Let's talk about the Charlton Athletic playoff game

[selby]

  This is a free hit for us, Little Old Donny mixing it with the big boys of the division with all their advantages , bigger crowds, more money to spend, and all three expected at the beginning of the season to challenge for a top two position.
  Well Charlton failed, along with the other two, and now have what they will see as the easiest games of the playoffs against us, who  have already achieved just getting in the top six.
   There is a massive difference in the number of points the two teams acquired over the season, showing how much more consistent over the season they have been.
  The three games we have played against them this season showed their class, in the league games they were the better side in both games, tearing us apart down the right flank, but in an open game at the valley in the cup, allowing our midfield to completely outplay them.
   Yesterday we showed what we can do, after the first 30 minutes when Coventry attacked our right flank, even Blair settled down, got on top of his man, and in the second half was not only a good defender, but had time to get forward  where he is a danger.
  Every player won their battle yesterday, something we will have to repeat in this game. That was the best defensive display of the season, Marosi only troubled fleetingly and responded well when needed and looked very calm.
  The points difference is not an indication of how close the abilities of the two sides are when we play well, and if we play well we are more than a match for any of these teams, I fancy our chances, Do you?
  Much to discuss and get excited about these two games, Please have your say, and if any Charlton fans want to discuss please join in friendly banter, you are welcome.
   

[tyke1962]

Come on now Selby it isn't a free hit now is it , surely not .

This is the result of 46 games of blood , sweat and tears and now it doesn't matter because you have exceeded expectations ? .

We came from the bottom of League One in December to claim a play off place on the very last day in 2016 and we expected all that hardwork to bear fruit in the play offs .

Take your opportunities whilst they are there , you may not get another for several seasons .

[Michael Shaw]

At this stage it is all about which team really wants it the most and the attitude of the players going into the play-off games. I have learned this season to never underestimate Grant McCann so let's continue to enjoy the ride starting with a win (hopefully) next Sunday.

[Campsall rover]

Brian less of the little Old Donny please.
WE GOT A BIGGER GATE THAN CHARLTON ATHLETIC YESTERDAY?
Only just but as i have said for years this club has the potential for much bigger gates.
It seems to me a lot of folk can’t see the potential but believe me it’s there ok.
You only have to see what population we have to draw on.
Establish ourselves as a solid Championship side and just see what happens.
The board have a vision for this club. Believe me they wouldn’t be here otherwise because there is no financial gain to them, only cost until the club becomes fully self sustainable.

[selby]

  Tyke, I agree with you, when I say a free hit, I mean that most of the football world will have discounted our chances now before a ball has been kicked.
  Having watched every game we have played this season, I am well aware that we are capable of being very good, and not so good even in the same game, never mind from week to week, we are the most inconsistent of the four teams.
 All the other five teams in the top six including yourselves were tipped, and expected to be up there, even Luton having a greater budget than ourselves by quite some distance.
  Apart from yourselves and Luton, Portsmouth, Sunderland, and Charlton have failed this season, while ourselves and Blackpool were among the favourites to get relegated by the so called experts.
  I think from watching us play you in our two games, that basically stopped you winning the title, you will know how good we can be.
 

[selby]

  Paul, I think you are doing the business sense of our directors a disservice.
  They are  basically the owners of with the Keepmoat and the training facilities at Cantley some of the most attractive lease hold property in Doncaster on long leases.
  Not to mention the probable tax advantages that wealthy people in their position seek.
  Having said that, we could not have better owners, without them we would be in big trouble,and they have been superb.

[Campsall rover]

We have been playing the ‘ LITTLE PUB TEAM’ card for far too long now imo.
We are much more than that now aren’t we?
6th highest budget in league 1
Just look at the size of some of the clubs we have competed against this season.
Sunderland, Portsmouth, Bradford City, Coventry City,
Charlton Athletic, Barnsley, Luton Town, Plymouth Argyle
& Bristol Rovers.

[Campsall rover]

  Paul, I think you are doing the business sense of our directors a disservice.
  They are  basically the owners of with the Keepmoat and the training facilities at Cantley some of the most attractive lease hold property in Doncaster on long leases.
  Not to mention the probable tax advantages that wealthy people in their position seek.
  Having said that, we could not have better owners, without them we would be in big trouble,and they have been superb.

Yes of course i am aware of that but Terry Bramhall & the other board members are not in it for that reason imo.
I can’t speak for them and wouldn’t be so impertinent to do so but it would seem to me they see the value of the club as a huge community project. I think the work Gavin Baldwin has done for club Doncaster is worthy of significant praise.
The higher we go the more it puts Doncaster on the map and is of huge economic benefit for the whole town.

[selby]

  Paul, read the Charlton forum, it is a big ground as you know, they are hoping to sell out for our game in the home end, tickets are already being sold, four per person which is causing some problems.
  And for those interested they are from £18 for the family stand according to their forum, I have not seen the prices for away fans.

