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

[SiBo]

No-one's disputing there were problems Pubteam but I'm very much of the opinion that those problems were not all of SOD's making and a lot else was going off behind the scenes out of his control that was forcing his hand somewhat. What's the expression? You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Well for three seasons in the Championship SOD proved you could if everyone bought into the same ideals and beliefs. But there is only so long you can keep that up before circumstances catch up with you, which is what I think ultimately happened with SOD and he has been left carrying the can for it ever since.

[pubteam]

No-one's disputing there were problems Pubteam but I'm very much of the opinion that those problems were not all of SOD's making and a lot else was going off behind the scenes out of his control that was forcing his hand somewhat. What's the expression? You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Well for three seasons in the Championship SOD proved you could if everyone bought into the same ideals and beliefs. But there is only so long you can keep that up before circumstances catch up with you, which is was what I think ultimately happened with SOD and he has been left carrying the can for it ever since.

Look at the original post! It pretty much makes out that we were an efficient footballing force under O'Driscoll and that everything on the pitch always fired on all cylinders. When we were actually very frustrating and wasteful in our play half the time. When it worked, yes, it worked, but a fair bit of the time, it didn't.

I can't believe the OP actually thinks we were good at heading/tackling/set pieces under O'Driscoll!

[sedwardsdrfc]

agree with pubteam we did play good football but not as good as people make out swansea play good football donny played avarage football

[wilts rover]

Ah the history of hindsight and selective rememberance, what a wonderful thing. I personaly feel we got rid of Dave Cusack far too early, didnt someone post on here that he had one of te best win ratios, bloody awful football mind, and Steve Beaglehole, he would have saved us a fortune too by driving the team bus, as for Dave Penney.....

All those calling for the head of Dean Saunders and reinstatement of Sean O'Driscoll, how long did you give O'Driscoll before you started supporting him? People were calling for him to go in the first season in the Championship. If I were John Ryan I would not have sacked him when he did, but I'm not, nor do I know what he knows or what discussions went on between him and O'Driscoll, as to who to keep, recruit, give pay rises too etc. All I see is a team deficent in most areas, particuarly central midfield.

As for Dean Suanders, I am no great supporter of his, but he is the manager now so he gets my full support. I am impressed with the type of player he seems to be wanting to recruit, big and strong, if not all the ones who have actually come in, Goulon for one - but was he any worse than Reece Brown? If Mr MacKay is introducing PL quality players to the club for free (was it £1 a week) how worse is that than O'Driscoll spending £400 000 on agents fees last year? What exactly did we get for that money?

My main concern with all this repetitive infighting is that although you may think it is an attack on Saunders and MacKay, who you are actually attacking is the man who authorised it all and made all the decisions. Your alternative to him is what chaps? Be careful what you wish for if it is not what you expect when you get it.

[SiBo]

Swansea play good football because the club has a whole club strategy based on succession of philsophy in both player and manager recruitment. The chairman is at the top of that tree and has made it clear that is the way his club is going to achieve the ends they have set out and he will back his manager's accordingly by making the right decisions to sit within that philosophy. Do I think that is the same with us? No. I think our club loved riding on the crest of the 'Arsenal of the North' tag without ever really fully understanding what was needed to keep the club evolving in the way it had up to that point. The only inevitability then is you start going backwards, which is what we saw happen and I don't place that blame at SOD's door.

[SiBo]

\"How worse is that than O'Driscoll spending £400 000 on agents fees last year?\"

Errrrmmmm, pretty sure Wilts Rover that what a club pays agents has pretty much nothing to do with the manager?? Don't think you've got the world's best argument with that piece of 'evidence'.

[sedwardsdrfc]

since we have been in the championship we probably played like \"arsenal of the north\" 5 times the rest of the games we played \"make it as hard as possible to win any games by ignoring the basics of the game of the north\".

we did it n leauge one because we have a brilliant team and we should have finished 2nd that season

[WBDRFC]

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.

The starting 11 against Millwall only featured 4 of the \"world beaters\". 4 changes are not going to improve the other 7 - who, frankly, are not good enough.

[WBDRFC]

since we have been in the championship we probably played like \"arsenal of the north\" 5 times the rest of the games we played \"make it as hard as possible to win any games by ignoring the basics of the game of the north\".

we did it n leauge one because we have a brilliant team and we should have finished 2nd that season

Agreed. The people who were calling us the \"Arsenal of the north\" were pundits who didn't even know where Doncaster was, never mind watched us play regularly.

[BobG]

How do I know about the team spirit Dickos? Because I use my eyes, my ears and my brain. If you can't see it, never mind. I will tell you though that there are very stormy waters indeed ahead for this football club. There is only one way they can be avoided - and JR himself has said there's no prospect of it happening.

BobG

[The Red Baron]

Swansea play good football because the club has a whole club strategy based on succession of philsophy in both player and manager recruitment. The chairman is at the top of that tree and has made it clear that is the way his club is going to achieve the ends they have set out and he will back his manager's accordingly by making the right decisions to sit within that philosophy. Do I think that is the same with us? No. I think our club loved riding on the crest of the 'Arsenal of the North' tag without ever really fully understanding what was needed to keep the club evolving in the way it had up to that point. The only inevitability then is you start going backwards, which is what we saw happen and I don't place that blame at SOD's door.

