cup tie against Arsenal. The referee reported the crowd invasion which occurred after the Aston Villa game to the FA, so the club are keen to avoid potential severe consequences which may happen if this were to be repeated. Please also be aware that it is a criminal offence to enter the field of play at any time, so please exercise restraint at such times of celebration, and hopefully it will encourage other fans to do the same. Fans who do go onto the pitch may be identified by CCTV and run the risk of being banned from the ground.
The invasion of the pitch also prevents the players from celebrating the moment, and also to receive the fans' applause.
Please help make Wednesday night an enjoyable experience - don't spoil it for everyone else by running onto the pitch at the end of the game.

Doncaster Rovers' Supporters Club are running coaches to the away game at Nottingham Forest on Boxing Day.
Coaches will leave Retford at 11.30am, Bawtry 11.45am, Hare & Tortoise 11.50am, Punches 11.55am, Infirmary 12.00am, Belle Vue 12.15am, Harworth 11.40am, Rossington Styrrup 11.45am
Carcroft (Stick & Tape) 11.30am, Skellow Grange 11.35am, Bentley Pavilion 11.40am, The Drum, Bentley 11.45am, York Road, Esso garage 11.50am, Jossey Lane 11.55am, Woodlands (opp. Cooplands) 12.00pm.
The fare will be:
Members: Adults: £7.00, OAP’s: £6.00, U16’s £5.00
Non-members: £9.00, U16’s: £7.00
Contact: Len South on 01302 817347, Paul Mayfield on 01427 880154 (Mobile 077404 53066) or Warren Hanson (North Doncaster) 01302 337303 or 07787 926809.

From the very first vote to the last, there was only one winner in the latest "Man of the Match" voting, which was for Saturday's home game against Swansea City. Steve Roberts headed the pack, receiving over half of all votes cast. With nine players receiving nominations, the leading votes were cast as follows:
1 Steve Roberts (53.33%)
2 Paul Heffernan (18.89%)
3 Lewis Guy (10.0%)
Thank you to everyone who took the trouble to vote. All votes will go towards the "Player of the Season", and we will update you with the latest totals over the Christmas period. The next voting will open on Wednesday evening, following the small matter of a Carling Cup match against Arsenal.

Dave Penney backed the way his side played on Saturday, insisting that his side could not play stylish football every week. He commented that: "We earned a lot of praise for the football we played when we beat Aston Villa in the cup but sometimes you have to adopt a different approach and grind out results. It wasn't pretty at times but I think it can be an indication of a good side if you know more than one way to win."
He confirmed that it has been difficult to keep his side concentrating on the league matches with the attractive Arsenal cup tie coming up - but added: "Now we've got this one out of the way with a victory we can really look forward to the cup tie."

The Viking Supporters' Co-operative's "Coin Trail" went up by another £500 on Saturday, with £351.86 raised in the Viking Bar, and a further £148.64 in the ground. This means that the running total has now reached an amazing £41,934.19.

Only a week after going on the transfer list, frustrated at a lack of first team opportunities, former Rovers striker Martin Paul has been transferred from Bath City to Southern Premier League rivals Mangotsfield United. Talks have been ongoing for the last few days, and the 30-year old striker's move was confirmed just before Saturday's kick-off.

Rovers have become the first team to record a "double" over League One leaders Swansea City, as they recorded a 2-1 win at Belle Vue, with a Michael McIndoe penalty after quarter of an hour being followed by a second half goal by Paul Heffernan. Swansea had been hampered three minutes before the penalty as Austin was shown a red card for a foul on Lewis Guy as the Rovers striker surged towards the penalty area. As Austin was the last defender, the rules at the moment leave the referees little option but to send the player off.
The second goal came after Heffernan had forced his way into the penalty area from the right, unleashing a low shot which the keeper could only parry, and Heffernan pounced to prod the ball home from close range.
Rovers were far from their best - Swansea were impressive at times, particularly in the first ten minutes of the game, and would probably have got more out of the game if they had had eleven players for the remainder of the game.
The "Man of the Match" voting is now closed. Thank you to everyone who took part, the result will be announed on Tuesday morning.

Two recent Rovers heroes will be making a special return to Belle Vue next Wednesday as part of the build-up to the Carling Cup quarter final against Arsenal. Conference Golden Boot winner Paul Barnes, along with Francis Tierney, who scored the "promotion goal" at the Conference play-off final at Stoke, will be presented to the Rovers crowd.

With no former Rovers players scoring goals in the Football League yesterday, we begin this week's review in Scotland, where Colin Cramb had a hand both goals as Stenhousemuir defeated second-placed Cowdenbeath 2-0 yesterday. Cramb pounced to score at close range in the ninth minute, then turned provider shortly before the break, nodding down a free kick into the path of John Paul McBride to tap the ball home. Cowdenbeath are now five points clear at the top of the Scottish Third Division, and Cramb is three ahead at the top of the goalscorers in the Third Division with 12 goals to date.
Back in England, in non-league football, it was FA Trophy First Round day. Neil Grayson scored twice as Stafford Rangers won at home against Lancaster City, Jamie Paterson equalised seven minutes from time for Kettering at home to Farsley Celtic - Kettering won with a last minute penalty. Finally, Steve Burton scored Crawley Town's second goal as they won 2-0 at Stevenage Borough to continue the resurgence of the club under new manager John Hollins.

