What a mess we have got ourselves into after the disasterous loss at Colchester, where our expewrienced team of contracted and loan players showed little or no character.
We now have EIGHT games in which to get the points required to stay up. Home games beginning on Monday with Blackpool, Wigan, Coventry and Burton and away games at Rochdale, Bury, Chesterfield and Crewe.
Our present form does not look as though we will be successful. 3 draws and TEN losses in the last 13 games have produced 3 points out of 39.
How have we ended in this position, fighting for survival when, at the beginning of the season we looked, on paper to have a squad capable of at least a play off position? Many had argued that Dickov should have gone at the end of the previous season but he was given the chance to build his own squad.
Eventually, after another long run of defeats he was finally shown the door, with Rob Jones being the interim manager during the long process of appointing a new manager. Rob did no better and in the end we were given Darren Ferguson who had twice taken Peterborough to the Championship. He brought in several new loanees and Craig Alcock the only defensive player who then signed a full contract.
Both Dickov and Ferguson have thought we were OK defensively as both have had an obsession with bringing in midfielders whilst at the same time ignoring the problem every supporter could see.
Our defence was not good enough, in fact had it not been for Stuckmann in goal, producing man of the match performances we would have been down already. Many times he was our only defence. Unfortunately this could not last and he has now started making big mistakes.
We have forwards who cannot score and have gone many games losing by the odd goal which has given the managers the confidence in the defence, had Stuckmann not been there it would have been by many more goals.
Who is to blame ? Is it the character of the individual players, is it poor team management, is it poor administration or is it as I see it a failure of our ownership to admit they know nothing about the game and their priority should have been to appoint a Director of Football. Some one who could advise the manager ( whoever he is) about players etc. Maybe Brian Flynn or someone like that.
Is it also the fault of the owners setting up Club Doncaster, where we are only pleased to announce the Rovers being nominated for this award and that award for OFF field activities. Funny how the only successful club in the area is Doncaster Knights RUFC who have nothing to do with Club Doncaster. They are run by a Board or Committee which knows and understands their game.
These points are up for discussion, but in my opinion we are as good as down and going only in one direction, we need the players to stand up and be counted and to give more than their best. Unfortunately I don't see them doing that, they have given up. We need five wins from eight games when we have gone 13 games without a single win.
Referee Keith Hill
Assists Guy Stretton and Tony Peart
4th off. Rob Lewis.
If you can, Enjoy the game.
ROVERS V Blackpool
posted on 28/3/16
What you need to do, is go down, regroup, then year after get back to where you belong.
Conference.
posted on 28/3/16
To be fair, today we played quite well but as usual, struggled to create any clear cut chances.
Our best players today were Alcock, Middleton and Copps.
Williams had his best game for a while but for a player who scored so many goals last season he appears not to have the knack of being in the right place at the right time.
Too many times today decent crosses were put in but there was no one on the end of them.
A Hefferenan or Sharpe(first time around) would have put some of them away.
McSheffreys delivery from free kicks and corners is very good.
However, as the game went on you could sense that Blackpool might score and when it came the way it did then you just know that nothing is going to go for us.
With our remaining fixtures i really can't see where we are going to get even a point.
The new keeper by the way looks to be an improvement on the BFG.
Three points from forty two.!!
It is hard to write that and even harder to believe it has come about.
Before anyone says it isn't Fergies team just consider this.
Of the Rovers own players that performed today all but ATS and Butler have either signed or been offered extended contracts.
Thre rest of the team was made up of loan players brought in by DF.
Back in January i commented that DF's failure to bring in experienced defenders could cause us to slip into a relegation battle and that has proven to be the case.
He has publicly berated the players of late which is very poor man management and he has had a go at senior players on the pitch, then subbed them straight away, and done the same in the dressing room.
Again, very bad man management.
I actually thought he might be good for us when we got him, of the applicants, i probably would have picked him myself.
However he has been a massive let down, too attack minded without thought for defensive strengths.
He had been quoted when he joined us as saying "i don't build defences". and maybe the writing was on the wall then.
