Doncaster Rovers

Full name	Doncaster Rovers Football Club
Nickname(s)	Donny, Rovers
Short name	DRFC, DON
Founded	1879; 140 years ago (1879)
Ground	Keepmoat Stadium
Capacity	15,231
Chairman	David Blunt
Manager	Grant McCann[1]
League	League One
2017–18	League One, 15th of 24
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours
Current season

Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system, after promotion from League Two in 2016–17.

The club was founded in 1879 and turned professional in 1885.^[2] Doncaster have spent the majority of their playing history between the third and fourth tiers of the English football league system and are one of four clubs to win the Division 4/Division 3/League Two title three times.

The club's colours have traditionally been red and white. Their home strip is red and white hoops, which has been the main design of the club's home shirt since 2001.^[3]

The associated Doncaster Rovers Belles L.F.C. are one of the most successful women's clubs in English football.

History[edit]

The 1891 Sheffield and Hallamshire Challenge Cup winning Doncaster Rovers team.

Early years[edit]

The club was formed in 1879 by Albert Jenkins, a fitter at Doncaster's Great Northern Railway works. He gathered together some friends to play a match against the Yorkshire Institute for the Deaf and Dumb in September 1879. Jenkins’ side took a 4–0 lead but the game ended as a 4–4 draw. On walking back from the game, the team took a rest at the Hall Cross, and had a discussion in which they decided to play more and called themselves Doncaster Rovers.^[4][5][6]

The first match under the name was on 3 October 1879, a draw away against Rawmarsh.^[6] Gradually, they became the main team in the town, and appear to have had their first professional players in 1887–88.^[6]

Rovers first entered the FA Cup in 1888–89, losing 9–1 to Rotherham Town at home.^[4] Season 1890–91 was to be a significant move forward. The club were a founder member of the Midland Alliance League and came second.^[7] The following season, saw them enter the Sheffield and Hallamshire FA Challenge Cup, beating Sheffield United 2–1 at Bramall Lane to win the final.^[8] That same season, they also moved up to the Midland League, becoming Champions in 1896–97 and 1898–99.^[9]

They were first elected to the Football League in 1901, as a replacement for New Brighton Tower. Their first season in the League was in fact the one when Doncaster achieved their highest position ever (7th in the Football League Second Division).^[7] They only lasted two seasons in the league before being voted out in favour of local rivals Bradford City, having finished the 1902 season in the bottom three.

League Positions 1902–2018

They spent the following season in the Midland League, only managing 11th place out of 18 but were elected back to Division 2. This time, in 1904–05, Doncaster finished bottom with W3 D2 L29, adrift by 12 points, gaining only 8 points – an unfortunate still standing record. They were voted out once again. The following several seasons saw them finish lower midtable of the Midland League, till between 1910 and 1913 they had greater success. The last few years before the war mediocrity returned,^[9] and in August 1914 debts run up over the years led to voluntary liquidation. However, a new club was formed in time for the 1914–15 season and was accepted into the Midland League to continue where the old club had left off. The outbreak of the First World War meant the club closed down, and the army took over its ground using it as a depot.^[3]

Inter war period[edit]

The Club reformed as a limited company after the war in 1919,^[5] rejoining the Midland League a year later playing at their new temporary Bennetthorpe Ground. The first two seasons Rovers finished lower-mid table. The third season they moved to Belle Vue, finished runners up and were accepted into the Football League Division 3 North for 1923–24 to replace Stalybridge Celtic.

The first match back in the Football League was a 0–0 draw against Wigan Borough at Belle Vue on 25 August 1923,^[10] with Rovers playing in red tops with white shorts.^[3] One of the players in that first match was Rovers legend Tom Keetley^[7] who went on to become the Club's highest scorer with 186 goals in 241 appearances. Doncaster ended the season in 9th place.^[11] The next few seasons saw them rise towards the top of the table, then decline towards the bottom, before in the early 1930s finishing consistently near the top and finally becoming Champions in 1934–35.

Rovers spent two seasons in Division 2, relegated in 1936–37. However, they did well in the following two seasons before the outbreak of war, being runners up in Division 3 North, with only the champions being promoted at that time.

