We're a mid table League Two team

[les@donr]

We're a mid table League Two team,
We'll win some,
We'll draw some,
We'll lose some,
We've a mid table League Two team.

[Chris Black come back]

For this season at least, that’s true. Remarkable that blink and we’ve gone from top end League One to this. No financial collapse, no malign owner, no stadium fire. Remarkable really.

[scawsby steve]

We've definitely a mid-table League 2 chairman, that's for sure.

[Upton Rover]

We're a mid table League Two team,
We'll win some,
We'll draw some,
We'll lose some,
We've a mid table League Two team.

Amazing how you come to think that we will win, draw and lose games. Got to say your spot on, Would it be the same for every football team?

[sedwardsdrfc]

It is crazy that we’ve fallen so hard without there been some sort of collapse at the top of the club. Normally there’s some financial distress or something.

That said if the owners cut their handouts, as is their right, to nothing it’s equivalent to the financial distress we see at other clubs. Only we’ve managed the decline better, off the pitch.

The idea seems to be so long as we don’t do a Bury no one will notice the decline. It was probably a shock we dropped so quickly which has made it imperative for anyone not to notice.

I’ve no problem with the owners they’ve been very good guardians of the club but I think people need to hear there’s a plan to get the ambition and drive back. If that’s by actively finding a buyer so be it. I’d be confident they won’t sell to anyone suspect so no harm in announcing something like that.

If the plan is to just exist in stasis as some sort of museum trust our fan base will slowly dwindle further.

[Lesonthewest]

We also have the 7th best average attendances in this league, even though we've had to witness, & endure absolute  garbage on the pitch, & poor management off it for the last 2 years. We also better 9 of the sides in league 1 for average attendances. Not really relative to our current league position is it. The commitment & support from the fans is still there, but for how much longer.

[selby]

  We desperately need a good recruitment period in the closed season, we have not had one for some time so that needs to be our main aim over the closed season along with a shake out of those superfluous players that our manager doesn't see a future in at the club.
  We need more ambition as a club, be less insular in our criticism of the board and Club Doncaster they are the base we have at the moment so need nurturing and some respect.
  We are a fractured unit at the moment, but the club has potential that wants bringing out, that few clubs in and around us at the level we are at have got, or even some clubs in division one.
  We need a spark, an early success in a cup competition early next season could be a catalyst, and some confidence in some home grown players would not go amiss.
  Player recruitment must be the priority this closed season and we need to be trawling for the young ambitious players, get some released early for trials and rebuild the clubs playing squad, the back ground at the club has very little wrong with it apart from the lack of a second team at a decent level of either a league or a number of top class friendlies to progress young players we have showing promise.

[drfchound]

We are all going to be hanging on to the coat tails of Grimsby next season after their FA Cup adventure and the money they will have made from it.

[ncRover]

If we added at least 2 out of 3 players with these profiles to the outfield line up I think we’d be pretty much there, as it looks like a solid base otherwise.

- A target man who can make it stick and bring others in to play. As well as providing an actual crossing option.

- A creative attacking midfielder who is more mobile and reliable than Tomlin was.

- A fast clinical attacker who makes runs in behind.

[danumdon]

If we added at least 2 out of 3 players with these profiles to the outfield line up I think we’d be pretty much there, as it looks like a solid base otherwise.

- A target man who can make it stick and bring others in to play. As well as providing an actual crossing option.

- A creative attacking midfielder who is more mobile and reliable than Tomlin was.

- A fast clinical attacker who makes runs in behind.

The worse thing about this is that most of our fans have been saying this for a good few seasons now and its never been properly dealt with.

We insist on playing a system that requires a striker like Miller to play with his back to goal and attempt to bring others into play whilst being man handled by two or three burly defenders, We had the failed attempt to address this with the loan signing of Andrews who was built for the position but was just not up to the standard we required. If we'd of  had the services of a striker like Stockport's Wooton then i'd say we would now be in a much more favourable position, he looked a handful and created some good openings for them, bar an outstanding game from Anderson he would of tore us a new one.

The creative attacking, controlling midfielder has been missing since we had Whiteman who managed to cover both roles, that we spent a great deal on some sup par replacements is a shocking indictment of our recent transfer policy, but mainly money led. Yesterday we sort of got it right by leaving Close out and playing Biggins and an ever improving Larkin, but we do need better.

