Watford v Doncaster

WATFORD
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DONCASTER ROVERS

The first return fixture of the season is already upon us as Donny make the trip down to Watford for their last game of 2011.  

Since we met at the 'moat a month ago, Watford have gained 7 more points to Rovers' 6 at the end of the table where every point will be vital come May.  At the rate both teams have gained points over the last month, the New Year's resolutions are likely to be similar.  "MUST DO BETTER!".

WATFORD

We'll have our usual level of information about the opposition an will prepare accordingly.  There might be one or two twists or tweaks that Doncaster will throw at us but that's to be expected - Sean Dyce

Watford may have picked up just one more point than Doncaster since our last meeting, but they haven't been beaten in 7 games.  They have become something of draw specialists so getting the win against Watford will be a tall order.

Predectably, I watched three draws when reviewing Watford's performances.  The first from Boxing Day against Cardiff (1-1), then at Blackpool (0-0) and finally the home draw against Leeds (1-1).



Marvin Sordell - Improved



Two players stuck out as quality opponents for Rovers.  Marvin Sordell has undoubtedly developed further in Danny Graham's absence and is Watford's major threat.  The other is veteran Michael Kightly who first came to my attention due to his keeping Michael McIndoe out of the Wolves starting line up.  Kightly has still got it as his goal against Leeds very well demonstrated.

As you would expect from a side that is drawing a lot of games, the defence looks very decent.  A little like Rovers though, they are prone to the isolated mistake, which is probably why the Hornets are drawing and not winning.  I only saw one moment where the defence got it all wrong.  A run down the right from Cardiff caused the whole of the defence to be sucked into onw half of the pitch.  Thankfully for Watford, the ball Cardiff needed didn't happen.

Looking Watford's attacking prowess, I think its fair to say that they can break quickly.  I thought they were lacking imagination in the final third though.,  I often saw runs being made or good balls being available but the opportunities weren't used.  Just a wee bit more vision is necessary.

DONCASTER ROVERS

The players are in good shape for Watford, they're fitter than ever and we're battling as much as we've ever been because the players have realised they have to do the 'ugly' side of things to win  - Dean Saunders 

It's been a year that I all Donny fans will be happy to see end after winning just 8 games.  Its certainly been a momentous year for Rovers.  A year of such stark change will seldom occur at any football claub.

That home tie against the Hornets in November was exactly the type of game that Rovers have to win if they are to get out of their current situation.  Since then, they have been great at home, beating Southampton and Leicester but they haven't been able to match it on their travels.  Up until Boxing Day, it could have been referred to as just slipping up or failing to hold an advantage.   Unfortunately, Boxing Day's defeat at Burnley was a reversion to not really turning up.

There was a share of bad luck about it.  Burnley's first was about as bad a penalty decision as you will see and a header from Billy Sharp that came off Burnley's post minutes later probably showed how it wasn't to be Donny's day and they ended up well beaten.

As far as personnel goes, I don't see much changing from the team that lost on Boxing Day as Rovers' are struggling to gain international clearance for their three latest recruits.  This is allegedly because of a lack of people working at FIFA during the holiday period. 

Enjoy the match everybody and the evening's festivities.

Boxing Day in Burnley

BURNLEY

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DONCASTER ROVERS

Merry Christmas Everybody, and what could be more festive than Boxing Day in Burnley?  Its got a certain ring to it, I believe, and up in those hills, I doubt there will be any difficulty in finding a Shepherd.  Wise men could be more of a challenge in Lancashire, but by arranging for a visit of some Yorkshire men, that too can be ticked off the list. 

Doncaster have a good record against Burnley over recent seasons. Unbeaten in fact, although at Turf Moor, draws have been the order of the day.  This season, with Rovers hitting a bit of form and Burnley stuttering at home, the Yorkshiremen will be looking to go one better than that.  But something about Burnley's record makes me think that that feat will be far from plain sailing.