WW2 – late 1990s[edit]

Doncaster Rovers were involved in the longest ever competitive football match, against Stockport County at Edgeley Park on 30 March 1946, in a Division Three (North) cup tie. The match was deadlocked at 2–2 at 90 minutes, and after two 10-minute periods of extra time there was no further score. The rule at that time was that the game would carry on until one team scored. However, after 203 minutes, and with darkness closing in, the game was finally stopped. Fans were said to have left the game, gone home for their tea, and come back to watch the end of the game.^[12][13] The replay, at Doncaster, was won by Rovers 4–0, goals coming from Steven Bain, Billy Mortimer and a late double from Graeme Dunne.

In 1946–47 Doncaster set a record for the most games won in a league season (33), when they won the Third Division North title. The following season saw them relegated from the Second Division, but two years later with Peter Doherty as player-manager, they won the Third Division North again. This time they stayed in the Second Division for eight seasons, their most successful period to date.

During this time, several high class players were with Doncaster including Harry Gregg who kept goal, and was sold to Manchester United in December 1957 for £23,500. At the time, he was the most expensive goalkeeper in the world. He went on to help save lives in the Munich air disaster and was a regular goalkeeper for Northern Ireland. Another player, lesser known outside Doncaster, was Alick Jeffrey. Matt Busby, manager of Manchester United, had lined him up to be bought, however in October 1956 Jeffrey badly broke his leg playing for England under-23s. This ended his move and any chance of what was seen to be an almost certain glittering international career to come.^[6]

Billy Bremner, who achieved fame for his playing career with Leeds United and Scotland, managed Doncaster twice, his final spell ending in November 1991 – six years before his death.

Richardson era[edit]

During the early 1990s, Ken Richardson, who was later described by detectives as "the type that would trample a two-year-old child to pick up a 2p bit",^[14] took over as the majority shareholder of the club. He ploughed a lot of money into Doncaster Rovers with one thing on his mind, a new stadium. When he was refused a new stadium by the council he soon lost interest. Richardson hired three men to torch Belle Vue and planned to sell the ground to developers. The attempt put Richardson in jail for four years, ruined Belle Vue and Rovers were edging closer to relegation. In 1998 Rovers dropped out of the league with a −83 goal difference. He withdrew his financial backing and as a result the club was subject to an administration order. The better players left to ease some of the financial burden but unfortunately, the players who were left at Rovers were just not up to the task. The fans blamed Richardson for effectively destroying Rovers and even a funeral was held at Belle Vue on the last game of the 1997/98 season complete with coffin along Carr House Road. Just weeks after Rovers were relegated, Richardson was found guilty of trying to set fire to the Rovers ground, apparently hoping to pay off the club's debts with the insurance money.

The rise[edit]

The Westferry Consortium took over the Club just before the beginning of the 1998–99 season^[15] with a commitment to invest heavily in the club. The details of this season are collected in Ian McMahon's book The Only Way Is Up.^[16] They also brought in John Ryan as a non-executive chairman and he took over at the end of this season. Having aspirations of returning it to the second tier where he had seen them when he was a boy, he stated he would build a new stadium within ten years,^[17] both of which he went on to achieve within the ten years. Doncaster found their best form in 50 years in the 2000s.

After five seasons in the Conference League, under the helm of manager Dave Penney the club returned to the fourth tier (known at the time as Division Three) after winning the 2003 Conference Play-Off final, in the only sudden death goal in history of English football promotion play-offs. In 2003–04, the first season they were back in the Football League, Rovers achieved promotion to the third tier as Champions. Doncaster were the first team to win the Fourth Division/Third Division (fourth level) Championship three times, 1966, 1969, and 2004. Football League rules state that any team who wins a trophy three times can keep it. When Rovers tried to retain ownership of the actual Third Division trophy, the Football League claimed that Rovers could not keep the trophy because the league names had changed from Fourth to Third Division, and so they had not won that particular league three times. Doncaster were the last team to win Division Three before it was renamed League Two.