As for the fast clinical attacking players we have two, Hurst and Moly who have become bit part players in our indescribable system, here we have two good prospects who are playing in a no mans land, unable to attack or defend to any sort of an acceptable standard due to our bone headed policy of sticking with a system that's clearly unsuitable to the players we have.

The biggest tragedy in my opinion is that we have a squad that should of been well able to attain at least a play-off position and probably more, but because of our insistence on playing a set system we have wasted this season and are struggling to maintain some sort of mid table respectability, yesterdays draw against a team threatening the top positions hides so many wrongs with us, we never looked for one moment like we had the capability to win that match. It seems every game now reduces the chances of goal efforts we have, leaving us in a no mans land of mediocrity.

[les@donr]

We've a bang average League Two team,
Not going up,
Not going down,
We've a bang average League Two team.

[Padge_DRFC]

Add Wrexham and Notts County to this league next year and we've got even less chance.

[TheDonnyPop]

We are 13th in the table. The very definition of mid table

[DonnyBazR0ver]

Oh not another 'aren't we hard done by' thread!

We ain't going to move on unless we leave this attitude behind and accept sh*t happens.  Would you have swapped places with Wrexham, Notts Co and plenty of others?

We're definitely a top of the moaning league! Anyone would think we're Sheff Wed fans, thinking we're superior to other clubs.

[ncRover]

Add Wrexham and Notts County to this league next year and we've got even less chance.

MK Dons coming down as well

[ncRover]

If we added at least 2 out of 3 players with these profiles to the outfield line up I think we’d be pretty much there, as it looks like a solid base otherwise.

- A target man who can make it stick and bring others in to play. As well as providing an actual crossing option.

- A creative attacking midfielder who is more mobile and reliable than Tomlin was.

- A fast clinical attacker who makes runs in behind.

The worse thing about this is that most of our fans have been saying this for a good few seasons now and its never been properly dealt with.

We insist on playing a system that requires a striker like Miller to play with his back to goal and attempt to bring others into play whilst being man handled by two or three burly defenders, We had the failed attempt to address this with the loan signing of Andrews who was built for the position but was just not up to the standard we required. If we'd of  had the services of a striker like Stockport's Wooton then i'd say we would now be in a much more favourable position, he looked a handful and created some good openings for them, bar an outstanding game from Anderson he would of tore us a new one.

The creative attacking, controlling midfielder has been missing since we had Whiteman who managed to cover both roles, that we spent a great deal on some sup par replacements is a shocking indictment of our recent transfer policy, but mainly money led. Yesterday we sort of got it right by leaving Close out and playing Biggins and an ever improving Larkin, but we do need better.

As for the fast clinical attacking players we have two, Hurst and Moly who have become bit part players in our indescribable system, here we have two good prospects who are playing in a no mans land, unable to attack or defend to any sort of an acceptable standard due to our bone headed policy of sticking with a system that's clearly unsuitable to the players we have.

The biggest tragedy in my opinion is that we have a squad that should of been well able to attain at least a play-off position and probably more, but because of our insistence on playing a set system we have wasted this season and are struggling to maintain some sort of mid table respectability, yesterdays draw against a team threatening the top positions hides so many wrongs with us, we never looked for one moment like we had the capability to win that match. It seems every game now reduces the chances of goal efforts we have, leaving us in a no mans land of mediocrity.

DD I agree with everything you’ve said there until the last paragraph.

How can you agree with me that we don’t have a functioning attack or any of those types of players I mentioned whilst also thinking that we have a top 7 squad?

Molyneux is not clinical, he has only scored in 1 game out of 28 for us. He fills a similar role to Hurst, in that he wants the ball to feet to take players on.

Miller fills no role as a lone striker, but Lavery is a similar player. Playing one, the other or both therefore solves no problems.

No one would get anything different out of this group.

[Barmby Rover]

We also have the 7th best average attendances in this league, even though we've had to witness, & endure absolute  garbage on the pitch, & poor management off it for the last 2 years. We also better 9 of the sides in league 1 for average attendances. Not really relative to our current league position is it. The commitment & support from the fans is still there, but for how much longer.

