The sacking of Sean O’Driscoll caused uproar in Doncaster. ‘Noisy’ was highly regarded in bustling South Yorkshire town, as the club’s greatest ever manager. In his first season he guided Rovers to success at the Millennium Stadium in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy. The following campaign the club won promotion to the Championship, via an illustrious play-off final victory at Wembley, when they impeccably beat the much-fancied Leeds United by a goal to nil.
O’Driscoll then kept the limited-resourced club in the division, performing the miracle of the great escape in 2008-09, despite sitting bottom at Christmas. The red and white wizards also mounted a promotion campaign in 2009-10, but faded their form faded towards the end of the season.
But, disaster struck in November 2010, with the club 7th in the Championship. The squad was swamped with a mammoth injury crisis, which they never recovered from, and with three wins in the whole of 2011, the former-Bournemouth manager was expelled from the Doncaster hot seat on 23rd September.
The sacking caused displeasure to say the least amongst the Doncaster fan base, with the majority of supports in awe of their quiet messiah. There were no ‘O’Driscoll Out’ calls at matches, but the man, who was also publicly backed by his chairman, John Ryan, just a handful of days earlier
What came of even more a surprise was the arrival of his immediate successor. Wrexham manager Dean Saunders was appointed- not on a caretaker basis- but on three-year deal, at the time of the appointment, the Welsh club sat behind Gateshead in the Conference, three tiers below his new side.
But Rovers aren’t a club with a fan base capable of jumping on the ‘Sack the board’ bandwagon, after John Ryan saved the club from the verge of bankruptcy before his tenure lead to two Conference Cups, Promotion from The Conference and From League One through the play-offs, The Division Three Title at the first attempt, The Carling Cup Quarter-Finals, The JPT and establishing the club in the Second Tier of English Football in just a 13-year stint. The fans remain greatful for these honours under Ian Snodin, Dave Penney and O’Driscoll (along with the less successful Steve Wignall).
The unrest was temporarily forgotten however with wins over Crystal Palace and Peterborough, and a draw with Hull in Saunders’ first three games. But, could this prove to be just a honeymoon period, as the club was then hammered by Leeds United on live television and also suffered defeat at the hands of Blackpool and Portsmouth following the international break.
There was also another factor that eased the doubters following “Deano’s” arrival. Saunders suddenly appeared capable of attracting many high-profile names to the club. El-Hadji Diouf was immediately linked as was former Real Madrid star Mahamadou Diarra. Then out of the club confirmed the signings of Pascal Chimbonda, Henrita Ilunga and finally the loan of England goalkeeper Chris Kirkland to the Keepmoat Stadium. How could a club whose record transfer in 2009 was the tiny £300,000 deal that brought Matthew Mills from Manchester City, suddenly be able to afford the wages of such established Premier League and La Liga stars?
The answer to this question was revealed on Thursday, with the sceptics again coming out in force to criticise a scheme that could easily result in the demise of the club quicker than their turn in fortune since the revival in the late 90’s.
As on Thursday, the ‘Director of Football’ role, which has created huge controversy before steered its ugly head again, as football agent Willie McKay was appointed Doncaster Rovers’ transfer dealer, with any signings the club makes to be going through him, with manager (or should that be ‘Head Coach’?) Dean Saunders having the potential to veto.
It’s unclear how long this deal has been in the pipeline, however it is unlikely the philosophical O’Driscoll would have agreed to a great lack of freedom that the new regime limits the ‘Head Coach’ or ‘Manager’ of.
An McKay’s interview with the Daily Mail, he also made some unfriendly statements about the club’s supporters, potentially causing unrest with the fans at such an early stage, such as ‘My valuation of Donny was nothing. They have no fan base and everyone in Doncaster supports Leeds, Sheffield United or Sheffield Wednesday, who can all get 30,000 in their stadiums.’ Although he may be right in hinting the club has a significantly less fan base than its Yorkshire rivals, I am aware from my experiences in the Doncaster school system that we are by far the most supported team in the town compared with others, with probably the unmentioned Manchester United sitting 2nd. The problem with the people of Doncaster is many people in the district do not like football, perhaps caused by the embarrassment caused by the team unattractive history in the forth division during the 80’s and 90’s. Calling a club that has achieved so much in their recent history ‘nothing’ is a huge stab at the ambitious club.
McKay’s plan will see the club attempt to reduce the wage bill- therefore promote uncertainty on the side’s highest earning current stars. The likes of Billy Sharp, John Oster and Brian Stock apparently have no future at the club under the new regime. Which considering the nearest transfer window is three months away how will that act towards motivation of such individuals?
Instead of these long-term solutions the club will opt for quick fixes ranging from high-profile free agents and loans, which has seen the club linked from anyone from Diarra to Michael Owen to Carlos Tevez in recent weeks. Through the new agent-system, the club will attempt to put players in the shop window. Obviously downsides to this is everyone playing for themselves rather than as a team, and a lack of team spirit and gelling which will make Dean Saunders’ position practically impossible. The style of play cannot be perfected to one concentrated in training sessions over a long period of time, but must be one people can fit into automatically. This is obviously one opposition managers can stop with ease. How does that boost results for a team deep in the relegation battle?
Perhaps it will boost attendances with famous, international names joining the club. But I think most fans prefer to see winning games, supporting a group ethic that they can be proud of; not a bunch of arrogant individuals who believe they are bigger than the club and will leave at the first opportunity. The stars linked also have attitude problems, which will also create problems within the patient culture of the club. The attendances will dwindle again if the results do not match the names on the team sheet.
For me this is a recipe for disaster, and if the result is what I’m expecting. It won’t be the stars ‘of Lorient’ at the Keepmoat Stadium next season, but our own unwanted internationals gracing the turf at L. Orient in League One in 2012.
McKay out.
