October 30, 2008

Dyer interests York

Blue Square Premier club York City are considering a move for former Rovers striker Bruce Dyer following his "guest" appearance for York City reserves a few days ago. York boss Colin Walker told the York Press that he had spoken to Dyer about the possibility of him going to KitKat Crescent, although Dyer has indicated that he would prefer to move to a Football League club. However, the player remains unattached, so Walker remains optimistic. He said: "The search has been ongoing this week and I will speak to one now that will hopefully come off, but I’ve got other irons in the fire as well. (Managing director) Jason McGill and I am working hard to get one in. I want a striker that comes out of the league because I think that’s what we need. If we can get one with that pedigree then I feel we can move on as a team.”

October 30, 2008

Rankine to return to Diamonds

Former Rovers youth team striker Michael Rankine will return to parent club Rushden & Diamonds at the end of his loan spell at Bournemouth, which ends on 8th November. Cherries boss Jimmy Quinn had asked to extend the loan beyond the initial month, but Rushden have refused.
Quinn said: "Rushden are having a bit of a shake-up there, and they want to take him back. I'm disappointed because Michael has done well, and has really enjoyed his time with us."
Garry Hill, Rushden's manager, yesterday placed eight players on the transfer list, with all eight being avaialble for loan, or for transfer once the window opens in January.
HIll explained: “Sometimes you have to take action before its too late. Results have not been good enough and we can’t afford to wait until the transfer window opens in January. It doesn’t seem at the moment that the team had gelled and it doesn’t look right. There has to be changes. I want players and staff who will show desire and passion. We can’t feel sorry for ourselves.”
The players concerned are Andy Burgess, Phil Gulliver, Leon Knight, Lee Phillips, Lee Tomlin, Curtis Woodhouse, Sagi Burton and Dean McDonald.

October 28, 2008

Rovers 0 Barnsley 1

Rovers slumped to another defeat and, with Nottingham Forest winning at Crystal Palace, find themselves bottom of the Championship table after this evening's matches. Rovers were missing the influential midfield pairing of Brian Stock and Richie Wellens - and how they were both badly missed. Sean O'Driscoll brought in Stuart Elliott for the suspended Stock, and he played well - but both he and Woods seemed to be competing for the same place on the pitch on several occasions, thus reducing their effectiveness. Rovers were not helped midway through the first half when Jos van Nieuwstadt pulled up with what appeared to be a hamstring injury, and was replaced by Sam Hird. Jason Price started the game as if he was determined to be on the goal scorers list, but some wayward shooting and a couple of good saves denied the Welshman.
Rovers appeared to be more potent in the last twenty minutes of the game when O'Driscoll brought on Paul Heffernan and James Hayter. Their introduction seemed to add a different dimension to the game - it makes you wonder what might have happened if they had been given longer on the pitch. For the second home game in a row, the best part of the game (from a Rovers point of view) was saved until the end - a barnstorming final three or four minutes saw Paul Heffernan crash a shot against the crossbar as Rovers desperately tried to salvage something from the game.

October 29, 2008

Ravenhill sinks Millers

Former Rovers midfielder Ricky Ravenhill scored the only goal of the game last night at the Don Valley Stadium as Darlington beat Rotherham United to move into third place, just two points behind League Two leaders Wycombe Wanderers (whose game was called off last night due to snow, as was the game at Luton!).
In the Championship, ex-Rover Paul Green netted from close range as Derby County beat Norwich City 3-1, with County moving up to tenth. Ross McCormack scored again for Cardiff City, who beat Blackpool 2-0 and now lie in second place, but still five points behind second placed Birmingham City.
The revival of Chesterfield goes on - last night they won 6-1 at Exeter City, with former Rover Jack Lester scoring twice in the second half. Chesterfield are now 12th, just three points outside the play-off places.

October 29, 2008

Redfearn moves again!

Former Doncaster Rovers midfielder Neil Redfearn has found himself another club, only just over two months after joining AFC Emley. It has been reported that Salford City's new manager, Ashley Berry, has made Redfearn his first signing, who said of his new player: "Neil may be 43 but, trust me, he is still an outstanding player." Salford play in the UniBond First Division (North).
Redfearn joined AFC Emley in the summer on the basis that he would play when available around his duties with the youth team at York City.

October 29, 2008

Sheffield Wednesday tickets

Tickets for the away game at Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday, 8th November are now on sale from the Keepmoat Stadium ticket office. They are now on general sale after being restricted to season ticket holders and members for the last couple of weeks.
Ticket prices are:
Adults £23, Senior Citizens/16 & under £13
Ambulant disabled supporters pay the relevant price detailed above, but their carer will be admitted free.
Wheelchair disabled supporters should book their tickets and parking direct with Sheffield Wednesday by telephoning Liz Higginbottom on 0871 995 1867 after 1pm on weekdays, and no less than 24 hours before match day.

