popular STAND 54 by popular STAND fanzine

Issue 54: Editorial

and indeed attempting to get their respective heads around what is going on at the Rovers. An incredible amount has happened to our football club since I developed ‘fanzine writers elbow’ scribbling “continued on page 14” in every copy of Issue 53.

As ever I begin by thanking you for purchasing this latest edition of Popular STAND. Having slightly increased the print run to 350 copies since taking over from Nathan and Lucy I am delighted both of our previous issues have now sold out and hopefully Issue 54 will follow suit. On the subject of past issues, I must apologise for the somewhat postmodern page ordering in sections of Issue 53, which led to it reading like one of those children’s mystery novels where you choose your own ending. Hopefully my five hours spent annotating every copy meant you were able to enjoy John Coyle’s piece on the 1996-97 season in the order it was written, rather than that in which it was printed. Touch Gary Woods I’ve not made the same mistake this time.

The catalyst for all that has gone in the last month was the placement on ‘gardening leave’ of Sean O’Driscoll and Richard O’Kelly. The dismissal of a manager is never going to be pleasant, and is rarely mutual, but the manner in which Rovers handled the final few days of O’Driscoll’s tenure, and beyond, was shoddy to say the least and certainly no way to treat one of the best managers in the club’s history. “Who is better? I can’t think of any manager that is better equipped for the job,” proclaimed John Ryan in the press, and yet by late that very night the board had thought of Dean Saunders, and he was approached and effectively hired the same day, meaning he discovered he was Rovers manager before O’Driscoll discovered that he wasn’t.

Huge thanks also to Dave Plant of Black Olive Design & Print for his patient and timely help with design software to enable me to keep producing the fanzine in its current guise. And whilst I’m doling out thanks I must acknowledge our regular band of happy-go-lucky contributors for taking the time to put fingers to keyboard,

There are of those who thought Sean’s time was up, that he had taken Rovers as far as he could as the increasingly clichéd saying goes, though I remain unsure how this can ever be known in anything other than retrospect. (Indeed Chris Kidd looks back at Sean’s achievements on page 10 of this issue). Ultimately, though I disagree with

Friends, Rovers, Doncastrians...

Issue 54 Contents 03. 05. 06. 10. 12. 13. 14.

Editorial Popular STAND Classifieds Previously at the Rovers To Lindum and Back Hoop Dreams Soundbite Bingo Seasons in Retrospect

18. 20. 23. 24. 25. 28. 31.

Voice of the Pop Side Windmills of your Mind Stat Attack View from the Clift The VSC Responds Blowing My Own Trumpet Trumpet Man’s Song Book

POPULAR STAND; a football fanzine for the likes of Doncaster

issue 54

the termination of O’Driscoll’s contract, had it been done solely on the basis of results, on that fact that the club had not won in 19 league games, then I could, begrudgingly, accept it. Of course we now know that wasn’t the case. The full picture of events at Rovers has only really begun to emerge since last Friday, when an article by Neil Ashton appeared in the Daily Mail entitled (with typical Mail snappiness) So, what is agent Willie McKay doing pulling the transfer strings at Doncaster Rovers? The article disclosed McKay’s full involvement with the club and how he was now solely responsible for conducting Rovers’ transfer business with the aim of bringing in players who were looking to move on to, or back to, the Premier League, on short term deals. But, it was not just the details of McKay’s scheme that were more fully disclosed in the article, but the events of the past month as well. We now know of course that Rovers approached McKay to become involved in the club, and given the quick turnaround of the managerial position this has to have been done with O’Driscoll still at the helm. It was also made known at a recent Rovers Alliance meeting that O’Driscoll had refused to deal with McKay in the past, specifically when the club and the agent had looked into bringing then Hamilton duo James MacArthur and James McCarthy to Doncaster. It is also known that one of the Rovers three main directors Terry Bramall had ceased to put any more money into the club at the start of the season, leading to the Loan Star Appeal, something which I questioned in last month’s editorial (and something which is addressed by the VSC themselves on page 25 of this issue). The funds now available to Dean Saunders and/ or McKay would suggest that Bramall has now resumed his level of funding to the club. And we also now know that Willie McKay outlined his plan for the club’s new ‘change in policy’ to the FA on 27th September. That

was just four days after his principle client had been unveiled as manager of Rovers, and given that he spent the first of those days lurking in the back of press conferences perpetually on the phone, and much of the second day attending Rovers match with Crystal Palace, Willie either works fast, or, had perhaps been working on this approach for longer than the time since O’Driscoll was despatched to the garden. This all points to a timeline that is somewhat at odds with the version of events being presented to supporters by the club, but then whilst Sean remains tending his lawn and still yet to reach a settlement with the club, theirs is the only version of events we are likely to encounter in the foreseeable future. And herein lies one of my biggest annoyances with the current lie of the land at Rovers; the propaganda-like dismissal of the pre-Saunders era coming from the club. Saunders is repeatedly referenced as being ‘upbeat’ and ‘lifting the mood’ and ‘getting everyone smiling again’. All soundbites juxtaposed against this increasingly orchestrated image of O’Driscoll trudging about with a grey cloud over his head, like a character in a Charles M Schulz comic strip. O’Driscoll and O’Kelly strove to improve the club away from the field; they put great time and effort into establishing the youth set-up and indeed Sean was a regular attendee of youth team games. Saunders meanwhile has championed the youth team, but against the backdrop of a new club philosophy, that overtly favours the quick fix over the long-term. It appears it is not what you say, but how you say it. And so that brings us onto the McKay Masterplan; the club’s strategy going forward placed in the hands of a man who has candidly admitted “I’m only here for the money.” Rovers are chucking it all on red. And yes, it is a gamble that may pay-off and deliver the club’s aim of staying in the Championship (as John Coyle suggests on page 18 of this issue), but it is ultimately a gamble. “An experiment” is how McKay

POPULAR STAND; a football fanzine for the likes of Doncaster

issue 54

himself puts it. Rovers get big name players. McKay gets a cut of sell-on commission. He has nothing to lose, but can the same be said for Rovers? How do you forge a team ethic and a style of play or tactical approach with players who are only likely to be around until the transfer window creaks open again? Are big names really a guarantee of success on the field? McKay has stated that the club came to him because “they have a wage bill of £8m a year and want it reduced to £4m”. I’m no mathematician, but I’m fairly sure adding players on £2,000 per week contracts as we have done so far does not reduce a wage bill. Therefore it is reasonable to foresee something of a fire-sale on the horizon in January. But if players are leaving, who will take their place? Would any other agent encourage their client to move to Doncaster, when they know that McKay will take a cut of the subsequent deals, and that they can only get a short-term deal with the club? And what happens if the club is relegated with a large number of players on short-term contracts? Will Rovers be viewed as such a stepping stone to football’s riches if they are in the third tier? This editorial is not an argument that SO’D is better than Saunders, and I hope that you are able to read it as intended. Too often discussion in relation to Rovers is simplified into them and us arguments, no room for middle ground, are you for or against? Which is it to be Sean or Dean? McKay’s revolution or O’Driscoll’s overcast route to despair? Things are not that straightforward at the club, and so should not be read as such. As regular readers will have probably gleaned from my columns in this fanzine over the past decade I have much disdain for the ways of modern football. I have no time for S*y Sp**ts hyperbole and rhetoric and I wince at the notions of ‘come and get me pleas’ and clubs who’ve lost back to back games described as being ‘in crisis’. Thankfully, Rovers have long offered me a

safe haven away from all that, and an added sense of pride that my home town club had reached the level of Leeds and Leicester and Birmingham by doing things the right way, both on the field and off it. At our club players spent their close season trekking the Andes for charity rather than forgetting they owned luxury cars, they clubbed together to fund a colleague’s wages rather than expressing rage at ‘only’ being offered £60,000 a week. Sadly, the change in ethos at the club over the past five weeks means we are no longer a source of envy from supporters of other clubs. We no longer sit apart. We’re just another football club. One that dismisses managers ungraciously, that places its future in the hands of agents of ill-reputation. One that subscribes to the notion that above all else it’s “a results business”. I still support the team of course, for as long as it exists, but the ‘change in approach’ has lessened my pride, and taken away much of the positive reputation Rovers had built to get to their current position. There are those who will shrug in the face of all this and say “well, that’s football,” perhaps, but for the last decade, our club showed that it didn’t need to be.

