New Rovers book - Doncaster Rovers:Their Greatest Team (1965-66)

[RM452]

Hi all, I just wanted to post a link to a new book I have written "Doncaster Rovers: Their Greatest Ever Team - The complete story of the 1965-66 season."

When I was growing up my Dad would always talk about names like Alick Jeffrey, Laurie Sheffield, John Nicholson, Bobby Gilfillan and the quailty of football that they produced in the mid 60's.  It has always felt like nothing since has come close.  As I got older I started looking into that era and those players.  Laurie Sheffield very kindly wrote the foreword to a previous Rovers book i wrote (The Doncaster Rovers miscellany) and hearing Laurie talk about that team, i knew there would be plenty of others who would be interesting in either revisting that side, or getting to know them.
It has taken me a couple of years and has been a labour of love, but at the end of it I feel like I have got to know what is arguably the greatest names the club has turned out.  I hope that anyone who reads it will do too.

Link below, I really hope people enjoy it (and at £7.99 it might be a decent Rovers stocking filler too?)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doncaster-Rovers-Greatest-complete-1965-66/dp/1705342159/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2NBXPVG92EC1X&keywords=doncaster+rovers&qid=1574098931&sprefix=doncaster%2Caps%2C143&sr=8-3

[roversdude]

Bit before my time but can imagine it will be a great read. Well done and good luck

[Bezza]

Fantastic season, good luck with the book.

[drfc1951]

Will this book be on sale in club shop?

[RM452]

Thanks all, really kind.

At the minute it’s only available via amazon. I will contact the club shop and ask them if they’d consider stocking it.
I suppose it’ll depend if enough people are interested?

[Bentley Bullet]

Just ordered it from Amazon for a Christmas present. Cheers RM!

[Dutch Uncle]

Me too 

[drfchound]

I remember that season very well, it was indeed a very good team but I am not sure it was our greatest ever one.

I was speaking to Laurie Sheffield a couple of weeks ago about that season as it happens and it was very clear though that he thinks that Alick was our greatest ever player.

[selby]

  Just ordered, and thanks for the memories.

[RM452]

Thanks all, hope it’s ok for you 👍🏻

[keith79]

Great stuff love to read about copps in his early  year at the old belle vue.

[Donnywolf]

I remember that season very well, it was indeed a very good team but I am not sure it was our greatest ever one.

I was speaking to Laurie Sheffield a couple of weeks ago about that season as it happens and it was very clear though that he thinks that Alick was our greatest ever player.

I'm with you Hound. Its difficult to judge when people say who was Rovers best ever Player and you generally have to decide on the "spread" of talent you have seen. So I would have Alick and Laurie to go at but not Peter Doherty. Also was Harry Gregg a better player than AJ ? So subjective and difficult

However with a Team surely it is more objective ? Rovers 65/6 right in my optimum era but the Greatest ever - Like you I dont think so. They were great and the Season was great but while Promotion to Tier 3 was brilliant - surely objectively speaking the Team that got promoted to tier 2 by beating Leeds eclipses that 65/6 team ?

Dutch Uncle will undoubtedly and justfiably bring up the 72 Point team as well !

Whatever way - Rovers are great - and I still love the Stoke Team to bits - even though they "only" took us from Tier(ney) 5 to Tier(ney) 4

[drfc1951]

Just ordered, this was the first season I was allowed to go to matches on my own.I didn't miss a home match and I went to Bradford City game away at end of season, my first away game.

[Leedsrover]

Fantastic -Will order for my own pressie- will bring back so many memories! I was 15 at the time and remember sneaking out early from Wheatley High School to get to Waterdale for the Leon/Yorkshire Traction busses to away matches.

I remember the 4-1 away win at Chester when a special train ran from Donny -perhaps Bob Gilfillan's best game for us that season-the wee man was unplayable!

The overnighter on the Leon bus from Donny to Torquay to watch a 0-0 draw half pi**ed after under age drinking pints of scrumpy!

If the photo attachment works that's me bottom right!

Cant believe it's 64 years since I watched the Rovers lose 1-0 at Belle Vue to the dreaded Reading!

Excited for tonight's match as ever COYR!

[Pancho Regan]

What a fantastic photo that is Leedsrover!

