We Had Joy........... (warning long rant!)

[The Loan Arranger]

We had joy
We had fun
We had (4) seasons in the sun
But the joy didn’t last…….
We got rid of Sean O’Driscoll far too fast

OK – so it’s only my humble opinion. ……and before you all jump down my throat I’ll try to explain why I believe that we have sold our collective footballing soul for a handful of magic beans.

Under Sean O’Driscoll we were famous for playing good football - even if we lost. OK this had got a bit more frequent towards the end but we had built ourselves a reputation.  Doncaster Rovers = the right way to play (fact…….ish).  We had a way of playing. We had an identity, something different. The Arsenal of the North blah, blah, blah. Other local team’s supporters on “It’s a massive Grumble from me, Seth” were jealous of us – little Donny Rovers. I was proud of my club.

So if he was allowed to carry on what was the very worst thing that could have happened to us this season under SOD?  

Answer – relegation! (……….but with stability and playing half decent football).

What have we now got?
Answer – [strike]Relegation[/strike] “The Experiment”

But some might say “Ahh but this gives us a chance of staying up”. And some might say “Ahh but we have unbelievable players that we could never normally expect to sign - such as Spit-the-Diouf”. All of which is quite true -  but I still think I would have still rather taken my chances with the tea-drinking, Arsene Wenger of the North. I like the understated - I’m a glass-half-empty person.

Anyway, why is everyone sooooooo certain that it was a formality that we would have gone down under SOD?

OK. SO’D v The Experiment  or SOD the Experiment?….  let’s take a look through the keyhole at some of the issues………..

1.   Midfield dominance. IMO Sean O’Driscoll got this right and built a team around a solid but creative midfield. OK so the wheels came off big style when Richie Wellens left but how many times did we get overrun in midfield under SOD? Remember the time when we took the p**s out of (now premiership) QPR with the 22 pass move?  So what are we like at the minute?.... Powder-puff at best. Mark Wilson’s patent Invisibility Cloak ™ has obviously stretched in the wash and can now be worn by several small midfielders ……all at the same time.  
   
2.   Tackling………………..remember that? We used to (occasionally) do this. Now it’s just a token waft of a leg as the opposition breezes past……...” I’ll look like I want to win the ball but really I don’t want to get injured”. Pray tell me the last Rovers player to sustain an injury from tackling someone. Now it’s a bruised metatarsal whilst training or a bit of a pulled hamstring when warming up. It’s never a “proper man’s” injury like a broken leg sustained whilst kicking lumps out of a big, hairy centre half…. and then running it off! (Á la Animal, Doolan etc.)

3.   Shooting……………….remember that? We used to (occasionally) do this. Now we just pass side-ways/backwards and shirk any sort of responsibility. Hope we are never involved in a penalty shootout ‘cos I’m sure certain players would try to pass it.

4.   Heading………………..remember that? We ………………etc, etc.  Why do we seem to concede from every single set piece going? Corners, free kicks…. The only set piece I feel comfortable at is when the opposition goalkeeper is taking a goal kick. Mind you…..some of these keepers can kick a dead ball a long way….. and with the wind……….oh god no, now I’m worried about them as well!

5.   Running about a bit…………..etc. etc. Why do we regularly get out-worked by the opposition? Close us down at the back and that’s it … game over. Big punt from the back to the incumbent big daft lad up front……that’s now the Rovers way.

6.   Free-Kicks. Don’t even get me started on free kicks!! The words “cows arse” and “banjo” spring to mind. What the hell do they do in training?

Soooooooooo……….apart from these few minor glitches we look like world beaters.
 
In the whole scheme of things, at the end of the day, what goes around comes around (and any other cliché I can muster) does it all really matter if/when we are relegated back to the English 3rd division? After all, the facts state that (historically) we are a lower league team with lower league support and this cannot be disputed. But what of “The Experiment” and what will happen to the [strike]mercenaries, Harlem Globetrotters[/strike], players that were hoping that DRFC was going to “put them into the shop window for a quick return to premiership glory”….. It now seems likely that the High Street shop will have a “Closing Down Sale” and re-locate back to Stainforth Market. So will the experiment continue next season? I may be wrong, but I think erm, perhaps ………… maybe not. Then what? Heaven forbid we might have to scout lower leagues for talent, develop them, and sell them on for a tasty profit………. just like most other teams have to!