Glen Wilson

CLASSIFIEDS

WANTED: Gardening equipment. Basics needed; forks, hoes, spades etc. Ideally two of each. Contact Sean or Richard. CONNECTIONS: You were the fancy dan midfielder who claimed to have once had a trial at Barcelona. I was the big Scottish bloke always on the phone and always stood in the middle of the pitch at Monaco. Get in touch now for light strolls around second tier football, before we go on to make beautiful money together. Contact ‘WillieMac’ GLAZIER REQUIRED: Championship Football club seeks experienced glazier for fitting of large ‘shop window’ across Stadium. Contact, ‘The Board’ c/o Keepmoat Stadium, Doncaster.

POPULAR STAND; a football fanzine for the likes of Doncaster

issue 54

Previously at the Rovers

Popular Stand’s diary brings you up to speed on events since issue 53 With a lot going on at the Rovers since we hawked Issue 53 outside a Stadium near you, we have decided to resurrect the Popular Stand diary to bring you up to speed with events since early August. Sat 13th August

Doncaster Rovers 0-1 West Ham “Its going to be a long, hard season” said Matt in the seat next to me as Kevin Nolan’s fourth minute volley settled in the back of the South Stand net, and at that point it was very difficult to disagree. Though West Ham dominated the opening half hour Rovers gradually found a way back into the game and were unlucky not to rescue a point. Despite the result, the positives certainly outweigh the negatives for Rovers, not least through the manner in which they clawed their way back into the game with a clear belief in the system they were playing. No points on the board yet, but no panic either

Tue 16th August

Doncaster Rovers 0-1 Nottingham Forest If I could some up Rovers’ league season thus far in a single word then that would most likely be ‘frustrating’. The reason is the very strong belief that a full strength Rovers side would most likely be undefeated at this point in the season. As it was Rovers went at Forest from the outset, created much more chances than their opponents, and still went down to a 1-0 defeat. Get comfortable folks, we look set to be in for a bumpy ride.

Sat 20th August

Derby County 3-0 Doncaster Rovers It’s probably a sign of a bad season in the offing when even a trip to Pride Park, or ‘the points factory as we’ve come to know it, brings Rovers a defeat. After three successive league wins at Derby, Rovers finally whimper to a 3-0 defeat.

Tue 23rd August

Doncaster Rovers 1-2 Leeds United If you’d peered in peer in the Keepmoat Stadium gates the morning after this game then chances are you’d see the groundsman struggling to disentangle a kitchen sink from the goal-netting. Rovers threw everything they had at Leeds United, controlled the game for long periods, had vastly more efforts on goal than their opponents and yet somehow ended the game as the losing side. Leeds struggled to cope with the forward momentum offered by wing-back Mustapha Dumbuya and Kyle Bennett, and but for the goal-post and Paul Rachubka Donny could have been out of sight. As it was two wonder-strikes from Ramon Nunez gave Leeds an unlikely victory. It never rains, but it pours.

Sat 27th August

Doncaster Rovers 1-1 Bristol City “Well, I think this could be the season we go down you know,” said Matt as Bristol City took the lead, and in this game it was difficult to find evidence that doesn’t support his feeling as Rovers failed to take their own chances whilst succumbing too easily to an opportunity for the visitors. A notion characterised as a rare City attack brought them a 40th minute lead, and then James Hayter missed a penalty on the hour mark. Midway through the second half Hayter made amends with an equaliser and now the passes across the back-line to retain and switch possession which had been groaned at when the score was 0-0, were now being applauded at 1-1. Despite Rovers best efforts it ended all square, thanks in no small part to City keeper David James.

POPULAR STAND; a football fanzine for the likes of Doncaster

issue 54

Sat 10th September

Cardiff City 2-0 Doncaster Rovers Four days after missing a sitter at the far post for Wales against England Rob Earnshaw it was typical of our luck that when presented with the same opportunity against Rovers he would not waste it. Earnshaw’s goal, Cardiff’s second, was the nail in the coffin for Rovers after they had matched their hosts for the opening hour. O’Driscoll’s uncharacteristic go for broke half-time gamble of replacing Richard Naylor with Milan Lalkovic sadly not paying off.

Sat 17th September

Reading 2-0 Doncaster Rovers Rovers fail to win at Reading, night follows day, earth revolves around the sun.

Thu 22nd September

With Rovers now without a league win since March it was refreshing to see John Ryan publically backing his manager in today’s Doncaster Free Press.

“For the people shouting for the manager’s head, I ask you the questions who would you replace him with? Who is better? I can’t think of any manager that is better equipped for the job, and those clubs who sack managers willy nilly end up relegated. The board and I are not going down that path. You only have to look at our neighbours Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday – need I say more?” Encouraging words. However, by the end of the day that statement was starting to look like Ryan’s ‘I have in my hand a piece of paper’ moment as late in the evening the Daily Mirror’s website reported that Dean Saunders had been appointed as Rovers’ manager with Sean O’Driscoll placed on gardening leave.

Fri 23rd September

The Mirror’s story turns out to be true as the following statement appears on the Rovers website; It is with regret that the shareholders of Doncaster Rovers FC have taken the decision based on the long run of poor results, that Sean O’Driscoll and Richard O’Kelly have been relinquished of their duties. They felt that action needed to be taken to address the current position. They would like to thank Sean and Richard for all their work during the five years at the club including winning at the Millennium Stadium and Wembley. Dean Saunders will take charge of the game on Saturday against Crystal Palace.” Speaking to the BBC John Ryan said; “We really couldn’t let it get much worse. We tried to back Sean as best as we could, but in the end we felt a change was possibly the right thing to do.” As U-Turns go it is a combine harvester in a country lane. Clumsy, clanking and awkward. In an afternoon press conference Saunders told reporters “I admired Liverpool’s philosophy - which is a winning mentality - and that had been lost here by some players. I bring a fresh pair of eyes and inject enthusiasm to the whole situation and want to move off the bottom of the table as quickly as possible.”

Sat 24th September

A further twist in the managerial change with the Yorkshire Post reporting that Sean O’Driscoll had been sacked by text message. “Chief executive Dave Morris was told to contact O’Driscoll but, after getting no reply, left a text which O’Driscoll discovered at 6am,” reported the paper. Doncaster Rovers 1-0 Crystal Palace A “fresh pair of eyes”, a “winning mentality”, a determination to “fight our way out of the situation we’re in”, and “knock the stuffing out of teams”, were just a few of the things

POPULAR STAND; a football fanzine for the likes of Doncaster

issue 54

Previously at the Rovers continued...

Dean Saunders had suggested he’d bring to Doncaster Rovers in the whirlwind twentyfour hours following his appointment as manager. In the end, the one key thing that did roll in the door with him, enabling Rovers to pick up a first victory since the opening day of March, was something he could not have planned to deliver; an awful lot of luck. Palace should have had a penalty in the first half, one which if given would have seen Rovers down to ten men, but George Friend’s shove was missed. And midway through the second half John Oster’s low shot took an almighty deflection to provide the game’s only goal. Far too early to judge the new manager, he did have a nice suit on though. Nick reckoned it might have been Burtons. Flash, these ex-pros.

Tue 27th September

Doncaster Rovers 1-1 Hull City For the second time in four days Rovers benefitted from the raise in atmosphere afforded by the second half introduction of Billy Sharp to take something from the game. An awful first half showing had seen Hull take a first half lead, but that was cancelled out as Simon Gillett turned in Jon Parkin’s header to equalise.