October 28, 2008

Rovers v Barnsley

Doncaster Rovers have the opportunity to gain revenge for the humiliating defeat at Oakwell, as they face Barnsley at the Keepmoat Stadium this evening. It is only just over three weeks since the match at Oakwell, and Rovers will be keen to end their losing run this evening.
However, it won't be easy for them, with a number of injury concerns meaning that a number of personnel changes are likely, although no doubt Sean O'Driscoll will not name his side until as late as possible, to give the injured players the greatest chance of recovery.
Rovers will definitely be without midfielder Brian Stock, who is suspended for one match after picking up five bookings this season.
Adam Lockwood will also be missing owing to the back injury picked up in the last home match against Blackpool, and it appears that James Chambers will be missing with an ankle injury. Right back James O'Connor is rated as doubtful with a foot injury, having missed training yesterday, but he is expected to be passed fit today. Sean McDaid has resumed full training but will not feature, but Richie Wellens will continue to be absent as he recovers from a groin operation.
Barnsley look to have the luxury of naming an unchanged side from the one that drew with Bristol City on Saturday. Iain Hume, Darren Moore and Stephen Foster all picked up knocks in the game, but all are expected to recover in time for tonight's game.

October 28, 2008

Tonight's match officials

The match officials for this evening's game are as follows:
Referee: A Wiley
Assistant Referees: S Proctor-Green & G Turner
Fourth Official: T Kettle

October 28, 2008

Price - shell-shocked Rovers out for victory

Rovers striker Jason Price believes that Rovers owe Barnsley "a beating" this evening to make up for the defeat three weeks ago at Oakwell. He said: : "I find it easy to focus on the future as I have been in the game a long time. It's a big game for us on Tuesday and we're looking forward to that. We owe Barnsley a beating - we should have beaten them at their place and we have a chance to put that right now. Hopefully I can start on Tuesday; it's a massive game, a local derby. We should have beaten them at their place and we have a chance to put that right now.""

October 28, 2008

O'Driscoll - Carrow Road defeat "the story of our season"

The conceding of two late goals on Saturday against Norwich summed up the season so far, said Rovers boss Sean O'Driscoll. Rovers were only 14 minutes away from picking up all three points at Carrow Road, and O'Driscoll said: “At 1-0 up against a side that's lost their way a little bit, you should win, but we've got to learn. I thought we reacted really well when they got a bit of a flukey goal. No heads went down but we switched off for a moment and you need a little bit of luck to get away with those things - and we didn't get it.”
“We said before the game that we didn't want to get beaten with the one ball over the top with Leroy, we didn't want to get beaten on a set play and we didn't want to get beaten on Sibierski flicking it and Leroy getting on the second ball, so two out of three we got right - and the one time it happened we paid for it.
“We're a club with limited resources in this division so we've got to nurture the players we've got,” he said. “Give them credit. There's a host of them that have taken to the Championship. Brian Stock was the best player on the pitch. Jason Price looked a real threat at this level.”

October 28, 2008

Ameobi returns to Doncaster

Doncaster Rovers striker Tomi Ameobi has returned to the club after the conclusion of his month's loan at Grimsby Town, during which time he featured in three games. However, during that month at Blundell Park, Mike Newell was appointed as manager, and understandably wants to check on the players in his squad before making any additions.
Ameobi said: "I started in two games whilst at Grimsby and I felt that I did quite well. Despite that, the results didn't go the way that everybody with the club wanted them to. A new manager came in and he has said that he wants to try new things. I'm back here at Doncaster Rovers now and I am going to work hard and see what happens."

October 28, 2008

Voting results

The "Man of the Match" voting for Saturday's game at Norwich City produced Brian Stock as the clear winner, coming well ahead of the six other players to receive nominations. The players to receive most votes were:
1 Brian Stock (39.47%)
2 Jason Price (18.42%)
3 Jos van Nieuwstadt (15.78%)
4 Lewis Guy (10.53%)
Thank you to the pleasing number of you who took the trouble to place a vote. The next poll will open following this evening's home game against Barnsley.

