As the votes came in this week, it was evident that there were only going to be two or three main contenders to win the "man of the match" for the home game against Swindon on Tuesday. Eventually, with nine Rovers players receiving nominations, the leading votes were cast as follows:
1 Jan Budtz (28.89%)
2 Jonathan Forte (27.77%)
3 Mark Albrighton (15.56%)
4 Ricky Ravenhill (8.89%)
5 Michael McIndoe (7.78%)
Thank you, as always, to everyone that took part in the voting. All votes will be carried forward to the "player of the season". The next vote will open on Saturday evening, following the home game against Bradford City.

Tomorrow's home game against Bradford City is NOT all-ticket for Rovers fans, although tickets can be bought in advance.
Admission prices for the game will be:
Seating: Adults £18.00, Concessions £12.00
Terracing: Adults £15.00, Concessions £8.00
Students must purchase their tickets through the ticket office, bringing proof of eligibility with them at the time of purchase.

Former Doncaster Rovers midfielder Alan Morgan has signed for Welsh Premier League club Connah's Quay Nomads, signing from Rhyl. Morgan left Rovers in December 2002 to join Morecambe, after which he has played for Porthmadog, NEWI Cefn Druids and Rhyl. Most of his career, however, was at Wrexham, where he made over 70 first team appearances between 1996 and 2002. He is seen by the Connah's Quay boss, Neville Powell, as an ideal replacement for another ex-Rover, Gareth Owen, who recently left to become player/manager at nearby Airbus UK.

Jonathan Forte's loan at Rovers has been extended for a further month, meaning that he will remain at Belle Vue until the end of October. As is often the case in renewal of loan deals, Sheffield United have the option to recall the player on 24 hours notice.

The collection for the Viking Supporters' Co-operative's "Coin Trail" appeal at the Swindon game raised £192.43 in the Viking Bar and £223.87 in the ground, totalling £416.30. In addition, the VSC's appeal was boosted by a £100 donation from the Disabled Branch, and £212 from the sponsorship of Donny Dog last Saturday.
Thanks, as always, go to everyone who contributed. The new "Coin Trail" total is now: £37, 212.01, with the money being raised for the Doncaster Rovers' youth team.

Rovers have decided to cut the normal admission prices for their home fixture against Gillingham in the third round of the Carling Cup. They have also announced that a voucher will be given to every "paying fan" on the night, which will give them priority (behind season ticket holders) for tickets for any other big home cup draw this season.
Ticket prices for the match are:
Seating: Adults: £15.00, Concessions: £8.00
Standing: Adults: £10.00, Concessions: £3.00
Tickets for the main stand seating go on sale on Monday, 3rd October, with season ticket holders' seats being reserved for one week. Tickets for other areas of the ground will be on sale in advance, but you will be able to pay on the night at the turnstiles.

The youth team have been drawn at home in the second round of the Youth Alliance Cup. They will face Preston North End on Saturday, 22nd October, with an 11am kick-off, with the match being played at Cantley Park.

The Rovers' reserve team game away at Hull City has been changed again. The match will now be played at North Ferriby FC's ground on Wednesday, 2nd November, with a 7pm kick off.

Former Doncaster Rovers defender Barry Miller has signed for Nationwide North club Worksop Town from Burton Albion, to become their second signing of the week, and goes straight into their squad for Saturday's game at Vauxhall Motors. Since leaving Belle Vue, Miller has played for Gainsborough Trinity, Hucknall Town, Leigh RMI and Burton Albion.

Prices for the Barnsley v Rovers match in the first round of the LDV Vans Trophy, which is to be played at Oakwell on Tuesday, 18th October, have been announced.
It will cost £10 for adults, and £5 for concessions, with the match kicking off at 7.45pm

Gregg Blundell scored his sixth goal of the season last night as he helped Chester City register a 2-0 home win over Carlisle United - a win that lifts them into third place in the League Two table.