&th best attended, but for how long if all our "sustainability" does is produce football like this (and previous) seasons.

[pib]

It is crazy that we’ve fallen so hard without there been some sort of collapse at the top of the club. Normally there’s some financial distress or something.

That said if the owners cut their handouts, as is their right, to nothing it’s equivalent to the financial distress we see at other clubs. Only we’ve managed the decline better, off the pitch.

The idea seems to be so long as we don’t do a Bury no one will notice the decline. It was probably a shock we dropped so quickly which has made it imperative for anyone not to notice.

I’ve no problem with the owners they’ve been very good guardians of the club but I think people need to hear there’s a plan to get the ambition and drive back. If that’s by actively finding a buyer so be it. I’d be confident they won’t sell to anyone suspect so no harm in announcing something like that.

If the plan is to just exist in stasis as some sort of museum trust our fan base will slowly dwindle further.

When you consider that in addition to having the 6th/7th best average gates in L2, and higher gates than a significant % of the division above, we also frequently boast about raising the most commercial/tertiary revenue in the lower leagues, it really does make you wonder why we're finding it so difficult to meet our ambitions of being a stable L1 side on the field.

How much longer this support is going to hold up for has to be considered a cause for concern. When I heard that season ticket sales were "only" 20-odd down on the shit show that was last year, alarm bells rang a bit for me, despite this being presented as a positive. Season ticket prices were aggressively cut this season and we still (albeit marginally) ended up with lower sales than last. If we are struggling to persuade even our more committed fans to stick with it, even with lower prices, then TB's fantasy of people bringing along a friend into the happy DRFC family is nothing short of a pipe-dream. It causes me concern about the coming years for the club that we appear not to be growing the fanbase, but in fact shrinking it.

Oh not another 'aren't we hard done by' thread!

We ain't going to move on unless we leave this attitude behind and accept sh*t happens.  Would you have swapped places with Wrexham, Notts Co and plenty of others?

We're definitely a top of the moaning league! Anyone would think we're Sheff Wed fans, thinking we're superior to other clubs.

Wow. I'm all for different views being expressed, but if we all simply go through our DRFC fandom "accepting shit happens" and moving on from questioning and debating the direction of the club, then we really are dead in the water.

[Campsall rover]

Oh not another 'aren't we hard done by' thread!

We ain't going to move on unless we leave this attitude behind and accept sh*t happens.  Would you have swapped places with Wrexham, Notts Co and plenty of others?

We're definitely a top of the moaning league! Anyone would think we're Sheff Wed fans, thinking we're superior to other clubs.

While I agree there are some who moan just for the sake of moaning I don’t think we should just accept that Sh*t happens.
The fact is we are financially stable off the field but the last 2 yrs + on the field have been anything but stable. We have been in free fall if we are going to be honest. 
I don’t think DBR it is unreasonable that our fan base questions what has gone wrong, that has ended up with us where we are right now.
In fact I would be concerned if the hard core fans were not questioning what has gone wrong.
The fact is we should be a top half League 1 club at a minimum with aspirations of being a Championship club.  That’s were we were in January 2021. Yes it is hard to believe.

I would like to think we have now bottomed out and now the only way is up.  But proof is in the pudding and
it is important we now have a positive end to the season. Even if if we do not make the play offs it is important we finish with some serious momentum.

Then in the summer we need to see some serious intent on getting promoted next season with some quality recruitment.

[sedwardsdrfc]

Oh not another 'aren't we hard done by' thread!

We ain't going to move on unless we leave this attitude behind and accept sh*t happens.  Would you have swapped places with Wrexham, Notts Co and plenty of others?

We're definitely a top of the moaning league! Anyone would think we're Sheff Wed fans, thinking we're superior to other clubs.

This kind of attitude will see us playing part time! I’m no board basher but there’s a weird belief by some that so long as a madman an isn’t trying to burn our stadium down that everything is fine and dandy.

Shit happens but been so poor for so long isn’t a bit of bad luck or an accident it’s incompetence. There’s letting shit happen and then there’s actively encouraging it to happen

Would we swap places with County and Wrexham? Have you seen our trajectory! Give it another season and we might. Can we complain and raise alarm then or is it really only when TB’s ordered a suspicious amount of matches and kindling logs!