October 27, 2008

O'Driscoll - the story of our season

Rovers boss Sean O'Driscoll was left to work out how to turn Rovers' luck after two late goals consigned his team to another defeat that leaves Rovers with only Nottingham Forest below them in the Championship table. However, he believes that Rovers are close to picking points up - and tomorrow's crucial home game against relegation rivals becomes a "must win" game.
O'Driscoll said of Saturday's defeat at Norwich: "That sums up the story of our season so far. To be fair to Norwich they moved the ball about well in the first half and put us under some pressure, but we weathered the storm and I thought we did really well in the second half. After we had got our noses in front I couldn't see Norwich getting back into the game unless there was a moment of brilliance or a slice of luck and, unfortunately for us, they got a lucky break. I actually thought we reacted well after conceding, but then we went and switched off at the wrong time and they got a second."
"We have no excuses now to play poorly against Barnsley and I have said that, we need to go into Tuesday's game playing the way that we have done in the past couple of games. We'll keep going, that's all we can do. If we are going to get beat in the league and we are out of our depth, then fair enough. But we've not been and we are not out of our depth and yet we haven't been winning and that is disappointing. It's difficult coming in front of cameras after games and saying that same things and I don't particularly want to say them."

October 27, 2008

Kirkwood wants to be boss

Former Rovers striker Glenn Kirkwood has said that he wants to be manager at UniBond Premier Division club Matlock Town. Kirkwood is currently caretaker manager at the club along with Craig Hopkins after Phil Brown and Gareth Williams were sacked recently. Kirkwood and Hopkins were installed as reserve team managers at the start of the season, with both being unexpectedly being given their chance to prove their management potential.
Kirkwood said: "You bet we want the job. At the moment the way we look at it is that it's ours to lose now. If we do well it gives the board a big decision to stick with us."
"We've got a job to do now. We're more than capable of doing it for we've got a lot of experience from playing if not so much managing. We both know the game well and reckon we're good with the players. Now we want to get them playing again and get their confidence up.I'm sure we'll be alright."

October 27, 2008

Rovers Belles win again

Greatly improved form of the last few weeks has seen Doncaster Rovers Belles consolidate their place as one of the women's game's top teams, with five wins and a draw in their last six matches. A 2-0 home win over Blackburn Rovers on Sunday means that Rovers Belles remain in fourth place in the Women's Premier League, with a four point gap opening up between them and fifth placed Watford.
Yesterday's win was thansk to goals by Precious Hamilton and Emily Heckler.
Doncaster Rovers Belles: Nicola Hobbs, Chelsea Weston, Vanessa Leat, Rachel Williams, Claire Utley, Amy Turner, Emily Heckler, Vicky Exley, Liz Hansen, Emma Johnson, Prescious Hamilton.
Substitutes: Natasha Hughes (for Johnson, 75), Vikki Stevens (for Hamilton, 75), Tanya Rich (for Heckler, 80), Jayne Eadie

October 27, 2008

Youth Team 2 Boston United 2

The Doncaster Rovers youth team gained a 2-2 draw against Boston United on Saturday. With the news coming from Boston United's website, no details of the Doncaster side or goal scorers are available at the moment.
In other matches this weekend, the under-13's side won 5-1 away at Scarborough Academy, with Scarborough's coach, Mark Barber, commenting: “We did battle, but when you play against the likes of Doncaster, you have to be at your best. If we’d have played the same as we did against Hartlepool the week before then we’d have been a lot closer.”
The under 14's won 3-0, also at Scarborough, and the under-16s won 4-0.

October 25, 2008

Norwich 2 Rovers 1

A number of the walking wounded were named in the Rovers side for this afternoon's game at Carrow Road, but James Chambers only lasted for 28 minutes before being replaced by James O'Connor at right back. Rovers went in front after Dejan Stefanovic brought Jason Price down in the penalty area, with Brian Stock converting the 77th minute penalty. Things looked promising at that point, but Norwich roared back, with Siberski equalising with a looping header from Clingan's mis-hit shot soon after, then the home side pinched a late winner when Lita scored in injury time to send Rovers home without a single point.
At least Nottingham Forest lost as well, meaning that Rovers are still two points above them, but they are going to have to start to pick up some points soon if it is not to be a battle against relegation.

October 26, 2008

McCormack scores again

Former Doncaster Rovers loan striker Ross McCormack scored again - this time from the penalty spot - yesterday as Cardiff City won 1-0 at bottom club Nottingham Forest. McCormack is now the joint top scorer in the Championship with nine goals, alongside Reading's Kevin Doyle.
It was the fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup yesterday - and ex-Rover Leo Fortune-West put Alfreton Town on the way to a 3-1 victory at Retford United with his 41st minute goal.
In the Blue Square North, Andy Campbell scored Farsley Celtic's equaliser as they came from behidn to beat Gainsbrough Trinity 2-1 at home. Finally, in the UniBond Premier Division, Rod Thornley scored for Witton Albion, who went down 3-1 at home to Leigh Genesis.