Wed 28th September

Pascal Chimbonda joins Rovers on a shortterm contract. Chimbonda is a client of the Doncaster-based agent Willie McKay, as too is manager Dean Saunders and El Hadji Djouf who was rumoured to be joining Rovers earlier in the week. There are also rumours that another of McKay’s clients James McFadden was in the stands at last night’s game. McKay’s heavy presence leads some to suggest he has invested in the club, but this is rebuffed. He does however clearly have a significant presence in Rovers’ current transfer policy.

Sat 1st October

Peterborough Utd 1-2 Doncaster Rovers An unusually hot October day and a return to terracing were two reasons to be cheerful at kick-off in Peterborough, only for the mood to darken after one of the worst first half performances I’ve seen Rovers produce in years. Somehow they escaped it just 1-0 down and then shocked us all by going on to win the game. A Brian Stock exocet and Kyle Bennett’s persistence putting Rovers ahead before they rode out their luck with Posh hitting both posts late on. A win, but another fortunate one.

Tue 4th October

Herita Ilunga becomes the latest ‘big name’ player to join Rovers, signing on a three-month loan from West Ham. The club are also rumoured to be in discussions with Frederic Piquionne and, even more outlandishly Mahamadou Diarra.

Thu 13th October

Goalkeeper Chris Kirkland signs for Rovers, and his interview with the official site suggests he too was recruited by Willie McKay; “I got a call last Friday from Willie McKay asking me if I would consider it...” Kirkland would return to Wigan injured within a week.

Fri 14th October

Doncaster Rovers 0-3 Leeds United Abysmal, awful, terrible, shocking. Just four of the words used by friends, and myself, to describe Rovers showing in this fixture, and four of the kinder ones at that. In front of the television cameras and a larger than usual away following, with Leeds having been afforded two blocks of the East Stand, Doncaster capitulate to a 3-0 defeat. Rovers, playing in a flat 4-4-2 as they had at Peterborough struggled to retain possession and create chances throughout the night leading Saunders to remark post-match;

POPULAR STAND; a football fanzine for the likes of Doncaster

issue 54

“Have we got the right players for what I want us to do? We’ve lots of nice pretty footballers, but we’ve not got many Roy Keane types.” Angry dog-walkers apply within.

Tue 18th October

Blackpool 2-1 Doncaster Rovers Accounts suggest this was a much improved showing from Rovers, aided by reversion back to a more familiar 4-3-3 set-up. Billy Sharp gave Rovers a 27th minute lead turning in Giles Barnes drive across goal, and Rovers could have added more with Sharp, Bennett and Oster all coming close. However, the introduction of Thomas Ince changed the home side’s fortunes; the substitute levelled the scores just after the hour mark and then snatched a victory in time added on with a fantastic long-range strike. A harsh defeat for Rovers who had deserved at least a point.

Fri 21st October

A concerning interview with Willie McKay appears in the Daily Mail, which reveals that the agent has an exclusive £100 per week deal with Rovers whereby he has full say on Rovers’ transfer targets with Saunders holding the right to veto, although as Mckay says; “but is he seriously going to

turn down Mahamadou Diarra, a guy who’s got 150 games on his CV for Lyon and 120 for Real Madrid?” The plan is to bring in players looking to move to the Premier league on short-term deals, and profit from their quality whilst McKay himself takes a commission. ‘I’m doing this to prove it can be done and I’ve been honest enough to admit I’m only here for the money” says McKay before pulling his cloak across his face, setting off a cloud of smoke, and retreating into the night.

Sat 22nd October

Portsmouth 3-1 Doncaster Rovers A somewhat comfortable win for Pompey who took the lead just three minutes in as Luke Varney added the sole touch needed to turn a goal-kick into a goal. Simon Gillett equalised just before the half hour mark though with a fine strike from the edge of the area from John Oster’s corner. Portsmouth’s dominance was rewarded in the second half as Dave Kitson headed in a second before Varney made it 3-1. The result leaves Rovers 23rd, three points behind 21st place Coventry. Sean O’Driscoll incidentally remains on ‘gardening leave’ and is yet to reach a settlement with Rovers.

Popular STAND Online

Well, after thirteen years in existence we finally caved to modernity and have gone and launched ourselves one of them there website things. At Popular STAND online you’ll find links to Rovers related articles plus our own photo diary of the 2011-12 season

Visit the site now; http://popularstand.tumblr.com POPULAR STAND; a football fanzine for the likes of Doncaster

issue 54

To Lindum and Back Chris Kidd attempts to get his head around the dismissal of Sean O’Driscoll... Friday 23rd September was unlike most Fridays that preceded it. Sat at my desk at work I felt confused, dazed and quite frankly stunned. Only 48 hours earlier John Ryan had stated Sean O’Driscoll was safe and underlined his hatred for the ‘sacking’ culture in football and here I was getting to grips with the fact that the duo which had brought us Cardiff, Wembley and a brand of football unique on the budget they were allowed, were out mowing the grass. I always firmly believed that even if we were relegated at the end of the season we would still have SOD in charge such was the security of his job. I think Friday 23rd September marked a ‘power shift’ in the DRFC boardroom. At Conference, League Two and League One level JR could shoulder the financial burden almost single handed and with that responsibility make all the decisions, but when it came to competing in the Championship further backing was required. I would suggest JR was out-voted in some sort of a poll in the boardroom and sure enough the money men got their wish.

Sean settles into his new role

Now is also time for reflection. What this club achieved in the SOD/ROK era will to my mind never be accomplished again by a club of similar size and structure. The brand of football we became known for which we were able to achieve on such a tight budget was outstanding at its height. The ability to see raw potential in players and bring that on through their own brand of coaching is also a happy knack not many managers and coaches in the game can lay claim to. Make no mistake about it, this duo had everything apart from one thing in the last 12-18 months at DRFC and that was luck. I won’t harp on about injuries again but it’s fairly safe to assume we wouldn’t be having this obituary of sorts if the injury list had been a little less damaging than what it was. Ultimately I believe Lewis Dunk is to blame for all this and when he visits with Brighton in March I hope he’s greeted with the type of welcome Ken Richardson would expect to receive in Doncaster. We have had a brilliant ride in the last five years and we have been spoilt by the football we have become accustomed to and the down to earth nature of those involved. The dynamic duo took us from Belle Vue to the Keepmoat ensuring two vital achievements along the way; winning the last game at Belle Vue and emulating that with the first game at the Keepmoat. No club wants to look back in the history books and see they lost one of the transitional games when moving grounds. They took us to Cardiff and to make up for

POPULAR STAND; a football fanzine for the likes of Doncaster

issue 54

The moment that defined Sean O’Driscoll’s future? Billy Sharp lays injured at Brighton

that they gave us a day out in London at the home of football for the first time in the club’s history, and yes Leeds fans, it probably was our greatest hour. We would not have seen the likes of Mills, Wellens, Stock, O’Connor, Shackell, Hayter and of course Sharp if it wasn’t for the SOD/ROK partnership; let’s not forget most of players signed to date stated a large part of their decision was based on the manager and the brand of football. The latest chapter in the club’s recent history has closed and I doubt another one like it will ever be recorded; there are big shoes to fill. Good luck to Sean and Richard there is a club out there that will benefit immensely from your experience, expertise and knowledge. Raise your cups of Yorkshire tea and salute a job well done. Moving on I guess we should now look at supporting the new manager and his backup team. Dean Saunders is someone I vaguely remember from the early Premiership years, he seems to have done a steady job at Wrexham and now he has an ideal opportunity at a club where he will hopefully get most of the support he needs.

This is where a definite new chapter seems to commence, the ethos of the club has now changed and it looks like the club is going to try a different approach with Saunders at the helm. Already we know Pascal Chimbonda has signed and there is a very long list of other names, mostly associated with Doncaster based agent Willie McKay that we seem to be linked with. I’m not sure how this change in ethos will work and it moves us even further away from the ‘pub team’ image we forged for ourselves. Let’s hope those involved have learnt enough lessons on spending outside your means from Sheffield, Nottingham and Leeds. Currently, at the time of writing, seven points from the last nine looks brilliant. I don’t for one minute think we will breeze it up the table from now on in but I think we should finish comfortably with the spine of the team fit. Sharp has undoubtedly lifted the crowd and the team with his appearances so far but for me Stock’s return to orchestrate the midfield and rest of the team has been vital. Let’s hope he stays with us a bit longer.