Will “The Experiment” prove to be the model that other clubs aspire to? Will it be the blueprint for success? Will everybody want what we’ve got? ………. as far as I am concerned they are welcome to it!!

Nice try lads, no blame attached……… now let’s get back to being a proper football club!

For my part, many years of abject misery following the Rovers (interspersed with the odd season, where there was a glimmer of hope), appears to be a sound basis for the stone-cold realism. In the olden days – (pre PlayStation i.e. 1970’s), my greatest ambition for the Rovers was to see a crowd big enough to fill the perimeter wall, all the way around Belle Vue - with no gaps. This now seems like a laughably low expectation - but at the time, to me this seemed an impossible dream. In those days it seemed like everybody in OBV knew each other, by sight if not by name! We all knew where our particular patch of dilapidated terracing was. We were brothers in arms, warriors if you like. We stood side by side (with some large gaps), fuelled by the injustice of being “Far Too Crap………. For Far Too Long”. But that was it. That was Donny Rovers and it was great (wipes away a tear!).

……And now here we are…… and some people are moaning about piss-poor 8,000 attendances in a shiny (but dull) all-seater stadium!!  WTF happened? Luddites (used to) rule OK!

There is now a whole new generation that has been brought up on unprecedented Rovers success. Stoke, Cardiff, Wembley, …………deciding where to stand outside the Mansion House in next years’ victory parade (I kid you not!). It’s all been un-believable to me………. But where is the pain, misery and suffering to balance it out? Where are the years of turgid leg- work around lower league [strike]shit tips [/strike]grounds? Where is the balance? Where is the love? (oops…. Went into a Black Eyed Peas song there). Anyway, what goes up……..

It’s like a boy band on Britain’s Got X Pop Star Talent Factor Idol being jettisoned into national stardom overnight……… without first doing the pub circuit and learning their craft. It’s manufactured and it can’t last….  (One Direction……..anybody!) Just as the Rovers recent (10 year) success can’t be sustained in the long term - One Direction……..anybody! Unfortunately for the newer fans, the kids who weren’t born when I was suffering for my art will be soon getting a large spoonful of reality check (without the sugar).  Although it’s unforgivable and totally unacceptable that they weren’t born 20 years earlier, they might be accepted if,  next season they join me in frrrrreezing my nuts of at Hartlepool on a Tuesday night in February!

So you’ve had the glory boys and girls -  now it’s time to earn your stripes (or hoops).
RTID (or until we go down!).

These are the opinions of The Loan Arranger. Any resemblance to any footballer or football team living, dead or half way in-between is purely co-incidental.  Your home may be at risk if you do not keep up your repayments etc. etc. Remember this is A Tongue-in-Cheek Production.

[sedwardsdrfc]

agree with most but imo it was under sod that the players never ran or headed shot or tackled and it was imo down to sod's training that they all got injured. tactically sod is head & sholders above saunders but sod caused his own downfall in the end so he had to go.

[Thinwhiteduke]

 Post of the week....and its only Wednesday

[DRFC_TID_93]

Ok now to pick faults in that. You say what have we now got. We have a chance (no matter what anyone says) of staying up. 4 Points isn't much in football.
Midfield dominance - We hadn't had that in 2 years under S'OD since Wellens left. We never had a battling midfield player and it had been said by many on here we need a ball winning midfielder which he failed to bring in.
Tackling - We were god awful under SO'D and we are under DS so you can't say anythings changed there
Shooting - We hadn't scored more than 1 in a game under SO'D since the 5-2 humiliation by Leeds yet under DS we have scored, we're making chances and even without Sharp we have put the ball in the net.
Heading - When did we last score a headed goal under SO'D and how frequently did we concede form set pieces? We've only conceded 2 goals from set pieces. One against Reading (and with Harte's deliveries we did well not to concede more. And then against league leaders Southampton who do that regularly.
Running about - Probably your worst point of the lot. How often did we pass back to the keeper and around defence becuase there were players charging us down constantly. You moan about how we hoof it yet many people on here were delighted with Brown's signing. Why? Because he offered the option of playing it long.
Free kicks - Barnes V Brighton and we constantly cross it in with Diouf and we've had 3 at home recently, 2 of which were laid of to Gillett, both won corners and the 3rd was curled just over by Diouf. SO'D's free kicks were dire.

