We Are The Champions: And that’s Only the Beginning

The 27^th April will go down in Doncaster Rovers folklore, not only did it secure the club their forth promotion in ten years, but in dramatic style in which they were staring defeat and the subsequent play-offs in the face, won the League One title in the most dramatic of twenty seconds. 

Rovers needed a draw to clinch promotion to the second tier after just a one year absence, and as added time started they were on course to achieve it with the scoreline 0-0 against Brentford.

But as the full time whilst sounded at then-league leaders Bournemouth’s match with Tranmere ending goalless, Michael Oliver made the decision to point to the penalty spot at Griffin Park’s tie in Brentford’s favour.

The penalty was undoubtedly dubious, with several news outlets reporting different things- the football league show declared it Jamie McCombe’s handball, yet the BBC’s website report suggested it was a foul by Dean Furman. You can probably work out from this confusion; the decision was far from clear-cut.

Yet, defeat for Doncaster would have sent the side crashing into the play-offs, a Brentford victory would have sent them promoted in their place. So the referee would have needed to be certain with his call.

But it was enormous pressure for the spot-kick. Undoubtedly newspaper headlines and a £6million financial reward would be the prize for promotion and it was Marcello Trotta that fancied writing his name in the history books, much to the annoyance of regular taker Kevin O’Connor.

Trotta stepped up and went for power. Sullivan was beaten as he dived to his right, but the ball crashed against the crossbar. A desperate scramble in the penalty area followed and Doncaster’s Paul Quinn pumped the ball upfield. Substitute Billy Paynter received the ball with the whole field in front of him completely empty of Brentford defenders. He sprinted from the halfway line into the penalty area, before squaring the ball to the far-post where Doncaster’s James Coppinger slotted the ball into the net. Incredible. 

And with that Doncaster were champions, seconds after being down-and-out.

Bournemouth fans demanded “We Want Our Trophy Out” at Prenton Park, completely unaware what had happened in West London as Rovers completed a fine season with the trophy they undoubtedly deserved.

Rovers fans barely had time to get their breath back when Brian Flynn made the decision to move into a Director of Football role with the club. This left the manager’s position vacant for the second time in four months, with Flynn (formerly a scout at Rovers) had succeeded Dean Saunders who left for Wolves.

Saunders’ move in hindsight was a mistake. As his old Rovers side won promotion to the Championship, Wolves were relegated from it. Many expected Saunders to be prepared to admit to his mistake, as he was sacked at Molineux, but he refused to reapply for his old role, and Rovers entered a thorough application programme.

Considering Doncaster were playing in the Conference in 2003, there were some very high-profile names linked with the club, many with Premier League experience, showing how far the South Yorkshire side has come in a short space of time. Just last season Neil Warnock and Owen Coyle were managing with Queens Park Rangers and Bolton Wanderers respectively in the Premiership, yet suddenly the pairing were both 10/1 for the Keepmoat Stadium vacancy. Former Sunderland manager Terry Butcher admitted an interest, whilst Simon Grayson and Kenny Jackett were low odds during the process after over achieving in the Championship with clubs of similar size of Doncaster at Blackpool and Milwall.

But as the weeks passed by, two major candidates emerged. Paul Dickov and Michael Appleton are believed to have gone head-to-head for the final weekend, after Stuart McCall and Craig Levein reportedly completed the shortlist. Dickov was odds-on favourite from an early stage, and the media were unsurprised when he eventually won the race. However, the fans weren’t as convinced - unlike the press - until the last moments, when odds-on favourites in previous vacancies were rarely appointed by Rovers chairman John Ryan; such as Mark Robins who claimed this position early on in the season before Flynn was appointed.

Dickov, a former Manchester City striker, excited the Rovers hierarchy with his strong links to several sides including the 2012 Premier League champions, and arrives with energy and a both a long-term and short-term plan.

The Scot spoke passionately about unearthing quality from the Rovers academy in the longer term and utilising his contracts to add immediate short-term quality in Donny’s survival fight next season. He was also incredibly enthusiastic and optimistic, stating: “I don’t want to go into the Championship with the expectation of staying in the division. I want to raise the bar… why can’t we be pushing for the top half of the table?”