BURNLEY 

We are still still capable of making a run but it's going to be crucial now, the next few games as to where it takes us - Eddie Howe

Burnley have the 5th best away record in the league, but the 4th worst home record.  Its one way to end up mid-table while really frustrating your support. 

The first match I saw would warm the cockles of Rovers' fans hearts.  The Clarets struggled badly to a narrow 1-goal victory against a 9-man Brighton.  I can understand a side struggling to score against a 9-man side as they pack their defence.  But, if the 9-men stretch the defence of the 11-men unduly you have to wonder what is going on.  Brighton, in the end deserved at least a draw and, on what I saw, Burnley on that day deserved the igmony such a result would bring them.

The next set of highlights I watched saw Burnley lose out to a last minute route 1 goal.  Again, I can't rave about either team's performance and 0:0 looked fairer.  There were a couple of moves that showed what Burnley can do though.  Sam Vokes, Jay Rodrigues and Chris McCann showed how well they can combine in a great move early in the second half but I saw too much shooting from range.  Like they did against Brighton, the clarets struggled to find ways around or through the defence.

At the back, it looked very organised and Burnley certianly gave Pompey a puzzle to be solved.  Good movement got them in on goal on a couple of occasions but, more worryingly, there were a couple of occasions where brute force proved more effective than it should have done.

There was a better performance to be seen at Upton Park though.  Burnley's goals were far more typical of them.  Good balls into the box finished off by unstoppable headers.  The defence still looked disciplined but vulnerable to good movement, although they seemed more competitive in this one.

So, Burnley are organized and my prove difficult to break down.  But I didn't get the impression there was that much imagination to break opponents down.  There's work to be done before the run that Eddie Howe talks about is going to happen.

DONCASTER ROVERS

There's absolutely no point in getting the victories against Southampton and Leicester if we can't go away from home and earn a point and be hard to beat - Dean Saunders.

Absolutely correct Dean!  Unfortunately that's what Rovers have been doing - getting really good results against good teams and then falling down against teams who, if they are to get out of their current situation, they need to beat.  Still, things have been upwardly mobile at the 'moat over the last few weeks and Dean is clearly understanding why Rovers haven't made more progress.



It's rare that there is a quiet week off the pitch at Donny this season and this week has proved no exception.  First, the Chairman makes clear what we always knew.  Billy Sharp is up for sale.  The 3 Million asking price is a snip for a player who has 9 goals in 13 starts so far this season.   I think Rovers have been tentively trying to sell their star player since the end of last season.  That's not a criticism.  When you hear of plans to half the wage bill, its obvious the Billy's wages will be part of that cut.

We also learned of Dean's 8th, 9th and 10th signings as three Frenchmen (well, kinda) were signed from Greek sides Panathinaikos, Giannina and Panetolikos. 

Damien Plessis, a defensive midfielder is the only one of the trio to have enjoyed English experience before, playing for Liverpool.  The other two, Mamadou Bagayoko and Habib Bamogo are forwards who have played international football for Mali and Burkina Faso respectively.



El-Hadji Diouf.  Another 18 months?

Rovers added to this news with word of an agreement in principle that El-Hadji Diouf will stay for another 18 months.  Intersting one that is.  Undoubtedly good for the Rovers as there has been little to contradict Dean Saunders ascertion that Diouf is the best player in the championship.  But how does it stack with the shop-window experiment working for the players that it brings in?  Do the players Rovers are bringing in really want to end up in Donny for a couple of years? 

My guess is they won't think of it in this way.  More they will think that if Donny is good enough for Diouf, its good enough for them.  The more I think, the more I believe Diouf is seen as very important to the success or otherwise of the McKay experiment.  

Rover hunts Foxes!