October 26, 2008

Ex-Rover in England call-up

Former Doncaster Rovers striker Jon-Paul Pittman has been selected for the England "C" squad to face Italy next month. Pittman has been a regular goal scorer this season, with Crawley's boss Steve Evans recommending his inclusion when England C boss Paul Fairclough talked to him earlier in thee week.
The match will be played at the Stadio Santa Columba in Benevento (near Naples) on November 12th.
Evans said: “Paul Fairclough (England C Manager) gave me a call earlier this week and I spoke as highly of Jake Wright and Jon-Paul Pittman as I could. They have been superb for us this season and I would expect both to start in Italy given their form.

October 26, 2008

Rovers are biggest winners!

A recent survey suggests that Doncaster Rovers are the biggest achievers in the period since the Premiership began in 1992. The Achievers Report 2008, produced by the New Football Pools, took results, league tables and club records, then compared them to financial data to compare the relative size of each club, based on stadium capacity, average attendances, club investment and player transfers. All those figures were then compared since 1992, and the top ten came out as:
1. Doncaster Rovers
2. Portsmouth
3. Reading
4. Hull City
5. Wigan Athletic
6. Cheltenham Town
7. Aldershot
8. Carlisle United
9. Scunthorpe United
10. Accrington Stanley
On this survey, some of the biggest spending clubs, with billionaire backers, come out fairly poorly, with newly rich Manchester City coming out as fifth in the "under achievers", with the other losers over that period being Sheffield Wednesday, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Nottingham Forest and Coventry City.
The full report can be downloaded at www.footballpools. com/achievers.

October 26, 2008

Results from Reading vote

A little belatedly, here are the results of the "Man of the Match" voting from Tuesday evening's away game at Reading. A total of eight players received nominations, with the most votes going to the following:
1 Jos van Nieuwstadt (62.07%)
2 James Coppinger (10.34%)
3= Martin Woods, Sam Hird (6.90%)
Thank you to everyone who took the time to vote. The voting for Saturday's game at Norwich will be open until Monday evening and can be accessed below.

October 25, 2008

Norwich v Rovers

Doncaster Rovers have several injury concerns ahead of this afternoon's away game at Norwich City. Adam Lockwood will miss the game after suffering a back injury in last weekend's match against Blackpool, and with Matt Mills missing the last match with a hamstring injury, changes at centre back look more or less certain. Added to that, Sam Hird and Jos van Nieuwstadt picked up knocks in the Reading match and missed training on Thursday.
James Chambers is also a doubt after sustaining a foot injury on Tuesday evening, and has only done some "light training" this week. Whilst defender Gordon Greer has resumed training after recovering from a hip injury, the length of his absence means that he will need some more practice games to regain match fitness before being considered for first team action. Chambers is probably the biggest doubt, with the Rovers boss commenting: "He is probably the biggest doubt. It's not a serious injury, it is just that will take a bit of tlme to resolve itself and we haven't really got that."
Mills had a fitness test ahead of the squad setting off for Norwich, with boss Sean O'Driscoll saying: "There is no point in taking him all the way down to Norwich if he is not going to be fit enough to play. You never know with hamstrings. He'll have a run out today and if he feels all right we'll just see how it reacts overnight. But if he struggles in training then we'll pull him out."
Rovers will be missing influential midfielder Richie Wellens, who is recovering from a groin operation. O'Driscoll said: "The surgeon found what the problem was during the operation. It was nothing untoward but he'll still need a couple of weeks off."
Brian Stock is likely to play despite continuing to be troubled by a back problem. He will be suspended for Tuesday's home game against Barnsley, so it is likely that he will play today and have a week's rest before next Saturday's game against Swansea.
Norwich City will be missing striker Jon Otsemobor, who is two weeks away from a return after damaging ankle ligaments in early October, so Antoine Siberski is likely to partner Leroy Lita up front today. Norwich welcome back Gary Doherty after ankle surgery, and Adam Drury and John Kennedy are also available after missing recent matches. Midfielder Mark Fotheringham is doubtful for the game after complaining of a tight hamstring.

October 25, 2008

Dino sacked

Northwich Victoria have sacked Dino Maamria, who had been suspsended by the club since September for unspecified reasons. Former Rovers striker Maamria is said to be shocked by the decision, saying: "My initial reaction is one of disbelief, not that I am not coming back but the way in which it has been done. I can't believe the manner in which it’s been handled - it's disgusting. I asked Jim (Rushe, the Vics' chairman) to give me the reasons behind his decision but he said he didn’t have to tell me so I’m still in the dark."
Maamria took charge of the team in September 2007 and led them away from relegation after a 19-game winless start to the season, but the club have struggled again this season.
“The biggest thing for me is the way I’ve treated, quite honestly I don’t deserve that,” added Maamria, who plans to take legal advice on his next move, perhaps with a view to suing the club for his dismissal. He is only just over a year through a three year contract with the club.
Former Liverpool midfielder Mike Marsh, the current caretaker manager, will take charge fo the team for this weekend's FA Cup match against AFC Telford United.

