Doncaster Rovers FC - All You Need To Know/Can Learn in 5 Minutes
Posted On 20/11/2009 at at 14:38 by Alistair Kleebauer
Home of Blessed (Brian), Clarkson (Jeremy) and Keegan (there's only one Keegan), Doncaster welcome QPR tomorrow with both clubs in contrasting form. Donny sit on the edge of the relegation area whilst Rangers are in fourth and pushing leaders Newcastle and WBA for the league's top spots. Before I make a hash of predicting what will happen though, here is a gold-mine of information on tomorrow's opponents. Doncaster Rovers Team News
There are a number of absentees for Rovers which could play into QPR's hands. A big miss is midfielder Brian Stock (more on him below) who hasn't played since ankle surgery two months ago and another key midfielder, Dean Shiels, a signing from Hibernian in January, also faces a late fitness test. Defender Jason Shackell is similarly uncertain to start with a groin injury and stand-in captain Martin Woods is suspended so will miss his first Doncaster game of the season.
There are a number of absentees for Rovers which could play into QPR's hands. A big miss is midfielder Brian Stock (more on him below) who hasn't played since ankle surgery two months ago and another key midfielder, Dean Shiels, a signing from Hibernian in January, also faces a late fitness test. Defender Jason Shackell is similarly uncertain to start with a groin injury and stand-in captain Martin Woods is suspended so will miss his first Doncaster game of the season.
Doncaster Rovers - A Potted History
It's been downhill for Rovers ever since they joined the Football League. In their first season of league football in 1901 they finished seventh in the 2nd Division and they've never finished as high again. Their current spell in the second tier is only the fourth period in their history when they have reached those heights. That's not to say that there's been a shortage of entertainment in the intervening years though and often, just surviving as a club has occupied their time. Even before the First World War, the club went into liquidation only to be reformed in peacetime with a new ground, Belle Vue, which they moved into in 1922 and which would remain their home until 2007.
It's been downhill for Rovers ever since they joined the Football League. In their first season of league football in 1901 they finished seventh in the 2nd Division and they've never finished as high again. Their current spell in the second tier is only the fourth period in their history when they have reached those heights. That's not to say that there's been a shortage of entertainment in the intervening years though and often, just surviving as a club has occupied their time. Even before the First World War, the club went into liquidation only to be reformed in peacetime with a new ground, Belle Vue, which they moved into in 1922 and which would remain their home until 2007.
And though their trophy cabinet is relatively bare, they hold a surprising number of footballing records, both good and bad. To have achieved both the most league wins in a season (33 in 1946-7 when they were in the Third Division) and the most defeats (34 in a shambolic season in 1997-8 which saw the club demoted to the Conference) suggests that fortunes are ever changing with Rovers. They also found time to be involved in the longest ever professional game in England, when they met Stockport County in the Division Three (North) Cup in 1946. With the game tied at 2-2 in extra-time, the referee decided to just keep on playing. Perhaps he was having problems at home and fancied a bit of respite. After 203 minutes, sanity prevailed, the game was stopped and another replay was organised.
In recent years, Doncaster's history has been particularly topsy-turvy. Under the highly questionable leadership of chairman Ken Richardson (more on him below), the club were close to going out of business again and they tumbled out of the league only to return in 2003/4. The picture has been altogether rosier ever since with a new owner and stadium and a play-off win over Leeds United in May 2008 to take them into the Championship for the first time in half a century. Rovers supporters with long memories will know that this status is far from guaranteed.
British Pathe Golden Moment
http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=38630 - Doncaster Rovers visited Highbury for an FA Cup game against the Gooners in 1953 but they fail to suppress the home side and fell to a 3-0 defeat. The commentator here confirms what a lot of Ireland fans might have been feeling this week - 'you never can trust the wily Arsenal'.
http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=38630 - Doncaster Rovers visited Highbury for an FA Cup game against the Gooners in 1953 but they fail to suppress the home side and fell to a 3-0 defeat. The commentator here confirms what a lot of Ireland fans might have been feeling this week - 'you never can trust the wily Arsenal'.
Highest Point
You can't really top beating a club such as Leeds United in a play-off final can you? A defeat against Cheltenham on the final day of the 2007-8 season cost Rovers automatic promotion to the Championship for the first time in over 50 years. They had to regroup, beat Southend United in the semi-final and then face Leeds at Wembley, a club with an all-consuming need to return to the top tiers of English football. Against expectations, Doncaster thoroughly deserved their victory, a James Hayter header lifting the club to unfamiliar heights.
Lowest Ebb
The lowest ebb for Donny can be summarised in one man - former chairman Ken Richardson. This is a man who was described by police as "the type that would trample a two-year old child to pick up a 2p bit." The fact that the police felt him worthy of comment indicates that we're not dealing with your average chairman here.
The lowest ebb for Donny can be summarised in one man - former chairman Ken Richardson. This is a man who was described by police as "the type that would trample a two-year old child to pick up a 2p bit." The fact that the police felt him worthy of comment indicates that we're not dealing with your average chairman here. In a reign of terror, Richardson tried to sell the club's ground even though it was owned by the council and then planned to torch it, hiring three men who bungled the attempt in 1995. He eventually went to prison for four years for conspiracy to commit arson. The 'Fit and Proper Persons Test' was probably invented to deal with men like Richardson. As a result of his actions, the club spiralled towards non-league football, leading to the disaster season mentioned above when they finished with a goal difference of -83.
The Grass Is Always Greener: Life as a Donny Supporter
After seeing such a dramatic rise in recent years, it would be hard for Doncaster fans to not be relatively optimistic. It looks like the club will have a battle on to maintain their status in the Championship this season, but compared to previous challenges, it is far from insurmountable. On the 'Rovers Till I Die' Forum (http://boards.footymad.net/forum.php?tno=184&fid=96&sty=2), one supporter was happy to say he had seen more ups than downs and suggested that playing good football is a key Donny philosophy. Whilst admitting that Belle Vue is the club's real home, he also indicated that the club are now settling in to their new stadium as well.
Star Man
Luckily for QPR, one of Rovers' key players, Brian Stock, is currently out injured and will not play for at least another month. Stock was named as the club's Players' Player of the Year last season. He's combative, good on the ball and a threat going forward and from long-range and could be a big miss for the home side tomorrow. In his absence, a key player for Rovers this season has been Dean Shiels, another midfielder and also a Northern Ireland international who has found the net three times already this season in a side struggling for goals. He faces a late injury test though.
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