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 |
 |
|
| December
31, 2008 |
Redfearn
on the move again! |
 |
Barely
a fortnight after being appointed as the new assistant manager at York
City following Martin Foyle's arrival as boss, Neil Redfearn is on the
move again. The former Rovers midfielder has been appointed as under 18s
maanger at Leeds United following their recent change of manager. York City's communications director, Sophie Hicks, wished Redfearn well in his new job, saying: "We wish Neil well for the future." Andy Porter has moved from Port Vale, where he worked with Foyle, to become the new assistant manager at York. |
| December
31, 2008 |
Coppinger
believes Rovers are on the way up |
 |
Following
Sunday's victory over Burnley, which was Rovers' first back-to-back wins
of the season, Rovers winger James Coppinger believes that Doncsater Rovers
are rediscovering the confidence that swept them to promotion last season. Coppinger, who scored Rovers' first goal against Burnley, said: "We got the three points at Forest and we built on that so hopefully we can build on the Burnley win. The belief is coming back into the side that we can get out or trouble. There are alot of string characters in our dressing room who all want to do well so hopefully we can get the results." |
| December
31, 2008 |
Boss
pleased with Burnley win |
 |
Rovers
manager Sean O'Driscoll was a pleased man following Sunday's win over
Burnley, which gives Rovers a chance of escaping from the bottom three
in the near future. He said: "We started off the boil but we got better as the game went on and were a threat all afternoon. We did well and could have had more goals. They were still a threat when they were down to 10 men and I knew it wasn't going to be a rout. But it could have been all over much earlier if their goalkeeper had not made some good saves." |
| December
31, 2008 |
Blundell
returns to Quakers |
 |
Darlington's
former Rovers striker Gregg Blundell has returned early to Darlington
from his loan at Accrington Stanley due to a knee injury after playing
just two games for Accrington. The 32-year old hitman will become available
for Darlington once his loan period ends and he regains fitness, but he
will have a battle on to regain his first team place at the Quakers. Dave
Penney is negotiating with a number of clubs to extend the loans of players
already at the club, with the loans of strikers Liam Hatch and Billy Clarke
due to end soon. The former Rovers chief has already said that he would
like to extend their stays - and with the expected return to fitness of
Pawel Abbott in January, there will be keen competition for attacking
options in his side. Yesterday, sources in Accrington indicated that they would like Blundell to return to the club once he has recovered from his knee injury. |
| December
31, 2008 |
Cheltenham
ticket update |
 |
According
to the Keepmoat Stadium website, there are still around 300 tickets remaining
on sale for Saturday's FA Cup tie at Cheltenham Town. Out of a total of
959 tickets, 620 have been sold - but please remember that they close
at 3pm this afternoon and are closed all day tomorrow. The tickets are
now on general sale at the following prices: Adults £18 Senior Citizens (65+), Students in full-time education £12 16 & under £7 Wheelchair disabled & carer £12 Match day admission prices are advertised as increasing in all categories by £2 apart from the under-16 tickets, which remain at £7. |
| December
31, 2008 |
Voting
results |
 |
Brian
Stock was named as the clear "Man of the Match" for his form
shown in Sunday's home win over Burnley, winning just over one in three
votes cast. There were eight players receiving nominations, with those
receiving most votes being: 1 Brian Stock (38.03%) 2 James Coppinger (22.54%) 3 Paul Heffernan (12.68%) 4 Martin Woods (11.27%) We would like to thank everyone that voted - not just for this match, but throughout 2008. The first vote of 2009 will open on Saturday evening following the FA Cup game at Cheltenham. |
| December
29, 2008 |
What
the managers said |
| |
Sean
O'Driscoll reflected on Rovers' first back-to-back victories of the season
by saying "WE just want to keep our momentum going. Now that we're