Anyone recall that lengthy interview with SO'D about two years ago where he said that when he came to the club we had slogans (e.g. \"Destination Championship\") but no plan as to how to make them happen? Sounds like \"Arsenal of the North\" fell into that category.

There seems to be a lot of wishful thinking attached to this thread. SO'D is not coming back, because as far as I'm aware the relationship between him and members of the board has broken down beyond repair. A lot of us may wish he'd never left, but he won't be returning to DRFC- other than in the opposing dugout!

[BobG]

You make a fair point Pubteam. I don't think anyone could argue with its substance. I will, though, draw your atention to one curious, intriguing point: just who was it that decided to pay large amounts of money to obtain or retain the services of both 'star' players and some of the more questionable players and so wrecked both the playing and transfer budgets? Why is it, do you think, that the depth of the squad this season was so poor? And even more curious, why was it that Rovers failed to sell Billy for 3 million quid, which would have funded 4 or 5 decent players to improve the squad, yet sold him 3 or 4 months later for 1.8M quid? There's an awful lot of insight to be gaineed if you think about these points. Happily, having thought about them I am in a position where my conclusions have since been confirmed. It's not difficult. If chaps would think a little before tapping out their emotions on here there would be a deal more informed, and constructive, debate.

Cheers

BobG

[pubteam]

You make a fair point Pubteam. I don't think anyone could argue with its substance. I will, though, draw your atention to one curious, intriguing point: just who was it that decided to pay large amounts of money to obtain or retain the services of both 'star' players and some of the more questionable players and so wrecked both the playing and transfer budgets? Why is it, do you think, that the depth of the squad this season was so poor? And even more curious, why was it that Rovers failed to sell Billy for 3 million quid, which would have funded 4 or 5 decent players to improve the squad, yet sold him 3 or 4 months later for 1.8M quid? There's an awful lot of insight to be gaineed if you think about these points. Happily, having thought about them I am in a position where my conclusions have since been confirmed. It's not difficult. If chaps would think a little before tapping out their emotions on here there would be a deal more informed, and constructive, debate.

Cheers

BobG

The bit I've highlighted is spot on really. I'm not privvy to who it was at Rovers who made such decisions, but they have undoubtedly played a big part in where we are now. I think we've kept some players for far too long, and by offering them new and improved contracts, I would imagine we'd eaten a long way into the budget to be used to sign new players.

That is one of the things that I believe led to Sean's downfall. I did sense that he had too much loyalty to certain players, which resulted in us paying them more than they are worth. Obviously I attribute these traits to O'Driscoll because they largely seem to coincide with his tenure at the club, but I am obviously not in an informed position to give a definitive answer as to who, for example, decided to offer James Chambers a new 1yr deal last summer, when we knew that he'd miss more than half the season (at least) through a long-term injury.

As you say, we seem to have made some poor decisions financially, regarding the dishing out of new contracts to existing players, and through seemingly lacking the nous of when to sell. Whether it was Sean or someone else who made such decisions, the situation we see now is, as far as I can see, the legacy of those decisions.

[Bristol Red Rover]

... And even more curious, why was it that Rovers failed to sell Billy for 3 million quid, which would have funded 4 or 5 decent players to improve the squad, yet sold him 3 or 4 months later for 1.8M quid? ......

JR stated very much pre season that we were aiming high and when it became clear we we're likely to severely struggle, the club wasn't as attractive to Billy, even with an increased contract offer. Top of the table team come in for him, ex manager too, and he has a potential short cut to the prem which always was his aim.

I don't blame the board for hanging onto him at the time, though in hindsight it was a disaster in an Icarus type attempt.

[SiBo]

Chambers (and Keegan to some extent) are tricky ones. What do you do? Know that they are out but offer them a year on significantly reduced deals to get fit and see where they are after that and try to do the right thing by them as people? Or bomb them out completely and leave them without a club or any income for the time they are injured and treat them solely as commodities? It is very easy for us to sit here and say 'Of course we should have binned them' but none of us will ever be in that situation so we can never really empathise on how you make those decisions.

[Filo]

Chambers (and Keegan to some extent) are tricky ones. What do you do? Know that they are out but offer them a year on significantly reduced deals to get fit and see where they are after that and try to do the right thing by them as people? Or bomb them out completely and leave them without a club or any income for the time they are injured and treat them solely as commodities? It is very easy for us to sit here and say 'Of course we should have binned them' but none of us will ever be in that situation so we can never really empathise on how you make those decisions.

On the other side of the coin, our hero and former star striker treated the club as a commodity and left us just when we most needed him, while he`ll be in the Premiership we`ll more than likely be in League 1, I don`t blame him for furthering his career, very rarely do you see loyalty by players in football, why should the clubs be loyal in return?

[pubteam]

Chambers (and Keegan to some extent) are tricky ones. What do you do? Know that they are out but offer them a year on significantly reduced deals to get fit and see where they are after that and try to do the right thing by them as people? Or bomb them out completely and leave them without a club or any income for the time they are injured and treat them solely as commodities? It is very easy for us to sit here and say 'Of course we should have binned them' but none of us will ever be in that situation so we can never really empathise on how you make those decisions.

