Update on what’s happening at the club.

[Lincoln Rover]

Some of you will already have seen this, but for ones that haven’t yet…
A good write by Gavin Baldwin on everything Rovers.
The 2024/25 season is now well underway and following  a victory in our opening home league game against Accrington Stanley two weeks ago, we look forward to our second home game of the season against Morecambe, followed by a trip to Everton as we face them for the second time in two years in the Carabao Cup.

Last Sunday marked 100 days since our play-off semi-final defeat to Crewe and since that time a lot has taken place both on and off the pitch.

From a football perspective Grant added 9 new signings to the squad plus contract extensions for Luke Molyneux, Owen Bailey and others, a successful pre-season commenced with a trip to Portugal and finished with Richard Woods testimonial at Rotherham United.

There has also been a change of structure within the medical department, following the appointment of Dave Rennie as head of medical last season. This has seen a new physio join the department with further support for Sam Bowring with strength and conditioning too.

Ground surveys have also commenced to assess the feasibility of a new state of the art gym and medical complex to be built at the training ground.  All this work is designed to prevent injuries and improve healing time when they do occur.

Away from the football, we’ve also had one of our busiest summers too.

Retail

This month we confirmed the contract extension with Elite Pro Sports, securing the Oxen brand as our official kit manufacturer for a further eight years until the summer of 2033.  The long term deal offers significant financial benefits and the opportunity for both organisations to benefit as they grow.

A key part of the renewal is that both organisations want to ensure a seamless supporter experience aiming to combine both retail and ticketing experiences, there is also a specific fan engagement clause, allowing for an annual initiative to positively impact the Doncaster community.

Ticketing

Another existing partner signing an extension is Seatgeek, our official ticketing technology partner.  The global ticketing platform who also work with Aston Villa, Stoke City, Rangers and a host of sports clubs from the United States and Europe have signed a three year extension with the club.

The long-term commitment of both ticketing and retail partners will allow the club to create a supporter experience that can combine both retail and ticketing experiences.

Thanks to donations from the Supporters Club and input from both them and the Shadow Board, we have now officially launched the Priority Points system trialled last year.  For games where the demand of tickets may outstrip supply, the system will ensure those regularly travelling home and away have the best chance of securing tickets.

Season Memberships for the 24/25 season have now surpassed numbers from last season and are continuing to sell well, as are match packages (10 and 5 game) and supporter memberships.

Catering

Another area in which we have been keen to improve the supporter experience for the upcoming season is that of catering.  Historically, the biggest source of complaints on match days, last year the launch of our new in-house catering brand DN4 Events, combined with our new partnership with Venue Catering Partners, saw Doncaster Rovers receive national plaudits for our new catering operation.  This culminated in the club being shortlisted for 4 national awards across retail catering, hospitality and Directors with Premier League Clubs, Brighton, Tottenham and Leicester taking the trophies.

Following the successful first year, we were keen not to stand still though and have launched a brand new food service provision in the recently renovated Belle Vue Bar.  The new food service provision will see familiar favourites such as hot dogs, burgers and pies being joined by new menu items such as the Yorkshire Pudding Wrap and Indian buffet box.

Further new products for the forthcoming season are provided by Britvic and Piglets Pies who have joined Molson Coors as part of our catering family.  Supporters should also be happy to know that our pre-order half time service has also returned following fan feedback and we will continue to work with fans to review the operation at future games.

Commercial

It has been a busy few months commercially following the restructure of our commercial team with Shaun Lockwood moving to Chief Commercial Officer and Gaynor Waddington moving to Head of Partnerships at the end of last season.  This move also saw Chris Wood move to Chief Operations Officer to take responsibility of stadium operations and ground safety.

During the summer not only have we extended the partnerships of Stoneacre Motor Group and Polypipe, who have both now been partners for more than fifteen years each.   Red Viking Rail and IPM also extended their naming rights deals on stands and shorts, whilst First Group once again became a partner, sponsoring the East Stand, previous sponsors SMTXtra remain a partner of the club in a different capacity.

In total our 100Club partnership model now stands at 78 and continues to grow as both local and national companies benefit from the exposure of being associated with Doncaster Rovers and of course the Dons, Belles and other parts of Club Doncaster.

Media

One way in which companies are benefitting from increased exposure with the club is from the new domestic broadcasting deal, which will see Sky broadcast approximately 20 games of Doncaster Rovers this season.  The new broadcasting deal saw the end of iFollow as a product, which became a fan favourite following the season played behind closed doors.

The termination of the iFollow product through the new broadcasting deal provided the club a choice of staying within the EFL collective for digital products such as website, video player and mobile phone app or become independent of the system and for the first time, the club opted out of the EFL collective agreement.