starting to get results we want to maintain our workrate." His opposite number, Owen Coyle, was left to run two key decisions which saw his side, which had previously go 14 matches undefeated, go to a second successive loss. Coyle said: ‘It has certainly not been an enjoyable three day spell, but we’re still in the top six and the semi-final of the Carling Cup. We had a platform to win today, but we’ve shot ourselves in the foot.' Coyle also claimed that Steven Caldwell, who was sent off in the incident that led to Rovers' penalty, was hard done by. "I have no arguments about the penalty but I thought it was a bit harsh to receive a red card because there seemed to be two or thee players round about him." A late incident that saw keeper Neil Sullivan tangle with Chris Eagles could have seen Burnley lose another man, but the referee gave both players the benefit of the doubt. Coyle claimed that Sullivan had been guilty of a "forearm smash", adding: "It was a lot of nothing. The keeper's momentum took him into Chris and Chris fell over. I was only concerned with Chris falling to the ground." |
| December
29, 2008 |
Goals
roundup |
 |
With
only a few non-league fixtures scheduled for yesterday, and none in Scotland,
it's a fairly short review of former Rovers players scoring goals yesterday. We begin, however, with a red card for ex-Rovers midfielder Sean Thornton, who received his marching orders by receiving two yellow cards in Leyton Orient's away game at Colchester United with eight minutes to go. A total of twelve yellow cards were issued by refreee Mr G Scott - with most commentators surprised at that total, as it was not "that sort of game". In Wales, Rhyl maintained their lead at the top of the Welsh Premier with a comfortable 7-2 victory over Prestatyn, who played for most of the match with ten men after their goalkeeper, Jon Dunt, was sent off when they were losing 1-0. Former Rovers midfielder Gareth Owen chipped in with one of the goals for Rhyl, despite reportedly looking to be in an offside position when receiving the ball. In the Blue Square Premier, Crawley Town beat Eastbourne Borough 1-0, thanks to a goal by ex-Rover Jon-Paul Pittman, whose close-range strike on the hour proved to be the only goal of the game. Pittman, who played for England C recently, has now notched ten goals this season. Finally, Adriano Rigoglioso scored Forest Green Rovers' first goal in their 2-1 win over Barrow - a win that takes Rovers just out of the relegation spots in the Blue Square Premier League. |
| December
29, 2008 |
Rovers
approach Oldham about Hughes |
 |
Doncaster
Rovers confirmed yesterday that they have made an official approach to
Oldham Athletic to sign striker Lee Hughes during the January transfer
window. Rumours of Rovers' interest have circulated in recent weeks, but
yesterday was the first time that the Rovers boss had commented on the
matter. However, it appears that Rovers are unwilling to pay the £400,000
transfer fee, which is the "buy-out" fee mentioned as a clause
in Hughes' contract at the Latics. Rovers are also considering their position over Bristol City striker Steve Brooker, who is currently back at Cantley Park recovering from a calf injury picked up in training following his first match for the club. Brooker will not regain fitness until after the transfer window opens, and it is likely that Rovers will consider alternative targets in January. |
| December
29, 2008 |
Heffs
wins voting |
 |
Striker
Paul Heffernan, two-goal hero of the 4-2 victory at the City Ground on
Boxing Day against Nottingham Forest, was voted as the winner of the "Man
of the Match" by a clear majority of those who voted. Five players
received nominations, with those receiving most votes being: 1 Paul Heffernan (61.29%) 2 Martin Woods (19.35%) 3 Brian Stock (9.68%) Thank you to everyone who took the time to vote. We would like to apologise for the shorter than usual time that the vote was open. The voting for the home game against Burnley will be open until Tuesday evening, with the result being confirmed on Wednesday morning. |
| December
28, 2008 |
Rovers
2 Burnley 1 |
 |
Rovers
scored two vital goals to give them a second victory in a row - and whilst
Nottingham Forest also won, Rovers climb a place in the table at the expense
of Southampton, who only collected one point this afternoon. Rovers went
two goals up in the first half, thanks to a James Coppinger tap-in to
open the scoring, and then went two up from the penalty spot through Brian
Stock after Richie Wellens had been brought down. That penalty also saw
the dismissal of Burnley defender Steve Caldwell, giving Rovers a man
advantage for over half of the game. As on Friday though, Rovers failed
to capitalise further and it was a nervous last ten minutes as Burnley
poured forward in search of an equaliser after they pulled a goal back
by Martin Paterson in the 62nd minute. |
| December
28, 2008 |
Rovers
v Burnley |
 |
Doncaster
Rovers boss Sean O'Driscoll is set to name an unchanged side for the visit
of Burnley this afternoon following Friday's convincing 4-2 win at Nottingham
Forest. However, managers often make changes over the Christmas period
to fully use their squad - but we think that all players, fitness permitting,
