Yorkshire Post without to BS website

[nightporter]

Dismal Doncaster Rovers losing their identity and soul amid worrying times
THE CLOCKS may have gone forward, but Doncaster Rovers are going alarmingly backwards.
A club which used to revel in the moniker of the ‘Arsenal of the North’ amid happier times are losing their identity and soul and are in danger of becoming an after-thought in Yorkshire football once again.

Visits to the Lakeside used to be events. Now they are to be endured.

There was a sense of apathy everywhere you looked on Saturday. The odd bit of gallows humour was aired along with a few shouts of ‘Sack the Board’ from home supporters, but in the main there was just flatness and tiredness.
Rovers are at their lowest ebb since some bad old days in the Nineties at their former Belle Vue home.
It was a time when many sports-minded Doncastrians went elsewhere for their football fix. To Leeds and Sheffield in the main. Others simply voted with their feet and started to do other things.
The fear is that history will repeat itself with a growing disconnect developing between sections of the club’s fanbase and the hierarchy.
Rovers make great play of being run as a self-sustainable business and a community club. Balance sheets are all well and good, but the bottom line is that Doncaster are languishing in 12th place in League Two and the powers that be are being called out for a lack of ambition.
In March 2021, Rovers drew at home to Northampton and were in fifth place in League One and promotion candidates. Now, they are going nowhere.

The concern among seasoned followers is that they could in fact be going somewhere in 2023-24 if things don’t improve and an alarming slide is not arrested.

Namely the National League and the recent experiences of two of their historic rivals in Scunthorpe and York provide food for thought.
On the pitch, tippy-tappy Rovers are tepid and unconvincing.
Trust in the process is the schtick of Danny Schofield. A pitiful total of ten efforts on target in six matches in a miserable March has ensured that faith is being seriously tested even among his apologists.

It’s hardly the best advert for Schofieldball and among other things, Rovers punters are starting to lose patience with their head coach.

But the fact remains that he can only work with what he is given, which is not a great deal given recent forays into the transfer market.
On this day, Rovers had a very unconvincing keeper who had the proverbial nightmare, an edgy defence, a lightweight midfield and a no focal point up front, although it was hard not to have a degree of sympathy for Caolan Lavery, a player on his own and in isolation before departing to injury early in the second half.

Yes, they had several absentees - with two more added to the injury count by the final whistle in Lavery and James Brown.

But so did Northampton and a bit more besides. Twelve of their players were unavailable, yet they still won easily enough.

Northampton weren’t particularly great. You don’t have to be against Doncaster at the minute.
They did possess a level of competence and that was good enough.

The Cobblers are well placed for promotion after a fifth win in seven matches. Rovers have won once in their past eight games and have lost three of their last four at home, failing to lay a glove on Bradford, Harrogate and now Northampton.

A sign of the times is that chants against the board and others questioning the aptitude of those in home jerseys appeared after 100 seconds on Saturday's soporific watch.

Rovers were caught short by a nifty corner routine and the ball found its way to Mitch Pinnock, whose low drive flew underneath the body of Jonathan Mitchell.
If that was bad, the worst was yet to come for the ex-Cobblers keeper.

Doncaster mustered a token effort on target in the first half and while their start to the second period hinted at something, it was a brief tease.

Mitchell's wretched day further descended when his pass out from the back was aimed straight at Sam Hoskins, who obligingly tucked away his 20th goal of the campaign.

The Cobblers mercifully passed up the chance to make the scoreline embarrassing and put the boot into Rovers. But this was bad enough.

[Spud]

It's a fair summary, I don't quite understand the title though, is this from the Yorkshire Post? What's BS website?

[steve@dcfd]

Read this from the Yorkshire Post site and he gets it right
What is happening to our club.

[Donnyjim]

already posted anyway, it's the same thread.

[nightporter]

BS =Bullshit, it's a terrible site full of ad's, I just copied the text.

[ravenrover]

And all they've done is lifted it all from the VSC  Forum

[roversdude]

Regardless of where it originated it’s hard to disagree with the content

[Donny Exile in York]

And all they've done is lifted it all from the VSC  Forum

Where do you get this from? I think its more a lazy repost by yourself. The guy watched the match, sampled the soulless empty atmosphere and can see the lack of shots on target which has been apparent in the last 10 games or so with very limited options in the forward line and lack of quality strength in depth within a squad that was supposed to bounce back decisively! I am not going to start bashing DS only here, it is a much wider issue of complete apathy by the Board, and the likes of yourself on here given your own responses. It's not lazy journalism it's lazy apathetic posters like you that's part of the problem with your lazy comments.