The Supporters Club are running coaches to the away match at Bournemouth next Friday (7th October).
Coaches will leave Retford at 12.00 noon, Bawtry 12.15pm, Hare & Tortoise 12.20pm, Punches 12.25pm, Doncaster Royal Infirmary 12.45pm,
Belle Vue 12.30pm
The fares will be:
Members: £20.00, OAP's: £18.00, U16's: £16.00
Non-members: £22.00, U16's: £18.00
To book a seat on the coach, or for further details, please contact: Len South (01302 817347) or Paul Mayfield on (01427 880154) (Mobile 077404 53066)

Crisis? What Crisis?
Rovers shot up the table this evening following their 1-0 home win over managerless Swindon Town in a disappointing match when compared with the last few games which have seen Rovers' fortunes improve dramatically. Other results going in Rovers' favour mean that they went up seven places to twelfth, which also intriguingly leaves them only two points away from a play-off spot - with Bradford, the current holders of that sixth place, due to visit Belle Vue on Saturday.
In a game where grit and determination won over skill, Rovers had the opportunity to overwhelm Swindon, and spurned a number of promising opportunities. The one goal of the game was of truly exceptional class - the speed and control of Forte in the 37th minute took him past Ifil before firing past a helpless goalkeeper, which proved to be the match-winning goal.
Forte blotted his copybook in the closing minutes of the game when he was booked for timewasting when taking a throw-in, which had followed an earlier booking when he had left the field of play to celebrate his goal.
The "Man of the Match" voting has now closed. Thank you to everyone who took part -the result wil be announced on Friday morning.

Rovers look as though they will name an unchanged side from the Barnsley game for this evening's home game against Swindon Town. The only doubt is over Paul Green, who suffered a "dead leg" which caused his substitution at Barnsley on Saturday. Uros Predic will deputise for Green if necessary.
The only other doubt seems to be as to which two strikers Dave Penney will name, with Neil Roberts and Jonathan Forte playing on Saturday, but with Leo Fortune-West, Paul Heffernan and Lewis Guy waiting in the wings, we wouldn't be surprised if a change is made.
Tonny Nielsen, Sean Thornton, Jermaine McSporran, Tim Ryan and Simon Marples continue to be absent, although all are making good progress following their injuries.

Swindon will arrive at Belle Vue this evening without a manager, following Andy King's departure from the club yesterday afternoon. Reserve team coach Iffy Onuora has been placed in temporary charge of the first team as the club bid to reverse a run of five straight defeats, leaving only Milton Keynes Dons below them in the League One table.
Swindon will be without Stefani Miglioranzi with possible medial ligament damage, and goalkeeper Rhys Evans remains a long term absence. Sean O'Hanlon is fit again after recovering from an ankle injury, but apart from that, the squad that played on Saturday is likely to remain unchanged - although with a new man in charge, who knows?
With Town only scoring one goal so far on their travels, it looks like another fruitless journey for them!

James Coppinger was the clear winner as your "man of the match" for his performance against Barnsley on Saturday, gaining almost half of all the votes cast. With ten Rovers players receiving nominations, the leading votes were cast as follows:
1 James Coppinger (49.41%)
2 Paul Green (14.12%)
3 Stephen Roberts, Dave Mulligan (8.24% each)
Thanks to everyone who voted. The next vote starts later this evening following the home game against Swindon Town

The "big walk" on Saturday took its toll on the Viking Supporters' Co-operative's Coin Trail collection at Oakwell, with only £69.48 being collected. However, the total is still rising well, and now stands at £36,488.71.

Dave Penney reflected on the best week of the season after defeating Barnsley on Saturday. Whilst pleased with picking up three points from Oakwell, he said: "Performance wise, when they went down to 10 men, I was disappointed that we didn't knock the ball around. I'm glad we got the three points but it's just three points."
He added: "We've had a good week, beating Scunthorpe last Saturday, Man City in the Carling Cup and Barnsley.