DONCASTER ROVERS

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LEICESTER CITY

During the closed season, Leicester were keen to buy there way into the Premier League  with a list of signings including Kasper Schmeichel, Paul Konchesky, David Nugent, Jermaine Beckford and former Rovers star, Matt Mills.  During the same period Donny additions included Kyle Bennett, Tommy Spurr, Richard Naylor and Chris Brown.  Without meaning any disrespect to these players, with the possible exception of Naylor, many football fans pronounce their surnames as "WHO?"

The two lists kinda demonstrate the the differences between the clubs in as far as who they could target at that time.

Now with Donny signing names like El-Hadji Diouf, Pascal Chimbonda, Habib Beye and Herita Illunga, it could be argued that there has been a coming together in the two clubs transfer targets.  If this is true, then Rovers are achieving their signings at a fraction of the cost that Leicester have paid.  True - Doncaster's signings are not intended to be permanent, but as we look at Leicester in 9th place you can't help but wonder what will happen to the football transfer markets should the Rovers shop-window approach prove successful.  You also have to look at Donny in 23rd place and think that success is a way off at this time.  It could be an interesting season for many reasons.

DONCASTER ROVERS

It's coming together, we look more solid, and we look more difficult to beat. There were spells at Birmingham where we were good and competing well. Both that game and Southampton were examples of how good we were competing - Dean Saunders

That's an interesting quote from Dean.  Its all the more interesting when you consider, since the abysmal performance against Barnsley, Rovers have only managed a single point against two of our fellow relegation candidates in Millwall and Watford.  Is the performance becoming more important that the result for Dean, as it was for his predecessor?  We lost, but we were competing!

The Southampton result was, of course a bonus.  None of us expected points there but we got all three of 'em.  However, a bonus only becomes a bonus if you earn your basic and by not beating Watford or Millwall, I'd argue we haven't done that.

Gary Woods - Chance

Against Birmingham, I have to admit that I didn't see a win coming until we went one up and once they'd equalized, I quickly had given up hope of a point.  From the commentary I was listening to and the match stats, we were competing but we were never really in any kind of control.

But, its been better than it has been and in my line of work, I don't particularly look for targets, just to be better than we were last week, month or year.

That injury situation that Dean was going to get to the bottom of  when he first arrived continues to blight him as it did his predecessor.  Now we are down to one goalkeeper as both Chris Ikeme and Neil Sullivan are out  with "Freak Injuries".  We seem to have a lot of those!  So Gary Woods get his chance to demonstrate that he can hack it at this level.  Good luck Gary!

LEICESTER CITY

They (Doncaster) are a team that can be very difficult to beat - Nigel Pearson

When Jimmy Greaves said Football was a funny old game, he couldn't have got it more right.  I don't think anyone would have predicted Pearson's return to the Foxes as they were looking like tying up their promotion with the names Sven Gorn-Eriksson was able to attract.  

But getting the names in and fashioning them into a team that can take the chmpionship by storm are two different tasks.  Frankly, I fancy Pearson for the second of these tasks more than I fancy Sven, simply because its a task Pearson understands more than Sven ever will.

Watching Leicester, the first thing you hear is the Post Horn Gallop.  A ditty I've played many a time on the cornet but isn't it normally (and ironically) associated with Fox-Hunting!  

You have to say its impressive up front.  For me, its not so much the Beckfords or Nugents with the finishing as the likes of King, Konchesky and Gallagher providing the ammo.  Leicester put plenty of good balls into the box and finishers that are in any way decent should do nicely out of them.

Defensively, I was also basically happy.  The defence always looked to be in good position and so defended well.  Thing is though, if an attacker does do something clever and get around them, the shock-waves tend to ripple through.  That ball pings about in a manner that Tommy (from the rock opera by The Who) would be proud.  Nobody like good football as much as I do, but row Z can be a reasonable option.

The only other issue that i sa was susceptability to the quick break.  It was the only time that I did see Leicester out of position and, as I anticipate a fair amount of pressure on the Rovers' goal on Saturday, it could be the way to go!

