Rovers v Bluebirds

DONCASTER ROVERS
V

CARDIFF CITY

Back to the league and its a tricky little tie for the Rovers, against one of the form teams of the division, Cardiff City.  The fixture in the Welsh capital wasn't the best of days for Rovers as the Bluebirds took an easy 2:0 win.  

Historically, apart from a memorable and surprising first home victory in the championship,  Cardiff have not been lucrative opponents for the Rovers.  As I remember, if Donny do play well against them, its a case of close, but no cigar.  Last season, two late goals gave the Bluebirds all the points at the Keepmoat, and the season before, I remember a great performance that nearly saw Rovers come back from two goals down.

In any case, a good Rovers performance makes for a decent match between these two, so here's hoping that's what we get.

DONCASTER ROVERS

Hopefully Cardiff’s Carling Cup tie in midweek will mean their players are noting it, mentally and physically.  If my players show the effort and desire they did against Barnsley last time out, I fancy us to beat anyone. - Dean Saunders

Good, awful, good, awful, good, awful...anyone seeing a pattern here?  What I've just written is a reasonable summary of Rovers' recent performances.  Until last week, I thought it was a home and away thing but last weekend, Rovers proved that they could do "awful" at home.  I'd have prefered them to show that they could do "good" on their travels to disprove a theory but there you go.  Saturday would be a good time to prove that last week was an exception to the rule and that the Keepmoat is indeed a fortress.

Billy's Back!

Off the pitch and its "will he stay or will he go?"  with regard to Billy Sharp.  I'm pleased to see that the club is trying to keep Billy.  It makes sense in pretty much every way with the exception of reducing the wage bill but there are more compensations.  


If it wasn't for a much talked about contract clause, I am sure that John Ryan's initial price of £3 million for Billy would have attracted interest.  Unfortunately, the revised price of £1.8 million will attract more.  But if Billy can be persuaded to stay, Rovers benefit from his presence for the rest of the season, plus may be able to get a much better price for him in the summer.  Speculate to accumulate as they say plus to keep with the Clash's little ditty, "If he stays there may be trouble, if he goes it will be double".

From what I've heard, another new player could be in for the Saturday match.  It sounds as if FIFA have finally got back to the office and found pen to complete the paperwork for Damien Plessis.  That just leaves Habib Bamogo of the three players who agreed to sign before Christmas after Mamadou Babayoko made his debut last week.  Am i the only one having trouble keeping up with all the comings at Donny?

CARDIFF CITY


We're certainly not taking anyone lightly.  We're talking about a team who have won their last three home games, - Malky MacKay

You know, John Ryan thinks up an imaginative method to save money and keep Donny in the championship while he only had to look to the Bluebirds for the most obvious way.  Just make sure you get a game at Wembley every other year, thereby creating enough revenue to sort out any wage bill issues.  Now why didn't he think of that!


That's what Cardiff have achieved and I doubt many other clubs can make a similar claim.  Tuesday saw them play a League Cup semi-final first leg and after just losing by a single goal at Selhurst Park, Wembley is more than a possibility.  Even if they don't make it, at the moment they are looking a good bet for the play-offs, that is unless they mess up and get automatic promotion.


But all that is academic.  The question is, could they handle the might of Notts County?

Peter Whittingham - Master Provider

On 2nd January against Reading they served their fans up a real treat and ticked most of my boxes.  They move the ball beautifully and have a bit of fight about them.  


The first half was the Peter Whittingham show.  He came close with a run and shot early on and then created Cardiff's second and third goals, the second with a fabulous in-swinging corner and the third with a great through-ball to Kenny Miller.  Great stuff.  The only solice for Rovers being that Reading's goal was very soft in terms of the defending at the far side of the penalty area.  Still, Cardiff beat the team one place below them 3:1 and the Royals were lucky to get away with that!


Against Forest and that master provider Whittingham set up the goal again.  A crose from midfield for Kenny Miller to head home.  But there was more for a young Donny fan to smile about in this one.  It looks like its worth having a run at Andy Taylor, Cardiff's left back.  Forest did a couple of times and had it not been for their toothlessness, may have got something for their trouble.