will be eager to play this afternoon. James Coppinger may be hoping for
a starting place after coming on as a late subsitute on Boxing Day, but
there have been no reports of new injury concerns follwing the visit to
Forest. Burnley also did not suffer any new injuries to their players in their 2-1 defeat at home to Barnsley - a result that ended a 14-match unbeaten run. Defender Christian Kalvenes is still out with a leg injury, but they may welcome back Steve Thompson, who missed Friday's game. Rovers could climb out of the bottom three for the first time since the end of September should they win today and Southampton and Forest fail to win - or that Rovers win by three more goals than Forest. Will Rovers score more than one goal again? We'll all know by 5 o'clock! |
| December
28, 2008 |
Watch
out, Kettle's about! |
 |
Today's
match official appointments see Trevor Kettle return to the Keepmoat Stadium
for the first time since Rovers' home game against Hartlepool, which Rovers
won 2-0. Whilst Kettle has a reputation for handing out cards freely -
he issued 145 yellow cards and 6 red cards in just 36 games last season
- Rovers have usually seen the better of games with him in charge. Referee: Mr T. Kettle (Berkshire) Assistants: D.R Street & P. I Thompson Fourth official: W. E Gunnill |
| December
28, 2008 |
Spike
in doubt |
 |
Former
Rovers skipper Graeme Lee is doubtful for Bradford City's game this afternoon
after having five stitches in a head wound sustained during Boxing Day's
home clash against Lincoln City. City are just outside the League Two
automatic promotion places on goal difference going into today's game. |
| December
27, 2008 |
Nottingham
Forest 2 Rovers 4 |
| |
Rovers
have not scored more than one goal in a match since the play-off semi-final
against Southend United at the end of last season - but they ended that
sequence in style yesterday afternoon at the City Ground as they convincingly
beat Nottingham Forest. Forest fans got their wish two hours after the
final whistle when news emerged that boss Colin Calderwood had been sacked
along with his assistant David Kerslake, with the Forest board saying:
"We're grateful to Colin for his efforts over the last two-and-a-half
years but we're in a results business. It's imperative that the club stays
in the Championship and we need to give ourselves every opportunity to
do that." An early goal, headed home at the far post by Paul Heffernan, started the rout, with a delightful chipped goal from Martin Woods and a deflected free kick by Richie Wellens putting Rovers three goals up before half time before a packed away following of Rovers fans. A fourth, by Paul Heffernan, suggested more may follow, especially since Calderwood had gambled with a double substitution at half time, meaning all three subs had been used - and with another player going off injured early in the second half, Forest played 40 minutes with ten men. A late rally by Forest reduced the arrears, and also meant that Rovers, who were on course to go above Forest on goal difference, would only climb one place, with Charlton replacing them at the bottom of the Championship table. "Jingle bells, Jingle bells, Jingle all the way. Oh what fun it is to see the Rovers win away" sang the Rovers fans, who clearly enjoyed their day at the City Ground. |
| December
27, 2008 |
Goals
review |
 |
Our
goals check of former Rovers players begins at Gresty Road, Crewe, where
Darren Byfield, currently in a second month on loan at Oldham, scored
in the 57th minute to set the Latics on the way to a 3-0 away win against
the bottom club in League One. In the UniBond First Division (South), former youth team player Liam Nelthorpe scored for Retford United as they raced into a 3-1 lead. However, they were then pegged back to 3-3 by two goals from ex-Rovers striker Neil Grayson. Finally, it's been a good week for ex-loan midfielder Ben Muirhead. Earlier in the week he scored two goals in Alfreton Town's 4-1 win over Gresley Rovers in the Derbyshire Senior Cup, with the Reds' side also featuring Simon Marples and Leo Fortune-West. He followed it up with another two goals yesterday afternoon in their 5-0 drubbing of Hucknall Town in the Blue Square North. |
| December
27, 2008 |
Cheltenham
ticket info |
| |
Tickets
for the away game at Cheltenham Town in the third round of the FA Cup
are now on general sale from the ticket office at the Keepmoat Stadium. They are priced as follows: Adults £18, Senior Citizens (65+) and students in full time education £12, Under-16s £7 and wheelchair disabled & carer £12. Tickets will be availble on match day, but they will rise by £2 for all categories apart from the under-16s. |
| December
