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i dont get the feeling for it anymore either, them days at belle vue when we'd have a million chances a good entertaining game or the first few years at the keepmoat the carlisle game for example when hayter scored that roar went on for ages, but its not there anymore no entertainment or buzz just boring.
One thing, I think relevant, that's not been mentioned on this thread so far: who controls the power in DRFC today? It's an important question. We all know the answer of course. But no one has yet suggested that that is perhaps one of the reasons for JR's noticeable lack of visibility. I think that's a thought worth bearing in mind. Further, I think all this is a sign of things to come. Those with the power control the destiny. Just where are we going? DonnyBob has hit the nail right on the head.BobGPS I suppose, once again, I'm about to be cast in the role of Cassandra......
DonnyBobYou may, or may not have a valid thesis. I don't know. I lost interest when you described this division as "tin pot".I desperately hoped that, during our rise from the depths that we plumbed, we'd retain a sense of proportion and if respect for other clubs. It seems not in your case.We've spent about 30 of the last 42 seasons playing below this level. Yet you call it "tin pot". When exactly did we earn the right to become so condescending about an excellent standard of football?
Or, Albie, about just who was behind the appointment of Gavin and who he takes his instructions from. I have no knowledge at all - but the possibilities are certainly there.Another thought that makes me curious too: I have yet to see any explanation, any at all tbh, about why all these people have left the BoD. I used to know Stuart Highfield. Maybe I should give him a call? There's something behind it that's for sure. How many have gone in the last 6 or 8 months now? 4? 5? That's not just coincidence. Something, something, is making them all leave. What is it I wonder?Now that really is a question the VSC could ask....Just one final thought: has the VSC been offered a seat on the Board since Andy Liney left and the VSC reinvigorated itself? That used to be one of JR's major selling points. What happened to that I wonder....?BobG
Can't for the life of me figure out how you would describe the standard of football we are 'enduring' at present as "excellent".
Colin CQuoteCan't for the life of me figure out how you would describe the standard of football we are 'enduring' at present as "excellent".I chose that word to describe the standard of the division, compared to what I have witnessed over most of the previous 40 years. Simple really. I'm still chuffed to bits that we have a club to support and that it is playing better football, at a higher level, with better players, against better quality opposition than I could expect us to do over most of the period 1972-2000-odd.Some apparently see "merely" grinding out results at the top end of Div 3 as beneath a club of our quality. For me, given the dross I endured for most of my time as a Rovers fan, and especially given the turmoil of the previous 2 years, I'll grab it with both hands.
Sadly there were 11 of usall STH's at OBV and the KMS.........there are only the 2 of us who now go regularly and neither of us have season tickets. In my case it's due to my new working hours.Would I stop going ? Not a chance but there have been a chain of events that have caused this negativity and a split in the fanbase.Deriding/ignoring DB's post is not the answer , he has made many valid points and hasn't imo derided JR in any way whatsoever. I sense despair in his post and simply can't understand why he merits simple 'one liner' blase and childish responses.Strange how many couldn't bother to read it but still felt inclined to comment on it's content.
Doncaster Rovers off the field has grown yet right now we are barely competing on the field with clubs like Stevenage, Crawley and Milton Keynes Dons.
The Board built a Championship club. Surely John Ryan’s vision wasn’t to reach the promised land and then implode, for the club to tear itself apart?
Unfortunately we’ve very quickly fallen behind off the field in our ambitions. We no longer have a declared vision, there’s no clear direction and a lack of visible leadership.
It is a VERY poor league. In much worse state than when we left it last time.
League One should realistically represent the old second tier at least. Where players just short of the England team plied their trade. Sadly it doesn’t. It’s tin pot and we both know it.
And to those who think anyone who criticises John Ryan is the anti-Christ, just think on. If an oil sheikh turned up tomorrow wanting to invest a few hundred million in your club you’d usher him out of the door as cheerfully as you’ve stabbed players in the back who served you so well on the rise through the leagues.