What Filo said.

You've got to be cut-throat in football I'm afraid. Especially when you're working on such tight financial margins as we are. If you were the manager, what would you take if offered - security and a source of income for James Chambers whilst he's injured, or survival in the Championship?

[sedwardsdrfc]

Chambers (and Keegan to some extent) are tricky ones. What do you do? Know that they are out but offer them a year on significantly reduced deals to get fit and see where they are after that and try to do the right thing by them as people? Or bomb them out completely and leave them without a club or any income for the time they are injured and treat them solely as commodities? It is very easy for us to sit here and say 'Of course we should have binned them' but none of us will ever be in that situation so we can never really empathise on how you make those decisions.

[/i]

obs the latter of the two their footballers they know the game even as kids if you break a leg or dont reach 6 foot by the age of 13 they get rid. if you add up the wages of all the croked players to not play for us we could sign a decent centre half or midfielder with money to spare the same could be said of last season

[dickos1]

.

[dickos1]

How do I know about the team spirit Dickos? Because I use my eyes, my ears and my brain. If you can't see it, never mind. I will tell you though that there are very stormy waters indeed ahead for this football club. There is only one way they can be avoided - and JR himself has said there's no prospect of it happening.

BobG

I also use my eyes, ears, brain. And have no reason to think the team spirit is any worse than it ever has been. O Connor, hayter et al may not be happy at present but that's because they haven't been performing and deserve to be dropped.
I've seen the players training, I've seen them celebrating goals and results at west ham etc, the team spirit is fine in my opinion, people just don't like that some of the old guard aren't good enough any more and feel sorry for them.
You constantly comment on how disastrous our future is going to be, I trust jr to handle it and don't think  he'd let this club go to the wall..

[streatham dave]

This has been done to death how many threads do we need on this stuff?

[Filo]

This has been done to death how many threads do we need on this stuff?

I suppose it depends on the antagonist`s resolve

For what it`s worth there`s only one man to blame for all this in my opinion, his departure without explanation was the catalyst to the chain of events that transpired, Terry Bramall!

[Superspy]

I didn't necessarily agree with the a lot in the OP although it did keep me reading, so good effort on that score. One particular bit did strike me as pertinent though, the bit about pride.

Personally I have not enjoyed this season as much as last, and it's not because we've only won a handful of games. I just don't feel as proud of the club as I did when we had \"that\" reputation, even if it wasn't fact. Don't get me wrong though, I absolutely don't knock JR one bit for making the decision to make a change when he made it, he had to take a gamble to try and stay up, but I'd like to think that if he did have a crystal ball and could see us going down either way, he would have kept SO'D at the helm. We'll never know of course.

[Lesonthewest]

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.

Fantastic post, & one I agree with almost entirely, take a bow Loan Arranger, take a bow.

[Lesonthewest]

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

[/b]

Everyone knows that, & most  supporters, especially on here will back him 100%, but that does not change a persons view on the situation.

[Nudga]

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.

SO'D was offered quite a few decent players which he turned down because he would only use his prefered agent(s).

[i_ateallthepies]

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.

Well Mr LoanArranger, apart from being superbly penned and entertaining, that is one very cunning stunt to pick out all (well most) of the negatives that O'Driscoll was lambasted for over the latter part of his tenure and present them as Saunders' failings.
I take my hat off to you that you pulled it off to the extent you did, nobody seems to have sussed you.  Well done indeed.
But it is more than a bit of a dirty trick to do it knowing full well it will only stir up once again all of the vitriol we've seen on here over the season and which we can all do without.

I have resisted the temptation to get embroiled in these Sod vs Saunders threads because no matter what your view there are those on each side of the argument who are too juvenile to discuss the issues in a grown up way and I don't want to get drawn into that but SiBo, Spot on mate, your first post on this thread is so perfectly insightful and well stated.

[donnyroversfc]

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.

SO'D was offered quite a few decent players which he turned down because he would only use his prefered agent(s).

I thought it was more not wanting to deal with a specific agent more than dealing with his own preferred agents?

[Nudga]

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.

SO'D was offered quite a few decent players which he turned down because he would only use his prefered agent(s).

I thought it was more not wanting to deal with a specific agent more than dealing with his own preferred agents?

Partly, in the latter stages. But my understanding is that was his way during his reign here. Hence the reason we ended up with so many crocks and bags of shite.

[BobG]

Ok chaps. I'll point out one more EXTREMELY important fact that seems to have passed by you all.

If you ignore the tiny percentages of the shares owned by the VSC and a few others, JR owns 33.3% of the total number of shares. Bramhall and Watson own another 33.3% each. Now, surely that should be enough food for some very considerable thought?

And if you want another thought to ponder: don't forget JR is a FAN. That has IMMENSE implications for the running of this club.

I'm gobsmacked tbh by the level of debate on here.

BobG

PS I'll put it another way: a triumvirate, as is extremely well known, is the most unstable form of government known to man.