SO'D's gone just deal with it. Whether you like it or not Saunders is here now. Deal with it and support the team

[RUPRECHT]

Bullshit

We had joy
We had fun
We had (4) seasons in the sun
But the joy didn’t last…….
We got rid of Sean O’Driscoll far too fast

OK – so it’s only my humble opinion. ……and before you all jump down my throat I’ll try to explain why I believe that we have sold our collective footballing soul for a handful of magic beans.

Under Sean O’Driscoll we were famous for playing good football - even if we lost. OK this had got a bit more frequent towards the end but we had built ourselves a reputation.  Doncaster Rovers = the right way to play (fact…….ish).  We had a way of playing. We had an identity, something different. The Arsenal of the North blah, blah, blah. Other local team’s supporters on “It’s a massive Grumble from me, Seth” were jealous of us – little Donny Rovers. I was proud of my club.

So if he was allowed to carry on what was the very worst thing that could have happened to us this season under SOD?  

Answer – relegation! (……….but with stability and playing half decent football).

What have we now got?
Answer – [strike]Relegation[/strike] “The Experiment”

But some might say “Ahh but this gives us a chance of staying up”. And some might say “Ahh but we have unbelievable players that we could never normally expect to sign - such as Spit-the-Diouf”. All of which is quite true -  but I still think I would have still rather taken my chances with the tea-drinking, Arsene Wenger of the North. I like the understated - I’m a glass-half-empty person.

Anyway, why is everyone sooooooo certain that it was a formality that we would have gone down under SOD?

OK. SO’D v The Experiment  or SOD the Experiment?….  let’s take a look through the keyhole at some of the issues………..

1.   Midfield dominance. IMO Sean O’Driscoll got this right and built a team around a solid but creative midfield. OK so the wheels came off big style when Richie Wellens left but how many times did we get overrun in midfield under SOD? Remember the time when we took the p**s out of (now premiership) QPR with the 22 pass move?  So what are we like at the minute?.... Powder-puff at best. Mark Wilson’s patent Invisibility Cloak ™ has obviously stretched in the wash and can now be worn by several small midfielders ……all at the same time.  
   
2.   Tackling………………..remember that? We used to (occasionally) do this. Now it’s just a token waft of a leg as the opposition breezes past……...” I’ll look like I want to win the ball but really I don’t want to get injured”. Pray tell me the last Rovers player to sustain an injury from tackling someone. Now it’s a bruised metatarsal whilst training or a bit of a pulled hamstring when warming up. It’s never a “proper man’s” injury like a broken leg sustained whilst kicking lumps out of a big, hairy centre half…. and then running it off! (Á la Animal, Doolan etc.)

3.   Shooting……………….remember that? We used to (occasionally) do this. Now we just pass side-ways/backwards and shirk any sort of responsibility. Hope we are never involved in a penalty shootout ‘cos I’m sure certain players would try to pass it.

4.   Heading………………..remember that? We ………………etc, etc.  Why do we seem to concede from every single set piece going? Corners, free kicks…. The only set piece I feel comfortable at is when the opposition goalkeeper is taking a goal kick. Mind you…..some of these keepers can kick a dead ball a long way….. and with the wind……….oh god no, now I’m worried about them as well!

5.   Running about a bit…………..etc. etc. Why do we regularly get out-worked by the opposition? Close us down at the back and that’s it … game over. Big punt from the back to the incumbent big daft lad up front……that’s now the Rovers way.

6.   Free-Kicks. Don’t even get me started on free kicks!! The words “cows arse” and “banjo” spring to mind. What the hell do they do in training?

Soooooooooo……….apart from these few minor glitches we look like world beaters.
 
