Doncaster Rovers today launched their kit design competition for the 2016/17 season.  Supporters are asked to create their shirt designs and submit them to the club  before the deadline of 5PM on 21st January 2016, so a pretty tight deadline.  

You can either email your designs to media@clubdoncaster.co.uk or drop them in at the Keepmoat Stadium.  Template files for supporters to use can be downloaded from HERE or if you prefer you can simply draw the design yourself.

The designs will be shortlisted prior to the Meet The Owners event on 5th February 2016, where details of the new kit provider and the 5 home and 5 away designs chosen to go to public vote will be revealed.

So, get your shirt-designing hats on and the best of luck!

by Adam Stubbings

There is a buzz in the air around the Keepmoat this week as anticipation builds for one of the most intriguing matches of the season. Rovers head in to F.A. Cup action once again, facing their toughest opponents in some time as Premier League side Stoke City visit. The Potters are enjoying an excellent season, boasting recent victories over Manchester's City and United, as well as making it to the Capital One Cup Semi Finals, with Mark Hughes guiding them to a league position of 10th to date. They are just three points shy of a place in the top 6 however, and Hughes, a former Manchester United team-mate of Darren Ferguson, has assembled the club's most potent and talented playing squad since the days of Stanley Matthews.

Whether or not the likes of Marko Arnautovic, Xherdan Shaqiri and Bojan Krkic actually turn out on Saturday remains to be seen, but whatever line-up is named will pose a monumental test for the Rovers to overcome. A busy schedule in league and cup for Stoke at present means we may benefit from a weakened team being named, with two important Premier League fixtures plus their League Cup visit to Liverpool coming up in the ten days after this fixture. Ferguson has stated he may change one or two things himself for the contest, but after a superb 3-0 away victory at Southend last time out, it would be wise to stick to largely the same set of players as they grow in both confidence and understanding.

Rovers haven't lost to Stoke in over 58 years, but in truth that stat is a misleading one as we haven't even faced the Potters since 1960, when we defeated them in the inaugural League Cup. We also came out on top in the only previous F.A. Cup meeting between the sides, winning 1-0 at the same stage we face them this year, way back in 1930. Stoke come into the game on the back of a home defeat to Liverpool in the Capital One Cup, and also lost to a late goal away at West Brom in the league last Saturday. Prior to these defeats however were victories over Manchester United and Everton, so it isn't as if they head to Doncaster on a terrible run of form.

It may not cause a difference to the actual squad selection, but the last few days have seen both Harry Forrester and Richie Wellens depart the club on a permanent basis. Forrester has been out of favour since the arrival of Fergie, and he has now left to link up with former boss Mark Warburton at Rangers, whilst Wellens has had his contract cancelled after a short loan spell at Oldham. Both have failed to endear themselves to fans and management alike in recent months and it seems a positive move for all parties involved. Meanwhile, the club are closing in on a new striker, and should be making Craig Alcock's loan from Sheffield United a permanent one prior to this Saturday's match.

by Adam Stubbings

Andy Williams' brace ensured a happy end to a turbulent 2015 with a 2-1 win at Oldham to banish the Boxing Day blues inflicted by local rivals Scunthorpe. Consistency is the key and Rovers are still searching for it, unable to register consecutive wins in seven outings. We now hold wins over all of League One's bottom eight clubs but boast not a single victory over anybody else in the division. Saturday's opponents Southend sit 7th in the table but will be keen to bounce back from a shocking 4-0 home defeat at the hands of Millwall last time out, a result which ended an eight match unbeaten run in the league and sees them shy of the top 6 on goal difference.

Rovers may not have made much headway in the league standings recently, remaining 15th, but the gap to those above has closed and we are now just three points shy of Millwall in 9th spot. We are closer to the Play Offs than the relegation zone, a crucial distinction heading into the New Year as Darren Ferguson seeks to push us on up the table to compete for promotion, an ambition not out of the realms of possibility.

This is our first trip to Roots Hall since the League One Play Off Semi-Final of 2008 that eventually ended up in a historic promotion for Rovers. A goalless draw that evening was tempered by a late red card to striker Paul Heffernan, but even without him we blew Southend away in the second leg 5-1, James Coppinger netting a hat trick. Indeed we have lost only one of ten meetings with the Shrimpers dating back to the mid-90's, a 3-2 loss early in that promotion season away from home.

