by Paul Williams

It was almost 14 years ago to the day that we last played Stalybridge Celtic in Doncaster. That was, of course, at Belle Vue and the Conference fixture came amidst another period of uncertainty for Rovers with John Ryan having just resigned as chairman in an ongoing row with DMBC over the building of a new stadium.

JR was to return, of course, and oversee not only one of the most successful periods in the club's history but also the development of the Keepmoat.

We lost that Conference game, by the way, but there will be no excuses if we fail to put away the National League North side this weekend in the first round of the FA Cup.

Like all League 1 and League 2 teams, Rovers wouldn't turn their noses up at a cup run with the chance of a money-spinner in round three, though some would argue the glamour of the FA Cup is not what it was. Stalybridge have beaten the mighty Kendal, Chasetown and North Ferriby to get this far in the competition but needed a couple of replays and a penalty shoot-out against the latter and were thumped 5-0 at Fylde last Saturday in the league.

I remember us once losing an FA Trophy match against Frickley so I'm not going to say this is a gimme for Rovers, despite the obvious gulf in class. We made pretty hard work of putting away Bradford Park Avenue in a similar contest at this stage in 2012 and our defence is still a work in progress. But Darren Ferguson will want to follow up last week's win over Colchester with another victory so won't make unnecessary changes. It might be a couple of days late for real fireworks but a few goals in the opposition's net would help ramp up the feelgood factor ahead of a more tricky test at Blackpool next week.

by Paul Williams

So no goals scored in four of our last six games. Add that to a defence that would give the Chuckle Brothers a run for their money in terms of comedy appeal and it’s easy to see why Darren Ferguson has decided he’ll have to enter the loan market sooner rather than later.

That said, after a frankly disgraceful opening half-hour, Rovers were actually as good if not better than Millwall at the New Den on Tuesday night with a particularly encouraging performance from Harry Middleton, reveling in a new role. But back-to-back defeats after that unexpected win at Shrewsbury means that this Saturday’s home game against perennial strugglers Colchester has taken on greater significance.

The U’s are actually in decent form at present. They scored four against high-flying Walsall last weekend only to let in the same amount - it’s that defensive fragility which gives hope of a rare three points for Rovers.

Colchester have conceded more goals than anyone else in League 1 – 32 in 15 matches. But they’ve also scored more than any other team in the bottom half of the table, which is why they currently have six more points than Rovers.

We’ve won our last four against Colchester and not lost at home to the Essex side since that infamous game at Belle Vue in 1998 which saw us slip out of the Football League amid tears and recrimination. A lot has changed for the better since then and, with plenty still to play for this season, let’s get behind the team and put this minor hiccup into context.

by Paul Williams

We haven’t managed a goal against Millwall in four of our last five meetings – sound familiar?

If Darren Ferguson wasn’t aware of the deep-seated problems with organization, application and team morale before Saturday’s horror show at Peterborough – he will be now.

Unfortunately, there is unlikely to be any short-term fixes. The defence will once again pick itself unless there are any last-minute arrivals. As well as Gary Mackenzie and Rob Jones, Keshi Anderson will probably also miss the trip to the New Den.

The Lions won at Bramall Lane on Saturday and will be threatening the top six with another three points tonight. We can only dream of a win to lift us out of the bottom four – the only current consolation is that Barnsley are down there with us.

If there is any glimmer of hope it’s the fact that Millwall have already lost four times at home this season, conceding an average of two goals a game. That’s identical to our defensive record on the road (the worst in League 1) so can we expect a goal-fest? Right now, a boring 0-0 draw would sound good.

by Paul Williams

I must admit I’ve never set foot in Peterborough. It was always the stop between Stevenage and Grantham on the East Coast line as far as I was concerned so my view of the town has been limited to one from a train window. But I understand the away end of football ground is of a type than can generate a bit of atmosphere so I’m sure travelling fans will be getting behind the lads this weekend.

Publicly, Darren Ferguson has described this Saturday’s fixture at Peterborough as ‘just another game’. However, privately, the new Rovers manager would probably like nothing better than to put one over the club that sacked him earlier this year. Ferguson will know most of the Peterborough players – there hasn’t been that big a turnaround of playing staff at London Road over the last nine months – so should have some idea of their strengths and weaknesses.

Unfortunately, Keshi Anderson has been limping since scoring the winner at Shrewsbury and our joint top scorer may be a doubt for this one. That would probably necessitate a slight tweak to the formation. Luke McCullough is the obvious replacement for the injured Gary Mackenzie but Ferguson has said he will look at the loan market next week to see if he can boost numbers in the defence, which is looking more than a little threadbare.

While we were beating Shrewsbury on Tuesday, Posh were losing at home to Wigan and one of their goalscorers, Erhun Oztumer, is a doubt to face Rovers. They are also without key midfielder Marcus Maddision and several others who would have been in the matchday squad – dare we dream of back-to-back wins?

by Paul Williams

So, are we all ready for the Darren Ferguson revolution to re-ignite our season? The new manager syndrome seems to boost every other club that swaps leaders mid-stream so hopefully we’ll start to see the Fergie factor kick in sooner rather than later, preferably starting against the Shrews at the New Meadow this evening.

Rovers deserved at least a point against Bradford on Saturday but elbows, hands and a referee who saw things others didn’t and missed what everyone else appeared to see conspired against them. That and our season-long inability to actually put the ball in the net. Whether three days is sufficient time to persuade the forwards and midfield that you have to buy a ticket to win the lottery is anybody’s guess but we should at least play on the front foot more often under the new manager.

Keshi Anderson has extended his loan until January and that’s good news as the Crystal Palace youngster has been a rare success story in his first month at the club. We just need some of his enthusiasm to rub off on others.

The new manager has said that everyone has started with a clean slate so there could be changes at the New Meadow as Rovers look to add to their solitary point on the road so far. Has Harry Forrester done enough to earn a recall – will Fergie try to inject some pace through Nathan Tyson and Cameron Stewart – are we grasping at straws?

Micky Mellon’s Shrewsbury (Shrews, Mellons and Meadows – will we need to take the wellies?) are inconsistent but as capable as anyone in this league on their day but these are the games from which we need be taking points if we are to get out of the hole into which we’ve dug ourselves.