POPULAR STAND; a football fanzine for the likes of Doncaster

CJK

issue 54

Hoop Dreams Fresh of the Popular Stand production line that launched such greats as Colin’s World and Melinda’s Peroxide Point of View we are delighted to force upon you a new regular feature; Hoop Dreams. A platform upon which to confess your Rovers-related nocturnal visions without fear of judgement. First to the fore is our own Mike Follows. To some supporters Leo Fortune-West was a scapegoat for many things during his time at the Rovers, but perhaps none quite as tenuous as potentially throwing a spanner in the works of my marriage. Leo could have prevented the first seed of the relationship from ever developing into anything more substantial thanks to his goal scoring exploits. Let me take you back to the 10th of April 2004. You remember, it was the day we’d won 2-1 away at Bristol Rovers on the way to winning Division Three thanks to Adebayo Akinfenwa’s physical presence as he steamrollered two defenders and the Gas’ ‘keeper on the way to bundling in the ball for the winning goal. Having made it home in good time for a pre-arranged date with the girl from the flat downstairs, the vodka began to flow and off we went into town. Buoyed by the Rovers victory and half a bottle of Mr. Smirnoff’s finest it soon turned into a great evening. All continued to go very well until about 3am. Spending the night together for the first time it must have come as something of a shock for my wife to be when I sat bolt upright in bed and shouted “YYEESSSSS!

Leo Fortune-West tra-la-la-la-la, he shoots like a bullet from a gun!” then laid back down and went back to sleep as if nothing had happened. The excitement of the day had evidently had a quite profound effect on me. I had somnolently envisaged myself pulling on the red and white hoops and stepping out onto the Belle Vue turf, picking up the ball on the right wing and whipping a telling ball right into the corridor of uncertainty to be headed home by big Leo. It’s the stuff dreams are made of. Literally. I’m rubbish at football but I’ll always remember the assist I made on my Rovers debut. Never before, or since, have I had quite such a vociferous reaction to an imaginary nocturnal event, which is probably for the best. In terms of testing the foundations of a relationship it certainly filled me with confidence though. If singing the praises of a lower-league centre forward in the early hours doesn’t adversely affect things then you know you’ve got something special. So thank you to my understanding wife. But most of all, thank you to Leo Fortune-West.

Have you had a Rovers related dream? Perhaps you’ve suffered nightmares in which you’re trapped between Paul Barnes and a buffet? Have you found yourself soaring above the tree tops with an Ian Nimmo made of snow? If so why not jot it down and send it to us to share with the world in a future episode of Hoop Dreams. See page 2 for contact details.

POPULAR STAND; a football fanzine for the likes of Doncaster

issue 54

POPULAR STAND; a football fanzine for the likes of Doncaster

issue 54

Bradford Exile’s

Season in Retrospect After an issue’s hiatus we’re delighted to continue our look back at Rovers’ season’s past as Ray Jest picks up where he left off in Issue 52. We convene back in the Summer of ‘69 after Doncaster’s 4th Division Championship (Bryan Adams is clearly a Rovers’ fan) for a look at the 1969-70 season. 1968/69 had been one of the most successful seasons in Doncaster Rovers recent history and with this in mind the club faced the start of the new season of 1969/1970 with great anticipation. Squad-wise Keith Webber had moved to Chester City, and Rovers won the battle with Lincoln City for the signature of Goalkeeper John Ogston, who had been on loan at Doncaster for most of the Championship winning campaign. Manager Lawrie McMenemy put pen to paper to spell out his plans and his way to the success, but many of the National

Newspapers were full of doom and gloom regarding financial matters. According to reports most clubs in the Third and Fourth Division were running on shoestring budgets and barely surviving. Whereas a considerable number of clubs had admitted to weekly losses and large overdrafts Rovers had been very non-committal as to any financial matters at all, but with gates for the previous season averaging over 12,000 they appeared to be in a strong position. The Belle Vue attendances were in fact the best in either of the lower two divisions. Rovers’ pre-season friendly games had a cosmopolitan air, pitting them against, amongst others, Italian giants Lazio who ran out comfortable winners at Belle Vue although they had to wait until the 50th minute to get on the score sheet. There was also a visit from American team Dallas Tornados, a game which resulted in a 1-1 draw. The Sheffield County Cup Final had been held over from the previous season meaning that Rovers notched the rare achievement of losing the current season’s semi-final a week before suffering a 2-0 reversal in last year’s final versus Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.

Goalkeeper John Ogston, now fully a Rover

Doncaster started season 1969/70 with a 2-1 defeat at Torquay, but followed that with

POPULAR STAND; a football fanzine for the likes of Doncaster

issue 54

three wins and a draw from their next four matches. A 2-0 home win over Mansfield was followed by a 1-0 away win at old rivals Rotherham, and after a goalless draw at Shrewsbury Town they completed the August programme with 1-0 win at Belle Vue over their other local rivals Barnsley. The end of the month saw Rovers in 5th position in the league, and optimism was high throughout the town. A 1-0 reversal at Reading at the beginning of September did little to dampen the confidence of the Rovers players or fans and the team went on an unbeaten run of eight games. Victory at home over Tranmere Rovers was followed by successive draws against Bury and Halifax Town. Two games at Belle Vue followed and both resulted in wins; the first visitors Southport were defeated 1-0 and then Brighton arrived only to be duly despatched by 2-1. Fulham were to be Doncaster’s next opponents and the long trip down to London to play at Craven Cottage was viewed as their toughest test to date. They would prove to be up to it, coming away with a well earned point in a 1-1 draw that had many correspondents singing their praises, not just for gaining points but also for the manner in which they were playing. During the close-season much had been said about the state of the ground and car park and in the Autumn newspaper reports suggested the Doncaster Corporation was in talks with the club with a view to Rovers buying Belle Vue and developing the site into a top class football stadium. The talks had been reportedly started by the Rovers Chairman Mr Frank Wilson. He had requested that a dialogue be set up between Corporation and club to hammer out the

future plans for the ground. It was stated that the Corporation who had long been against the sale of Belle Vue to the club would perhaps now be willing to discuss “certain terms”. The club even employed an artist to sketch plans of the new main stand should the plans go ahead. Mansfield Town were beaten 2-1 in an evening game at Field Mill putting Rovers into 2nd place in the division, the perfect build up to the next game against the division’s top team Luton Town. A crowd of 17,380 turned out to see Rovers triumph over their illustrious opponents 2-0; an own goal by Slough and a Briggs strike keeping Rovers in touch with a promotion spot. Doncaster would lose their next two though, 2-0 at home to Orient and 1-0 versus

POPULAR STAND; a football fanzine for the likes of Doncaster

issue 54

Season in Retrospect continued...

Stockport County. In an effort to keep in touch with the leaders Rovers looked to an old boy and re-signed Laurie Sheffield from Norwich City for £7,000. Sheffield made an emphatic debut, hitting the post as early as the second minute and going on to score the second goal in a 3-1 victory at Walsall’s Fellowes Park The following Saturday Rovers entertained Bristol Rovers at Belle Vue and again ran out 3-1 winners, a match followed up with a 1-1 draw against Plymouth Argyle, again at Belle Vue. That game against Plymouth took place on the 21 November 1969 and from the next fourteen games up to the 28th February 1970 Rovers took just six points. It was a period that saw them slump from 4th in the league to 15th and many people were beginning to look over their shoulders toward the teams at the bottom of the division.

In February Rovers picked up only one point from a possible eight. A goalless draw at home to Walsall at the month’s end coming after three defeats on the road at Luton Town (4-0), Gillingham (2-1) and Stockport County (3-1). In March Doncaster fared somewhat better. Draws were gained at home to Bradford City and away to Plymouth and Barrow, before Rovers first win in nine games. Gillingham were the visitors to Belle Vue and they were beaten by a single goal; Briggs’ 8th minute penalty giving the home side a welcome win by 1-0.