October 25, 2008

Lee on target

Former Rovers skipper Graeme Lee was one of three Bradford City players to score last night at the Bantams beat Grimsby Town 3-1 at Blundell Park, despite the team being down to ten men for 78 minutes of the game. Lee's goal came in the 58th minute, when he headed home a Paul McLaren corner. Grimsby have now gone 20 league games without a win and are just one point ahead of Rotherham United, who have a game in hand, and started the season with a 17 point deduction. Fortunately for the Mariners, Luton are still on -17 points and Bournemouth on -4 after having 30 points and 17 points respectively deducted before the start of the season for financial reasons.

October 25, 2008

Nelly hoping to catch the eye

Young Rovers winger Craig Nelthorpe is hoping that his loan spell at Gateshead will enable him to catch the eye of boss Sean O'Driscoll, using the example of Sam Hird, who spent time out on loan at Grimsby last season before coming back to command a regular first team place at Rovers towards the end of last season.
He said: "I look at Sam Hird who went on loan and did not look like breaking through here, but then his chance came and now he is a first-team regular. It's going well at the moment at Gateshead and I'm getting games, playing in the position I like on the left flank. I'm putting the work in, getting crosses over and working hard at my game. Gateshead play good football and because they play near Newcastle and other north-east sides, a lot of their young players get to play on loan there, so the standard is higher than it would suggest. I get to meet and play with players from the big clubs. There is a good set of lads there who want to play football so it's good for my development."

October 23, 2008

Injury update

October 23, 2008

Lester on target

Former Rovers striker Jack Lester scored Chesterfield's first goal of their 5-1 demoliton of Aldershot on Wednesday evening. The win lifts the Spireites up to 14th in League Two, and ends a disappointing run of results that appeared to be threatening manager Lee Richardson's future with the club. Lester had earlier dismissed rumours that he had handed in a transfer request, saying: "Nothing has happened like that, the rumours are a bit silly. If I did want to leave I would say. I've never handed in a transfer request in my career, so if anything changed I would come out and say that. I've missed games due to injury, nothing else, obviously someone is trying to unsettle me or the club."

October 23, 2008

Newell refuses to panic

Former Rovers striker Mike Newell, the new manager at Grimsby Town, has appealed for the club's supporters to be patient as he tries to improve their fortunes after moving in to the club earlier this month. Grimsby are the only League Two club yet to win a game, despite having played 12 matches, but Newell is confident of a change in fortunes. He said: "You can sense a hunger and the supporters are not happy. You can't explain confidence and with the run of results it takes a yard off you mentally and physically. There's promising signs - plenty to work with.There's no rush and I'll be trying to improve the squad and improve the team but first of all you must give these lads an opportunity."

October 22, 2008

Reading 2 Rovers 1

Reading maintained their 100% home league record this season with a hard fought 2-1 victory over Doncaster Rovers. Although reports suggest that Rovers gave Reading their most thorough examination of the season, the result sees Rovers remain in the bottom three of the table, now four points from safety. Rovers went behind in the 18th minute, with Reading defender Andre Bikey heading the home side in front from a controversial free kick taken from just outside the penalty area. Rovers had a good shout for a penalty when Lewis Guy appeared to be fouled by Iva Ingimarsson, but it took until the 74th minute to draw level, with defender Jos van Nieuwstadt heading home a Martin Woods cross. Just when Rovers may have been hoping to take a point, Reading took the lead two minutes later with yet another header - and again, the goal came from a free kick.
A better performance by Rovers, with Sean O'Driscoll commenting: "I thought we competed well against a team that, at home, has been a formidable outfit. They have scored a lot of goals here and put a lot of teams under pressure but we coped with that. Our possession was good and we created chances. We did all the things we have done all season. It was the first time we have played 4-4-2 this season as our strength is passing the ball and I thought we did that well in a shape that allowed us to defend. Two set plays cost us and that has been our Achilles heel this season. On another day we could have scored two or three."

October 22, 2008

Norwich tickets

Tickets for Saturday's away game at Norwich City are now on general sale from the Keepmoat Stadium ticket office. Prices of tickets are as follows:
Adults £22, Senior Citizens (60+) £15, 16 years & under £14, Under-12s £10
Wheelchair and ambulant disabled supporters pay the relevant price, but their carer is admitted free of charge.
Any unsold tickets will be sent back to Carrow Road for sale on match day.