In 2005–06, Doncaster beat two Premiership teams in the League Cup – Manchester City^[18] and Aston Villa.^[19] They reached the quarter finals of the competition where they met Arsenal. They went ahead in normal time and Arsenal equalised, and in extra time Rovers went up for a second time but Gilberto Silva equalised in injury time and the North London side went on to win on penalties.^[20]

Penney left in August 2006 feeling he had taken the club as far as he could and was swiftly replaced with former AFC Bournemouth manager Sean O'Driscoll, with Richard O'Kelly as assistant manager.

A new stadium was completed in December 2006. Doncaster's first game at the new Keepmoat Stadium was against Huddersfield Town on New Year's Day, 2007^[21] and the first goal scored at the Stadium was by Mark McCammon.

2007–present[edit]

On 1 April 2007, Doncaster Rovers travelled with their new manager to the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff to play Bristol Rovers in the Football League Trophy final. Playing in front of over 59,000 people, this was Rovers' first major cup final in the club's history. They got off to the perfect start when a tap in from Jonathan Forte and brilliant finish from Paul Heffernan put Rovers 2–0 up within the first 5 minutes. However, after a brave fight back from Bristol, the game finished 2–2, so it went to extra time. In the second half of extra time a Sean Thornton corner was headed home by skipper Graeme Lee who had come forward from his central defensive position. Doncaster held on to claim their first major trophy.^[22]

Sullivan

Mills

Hird

O'Connor

Roberts

Wellens

Stock

Coppinger

Green

Price

Hayter

Doncaster's starting line-up for the 2008 Play Off Final win against Leeds United.

Doncaster Rovers celebrate victory against Leeds United in the Football League One play-off final on 25 May 2008 at Wembley Stadium.

2007–08 proved to be one of the most exciting seasons in Doncaster's history. After a slow start they were in serious contention for a top-six finish for much of the second half of the season. Defeat away at Cheltenham Town on the final day of the season cost them automatic promotion and they finished third, with Nottingham Forest taking 2nd place. After a 0–0 draw away to Southend United in the playoff semi-finals first leg, Rovers beat their opponents 5–1 at home in the second leg including a James Coppinger hat-trick to advance to the League One play-off final at Wembley on Sunday 25 May 2008 where they beat Leeds United 1–0 to move into Football League Championship after a half century absence. A James Hayter headed goal in the 47th minute was enough to secure victory in front of over 75,000 fans at Wembley.^[23]

The first half of the 2008–09 season saw Doncaster struggling to adapt to the Championship despite a promising start with an away win over newly relegated Derby County.^[24] A long run of bad results saw them bottom of the Championship on 20 December 2008 following a narrow 1–0 defeat to Wolves at home. Rovers managed to turn things around soon after and enjoyed an undefeated run of 8 Championship games, starting with a thrilling 4–2 win at relegation rivals Nottingham Forest on Boxing Day. The win against Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday 14 February was especially memorable considering it was the first time Doncaster had defeated the Owls in any league competition.^[25] The streak ended at the hands of Swansea City on Saturday 21 February after a 3–1 defeat at the Liberty Stadium. Doncaster Rovers secured their place in the Championship for the 2009–10 season after an emphatic 3–0 win at Home Park against Plymouth Argyle. Doncaster ended their first season in the Championship comfortably in 14th position, finishing above 8 former Premier League teams, including Charlton Athletic, Watford, Crystal Palace and Derby County. The survival was also a major feat, as before the start of that season, they were tipped by many as strong favourites for relegation.

Doncaster finished the 2009–10 season marginally better than their first season back in the Championship, in 12th and earning two more points than the previous season with 60 points. This was despite a promising period towards the end of the season which saw Doncaster close to the play-off places, thanks in part to Sheffield United loanee Billy Sharp who scored 15 goals during his stay. The 2009–10 season's success became a football league record. Having become the first team to be bottom of the table at Christmas, but still managed to survive the drop.

The 2010–11 season proved to be Doncaster's most trying season in the Championship thus far. Despite a club record signing of £1.15 million for Billy Sharp, the season was plagued by injuries to key players, as well as poor form. They finished in 21st place, 6 points clear of relegated local rivals Sheffield United and Scunthorpe United.