Doncaster lost 3-1 at Bournemouth, won 3-1 at Tranmere and then lost four games in a row, away losses at Barnsley and Brighton, Rovers’ two Lawries; Sheffield above and McMenemy below bookended by home defeats to Rotherham and Halifax Town, before a 2-2 draw away on the coast at Southport. Defeat at home to Reading by a score line of 2-3 was followed by a 3-1 home win over Rochdale. But the end of January brought another 1-0 defeat, again at Belle Vue, this time by Fulham.

POPULAR STAND; a football fanzine for the likes of Doncaster

issue 54

Unfortunately Rovers soon reverted to their old ways and lost the following two games, 2-0 at Rochdale and 3-0 at Bradford City. A welcome 3-2 win at home to Barrow with goals from Sheffield, Briggs and Johnson was followed by a 1-0 home defeat to Orient. Rovers now found themselves in dire straits, they were now in 16th position, many of the clubs below them had games in hand and they needed to pick up points to ensure that their promotion season was not to be followed by a relegation season. Thankfully Doncaster discovered some sort of form and in their last five games of the season remained undefeated, starting with a 1-1 draw away to Bristol Rovers. Doncaster then won three games in a row, something they had not done even in their impressive early season form. Shrewsbury Town, Bournemouth, and Torquay were all sent packing from Belle Vue on the end of defeats. The final game of the season resulted in a 1-1 draw away at Bury, but Rovers were already safe before kick-off. In the cup competitions Rovers had mixed fortunes. In the League Cup they were drawn away in the first round at Grimsby Town. 6,243 spectators saw Doncaster run out 2-0 victors to set up a 2nd round draw against Blackburn Rovers of the 2nd Division at Ewood Park. Doncaster scored

first through Briggs only for Blackburn to equalise and the race into a 2 goal lead. Robertson’s goal for Rovers reduced the arrears before Blackburn scored a fourth and final goal to put the issue out of doubt. Rovers had acquitted themselves well on the night, pushing a Blackburn side containing five International players to the limit. In the FA Cup Rovers were drawn at home to Crewe Alexandra in the first round. Doncaster should have won the game easily but a 77th minute equaliser earned the visitors a draw, meaning Rovers had to travel to Crewe for the replay. After 21 minutes Stuart Robertson leapt for the ball with Crewe goalkeeper Ernie Adams. Robertson managed to get there first and head in what was to be the winning goal. In round two Rovers faced Chester away from home, a 1-1 draw setting up a replay at Belle Vue. Ex-players are often said to come back to haunt clubs, and this replay was to offer just such an example. Keith Webber transferred to Chester by Rovers at the beginning of the season scored one goal and gave the Rovers defenders a torrid time throughout as Chester triumphed 2-0 to bring another Doncaster cup campaign came to an end.

Can’t wait until the next issue of Popular Stand? Fear not intrepid fanzine reader for Popular Stand is also active between issues on what the kids call ‘social networking sites’. Yep, thats right, you can waste time at work, and avoid spending uncomfortable hours with your family doing old fashioned things like ‘talking’ and stuff, by reading inane short updates and messages from your favourite Doncaster Rovers related fanzine

Become a fan of ‘Popular Stand’ on Facebook

Or alternatively, follow ‘@psfanzine’ on Twitter

POPULAR STAND; a football fanzine for the likes of Doncaster

issue 54

Voice of the Pop Side

The McKay Plan; The Least Worst Option? In the wake of the Daily Mail’s revelations regarding Willie McKay’s invovlement in Doncaster Rovers, John Coyle examines the agent’s masterplan and asks, is it the least worst option available? I was going to write this piece about the departure of manager Sean O’Driscoll, and express my disappointment that the best manager of Doncaster Rovers in my lifetime has now left the club. However, all that changed when I read the article in the Daily Mail on Friday 21st October. Under the not-very-snappy title “So, what is agent Willie McKay doing pulling the transfer strings at Doncaster Rovers?” the Mail’s Neil Ashton described the scheme set up by McKay aimed at reviving the ailing fortunes of Rovers, as well as no doubt improving his (McKay’s) bank balance. My first reaction was anger and disbelief, as well as a feeling that several previously-unanswered questions were now resolved. For example, it is difficult to imagine O’Driscoll wanting to buy in to such a scheme. Having had chance to think a little further, I now believe it is possible that this enterprise may represent the least-worst alternative for Rovers at the present time. The clue to the problem faced by the Board of DRFC is summed up in the opening sentence of Ashton’s article “Take one struggling Championship club, a crippling wage bill of £8million a year...” Even if some of the figures

quoted in the article are open to question, there is no doubt that Rovers are losing money year on year. Television income of around £3million per annum does not come close to covering the wage bill and as Rovers are tenants at the Keepmoat Stadium they do not have any sizeable assets against which to borrow. Average League attendances have fallen from 11,964 in 2008-09, Rovers first season in the Championship, to 10,258 last season, and look set to fall further this season. This is not the place to discuss the whys and wherefores of falling gates, except to note that it is a common problem throughout football at present, but it is true that Rovers face a nightmare scenario of rising costs and falling income. Something has to give. So before we dismiss Willie McKay’s plan, it is worth considering the alternatives. Ideally, Rovers would secure new investment allowing for the current losses to be covered and new money to be spent on better players. Sadly, football clubs outside the Premier League are not greatly attractive to foreign investors with huge piles of cash to spend. There are exceptions of course, Leicester City being the most obvious, but they have a stadium built for top flight football and a much larger fanbase than Rovers. In any

POPULAR STAND; a football fanzine for the likes of Doncaster

issue 54

case, foreign owners bring their own problems with them, not least the risk that the money may suddenly dry up or that the owners’ past may prove to be rather, shall we say “colourful!” -think Thaksin Shinawatra or Carson Yeung. The other alternative is to accept that we are punching too far above our weight and that relegation might not be such a bad thing after all. Relegation to League One, which was almost our fate anyway last season, would allow for the wage bill to be reduced with expensive stars replaced by cheaper alternatives. Rovers might win rather more games, they might even challenge for promotion. The idea of becoming a yo-yo club between Championship and League One, rather in the manner of Scunthorpe United of recent years, appears superficially attractive. However, it has serious downsides. For one thing, a falling wage bill would be offset by falling income. We’d receive very little TV money in League One and would have to cope with the reality that attendances would

Willie McKay,; football revolutionary, or fat Scottish bloke on a phone in Monaco?

probably fall even further. Rovers averaged League crowds of 7,978 in 2007-08, our last season in League One, this despite being in contention for promotion for the last three months of the season. Rovers might “do a Colchester”- effectively finding their level in League One, with lower costs but also lower income and a declining fanbase making it difficult to aspire again to Championship-level football. Or things might get even worse and as they did the last time they dropped out of the Championship (or Division Two as it then was) Rovers might soon find themselves in League Two. So what are we left with? A club losing money, little prospect of new investment and the real possibility that relegation could mean the end of a dream. Given such conditions, perhaps the idea of getting into bed with Willie McKay doesn’t seem such a bad idea. And yet, I still have serious misgivings about it all. For example, can McKay actually deliver the players he claims that he can, as unless we can obtain a better-quality player at low cost we are no better off than we are now? Will existing players be sold and will McKay benefit financially from those sales? Most of all, is it not a huge gamble to entrust the running of the playing side of the club to an agent who has the current manager as a client? The potential conflicts of interest seem huge? However, on balance I think I will have to cross my fingers, hope for the best and judge the success or otherwise of the “McKay Plan” at the end of the season. Because ultimately, unless Rovers are still a Championship club for season 2012/13, then the McKay Plan will have failed.