[ravenrover]

My word that has upset you!
As some one said me thinketh thou doth protest too much.
Now climb down off your high horse and behave yourself

[Bessie Red]

My word that has upset you!
As some one said me thinketh thou doth protest too much.
Now climb down off your high horse and behave yourself

Raven even you must see that we are in a dire situation that only looks as though it will get a lot worse before it gets better. We are in serious danger of losing are EFL status once again if drastic action in some form is not taken soon. We either need a new manager or the board needs to provide the additional investment to bring in the players who will get us promoted to the league that Silent Majority has clearly stated is the one we need to be in for the sustainable model to work.

[Filo]

It’s telling that long standing supporters are showing their concern in greater numbers, we can forgive the younger generation as they have grown up during our most successful period, but now even those that remember the dark days are now beginning to see whats happening, myself included

[ravenrover]

I commented on a piece of journalism,, where in that comment do I not say the situation is dire? It is!
I cannot see how you and others have interpreted that comment to suggest I don't have the same opinion as the article?
If the same article had appeared in the DFP my comment probably would not have been disputed nor would there have been the abuse directed in my direction by some

[Alan Southstand]

Quote from Ben Close, in DFP:

Close admitted the players simply haven’t been good enough under either boss at times this season.

“At times it 100 per cent comes down to a lack of quality,” he said.


Thank you and goodnight!

[DonnyBazR0ver]

Quote from Ben Close, in DFP:

Close admitted the players simply haven’t been good enough under either boss at times this season.

“At times it 100 per cent comes down to a lack of quality,” he said.


Thank you and goodnight!

So are you saying it's the players?

He also said ""I feel the club’s got an excellent coach with an excellent footballing brain. He knows exactly what he wants from the team, he gets his messages across very clear and educates players"

[drfchound]

TBF, Close is hardly going to say anything against the manager is he.

[EasyforDennis]

He is correct in what he says. Pep couldn't make some of our players into footballers.
Yes we can question the head coaches tactics but he doesn't drop clangers on a regular basis giving the opposition a goal/goals.
I am sure he doesn't say to the players to pass the ball backwards at every opportunity. It seems most of our team cannot pass the ball forward and reach one of our own players. Most can't control the ball never mind pass it.
We are where we are because we have signed rubbish. Is that because that is all we can afford?
I will be there next season but I really fear for our future if the people in charge don't something to arrest our slow painful death as a football club.

[ForsolongaRover]

When many on here we’re considering how we might get the serious degree of discontent across to those running the club, I suggested that an Article in the Yorkshire Post or the DFP would be difficult for the Board to ignore.

Now we have got it, instead of giving credit, some people chose to nit-pick.

The original poster could perhaps given the author Leon Wobschall and the link https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/sport/football/dismal-doncaster-rovers-losing-their-identity-and-soul-amid-worrying-times-4079813

When it comes to player interviews we all know that they are never going to be critical of management and Close’s is typical.

[Alan Southstand]

DBR:

So are you saying it's the players?


I’m not saying - I’m quoting Close. He said it, ask him!


I have been saying, for months and months, that we lack quality in the squad, yes. I’ve also said this manager should go, but that’s just 2 problems and there is obviously a lot more wrong within the Club than those 2 items.

[DonnyBazR0ver]

DBR:

So are you saying it's the players?


I’m not saying - I’m quoting Close. He said it, ask him!


I have been saying, for months and months, that we lack quality in the squad, yes. I’ve also said this manager should go, but that’s just 2 problems and there is obviously a lot more wrong within the Club than those 2 items.

That's fine Alan but his comments are non specific, as you would expect and could be interpreted differently. He could be saying the players are capable but are letting the manager(s) down by not producing the quality consistently or  he could be saying we don't have sufficient quality of players.

As said, always take what they say with a pinch of salt and we can only make our own judgement on individual players.

As suggested, we also take his comments about DS with a pinch of salt too.

[Alan Southstand]

I think we’re way past the ‘pinch of salt’ idea. I can’t see how you’ve interpreted it any different to what he was, in my view, quite precise about - a lack of quality. It should be patently obvious, by now, that the current bunch of players fall way short of any sort of standard we’ve become accustomed to a few seasons ago. You know this, I’m sure, and don’t need reminding.

All our good quality players have, one by one, been removed from the Club, whether it be retirement or finances and in no way, shape or form have they been replaced like for like. But this is only part of the ‘perfect storm’ of problems we seem to be faced with, right now.