[DonnyBazR0ver]

The tactical approach to yesterday's game was spot on. Exactly as I hoped with discipline and patience. Malik Wilks playing for the team by doing his bit defensively summed up the commitment to the cause.

I hope for the same as I would give us a chance at the Valley even with a home draw. I suspect Charlton will approach it in the same way.

[tyke1962]

I say this as someone without an emotional attachment to Rovers and I sincerely mean no disrespect , just saying as I see it .

You have a superb modern stadium not out of place in the championship .

You are no strangers to the championship either .

Knock the pub team culture on the head , it does you no favours .

I don't know whether the scars from the conference days are still at play but it's puzzling guys .

Small club in the championship yes , so are we .

Small club in League One , absolutely not , you are where you should be .

[Chris Black come back]

There is a reasonably consistent group of clubs that are too big for League One but not big enough for Championship - Rotherham, Dingles, Millwall, Peterborough, Rovers all do a few seasons max then go back down. Not sure what long-term solution is but good while it lasts.

[RoversAlias]

We know we are where we should be Tyke. But we will always stay true to that "pub team having a laugh" mantra because it reminds us where we have come from. We don't have scars from the Conference days, it was a cathartic and fond time for us as it was the foundation upon which all of our following success has been built.

Donny Rovers won't ever get too big for our boots.

[DonnyBazR0ver]

I say this as someone without an emotional attachment to Rovers and I sincerely mean no disrespect , just saying as I see it .

You have a superb modern stadium not out of place in the championship .

You are no strangers to the championship either .

Knock the pub team culture on the head , it does you no favours .

I don't know whether the scars from the conference days are still at play but it's puzzling guys .

Small club in the championship yes , so are we .

Small club in League One , absolutely not , you are where you should be .

We know we are where we should be Tyke. But we will always stay true to that "pub team having a laugh" mantra because it reminds us where we have come from. We don't have scars from the Conference days, it was a cathartic and fond time for us as it was the foundation upon which all of our following success has been built.

Donny Rovers won't ever get too big for our boots.

Nail on the head!

[tyke1962]

We know we are where we should be Tyke. But we will always stay true to that "pub team having a laugh" mantra because it reminds us where we have come from. We don't have scars from the Conference days, it was a cathartic and fond time for us as it was the foundation upon which all of our following success has been built.

Donny Rovers won't ever get too big for our boots.

I fully understand what you are saying and I take your point , it's the over achieving thing I don't get which seems to be mentioned by Rovers fans fairly regularly .

No you haven't over achieved , was GM brought in last summer to finish half way up the table ? , absolutely not .

He was within a whisker of landing the Barnsley job last summer , the CEO held the casting vote and he only just missed out , clearly he was seen by our club as an ambitious young coach .

Three performances which you are more than capable of achieving will see you in the championship .

No doubt about it .

[Campsall rover]

There is a reasonably consistent group of clubs that are too big for League One but not big enough for Championship - Rotherham, Dingles, Millwall, Peterborough, Rovers all do a few seasons max then go back down. Not sure what long-term solution is but good while it lasts.

There goes that lack of ambition again. TAKE THE BLINKERS OFF.
Look at Preston as an example. Yes i know they have been a top flight club in the past but you have to go back to the 50’s for that.
MOST of their history since has been a 2nd tier club and they have also spent some years in the 3rd and 4th tiers.
They compete very well indeed in the 2nd tier on ave gates of 13,000
Rovers can do the same there is no question about that. With good management both on and off the field it can & will be achieved.
You have to have a vision and a plan to achieve it and fortunately we have a board WHO HAVE THAT VISION & PLAN.
Just a shame it seems to me so many of our fans can’t see it and some also don’t seem to have any serious ambition for the club they love.

[selby]

  I have just looked at their official forum, and their adult prices range from £18 in the family stand to £28 in the cat 1 seats.
  Each purchaser can buy four tickets, and one posted he was number 900 on the phone line, and gave up.

[DonnyBazR0ver]

I don't think the majority of Rovers fans see it as over achieving. The play offs is what we aimed for if not better. We also know we are capable of competing at the next level albeit some will be uncertain about getting from A to B to achieve the standard to do that.

All we need to do is have faith in a bloody good young manager to do what's necessary to strengthen and owners who will give him the best possible chance without breaking the bank.

I do not see any difference in terms of stature between ourselves and Charlton, or Barnsley for that matter. Irrespective of any historical values, it's how the club is managed here and now that matters.

[Chris Black come back]

There is a reasonably consistent group of clubs that are too big for League One but not big enough for Championship - Rotherham, Dingles, Millwall, Peterborough, Rovers all do a few seasons max then go back down. Not sure what long-term solution is but good while it lasts.