This was met with favourable support from the Rovers supporters. Of 221 supporters surveyed on the club’s VSC forum, just six were critical, with most backing another careful, shrewd decision from the board which has churned success over the last decade.

Dickov has a huge task on his back though. The club has very few Championship-quality players with 5 key signings targeted by John Ryan. Rovers lack quality down the side of the team, most notably with the absence of a first choice goalkeeper following the departure of Gary Woods. Rovers too are very weak in central midfield following the expiring of Dean Furman and John Lundstram’s loan spells, whilst striker Iain Hume has also returned to Preston North End.

The football league releases it fixtures on the 19^th June and despite Dickov’s great optimism the club are 100/1 for a second successive title.

Doncaster Vacancy

"Picture the scene; David Cotterill's stunning goal had given us (Doncaster Rovers) a 1-0 win over Colchester, to send us joint-top of League One. I looked ahead to this meeting, thinking it was going to be a breeze..." John Ryan opened the Rovers Fans Forum with, on Monday evening to an abundance of laughter. But the following forty-eight hours showed, once again, that you can never be sure of anything in football.

When Dean Saunders was appointed manager of Doncaster in September 2011, he was immediately under the cosh. He had replaced Rovers' most successful manager in Sean O'Driscoll, despite having no Football League management expierence. He was forced to work with Willie McKay who's signings divided a dressing already depressed from a huge slump in form, linked with the injury crisis of the previous Spring. Signings like El-Hadji Diouf and Pascal Chimbonda, often under-performed throughout the campaign, as Rovers were relegated following a 4-3 defeat at home to Portsmouth.

With McKay out of the door following relegation with the vast majority of Rovers' first team squad. Diouf, Chimbonda, Beye, Stock, O'Connor and George Friend all departed as Saunders had a task to build a squad from scratch. Of the players still remaining only Martin Woods, Paul Keegan, Tommy Spurr, Kyle Bennett, Chris Brown Gary Woods and James Coppinger had featured for the club prior to Saunders' arrival. Yet with signings such as Cotterill, Rob Jones, Jamie McCombe, Paul Quinn, James Harper, David Syers, Billy Paynter and loanee Iain Hume they had drastically reduced the wage bill, but still recorded a 3-0 away win at Walsall on the opening day; and that was just the start.

Saunders leaves Rovers joint-top of League One and have not suffered an away defeat in eleven matches, allowing for a club record to be beaten if the club avoides defeat post-Saunders at Stevenage on Saturday.

Saunders was somewhat a surprise choice for the Wolverhampton board given his previous brief spell in the Championship, accumulating in the clubs' relegation. But it shows how successful the club has been this season, and Rovers' fans will understand the lure of such a large club would be difficult to turn down.

Rovers must now find themselves a new manager. Chairman John Ryan stated their had been around 50 applicants by Monday Evening, a figure which has surely increased in the days since. Of those 50 he declared "8-10 are first-class". He recalled how when Rovers were relegated from the Football League 15-years-ago, he had to beg a manager to come to Belle Vue.

But in a shiny new home, with average attendances over x5 larger and a potential promotion on the cards for any manager who maintains momentum for a couple of months, it's not difficult to understand why the large amounts of interest in the position.

Here are the contenders (odds as 12:31, 10th Jan 2013):

Mark Robins - 1/3 (StanJames)

A former manager at Rotherham and Barnsley where expectations were met whilst playing attractive football, Robins is now rebuilding Coventry City after a difficult start to the season both on and off the pitch. A dire financial situation at the Ricoh may tempt him to move on, aswell as a South Yorkshire past. However, following hiring of managers who the fans had barely heard of such as Dean Saunders and Sean O'Driscoll, any appointment of Robins would surely be too mainstream for John Ryan's eager-eye? However like SO'D a couple of weeks prior to managerial change, the managers' side beat Rovers convincingly in the League. O'Driscoll's Bournemouth beat Penney's Rovers 5-0 at Dean Court in 2006, whilst Robins' Coventry hit Saunders' high-flyers for four in December 2012.