POPULAR STAND; a football fanzine for the likes of Doncaster

issue 54

Dutch Uncle’s

Windmills of Your Mind Popular Stand Statisticion Brian Witherden emerges from his tulip-scented underground bunker in Den Haag to bring you an analytical look at late goals. How many times have we groaned as Sean O’Driscoll brings on a fifth defender to defend a lead, and the inevitable equaliser appears? Familiar text? This was the first line from my Issue 53 article about match swings, comparing how often we have thrown away winning positions versus how often we have comeback from losing ones. So this time I have taken a look a related issue which has been discussed by all and sundry recently - if the VSC message board is anything to go by - namely the curse of late goals. That we naturally say ‘curse’ suggests we think that we concede late far more often than we score late. Has it always been so? How good or bad was Sean O’Driscoll’s record? Like last time I am not going to debate the tactics of Sean O’Driscoll or anyone else, or whether a fifth defender denies an outlet and invites opposition pressure. Again, I will simply take a high level overview and gather and analyse data on games in which Rovers have either conceded or scored goals in the last 10 minutes of a match. To do this I need data on times of goals scored, and I have this for all league matches from the 1993-94 season onwards. I have then looked at the matches in which we have scored or conceded (or both) after the 80th minute. The data may not be quite 100% accurate in that in a few cases the time of a goal might be given as 79 or 80 minutes in different sources. Also the 80 minutes cut-off is fairly arbitrary, but my own personal opinion is that the last five minutes would not generate

enough data, and 75 minutes was simply too early to cut off. Of course not all late goals affect the result; take last season at the Keepmoat when Copps scored his hat-trick goal against Norwich after 86 minutes to make the score 3-1, or when Ipswich scored a 90th minute penalty (I recall they already had a handy lead at that time). So as well as counting the total of goals scored and conceded after 80 minutes, I have also compared the score after 80 minutes with the final score, and I have counted the number of ‘points’ dropped or gained in the last 10 minutes. Note that the asymmetry of an equaliser conceded meaning 2 points dropped whereas an equaliser scored gains only one point means that I have not used the current 3 points for a win system. As last time I have used 2 points for a win and 1 for a draw since it is symmetric and thus a better measure of whether we have been better at coming back from losing after 80 minutes than we have been at relinquishing a lead. Note that in comparing 80 minutes with the final score, some late equalisers or winners might not count. For example a match which is 1-1 at 80 minutes, Rovers score after 85 and concede after 90 would not count as a point gained or lost, even though everyone walks away with the picture of a last minute point dropped. This analysis produces the following table for all league games since 1993-94:

POPULAR STAND; a football fanzine for the likes of Doncaster

issue 54

Overall, over the 18 seasons concerned we have conceded 187 goals in the last 10 minutes as opposed to 165 scored, and we have dropped 84 points and picked up only 61 meaning we are significantly in the negative on both counts. The first detailed conclusion is that with 19 goals conceded in the last 10 minutes last season was the second worst in the list, second only to the self-destruct season of 1997-98 when we conceded a whopping 24 goals in the last 10 minutes. However most of these 24 were with the opposition already leading by as many as five goals â&#x20AC;&#x201C; indeed only five of those 24 goals actually made any difference to the final result. In addition, and unsurprisingly, it can be confirmed that last season was very bad for points dropped from leading positions, with 8 points dropped it was the second

worst on the list after 1999-2000 (11), and equal with our first championship season of 2008-09. However, we were surprisingly good at gaining points from losing positions after 80 minutes (5 points gained) so last seasonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s swing of -3 was not the worst ever (-10 in 1999-2000), with our first season in the Championship also being significantly worse (-8). The 2008-09 season was the only campaign in which we failed to gain a single point in the last 10 minutes, and produced our lowest number of goals scored in the last 10 minutes - only three.

Our best swing (+7) was in the 200203 season when we finished 3rd in the Conference before winning the play-offs â&#x20AC;&#x201C; this is slightly surprising in that it was clearly better than 2003-04, the season when we swept all before us in winning Division 3. This is explained by the fact that in 2003-4

POPULAR STAND; a football fanzine for the likes of Doncaster

issue 54

Windmills of your Mind continued...

we were usually already leading when we entered the last 10 minutes, but by the way we didn’t lose a single point to a late goal the only season we have achieved that. Season 1999-2000, Ian Snodin’ s second season as manager, was characterised by the most points dropped to late goals, which clearly played a part in him losing his job. On the theme of managers it is once again interesting to compare the records of our last two managers. Sean O’Driscoll’s record is 40 goals scored, 54 conceded, 16 points gained and 28 dropped for a swing of -12. Dave Penney’s record for a similar time period (just under five seasons) is 57 scored against 29 conceded, 21 points gained versus 12 dropped for a swing of +9. This is consistent with the comments made in the last article on match swings that Sean’s passing game would seem to be good for getting leads, but Dave Penney’s more blood and thunder style rescued more points than thrown away. Again it should be pointed out that on average Dave Penney’s seasons were at a level lower than Sean, and Sean’s own record becomes appreciably worse in the rarefied atmosphere of the Championship. Also Dave Penney’s figures were boosted by the best

season of 2002-3, but nevertheless the

difference between Dave and Sean is significant in statistical (if not automatically in tactical) terms. In eight cases in those eighteen seasons a game has been turned on its head by two goals in the last 10 minutes and defeat has been snatched from the jaws of victory - or vice versa. Three times we have come from behind after 80 minutes to win, and five times we have lost after leading after 80 minutes (now increased to six after this season’s opener at Brighton). Two of those defeats occurred in Ian Snodin’s 1999-2000 season referred to above (2-1 home defeats to Stevenage and Kidderminster).Other such losses occurred at home to Chester in 199394 (a 3-2 lead after 80 minutes subsiding to a 3-4 defeat), and at Norwich in 2008-09, when a 1-0 lead was overturned by a lucky

Paul Heffernan celebrates one of two late goals at Port Vale in 2006.

POPULAR STAND; a football fanzine for the likes of Doncaster

issue 54

deflection and an injury time winner for the home team. The three wins include the famous comeback against Dover (the 0-3 score after 30 minutes becoming 3-4 by 80 minutes before ending in the dramatic 5-4 win) and the revenge at Stevenage in 2002-03 where we improved a 0-2 half-time deficit to 1-2 after 80 minutes and a 3-2 win by the end. The most public late turn-around was live in front of Sky Sports cameras at Port Vale in 2006 during Micky Walker’s short caretaker manager tenure when Paul Heffernan turned a 0-1 deficit after 80 minutes into a 2-1 win with two goals in the 88th and 90th minutes. The other occasion when we lost after leading after 80 minutes? In 2005-06 Dave Penney’s Rovers lost 2-1 after leading 1-0 at the 80 minute mark. Where? Dean Court of course where Sean O’Driscoll’s Bournemouth

staged a stirring late rally culminating in a winner in the 90th minute scored by none other than Brian Stock! See Sean could do it! So as last time the motto is ‘with Rovers never give up, but never assume anything.’ P.S. I hope the fact that my last two fanzine articles have highlighted recent matches with Dover, Kidderminster, Stevenage and Chester at Belle Vue, whilst the fanzines concerned have been for Rovers matches against West Ham and Coventry at the Keepmoat, has not been lost on any fan disappointed with the current state of affairs.

Caveat - no figures quoted in this article are official. Dutch Uncle uses many often conflicting sources including club handbooks, Rothmans/Sky annuals, and best of all the official Rovers history by Bluff & Watson. For definitive data the reader is referred to Tony Bluff and/or Barry Watson.