Rovers chairman John Ryan has praised all Rovers fans for their part in what has been Rovers' best week in the history of the club.
The diary of the week began last Saturday, with a 3-1 victory over Scunthorpe, followed on the Monday by the signing of the contracts to build the new stadium. On Wednesday, the memorable penalty shoot-out victory over Manchester City - then on Saturday, another victory over South Yorkshire neighbours Barnsley. Added to that, on Saturday, Rovers were drawn at home against Gillingham in the Carling Cup, which gives them a good chance of progressing through to the last 16 of the competition!
With Rovers now only five points away from the play-off places, and the possibility of a further six points to be gained this week, things could get even better!

The youth team have registered another victory, this time over Scunthorpe, in their league fixture at Cantley Park on Saturday morning. Rovers registered a 3-2 victory, with no further details being available on the Scunthorpe web site - the only current source of the information. That therefore means that the youth team, reserves and first team have been victorious over the Iron in the last ten days.

We begin our review of former Doncaster Rovers players scoring goals this weekend at the New Stadium, Swansea, where Jack Lester scored another goal for Nottingham Forest in their 1-1 draw. That means Lester has scored in all three games since his return from a nine-month absence following a cruciate ligament injury.
In League Two, Richie Barker scored from the penalty spot for Mansfield Town, although they went down 3-2, thanks to a hat-trick by Kevin Betsy. Duane Darby scored Shrewsbury Town's second goal as Shrewsbury won 3-2 at Peterborough, and midfielder Danny Williams scored for Wrexham in their 1-1 home draw against Macclesfield.
In the Conference, the evergreen Neil Redfearn scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot as Scarborough defeated Forest Green Rovers at the McCain Stadium.
Finally, in Scotland, ex-Rovers striker Graeme Jones scored the opening goal of the game for Hamilton as they won 2-1 at Queen of the South.

The early sending off of Barnsley's Neil Austin perhaps influenced the outcome of this game - with the home side already one goal down after a thirteenth minute Paul Green goal. Barnsley fans and Barnsley boss Andy Ritchie voiced their opinion that both sending offs were unwarranted - but it could have been far worse - there were two challenges by Barnsley players in the first half were perhaps more deserving of a red card that went unpunished. Nevertheless, it took until the 83rd minute for Rovers to increase their lead - another long range Dave Mulligan strike.
Disappointingly, Rovers only went up two places with this victory, but they continue their recent run of good form, and puts Rovers only five points behind the play-off places. It sets things up nicely for the home games against Swindon Town and Bradford City within the next week.
The "Man of the Match" voting has now closed. Thank you to everyone who took the time to vote - the result will be announced on Tuesday morning.

Donny Dog has gone down to Huntingdon with his trainer (and driver) Andy Liney to take part in today's Mascot Grand National. He will take part in the first race on the cards, which is over five furlongs, and over fences, and the race starts at 1.30pm.
Donny Dog is raising more money for the Rovers youth team, and anyone that wishes to pledge some money is welcome to do so. However, Donny reports that he got a lot of blisters after yesterday's 20 mile walk to Barnsley, so he wouldn't suggest anyone betting on him to win the race today!

Jonathan Forte has signed a one month extension to his loan at Doncaster Rovers, although (as is usual in loans after the first month), he is subject to a 24-hour recall by Sheffield United.

Hucknall's local press has this week reported that Hucknall Town boss Dean Barrick is being mentioned as a possible successor to Carlton Palmer as manager at Mansfield Town. Palmer resigned after last weekend's league defeat, with Barrick impressing many in his first managerial appointment.

Doncaster Rovers have been drawn at home again in the third round of the Carling Cup, although we may be rather disappointed that the opposition is Gillingham, rather than one of the potential "glamour" clubs that we could have drawn. The other giantkillers of the second round, Barnet and Grimsby, have both been handed plum ties, with Grimsby hosting Newcastle United, and Barnet getting an evening out at Old Trafford to face Manchester United. Perhaps Rovers ought to view this tie as potentially one of the better chances of reaching the fourth round?
The ties will be played in the week commencing Monday, 24th October. The full draw is: Doncaster v Gillingham, Bolton v West Ham, Crystal Palace v Liverpool, Manchester United v Barnet, Chelsea v Charlton, Reading v Sheffield United, Fulham v West Brom, Mansfield v Millwall, Sunderland v Arsenal, Everton v Middlesbrough, Wigan v Watford, Grimsby v Newcastle, Aston Villa v Burnley, Blackburn v Leeds, Cardiff v Leicester, Birmingham v Norwich.