Paul Dickov - 5/1 (BetVictor)



The former striker is currently managing Oldham amongst a sea of uncertainty. Athletic are currently battling relegation at the foot of League One, but having just lost his backgroom staff, Dickov may too be threatened and the opportunity at Doncaster may catch the eye for the young coach.

Steve Lomas - 9/1 (StanJames)

A relatively unknown manager, Lomas took St Johnstone into the Europa League last season after a good finish, building on the work done by Derek McInnes and Owen Coyle in Perth. Linked with Crystal Palace, Burley and Bournemouth this season, Lomas may be tempted into management in England like his predecessors. His relatively unknown persona to Rovers fans is most likely of the leading candidates to fit John Ryans "who's he, then?" choice.

Owen Coyle - 12/1 (StanJames)

Despite success at Burley, Coyle was relegated with Bolton from the Premier League last season. He may be looking at a Championship club of similar size to Burnley, and Rovers could be six months away from being just that, with the opportunity of a promotion on the way. I suspect Coyle would hold out for an established Championship side however, and his wage demands would not fit with Rovers' offerings.

Glynn Snodin - 12/1 (StanJames)

Regarded as one of the best assistant managers in the game, former Rovers skipper Glynn admitted an interest in the Doncaster managers job on Radio Sheffield last night admitting the club is very close to his heart. Hired by John Ryan as assistant manager to brother Ian in 1998, he went on to Charlton, Southampton, West Ham, Leeds and Northern Ireland. He is currently first-team coach at Huddersfield Town.

Brian Flynn - 20/1 (StanJames)

When Glynn departed Rovers in 1985, Brian Flynn arrived at Belle Vue and shortly after became club captain. Following a spell as scout since the summer, the former Wales and Wrexham manager was installed as caretaker manager following Dean Saunders' exit. Approaching from within would maintain momentum aswell as having respect from the current squad aswell as plenty of expierence. Therefore Flynn would be my choice as the next Rovers manager.

The Season To Forget

Eleven years as a season ticket holder. Three promotions; One league title; One National Cup Win; One League Cup Quarter Final; Two Sheffield Cups; One ‘Great Escape’; Two very successful managers; One Willie McKay, and now, one imminent relegation.

The writing’s been on the wall for a while. Rovers first fell into the drop zone on the 16^th August, and bar two weeks at the start of October have remained there ever since.

The season did change in September however, despite similar results regularly since. Sean O’Driscoll, who established the club in the Championship after winning the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy and League One play-off final, was dismissed with a club on the slide.

No doubt a huge injury crisis that swamped the club last season played it’s part, even as players became fit, form and confidence remained unchangeable, and ‘King Sean’ was dismissed on the 23^rd September, just days after the owner, John Ryan has hailed him ‘the best manager in the Championship’. He didn’t have many fans on his back- with the exception of those fans ‘who wouldn’t be satisfied if we won the European Cup’ (he later proclaimed). But with his earlier statement, it begs the question, was it a dramatic U-turn, or was his hands forced, by difficult directors, who later left the club.

What happened next was equally astounding. Before proven successors could be linked, presumably the likes of Paul Ince and Roy Keane would have been linked, both up-and-coming managers with a fight, and a proven instant impact in the football league in recent years. Who knows what would have happened if the directors had opted for this path. Instead a quite different approach was taken, and the same news bulletin that announced SO’D’s sacking declared Dean Saunders had abandoned Wrexham’s title challenge, to take up a challenge at the opposite end of the table, three tiers higher.

How quickly Saunders was appointed poses suspicious, as does why a man with no football league managerial experience was handed the role at a club desperate for results. Yes, it was a clear, decisive decision that had been made to benefit the club, but was there surely no tapping up? Could a deal have been really done that soon? I trust the club’s judgement as I always have.

Saunders was no stranger to relegation battles, as no fewer than eight times he faced the dreaded drop during his illustrious career, which also saw him feature for Liverpool during the 1990s.