Against Watford and it was more of the same.  Peter Whittingham looking brilliant.  No assists this time but a couple of very good efforts, one of which Cardiff fans will always wonder how it stayed out.  That evil inswinging corner was also there to be appreciated.


So, I'd say this Saturday is as tough a job as I've seen put in front of the Rovers this season.  Cardiff could just about handle Notts County. 


Enjoy the game everyone and a safe trip to all Bluebirds finding their way to Donny.

Boxing Day in Burnley

BURNLEY

V

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.  

From Saints to St. Andrews

      BIRMINGHAM CITY

V

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.

Jeckyll and Hyde v Hyde

IPSWICH TOWN
V
DONCASTER ROVERS

During our last meeting the Tractor Boys effectively ploughed up the Keepmoat and the Rovers with it, as probably the most threadbare Rovers team put out in many-a-year was trounced by six goals to nil.  

For that game, Rovers were unable to field a recognised striker and so faced an impossible task.  Famously, Sean O'Driscoll threatened to walk out of the post-match press conference if anybody asked a stupid question and, when he received his second question,  "So Sean, how do you feel?" he duly followed up on the threat.

As some kind of indication how weakened Rovers were that night, the mid-winter freeze of 2010/11 season resulted in the home and away fixtures with Ipswich being only seperated by 4 other matches.  At Portman road, just 3 weeks before the massacre at the Keepmoat, Donny were unfortunate to come second in a five-goal thriller, which included a mad spell with 3 goals in 3 minutes.

This season, remarkably Ipswich have also conceded more than any other team but with 19 goals for, aren't so bad going forwards.  Donny's record is a little more balanced.  No team has scored fewer goals than the Rovers and only Ipswich have conceded more.  0:0 doesn't look a wise bet tomorrow.

IPSWICH TOWN

I got on well with the supporters and the manager [Sean O'Driscoll] at the time and I really enjoyed myself there. I have some great memories from my time at Doncaster  - Jay Emmanuel-Thomas

Looking at Ipswich's results so far this season, it would seem they are either very good (3:1 victory against Brighton, 3:0 against Bristol City and Coventry) or really bad (1:7 against Peterbrough, 2:5 versus Southampton and last week's 4:1 away defeat by Millwall).  If Paul Jewell follows the instructions of the fans, he's stuck in the Portman Road revolving doors.

First video up was that game at the New Den and the defending was as shocking as you would think.  Centre-backs stayed in the middle and I have no idea where the full-backs were for two of the Millwall goals.  It was simply a case of an attack finding a man in acres of space in the inside right or left position.  A good shot was fired in, parried and the rebound could not be dealt with.  Millwall were using those inside positions all game.

Against Palace, Ipswich lost 0:1 and it was another very poor goal.  A really poor Palace free-kick that should have been eaten up by any decent defence was half cleared and then a lot of ball-watching occurred as Palace took their opportunity.

Portsmouth, and here I saw a slender Tractor-Boys victory, but all in all I'd have to say that I've gained more hope from watching the frailties of their defence than I've gained fear from watching their attack.  Jimmy Bullard pulls the strings in midfield and I did see a few snappy strings of passes involving Bullard and Lee Bowyer.  Now they are two names that also bring a lack of nonsense to mind!

The other player I liked in an attacking sense? Carlos Edwards.  Against Portsmouth he had a couple of forays down the right flank that looked difficult to deal with.

There's hope for Donny in this one.  That defence is as bad as I've seen, with one unfortunate exception.

DONCASTER ROVERS

I can see it coming together here. The pace of training has gone up massively from testimonial to world cup final standard. - Dean Saunders

Well I am sure there wasn't a dry eye at the Keepmoat on Tuesday evening as Billy Sharp showed us all what love, heartbreak, pride and professionalism mean.  How could he play through such pain? In Billy's words, "that's what my little man Luey would have wanted.

Well, Billy, you gave Luey one fantastic present.  

Rovers lost the match but that's in many ways a trivial detail.  There were positives.  For the first 30 minutes, Rovers played one of the promotion contenders completely off the park.  El-Hadji Diouf did not look as unfit as I suspected he was, indeed it looks as though he and Billy could form a brief but happy relationship.

But the problems at the back remain very obvious.  