Rovers look set to name virtually the same side for this afternoon's away game at Barnsley, with the only doubt likely to be over whether Jonathan Forte is recalled to the side after missing Wednesday's game after being cup-tied.
Jan Budtz will continue in goal after being a Rovers hero after coming on as a substitute, with Warrington confirmed as being out for at least three months after breaking his leg against Manchester City.
Tim Ryan and Sean Thornton continue to be absent with achilles and ankle injuries respectively. Jermaine McSporran, Tonny Nielsen and Adriano Rigoglioso have resumed light training, but will not be fit for a playing return for some time.

Barnsley are almost certain to be without midfielder Stephen McPhail this afternoon after he limped off in their Carling Cup game against Burley with a reoccurrence of a calf injury. The Reds are expecting Nick Colgan to be recalled in place of Scott Flinders, and defenders Paul Reid and Matt Carbon are available again after absences due to injury. Barnsley have former Aston Villa defender Lee Grant on a trial, but it is doubtful that he will be included in today's squad.

The draw for the third round of the Carling Cup is due to be made between noon and 12.15pm this lunchtime, with the draw being shown live on Sky Sports Soccer Saturday. The matches are due to be played in the week commencing Monday 24th October.
The full list of teams in the draw today are:

In a record number of votes cast in the "Man of the Match" since we began the polls four seasons ago, there were four main contenders to win your vote. With nine Rovers players receiving nominations, those players receiving the most votes were:
1 Michael McIndoe (30.92%)
2 Andy Warrington (23.68%)
3 Stephen Roberts (16.44%)
4 Jan Budtz (15.13%)
Thanks go to every single one of you that took the time and trouble to vote. All the votes will be accumulated into a grand total for the "player of the season".
The next vote will open this evening following the game at Barnsley.

Following Wednesday evening's Carling Cup victory over Manchester City, the Free Press have issued a special twelve page supplement of the game, which is now on sale, priced at 30p. It should be on sale from all local newsagents.

Dave Penney believes that Wednesday night's Carling Cup win over Manchester City will give his players a huge confidence boost, and lead to a vast improvement in form. He said: "We've got a lot to do in the league but this will give the players bags of confidence to push on. Manchester City showed us a lot of respect by playing their strongest side. They wanted to win this competition. We know we have no chance of doing that but we will enjoy the moment anyway."

Rovers confirmed yesterday that Andy Warrington has broken his leg after being involved in a collision with Onuoha during extra time of Wednesday's dramatic cup game. Warrington was carried off and taken to hospital for an X-ray, and whilst initial hopes were that the leg was only bruised, a clean break was confirmed at the hospital. However, with it being a clean break, a pot was put on his leg, but no further medical treatment was necessary.
Andy will have to keep the pot on for three months, but Rovers are confident that the keeper will play again this season.
We would like to send our best wishes to Andy for a fast and full recovery from his injury.

North Doncaster Branch of the Rovers Supporters Club will be running coaches to Barnsley for the LDV Vans Trophy game on 18th October.
As a one-off, there will be one flat rate of £5 for everyone - adults, children, OAP's, members and non-members.
The buses will leave as follows:
Carcroft Club 5.45pm, Bentley Pavillion 5.55pm, Don Valley School 6.00pm, Woodlands (Opposite Cooplands) 6.10pm, and the coach is expected to arrive at the ground at about 6.45pm.
Gate prices for the game are £10.00 for adults and £5.00 for under-16's.
Ring Warren Hanson to book your place on 01302 337303.