Things started off brightly, Rovers collected seven points from the first three games with impressive wins over Crystal Palace and Peterborough along with a draw with Hull, but things turned ugly when Sky Sports and Leeds United came to town.

Things had changed. It wasn’t just a case of the new manager’s ‘honeymoon period’ was over. It was more than that. Rovers, regarded by many, as a team with very limited finance, had somehow been able to start an England International, in the form of Chris Kirkland, and French International Pascal Chimbonda, famously regarded as a disruptive influence on the bench. That week was the start of the Willie McKay era. That week, many months ago, back in October, was the week the relegated Rovers. As for the Leeds match, the club were embarrassed. They were destroyed 3-0.

That was the start of a bad run of form. A 2-1 defeat to Blackpool, 3-1 to Portsmouth, a 1-1 draw with bottom-of-the-table Coventry City, 3-1 against Middlesbrough, 2-0 at Barnsley, 0-0 with Watford, 3-2 at Millwall were results that followed, only with a rare victory over Ipswich the only glimmer of hope during the autumn.

During this spell results dwindled, from 12,000 down to 8,300. But importantly, there was one more significant viewer. Willie McKay.

His wikipedia, openly states Mr McKay (an ironic contrast to the Porridge character of the same name) as a criminal. Banned by the FA in 2008 for his involvement in the transfer of Benjani. McKay arrived at Doncaster with the ambition to ‘make serious money’ out of the club, through the form of player progression, whilst clearly alienated the club’s supporters.

Under normal circumstances, signings such as El-Hadji Diouf, who made his debut against Middlesbrough on November 1^st may have been praised by supporters, but McKays crazy intention to use our beloved club for his savage, selfish ambitions, as a stepping-stone was met with justified anger. No fewer than an incredible seventeen loans and free transfer have been made by McKay. These clearly disrupted team spirit, with players such as Chimbonda also being played when a better player (James O’Connor) was available. A clear division between the old guard and the egos were formed. Diouf often refused to pass too, stopping Rovers from capitalising on fantastic opportunities.

Prize-asset Billy Sharp was sold, Wales midfielder Brian Stock got injured, John Oster hit a poor run of form and was banished to the bench, all perhaps contributed to a miserable season, but McKay’s scheming is the undoubtedly factor. Having said that, had Habib Beye not formed a magnificent partnership with Sam Hird, the club would have conceded for fun, and presumably been relegated much earlier. This rare discovery was perhaps the highlight of a poor season. We also seemed to improve against higher placed teams, as the experienced Premiership superstars, ouced Southampton and Leicester in December and holding West Ham at Upton Park, a stark contrast to being demolished away at Watford, against Notts County in the cup, and at home to Millwall, the latter a 3-0 thrashing.

Dean Saunders was unfortunate enough to be stuck in the middle. With the lack of job security a managers job was difficult at the best of times, but with a desperate need of a goalscorer and a hard-tackling defensive midfielder, and due to the position of McKay being landed with half a dozen target man unaccustomed to English football instead, he has my dearest sympathy, and I’ve seen enough quality from the Welshman that I’d like to see him stick around. His tactics are often shrewd, his substations (I highlight the West Ham away match as an example) are good. The trouble is, he’s let down by those ‘too big for the club egos’ that show much more willingness to party in Bournemouth instead of produce the goods against Millwall and Barnsley, and as a fan of a club, I find these menaces a disgrace to football, especially my club.

Like I say, I hope Dean Saunders can show more consistency, and be allowed to sign his own players in the positions that need strengthening. We can bounce back, but the next few months are crucial.

Rovers Till I Die.

One Nasty Experiment: An Incredibly Risky Solution Downgrading The Ethics Of A Club

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 7^th 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 23^rd 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 2^nd. 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.

A slide of the times?

Written 23rd May-2nd June

As the final day of the Premier League once again adds a nervous twist, the tightest relegation scramble in recent history saw Blackburn, Wigan and Wolves, all with their stories of worry throughout the season, before pride prevailed with effective performances and triumph on survival Sunday.

