by The Rovers Review

After exiting the FA Cup just a few days ago and exiting the EFL Cup a few weeks back now, Rovers look to the Checkatrade Trophy to try and get back to winning ways. Ferguson has already said he is looking for a win after not winning any of our last three games in all competitions, and what a way to get back to these winning ways than by progressing through the still controversial Checkatrade Trophy.

Frazer Richardson and Craig Alcock have been confirmed to be given 45 minutes this week, as they continue their recovery from injury, after playing a full 90 minutes last weekend. Paul Keegan is set for his first start of the season in the cup as he makes his return from injury too. Ferguson also hinted that all loanees (ie. Jordan Houghton, Niall Mason and Riccardo Calder) will all feature against Port Vale. Mason and Calder missed the FA Cup, due to illness, and Houghton was rested. Liam Mandeville and Alfie Beestin are set to retain their places, while John Marquis is rested, after the two youngster were the only silver lining last weekend during the disappointing defeat.

Port Vale are a 'big bogey' team for us; the last time we beat them was with  a narrow 2-1 victory at the Keepmoat in League 1 in March 2008, with goals from Paul Heffernan and Mark McCammon. Last time we faced Vale was in January this year, where they beat us 2-1 at the Keepmoat, with Cedric Evina scoring the compromising goal in the dying minutes of the game.

Port Vale's player to watch is Alex Jones, on loan from Birmingham City. The striker has scored 8 goals in all competitions so far this season, just in front of our strikers, John Marquis and Andy Williams, who are both on 7.

Predicted lineup v Port Vale

Marosi; Mason, Alcock, Baudry, Garratt; Keegan, Houghton, Calder, Middleton, Beestin; Mandeville.

by The Rovers Review

After a nervy 2-2 draw with Wycombe last Saturday in the league, we now turn to the FA Cup first round where Rovers are playing Oldham Athletic.

Ross Etheridge is expected to be given a chance to redeem himself after not impressing in his previous league games that he's played in. Marosi will be fit again for the match, but I can see Marosi being rested because it looks as though he will be keeping the number one jersey after all.

Ferguson says he does want to give the competition a go, but with Rowe 50/50 from his injury last Saturday I can see him being rested so that he is 100% fit for Exeter next Saturday. This opens some possibilities for Alfie Beestin and Will Longbottom, who will be chomping at the bit for a start to try and impress Darren Ferugson and cause him selection headaches.

Joe Wright and Paul Keegan will have a look-in to start after not featuring as of late, meaning rests could be given to Andy Butler and Jordan Houghton who have played in most games this season.

Frazer Richardson may come into contention for a start, depending on how his rehab is going on his way back from injury - same goes for Alcock too.

Rovers won't just be coming up against Oldham, but we'll also be against our former midfielder Paul Green, who almost re-signed for Rovers last summer before choosing to move to the North West.

Last time we faced Oldham was in December 2015, where we won 2-1 with two goals from the currently injured Andy Williams - and one was an absolute 'belter'! Last time we faced them in FA Cup, however, was in December 2014, where won 1-0 at their place with an own goal from their defender.

Overall Rovers have a good record v Oldham: winning 8, drawing 16 and losing 8 since 1938 - not bad at all. Let's hope that dominance remains this weekend, so we can progress to the second round.

Predicted lineup v Oldham Athletic
Etheridge; Mason, Baudry, Wright; Keegan, Calder, Evina, Blair, Beestin; Mandeville

by The Rovers Review

Just as we build momentum we seem to lose it, but on the bright side we seem to bounce back from every defeat, and hopefully we can do it this Saturday v Wycombe Wanderers.

Goalkeeper Marko Marosi looks to be a doubt after coming off against Blackpool early in the second half with an injury, but had already conceded 4 goals prior to that. Ross Etheridge will be looking to claim back the number one spot.

Cedric Evina will miss this weekend's game, after picking up an injury. Evina has injured his toe and, ironically, this comes at the same time as Dany N'Guessan leaves the club. This may be the perfect opportunity for youngster, Tyler Garratt, to earn his place in the side.

After the Blackpool match Ferguson said "they'll be changes", pointing out that "Middleton was poor" and that the ball was given "away in the middle of the pitch", meaning he could be swinging the axe on a few of the midfielders, and one of them will be Middleton by the sounds of it.