Our new partnership with Urban Zoo has seen them provide the system for our new website, mobile phone app and video player with all three launching during the summer.  Urban Zoo also service Celtic, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa and Everton and have won national acclaim for their Gamechanger platform which will be used to operate the systems.

Through the new Rovers+ product, supporters based in the UK can still access audio commentary of all league matches, with video streaming of matches now restricted to supporters based outside the UK and Republic of Ireland.

Away from digital and the clubs match day programme has increased in pagination by 50% for no extra cost to the supporter.

Fan Engagement

This summer the club also relaunched In Rovers We Trust as our fan engagement strategy and whilst fan engagement has always been at the heart of our activity (which is why we’ve seen changes such as the priority points system, match day catering and match day programme introduced) it always seems to have more impact when the In Rovers We Trust brand is used.

As part of that strategy we have already hosted our first Young Fans Panel with 17 children aged 15 & under giving their thoughts on how we can improve the experience for young supporters of Doncaster Rovers.  These views will be shared with our Shadow Board who also continue to go from strength to strength as they host their second elections in the next few weeks.  Feedback from the Shadow Board so far is that both the number and quality of candidates is excellent and surpassed all expectations.

Community Engagement

A big part of our fan engagement strategy is making sure we play our part in the community and through our Foundation, we are putting ourselves at the heart of Doncaster’s’ communities.  Our 2024 impact report showed;

200 young people educated across Further and Higher Education programmes with a 100% pass rate

400 members of our community gym with a 100% member satisfaction score (season ticket holders receive a discount on the gym as part of their benefits)

257 participants in our Fit Rovers programmes

83 women and families supported through our Fit Families provision

246 targeted inclusion work sessions delivered for veterans, other ex-service people, muslim women, refugee and asylum seekers and the LGBTQ+ community

Our schools programme also continues to go from strength to strength with more than 60 schools signed up for our attendance4attendance ticketing scheme, with children achieving 97% attendance or higher during a term invited to watch Doncaster Rovers as a reward.

And finally….

As the Olympics come to an end and the Paralympics start, we have recently won our own Gold, Silver and Bronze awards across three different independent areas

Bronze Award via the EFL Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity audit, meeting all requirements

Silver Award via Think Fan Engagement Index for our fan engagement strategy over the past twelve months.

Gold Award via the EFL Family Excellence scheme, with the club being one of only four clubs in the EFL to have won Gold every year since the grading scheme was introduced, this award is based on independent mystery shops throughout the season.

[roversdude]

Great write up and strides forward - think the main gripe now will be the speaker system, this really needs sorting. Hopefully moves are a foot

[ForsolongaRover]

I hope you have expressed the general dissatisfaction with the new IT providers.

The live match coverage remains far from efficient. We had no Rovers commentary at all for Saturday’s match and then only the Morecambe one some time into the first half. But there was no apology.

Looking at specifics, why do we not get Extended Highlights as quickly as we did before? Those are an important feature of the package we pay for and enable you to get a wider perspective on what happened in the match before it becomes old news - and they weren’t even up yesterday - 2 full days after the event. The longer it takes to provide information the less valuable it becomes and timely supply is an absolute necessity and should be a contractual requirement.

On top of this, the full match replays don’t have as many features for replaying etc., as the iFollow ones.

The new website, also designed by this new outfit, is very difficult to navigate. Did they test it with real users?

The seemingly ready acceptance of “teething problems” is not the way the club should be reacting to this obviously sub standard system. I cannot believe that it was properly tested. They should be pulling out the stops to put it right. We are not getting value for money.

When you change a service provider you expect a better product delivered quickly and efficiently. This fails in every respect.

[Fal]

Also think the wifi definitely needs looking at, the data signal is poor where I sit and the wifi doesn’t even show.

[SydneyRover]

I hope you have expressed the general dissatisfaction with the new IT providers.

The live match coverage remains far from efficient. We had no Rovers commentary at all for Saturday’s match and then only the Morecambe one some time into the first half. But there was no apology.

Looking at specifics, why do we not get Extended Highlights as quickly as we did before? Those are an important feature of the package we pay for and enable you to get a wider perspective on what happened in the match before it becomes old news - and they weren’t even up yesterday - 2 full days after the event. The longer it takes to provide information the less valuable it becomes and timely supply is an absolute necessity and should be a contractual requirement.

On top of this, the full match replays don’t have as many features for replaying etc., as the iFollow ones.

The new website, also designed by this new outfit, is very difficult to navigate. Did they test it with real users?

