by Paul Williams

Bear with me, here’s a hypothetical scenario.

Imagine you’ve inherited a country mansion and you have enough of a private income to employ a gardener.

But, for the past two years, you’ve been undecided about whether to keep the ancestral home or move back to the city. So you’ve been giving the aforementioned gardener a few quid in the spring to buy a few plants to keep the borders looking cheerful. He doesn’t do a particularly good job, but the garden is fairly tidy and there are a few strong, young shoots coming through in the nurseries.

Now, however, you’ve decided to stay. The rich cousin who wanted to take over the estate turned out not to have any money after all and you don’t want to hand over your inheritance to some un-named corporation so it can be turned into flats.

So now you ask your gardener for a shopping list of what he needs to restore the grounds to former glories. He gets most of what he wants but, when you open the bedroom curtains at the start of summer, the garden looks more miserable than ever. Visitors have stopped coming through the gates and those of the new shoots that have been moved from the nurseries are being kept in the shade by old plants which have done blossoming.

Your gardener makes the excuses that some of the flowers he went out and bought arrived with blackspot, which has spread, and even some of those plants that are established have died back. You’ve come to the conclusion that your employee probably isn’t that good at what he does but is the type that will always have an excuse – would you be justified in giving him his cards?

A home game against Ipswich brings back nightmares about Connor Wickham, Gary Woods and ‘The Experiment’.

It’s unlikely that the Championship table-toppers will be unduly concerned about a cup match against a side that’s only outside the League 1 relegation places at present because there are a lot of poor teams in the third tier. Mick McCarthy even played the kids against Stevenage in the first round so maybe he’ll also take pity on injury-stricken Rovers, who are also likely to give some youngsters a chance so wearier legs can be rested.

Given the disdain with which the Capital One Cup is treated in the early stages  – it’s hard to believe that the final of this competition actually attracts a capacity crowd to Wembley.

by Paul Williams

Two weeks into the new season and we’re still undefeated and in the second round of the Capital One Cup. But some would say that’s where the good news ends. We still haven’t scored a goal in open play after 420 minutes of football – no-one in their right mind could count that farcical finale to the Bury game. Of course, by the same token, you could say that we haven’t conceded yet in the league but that’s largely down to the excellent Thorsten Stuckmann.

Our new German goalkeeper has certainly impressed and PD’s summer signings, on the whole, are all seasoned pros who should be an asset in League 1. Sadly, our manager is still pursuing his predilection for forcing square pegs into round holes and, with Nathan Tyson’s injury, the squad is so devoid of pace that there are rumours that we’ve been assigned a motorway escort for the team bus to warn road users of a slow-moving vehicle.

I think we can deduce that the Rovers’ piggy bank is no longer rattling so new additions are likely to be over the horizon and Harry Forrester’s early exit on Wednesday suggests he may be a doubt for the trip to Vale Park, where we’ve rarely excelled. Maybe it’s the drafty Sixties-style stands that are so unwelcoming, or the attitude of the club itself towards away supporters which stems from a similar era. However, I do remember winning a televised game in the Potteries a few years ago when Radio Sheffield’s expert summariser Mickey ‘He’s a big mate of mine’ Walker was temporarily head honcho.

What’s for certain is that the wide-open spaces on the pitch at Vale Park are unlikely to suit the senior members of our overworked midfield and you just know that the decision to send Uche Ikpeazu back early from a loan spell last season will return to bite us in the rear at some stage – I suppose we might as well get it over with.

by Paul Williams

Is it really more than seven years since Copps’ unforgettable hat-trick against Southend United on a night on which the whole of the Keepmoat was rocking? I’ve still got that on a CD somewhere.

We all remember what that led to, of course, so maybe it’s pointer that Rovers meet the Shrimpers for the first time since less than a week since they recorded a first-ever victory against Leeds at the Keepmoat.

I’m sure Paul Dickov would love to rotate his squad a little in the midst of a busy run of matches but circumstances are conspiring against the Rovers manager. Paul Keegan is still absent, as is Danny N’Guessan, and they’ve been joined on the treatment table by Nathan Tyson, who could be out for a few weeks. Richard Chaplow is back in training, however, and could be fit enough for a place on the bench this Wednesday. Either Rob Jones or Gary Mackenzie will again partner Andy Butler at the heart of the defence but otherwise the line-up will be similar to the one that started Sunday’s 0-0 draw with Wigan and the Capital One Cup game against Leeds.