Billy Sharp's family have received a lot of support from the Martin House Children's Hospice during this very sad time for them.  The Viking Supporters cooperative have set up an means of donating to this very worthy cause.  If you would like to make a donation, you can do so my clicking here.  Alternatively you can send a donation by SMS by following the instructions below (clicking on the image will take you to a page with all terms and conditions)

Thank you.

The Only Thing Instant is Coffee

The only period when I didn't enjoy being a Rovers fan was when 'im on the left was slowly draining our life-blood.  That was just sad and painful.  

But wasn't surviving those awful times absolutely brilliant?

In the space of five short years we rose from Conference anonimity to competing in the second flight of English football and the seventh biggest league in Europe.  Its a remarkable story and all the more remarkable when you consider that the meteoric rise started only five years after John Ryan purchased the club for £50000 maintaining to this day that he was robbed!

I have said many times that this story would have made a fantastic film bringing even more people to regard Donny as their second favourite club, if not their favourite.

The observant will notice that I used the past-tense to begin that last paragraph.  Now such a film would be something of a joke with football fans all knowing "the most prolific bring-and-buy sale in history" now takes place every Saturday at the Keepmoat Stadium.

The title I have chosen for this article is actually a quote from John Ryan's excellent book.  Sage advice, but baring that meteoric rise up the leagues in mind, and Ryan's continual mentions of play-offs even when we are sitting at the bottom of the league, does he actually believe it?

There's plenty more sage advice in the book too.  Particularly in Chapter 11, "The Fan's Chairman".  I'd encourage anyone to give this chapter a read and try to square it with events at the club today.

Here are a few examples:

Rather than constantly seeking instant and risky solutions by signing endless players, he (O'Driscoll) takes it on board that he bears some of the responsibility, along with the rest of the coaching staff to improve what we have and utilise our resources wisely.

Now try to rationalise that with Dean Saunders' role of being the peace-keeper in a dressing room where good and loyal players are going to be asked to put up and shut up when their place in the squad is lost because some spoilt French brat hasn't had enough time in the Keepmoat Car Boot.  What responsibility does Saunders have when it come to getting the performance of the team to improve?  At the moment, he can just say that he doesn't have the right type of players and in six months he can blame it on the team not gelling, as it is unlikely to do with that revolving door on the dressing room.

Another?

I would wager that most of our fans could have named the side for much of last season and not gone too far wrong.  Continuity is a key factor of our club at all levels.  We've had continuity in the boardroom, continuity in management and, as far as possible, a settled squad......I don't see us as being a club that will suddenly bring in a dozen players in a transfer window.  I'm not sure I've got a chequebook big enough and in any case, it goes very much against the team ethic that we are at pains to promote here.

WOW!  When somebody writes what is effectively an autobiography, you would think what was written in the pages would be sincere stuff!  People change, I accept that but....WOW!  

What is even more incredible is that events over O'Driscoll's last 9 months in charge have unquivocally confirmed how correct Ryan was when writing his book.  Continuity in the team was denied O'Driscoll through a massive amount of injuries and we dropped like a stone.  So, deliberately disrupting the continuity that was proven to be correct must be a smart move!

And finally...

It is also important to me that we are a well-disciplined team.  This is another sometimes under-rated feature of our game that has been transformed over the last decade....I'd like to believe that Donny Rovers are one of the easiest clubs for referees to handle and that is indeed the feedback I often get from them.

Having staffing policy that promotes players being self-serving and hinders the building of team-spirit isn't going to help on the field discipline.  We are also talking, to an extent,  about disillusioned misfits.  Players who are dissatisfied with their lot on £25000 per week.  True, if they pick up red cards, they will be out of the shop-window but will these players have the character and presence of mind to think about that if a potential flash-point in a game occurs?

Now to the "strategy" in which Willie McKay is so confident and let's use his own example.

Herita Ilunga, is being paid £26000 per week.  He's out of favour at the Hammers and they can't get him a move.  So he comes to us and is in the shop window.  The idea being that someone sees him and transfers him to their club.  

Is Ilunga going to take a pay-cut or are his  new employers also going to be happy to pay him £26000 per week?  The only advantage Ilunga has had over staying where he was is playing championship football instead of reserve-team football.  It is a better stage on which to evaluate a player but the player isn't any cheaper and he still is not able to make the starting line-up of a leading championship side.  