24, 2008 |
Lester
- hero and villain |
 |
Former
Doncaster Rovers loan striker Jack Lester tasted the highs and lows yesterday
- firstly, he scored Chesterfield's equaliser in their FA Cup second round
replay at Droylsden, and then got sent off six minutes from time for elbowing
an opponent. It was a dismal night for Chesterfield though - with Droylsden becoming the ninth non-league club to reach the third round of the competition - apparently an all-time record for the competition, as well as the furthest that Droylsden have ever gone in the FA Cup. They now face Ipswich Town in the third round. |
| December
24, 2008 |
Supporters
Club coaches to Forest |
.jpg){kind=small} |
Please
note that the Supporters Club have stopped taking coach bookings for the
Boxing Day match at Nottingham Forest, so they have asked supporters not
to phone unless they are cancelling places. We also ask that no-one calls
them on Christmas Day - these guys work hard enough during the rest of
the year, so let's give them Christmas Day off! |
| December
24, 2008 |
Dyer
calls it a day |
 |
Ex-Rovers
striker Bruce Dyer has decided to retire from playing football. He has
struggled with back and hamstring injuries during his short-term contract
at York City, and has not played for the club since Colin Walker was sacked
a month ago. Dyer scored 139 goals in a career that spanned 15 years. |
| December
24, 2008 |
Second
club in for Stock? |
| |
The
Sun and the Daily Express have reported that Wigan Athletic have entered
the battle to sign Rovers skipper Brian Stock. West Bromwich Albion boss
Tony Mowbray has previously been reported to be interested in the influential
midfielder, with a transfer fee of £1 million being mentioned. Rovers have poured cold water on the speculation, saying that there are no foundations to the stories currently surrounding the player. |
| December
23, 2008 |
O'Connor
is your winner |
 |
Rovers defender
James O'Connor was voted as the clear "Man of the Match" for
Saturday's home game against Wolverhampton Wanderers, gaining over half
of all the votes cast. With eleven players receiving votes, the main
recipients were: |
| December
23, 2008 |
Ameobi
to go out on loan |
 |
Doncaster
Rovers striker Tomi Ameobi is to be sent out on loan in January to enable
him to get match practice. With Rovers not having a reserve side this
season, the lack of games showed on Saturday when he made his Rovers league
debut as a late substitute, which clearly showed that Ameobi is not ready
to fight for a regular first team place. Rovers boss Sean O'Driscoll confirmed the plans in an interview on Radio Sheffield, saying: "He needs to be playing regularly and that's not got to be at a league club. He needs to go out and try and make all the decisions that he needs to do as a professional footballer." Ameobi has only started two Football League games in his career - both during his spell on loan at Grimsby in September, before being sent back to Rovers following the arrival of new manager, ex-Rovers striker Mike Newell. O'Driscoll confirmed: "His immediate future is for him to go out on loan in January and get the games that he needs." |
| December
23, 2008 |
Forest
ticket update |
 |
The
Keepmoat Stadium ticket office have confirmed that around 1750 of Rovers'
allocation of 2,164 tickets for the Boxing Day away game at Nottingham
Forest have been sold. Tickets will remain on sale until 10m tomorrow
morning (Christmas Eve), with any remaining unsold being returned to the
City Ground. Supporters will be able to pay on the day, but adult and
senior citizen prices will rise by £2. Prices for the reserved seating in the Bridgford Stand, Lower Tier, are as follows: Adults £24.50 Senior Citizens (60+) £18.50 Full time students & under 18s £11.50 Under-12s £5.50 Ambulant disabled supporters & carer £18.50 Wheelchair Disabled supporters need to book tickets through Nottingham Forest on 0871 226 1980. |
| December
23, 2008 |
Wilson
back at Rovers |
 |
Midfielder
Mark Wilson has returned to Doncaster Rovers following the completion
of his month on loan at Tranmere. Wilson returns to bolster a squad which
saw Sean O'Driscoll name the only 16 fit players in the squad for Saturday's
game against Wolves. Wilson reported back for training on Monday following his loan at Prenton Park, with Wilson telling the Doncaster Star: "It went very well at Tranmere and they had some good results whilst I was there. I thought that I had done well in most of the games that I had played and when I was left out of the side the opportunity to go out on loan came up, so I took it. I saw it as a chance to keep that momentum going and that is what happened and I've come back in good shape and ready to challenge for place in the team. "Sometimes when you join a new club you become the focal point and I like having that sort of pressure put on me because it helps improve my game. I saw a lot of the ball while I was at Tranmere - in both the two games I played in the holding role and the two I played pushing forward. As I say I enjoyed my time there but I'm a Doncaster player and I'm glad to be back here full time." Wilson will be included in the squad to travel to Nottingham Forest on Friday. |