It was not so happy a story at White Heart Lane or Old Trafford for the visiting clubs. West Ham’s sorrow had already been drained, thus their horrendous horror show at home to Sunderland is irrelevant in many senses. It merely ruled Kevin Keen, surely, out of the running to become the new permanent manager at Upton Park. Consequently the biggest question in the country was not a lot to do with the Hammers, but who would join the London club in the Championship. The subjects were unfortunately Blackpool and Birmingham who would subsequently suffer the pains of Millwall, Barnsley and Doncaster next term.

On December 31^st, Blackpool sat in a very comfortable 9^th in the Premier League, with games in hand on all of their opponents, at that point it looked like the Seasiders were more destined for the likes of sunny skies of Portugal and Cyprus in the Europa League, than the West Yorkshire clouds of Huddersfield and Leeds in the Championship. The club had picked up 25 points from their opening 17 games at that point. They went on to claim just 14 more, from their final 21 matches, finishing rocked in 19^th place on 39 points.

Birmingham on-the-other-hand did make it to Europe after beating Arsenal at Wembley on 27^th February. However a fear of relegation had been a threat rather than a certainty for most of the season, as they spent much of the campaign outside the bottom three. However injuries came at a cost, and one win in the clubs last eight games saw the club slip below Wigan and Wolves and into the Championship. And thus, the Championship beckons.

The English top flight, however is not the only league with freefall on the cards, as for Birmingham and Blackpool a trip to Doncaster is due, who themselves saw a drop from 14^th to 21^st since the turn of the year, coupled with just three wins against Scunthorpe, Derby and Burley as the worst injury crisis imaginable hit the South Yorkshire club.

(League Position at the end of each month)

The low point of Rovers’ season was a 6-0 drubbing to Ipswich. The Reds fielded a severely under-strength team, which included a rookie goalkeeper, no established centre backs, a defender in midfield, the absence of their skipper and no fit centre forwards. Perhaps it should have been anticipated that the score line was to be as atrocious as it was.

It could be argued that the 2010-11 season has been on the cards for numerous years, as the club’s strength in depth has been a concern ever since Rovers’ Wembley triumph in 2008, but never has it been exploited to this great a degree.

For me, however, the problem arose last summer. I took the trip to Blackpool in April 2010, with Rovers still having a slim chance of entering the Play-offs. Rovers welcomed back Paul Heffernan who returned from his loan spell at Bristol Rovers. He had only returned to the club the previous morning, but it showed the lack of strength in depth in strikers over a year ago. Blackpool was victorious by two goals to nil, and went on to win promotion. Rovers then released Heffs and Lewis Guy, who joined League One clubs which left Rovers with an ageing James Hayter and injury prone Steve Brooker as the only established strikers at the club.

The two most defining moments of the season arguably happened last summer, as Jason Shackell signed for Barnsley ahead of Rovers, creating a void at centre half that was never properly filled. Also the record signing of Billy Sharp from Sheffield United, although adding to the worryingly low list of strikers, meant that the club had effectively spent its transfer budget.

During the summer of 2009, Rovers had sold two items instrumental to their promotion to the Championship and remaining there in their first full campaign. Richie Wellens departed for Leicester City, and Matthew Mills exited south to Reading. Rovers filled these voids by signing John Oster on a free transfer following his release from Crystal Palace and Shackell on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers. Both signings were mammoth successes, as the club drove from relegation candidates in their first season to Play-off contenders the next.

Shackell subsequently opted to move to Barnsley last May, and Rovers were forced to shift their attention to a host of replacements. They signed Shelton Martis, Wayne Thomas and George Friend.

At full strength Rovers are a decent acquisition. This was proved when the club’s early season form took them to what looked originally like play-off contention. Rovers’ fans did have their concerns though; in particular George Friend looked a long way off the pace at left back and was subsequently dropped. James Chambers remained sidelined throughout the season, bar unsuccessful spell in the side in January, as Rovers opted to sign Joseph Mills on loan to fill the void, first in October before returning in January.