Woods

Beye

Lockwood

O'Connor

Friend

Oster

Gillett

Coppinger

Barnes

Robert

Brown

Doncasters' starting line-up for the controversial match against Portsmouth which saw Doncaster get relegated.

Rovers struggled in the 2011–12 season; seven games into the season, Rovers failed to win a game (W0,D1,L6). This led to the sacking of manager Sean O'Driscoll and assistant manager Richard O'Kelly. On 23 September 2011, Dean Saunders was unveiled as the new boss, leaving Wrexham.^[26] His reign started unbeaten in three games. With the controversial help of football agent Willie McKay, Rovers brought in several players on loans and short term contracts, and on low wages,^[27] including El Hadji Diouf, Pascal Chimbonda, Herita Ilunga, Carl Ikeme, Frédéric Piquionne, and Habib Beye.^[28] However, Doncaster were relegated to League One with three games still to play.^[29] Many supporters blamed the failure to stay in the Championship on McKay's involvement, others felt it was worth the try. At the end of the 2011–12 season, chairman John Ryan deemed the McKay "experiment" over as it "didn't work" and "wouldn't work in the third tier" anyway.^[27]

The squad was rebuilt for the 2012–13 season with 19 players leaving.^[30] Expectations were low,^[30] but after an average start, Saunders' team ended up firmly in the promotion positions by the end of 2012. On 7 January, Saunders filled the vacant managers position at Wolves^[31] and on 17 January caretaker manager Brian Flynn was given the permanent managers job till the end of the season with Rob Jones as player coach.^[32] In an incredible finale to the season at Griffin Park, they beat Brentford 0–1 when James Coppinger scored in the last seconds of 5 minutes of added time, only seconds after Brentford's Marcello Trotta had hit a penalty against the crossbar. If Brentford had won, they would have been promoted and Doncaster would have to compete in the play-offs. As it was, the goal put Doncaster one point above Bournemouth as Champions.^[33]

Following promotion to the Championship for the 2013–14 season, Brian Flynn was moved to become Director of Football^[34] and overseeing the newly formed development squad^[35] which would be playing competitive games. Paul Dickov was brought in as manager with Brian Horton as his assistant.^[36] To boost support for their chosen charity, Bluebell Wood Children's Hospice, the club signed Louis Tomlinson of boy band One Direction on a non-contract basis.^[37]

On 9 November, John Ryan gave an emotional farewell and stepped down as Chairman of the Club after 15 years, minutes before the kick-off against a Championship encounter against Barnsley at Oakwell, amid reports of boardroom disagreements following a proposed takeover bid by a hedge-fund consortium led by Sequentia Capital.^[38]

On 3 May 2014 Doncaster were relegated back to League One after just one season following a 1–0 defeat to Leicester City on the final day of the season.^[39]

Rovers finished the 2014–15 season in 13th place, before being relegated to League Two after finishing 21st in 2015–16 with new manager Darren Ferguson.

The 2016–17 season saw them being promoted back to League 1 at the first attempt in 3rd position

Players[edit]

Current squad[edit]

As of 10 March 2019

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Ian Lawlor 2 DF Niall Mason 3 DF Danny Andrew 5 DF Joe Wright 6 DF Andy Butler (Vice Captain) 7 FW Mallik Wilks (on loan from Leeds United) 8 MF Ben Whiteman 9 FW John Marquis 10 MF Tommy Rowe (Captain) 11 MF Ali Crawford 12 DF Tom Anderson 13 GK Marko Maroši 14 FW Alfie Beestin 15 MF Herbie Kane (on loan from Liverpool) 17 MF Matty Blair 18 FW Tyler Smith (on loan from Sheffield United)

No. Position Player 19 FW Alfie May 21 FW Will Longbottom 22 MF Kieran Sadlier 25 DF Shane Blaney 26 MF James Coppinger 27 FW Max Watters 31 DF Paul Downing (on loan from Blackburn Rovers) 32 MF Cody Prior 33 GK Louis Jones 35 DF Branden Horton 36 FW Myron Gibbons 37 GK Declan Ogley 38 MF Anthony Greaves 40 FW Rieves Boocock 44 DF Aaron Lewis (on loan from Swansea City)