Enjoy the match everyone!

From Saints to St. Andrews

      BIRMINGHAM CITY

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DONCASTER ROVERS

The last time Rovers and the Blues met was very unusual.  It was one of the few games over recent seasons that I neither watched nor listened in.  It still troubles me to think about it!

The reason?  Well, the game in March 2009 at the Keepmoat was televised on Sky so I checked with my local Irish Bar if they would put it on.  

Unforunately, the pub was preferring to show some insignificant egg-chasing involving Scotland and Ireland.  So I tried an English bar in Zürich.  We were on and Mrs. Duck and I made the 40 minute trip.

An Appropriate Shrine

I was double-crossed as the barman at the Big Ben Pub told me he was showing the rugby.  No amount of protestation was going to change that.  I desperately tried to find another bar, but rugby fans suddenly seemed more numerous than I ever imagined in Zürich.

My phone was telling me Rovers were already 2-down so I did the only thing I could think of that might help.  I found an appropriate shrine and prayed.

Well, I'm not renowned for my faith but at least it didn't get any worse for the Rovers.  Mrs. Duck and I ended up going to see "the Reader" at the pictures.  It was crap.  Bad day all around.  Lets hope tomorrow goes a wee bit better.

BIRMINGHAM CITY

Doncaster's form wasn't so good but they have been galvanised, and that's what results can do for you. - Chris Hughton

There's not an easy away-day in the championship but I'm sure this one looks like one of the more difficult ones at first sight.  The Blues are just relegated from the premier league; are Carling Cup holders and are still involved in European competition.  Opponents to be reckoned with indeed!

But in the league, it could be better and I'm sure all Blues fans would give up the European adventure for a league position that would put them less than 7 points off the last play-off place.  A quick return to the premier league seems unlikely at this point in the season.

Watching the highlights from the game away to Hull I'd have to say the defending from wide positions by Birmingham was shocking.  The first half left me thinking "I bet Hull's goals come from the left hand side".  They didn't, they came from the right but for the same reason.  That reason being the complete absence of Full-Backs.

Up front, Birmingham scored from a route one goal and look to have plenty of size in the team should they want to play that way.  I saw a lot of direct play and intent to get crosses into the box.  

In the other matches I looked at, the desire to get the early ball into the box was again dominant.  The chief providers are Wade Elliott and, a player I think is one of the most under-estimated in the championship, Chris Burke.  In Marlon King, they also have a striker who has more about him than to rely on crosses.  He looks well able to play off the shoulder of ther last man.

That defence still doesn't inspire any confidence though.  One move from Blackpool saw the offside-trap beaten by three players at once and as the ball is moved out wide, there is all too often little resistance until it is returned to the middle.

So out wide, it could be worth giving Kyle Bennett an opportunity as I doubt the Blues full backs will handle his pace.  Once again, an on-form James Coppinger would cause huge difficulties on the evidence I saw.

DONCASTER ROVERS 

They have had lots of games this season as they are in Europe and hopefully that will take its toll - Dean Saunders

Congratulations Billy

First of all, I have to say congratulations to Billy Sharp, who after netting 4 times in November, was deservedly given the Championship Player of the Month Award.  Billy tweeted that he hoped the votes he won were made for his goals rather than his situation.  I say that four goals in five merits the award on its own.  His situation just makes Billy all the more inspirational.

Last week, Rovers delivered the shock-result of the championship season so far in beating Southampton.  I said they had a chance (really, I did, go and look).  

My sources tell me that never have a team been more flattered by their league position than Southampton based on their performance at the Keepmoat.  That's as maybe, but like the new regime or not, and I don't, you have to give credit where credit is due.

Bottom of the table, with a huge list of injuries,  deservedly beat top of the table.  Well done Deano and Donny!

Off the pitch and the signing of Rovers latest short-term player, Lamine Diatta has gone through.  But after last week's performance, I would doubt if he would feature tomorrow. 