[GazLaz]

I said at the start of the season that we were signing mid table L2 players which results in you becoming a mid table L2 team…

[sedwardsdrfc]

I said at the start of the season that we were signing mid table L2 players which results in you becoming a mid table L2 team…

Medal in the post

[The Beast]

We're a mid table League Two team,
We'll win some,
We'll draw some,
We'll lose some,
We' ll have a mid table League Two team.

Could be worse, you could be a shirt wearing Donny Man U fan, supporting Man U to boost your ego, getting hammer today and the rest of the week, from a load of 40 odd year old shirt wearing Donny Liverpool fans. The Donny Livepool fans will be high as a kite all week but all quiet come the end of the season, when the team they claim to support, to boost their ego, win nothing.
Give me Rovers please, come win, lose or draw in League 2 obscurity!

[DonnyBazR0ver]

Oh not another 'aren't we hard done by' thread!

We ain't going to move on unless we leave this attitude behind and accept sh*t happens.  Would you have swapped places with Wrexham, Notts Co and plenty of others?

We're definitely a top of the moaning league! Anyone would think we're Sheff Wed fans, thinking we're superior to other clubs.

While I agree there are some who moan just for the sake of moaning I don’t think we should just accept that Sh*t happens.
The fact is we are financially stable off the field but the last 2 yrs + on the field have been anything but stable. We have been in free fall if we are going to be honest. 
I don’t think DBR it is unreasonable that our fan base questions what has gone wrong, that has ended up with us where we are right now.
In fact I would be concerned if the hard core fans were not questioning what has gone wrong.
The fact is we should be a top half League 1 club at a minimum with aspirations of being a Championship club.  That’s were we were in January 2021. Yes it is hard to believe.

I would like to think we have now bottomed out and now the only way is up.  But proof is in the pudding and
it is important we now have a positive end to the season. Even if if we do not make the play offs it is important we finish with some serious momentum.

Then in the summer we need to see some serious intent on getting promoted next season with some quality recruitment.

Why should we be a top end League One club?

We're League Two on merit and will only progress on merit. Getting creditable results at Stockport etc, are part of accepting where we are and celebrating it, rather than regurgitating all the reasons where it all went wrong after every performance when we lose or don't play champagne football.

I'd like to be happier, and clapping much more but I'm still getting my season ticket for next season because, I'm less likely to see some of our good young players continue to improve and see better players being added to what we've got, if I don't.

Whatever thoughts I have about the reasons we've got here, I can't change that. Copps, DS and the players get my support whether we're playing Harrogate or Hull. It's XI v XI.

[danumdon]

If we added at least 2 out of 3 players with these profiles to the outfield line up I think we’d be pretty much there, as it looks like a solid base otherwise.

- A target man who can make it stick and bring others in to play. As well as providing an actual crossing option.

- A creative attacking midfielder who is more mobile and reliable than Tomlin was.

- A fast clinical attacker who makes runs in behind.

The worse thing about this is that most of our fans have been saying this for a good few seasons now and its never been properly dealt with.

We insist on playing a system that requires a striker like Miller to play with his back to goal and attempt to bring others into play whilst being man handled by two or three burly defenders, We had the failed attempt to address this with the loan signing of Andrews who was built for the position but was just not up to the standard we required. If we'd of  had the services of a striker like Stockport's Wooton then i'd say we would now be in a much more favourable position, he looked a handful and created some good openings for them, bar an outstanding game from Anderson he would of tore us a new one.

The creative attacking, controlling midfielder has been missing since we had Whiteman who managed to cover both roles, that we spent a great deal on some sup par replacements is a shocking indictment of our recent transfer policy, but mainly money led. Yesterday we sort of got it right by leaving Close out and playing Biggins and an ever improving Larkin, but we do need better.

As for the fast clinical attacking players we have two, Hurst and Moly who have become bit part players in our indescribable system, here we have two good prospects who are playing in a no mans land, unable to attack or defend to any sort of an acceptable standard due to our bone headed policy of sticking with a system that's clearly unsuitable to the players we have.