There goes that lack of ambition again. TAKE THE BLINKERS OFF.
Look at Preston as an example. Yes i know they have been a top flight club in the past but you have to go back to the 50’s for that.
MOST of their history since has been a 2nd tier club and they have also spent some years in the 3rd and 4th tiers.
They compete very well indeed in the 2nd tier on ave gates of 13,000
Rovers can do the same there is no question about that. With good management both on and off the field it can & will be achieved.
You have to have a vision and a plan to achieve it and fortunately we have a board WHO HAVE THAT VISION & PLAN.
Just a shame it seems to me so many of our fans can’t see it and some also don’t seem to have any serious ambition for the club they love.

Preston have just completed their fourth consecutive season in the Championship. Before that they spent four consecutive seasons in League One. Before that they spent seven consecutive seasons in the Championship. Before that they spent twenty odd seasons in tier three and below.

They are not a consistent Championship side.

[drfchound]

Anyone know when tickets go on sale.

[tyke1962]

I don't want to hijack this thread by going all Barnsley , I've heard it whispered a time or too that we can be c@cky and a little too big for our boots .

We don't accept League One , we expect to be successful , the championship is different and we know our place in modern times .

We are ambitious but remain grounded too and true to our roots , nothing that Rovers can't enjoy either in my opinion .

The celebrations in the early hours of this morning at the Garrison pub in the town centre shows how grounded the fans and players are and what we are all about .

Players and fans celebrating together after returning from Bristol .

http://barnsleyfc.org.uk/threads/celebrations-seen-on-facebook.279608/

[RedJ]

Anyone know when tickets go on sale.

Certainly not yet. Just had a look online and there's no mention of it. Would imagine tomorrow with STHs getting a day or two priority?

[Campsall rover]

There is a reasonably consistent group of clubs that are too big for League One but not big enough for Championship - Rotherham, Dingles, Millwall, Peterborough, Rovers all do a few seasons max then go back down. Not sure what long-term solution is but good while it lasts.

There goes that lack of ambition again. TAKE THE BLINKERS OFF.
Look at Preston as an example. Yes i know they have been a top flight club in the past but you have to go back to the 50’s for that.
MOST of their history since has been a 2nd tier club and they have also spent some years in the 3rd and 4th tiers.
They compete very well indeed in the 2nd tier on ave gates of 13,000
Rovers can do the same there is no question about that. With good management both on and off the field it can & will be achieved.
You have to have a vision and a plan to achieve it and fortunately we have a board WHO HAVE THAT VISION & PLAN.
Just a shame it seems to me so many of our fans can’t see it and some also don’t seem to have any serious ambition for the club they love.

Preston have just completed their fourth consecutive season in the Championship. Before that they spent four consecutive seasons in League One. Before that they spent seven consecutive seasons in the Championship. Before that they spent twenty odd seasons in tier three and below.

They are not a consistent Championship side.

Yes they are because they are about to compete in the Championship for the 5th consequtive season and i would expect that they are in it the year after as well.

[Chris Black come back]

We did four consecutive seasons and five seasons out of a consecutive six seasons. We were not an established Championship side.

Nobody was any idea where Preston will finish next season.

[Campsall rover]

What do you call consistent then?
No one stays in the same division for ever do they.
Only Arsenal and Everton in the premier league have hardly ever been any where else.
Apart from them only Oldham who recently spent 22 consequetive seasons in League 1 are an exception to the rule.
There maybe a few other examples of course but there are not many.

[Campsall rover]

CBCB i think you are missing the point and trying to justify why DRFC should not be able to compete in the higher division. 

[Chris Black come back]

I am as optimistic as you but by and large (few exceptions of course) it comes down to money and historically we will find it exceptionally hard to lift our support up to say 20’s. So in absence of billionaire owner (Bournemouth) we are going to struggle to compete in Championship against clubs who have huge financial advantage over Rovers. Don’t forget that even with total brilliance of SOD and going into massive ‘debt’ (ie unsustainable owner subsidy) we lasted four seasons in Championship only. We need to build up our status locally with support and commercial activity and we have a hope of becoming a 7/8 out of 10 season Championship club but there is no easy answer to becoming a Derby or Boro, let alone the huge teams coming down from Premier League.

[tyke1962]

Ryan knew how to market Rovers and have you sticking your chests out and punching your weight .

Dare to dream .

Destination Championship .

He was an annoying little get over here and I'll tell you why .

He made Rovers a serious threat to my club and we didn't like it , he backed it up too .

Food for thought guys .

[Bristol Red Rover]

The last two season's attendances have shown we have grown - the average is 6.7% higher than than the average of our two promotion to the Championship seasons. That's 508 more fans.

Meanwhile, can we beat Charlton over two legs? I'd say it's 50/50, but on our day we will win, and it is our day, both days.

We're favourites with the bookies for the home leg. eg 14/10 v 23/10

[roversdude]

As Tyke says let’s for the next week or so revert back to JR’s campaign and really Dare to Dream
I’ve waded through years of shite from mid 70’s with the odd punctuation of success but the Richardson years will always remind us of where we have been, thankful we have a club.........we remain proud to be Rovers no matter what or where, it’s more than a football team, it’s our club in our blood and we can achieve/overachieve C’mon Rovers