| December
21, 2008 |
Goals
check |
 |
We
start today's check of former Rovers players scoring goals this weekend
in League One, where former loan player Michael Timlin scored in added
time at the end of the first half for current club Swindon Town, who went
down to a 3-2 home defeat against Yeovil Town, who are also battling to
keep out of the relegation places. Burton Albion went eight points clear at the top of the Blue Square Premier yesterday with a 3-1 win at Altrincham. Ex-Rover John McGrath scored Burton's final goal four minutes from time with a curling shot. Finally, the evergreen Neil Grayson, now at Glapwell, scored in the 84th minute as his side registered a 4-0 home win over Belper Town in the UniBond League First Division South. |
| December
21, 2008 |
Yates
waits on Beardsley decision |
| |
Ex-Rovers
striker Chris Beardsley faces an uncertain future after returning to Blue
Square Premier club Kettering Town on a month's loan. Beardsley has failed
to start a single game so far - he was brought in as cover for top scorer
Justin Richards, who was out with an eye injury, but Richards made a quicker
than expected recovery, meaning Chris has only made contributtions as
a substitute. The loan period runs out in early January, with boss Mark Yates (the ex-Rovers midfielder) yet to make a decision on whether to keep him or not. However, two others have already been told they can leave the club in order to balance the books, which may give an indication to the likely scenario. Yates refused to be drawn, saying: “Chris is here until the start of January and we will just have to see after that. We have a full set of strikers at the moment, so it is not easy to get a game. I have been pleased with his contribution. He has trained well and, although he hasn’t started a game, he has done OK. When you have a pairing like Justin and Matthew doing the business, it is difficult to leave them out. It is plausible that Chris will get his chance over Christmas, at such a busy time. Whether he will stay with us when his loan ends, I don’t know.” |
| December
21, 2008 |
Shields
makes Fifers return |
 |
Former
Rovers striker Dene Shields has returned to Ross County after ending his
loan spell at East Fife early due to injury. However, Fife boss Dave Baikie
has said that he hopes to speak to Ross County this week to discuss a
possible full move for the striker. |
| December
20, 2008 |
Rovers
0 Wolves 1 |
| |
Doncaster
Rovers went down to a late headed goal by Neil Collins to give Wolves
an undeserved three points which extends their lead at the top of the
Championship table. Until that point, Rovers looked likely to get a valuable
point - and had their chances to take all three, with Wolves estatic at
the end of the game, which showed how relieved they were to win. However,
Collins was very fortunate to still be on the pitch to head home Wolves'
goal after previously having hauled down Lewis Guy just outside the penalty
area, but the referee took the easy way out by only handing him a yellow
card. Rovers could have gone in front in the first half when a superb shot by Paul Heffernan from the right edge of the box was tipped onto the crossbar by the Wolves goalkeeper. With Wolves having very few goal-scoring chances themselves, at that stage Rovers looked like the only team likely to win. Wolves made a double substitution at half time and looked much more lively and were very unfortunate not to go in front in a dramatic scramble in the Rovers box which saw them hit the bar, the post, have two shots cleared off the line by some superb last-ditch defending by Rovers before the final shot was blazed high and wide. Adam Lockwood was injured in the Wolves' goal-scoring move - it will be interesting to see on the TV coverage on Sunday whether there was an infringement on the Rovers defender which saw him lying flat on the floor. Late in the game O'Driscoll brought off strikers Heffernan and Guy to be replaced by Stuart Elliot and Tomi Ameobi - a move that failed to produce the breakthrough. Ameobi's 13-minute contribution may yet prove to be the only first team action he sees for Rovers as he failed to impress - but at least O'Driscoll has given him a chance before going back to the board to ask for funds to bring in reinforcements in the January transfer window. |