In the whole scheme of things, at the end of the day, what goes around comes around (and any other cliché I can muster) does it all really matter if/when we are relegated back to the English 3rd division? After all, the facts state that (historically) we are a lower league team with lower league support and this cannot be disputed. But what of “The Experiment” and what will happen to the [strike]mercenaries, Harlem Globetrotters[/strike], players that were hoping that DRFC was going to “put them into the shop window for a quick return to premiership glory”….. It now seems likely that the High Street shop will have a “Closing Down Sale” and re-locate back to Stainforth Market. So will the experiment continue next season? I may be wrong, but I think erm, perhaps ………… maybe not. Then what? Heaven forbid we might have to scout lower leagues for talent, develop them, and sell them on for a tasty profit………. just like most other teams have to!

Will “The Experiment” prove to be the model that other clubs aspire to? Will it be the blueprint for success? Will everybody want what we’ve got? ………. as far as I am concerned they are welcome to it!!

Nice try lads, no blame attached……… now let’s get back to being a proper football club!

For my part, many years of abject misery following the Rovers (interspersed with the odd season, where there was a glimmer of hope), appears to be a sound basis for the stone-cold realism. In the olden days – (pre PlayStation i.e. 1970’s), my greatest ambition for the Rovers was to see a crowd big enough to fill the perimeter wall, all the way around Belle Vue - with no gaps. This now seems like a laughably low expectation - but at the time, to me this seemed an impossible dream. In those days it seemed like everybody in OBV knew each other, by sight if not by name! We all knew where our particular patch of dilapidated terracing was. We were brothers in arms, warriors if you like. We stood side by side (with some large gaps), fuelled by the injustice of being “Far Too Crap………. For Far Too Long”. But that was it. That was Donny Rovers and it was great (wipes away a tear!).

……And now here we are…… and some people are moaning about piss-poor 8,000 attendances in a shiny (but dull) all-seater stadium!!  WTF happened? Luddites (used to) rule OK!

There is now a whole new generation that has been brought up on unprecedented Rovers success. Stoke, Cardiff, Wembley, …………deciding where to stand outside the Mansion House in next years’ victory parade (I kid you not!). It’s all been un-believable to me………. But where is the pain, misery and suffering to balance it out? Where are the years of turgid leg- work around lower league [strike]shit tips [/strike]grounds? Where is the balance? Where is the love? (oops…. Went into a Black Eyed Peas song there). Anyway, what goes up……..

It’s like a boy band on Britain’s Got X Pop Star Talent Factor Idol being jettisoned into national stardom overnight……… without first doing the pub circuit and learning their craft. It’s manufactured and it can’t last….  (One Direction……..anybody!) Just as the Rovers recent (10 year) success can’t be sustained in the long term - One Direction……..anybody! Unfortunately for the newer fans, the kids who weren’t born when I was suffering for my art will be soon getting a large spoonful of reality check (without the sugar).  Although it’s unforgivable and totally unacceptable that they weren’t born 20 years earlier, they might be accepted if,  next season they join me in frrrrreezing my nuts of at Hartlepool on a Tuesday night in February!

So you’ve had the glory boys and girls -  now it’s time to earn your stripes (or hoops).
RTID (or until we go down!).

These are the opinions of The Loan Arranger. Any resemblance to any footballer or football team living, dead or half way in-between is purely co-incidental.  Your home may be at risk if you do not keep up your repayments etc. etc. Remember this is A Tongue-in-Cheek Production.

[dickos1]

A few points, this is no way a dig at o Driscoll just defending Saunders.
Point 1 yes we did make 22 passes against qpr, we also made more passes this season under Saunders and scored a goal at the end of it at Bristol.
 2/ weve never had a midfield that tackles and certainly never had one that works as hard as it does now, the tempo is much quicker now.
3/ shooting, this was one of our greates downfalls under sod, trying to walk the ball in, remember osters goal in Saunders first game, everyone was praising that we actually had a shot.
4/ free kicks, we've never been any good, can only think of coppingers against Southend and a few from mully years ago, and a Ross McCormack one at Bradford.