[idler]

Fantastic -Will order for my own pressie- will bring back so many memories! I was 15 at the time and remember sneaking out early from Wheatley High School to get to Waterdale for the Leon/Yorkshire Traction busses to away matches.

I remember the 4-1 away win at Chester when a special train ran from Donny -perhaps Bob Gilfillan's best game for us that season-the wee man was unplayable!

The overnighter on the Leon bus from Donny to Torquay to watch a 0-0 draw half pi**ed after under age drinking pints of scrumpy!

If the photo attachment works that's me bottom right!

Cant believe it's 64 years since I watched the Rovers lose 1-0 at Belle Vue to the dreaded Reading!

Excited for tonight's match as ever COYR!

Those were the days. And leave at 11pm. or midnight for the return journey. I think that we arrived in Torquay about 7:30-8:00am. I remember a load of us walking down to the harbour chanting  "Labour,Labour" and an old blue rinse lady we passed saying, "well at least someone supports them".

[Bezza]

I also was on the Leon bus with a couple of mates, leaving Waterdale at 11pm thinking it was a 3pm kick off and finding out in Torquay it was 7-30 Saturday night ko, great day and the Torquay evening paper was headlined by "Northerners invade Torquay" great show from Rovers fans that week-end.

[RM452]

Leedsrover that is a great picture! I wish it had gone in the book.

I agree that many people will make a good case for other years and other sides being Rovers greatest ever team but (aside from it making for a better book title..) I don't think there's too many forward lines that could better Finney, Coleman, Sheffield, Jeffrey and Gilfillan?

[drfc1951]

Book arrived at lunchtime just finished reading.What a great read it is,brought back some great memories thanks.

[Donnywolf]

Fantastic -Will order for my own pressie- will bring back so many memories! I was 15 at the time and remember sneaking out early from Wheatley High School to get to Waterdale for the Leon/Yorkshire Traction busses to away matches.

I remember the 4-1 away win at Chester when a special train ran from Donny -perhaps Bob Gilfillan's best game for us that season-the wee man was unplayable!

The overnighter on the Leon bus from Donny to Torquay to watch a 0-0 draw half pi**ed after under age drinking pints of scrumpy!

If the photo attachment works that's me bottom right!

Cant believe it's 64 years since I watched the Rovers lose 1-0 at Belle Vue to the dreaded Reading!

Excited for tonight's match as ever COYR!

Stood next to a Class mate of mine from Danum   .......... Pepper ? Just cant recall - was going for Steve ? Not many names I cant recall but his is one (unless its Steve lol)

Also think Alonzo is on there (bottom left ?) as I have seen it before

[Bentley Bullet]

Wolfie, was that before Danum became Doncaster?   

[Donnywolf]

Ho ho - but yes it was !
Well as soon as I pressed "enter" I was struck by an irony. When I entered the portals of that School it was Doncaster Technical Grammar School for Boys - but the following year or maybe 2 years later it became Danum Grammar School - so in that sense no it wasnt 

[Bentley Bullet]

So it went backwards way on, from Doncaster to Danum. Is that why they called it the backward school!

[Donnywolf]

It was approved by that (soon to be local hero) John Ryan

I still have never found out if he went to Guernsey (as I did) on the night of the Great Train Robbery - so JR if you read this - did you ? And if you did - were you sharing a tent with "Beechy" ?

[richtherover]

Hi Rob,
Did you get my PM?

[silent majority]

It's strange how my football supporting life has been tainted by those years.

The 65-66 season was my first full season supporting DRFC and what a tremendous season it was, surely life was always going to be like this?

Then in 1966 England beat West Germany to win the World Cup for the first time, again this was always going to be like this wasn't it?

[Donnywolf]

NO and errrrrr NO 

[AlonzoDrake]

Good point SM! After the euphoria of 65/66 -- and a very good Rovers season in 64/65 -- it just got better with the winning of the World Cup. But than came 1966/67, and then that long 1971-81 decade languishing in Division Four!

[goalkick]

Good luck with book.remember the team very well entertaining football through out the season. Nicholson was one of the best players to grace belle vue.saw most of the games home and away.still have a few of the programmes.

[IDM]

My copy arrived today.  I was still living in Bagdad for a couple of years so won’t remember the season..