The biggest tragedy in my opinion is that we have a squad that should of been well able to attain at least a play-off position and probably more, but because of our insistence on playing a set system we have wasted this season and are struggling to maintain some sort of mid table respectability, yesterdays draw against a team threatening the top positions hides so many wrongs with us, we never looked for one moment like we had the capability to win that match. It seems every game now reduces the chances of goal efforts we have, leaving us in a no mans land of mediocrity.

DD I agree with everything you’ve said there until the last paragraph.

How can you agree with me that we don’t have a functioning attack or any of those types of players I mentioned whilst also thinking that we have a top 7 squad?

Molyneux is not clinical, he has only scored in 1 game out of 28 for us. He fills a similar role to Hurst, in that he wants the ball to feet to take players on.

Miller fills no role as a lone striker, but Lavery is a similar player. Playing one, the other or both therefore solves no problems.

No one would get anything different out of this group.

I think we have the players in the squad to do so much better than we have, i'm sure an experienced manager would of seen what we had and arranged them accordingly. The forwards have been badly handled in my opinion, We have central strikers in Miller and Lavary who are being asked to play a formation which is totally alien to them, neither are forward , back to gal link players, they don't have the size or game for it, they need ball to feet or over the top as they both have a decent turn of pace, most likely to do well, played as a partnership to feed off each other.

Hurst and Moly are wasted assets in my book, they've so much more to their game than asking them to come inside each time they get the ball, both have a trick in them that can put a defender on the back foot but when you ask them to in effect come inside and help out an overrun midfield it takes away all their attacking intent and nullify's them, if we played them as out and out wide players providing balls into Miller and Lavery they would be more successful. if we played them as the outside of a real front three instead of expecting them to have some sort of tracking back role they would be far better utilised.

Im aware we don't play then as above because of our failings in the middle of the midfield. That out and out ball winner/organiser, creator has eluded us for long enough, if we are serious about playing this system we need some sort of quality like this in the middle, anything else just handicaps the whole side and results in us playing this stifling and backwards 5/4/1 which will get us mid table if we are lucky.

Above all i don't ask for much, i just want to see us go out and play some fu**ing football, win,loose or draw i don't care, i just want to get some value for my season ticket, if that involves some football played instead of the turgid, dull, repetitive play between the back 5 rubbish then ill be happy.

[Campsall rover]

Oh not another 'aren't we hard done by' thread!

We ain't going to move on unless we leave this attitude behind and accept sh*t happens.  Would you have swapped places with Wrexham, Notts Co and plenty of others?

We're definitely a top of the moaning league! Anyone would think we're Sheff Wed fans, thinking we're superior to other clubs.

While I agree there are some who moan just for the sake of moaning I don’t think we should just accept that Sh*t happens.
The fact is we are financially stable off the field but the last 2 yrs + on the field have been anything but stable. We have been in free fall if we are going to be honest. 
I don’t think DBR it is unreasonable that our fan base questions what has gone wrong, that has ended up with us where we are right now.
In fact I would be concerned if the hard core fans were not questioning what has gone wrong.
The fact is we should be a top half League 1 club at a minimum with aspirations of being a Championship club.  That’s were we were in January 2021. Yes it is hard to believe.

I would like to think we have now bottomed out and now the only way is up.  But proof is in the pudding and
it is important we now have a positive end to the season. Even if if we do not make the play offs it is important we finish with some serious momentum.

Then in the summer we need to see some serious intent on getting promoted next season with some quality recruitment.

Why should we be a top end League One club?

We're League Two on merit and will only progress on merit. Getting creditable results at Stockport etc, are part of accepting where we are and celebrating it, rather than regurgitating all the reasons where it all went wrong after every performance when we lose or don't play champagne football.

I'd like to be happier, and clapping much more but I'm still getting my season ticket for next season because, I'm less likely to see some of our good young players continue to improve and see better players being added to what we've got, if I don't.

Whatever thoughts I have about the reasons we've got here, I can't change that. Copps, DS and the players get my support whether we're playing Harrogate or Hull. It's XI v XI.

Of course we have no divine right to be top end League 1 but the fact is we were only 26 months ago.
So should we just accept that we are a million miles from that right now. It’s been a pretty dramatic fall in a little over 2 yrs.
Serious mistakes in Managerial appointments were made after DM left and the player recruitment in the summer of 2021 was nothing short of disastrous.
If those sort of mistakes had been made in commerce heads would roll. Now I am not suggesting for one minute that should have happened but the same mistakes were repeated more than once, so it is vitally important that the same mistakes are not repeated again.