Stat Attack... Stat Attack Pie Chart 01. Things Willie McKay is at Doncaster Rovers for... Money Anything else

Chart Title

Line Graph 02. Employment opportunities for clients of Mr W. McKay during the year of 2011 Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

POPULAR STAND; a football fanzine for the likes of Doncaster

Aug

Sep

issue 54

Oct

A View from the Clift With his finger firmly on the pulse Matthew Clift gets to the heart of the real issues. Never mind all this talk of potential relegation and managerial changes at Rovers, there is a much more pressing issue to address at the Keepmoat Stadium this season; why do all these boxers think we are interested in looking at their new belts? Last week my son took a rope into school to show his class, but that’s because his daddy had made it at the Devil’s Arse caves in Castleton and because it was Show-and-Tell day. It was also because my son is four years old. I’m not a pushy parent, but I’m going to make damn sure that by the time my little boy reaches his mid-twenties he’s fully aware that generally people don’t give a shit about looking at things that other people own, unless they plan on stealing them at a later point. And yet at every single Rovers game, and for as long as I can remember, the bloke on the mic - who everyone has been wishing would just shut the fuck up for about five years now - has ordered me to tear my eyes away from Angry Birds and pretend to be interested in some flouncing fighter called Jamie or Jonjo and his latest garish sartorial acquisition that he’s brought in to class to show around like some overgrown fucking infant. Why do boxers have such appalling taste in belts anyway? Is it some psychological defect brought about by getting punched in the face for a living? They always seem to have chosen one that’s far too wide to fit into the belt loops of even the most casual pair of slacks and therefore fails the first fundamental requirement of any belt; namely that it should hold your trousers up. And it’s not just an issue of oversizing either, I wish to God it were; at least if that were the only fault it could be rectified by making an extra hole for the buckle. But these belts

don’t even have a buckle. Even your most basic rainbow-striped elastic snake belt used to have a rudimentary hook-and-eye system in order to allow the wearer to fasten it securely around his middle, but not these belts; why else would the preening pugilists foisted upon us at the Keepmoat be brandishing them above their heads instead of wearing them around their waist like any normal person? I can only surmise that there is significant money to be made from exploiting gullible boxers. In much the same way that so-called disaster capitalists step into a catastrophestricken nation to strip away its assets and fleece a shell-shocked local population, I imagine that there are shifty belt salesmen hanging around Caesar’s Palace and Doncaster Dome waiting for punch-drunk boxers to emerge bloodied and battleweary from the ring in order to sell them these abominations before they can gather their senses and recognise them for the unmitigated fashion disasters that they are. I therefore propose that all major boxing governing bodies agree to include in future prize purses a voucher for Next, with the strict proviso that it may only be spent in the men’s accessories department. Of course you’ll get the odd world heavyweight champion squandering their voucher on a cummerbund or a Wallace and Gromit tie, but at least it’ll be a step in the right direction. And Rovers can play their part too; by banning any more boxers from bringing their belts to the Keepmoat they can send out a message that they refuse to condone the exploitation of vulnerable fighters by unscrupulous belt vendors. And then maybe I’ll be able to concentrate on my half-time game of Angry Birds again.

POPULAR STAND; a football fanzine for the likes of Doncaster

issue 54

The VSC Responds

The Viking Supporters Co-operative Answers Fans’ Concerns In the Editorial to Popular STAND 53 I voiced a few concerns, in the wake of the launch of the ‘Loan Star Appeal’, in regards to Rovers supporters’ group the Viking Supporters Co-operative. In the interest of balance I did at the time invite the VSC to respond, and last week sent a number of questions across to them for their consideration. VSC Vice-Chairman Rob Clark kindly offered to reply to the questions set and his responses can be found here. For the uninitiated, perhaps you could start by saying what the Viking Supporters Co-operative is and what it does? Legally recognised as a Supporters’ Trust under the friendly society rules, and accountable to the FSA (Financial Services Authority) under its rules, the VSC has existed for over 10 years. Our members are stakeholders in the club through the shares the VSC own in Patienceform Ltd (the company which trades as Doncaster Rovers Football Club). Our aim is to achieve the greatest possible supporter and community influence in the running and ownership of the Club, and be the democratic and representative voice of the supporters of the Club, strengthening the bonds between the Club and the communities which it serves.

Many supporters often view the VSC as simply a fundraising drive for the club, what would your response to that be? This view is quite justified as many fans will remember the VSC’s fundraising initiatives such as the Coin Trail, which sought to help fund the Rover’s Youth Team by collecting enough £1 coins to stretch from the Belle Vue ground to the (then proposed) site of the the Keepmoat Stadium. In these early days of the Trust, these funds raised from supporters (and converted into shares in the club) were vitally important in keep the club going, a fact which John Ryan recognises. However, The VSC page in recent matchday programmes has addressed this very perception, and explained further about the role of the VSC and the relationship with the club. Fundraising is still important as it allows us to strengthen the position with the club, but we are also looking to change some of this focus and provide more funding to support community activities to promote both the Trust and the Club.

POPULAR STAND; a football fanzine for the likes of Doncaster

issue 54

The VSC Responds continued...

In the editorial to Issue 53 I muted concern that the VSC was often too quick to go along with some of the club’s ventures, without pausing to ask questions of them. I cited the ‘Loan Star Appeal’ in that editorial suggesting that the important questions, such as ‘why are we doing this?’ were eschewed in the clamour to be seen to be doing something favourable for the club. How do you respond to this? Every time the club asks for our support it is considered on its merits, not merely agreed to without pause, and there have been a number of occasions where we have refused to help for a variety of reasons. These are just not publicised.

Where does the VSC stand on the Loan Star Appeal? Since the club backed it in August, they have gone on to bring in five players on varying deals plus a new manager and backroom staff. The club had set a record budget for player wages, which had been further increased on the back of the Matt Mills sell-on clause when he joined Leicester City. However, this budget had all been committed through the summer new signings and new contracts for existing players. The injuries to Billy Sharp and James Hayter in the first game of the season created an exceptional situation, and a loan striker was identified by the Rovers’ management. In order to get the funding necessary from the other Directors, John Ryan asked for a show of solidarity from supporters, and so the request was made in good faith and

responded to by the VSC in a similar vein. Recently I penned a web article which raised concerns about the recent change in Rovers policy, an article which was dismissed by the VSC as “nothing more than self gratification”. In these situations should the VSC not be responding to such concern rather than simply writing them off?

Rob declined to answer this question as he felt it was unfair, and that the quotation cited within did not represent the wider view of the VSC.

One area, in which I believe the VSC could improve, is in its communication to supporters. While I appreciate that often the VSC committee is privy to information that it is not in a position to divulge to a wider audience, much more could be done to ally the concerns of supporters sooner. For example the Leyton Orient Supporters Club and Leyton Orient Football Trust recently came together to release a joint statement in regard to the Olympic Stadium on the day that the issue came to light in the press to reassure fans their interests were being represented. Do you think this is something the VSC can work to address? The VSC provides access to its website and forum free of charge to all supporters, whether they are members of the VSC or not. Anyone registered on the forum can post their views, or e-mail the VSC board members directly. Often VSC board members will clarify points raised in discussion on the forum with information obtained from within the club but, as you point out, it isn’t always possible to go into the fine detail some

POPULAR STAND; a football fanzine for the likes of Doncaster

issue 54

VSC Committee Members with shirts sponsored by the VSC

supporters desire through this medium. Supporter’s points raised on the forum are regularly directed to the club on the supporter’s behalf and clarification sought, and we try to be as open and accountable as we possibly can be, given some of the sensitive information we occasionally are entrusted with. We believe in face to face communication as much as possible and will be looking to increase the opportunities to do this over the coming months. For example, we met as many fans as possible before the recent match at Peterborough and plan to do more of this at future home games. Any constructive proposals from members on how further improvement can be made will be considered, and through a recent discussion on the forum we asked for suggestions on what the membership would like the VSC to consider as points to improve. As any organisation has to do, the VSC must evolve with the times, and the time is right to now look again at what we do and how we deliver that vision to and with the membership.

Is there anything else you wish to add to encourage supporters to become a parof the VSC going forwards?

The best way for the VSC to achieve its fundamental aim of increasing the amount of supporter influence in the running of the club is to be truly representative of the fan base. Furthermore, the recent Government response to the DCMS inquiry into Football Governance, published only a couple of weeks ago, recognises the importance of supporters at the heart of the running of football clubs, stating “…we believe that there is every reason to think that clubs are stronger because they have supporters at the heart of the club, not weaker”. That is a view that I’m sure the majority of supporters will agree upon. We now have more members than we have had for 3 or 4 years, and that position is growing. If supporters want to own a stake in their club and have the chance to influence their club on issues that matter to them then join the only organisation whose express aim is to do that, join the VSC!