Bristol Rovers have sacked manager Ian Atkins after a poor start to their League Two season., having picked up just nine points from nine games, and their 4-0 defeat at Chester on Saturday was clearly the final straw. Atkins took over at the Memorial Stadium in April 2004 after controversially quitting his job at Oxford United, and has been told that his contract will not be renewed on expiry of the notice period, although for the moment, technically he remains an employee of the club.
Atkins was player/manager at Belle Vue in the 1993/94, before leaving following some disagreements with then-owner Ken Richardson.
Prior to his departure, stories had begun to circulate in the Bristol area that Atkins was targetting Rovers skipper Steve Foster to return to the club. Clearly, even if there was any foundation to this reported interest, Atkins' departure brings that matter to an early conclusion.

Former Doncaster Rovers youth team striker Michael Rankine has had his loan spell at Barrow extended for a second month. Ex-Rover Lee Turnbull, boss at Barrow, has agreed a deal with Rankine's current club, Scunthorpe, but the player will not be able to appear in Barrow's FA Cup games this season.

Saturday sees a return to League One action after last night's Carling Cup drama, when Rovers travel to Barnsley. The match is not all-ticket, with all admission being payable on the gate. Prices at Oakwell are as follows:
Adults: £20.00
OAP's/Juveniles: £12.00
Disabled supporters should contact Barnsley in advance of match day on 01226 211211.

Next Tuesday, Rovers are at home to Swindon Town. This will be pay on the gate, but, as usual, tickets for main stand seats are on sale in advance.
Prices for this game will be:
Seating: Adults £18.00, Concessions £12.00
Standing: Adults £15.00, Concessions £8.00

Donny Dog will be competing in the Mascot Grand National on Sunday (25 September) at Huntingdon. This is the first race on the card (5 furlongs over jumps!) and goes at 1.30 pm.
All runners have to be sponsored, and, after the first £25 (which goes to the British Heart Foundation) money raised goes to a cause of the owner's own choice. In this case, Donny Dog is raising funds for the Rovers' Youth Team.
If anyone would like to sponsor Donny Dog for this race, he would be most grateful. He is already past £25, so any money now raised will go directly to the Youth Team. Please contact his trainer, Andy Liney, by e-mail with any pledges (andy.liney@virgin.net) or alternatively by telephone on 01777 703757.
You can also bet on this race, but don't bet on Donny Dog (despite the fact that he is one of the runners who gets a 30m head start due to wearing giant boots!) as he will have walked 20 miles in the Donny Dog suit to Barnsley 24 hours previously (for the same cause), so is likely to be an "also ran"!

Doncaster Rovers registered what is probably their most dramatic victory in the last twenty years this evening as they dumped Premiership side Manchester City out of the Carling Cup - with the fabled 1985 victory over Queens Park Rangers in the FA Cup being the last comparable cup victory. Rovers gave as good as they got in the first ninety minutes, although City had an ideal chance to snatch victory when Chinese international Jihai Sun hit the crossbar with no more than a minute to go.
Rovers went a goal behind in the 95th minute when the referee gave a rather harsh penalty decision, with Phil McGuire being judged to have tripped Richard Dunne. Things were levelled off with only a minute of extra time to go, when Rovers were awarded an equally dubious penalty kick - which Michael McIndoe crashed home with aplomb to send the tie into penalties after extra time finished at 1-1.
McIndoe convincingly scored with the first spot kick sending England international keeper David James the wrong way - Vassell hit City's first penalty against the cross bar. 1-0 to Rovers
James Coppinger scored Rovers' second penalty, then Sibierski had his penalty kick saved by substitute keeper Jan Budtz. 2-0 to Rovers
The drama continued as Paul Heffernan scored Rovers' third penalty - then Jan Budtz pulled off a superb save to tip the ball onto the post to keep Dunne's spot kick out. 3-0 to Rovers - and they were through to the third round.
The only thing marring the victory was the injury to goalkeeper Andy Warrington in the 105th minute after a challenge with City's Onuoha, which earned the City player a red card - although that was later rescinded by the referee. A five minute hold-up followed, with Warrington being carried off on a stretcher and taken to hospital for an X-ray on a suspected broken leg. The debut performance of Jan Budtz did prove that Rovers have a more than capable deputy waiting in the wings - and he pulled off crucial saves in the closing 15 minutes, as well as the penalty saves, to give Rovers victory.
The draw for the third round of the Carling Cup is on Saturday morning at about midday. The draw for this stage of the competition is NOT seeded.
The voting for the "Man of the Match" is now closed. Thanks to everyone who took part - early indications are that we've had twice as many votes than for any match so far this season - in fact, it's likely to be the most people that have voted in the entire time we've done the "Man of the Match" vote! We'll let you know on Saturday morning who has emerged as the victor.