October 22, 2008

McCall keeps eye on Dyer

Following last week's news that former Rovers striker Bruce Dyer was training with Bradford City in a bid to regain full fitness following a back injury, his performance in last week's reserve team game for the Bantams may have persuaded boss Stuart McCall to think of signing him.
McCall said: "Signing Bruce was never in his or my thoughts, but now it is a possibility. He was excellent against York and while we are not looking to sign him now, you never say never. He's not on trial as such with us at the moment, just training to get his fitness up. But when you have someone playing as well as he is right on your doorstep it makes you think and I'll certainly not rule signing him out all together. He's done a lot of training with the youngsters here and that has really help their development. If he wants to train with us for a bit longer then that will be great."

October 22, 2008

Voting results

Seven players were nominated to be "Man of the Match" for Saturday's home game against Blackpool. It ended up as a contest between James Chambers and Stuart Elliott, who got two thirds of the votes between them. The players receiving most votes were:
1 Stuart Elliott (41.18%)
2 James Chambers (27.94%)
3 Martin Woods (13.24%)
Thank you to everyone who took part in the vote - voting for the away game at Reading will be open until Thursday evening.

October 20, 2008

Reading ticket news

Tickets for tomorrow evening's away game at Reading are still on sale from the Keepmoat Stadium ticket office. Rovers have received an allocation of 1,540, and according to the ticket office web site, 238 of those have now been sold.
The tickets are now on general sale and are priced as follows:
Adults £23, Senior Citizens/17-21yrs £17, 16 & under £12.
Disabled supporters, whether ambulant or in a wheelchair, pay the relevant price, but their carer can get in free. Anyone wanting disabled parking should phone Reading on 0118 968 1211 or email customerservice@readingfc.co.uk
Tickets will be on sale at Reading tomorrow evening, but the prices will be £4 higher for all categories than if bought in advance.
If buying a concessionary ticket, it is recommended that you take evidence of eligibility with you, or you may be asked to upgrade to a full adult ticket.

October 20, 2008

Belles denied

Doncaster Rovers Belles were denied a fourth successive victory yesterday when a last minute equaliser earned Watford a 2-2 draw. The point earned sees Rovers Belles in fourth place in the Women's Premier Division, behind Arsenal, Chelsea and Everton.
The Rovers Belles ensured their survival last weekend when around £10,000 was raised with the fundraising event held at the Keepmoat Stadium, meaning they will reach their 40th anniversary in January. However, Jonathan James, the Doncaster Rovers Belles chairman, has warned that the club need a regular monthly income of at least £4,000 in the New Year to ensure that they survive until the end of the season.

October 20, 2008

Credit crunch hits Rovers sponsors

The credit crunch has forced Wright Investments to close the building arm of their firm, with 20 workers losing their jobs after the company decided to halt work at three housing developments in the Doncaster area. The Balby based firm has confirmed that it is liquidating his building subsidiary, although they stress that all other aspects of their business are trading normally.
Managing Director of Wright Investments, the shirt sponsors of Doncaster Rovers, said to the Free Press: "I've decided to shut our building company but it doesn't affect the rest of the business. I've been funding these sites without assistance from the banks but it got to the stage where I couldn't see things picking up soon. I can't keep these lads going forever. They've been with me a long time and I'll do anything I can to help them get other jobs. We have decided to sit on these sites until things do pick up. They were started when things were steady but the housing market situation has hit them hard. I've had to liquidate the building business because I couldn't put any more into it. There are some creditors but they are companies who have traded with us a long time and made a lot of money from us over the years and they won't suffer greatly. They will probably make money out of us again in the future."
"The main business remains strong and that Wright Investments' other ventures and its sponsorship of Doncaster Rovers will be unaffected."

October 18, 2008

Rovers 0 Blackpool 0

Whilst Rovers did not win the game, at least the losing sequence of matches lost came to an end this afternoon at the Keepmoat Stadium. Sean O'Driscoll finally changed the side, and overall, it produced an improved performance, with Stuart Elliott finally been given his chance on the left of the Rovers midfield. Mark Wilson was recalled to replace the injured Richie Wellens, and James O'Connor was dropped in favour of James Chambers. Rovers appeared to be a little more attack-minded compared with recent games, although some good goalkeeping, accompanied by some wayward shooting, meant that Rovers drew a blank. Again, it took until ten minutes from the end before the Rovers boss made any substitutions, but in an amazing closing few minutes of the game Rovers laid siege to the Blackpool goal, with Martin Woods cracking a shot from 22 yards onto the crossbar, and James Hayter producing an outstanding save out of the Blackpool goalkeeper. The point gained, along with Barnsley's defeat at Crystal Palace, means that Rovers draw level on points with the Oakwell outfit.