| December
20, 2008 |
Rovers
v Wolves |
 |
Sean
O'Driscoll will have to make a late team selection ahead of this afternoon's
match against Championship leaders Wolverhampton Wanderers, with Jason
Price, James Coppinger and Brian Stock due to have fitness tests ahead
of the game. Added to that, James Hayter, Sean McDaid and Gordon Greer
will miss the game as they recover from injury, whilst missing due to
suspension will be Matt Mills and Martin Woods. James Coppinger seems to be the least likey of the 'doubtful' players to play, but O'Driscoll is still hopeful, saying:"We've got an 11 at this moment in time - I'm not sure what 11 it will be though. With suspensions and injuries coming at the same time, it's going to cause us problems. James Coppinger however has an outside chance of being fit for the game." Midfielder Richie Wellens is expected to play, although he still has not totally recovered from the after effects of a virus that caused him to miss the Preston game. Brian Stock has returned to training, and whilst no decision has yet been made, we expect he will be passed fit to play. Wolves, on the other hand, are hoping that top scorer Chris Iwelumo will return to the side after missing the last few games, with Andy Keogh, who apparently has been impressive in Iwelumo's absence, likely to be the player to miss out. There is also a chance that Jody Craddock will be available after recovering from a broken toe. On the negative side, Wolves will still be without goalkeeper Matt Murray and defender George Elokobi, both due to knee injuries. |
| December
20, 2008 |
O'Driscoll's
selection concern |
| |
Facing
the league leaders is always a daunting prospect when you are bottom of
the league, but the combination of injuries and suspensions will mean
that Rovers face an even bigger test this afternoon as they face Wolves
at the Keepmoat Stadium. The Rovers manager said: "Suspensions are part and parcel of the game but to have both of them (Mills and Woods) out together is a bit of a problem. When you have injuries and suspensions it gives any team problems. It is just unfortunate that both suspensions have come at the same time. You probably couldn't have picked a worse time to have them miss a game. However, O'Driscoll is philosophical about the situation. "It is frustrating but you have to live with it in football," he said. "There is no point in wasting your energy on things which have already occurred. You have got to try and think how you can manage the players you've got against a side which is arguably the best in the division. They are very athletic and they score lots of goals. They concede quite a few as well, but if you score more than you concede you do well." "They have got two of the best goal-scorers in the division and I think that they are rightly where they are. They are probably the hardest working team I have seen this season. They have also got more than one string to their bow in how they can play. It would have been a tough game for a full-strength Doncaster team so it will prove a stern test for us." |
| December
20, 2008 |
Williams
in England squad |
 |
Doncaster
Rovers Belles midfielder Rachel Williams has been selected for the England
squad for the senior womens' squad which will go to the training camp
in La Manga, Spain, in January. Williams has already seen her talents
recognised at under-20 level and now has a chance to establish herself
at senior level. The squad is dominated by players from Everton (9), Chelsea (7) and Arsenal (7), with four selected from Leeds Carnegie. The squad also includes former Doncaster Rovers Belles striker Jody Handley, who is now at Everton. The full squad is: Carly Telford, Stephanie Houghton, Sue Smith, Jessica Clarke (Leeds Carnegie), Rachel Brown, Fern Whelan, Rachel Unitt, Lindsay Johnson, Jil Scott, Emily Westwood, Fara Williams, Natasha Dowie, Jody Handley (Everton), Siobhan Chamberlain, Casey Stoney, Claire Rafferty, Anita Asante, Danielle Buet, Lianne Sanderson, Eniola Aluko (Chelsea), Laura Bassett, Alex Scott, Faye White, Katie Chaplan, Kelly Smith, Rachel Yankey, Karen Carney (Arsenal), Corinne Yorston (Bristol Academy), Michelle Hickmott (Birmingham), Rachel Williams (Doncaster Rovers Belles), Jody Taylor (Oregon State University). |
| December
20, 2008 |
Cut
price tickets today |
 |
This
afternoon's match marks the second at which all ticket prices have been
reduced by £5 as part of Rovers' way of redistributing the amount
due to fans due to the VAT reduction. Season tickets can use "Voucher
A" from their season ticket book to claim reductions in the club
shop. |
| December
19, 2008 |
Rovers
duo set for return |
| |
Rovers