Rovers were in fact 7^th when they drew with to-be-promoted Swansea City on 20^th November, they went on to record just four more victories in the entire campaign, of which only Derby County were beaten elsewhere than the Keepmoat Stadium. However the start was also less than perfect, with the wins prior to this point merely coming over the three relegated sides, along with Portsmouth and Hull who were still in disarray following relegation from the Premier League, just adding to the small pride of beating Premiership-bound Norwich and Millwall on South Yorkshire turf.

The defensive crisis that followed after Christmas staggers belief. As Thomas and Martis battled with injuries following the victory over Scunthorpe on January 1^st, Rovers switched their attentions to signing Dennis Souza and Matt Killagallon, who were both reported as established championship defenders. Rovers failed to keep a clean sheet with Killgallon in the side as they slumped to 16^th in the Championship table prior to the Burnley tie on 1^st February, as the Middlesbrough defender formed an unstable partnership with Adam Lockwood.

Rovers kept three clean sheets following 2^nd January, at home to Burnley (O’Connor, Hird, Friend, Chambers), away at Nottingham Forest (Martis, Hird, Friend, Mills) and at home to Crystal Palace (Dumbuya, Thomas, Friend, O’Connor). Therefore, as you can see, to a certain extent the revival of George Friend at the heart of Doncaster’s defence paid dividends, with Sam Hird also a key player on occasion as the young defender staked a claim for first team pride when often hope was a lost cause.

It’s hard to judge whether, therefore it was the lack of the settled team or the quality of the team that stumbled upon. I think both need to be blamed unfortunately targeted.

As Rovers therefore switch their attentions to the future the strength in depth of the squad has been thoroughly tested and questioned, and not just in defence.

Rovers’ record in the absence of Billy Sharp is atrocious, with Dean Sheils often deputising. With Rovers claiming only two wins in the record-signing’s absence. Sheils is supposed to be an international footballer, however inadequate displays and this appalling record as the former-Hibernian star has tarnished, unrecognisable undoubtedly to his former followers.

Sharp’s record, does go to show exactly why Ipswich Town made such a substantial bid to lure the former-Sheffield United forward to Portman Road.

It therefore remains key for Rovers, perhaps more than usual this year, that any deadwood is removed from the club, but key, quality players remain, while new players are purchased to push the club back towards the Play-off places & the promises of the Premier League.

Civil War At Anfield

It’s been a traumatic twelve months for football. Last summer the sport gasped as Real Madrid and Manchester City spent excessive amounts to entice the best players to their magnificent stadiums. We saw prize-asset Cristiano Ronaldo depart the Premiership for sunnier climates, before the division was thrown into the public eye for the wrong reasons, as the credit crunch hit hard and Portsmouth became the first team in English top flight history to enter administration. But nothing could really have foreseen the fiasco that has taken centre stage in the North West, as Liverpool’s internal hierarchy hit boiling point, and fuelled a bitter conflict as the club was divided.

Although the top story on the news this week stresses the magnificent survival of those miners who luckily escaped from deep depths in Chile, it is the chilly scene at Anfield that is attracting as much outside interest, and how a club with its terrific stature can be throw in equally as deep problems.

As recently as 2007, football’s European governing body, UEFA, slandered Liverpool’s fans as ‘the worse in Europe’, but surely even those supporters merit sympathy for the sudden downfall of their famous side. The crisis, although it was obviously not labelled as such way back then, began in the same year as the governing body’s evil words; as during 2007 Tom Hicks and George Gillett, two American businessmen with sporting backgrounds, became owners of the club.

Rick Parry’s sale to the ambitious Texans was made because he believed the move would take the club to the next level. Three months after the takeover- and following no concrete financial support, as there was no transfer window in this time- the club reached the final of Champions League, a feat that was never matched during Hicks and Gillett’s less than fruitful reign.