The seemingly ready acceptance of “teething problems” is not the way the club should be reacting to this obviously sub standard system. I cannot believe that it was properly tested. They should be pulling out the stops to put it right. We are not getting value for money.

When you change a service provider you expect a better product delivered quickly and efficiently. This fails in every respect.

Very good points FR, for the Salford game, audio was the only option (o/s subscriber) and I couldn't get that, I thought maybe my payment hadn't gone through so I paid again but still no joy.

I emailed the club and stated that if it wasn't my fault I would like a refund, but only received the same standard reply as others received.

It took ifollow quite some time to get up to speed when first launched with very ordinary camera work and from the reports it looks as though the new service is similarly affected.

Even though the amount I paid was only small, as a matter of principle I would like a refund and it can go directly to the club.

[Avsuptem]

There appears to be no capacity to switch between home and away commentaries which was an entertaining feature on Iplayer. Also why should the RTID living in remote parts of UK, Cornwall for example, be denied the opportunity to see a game live without driving 500+ miles ?

[monkeytennis]

Also think the wifi definitely needs looking at, the data signal is poor where I sit and the wifi doesn’t even show.

Every week I tell them this on the post match survey. Why ask the damned question when there’s no Wi-Fi.

[johnny rovers]

Great write up and strides forward - think the main gripe now will be the speaker system, this really needs sorting. Hopefully moves are a foot

There are some going spare at goodison at the end of the season !

[ForsolongaRover]

Are we going to get a response I wonder?

The Morecambe Extended Highlights are still not on the OS!

[ForsolongaRover]

…and whereas we used to get the highlights -advertisement free - on the OS we now have to trawl though You Tube to get them.

What we have now really seems an utterly unsatisfactory replacement for iFollow.

[DonnyBazR0ver]

Also think the wifi definitely needs looking at, the data signal is poor where I sit and the wifi doesn’t even show.

Every week I tell them this on the post match survey. Why ask the damned question when there’s no Wi-Fi.

I reported it again to the club last week, this time by email rather than the survey.

[Spud]

Great write up and strides forward - think the main gripe now will be the speaker system, this really needs sorting. Hopefully moves are a foot

There are some going spare at goodison at the end of the season !

Could you hear it? Worse than ours.

[ForsolongaRover]

It was interesting that the OP was merely a copy of the what Baldwin had published on the OS with no comment as to what the Shadow Board's take was on it all?

The announcement which they repeated was a travesty of the reality.
According to the CEO
"Our new partnership with Urban Zoo has seen them provide the system for our new website, mobile phone app and video player with all three launching during the summer.  Urban Zoo also service Celtic, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa and Everton and have won national acclaim for their Gamechanger platform which will be used to operate the systems."

I suppose words like "Gamechanger platform" may impress some, but he put this out only 4 days ago which suggests that either he has ignored the plethora of complaints about it or our reps have not informed him. Of course he really ought to have made an effort to find out what the reception was for himself before writing such stuff.

Returning to the role of fan representatives, it would be re-assuring to know that they are making it known to the club that they are not 100% content with what is going on. There have been multiple complaints about the quality of the service and to be fair to Liam Hoden he has been helpful, but commissioning it will have been at a higher level. It has been accepted but it is not functional. On top of that the functionality - what the system does - is less than the system it replaced.

I'm sure that many on here will be aware of what you need to be sure of before accepting an IT system and this one shows every sign of not having been through any kind of rigorous user testing. Perhaps the club's senior management are just naive in their understanding of technology.

Congratulations are the last thing I would offer to the CEO.

[ravenrover]

Is there anybody or anything you like about the Club or anybody with anything to do with the club?

[Janso]

Is there anybody or anything you like about the Club or anybody with anything to do with the club?

Of course there is. They like when there's something to moan about, they like the opportunity to have a dig at people involved, etc.

[tommy toes]

Looks like Eco Power are mord interested in racing now. They spent £250,000 on two yearlings at Donny sales today.

[ForsolongaRover]

Is there anybody or anything you like about the Club or anybody with anything to do with the club?

I suspect, Raven Rover, that you are able to attend matches. I cannot because I live 200 miles away. So my only regular connection with the club is online. Hence, like many others, a degradation of what we get that way has a crucial impact on my ability to maintain what is one of the more important interests in my life.

[ForsolongaRover]

I'm pleased to say that Liam Holden (whose dedication to the cause of the supporters is not in doubt for me) has written to me as follows:

"Hi. Hope you’re well.