POPULAR STAND; a football fanzine for the likes of Doncaster

issue 54

Blowing My Own Trumpet Buses and Fake Brickwork

Popular STAND editor Glen Wilson battles through to when Saturday night becomes Sunday morning to review BBC’s The Football League Show. Last month walking through town I watched a man end a phone call by jabbing repeatedly at the screen then hurling his handset at the wall of Nat West. Though there’s a chance I was witnessing a very personal protest at the financial downturn (or indeed just a normal day in Donny), it is more likely I was party to the denouement of man’s frustration with technology. We’ve all been there. That moment we forget the many remarkable tasks the machine in front of us is performing, and focus instead on the one thing we currently demand of it which it frustratingly cannot do. After trawling through twitter posts and messageboards, I have reached the conclusion that this is also how the majority of us watch The Football League Show. Yes, the FLS is to sports highlights programming what a laptop highlighting Error 4016 is to our embrace of technology. Never mind that the BBC have, in the few hours since full-time, managed to package and deliver us highlights of up to thirty six matches from the length and breadth of the country, they neglected to show that corner we should have had in the 76th minute, an unacceptable travesty we cannot let lie. If it were an office printer we’d kick it, but as it’s a television show we get our instant gratification instead by taking to the internet with irrational complaints about their anti-Rovers bias. The rights to the Football League are televised sport’s poisoned chalice, a highly prized accolade which enable the

holder the unique freedom to receive scorn and derision from seventy two different social groups. And all this despite trying so desperately hard to be inoffensive, not least in the appointment of Manish Bhasin. A presenting machine; Manish’s timbre shows neither regional nor class background, whilst his range of emotion spans a spectrum no longer than the gable end of a fiver. He remains more neutral than the manila painted walls of a Swiss rental property. Stoical, reliable, ever-present, Manish is the presenter equivalent of the hallway table you keep your post on; you merely accept its unwavering presence, but the one moment it’s not there you’ll find yourself walking in perplexed circles, the assuredness of your world blown off its axis. Yet there is one remaining glitch underlying Manish’s presence on my Saturday nights that I feel the need to voice. Why the continued inflection of surprise in his weekly opening gambit on how it’s been “a busy afternoon in the Npower Football League”? It’s a Saturday Manish, they tend to be so. However, not even Manish’s indeterminate nature can save The FLS from its most notable crime against humanity; ownership of the worst title sequence ever brainstormed. The perfect television theme will tune into the tone of the ensuing programme; its rhythms and melody evoking the emotions of what it is you are about to

POPULAR STAND; a football fanzine for the likes of Doncaster

issue 54

see. Indeed Ronnie Hazlehurst made an art of the television theme. The FLS however sits squarely at the opposite extreme. Its creators having seen fit to deliver us a directionless thudding dirge evocative of nothing except perhaps a one legged man walking up a gravel pathway to a panelbeaters. The base drum beat may as well be Keith Mansfield banging his head repeatedly against a brick wall. A noise so monotonous it doesn’t stop, it simply ceases. The theme’s one saving grace is that it is impossible to get it stuck in your head, and so is long forgotten by the time Manish greets you, from a balcony to which there is no apparent access (trust me, I’ve checked, no stairs, nothing). Here Manish perches, master of his kingdom, one of lighting rigs and fake brickwork as far as the eye can see. One day all this will be Steve Claridge’s, but until that day comes Steve must bide his time tethered to a high desk laden with unnecessary microphones, whilst Manish makes a tame joke about the number of clubs Steve played for. Beyond the desk you can still glimpse the room in which Lizzie once read our texts and emails, now dark and vacant, I half expect to see milk bottles accumulating by its door as the season progresses.

The disposal of Lizzie Greenwood-Hughes marks a thankful departure from the patronisation which permeated the initial two years of the Beeb’s Football League coverage. Suggesting the FLS had taken its cues from Newsround rather than Match of the Day, Lizzie brought us what television executives refer to as ‘interactivity’, or as its more specifically known, reading out banal emails about Team X going up, and Team Y always being overlooked. As interactive media goes, it was as entertaining and thought-provoking as the remote ordering system at a McDonalds drive-thru. Even more patronising than Lizzie’s texts and emails was the Potted History section in which Clem would move around a football ground, popping up in front of camera like he’d escaped from the hand of Matthew Corbett, and read extracts from the club’s Wikipedia entry. Potted History may have gone - the BBC perhaps acknowledging that those staying up past midnight on a weekend to watch a show about the Football League, already have something of an understanding of its clubs - but Clem remains. A man who you suspect facilitated his own nickname, one who owns just a single set of clothes, and one who feels it’s acceptable to stand in the

Mark ‘Clem’ Clemmit gets on with being unnecessary... look, a corner flag, hahaha

POPULAR STAND; a football fanzine for the likes of Doncaster

issue 54

Blowing my own Trumpet continued...

middle of the field eating a pie as the teams come out behind him. The enthusiasm he displays toward those he interviews is too often mis-placed, and so comes across as the sort of faux-jocularity displayed by someone you vaguely know as they lead up to asking for a favour or reimbursement of that tenner they once leant you; “Here he is… Gaffer, the Gaffer, eh? Look at you, check the suit out. How you settling in? Yeah… hey, look… mate… you couldn’t give us a hand shifting this wardrobe could you?” In Clem lies the crux of the FLS’ failings, in that it endeavours so earnestly to please it ultimately disappoints. Clem’s cheery inside look at teams would be ideal for a Football League magazine show, but on a highlights programme, which is of course what the FLS is, it just grates; to all intents and purposes Clem is The Texan from Joseph Heller’s Catch-22, a man so happy and good-natured that ultimately no-one can stand him. His presence just reminds us that The FLS is simply trying too hard. By this time, post midnight on a Saturday, and with any sense of perceptiveness already dulled out of us by Alan Shearer, we don’t want whimsy, nor do we want to think. We just want goals and red cards. Nothing more. For this season the BBC has thankfully trimmed some of the fat. Lizzie and Clem’s Wiki-History have gone, as to has Manish striding across the studio to deliver the league tables as if they were the closing slides of a regional board meeting. Yet, appendices still remain; the token bus disembarkation footage that prefixes highlights of Championship games, a second main game, and tedious post-match interviews could all be banished without

ever being mourned. Indeed the emptiness of post-match questions was deftly highlighted by Nigel Clough as he responded to the question “I’ve heard you didn’t think it was a penalty, what was your reasoning for that?” with “There wasn’t a foul committed in the penalty area”. In short, you can read interviews in the following day’s papers, you can’t read goals. And so to poor Steve Claridge. Tasked with possessing an in-depth knowledge of every one of the League’s seventy-two clubs, and yet regularly criticised on Twitter in the early hours of Sundays for “constantly looking at his notes,” he is a man who can never win. The truth is, Steve does know football, as shown when deconstructing the main game. Take the occasion he spoke on West Ham v Portsmouth, having watched the game in the afternoon Steve was able to make salient points regarding West Ham’s choice of formation. It may be fleeting, but its two minutes more insight than Alan Shearer or Mark Lawrenson have thus far brought television audiences. Yet, as the programme winds on and Clarridge is asked for his opinions only after having watched the goals of an entire division, his responses tend to edge increasingly toward sound-bite and cliché. But how can they not? Claridge is not omnipotent. He may be all playing for, but alas is not all seeing. How can he be reasonably expected to provide expert insight into 36 fixtures when he has been able to watch no more than two? Let him leave after the first game when he has served as an actual pundit rather than retain him for the remaining hour solely as an object for Manish to rebound off. After all, there’s enough fake brickwork knocking about the studio to serve that purpose.

POPULAR STAND; a football fanzine for the likes of Doncaster

issue 54