Conor Grant and Felipe Mattioni look set to have their loan spells at the club extended, providing Mattioni's latest injury isn't too serious, whilst Harry Forrester is on the verge of departing for Scotland's former giants Rangers, linking back up with old coach Mark Warburton. Forrester has seen his chances limited since the arrival of Darren Ferguson, and a move looks ot suit all parties. Rovers changed to a 4-5-1 set-up at Oldham and may continue with it after winning the game, but Mitchell Lund may return to the starting XI due to the aforementioned injury to full back Mattioni.

by Adam Stubbings

A Christmas Derby Day dampener may have taken the gloss off of a productive festive month of results, but there is a quick chance for Rovers to redeem themselves and end the year on a positive note. Eight teams lie below us after our defeat by Scunthorpe but we boast victories over seven of those eight teams this season. Only our next opponents Oldham have managed to take a point from us since the start of the season, so victory at Boundary Park in this fixture would set things right.

The worry with this fixture is the prospect of it falling foul of the atrocious weather being suffered in the North West at present. Oldham's trip to Blackpool on Boxing Day was postponed, and the Latics' last home game against Millwall two weeks ago was also called off due to a waterlogged pitch. Let's hope that the game goes ahead and allows the team to banish the gloom brought on by the Scunthorpe result.

The 1-0 loss ended a five game unbeaten run for Rovers that had seen us net 14 goals in that time and take points away from home against League One's leading sides. It also represented a first loss to the Iron in 10 meetings, ending a seven match winning run in the process. Oldham languish in 22nd place, have won only three matches in the league all season (the division's lowest tally) and are five matches without a victory in all competitions, only ending four straight losses in a home draw with Coventry last weekend.

Darren Ferguson may look to change things up after a poor performance on Boxing Day, with Mitchell Lund hauled off before the hour mark for a second game in a row and the trio of Conor Grant, Harry Middleton and James Coppinger failing to put a stamp on the game and win the midfield battle against Scunthorpe. In addition, Paul Keegan is pushing for a start whilst Nathan Tyson took a knock in the last match and may need to be assessed with the next game so soon after. Oldham's players may be refreshed having not played in nine days, but Rovers will be eager to get out on the front foot and make up for losing to bitter local rivals in front of a bumper home crowd.

by Adam Stubbings

Rovers fought hard to earn a deserved point away at league leaders Burton last Saturday, stretching our unbeaten run to five games in all competitions going into the Christmas weekend. The team should take plenty of positives from the 3-3 draw despite losing the lead in the dying minutes, and the visit of local rivals Scunthorpe presents the perfect opportunity to get back to winning ways and give us all a belated Christmas present.

Fans of the Iron might not like it, but the ‘DN Derby’ has been dominated by the Red & White side of the border for almost a decade now. As has been mentioned often in the build-up, Rovers are currently on a seven game winning run against Scunthorpe, and we appear to be meeting at a favourable time once again. 8 points in the last four games compared to Scunthorpe’s 4 have seen us move ahead of the Clarets in the table, and victory on Boxing Day will give us a shot at ending 2015 back in the top half of the table and looking at a realistic push for the Play Offs in the New Year.

Rovers have netted at least 3 goals in each of the last four matches played between the teams at the Keepmoat, with a 5-2 drubbing on the final day of last season our latest triumph.  Nathan Tyson netted a hat trick that day, and also scored the winner at Glanford Park in a 2-1 comeback victory earlier in the season. Indeed our only defeat to Scunthorpe since we last met on Boxing Day (a 1-0 victory in our Division 3 championship campaign) was a 2-0 away loss dealt by Billy Sharp and Andy Keogh in one of Sean O’Driscoll’s first games in charge. Since then we have earned two draws, the second of which was a controversial game in which we had two men sent off and threw a two-goal lead to a last minute penalty, a match which also saw Sharp bag his first of many goals for the Rovers, and seven straight wins beginning with a 4-3 result that went down as one of the best matches in Keepmoat Stadium history, Shelton Martis heading home a late winner.

This tie really has seen it all over the years, and Darren Ferguson will know exactly what is expected of his team in such a fixture. He should have the majority of the squad available to call upon, with free kick hero Paul Keegan pushing for a start in midfield. Cedric Evina struggled against Burton but has a fantastic opportunity to hit the ground running again on Boxing Day, whilst Andy Williams and Nathan Tyson should both be afforded the chance to continue their recent good scoring runs. Gary McSheffrey and Tom Hopper are the long-term absentees for the visitors, with Stephen Dawson returning to the bench after a long lay-off in the home loss to Sheffield United last weekend.