Former Rovers goalkeeper Neville Southall, recently sacked as manager at Hastings after his working relationship with the chairman broke down, has applied to become manager at Ryman Division One club Burgess Hill Town. Southall commented: "Burgess Hill looks a good, well-run club. I have spoken to a few people and feel myself and Vinnie (Moorton, his assistant at Hastings) could bring something to the club. It has a good catchment area and both myself and Vinnie know the area. I think it would be worth the club having a chat with us even if we can only be of help in the short term while we look elsewhere."
Hillians caretaker-manager and club director Gary Croydon said: "We take it as a huge compliment that a person of Neville Southall's experience wants to join a club such as Burgess Hill. Obviously I'm aware of what a fantastic goalkeeper he was. Nevertheless, possibly what Neville does not know is we have a very limited budget. I will talk with him over the weekend."

This afternoon sees the League One leaders Swansea City arrive at Belle Vue, holding a three point lead from second placed Huddersfield Town. Rovers, of course, are the only team to have won a League match at the new Swansea ground since it opened in the summer, and will be looking for the double over the Swans.
Doncaster Rovers are set to name an unchanged side from that which defeated MK Dons last week, although Dave Mulligan may return after recovering from a foot injury sustained against Gillingham. Apart from that, Dave Penney has no new injury concerns, with several long-term absentees still a way off making a playing return.
This afternoon's game looks like being close to a sell-out due the conditions for buying Arsenal tickets meaning that a Swansea ticket had to be bought at the same time. Earlier in the week there were only a small number of tickets available for the Rovers part of the ground.

Swansea will be without former Rovers striker Adebayo Akinfenwa for this afternoon's game at Belle Vue, although they will name leading goal-scorer Lee Trundle in their side for the game - the first time he has lined up against Rovers after missing previous encounters either through injury or suspension.
Also missing today will be Kristian O'Leary with a knee injury, with Alan Tate and Sam Ricketts expected to recover from knee and ankle injuries respectively. City have a number of players just one yellow card away from a suspension, with two others already set to miss the Boxing Day game against Brentford.

Rovers went up to Sunderland during the week to play a practice match at Sunderland's training ground. The match was played so that a number of players who have not been playing regular first team football could get some much needed match practice, so that they will be ready should they be needed over the busy Christmas period.

As part of the pre-match entertainment this afternoon, opera singer Martin Toal will be performing on the pitch. Rovers are also planning to give a public premiere to "Hammer Villa", a rewrite by Rovers fans of the Tony Christie hit "Is this the way to Amarillo". Toal will be asked to lead the Rovers fans in the song - Rovers have printed the lyrics in this afternoon's programme so you can join in if you want to!
No doubt it may get another airing in next Wednesday's match against Arsenal!

Tickets for the away game at Rotherham United are now on sale to season ticket holders and Away Rover members. The ticket office will be open today from 10am to 2pm, and between 10am and 4pm on Monday. They will then go on general sale, with a total of 3,000 tickets received by Rovers.
Ticket prices for the game are: Adults £15.00, Concessions £9.00
Please note that the match is a 3pm kick-off on New Year's Eve, and is all-ticket.

Rovers defender Dave Mulligan thinks that the feelgood factor running through Doncaster at the moment will be a big help in Rovers' bid to achieve promotion to the Championship this season. Despite this being the best season as far as progress in cup competitions in many years, Mulligan still says Rovers' priority is promotion. He said: "There is a real feelgood factor around the club and the town at the moment. Doncaster is a club going places and I'm happy to be a part of it. We are moving to a new stadium next season and with the backing we get from the chairman, there is no reason why we can't win promotion and be playing in the Championship next season."
Rovers have reached the League Cup quarter final for the first time in thirty years, and the third round of the FA Cup for the first time since 1984/85, when they went out to Everton in the fourth round.

Rovers midfielder Adriano Rigoglioso looks set to return from his loan spell at Southport early after picking up a knee injury after playing just one game for the Conference club. The 26-year old has not made any appearances for Rovers this season, but has returned to Doncaster for treatment to his knee.

Former Rovers midfielder Jamie Paterson has returned to Nationwide North club Kettering Town. He left the club after the arrival of Paul Gascoigne as manager, due to the club wanting to go full time, which would not have enabled Jamie to keep his coaching job at Halifax Town. However, the eventful short reign of Gascoigne ended shortly afterwards, with Kevin Wilson reinstated as manager. The return of Wilson has led to the return of Paterson as player/coach.

Former Lincoln City striker Simon Yeo has been released by the New Zealand Knights, and is seeking a return to England. The striker is hoping that he can return to former club Lincoln City, but the Lincolnshire Echo has reported that Tranmere Rovers and Doncaster Rovers have expressed an interest in talking to the player. However, his agent said: "Simon is desperate to get back to Lincoln, he feels like a Lincoln person, given the relationship he enjoyed with the fans. They're in his heart and Simon is ready to reject other clubs. The ball is firmly in Lincoln's court. I don't think they would have to break the bank to get him either. When you are regarded by the fans like he is, then money doesn't even come into the equation."