A lot of the things you mention are true but they were also true under o Driscoll, we don't play the football we did under sod, but we hadn't done that under him for 30 games.

[Chris Black come back]

I personally would go back to Belle Vue for the atmosphere like a shot (and yes, I have stood on many occasions amongst a sub-1500 crowds) but it simply isn't possible to take the club forward at Belle Vue (corporate entertainment, 'families' etc). Maybe things will change in terms of crap atmosphere at KMS if/when we are all permitted to choose if we want to stand or sit.

The basic point is this: we have been absolutely crap since January 2011. Whilst managers have their own faults, it is lack of cash that has stopped us going forward (e.g. only being able to afford Billy OR a decent keeper/centre back - but not both).

JR made a good faith gamble to ditch SOD and sign up to the 'experiment' as a way of trying to square the circle. It has failed, but was worth a go as 1 solitary point in the first seven games was frankly w**k.

Our only hope in the future is to take over running of the stadium and generate more income from that (although this has obvious risks to our balance sheet to say the least) whilst slowly trying to tempt supporters back to the club. Somehow. In League One. Whilst also spending more attention trying to improve the dire pass through rates of our youth team to the first team.

We cannot and should not be relying on John Ryan or anyone else to plug the gap each season with millions of quid.

[donnyroversfc]

Agreed with the majority of your post The Loan Arranger!! Great post.

I believe we can get back to being that 'good footballing side' next season if we bin 'the experiment' (or street corner policy as i like to call it) and replace Saunders with Mini-Sod A.K.A Paul Tisdale.

As for the bit about 'the experiment' being a blue print for success, there is absolutely no way, EVER that a football club employing that strategy will have success!!

[nice one rovers]

I don't normally read long posts, but you kept me interested. It reads better if you play the great escape music in the background though.

[hoolahoop]

 Post of the week....and its only Wednesday

Unfortunately (like you TWD), I am unable to rip that OP to shreds........Jeez I wish he had it all wrong but therein lies the truth.
Just surprised he didn't mention that we have lost 2 major shareholders (albeit one couldn't be arsed to put much if owt in the pot), 2 minor shareholders and the CEO (that is the only highlight of a very poor season) and a striker of Premiership quality that ended up leaving for peanuts and scoring 2 goals against us a few weeks later.
All in all a job that exceeded EVERY nightmare scenario. Mr. Kipling would be proud if he ran a footy club.
EXCEEDINGLY SHITE but we will be back.

[Akinfenwa]

Pretty much all of the listed issues in the OP we're the case under SO'D:

1. Midfield dominance - We've struggled to regularly dominate the midfield in the past 18 months.

2. Tackling - Were we renowned as a team that put a foot in under SO'D? No, far from it.

3. Shooting - Have we ever regularly scored goals from range since we've been in the Championship? No.

4. Heading - We've been terrible at scoring and defending set pieces since we've been in the Championship.

5. Running about a bit - We're we known as a combative side under SO'D? No, in fact we pretty much wrote off getting a result against sides that were 'a bit rough'.

6. Free-Kicks - Last time we scored directly from a freekick without a deflection - Gareth Roberts vs Forest in L1.

As for this mental passing football that blew me away - I don't think I've seen any of this since 2010. I certainly didn't enjoy constant passing between the back 4 and Gary Woods because that's pretty much what 'passing football' was reduced to at the start of this season. Didn't seem like much of a plan to me.

[tommy toes]

Great entertaining post Loan Arranger.
I've been watching Rovets for a very long time and SOD was undoubtedly the best manager we hve had in my time.
Some of the football we played under him was sublime.
I still maintain that if we'd had a goalscorer in our first season in this league, instead of Lewis bleeding Guy, or if SOD had had more patience  with Heffernanwe'd have gone up to the Prem.
However, other teams learned how go play against us, SOD was rumbled and he didn't have a plan B. The last few games under him were full of fear and painful to watch.
None of this means I'm for the McKay revolution though. We need to start again next year with a long teem plan.

[jucyberry]

Great post.. No moaning matter of fact and humourous.. It made me both think.. and smile.

I can only think that you wrote it out in word first tho because usually you get that horrid time out thing and end up losing everything you have written.