boss Sean O'Driscoll is keeping his fingers crossed that midfielders James
Coppinger and Brian Stock will be fit to face Championship leaders Wolverhampton
Wanderers tomorrow afternoon, but it looks as though the pair will both
win their fitness battles. Coppinger and Stock missed last weekend's trip
to Crystal Palace after sustaining knocks in the Preston game, meaning
that Rovers had to change their formation to account for the change in
personnel. It has been confirmed that Rovers will be without Matt Mills and Martin Woods tomorrow due to suspension. Rovers intended to appeal, but by the time they found a video with a helpful camera angle, it was after the deadline to submit the appeals. As O'Driscoll explained: "We think Matt made a fair tackle and intended to appeal, but the camera angle wasn't helpful on the two videos we looked at. We eventually found a third where it seemed more clear that the Palace player tripped himself up but it wasn't entirely conclusive and by then it was too late anyway. I don't think Woods should have been booked either and it's unfortunate to lose both players for a game like this. But we are hoping to have other players back and we will choose a team, and a gameplan, to suit the personnel we have available." Paul Heffernan is likely to keep his place in the side, with the Rovers manager praising his contribution to the game, of which Rovers played 70 minutes with only ten men. |
| December
19, 2008 |
Rovers
boss up against home town club |
| |
As
well as it being an important match from a Rovers point of view, Sean
O'Driscoll has another reason to look forward to tomorrow's game - it's
against Wolverhampton Wanderers, his home town team. A younger O'Driscoll
used to be a regular on the terrace to watch Wolves, and whilst never
getting the chance to play for them, tomorrow's match will be special. He told the Doncaster Free Press: "When you were a schoolboy you wanted to grow up and play for Wolves but obviously I never imagined I would be the manager of a team playing against them. I never achieved my dream of playing for the club although I played against them a few times with mixed results - let's just see what Saturday brings. "Obviously I have happy memories of those days but the game has changed beyond recognition and nostalgia will take a back seat on Saturday. "It's a huge game for both clubs for different reasons, but there should be a big crowd, and a cracking atmosphere, and we have thrived on occasions like that at the Keepmoat in the past." |
| December
19, 2008 |
FA
Cup ticket info |
| |
Rovers
have received an allocation of just 574 tickets for the FA Cup clash against
Cheltenham Town on Saturday, 3rd January. They are currently on sale to
season ticket holders and membership holders, with any remaining tickets
going on general sale on Monday. The club have pointed out that the "Cup
Direct" scheme will not apply to this fixture as it is an away tie. Prices for tickets bought in advance are: Adults £18, Senior Citizens (65+) and students in full time education £12, Under-16s £7. Wheelchair disabled & carer tickets are £12. Should any tickets remain unsold, you can buy them on the day at Cheltenham, but they will cost £2 more for all categories except the under-16s. However, with a relatively small number on sale, we expect all tickets to be sold in advance. |
| December
18, 2008 |
Goals
review |
 |
Jon-Paul
Pittman scored one of Crawley's four goals in their 4-2 win at Chesham
United in the first round of the FA Trophy on Tuesday evening. The win
means that Crawley will now face Cambridge United in the second round. Adebayo Akinfenwa made a scoring return to action on Tuesday in Northampton Town's reserve team game against Wycombe. The 26 year old striker mas been injured since the end of October, but is hoping to return to the first team in time for the busy Christmas set of matches. Reserve team boss Iam Sampson said: "Bayo got through 60 minutes and he looked fit and strong. It was a typical Bayo performance. He kept the ball well and helped bring others in to play, and he was a goal threat himself. He got through fine with no reaction to his injury." Tuesday also saw ex-Rovers striker Jack Lester score for Chesterfield in their FA Cup replay against Droylsden - but his goal won't count, as the match was abandoned in the 79th minute due to floodlight failure, with Chesterfield winning 2-0 at the time. The two sides will have to meet for a fourth time, with the first meeting abandoned due to fog and the second match ended in a 2-2 draw. The match has been provisionally rearranged for next Tuesday, 23rd December, but the match will only go ahead on that day if the FA receive a report from Droylsden that the electrical systems have received a clean bill of health. |