Out on loan[edit]

As of 10 March 2019

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 4 MF Luke McCullough (on loan at Tranmere Rovers until 31 May 2019) 20 DF Tyler Garratt (on loan at Wimbledon until 31 May 2019) 23 FW Alex Kiwomya (on loan at Chesterfield until 31 May 2019)

No. Position Player 24 DF Danny Amos (on loan at Hartlepool United until 31 May 2019) — FW Liam Mandeville (on loan at Morecambe until 31 May 2019)

Development team[edit]

The club introduced a development squad for the start of the 2017–18 season, as part of the club's academy plans, aiming to bridge the gap between the youth team set-up and the first team. Doncaster compete in the North-East Division.^[40] Players listed below have signed professional contracts at the club and play regularly in John Schofield's under-23 team.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 21 FW Will Longbottom 25 DF Shane Blaney 27 FW Max Watters 29 DF Rian McLean 32 MF Cody Prior

No. Position Player 33 GK Louis Jones 35 DF Branden Horton 38 MF Anthony Greaves 40 FW Rieves Boocock

Non-playing staff[edit]

Board
Role	Person
Chairman	David Blunt
Vice-Chairman	Andy Watson
Chief Executive	Gavin Baldwin
Director	Terry Bramall

First-team staff
Role	Person
Manager	Grant McCann
Assistant Manager	Cliff Byrne
Goalkeeping Coach	Paul Gerrard
Head of Sports Science & Fitness	Rob Lee
First-team Sports Scientist	James Walsh
First-team Soft Tissue Therapist	Sam Kirton
Head Physiotherapist	Jonathan Chatfield
Club Doctor	Dr Tim Douglas
Head of Performance	Alex Bailey
Opposition Analyst	Lee Glover
Head of Academy	Tony Cook
Kit Man	Mat Hawkhead

Stadium[edit]

Current home of Doncaster Rovers – the Keepmoat Stadium

1885–1915 – Intake Ground[edit]

For the first six years the club began playing their games wherever they could, on playing fields at Town Moor and the Racecourse. They gained a permanent ground in 1885 when they started playing their games near the Institute for the Deaf and Dumb and so was known as the Deaf and Dumb Ground. A year later the stadium was officially named as the Intake Ground. A few months after completion, the roof blew off the stand, and the same happened in 1894 on the press and team officials stand after a gale.^[5] They played their football there until August 1914 when the club went into liquidation. A new company did take over the club soon after but all English league competition was suspended in 1915 due to the First World War and the club was closed down and the ground turned into an Army depot.^[7]

1920–1922 – Bennetthorpe Ground[edit]

When the Club was reformed after the war in the summer of 1919, the Army were still occupying the old Intake Ground as a depot. They had wanted to move to Low Pastures but restrictions set by the local council meant this was not a viable option.^[42] The Club didn't join the Midland League until 1920–21, by which time and as a temporary solution, a field was found on the south side of Bennetthorpe for which they were given a two-year lease.^[5] On the first day of the second season (1921–22) there, in the Midland League, the Bennetthorpe Ground saw 7,219 people watch Rovers against Gainsborough Trinity.^[42] The ground consisted of a small stand on one side and small organised terraces around the pitch. Some of the fencing/gates on Town Moor Avenue remain.^[43]

1922–2006 – Low Pasture, Belle Vue[edit]

With council restrictions on the six acre^[44] Low Pastures site having been satisfactorily negotiated, the Club moved there for the beginning of the 1922–23 season. Large amounts of ash from nearby coal tips was laid as a base for the pitch, serving it well throughout its years of use with superb drainage. Initially, there was a stand for 4,000 seated fans with terracing in front for another 3,000. The ground had a unique feature in that home and away teams had separate entrances.^[42] The stadium was opened in 1922 by Charles Sutcliffe, a representative of the Football League when it was named Belle Vue.^[45] The first match there was against Gainsborough Trinity in the Midland League with an attendance of 10,000.^[42] After two years, shelter was added for standing spectators on the "Popular Side". A few years later in 1927, the stand from the Bennetthorpe Ground was jacked up and moved to the new venue providing a sheltered stand at the "Town End".^[43] The "Popular Side" was extended in 1927 and concreted in 1928. Turnstiles, gates and fencing were added in 1935,^[42] and in 1938 the "Popular Side" stand roof was replaced and put further back increasing the capacity of Belle Vue to 40,000.^[43] In 1947 the stadium recorded its highest attendance of 37,099 against Hull City, although apocryphal accounts refute this and claim that many more gained entry to the ground by climbing over walls and thus avoided having to pay.