[GazLaz]

Have you been to many games over the last 3 years OP?

[uros-predic]

Your first point (Midfield dominance) - Under SOD's last 26 games we had won 1 game. I personally wouldnt say that the midfield never got overun under SOD. This hasnt improved under saunders.

Your second point (Tackling) - Under SOD's last 26 games we had won 1 game. We couldnt of tackled that often under SOD to win 1 game in that period of time. It HASNT improved under saunders.


Your third point - (Shooting) - we scored 17 goals in the league in SOD's last 26 games. In saunders first 26 games we scored around 28 goals, 11 goals in 12 since king billy left. This HAS improved since saunders took over


Your fourth point - (Heading) - We have conceded from FAR LESS set pieces under saunders. Defending set pieces has improved under saunders. Attacking set pieces HAVE NOT improved under saunders.

5th Point (Running about a bit) - we are by far a fitter squad under saunders.

6th point - (free kicks) - We have always been dogger at free kicks and set pieces in the championship


My point is we needed a change! All enthuasiasm was dead in the last few months under SOD, even he sounded like he didnt want to be here! John ryan said himself that DRFC needed to stay in the championship which was only possible by a massive change. We brought saunders and Mckay in to give us the best chance possible and it hasnt worked out, YET.

I personally didnt agree with the departure of SOD but i knew something needed to happen. I dont agree with the experiment but it has given us a chance with 7 games to go.

KEEP THE FAITH
ROVERS TILL I DIE

and by the way 'The Loan Arranger' i think your post was absolute BULL. Open your eyes and get over SOD.

[The Loan Arranger]

Gazlaz,
.........nah. Just read about them on here.....and go to victory parades!!;)


To RUPRECHT,
Thank's for your incisive, witty and well thought-out response. You have made it all worthwhile!

PS (everybody)
There's a big clue on the last line of the disclaimer!

TLA
 
:byebye

[jonnydog]

Didn't George Friend get injured after tackling resulting in his current knee injury?

[sedwardsdrfc]

knowing george friend he had a shit touch and then got crunched

[The L J Monk]

Hypothetically, if a club was offered a straight choice between Dean Saunders or Sean O'Driscoll to manage them in League One, I wonder how many would choose Saunders.

[hoolahoop]

Hypothetically, if a club was offered a straight choice between Dean Saunders or Sean O'Driscoll to manage them in League One, I wonder how many would choose Saunders.

That would make for an interesting poll, let me start 1st. with a vote for SO'D. Imo we cannot compare like with like on their records; SO'D laboured on without a decent keeper and half his players and Saunders had the benefit (?) of all these ex Prem./International ''world beaters'' as and when required...........he should have done a better job with the players at his disposal.

[Chris]

Hypothetically, if a club was offered a straight choice between Dean Saunders or Sean O'Driscoll to manage them in League One, I wonder how many would choose Saunders.

0. That I'm pretty sure of.

[Mr1Croft]

I would also choose SOD if relegation was a given. That said the only reason why Saunders is struggling is because the transfer policy offers no stability which means no consistency and no generic squad 'DNA' to build around. We haven't seen Saunders manage a core group of players and he is always rotating. Although a Wrexham it took him 3 years to find the right group of players. Can we afford to give him that much time here? I would like to say no but he has a three year contract and something tells me we are not going to be in a hurry to end it.

[The L J Monk]

I'm asking the question from the perspective of any club in League One next season. Could be Rovers, could be anyone. If a club in that division needed to recruit a manager, how many do you think would choose Saunders over O'Driscoll?

Personally, I would agree with the figure of 0.

[dickos1]

I would also choose SOD if relegation was a given. That said the only reason why Saunders is struggling is because the transfer policy offers no stability which means no consistency and no generic squad 'DNA' to build around. We haven't seen Saunders manage a core group of players and he is always rotating. Although a Wrexham it took him 3 years to find the right group of players. Can we afford to give him that much time here? I would like to say no but he has a three year contract and something tells me we are not going to be in a hurry to end it.

On this topic he is being criticised for constantly rotating the players and on another thread he is being slated for not rotating enough players..