Doncaster Rovers welcome back striker Lewis Guy for this evening's televised Carling Cup second round tie against Manchester City. Guy has now completed a three match suspension, and is likely to come into the starting line-up as a replacement for on-loan Jonathan Forte, who is cup tied. Dave Penney was giving little away as to his options up front, with Paul Heffernan and Neil Roberts also available for a recall.
Tonight's side is likely to be very similar to the line-up that defeated Scunthorpe United at the weekend, with Sean Thornton and Tim Ryan still absent due to injury, along with longer term injury victims Jermaine McSporran, Tonny Nielsen and Adriano Rigoglioso.

City boss Stuart Pearce is likely to name a full strength side to face Doncaster Rovers at Belle Vue this evening. Keen to have a good cup run, Pearce said: "We've got to stay in this competition as long as we possibly can. I'm not prepared to put out a team of children just to give them experience."
"I went to watch Doncaster on Saturday, we have video footage of them, and we'll prepare in the same way. I'm not overly concerned where they are in the league, or what league they are in. All I know is we have a tough team and they need beating."
They will be without winger Trevor Sinclair, who damaged knee ligaments at the weekend, with striker Andy Cole also absent with a hamstring injury.
The Manchester City squad for this evening's game is likely to be: James, De Vlieger, Weaver, Mills, Onuoha, Dunne, Distin, Jordan, Sommeil, Thatcher, Reyna, Barton, Sun, Croft, Sibierski, Musampa, Hussein, Ireland, Vassell, Fowler.

Nottingham Forest have begun their belated climb up the League One table, and improved their position last night by defeating troubled Bristol City 3-1 at the City Ground. Former Rovers striker Jack Lester scored the first goal from the penalty spot in the 25th minute, and had his shot across goal diverted in by James Perch for their second two minutes later. Lester has now scored in both games since returning after a nine month absence due to injury. Forest are now in twelfth place, with Bristol just one place from the bottom of the table.

Doncaster Rovers Belles have been handed a home draw in the second round of the Women's Premier League Cup, and will face Birmingham City. However, theirs is the only all-National Division tie, with all other National Division clubs facing teams from a lower division. Ties will be played on Sunday, 9th October. The Rovers Belles edged past Liverpool in the first round, winning 4-3 on penalties after the match was deadlocked at 2-2.

Doncaster Rovers are another step closer to moving into a new stadium with yesterday's signing ceremony at the Mansion House, which confirmed that Mowlems are contracted to build the stadium. The start and finishing dates have moved slightly from those anticipated yesterday, with building now beginning on 12th October, with a projected completion date of 11th December 2006.
Whilst the design of the stadium has been slightly amended from the original plan, due to all tenders for building being over the £32 million allocated, the capcity of the stadium will still be 15,000, with the potential to expand it should the need arise.
Several other sports and community uses will be incorporated within the whole complex, which will be home to the Rovers, Doncaster Lakesiders (formerly the Dragons), Doncaster Rovers Belles and the Doncaster & Stainforth Athletics Club.

With the largest number of votes for this season being received for the "Man of the Match" nomination being received after Saturday's home win against Scunthorpe United, the battle emerged into a head to head battle between striker Leo Fortune-West and defender Stephen Roberts. Eventually Roberts emerged as the victory, and with ten Rovers players receiving nominations, the leading votes were cast as follows:
1 Stephen Roberts (34.375%)
2 Leo Fortune-West (27.08%)
3 Mark Albrighton (14.58%)
4 Uros Predic (5.21%)
Thank you to everyone who took part. The next vote will open following Wednesday evening's home game against Manchester City.