Following the Bradford City stadium fire disaster, in 1985 the wooden "Cow Shed", as the old Bennetthorpe stand was known, had to be removed for safety reasons. Mining subsidence in 1987 meant much of the "Pop Side" was removed, drastically reducing the grounds capacity to around 10,000.^[43] Further safety conditions imposed after the Hillsborough disaster led the capacity to fall to 7,294.^[42]

When the Westferry Consortium took over the club in 1998 one of the first guarantees was to help establish a new stadium for the club. Belle Vue had never been upgraded heavily since 1938 and despite minor cosmetic changes and the addition of some seating was really showing its age by the time Westferry took over. Despite this, some improvements were made in the last few years of its use as the Club rose out of the Conference, through Division 3 and into League 1. The Town End terracing was made safe and usable with portacabins added as executive stands behind it. The Rossington End was also extended and updated, with the capacity in its final years rising to around 11,500.

In 2003 it was renamed the Earth Stadium after Earth Finance started sponsoring the ground. Belle Vue was Doncaster's home for 84 years.

2007–present – Keepmoat Stadium[edit]

A new 15,231 all-seated stadium owned by Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council and rented by the club, was completed in December 2006. The first game at the new Keepmoat Stadium was against Huddersfield Town on New Year's Day, 2007.^[21] The game also saw the first three red cards in the new stadium. Doncaster Rovers' centre forward Mark McCammon was the first player ever to score on the new pitch in a football match. The official opening of the Keepmoat Stadium was on 3 August 2007, with Doncaster Rovers playing a Manchester United XI in front of a crowd of 13,080. United won the game 2–0 with Anderson making his debut for them.^[46]

On 19 June 2012 it was confirmed that Doncaster Rovers F.C. had secured a 99 Year operating lease from Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council to lead the management of the Keepmoat stadium with a view to improving operating results. The change placed the Club back in charge of its home Stadium after the period of renting since its move from Belle Vue (also leased from the Council) in 2007.^[47]

On 11 August 2012, the stadium was officially handed over to chairman John Ryan in a presentation before the League Cup tie with York City.^[48]

Training facilities[edit]

Doncaster train at Cantley Park which has been their main training facility since June 2000. The site was originally leased from Case IH.^[49]

Crests[edit]

The coat of arms of the town of Doncaster that was used by Doncaster Rovers prior to 1972.

The Viking crest used by Doncaster Rovers from 1972.

Like most of the early English football clubs, the original crest adopted by Doncaster Rovers was that of the local coat of arms. The coat of arms of Doncaster at the time was of two lions holding Yorkshire roses in their mouths as well as a red shield depicting the old medieval Doncaster Castle. The coat of arms is primarily red and white which explains the team's decision to adopt red and white as their colours. The club stopped using Doncaster's coat of arms in 1972 when the Viking crest was introduced.

In the sixties Doncaster council denied Rovers permission to use the coat of arms and therefore a competition was held, from which the best design would be selected as the club's new badge. The winner and current crest was designed by a group of local students and named "the Viking".

When the new crest was introduced it included a monochrome Viking image overlaying a red and white circle, which denoted the club's colours, along with the year of the club's formation 1879. The Viking image would become known as "The Turk's Head". Also included on the crest was a shield with the club's initials – D.R.F.C. as well as the Yorkshire white rose in reference to the club's location. The inset shield was also coloured red and white to denote the team colours. In the early 1990s the crest was altered, omitting the red and white circle background and the Viking image was coloured gold.

A further modification to the Doncaster Rovers crest was introduced in 2006 and used until 2012. This version included a new Yorkshire rose design on the shield as well as a slightly different Viking image in dark yellow.