[BobG]

I notice that no one has yet mentioned the departure from the club last night of Mud. The kitman for those that don't know. He didn't even get on the bus back up north. He was going to leave at the end of this season anyway, but the combination of Morris leaving and the destruction of any sort of group mentality, group feeling, group support, team spirit if you like, led him to decide, basically, 'f**k it. I've had enough of this shit'. All true.

So, when you come to defend the current regime, the current model, the current heamorraghing of cash, remember what the cost of that regime is and what it will continue to be. Morality, pride, even football, have gone out of the window since last October. Instead we have McKay and Saunders - the new team. Get one, and you get the other. The character of the one can be judged from the known character of the other.

I am ashamed of the Rovers today. And I used to be sooo proud of them.

BobG

[dickos1]

How do you know there is no team spirit?? They showed a hell of a lot more spirit last night than they have in a long time,  Just seems your every post currently is always a dig at the club or JR ,

[NickDRFC]

I notice that no one has yet mentioned the departure from the club last night of Mud. The kitman for those that don't know. He didn't even get on the bus back up north. He was going to leave at the end of this season anyway, but the combination of Morris leaving and the destruction of any sort of group mentality, group feeling, group support, team spirit if you like, led him to decide, basically, 'fcuk it. I've had enough of this shit'. All true.

So, when you come to defend the current regime, the current model, the current heamorraghing of cash, remember what the cost of that regime is and what it will continue to be. Morality, pride, even football, have gone out of the window since last October. Instead we have McKay and Saunders - the new team. Get one, and you get the other. The character of the one can be judged from the known character of the other.

I am ashamed of the Rovers today. And I used to be sooo proud of them.

BobG

Mud Hut has gone? That is indeed very sad if true.

[Chris Black come back]

I notice that no one has yet mentioned the departure from the club last night of Mud. The kitman for those that don't know. He didn't even get on the bus back up north. He was going to leave at the end of this season anyway, but the combination of Morris leaving and the destruction of any sort of group mentality, group feeling, group support, team spirit if you like, led him to decide, basically, 'fcuk it. I've had enough of this shit'. All true.

So, when you come to defend the current regime, the current model, the current heamorraghing of cash, remember what the cost of that regime is and what it will continue to be. Morality, pride, even football, have gone out of the window since last October. Instead we have McKay and Saunders - the new team. Get one, and you get the other. The character of the one can be judged from the known character of the other.

I am ashamed of the Rovers today. And I used to be sooo proud of them.

BobG

Bit over the top Bob??? Bad day at the office?

[keyser_soze]

If the kit man has resigned, then that's it for me, I'm not attending the Keepmoat again until Fat Willy has gone and taken his surf shack with him.

[pubteam]

 Post of the week....and its only Wednesday

Weren't you one of the \"O'Driscoll must go\" brigade back in September? Funny how hindsight changes people's views.



Anyway, personally, I think that although SOD did a great job here, it was the right time for something to change. Things seemed to have gone stale, and towards the end, I don't think the football, the tactics, or indeed much else on the playing side was working out. People seem to be under the impression that SOD's style was always brilliant 100% of the time, when quite a lot of the time, the same old flaws in the style brought us the same regular frustrations. These flaws became even more exposed in his final 8 or 9 months in charge when the club's resources found themselves struggling to stretch to the demands of the SOD system.

For me, he made a rod for his own back in the summer, when he failed to really strengthen in the three main positions in which we had severe weaknesses - Goalkeeper, centre half and up front. To start the season with only 3 strikers on the books was criminal IMO, and we didn't really have anyone to blame but ourselves when we were left without a strikeforce after the opening game of the season.

Yes, he did a great job here, but the way people are going on, you'd think that the whole thing had no flaws and that SOD didn't make any fundemental mistakes leading to his sacking. People seem to think that there was absolutely no case for sacking him, when in fact, we had more problems than people were prepared to admit.

Oh and before somebody hits me with the old \"injuries\" and \"bad luck\" excuses, I acknowledge that they did play a part, and we could've done without them, but I think to regard them as the main cause of our problems is extremely blinkered.

Tin hat time!