So how does his cameo apperance in red and white hoops make him worth his wages?  Surely, any club interested in him will try to squeeze his wages because of how clearly he is displaying his desire for a move?  I'm not a football agent but I really struggle with the business model as far as McKay is concerned.  If the players McKay tauts are forced to take significant pay-cuts to get their football, surely word will get round.  How attractive will our shop window be then?

Using another example, Billy Sharp, I'd like to talk about the players I care about rather than those for whom I could not care less.  Billy has made no secret of the fact that he wants to move on from Donny to a top-flight club at some point.  Good for him!  I hope it happens.

But according to the Daily Mail article, nobody can come in or go out of the Keepmoat without McKay's agreement.  Does that include Billy and other real Rovers players?  What if Billy puts in a transfer request.  Can McKay say no?  When it comes to footballers, strikers are where the money is.  Freddy Piquionne has already been mentioned as a possible window-sitter.  What if another striker comes along, will they get the nod over Billy Sharp?  Personally, if anyone is going to sit in Donny's shop window, I would prefer it to be Billy, for the simple reason that if Billy is transfered, Doncaster Rovers benefit the most from what will be a very sizeable transfer fee (£3.4M at the last offer).  Well, at least it will be sizeable if Billy keeps playing.  How much does that fee drop if he stops playing?

Finally we have the fans.  I quite deliberately posted the Daily Mail article on ja606 without comment and read responses both there and on VSC.  I was quite surprised to see that a majority of fans, whilst appreciating the enormous risks being taken, are largely in favour of what McKay and Doncaster Rovers are doing.

That old joke about the difference between your wife and your football team being that your football team is for life certainly applies to me.  I love the Rovers.  I just don't like them very much at the moment.

But that said, when I read the Daily Mail article, I could not help wondering what I would be watching the next time I am lucky enough to get the chance to go to a match.  The closest thing I could reconcile with the image McKay and Neil Ashton painted for me this morning was a very sad image brought to me by a football documentry.

The documentry covered one of Manchester United's academies and the moment in question was a trial match played in front of a host of football league scouts.  The match involved two teams of young United Academy players.  These players had been told that day that they weren't making the grade at United.  They had then been put on a coach and told to play the best they could because if they played well, they may pick up a contract with a league club.  It was a meat market and such a pitiful one.

It's not going to be that bad at Donny.  The players are older and more seasoned.  But tell me it isn't a meat market.

The main issue facing the Rovers is, as ever, financial.  It is now obvious to me that at least one of the three musketeers is balking at putting his hand in his pocket to the extent that is being asked.  The wage bill did not become £8M overnight.  It was already £7M in 2009/10 season and McKay is correct, those kind of salaries are not sustainable with our attendances unless there is an Abramovich-style benifactor on the scene.

So, we need to either drop a league while maintaining that identity that we used to hold so dear, or we have to do what the club has misguidedly tried to do and find a model that works.

My opinion is that if you are going to restrict that model to a £4M wage budget, in a division where the average was 4-times that figure in 2009/10 it is going to be very difficult.  The only model that would maybe fit would be that of Dario Gradi's Crewe Alexandra of the late 90's / early 00's.

Crewe managed to stay in the second flight between 1997 and 2002.  After relegation, they yo-yo'd, and had another 3 years between 2003 and 2006.  Ominously, Crewe haven't returned to the second flight since parting company with Gradi in 2007.  He is now back with the club who have simply not found anybody who could do what he could.  Crewe are now a mid-table league 2 club.  I can't help worrying that this could join an already long list of parallels I find between Donny and Crewe.

So, if Donny want a model of low budget, high level football and they felt O'Driscoll had done as much as he was able why not give him some low-cost expert support.  Dario Gradi, I am sure would be pleased to act as a consultant to Donny. Dario has a vital piece of knowledge that he can offer the Rovers.  He knows where Crewe went wrong in their pursuit of continuing to punch above their weight.  He is also an expert in the development of young players, an area where Rovers under O'Driscoll failed to excel.  Dario's advice with Sean's tactics might just have brought about a strategy rather than borrowing Willie McKay's  Nescafé.


Please read the Neil Ashton's article about Doncaster Rovers and Wille McKay here