The club purchased striker Fernando Torres from Athletico Madrid for an audacious fee around £30million in summer 2007 to demonstrate their ambitious intentions; incidentally the club hasn’t won a major trophy since this purchase, despite Torres setting the world alight on many occasions with his vast goal scoring tally. The huge fee of the transfer has certainly placed a nail in the Americans’ coffin, but the Spanish magician is not the main culprit in the demise of the illustrious club.

As the recession hit numerous businesses hard throughout the world, Liverpool too began to mourn a sudden loss of finance, and during 2010 Hicks and Gillett were pushed towards the exit door. The club agreed a deal which would refinance the side, but it pushed Royal Bank of Scotland into the driving seat, at which point- Hicks and Gillett will argue- things subsequently took a turn for the worse.

June 2010 saw the first major twist in the ongoing saga following Martin Broughton and his team’s arrival, Hicks and Gillett continued to battle with financial strain along with added pressure, and once again attempted to refinance the deal they had with the club. The Royal Bank of Scotland squadron, which slightly outnumbered the pairing of the Americans, blocked the deal. The global recession showing its effects, Hicks and Gillett were in financial ruin and the bank was showing no sympathy.

A change of manager could have prompted a revival; it merely showed deeper problems as Rafa Benitez was dismissed after the owners had their own revolt against the Spaniard. The current Inter boss said in September, "The last year at Liverpool I had directors who knew nothing about soccer and you couldn't talk about soccer with them." A fierce critic who is unlikely to shy away from media frenzy, Benitez was forced to assemble what has been regarded as the two-man team at Anfield with Steven Gerrard and Torres the only prize assets. Fulham boss Roy Hodgson replaced Benitez, despite the imminent sale of the club. He was a manager with no previous experience of getting a club into the ‘top four’. He also had to contend with the previous boss’s stars returning from awful performances at the World Cup.

The sacking of Benitez and hiring of Hodgson no doubt took another chunk from the American owners’ wallets, another flawed decision, as the new owners may not have their style of football on the pitch, and therefore Hodgson’s job clearly not stable. Hodgson was immediately under pressure to deliver instant results, which with another man’s squad was far from a given.

As the takeover edged closer to its epic climax, October saw the evil Hicks and Gillett attempting to be very counter-productive and difficult to RBS’ plan to sell the club, yet the business was still edging closer to a sale.

October 6th brought change. Royal Bank Of Scotland, and subsequently Liverpool FC, had found a buyer. New England Sports Ventures, the owner of the Boston Red Sox baseball team had agreed a deal. Martin Broughton then stated a disapproving view on Hicks and Gillett: “I am only disappointed that the owners have tried everything to prevent the deal from happening and that we need to go through legal proceedings in order to complete the sale,”. The quotes coming out of the football club as the sale became concluded were more of relief than looking to the future. The loyal Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher said: “"Everyone knows it'll be a good thing for the club," James McKenna, who runs Spirit of Shankly boldly stated: "We need to rid the club of Gillett and Hicks. It does not matter where they come from as long as they understand Liverpool Football Club. That was the problem with Gillett and Hick, they never really got Liverpool.”

It proved that the owners did more harm than good. But unfortunately for Liverpool’s supporters this wasn’t the end of the tale. On October 7th the sale- believed to be in the region of £300 million- was sent to the courts to decide whether Hicks and Gillett had the grounds to sack Royal Bank of Scotland’s Purslow and Ayre. The court case was due to take place the following Tuesday. This brought with it the very real threat of administration, despite this Purslow stated: "I'm completely focused on making sure the sale completes. I'm not contemplating administration and nobody should be."

By Friday 15th Hicks and Gillett were gone. John Henry had become the new owner of the North West giants. A new era dawned. But a week of anti-climaxes and an embarrassing public affair left red faces by the Mersey. Roy Hodgson spoke of how a cloud had been lifted above the Anfield Kop. “"It's a very good day for the club," Hodgson said just before the deal was confirmed. "It's a relief...it's been a very difficult couple of weeks. There's no doubt a cloud has been lifted from the football club today."