| December
18, 2008 |
Ticket
office opening times |
| |
The
ticket office at the Keepmoat Stadium have announced their opening times
over the Christmas and New Year period, which are as follows: Thursday, 18th December - 9am to 7pm Friday, 19th December - 9am to 4pm Saturday, 20th December - 9am to kick-off Monday, 22nd December, Tuesday, 23rd December - 9am to 4.30pm Wednesday, 24th December - 9am to 1pm Thursday, 25th December - closed Friday, 26th December - closed Saturday 27th December 10am to 1pm Sunday, 28th December - 9am to kick-off Monday, 29th December to Wednesday, 31st December - 9am to 4.30pm Thursday, 1st January - closed Friday, 2nd January - 9am to 4pm Normal opening hours will apply after 2nd January. |
| December
18, 2008 |
Forest
coach info |
| |
The
Supporters Club are running coaches to the away game at Nottingham Forest
on Boxing Day. They will leave Retford at 11.15am, Harworth Pit Gates
11.20am, Bawtry 11.30am, Rossington Styrrup 11.30am, Hare & Tortoise
11.35am, Doncaster Royal Infirmary 11.45 and the Keepmoat Stadium Car
Park 3 at 12 noon. The fares are as follows: Members £10.00, OAP's £9.00, U16's £8.00 Non-Members £12.00, OAP's £11.00, U16's £10.00 To book a place on the coach, please phone Len South on 01302 817347 or Paul Mayfield on 01427 880154 or 077404 53066. |
| December
17, 2008 |
Byfield
stays at Oldham |
 |
Rovers
striker Darren Byfield is to stay at Oldham Athletic on loan for a second
month, meaning he remains at Boundary Park until 10th January. Byfield
has struggled to hold down a regular first team place at Rovers since
joining in the summer, but has made four appearances for Oldham since
joining them just before the loan transfer deadline last month. |
| December
17, 2008 |
O'Driscoll
- no money for transfers? |
| |
Manager
Sean O'Driscoll has told the Doncaster Star that he does not expect to
have any money available to bring players in during the January transfer
window, despite the team desperately needing a goal scorer to enable them
to pick up the points to pull away from the relegation battle. O'Driscoll said: "I'm not sure whether we've got funds available. Financially this is a massive jump for us, so probably not. We'll probably have to wheel and deal if we want to do anything. Top strikers cost millions – and we haven't got that. We've got do the best we have with the current squad." It appears that if O'Driscoll is to bring in new players, some others will have to leave first. |
| December
17, 2008 |
No
appeal against red card |
 |
Whilst
Doncaster Rovers are reported to have sent in a complaint against the
performance of referee Alan Hall on Saturday, the club have decided not
to appeal against the red card given to Matt Mills in the first half. Mills will therefore serve a one match suspension and will miss Saturday's home game against Wolves, as will Martin Woods, who picked up his fifth booking of the season in the same match. Rovers will be the featured game in ITV's "The Championship" programme which starts at 9.45am on Sunday. |
| December
17, 2008 |
Youth
game postponed |
 |
Saturday's youth team game on Saturday, at home to Chesterfield, was postponed
due to a waterlogged pitch at Cantley Park. No new date has yet been arranged
for the fixture. |
| December
16, 2008 |
Woods
out for Wolves game |
 |
Midfielder
Martin Woods will miss Saturday's home game against Championship leaders
Wolverhampton Wanderers after picking up his fifth booking of the season
at Crystal Palace. Matt Mills will also be banned for Saturday's game
unless Rovers have appealed against the decision, and are successful in
that appeal. |
| December
16, 2008 |
Forest
coach info |
| |
The
Supporters Club are running coaches to the away game at Nottingham Forest
on Boxing Day. They will leave Retford at 11.15am, Harworth Pit Gates
11.20am, Bawtry 11.30am, Rossington Styrrup 11.30am, Hare & Tortoise
11.35am, Doncaster Royal Infirmary 11.45 and the Keepmoat Stadium Car
Park 3 at 12 noon. The fares are as follows: Members £10.00, OAP's £9.00, U16's £8.00 Non-Members £12.00, OAP's £11.00, U16's £10.00 To book a place on the coach, please phone Len South on 01302 817347 or Paul Mayfield on 01427 880154 or 077404 53066. |
| December
16, 2008 |
Voting
results |
| |
Once
again we thank everyone who took the time to vote for the "Man of
the Match" for Saturday's away game at Crystal Palace. Striker Paul
Heffernan was the clear winner of the voting - with seven players receiving
nominations, the leaders ended up being: 1 Paul Heffernan (38.89%) 2 Neil Sullivan (16.67%) 3= John Spicer, Sam Hird (11.11% each) The next vote will open following Saturday's home game against Wolverhampton Wanderers. |