October 19, 2008

What the managers said

Rovers manager Sean O'Driscoll praised his players after yesterday's performance that saw them end a run of six defeats by keeping a clean sheet, with four changes to the side that lost at Barnsley working well.
He said: "I thought Blackpool came to be very difficult to beat. They've got four or five (who are) 6ft plus and dangerous at set pieces. We've trained all week for this to be different to previous games. We've plugged away and plugged away. Overall I thought it was a good performance. We said at the start of the season that any point in this division you've got to be glad for. Our performances have merited us more points but we've not got them. Simon's been in the division a year and knows what it takes. We've learned the hard way that if you throw caution to the wind in this division you get heavily punished."
Meanwhile, Blackpool boss Simon Grayson was angry not to have been awarded a penalty in the second half, with 'Pool striker Alan Gow being booked for diving. Grayson said: "Of course it was a penalty. The only person in the ground who didn't think it was a penalty was the referee. Our player is not going to go down for no reason when he's six yards out with a free header. Today's was a big wrong division."
On the match itself, Grayson commented: "It was a bit of a nothing game. Doncaster were always going to be a bit of a wounded animal and make sure they were solid. It's never easy to win any football match - both teams were trying to win it. We had opportunities but we didn't have that decisive pass in the final third. I'm quite happy to have a clean sheet and a point away from home."

October 19, 2008

Around the goals

We begin our review of former Rovers players scoring goals yesterday in the Championship, where Ross McCormack continued his great start to the season by scoring both of Cardiff City's goals in their 2-0 home win against nine-man Charlton Athletic. That win lifts Cardiff up into fourth place in the table.
Paul Green scored for Derby County in their 2-1 home win over Plymouth Argyle to see the improving Rams rise up to ninth in the Championship table.
In League One, Adebayo Akinfenwa scored in the 20th minute as Northampton registered a 3-0 home win over Yeovil Town. A division further down, Jack Lester scored a late consolation goal for Chesterfield in their 3-1 defeat at Lincoln City, which sees the Spireites slump to 15th in League Two, averaging just one point per game. Nick Fenton scored Rotherham's opening goal as they lost their first game of the season at the Don Valley Stadium, going down 3-4 at the hands of Barnet.
Also in League Two, mentioned for his misfortune, Tim Ryan was sent off in the 77th minute for Darlington in their 1-1 draw at Wycombe.
In the Blue Square Premier, Mark Albrighton scored Stevenage Borough's first goal in their 2-0 home victory over Salisbury, with Boro now only eight points behind top placed Kettering Town.
In the Blue Square North, Leo Fortune West scored - but unfortunately in the wrong net in Alfreton's 2-2 draw at Harrogate Town.
In the Blue Square South, Martin Paul scred the only goal of the game for Bath City in their home win over Fisher Athletic., which puts
In the UniBond First Division (South), Ben SAnders scored in the third minute for Shepshed Dynamo in their 4-3 away win at Leek Town.
Finally, ex-Rovers striker Neil Roberts scored twice in Rhyl's 3-0 home win at home to Carmarthen, a victory that sees Rhyl remain top of the Welsh Premier Division.

October 19, 2008

Coaches to Norwich

The Supporters Club are running coaches to the away game at Norwich City next Saturday.
They will leave Retford at 8.15am, Harworth Pit Gates 8.20am, Bawtry 8.30am, Rossington Styrrup 8.30am, Hare & Tortoise 8.35am, Infirmary 8.45am and the Keepmoat Stadium, Car Park 3 at 9.00am.
The fares are: Members £16, OAP's £14, U16's £12
Non-Members £18, OAP's £16, U16's £14
To book a place on the coaches, contact: Len South (01302 817347) or Paul Mayfield (01427 880154 or 077404 53066)

October 18, 2008

Rovers v Blackpool

Doncaster Rovers resume their Championship campaign this afternoon hoping for an improvement in their fortunes by ending the run of six defeats that has seen them slump into the relegation places in the league table.
Rovers will be missing Richie Wellens, who is out for a month due to a groin operation, and may be missing Brian Stock, who has been suffering from a back injury for much of this season, although the Rovers skipper has resumed training this week. Gordon Greer is available after being out all season with a hip injury, although we don't expect him to be included in the squad today.
Blackpool look set to welcome back Claus Jorgensen after his absence due to a groin injury, and on-loan Rangers striker Alan Gow may be given a starting place at the expense of Steve Kabba.
Rovers boss Sean O'Driscoll looked forward to the match by saying: "Simon Grayson has been where we are last season and he managed to keep them in the division and I am really pleased for them and we can take something from them. They'll understand the pressure stop the run we are in, but we you can't heap more pressure than there is all already not matter what you read and what people say. We are under pressure. We've got to be realistic - we have shipped 12 goals and only scored one in the last three games and when you look at it are we going to win a game 4-3 or 1-0? I think it is going to be easier to win 1-0 and so we have worked hard on all of our organisational skills."