The visit of Wycombe will see the return of former Rovers striker Adebayo Akinfenwa, who played up front for Rovers in 2004 making 9 appearances and scoring 4. So far this term Akinfenwa has scored two goals for Wycombe, who sit 21st in the table and are without a win since the 1st October. The last time we faced Wycombe was in 2006 during the league cup where we drew with them 2-2, with goals from Jonathan Forte and Graeme Lee.  This will be the first time that we play Wycombe at the Keepmoat, so let's hope we can keep our good home record going with a win this Saturday!

Predicted lineup v Wycombe Wanderers

Marosi; Mason, Wright, Butler, Garratt; Houghton, Blair, Rowe, Coppinger; Mandeville & Marquis

by The Rovers Review

After scraping a 1-0 victory last week against Colchester, Rovers head on the road for the first time this month with a trip to Blackpool.

Worrying injury news is that our top scorer so far of the season, Andy Williams, has been ruled out for 8-10 weeks with an ankle injury. As a result, Liam Mandeville will probably keep his place in the squad, and as Ferguson has said, "this is the best opportunity he'll get", so he's going to have to take it. If Mandeville doesn't start scoring, Ferguson could look to the fellow younger players, such as: Alfie Beestin and Will Longbottom (who are primarily attacking midfielders) can play upfront.

Darren Ferguson has also ruled out including Dany N'Guessan in his squad, following William's injury, and has also added N'Guessan is close to leaving the club by mutual consent.

Frazer Richardson will be pushing for a start, as his contract is about to be extended until January 2017 to fill in for the injured Mitchell Lund, but Richardson himself is recovering from injury and he is probably around the same stage as fellow right back Craig Alcock.

Mathieu Baudry will also be pushing for a start after coming on as a sub in the previous couple of matches, and has really impressed, so the pressure is on both Butler and Wright to continue to perform, but mainly Joe Wright.

Blackpools' main goalscoring threat comes from Brad Potts, who is their top goalscorer, with 4 goals to his name so far this term.

Last time we faced Blackpool was in March 2016, where we undeservedly lost 0-1 by conceding a last minute goal. Previous to that, our last visit to Bloomfield ended with a deserved 0-2 victory, with goals from both currently injured players: Andy Williams and Aaron Taylor-Sinclair.

Overall, since 1901, Rovers have won only 10 of 45 games v Blackpool, drawing 12. So all-in-all, quite a poor record, but with Rovers now undefeated in our last 5 games in all competitions can we make it 6 to continue to close-in on top of the league Plymouth?

Predicted lineup v Blackpool

Marosi; Mason, Wright, Butler, Evina; Houghton, Rowe, Blair, Coppinger; Mandeville and Marquis.

by The Rovers Review

After making it 3 out of 3 against Barnet last week Rovers look to make it 4, against fellow ex-league one counterparts Colchester United.

Team news for this weekends home match v Colchester United is that star man, Andy Williams is out after suffering a last second injury v Barnet last week, resulting in his foot swelling.

However, as we lose one striker, another returns; John Marquis is set for a return straight into the starting 11 after serving his one match suspension last weekend. Meaning Liam Mandeville could keep his place in the team again, but this time alongside John Marquis. I believe that Marquis is something we was missing last week, but I just hope his suspension hasn't affected his momentum of his performances.

Frazer Richardson will remain out, meaning Niall Mason may keep his place at right back, but Craig Alcock will be pushing even further to a start as he continues his recovery from injury.

Mathieu Baudry will be another player looking for a start this week. The 28 year-old French defender made his home league debut for Rovers last weekend, coming off the bench, and Ferguson was full of praise for him after the match, so could he be tempted to revert back the controversial 3-5-2 with Wright, Baudry and Butler at the back?

Colchester United haven't won a match for over month, with their last victory coming on the 10th September with a 3-2 win v Blackpool. Players to watch for Colchester are: Chris Porter and Sammie Szmodics, who have scored 4 and 3 goals respectively so far this term.

Last time we met Colchester was in March this year, where we got humiliated 4-1 away. That result played a pivotal part in our drop into league two; a goal from currently injured Gary McSheffrey was the only silver lining from that game.

Overall Rovers have beaten Colchester 21 times since 1958, losing just 18. Hopefully, we don't suffer a humiliating defeat just like back in March, but I'm quite optimistic about this game, only thing on the downside is that we won't have Andy Williams - how much will we miss him?