I know recruitment is never guaranteed to be a success but it’s vital at least 75% of it is.
In the last 25 months since the departure of DM we have only got probably 25% success in player recruitment. Possibly being generous with that estimate although some of the recruitment last summer was good.  The jury is still out on our current Manager / Coach. His and Copps recruitment this summer has to be good.

I will always support Doncaster Rovers whatever league we are in but that doesn’t mean I should be happy with playing at the lowest level of the EFL.
Every club should aspire to play at the highest level possible and without those aspirations what’s the point.

We are seriously under achieving on the field but that doesn’t mean we should accept it.
There is absolutely no reason whatsoever why DRFC should not be a championship club.
If Rotherham can achieve it then we certainly can.
It is up to our board to show that is what they really aspire to achieving.
We were told 3 yrs ago that was the goal. We have seen very little over the last 2 yrs that suggests they really meant what they said.

[drfchound]

Oh not another 'aren't we hard done by' thread!

We ain't going to move on unless we leave this attitude behind and accept sh*t happens.  Would you have swapped places with Wrexham, Notts Co and plenty of others?

We're definitely a top of the moaning league! Anyone would think we're Sheff Wed fans, thinking we're superior to other clubs.

While I agree there are some who moan just for the sake of moaning I don’t think we should just accept that Sh*t happens.
The fact is we are financially stable off the field but the last 2 yrs + on the field have been anything but stable. We have been in free fall if we are going to be honest. 
I don’t think DBR it is unreasonable that our fan base questions what has gone wrong, that has ended up with us where we are right now.
In fact I would be concerned if the hard core fans were not questioning what has gone wrong.
The fact is we should be a top half League 1 club at a minimum with aspirations of being a Championship club.  That’s were we were in January 2021. Yes it is hard to believe.

I would like to think we have now bottomed out and now the only way is up.  But proof is in the pudding and
it is important we now have a positive end to the season. Even if if we do not make the play offs it is important we finish with some serious momentum.

Then in the summer we need to see some serious intent on getting promoted next season with some quality recruitment.

Why should we be a top end League One club?

We're League Two on merit and will only progress on merit. Getting creditable results at Stockport etc, are part of accepting where we are and celebrating it, rather than regurgitating all the reasons where it all went wrong after every performance when we lose or don't play champagne football.

I'd like to be happier, and clapping much more but I'm still getting my season ticket for next season because, I'm less likely to see some of our good young players continue to improve and see better players being added to what we've got, if I don't.

Whatever thoughts I have about the reasons we've got here, I can't change that. Copps, DS and the players get my support whether we're playing Harrogate or Hull. It's XI v XI.

We are seriously under achieving on the field but that doesn’t mean we should accept it.
There is absolutely no reason whatsoever why DRFC should not be a championship club.
If Rotherham can achieve it then we certainly can.
It is up to our board to show that is what they really aspire to achieving.
We were told 3 yrs ago that was the goal. We have seen very little over the last 2 yrs that suggests they really meant what they said.

Camps, the above excerpt from your post is very telling.
I have a friend who is currently playing in the National League who still sees Rovers as a big club in L2 and also as a top half L1 club. He tells me that plenty of people in the game have a similar opinion.
Like you and myself he is amazed at how far we have fallen over the last two years.
The saddest thing for me is that anyone who dares to talk about the slide in a negative way is seen to be a moaner.
I would imagine that most regular supporters understand that the club is in a good financial position and is happy about that but personally, I get the impression that the top brass at the club are blasé about the fan base to the extent that “they will still buy their Season Tickets” however far we slip.

[ForsolongaRover]

After Bradford City, our financial base, stadium and infrastructure must be the best in this League and it isn’t surprising that fans complain. Those who study the situation closely, which means most of those on here, have enough material to comfortably establish the case for underachievement.

Knowing what we do, there are multiple targets for criticism and it would be difficult not to place some blame at the door of all those who have had a part in “managing” (using the term in its broadest sense) our arrival at our current plight.