Finally, there are rumours that L'Orient's Innocent Emeghara could be moving to Donny in January.  Innocent used to play for my current home-team, FC Winterthur.  Will he join the list of great people to have moved between the towns?

Blues and Rovers - Enjoy the match tomorrow.

We need Miracles but not Saints

 DONCASTER ROVERS

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SOUTHAMPTON

A Bottom v Top fixture in Donny on Saturday.  The last time that that happened was in Donny's infamous 1997/98 season that saw the Vikings disappear into conference wilderness for 5 years.  We came close to this fixture in 2008/09 when a 23rd placed Doncaster lost narrowly to Wolves almost exactly 3 years ago.

Against all odds, Donny turned it around that season and managed a mid-table finish in a season that consigned Southampton to the drop.  Rover's worst situation that season was 7 points adrift of safety, as we are now.  Except in that season, we were 7 points adrift at the start of November rather than the start of December.

DONCASTER ROVERS

It's going to be a good game for us, Southampton are, of course, top of the league and not many people will give us a chance against them, but I do. - DEAN SAUNDERS

Yes, the ask gets bigger and bigger for the Rovers and its all the more frustrating when they fail to grasp the lifebelts been thrown at them.  The last two matches have seen us win just a single point against two poor sides.

I'll be fair.  The effort looks like its there and we look like we are attacking our opponents.  Against Watford, Dean enthused about the 27 crosses Rovers put into Watford's penalty area and was delighted with the defensive performance.  Nice to see Deano talking stats.  It reminds me of somebody!

On the other hand, he did not mention the meagre 6 shots those 27 crosses yielded but to be fair again, it looks like he was aware of that stat and informed the team going into the next game.

More endevour against Millwall and that shot count doubled to a respectable 12.  That was the good news.  Unfortunately, Rovers lost their defence.  Listening to the game was frustrating.  For all the effort, Rovers sounded terribly disorganized.  Frankly, I don't care who Saunder's signs, unless the organisation issues are solved, we're not going to be going anywhere fast.

Another new player has arrived in the form of Lamine Diatta although with only 12 games for Tunisia's Étoile Sportive du Sahel since 2008, I think he is only with Rovers to plug gaps due to the current injury situation.  It never rains but it pours at the moment!

SOUTHAMPTON

We always say that we never underestimate the opposition and if you don't respect the opposition and work hard to get a result, then you get nowt. - NIGEL ADKINS

Southampton are striving to be the best promoted side since, well, last season when Norwich proved double-promotion from League 1 to the Premier League was possible.  Southampton I think would take promotion as runners-up but are looking to go one better.  Whether they do or not, its already a fantastic achievement for the Saints and Nigel Adkins.  Its good to see a manager who struggled with a club with meagre resources compared to their competitors given the chance with more of a budget.

Now I remember when I was previewing the Middlesbrough game, watching their highlights against Southampton.  In that game, a 27 pass move resulted in one of the Saints 3 goals.  Saints fans can look at it again here.   God I love teams that play football!

So lets have a look how they've done since then.

Rickie Lambert - Threatening

Well, as you'd expect, its lovely stuff.  Quick and intricate passing and really testing high balls coming into the box.  In Rickie Lambert, they have about as threatening a forward as you will see.  A big, physical presence who is not without the fine skills.  I'm sure, one way or the other, this guy will be in the Premier League next season.

So, no chance for Donny then.  Not so!  I did watch their defeat against Bristol City and the left-side of the Saints defence had a nightmare.  They had no answer to George Adomah and Nicky Maynard's trickery and were all too often turned or just plain beaten. So, step forward number 26.  We all know you can do it and now would be a really good time .
Something else I didn't like.  I really hope the Rovers' Groundsman has cut the grass nice and even.  Against Brighton, the Saints were falling over all sorts of things.  C'Mon Saints - you're way better than that!