We wish to apologise for the issue with home commentary during Saturday’s fixture with Morecambe.
Due to staffing shortages, we had agreed with BBC Radio Sheffield for a co-broadcast using their commentator Tom Biltcliffe, while we had arranged for former Rovers defender Barry Miller to provide co-commentary. All of this was in place for kick-off on Saturday.

However, when Radio Sheffield attempted to patch their commentary feed into our production partners, they could not connect. As it became clear this issue could not be rectified before the conclusion of the first half, we took the decision to use the away commentary feed to ensure some level of service was provided.

We share in your disappointment and wish to assure you that we are investigating the cause of the issue as well as seeking explanation from our production partners and the EFL. We are satisfied that Radio Sheffield could not have done more, nor did the issue arise due to any error on the club’s part.

We also share in your frustrations regarding the start to the season with the new streaming service, particularly with all previous issues having been rectified for the Newport County fixture, which passed without problem - as did Tuesday's game at Everton. The major frustration for us is that none of the problems encountered so far have been our fault but rather been due to issues with the equipment provided or connections with the production company."

[Superspy]

I suppose words like "Gamechanger platform" may impress some, but he put this out only 4 days ago which suggests that either he has ignored the plethora of complaints about it or our reps have not informed him. Of course he really ought to have made an effort to find out what the reception was for himself before writing such stuff.

Are you seriously suggesting he used the word "gamechanger" as a piece of positive PR spin, to give you ammunition for a moan?

Gamechanger isn't a typo...its the trademarked name of Urban Zoo's digital platform.

[Pancho Regan]

It was interesting that the OP was merely a copy of the what Baldwin had published on the OS with no comment as to what the Shadow Board's take was on it all?

The announcement which they repeated was a travesty of the reality.
According to the CEO
"Our new partnership with Urban Zoo has seen them provide the system for our new website, mobile phone app and video player with all three launching during the summer.  Urban Zoo also service Celtic, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa and Everton and have won national acclaim for their Gamechanger platform which will be used to operate the systems."

I suppose words like "Gamechanger platform" may impress some, but he put this out only 4 days ago which suggests that either he has ignored the plethora of complaints about it or our reps have not informed him. Of course he really ought to have made an effort to find out what the reception was for himself before writing such stuff.

Returning to the role of fan representatives, it would be re-assuring to know that they are making it known to the club that they are not 100% content with what is going on. There have been multiple complaints about the quality of the service and to be fair to Liam Hoden he has been helpful, but commissioning it will have been at a higher level. It has been accepted but it is not functional. On top of that the functionality - what the system does - is less than the system it replaced.

I'm sure that many on here will be aware of what you need to be sure of before accepting an IT system and this one shows every sign of not having been through any kind of rigorous user testing. Perhaps the club's senior management are just naive in their understanding of technology.

Congratulations are the last thing I would offer to the CEO.

You weren't doing too badly until that last sentence.

I wish you'd started with that, then I wouldn't have had to bother reading the rest.

[ForsolongaRover]

I apologise for not being quite up to speed with such as the “Gamechanger” platform. It did have a capital letter, but no inverted commas or italics to make it obvious. But I don’t think that my ignorance there changes anything.

The fact is that there are problems. I am not simply seizing an opportunity to “moan” as some people like to put it. This is a real concern acknowledged by Liam on behalf of the club.

I made public my views because I detect that there has been widespread dissatisfaction in this area.

I think I might risk doing it again if necessary.

[BobG]

Nobody is perfect. DRFC do a large number of things very well. With an externally inspired revolution in one aspect perfection never comes easy on Day 1 - even for well resourced organisation with large staffs of specialists and experts. DRFC is a small company. They don't have that luxury. They got IFollow right after some tinkering. Give 'em a chance now!

BobG

[ForsolongaRover]

Nobody is perfect. DRFC do a large number of things very well. With an externally inspired revolution in one aspect perfection never comes easy on Day 1 - even for well resourced organisation with large staffs of specialists and experts. DRFC is a small company. They don't have that luxury. They got IFollow right after some tinkering. Give 'em a chance now!

BobG

Yes, Liam Hoden is obviously personally committed, but I remain of the opinion that it's better to be honest about problems rather than publishing statements (like Baldwin's) which suggest everything is near-perfect.

The overriding principle here is that one cannot "take one's business elsewhere". I'm stuck with my addiction to DRFC, there's no known cure, and I don't like anyone to take advantage of my affection.

[BobG]

[EasyforDennis]

Is there anybody or anything you like about the Club or anybody with anything to do with the club?

I didn't think it was possible but it seems your nose is getting browner.

[ravenrover]

Yes we've had a nice bit of sun down here my nose usually goes red but I can still get a whiff of sh!t from some posters