Evina got slated at Colchester for being skinned by their winger but part of the fault was that Stewart never got back to help Evina out by "twoing up" on the winger.
That wasn't addressed in the match either.
We are now relegated without a doubt so the owners should bite the bullet, get rid of Fergie and start thinking about who should take over for next season.
Azza, again, i don't want to kick off anything but i also sit behind the goals and after Blackpool scored i did hear some calls for Fergie to relieve himself of the managers post ( not those exact words by the way).
posted on 28/3/16
Snapski Do us all a favour and get back under the rock,best place for you. It's got to be better than Barnsley.
posted on 28/3/16
Thanks Ny.
Thanks hound you have said all that i was going to say re todays game.
I think Rowe did ok till his legs went.
And Butler did ok.
I cant remember one defence splitting pass all the game.
All pushed out wide for a poor cross into the box or a good cross and no one there.
Middleton used to try threading the ball through but no longer.
If it wasn't for the keeper it could have been embarrassing.
Agree Alcock mom by a mile .
26 did do well.
RTID
posted on 29/3/16
I haven’t put a comment on for a long while, but after this weekend’s debacle, I felt I have to say something. Like my friend, NY, it is difficult when thousands of miles away to really judge what is really going on. I’ve enjoyed the sparring between out wonderful fans, although at times personal issues blind some people. I’m 71 years old and first went to Belle Vue just before my fifth birthday, and so have seen many ups and downs. Luckily I was in the USA during the disastrous season when we were relegated to the Conference, but somehow, the collapse this season seems even worse. Who would have thought that just after we deserved a draw against a Premier League side, we have not won a game?
Many of you have had great comments and insights and I like to think we are all friends as well as supporters despite differences of opinion. For me Fergie was my choice, but maybe we should all have seen the Posh supporter’s comment that was posted on VSC which has turned out to be somewhat correct. I really do not want to pick one person out, but maybe Hound was the most prescient of us all about a relegation threat, and I laughed with everyone else. OK, I know many of us screamed for a good centre half, but none of us talked “relegation”.
Assuming we are relegated, what does everyone want? Maybe Fergie could build a good team, but he seems to have lost the support of the few good, experienced, players we have. What good out-of-work manager would want to take this on?
To me, John Ryan saved this club from extinction, but then even he went astray (Dickov and the “performance” at Barnsley). However, we need someone in the hierarchy where Doncaster Rovers runs through his or her blood, and passion has to be there to keep the heart going.
I just read an article about Thai influence in UK football – Leicester, and I did not know, Sheffield Wednesday and Reading. I honestly do not think a Thai investor is the solution for our beloved club, but who knows?
posted on 29/3/16
I do not think Ferguson will be sacked and rarely do managers resign in this position; they are hardly likely to work again; staying in the job means they can hope to oversee an improvement.
The odds are firmly against us escaping from the bottom 4 and the directors cannot be blind to this. They are not impulsive entrepreneurs of dubious integrity and they must recognise their share of responsibility for our current plight and they will not desert the sinking ship. That is something for which we should be grateful.
At worst, we will find ourselves in League 2 and still financially sound. The power is in the hands of the Board and we have to hope that, consistent with good business practice, they will review and improve the management structure which has led to our current situation and do something about it.
A new manager would have no real prospect of extricating us whereas Ferguson, whose confidence is battered, but who cannot have lost his innate ability to manage will still be motivated to get us up to 20th place.
posted on 29/3/16
PDXMickey, it is interesting that you say perhaps a Thai investor may be our recovery option.
You are aware of course who is our new shirt sponsor from next season?
posted on 30/3/16
Hound you will see that I have mentioned this twice on VSC, I know Sir Rodney Walker who is their UK contact, he used to be President of the RFL an Chairman at Wakefield Trinity and Leicester City, he would make a good Chairman of the Rovers.
He was also on the Board of the British Sports Council.
posted on 30/3/16
OK, I admit I'd forgotten about the shirt sponsor. Thanks for reminding me!
posted on 30/3/16
Uk Efluent Production should be our sponsors