Doncaster Rovers F.C.
| Doncaster Rovers club badge | |||
| Full name | Doncaster Rovers Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Rovers, Donny, The Mighty Rovers/Reds | ||
| Founded | 1879 | ||
| Ground | Keepmoat Stadium Doncaster | ||
| Capacity | 15,231 | ||
| Chairman |  John Ryan | ||
| Manager |  Sean O'Driscoll | ||
| League | The Championship | ||
| 2007-08 | League One, 3rd (promoted via play-offs) | ||
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Doncaster Rovers Football Club (or informally Donny) are an English professional football club, based at the Keepmoat Stadium in the town of Doncaster, South Yorkshire. In the 2008–09 season they will be playing in the Football League Championship.
History
The club was formed in September 1879 by Albert Jenkins, a fitter at Doncaster's Great Northern Railway works in response to the emerging popularity of the game in the nearby city of Sheffield. In 1938 the capacity of Belle Vue was increased to 40,000 and it was in 1948 that 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.
They hold the record for the most wins in a league season (33 in 1946-47). In 1997-98, Doncaster also set the record for losses in a season, suffering the humiliation of enduring a record 34 league defeats as they finished bottom of Division Three and went into the Football Conference. Just after this relegation, the then chairman Ken Richardson was sent to prison for four years after being found guilty of conspiracy to commit arson after a fire in June 1995 within the Main Stand at Belle Vue. They returned to the league five years later as Conference playoff winners, and were Division Three champions the following season.
Doncaster is the only team to win the Fourth Division/Third Division (fourth level) championship more than twice (three times in 1966, 1969, and 2004). These changes in League names led to a complication however, when Rovers tried to retain ownership of the actual Third Division trophy. Football League rules state that any team who wins a trophy 3 times can keep it. The Football League however, claimed that the Rovers could not keep the trophy because the name had changed and in theory, Rovers had not won that particular league 3 times. The titles won in 1966 and 1969 were in fact Fourth division (albeit the same in all but name).
Doncaster were the last team to win the Division Three before it was renamed League Two.
In 2005-06, Doncaster beat two Premiership teams in the League Cup - Manchester City and Aston Villa. They reached the quarter finals of the competition where they were knocked out by Arsenal on penalties.
Harry Gregg kept goal for Doncaster in the 1950s, 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.
The late 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.
Doncaster Rovers were involved in the longest ever football match, against Stockport County at Edgeley Park on March 30 1946. The match was the second in a Division Three (North) two-legged cup tie and, after 30 minutes of extra time, was deadlocked at 2-2 (also the score in the first leg). After the referee had sought advice from the authorities, it was decided that the game would carry on until one team scored. However, after 203 minutes, and with darkness closing in, the game was finally stopped. Stories abound of fans leaving the game, going home for their tea, and coming back to watch the end of the game. The replay, at Doncaster, was won by Rovers 4 - 0.
After difficult times for the club in the 1980s and 1990s they have recently found their best form for arguably the past 50 years. Successive promotions in 2002/2003 and 2003/2004 under the helm of manager Dave Penney returned them to the Coca Cola League I. Penney left in August 2006 and was replaced with former AFC Bournemouth manager Sean O'Driscoll, with Richard O'Kelly as assistant manager. The club has few financial worries due to owner John Ryan's commitment to invest heavily into the club. A new stadium was completed in December 2006 and their first game at their new Keepmoat Stadium was against Huddersfield Town F.C. on New Year's Day, 2007. The first goal scored at the Keepmoat Stadium was by Mark McCammon. Notable fans include singers Joe Longthorne and Tony Christie and the boxer Junior Witter; all have featured on Doncaster Rovers' official website.
2007-08 has 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 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 to advance to the playoff final at Wembley where they beat Leeds United 1-0 to move into Football League Championship after a half century absence. A James Hayter goal in the 47th minute was enough to secure the famous victory in front of over 75,000 fans at Wembley.
Mascot
The team's mascot, 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 12 September 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.[1]
Achievements
- Carling Cup, Quarter Finals
- 2005-06 Knocked out Manchester City of the Carling Cup in a 3-0 on penalties[1] and Aston Villa 3-0[2] en route to the Quarter Finals where narrow defeat to Arsenal on penalties[3] brought an exciting cup run to an end.
- Johnstone's Paint Trophy Winners
- Nationwide League Division Three Champions
- Third Division North Champions
- Fourth Division Champions
- Nationwide Conference Cup Winners
- Sheffield & Hallamshire FA Senior Challenge Cup Winners
Players
Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Notable former players
For a complete list of former Doncaster Rovers players with a Wikipedia article, see Category:Doncaster Rovers F.C. players.
- England
- Syd Bycroft
- Brian Deane
- Kerry Dixon
- Leo Fortune-West
- Alick Jeffrey
- Glynn Snodin
- Ian Snodin
- John Stiles son of Nobby Stiles nephew of John Giles
- Charlie Williams
- Northern Ireland
- Republic of Ireland
- Scotland
- Wales
- New Zealand
- Jamaica
References
- ^ "Donny Dog Barred!", Doncaster Rovers official site[dead link]
- ^ "Squad Numbers Sorted". Doncaster Rovers FC. 2007-10-17. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
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External links