The Rovers' youth team went down to a 1-0 home defeat against Hull City on Saturday morning. No other details are currently available.

By popular demand, the Viking Bar will be open from 11.00am on Saturday for the use of fans awaiting their coaches to Oakwell. All fans are welcome to use the facilities, whether they want a drink or not.

The signing ceremony at which Mowlem's will be given the contract to build the new Community Stadium will take place this morning. The deal agreed will see construction begin on the site on 17th October, with a 14 month building period meaning that building will be completed for 20th December 2006. If everything proceeds on schedule, Rovers fans will have a great Christmas present next year!

We begin this week's review in League One - and we begin with a name that we haven't mentioned for a long time. Jack Lester scored from the penalty spot as Nottingham Forest defeated Rotherham United 2-0 on Saturday. Lester has been sidelined by injury for nine months, and yesterday marked his return to the first team.
Also in League One, Ben Muirhead scored Bradford City's goal as they drew 1-1 at home to Yeovil Town.
League Two saw JJ Melligan scoring for Cheltenham Town, but they went on to a 3-2 home defeat to newly promoted Carlisle United - a result that keeps the Cumbrians in second place, just two points behind leaders Grimsby Town. Tucked in close behind are Chester City, despite their financial worries, who hammered Ian Atkins' Bristol Rovers 4-0 on Saturday, with Gregg Blundell scoring City's fourth - and his fifth of the season.
Non-league soccer also featured an Andy Hayward goal for Ossett Town, who drew 1-1 at home to Leek Town.
Finally, north of the border, our old friend Colin Cramb was again amongst the goals in his first match after return from suspension. He scored both of Stenhousemuir's goals as they defeated East Fife 2-1 to maintain their second place in the Scottish Third Division.

Former Rovers midfielder Rob O'Brien is one of several players to have left Gainsborough Trinity following a change of management. O'Brien has left the club and signed for UniBond Premier Division club Ossett Town. O'Brien initially joined Trinity on loan from Rovers, making three separate loan deals before a permanent transfer was agreed.

Tickets for Wednesday's Carling Cup match against Manchester City continue to be on sale at the Rovers' ticket office, today and tomorrow. Ticket prices for the match are:
Seating: Adults £18.00, Concessions £12.00
Terracing: Adults £15.00, Concessions £5.00
The match on Wednesday kicks off at 7.45pm, and is being shown "live" on Sky Sports.

A magnificent performance by Doncaster Rovers, certainly the best of the season, saw a 3-1 home victory against high-flying Scunthorpe United, a win which moves them three places up the league table. Whilst he might not be able to score, James Coppinger is setting the goals up - Fortune-West's 15th minute header and Michael McIndoe's 25th minute goal, which came after a Coppigner cross found him unmarked on the left side of the penalty area. Whilst the nerves may have jangled a little when Billy Sharp pulled a goal back for the visitors six minutes after the interval, a superb finish from on-loan striker Jonathan Forte restored a two goal lead. That goal gave Rovers that valuable two-goal cushion that Scunthorpe rarely threatened to reduce.
The performance will have restored some much needed confidence both to the players and to the supporters - with attractive fixtures coming up against Manchester City on Wednesday, and at Barnsley next Saturday, hopefully the fans will come out on bigger numbers.
The "Man of the Match" voting has now closed. Thank you to the large number of people who have taken part. The result will be announced on Tuesday morning.

Speaking after yesterday's 3-1 victory over near neighbours Scunthorpe United, Mickey Walker paid tribute to the Rovers players' performance.
He said: "We played more like a top-of-the-table side. There has never been a crisis here because we know we have some quality players and they proved it. We've made one or two changes to the side recently because some players looked tired and it appeared as if the defeats had been taking their toll. But there is a great camaraderie in the squad and all the players were there urging on the lads who were out there on the field."