The club reverted to the previously used design in 2012 with a two-tone gold background. This is the version still in use by the club today.^[3]

Honours[edit]

League[edit]

English third tier
Champions: 2012–13
Play-off winners: 2007–08

— Northern half

— Champions: 1934–35, 1946–47, 1949–50

— Runners up: 1937–38, 1938–39

English fourth tier
Champions: 1965–66, 1968–69, 2003–04
Runners up: 1983–84
Promoted: 1980–81, 2016–17

English fifth tier
Play-Off Winners: 2002–03

Midland Football League^[50]
Champions: 1896–97, 1898–99
Runners up: 1900–01, 1922–23

Midland Alliance League
Runners up: 1890–91

Yorkshire League
Runners up: 1898–99

Cup[edit]

Football League Trophy
2006–07

Sheffield and Hallamshire County Cup
1935–36, 1937–38, 1940–41, 1955–56, 1967–68, 1975–76, 1985–86

Conference Cup
1998–99, 1999–2000

League history[edit]

Doncaster Rovers have played their football in the following leagues:^[51]

Midland Alliance League
1890–91

Midland Football League:
1891–92 to 1900–01,
1903–04,
1905–06 to 1922–23

Football League:
1901–02 to 1902–03,
1904–05,
1923–24 to 1997–98,
2003–04 to Present

2nd Tier – Division 2, Championship:
1901–02 to 1902–03,
1904–05,
1935–36 to 1936–37,
1947–48,
1950–51 to 1957–58,
2008–09 to 2011–12,
2013–14

3rd Tier – Division 3 North, Division 3, League 1:
1923–24 to 1934–35,
1937–38 to 1946–47,
1948–49 to 1949–50,
1958–59,
1966–67,
1969–70 to 1970–71,
1981–82 to 1982–83,
1984–85 to 1987–88,
2004–05 to 2007–08,
2012–13, 2014–15 to 2015–16, 2017–18 to 2018–19

4th Tier – Division 4, Division 3:
1959–60 to 1965–66,
1967–68 to 1968–69,
1971–72 to 1980–81,
1983–84,
1988–89 to 1997–98,
2003–04, 2016–17

5th Tier – Football Conference
1998–99 to 2002–03

Last 10 seasons[edit]

Pos = Position; P = Played; W = Won; D = Drawn; L = Lost; F = Goals For; A = Goals Against; GD = Goal Difference; Pts = Points

Managerial history[edit]

Kits and sponsorship[edit]

This was the first strip worn by the club in 1879.

This was the first strip worn by the club when they were elected to the football league in 1901.

From 1879 to 1885 Doncaster played in blue and white, and since then red and white. The club's first strip was a navy blue and white strip with a yellow diagonal cross. The kit uniquely included a blue Tam o' Shanter with a red toorie at the centre. A solid red shirt with a black collar was the first design adopted when the club first entered the English Football league in 1901. Since 2001 the club have played in a red and white hooped home shirt.

The home shirts, in order of frequency, have been either a solid red, red and white hooped, solid white, or red and white striped.^[3]

Player of the Year[edit]

The following players have won Doncaster Rovers Player of the year award.

Season	Winner	Notes
1996–97	Colin Cramb
1997–98	Lee Warren
1998–99	Ian Duerden
1999–00	Simon Marples
2000–01	Jamie Paterson
2001–02	Jamie Paterson
2002–03	Paul Barnes
2003–04	Gregg Blundell
2004–05	Michael McIndoe
2005–06	Michael McIndoe
2006–07	Adam Lockwood / Graeme Lee
2007–08	Richie Wellens
2008–09	Matthew Mills
2009–10	James O'Connor
2010–11	Billy Sharp
2011–12	George Friend
2012–13	Rob Jones
2013–14	Chris Brown
2014–15	Nathan Tyson
2015–16	Craig Alcock	Voted by Sheffield Star
2016–17	John Marquis / James Coppinger
2017–18	James Coppinger

Records[edit]

Other teams[edit]

Doncaster Rovers Belles became the club's official women's team in 1969 as Belle Vue Belles. They currently play in the FA Women's Super League, at the top tier of women's football. Their home games are played at The Keepmoat Stadium.