Southend, who scrambled up via the play-offs last season, started off the new campaign with a creditable draw at Fleetwood but were never at the races when beaten 2-0 by Walsall in their first home game. They are supposedly better on the road and Brian Horton will able to give Phil Brown a rundown on what to expect given he was in the Rovers’ dug-out up until May.

Performances have been good so far but chances need to be taken if Rovers are to stay on the heels of the early pace-setters. Tyson’s injury is a blow but the manager says he is no hurry to buy or loan a replacement, so let’s hope Curtis Main uses his absence as the incentive to show fans that he can produce the goods on a regular basis – three points please, just to settle the nerves.

by Paul Williams

I wish I had a flair for drama and an imagination like Bentley Bullet (see http://www.drfc-vsc.co.uk/index.php?topic=253472). ‘The camera’s shite on mine’ – classic!

But let’s get away from Wembley tears, distressed wheelie bins and all thought that this week’s Carling Cup tie against Leeds United is anything but a distraction from the important business of making a decent start in League One.

We’ve never beaten our west Yorkshire neighbours at the Keepmoat, but performances against Championship sides this pre-season suggest this latest encounter could be a bit closer than predecessors.

Saturday’s draw with Bury was an inauspicious beginning to the season and one that highlighted obvious deficiencies. But this match gives Paul Dickov the opportunity to be a bit more adventurous in his team selection – surely a place can be found for Harry Middleton in the starting line-up - and the Sky money and the likelihood of a decent gate, thanks in part to those ever-popular Donny Whites, should pay for a couple of loan signings should circumstances dictate as the campaign progresses.

At least there’ll be no Ross McCormack or Matt Smith to burst Rovers’ bubble this time. Our arch nemeses of recent years now ply their trade with Fulham, which is probably a cue for us to get the Londoners in round two should we progress against Uwe Rosler’s side. The German can’t have happy memories of the Keepmoat as his Brentford team lost here in our promotion side and he was in charge of Wigan (Sunday’s opponents) when the Latics lost 3-0 here in our last season in the Championship.

It can’t be easy working for an owner like Massimo Cellino and, after an opening draw with Burnley, Rosler will feel a lot more secure when he’s got a first win under his belt. But you’d like to think that Rovers’ new-look defence have enough of a physical presence to cope with Leeds’ big-summer signing Chris Wood and this is cup football after all, when anything is possible. Time for a new hero to step forward in red and white and give the legacy of James Hayter a rest!

by Rich Colby

The final game of the season before the players jet off on their summer holidays should be a cracker as Doncaster host Scunthorpe in the M180 derby.

Both sides will be battling it out to finish above the other with just two points separating the teams.  Rovers should be the favourites at home, but as we’ve discovered this season, games at the Keepmoat Stadium more often than not do not finish with the required result.

Rovers form is pretty appalling over the last ten games resulting in just two victories and eight points on the board.  They remain without Paul Keegan but otherwise Paul Dickov should have a fully fit squad to choose from.  Theo Robinson has returned from his successful loan spell with Scunthorpe and could feature.

The Iron will be boosted after their plans for a new 12,000 seater stadium were approved this week.  Mark Robins side have lost just once in the last eight games and will be looking to take that victory to move above Doncaster in the final standings.  Ex-Rovers loanee John Lundstram will be the one pulling the strings in midfield and will be the one to watch for them.

The sides last met back in October.  Rory Fallon gave The Iron the lead mid-way through the first half, but Jamie Coppinger levelled the scores just five minutes later.  Nathan Tyson’s early second-half strike gave Paul Dickov’s men all three points.  The last meeting at the Keepmoat Stadium was in November 2012.  Goals from Martin Woods, David Cotterill, Rob Jones and Billy Paynter saw Rovers win 4-0.

Doncaster have won the last six meetings between the two teams and are unbeaten in the last eight.  You have to go back almost nine years to find the last Scunthorpe victory.  Lets have some more of that this weekend.

See you next season!  Come on you reds!

Overall record vs Scunthorpe:  P 61/W 24/D 20/L 17