October 18, 2008

O'Kelly - Rovers seek to emulate Blackpool

Rovers' assistant manager Richard O'Kelly sees the survival of Blackpool in the Championship last season as something for Rovers to match, with both clubs being relatively small compared to many of the former Premiership clubs now plying their trade in the Championship.
O'Kelly commented: "They probably haven't got the resources that everybody else has got in this division, and are probably one of the few clubs which haven't got as much as we have. But they managed to retain their place in the Championship last season by being well-organised and by having a tremendous work ethic and they haven't changed at all this year. They've gone to places and picked up points where you would probably think that they would struggle to get a result. I've seen them on a couple of occasions this season. I wouldn't say that they've got any outstanding individuals, but they've got important players like Ben Burgess, who is a big aerial threat for them. But their main strength is their organisation. Their two banks of four makes it very difficult for the opposition to break them down."

October 18, 2008

Today's match officials

Today's home game against Blackpool sees Darren Drysdale as the refereee - in eight matches so far this season, he has issued 22 yellow cards and 2 red cards.
Referee: Mr D. Drysdale (Lincolnshire)
Assistants: M.J Denton & I. Nolan
Fourth Official: Mr M. Brown

October 18, 2008

Quid a kid

Doncaster Rovers have announced that this afternoon's game will be "quid a kid" for all Rovers fans aged 16 and under. Tickets will need to be bought from the ticket office - proof of age will be required in all cases.

October 18, 2008

Wellens out for a month

Rovers' influential midfielder Richie Wellens will miss the next month of the season after news emerged that he will need surgery to remove scar tissue from hsi groin. The midfielder had a hernia operation in the summer, but he has been hampered by the groin injury in recent weeks. Wellens will have the scar tissue removed next week - that operation is a separate injury to groin injury, for which he had an injection last week.
Sean O'Driscoll confirmed: "His groin didn't respond to treatment and so he'll have surgery next week."
With Brian Stock also struggling with a back injury, Rovers' engine room could be greatly depleted in the next few matches, and Rovers could give John Spicer a chance to prove himself in forthcoming games.

October 16, 2008

Rovers in Hull friendly

Doncaster Rovers played Hull City in a "behind closed doors" friendly fixture on Tuesday, according to quotes attributed to Hull manager Phil Brown. There are no details of the Rovers team or score, as it was written from a Hull perspective, with the main topic of the article being that Greek international Stelios Giannakopooulos played an hour of the game as he builds up fitness after signing for Hull last month.
Meanwhile, Rovers have been reported to have shown an interet in Hull City defender Wayne Brown, who has been out of favour at the KC Stadium in recent matches. The arrival of Anthony Gardner and Kamil Zayatte have pushed the 31-year old down the pecking order and Brown has only made two first team appearances this term. Scunthorpe United and Derby County have both denied making a move for the player, with Hull boss Phil Brown stating that he has not had any approaches from other clubs regarding any of his players.

October 16, 2008

Dyer training with City

Former Doncaster Rovers striker Bruce Dyer has been training with Bradford City - but boss Stuart McCall stressed that fans should not read anything into the news. The much travelled striker appeared in their reserve team match at York this week as he strives to prove his fitness after regaining fitness after a long-standing back injury.
McCall said: “Bruce has had a lot of problems with his back. He’s had a course of injections and before he tries to get another club, he needs to see if the treatment has worked. So he came to us three or four weeks ago to ask if he could do some training. I was happy for him to join in and he’s worked really hard. His professionalism is top class and that rubs off on some of the younger lads when they see his attitude to training. But there’s nothing in him being here – he’s certainly not on trial with us.”
Dyer joined Rotherham and Chesterfield after leaving Rovers las season, but failed to score in any of those games and was released by Chesterfield in the summer.
McCall continued: “Bruce is at the unfortunate stage of his career because of his back. He’s in the last-chance saloon. We’re giving him the chance to work with us and get fit. but he’s also helping us in a way as well. With so many games coming up over the next couple of weeks, we’ve got to be careful who is in the reserves. Sometimes, for youth lads to play Saturday, Tuesday, then Saturday can be too much. Bruce wanted to see how long he could cope in a game so letting him play for our reserves is doing us both a bit of a favour.”

October 16, 2008

Goals review

Rob Pacey scored on his debut for Matlock Town in their 3-2 home win over North Ferriby United on Tuesday evening, where he appeared alongside former Rovers player Matt Caudwell, who played at left back. Pacey only signed for Matlock from Ossett Town on Monday night, and opened his goals accoung for the club when heading home from a 40th minute corner.
Also on the score sheet on Tuesday was Kevin Horlock, who scored with a much deflected shot in Bury Town's Suffolk Premier Cup match against Needham Market. Horlock's goal put Bury 2-1 up, but the match ended 2-2, with Needham Market winning the resulting penalty shoot-out 4-3.