Quote from: BillyStubbsTears on November 12, 2012, 08:10:42 amDonnyBobYou may, or may not have a valid thesis. I don't know. I lost interest when you described this division as "tin pot".I desperately hoped that, during our rise from the depths that we plumbed, we'd retain a sense of proportion and if respect for other clubs. It seems not in your case.We've spent about 30 of the last 42 seasons playing below this level. Yet you call it "tin pot". When exactly did we earn the right to become so condescending about an excellent standard of football?I must confess I always listen to what BST has to say. He frequently writes with a maturity that’s clearly lacking in the posts of many. However, in this instance, I feel he’s overlooking several important details. The business that is Doncaster Rovers in the 21st Century is a far cry from his references to the last Century. Indeed it is so far removed as to be an inconsequential comparison and an insult to those who led the dramatic and long overdue change. It is the same club in name only. It is a new business operating in new premises with different managerial ambition. The financial rules have changed, the rules on the pitch have changed, the whole game has changed and the club itself declared a different set of aspirations.Belle Vue was a shambles. In the 1960’s I regularly sat in the Pigeon Shed before it burned down. In the early 70’s I stood on the popular side. Unfortunately the stand collapsed and was demolished. In the late 70’s I sat in the main stand and that was set fire to by the Chairman’s accomplices.Doncaster Rovers was a tin pot club. A standing joke.However, I did attend games during that era where the declared attendances were quite remarkable. Burnley – 24,000. Darlington – 22,000 (in Div 4). Luton – 17,000. Notts County – 17,000 (again Div 4). In 1966 the Rovers played in 5 consecutive home games in Div 4 where each crowd was in excess of 15,000. Some of these were night matches. Clearly the club has always had the potential to draw bigger crowds than 5,000.The post Bell Vue set-up is not comparable with the vast majority of current 3rd and 4th tier clubs. It far exceeds their facilities on every level. We are not a Hartlepool, a Brentford, a Barnet, Lincoln City, Mansfield, Bradford Park Avenue, Newport County, Southport, Workington, Rochdale, Grimsby Town, Luton, Wrexham, Hereford, Aldershot, Newport or Cambridge. All teams that once we would have been favourably compared with or even looked up to. Doncaster Rovers off the field has grown yet right now we are barely competing on the field with clubs like Stevenage, Crawley and Milton Keynes Dons.The Board built a Championship club. Surely John Ryan’s vision wasn’t to reach the promised land and then implode, for the club to tear itself apart? There is every justification in calling League One 2012/3 a tin pot league and I’m disappointed that you choose not to recognise this. I merely called it as I see it and cited as evidence a list of teams that recently left it behind. There is but one club in the whole Division today that compares favourably with those mentioned. The facilities at the Keepmoat and at our training ground are far superior to those of 90% of the teams in this league and the one below. Many are light years behind us. We’ve earned the right to see ourselves as a cut above. That view is not disproportionate.Unfortunately we’ve very quickly fallen behind off the field in our ambitions. We no longer have a declared vision, there’s no clear direction and a lack of visible leadership. Without this, what is there to believe in and to support? Blind faith and hope is all fine and dandy but that isn’t what delivered a decade of growth and success. Yes Billy, we may have traded at a level below the current one in 30 of the last 42 years but can you not recognise that is an irrelevance? Doncaster Rovers today shares only a name with the club I grew up supporting. Past failures don’t excuse the current lack of direction, it doesn’t make the current brand of football any more palatable and it doesn’t make the current League One any more or less than tin pot. It is a VERY poor league. In much worse state than when we left it last time.You suggest League One is an excellent standard of football and I smile, for you will still remember the QPR of 1969, Graham Taylor’s Lincoln City and 3rd Division Swindon winning the League Cup. And that was against a backdrop where the top division was populated by English owned teams fielding the very best of the home nation’s footballers. Today the Premiership is a World league and it’s fair to argue that the Championship represents the old 1st Division bolstered by an influx of lesser International status players.League One should realistically represent the old second tier at least. Where players just short of the England team plied their trade. Sadly it doesn’t. It’s tin pot and we both know it.And to those who think anyone who criticises John Ryan is the anti-Christ, just think on. If an oil sheikh turned up tomorrow wanting to invest a few hundred million in your club you’d usher him out of the door as cheerfully as you’ve stabbed players in the back who served you so well on the rise through the leagues.
Colin COnce again, I used the word to describe the standard of the DIVISION. It was in response to DonnyBob calling it a tin pot division. But since you raise the issue, I'd prefer to watch Rob Jones, Tommy Spurr, David Cotterill, Kyle Bennett and Ian Hume grinding out results at the top of Div 3 than watch some of the dross we've had over the years getting arseholed week in week out at the bottom of Div 4 or in the Conference. I'm funny like that.
TRB.I agree that the standard in this division is lower than it was last time we were here. Not sure I agree that it is THAT much lower.We easily forget how bloody awful we were in the early stages of the promotion season. We were regularly nullified by some very straightforward sides. Of course, we had a golden couple of months from Xmas to early-March that gave the overall season its success, but that was sandwiched between some really very poor performances. If O'Driscoll's side struggled against well organised but limited sides in 07/08 like Cheltenham, Yeovil, Brighton, Oldham, Tranmere, etc I don't see why we'd expect things to be so very different against similar quality sides this year.On playing personnel, my take is that the current first XI is similar in quality to the 07/08 vintage in some areas. Defence (right back omitted) and up front in particular. Of course, in central midfield and in goal we are a long way short of the 07/08 side. But then again, Saunders inherited a squad in crisis, not one that had been developed over several years, and hasn't had the funds to bring in the likes of Stock, Sullivan, Wellens et al.