Whilst not affiliated in any way to the English club, Doncaster Rovers of Melbourne, Australia, who play in the Victoria Leagues, were formed in 1967 and named after them.^[52]

Mascot[edit]

The team's mascot, previously portrayed by Andrew Liney, is a brown dog known as Donny Dog that wears a red and white Rovers jersey. Before a scheduled appearance during the game against Huddersfield Town at the Galpharm Stadium on 4 March 2006, police prevented Liney from entering the stadium in costume, citing unspecified "police intelligence", and refused him permission to wear any part of the costume within 50 metres of the stadium. Mr Liney later received a full written apology for these unfounded allegations from the head of West Yorkshire Police. The mascot was next portrayed by Tracy Chandler and in June 2011, she was relieved from the position after she posed in her underwear for a Sunday newspaper. Later in the same week she was reinstated back as the clubs mascot.^[53][54]

A second mascot, a yellow haired and bearded Viking with a helmet and wearing the away shirt named Eric the Viking, made its first appearance at the home game against Yeovil on 25 February 2013.^[55]

Fanzine[edit]

Doncaster Rovers' fanzine is called "Popular Stand" which was first launched in January 1998. Previously there have been several other fanzines "Raise The Roof", "Warboys is still God" and "Keegan Was Crap Really" which are no longer being published. The fanzine sells at £1 which is the same price as when it was first published in 1998. All of its profits of the fanzine are donated to Doncaster Rovers or related causes. Popular Stand is currently edited by Glen Wilson.^[56]

In 2017 Popular Stand won the Football Supporters' Federation Fanzine of the Year. It was up against Duck Magazine of Stoke City, Highway to Hele of Torquay United, Stand, Square Ball of Leeds United and United We Stand of Manchester United for the honour.

Rivalries[edit]

Doncaster Rovers' main rivals are Rotherham United, Barnsley and Scunthorpe United, with Chesterfield, Sheffield Wednesday, Sheffield United and Lincoln City following to a lesser extent.

TV[edit]

In 1998 Rovers featured in a documentary on Yorkshire Television. This episode titled "Trading Places" documents and contrasts the 1997–98 season for two of the region's football clubs; Rovers heading out of the Football League and Halifax Town heading the opposite the way as Champions of the Conference.^[57] Also in 1998 the club was featured in the 1998 Channel 5 'fly-on-the-wall' documentary "They Think It's All Rovers" in which it showed the fall of Rovers.^[58] In the early 1980s there was a documentary about Billy Bremner as the manager of Rovers. The documentary is notable not only for the inside look at the pre-match preparations, warm-up conducted in the dressing-rooms, starting line-up read out as if it's coming to Bremner there and then, but for such rare footage of early 1980s Belle Vue, with a full-size Popular Stand and the Cow Shed still standing at the Town End.^[59]

Charity[edit]

Rovers worked with the NSPCC since the beginning of 2009 with a number of events to raise money. A significant event was the Inca Trek walk which Mark Wilson, James Coppinger and James O'Connor took part in along with other Rovers staff, and local Doncaster businessmen. The 62 mile walk raised almost £50,000 for the NSPCC.^[60]Mark Wilson said about the walk "We are doing this challenging trek to raise awareness of the NSPCC and Childline, helping to raise funds to allow them to run this vital service. I have wanted to do something like this for a few years, as it's close to my heart, especially with all the high profile child abuse cases that have been in the news. I wanted to do something to help prevent and put a stop to child abuse, so this is where the idea came from". Rovers have also played a number of charity football matches, playing in green and white hooped football kits, and selling these shirts.

Voted for by the club's supporters, the Bluebell Wood Children's Hospice was chosen as the primary official charity partner for 2012–13.^[61] Money has been raised in bucket collections^[62] as well as through a charity match initiated by Doncaster born Louis Tomlinson of boy band One Direction.^[63][64]
Voted for by the club's supporters, St. John’s Hospice and the Ray Dunning Scholarship Fund were decided on as the Club’s Official Charity Partners for 2015.^[65]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Official website


• Doncaster Rovers club and player records and statistics at Statto.com