As for the former owners, they wouldn’t die down. Tom Hicks stated the deal was an “epic swindle”. They even tried taking the club to court again, this time in Texas, but the English court stated whatever the outcome was of that case, the ruling wouldn’t over rule the decisions made in London. The Americans had been foolish not only with their ruling of the club during their tenure, but their actions during the sale prospect. It’s safe to say it’s not just a relief to Liverpool Football Club that they are now away from the club, but also away from the beautiful game as a whole.

A Villa Thriller

Written on 14th August

Aston Villa supporters are not unused to strange weeks by any stretch of the imagination over the course of their long, illustrious history, but the strangest week since Randy Lerner’s takeover has certainly grabbed the attention of the football world.

Earlier this summer, Villa’s England star James Milner stated he wished to leave the Midlands club, and there were echoes of Gareth Barry’s demanding move to Liverpool, haunting Villa’s faithful fans that once again their club were only a stepping stone between the rest of the Premier League and the infamous ‘big six’; Manchester United and City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham and the Merseyside Reds, who finished below Villa last season.

Barry’s switch to the North West’s former European Cup Winners eventually fell through, and the midfield dynamo opted for the ambitious, money-wrapped Manchester City, and it is City which looks the likely destination for his former partner Milner.

City have become villains in the Premier League over recent years, does that make the Birmingham club, the more famous owners of that particularly nickname, the victims?

The Eastland’s side have already lost respect from Everton and specifically David Moyes over their pursuit of Joleon Lescott, who took the short drive to switch for £25million in a very public debacle. Also Carlos Tevez’s switch to the club from Manchester United, despite the Argentine stating he ‘wouldn’t join a rival’ when he opted against switching to Liverpool. And Arsene Wenger was less than flattered when Emmanuel Adebayor joined the cast of stars which is still yet to break into a Champions League place.

Back to the Midlands it looks as though Milner has a £30million asking price, surely an overrated place for a midfielder who has only been known as an England regular since the last World Cup, when his nation famously flopped on the largest stage.

I’m not suggesting players are wrong to switch to the team, now managed by Roberto Mancini, but the club are clearly unprofessional in their transfer movements to land their big names to the club.

And it looks like this might have been the cause for perhaps the biggest twist of the Milner saga, the departure of manager Martin O’Neill. A instrumental part of Nottingham Forest’s dominance at the top during his playing career, it looks like the former Celtic boss finally lost his rag on the situation. Randy Lerner, who announced his ambitions to make Villa a force in the top flight during his takeover, thoughts echoed by O’Neill in his first press conference. But O’Neill sighted a change in ambitions with his boss, and it is believed that Milner was sold below the valuation set by O’Neill.

It wasn’t the build up to the season that Villa were on the lookout for. Their manager gone, and most influential player on the exit path. Surely it was inevitable that the their match against West Ham, aided by Graham MacDonald as caretaker manager was destined for defeat?

No such story. An unlikely ending to Villa’s gloomy week as the Midlander’s sailed to a convincing victory, perhaps making neutrals thinking the problems were at opposition West Ham rather than for the hosts.

The goalscorer of the third goal? The ‘unsettled’ midfielder Milner, booed onto the field because of the actions of the last days and weeks, exited to a standing ovation. The jeerers were silenced by a splendid display, Milner now may leave for Lancashire with the backing of his current club’s fans, although the general complexity of his switch will leave a sour taste in their fan’s mouthes.

It could yet turn to be an inspired move for all parties, City could have found money well spent with a switch that could lead them to Premiership glories, the Villa become a lot richer and can maybe smile at the move providing they find an adequate replacement, James Milner arguably has a greater oppitunity to win trophies and also finds his pocket increased with more money, and Martin O’Neill may find himself a better club, with his successful CV still intact, before it turned sour in the first place.

But it is severely risky. Villa lost a manager who took them from the lower reaches of the Premier League into Europe. They also are destined to lose a fantastic player. And it also gives those in this world who have a dislike to the beautiful game yet another opportunity to slam the game which continues to fail to fund itself. Is it in disrepute? Or is it not football at fault? Is it more a case of the ‘ruiners’ of the modern game are Manchester City!?