I think that if we sunk any lower, there would be justification in believing that the management infrastructure and the control of the financial resources had seriously failed. This is a new low and a reasonable point in time to take stock and it is not surprising that even the “faithful” are losing heart.

There needs to be some aspiration, if not a new Mission Statement, some fixed objective as opposed to vague assurances, and that was why the “financially self-sustaining” statement was so deflating at a time when we might have hoped for something more ambitious.

We just cannot afford to decline any further and perhaps the manner of our recovery in terms of the quality of the football is less important than the results.

[i_ateallthepies]

Oh not another 'aren't we hard done by' thread!

We ain't going to move on unless we leave this attitude behind and accept sh*t happens.  Would you have swapped places with Wrexham, Notts Co and plenty of others?

We're definitely a top of the moaning league! Anyone would think we're Sheff Wed fans, thinking we're superior to other clubs.

While I agree there are some who moan just for the sake of moaning I don’t think we should just accept that Sh*t happens.
The fact is we are financially stable off the field but the last 2 yrs + on the field have been anything but stable. We have been in free fall if we are going to be honest. 
I don’t think DBR it is unreasonable that our fan base questions what has gone wrong, that has ended up with us where we are right now.
In fact I would be concerned if the hard core fans were not questioning what has gone wrong.
The fact is we should be a top half League 1 club at a minimum with aspirations of being a Championship club.  That’s were we were in January 2021. Yes it is hard to believe.

I would like to think we have now bottomed out and now the only way is up.  But proof is in the pudding and
it is important we now have a positive end to the season. Even if if we do not make the play offs it is important we finish with some serious momentum.

Then in the summer we need to see some serious intent on getting promoted next season with some quality recruitment.

Why should we be a top end League One club?

We're League Two on merit and will only progress on merit. Getting creditable results at Stockport etc, are part of accepting where we are and celebrating it, rather than regurgitating all the reasons where it all went wrong after every performance when we lose or don't play champagne football.

I'd like to be happier, and clapping much more but I'm still getting my season ticket for next season because, I'm less likely to see some of our good young players continue to improve and see better players being added to what we've got, if I don't.

Whatever thoughts I have about the reasons we've got here, I can't change that. Copps, DS and the players get my support whether we're playing Harrogate or Hull. It's XI v XI.

We are seriously under achieving on the field but that doesn’t mean we should accept it.
There is absolutely no reason whatsoever why DRFC should not be a championship club.
If Rotherham can achieve it then we certainly can.
It is up to our board to show that is what they really aspire to achieving.
We were told 3 yrs ago that was the goal. We have seen very little over the last 2 yrs that suggests they really meant what they said.

Camps, the above excerpt from your post is very telling.
I have a friend who is currently playing in the National League who still sees Rovers as a big club in L2 and also as a top half L1 club. He tells me that plenty of people in the game have a similar opinion.
Like you and myself he is amazed at how far we have fallen over the last two years.
The saddest thing for me is that anyone who dares to talk about the slide in a negative way is seen to be a moaner.
I would imagine that most regular supporters understand that the club is in a good financial position and is happy about that but personally, I get the impression that the top brass at the club are blasé about the fan base to the extent that “they will still buy their Season Tickets” however far we slip.

Campsall/Hound, your remarks here perfectly describe how I and I am sure many other Rovers supporters feel about what has happened in the last three seasons and, whilst DBR usually makes well reasoned contributions on this forum his remarks in post 13 above are quite frankly insulting to a great many thoroughly good supporters. I suspect his thoughts closely mirror the attitude of those running the club.

The GB statement recently about the club achieving 'sustainability' (many on here question their definition of sustainability), puffing their chest out and glorying in that one sole positive was simply an example of how detatched the club leadership has become to what has happened on the football side in the last two years.

The vast majority of our supporters are mature and sensible enough to understand and support the efforts of the club in its desire to gain a solid financial footing but the club needs to wake up to the fact that that alone will not sustain it as an attractive club to support.

[Lesonthewest]

We have a great stadium, the board have worked hard over the years to build a good reputation & fan base, we have excellent training facilities, & we have good attendances. We should aspire to be at least top half in the league above. Many many mistakes have been made since Moore left. Summer recruitment & next season is going to be massive for us.