The Viking Supporters' Co-operative's "Coin Trail", which is raising money towards the running costs of the Rovers youth team, raised a total of £426.06 at yesterday's game, which takes the new total to £35,911.38. This total will increase, as there is another collecting pot which has not yet been counted.

Sean Thornton has been back at the training ground doing some weight training following his ankle operation of earlier in the week.Physio Barrie Windle reports that he is progressing well, and is on schedule to make a return to action next month. Thornton has had an operation to clear out some previous injury damage, including shaving the tendon.

Doncaster Rovers have been drawn away in the first round of the LDV Vans Trophy, and will travel to Barnsley for the second time this season. The match is due to be played on the week commencing Monday, 17th October.
The last time Rovers were drawn at home in this competition was on October 16th 2001, when we hosted Kidderminster Harriers in the first Round. For the record, Rovers lost that game 1-0. Today's draw marks the seventh consecutive away draw in the LDV Trophy.
Whilst on the subject of away cup draws, the last time Rovers were drawn at home in the FA Cup was on 17th November 2001, when they were at home to - Scunthorpe United! Since then, Rovers have received five consecutive away draws. Don't hold your breath this season!

Whilst Doncaster Council continue to refuse to confirm that the contract for the new Community Stadium has been agreed, the news was publicly revealed on BBC's Look North programme yesterday evening. The contracts for construction of the stadium will be signed on Monday, with Mowlems having been given the contract. Construction is due to start on 17th October, with a projected completion date of 20th December 2006.
Whilst we have all been waiting for this news for a considerable length of time, it is, nevertheless very good news for the Rovers, Dragons and Belles, and enables them to plan for the future.

The draw for the first round of the LDV Vans Trophy will be drawn on Sky Sports at approximately 9.30am this morning. Rovers are drawn in the northern section of the draw, with the rest of the northern section comprising:Barnsley, Blackpool, Boston, Bury, Carlisle, Chester, Chesterfield, Darlington, Grimsby, Hartlepool, Huddersfield, Lincoln, Macclesfield, Mansfield, Oldham, Rochdale, Rotherham, Scunthorpe, Stockport, Tranmere, Wrexham, Accrington, Cambridge, Halifax, Hereford, Kidderminster, Morecambe.

Doncaster Rovers will again be without several players for this afternoon's local derby against Scunthorpe United. Definitely missing will be Sean Thornton, who had an operation on an ankle injury during the week, and Tim Ryan, who has been struggling with an achilles problem. Longer term casualties Tonny Nielsen and Jermaine McSporran are making progress, but are still some way off a playing return.
Lewis Guy sits out the game with the last of a three game suspension.
Simon Marples and Steve Roberts came through the reserve team game in midweek without any ill effects, but Marples will not be considered until he has played some more reserve team games.
We expect the side for this afternoon's game to be similar to that which put in an improved performance at Colchester, although we expect James Coppinger to earn a recall after an impressive game in the reserves.
Scunthorpe are likely to be unchanged for the game, with no new injury worries. Lee Ridley and Andy Butler, who have missed recent games with injury, are still not ready to return.

Brian Deane, who began his career at Doncaster Rovers nineteen years ago, has signed for Australian club Perth Glory, and is set to make his 650th first team league appearance on Saturday, when Perth face Adelaide United at the Members Equity Stadium. The match marks Deane's third appearance for the club, who he joined after leaving Sunderland in the summer.
His long career has also taken in Sheffield United, Leeds United, Benfica, Middlesbrough, Leicester City and West Ham United.

We would like to remind everyone that tomorrow's home game against Scunthorpe United is all-ticket, and no tickets will be on sale on the day of the game.
Today therefore marks the final day of sales for this match, with ticket prices being as follows:
Seating: Adults £18.00, Concessions £12.00
Standing: Adults £15.00, Concessions £8.00

Rovers midfielder Sean Thornton has had an exploratory operation on his ankle which has also seen the surgeon "clean up the area". Thornton has missed the last couple of matches, and is set to be out of action for another three or four weeks. Dave Penney said: "It's a shame but we need to clear up the niggling injury to allow him to play to the level we know he can."