Rovers youngest goalscorer

[VivaRovers]

I assume it's Alick Jeffrey, but can't find anything concrete to back this up.

Can anyone confirm for me? Or put me right if it's someone else, like a youth team player in the Football League Trophy?

[Reg of the Rovers]

According to the dystopian hell that is AI:

Player  Age at Goal  Date of Goal  Competition
1. Alick Jeffrey  17 years, 2 months, 1 day   30 Mar 1956   Second Division
2. Adam Brown  17 years, 3 months, 30 days   16 Apr 2005   League One
3. Paul Raven   17 years, 5 months, 12 days   09 Jan 1988   Third Division
4. Will Longbottom   17 years, 9 months, 22 days   04 Oct 2016   EFL Trophy
5. Jordan Mutch   18 years, 1 month, 24 days   26 Jan 2010   Championship
6. Bobby Faulkner   18 years, 1 month, 29 days   04 Oct 2022   League Two
7. Brendan O’Callaghan   18 years, 6 months, 13 days   05 Jan 1974   FA Cup
8. Jacob Ramsey   18 years, 8 months, 7 days   04 Feb 2020   League One
9. Tiago Cukur  18 years, 10 months, 2 days   02 Oct 2021   League One
10. Alfie Beestin   19 years (approx.)   17 Oct 2017   League One

Interesting that Cukur takes a place in our record books!

[VivaRovers]

Thanks Reg.

Surely Jeffrey was younger than that when he scored his first goal for Rovers?

He was 15 on debut, and scored more than 30 goals before his leg break in October 1956.

[Hickleton Rover]

Alick Jeffery scored his 1st rovers goal at the age of 15yrs 10 months and 19 days on December 18th 1954

[Hickleton Rover]

It was against Liverpool in the old 2nd division

[Monkcaster_Rover]

If we’re counting our very own players and not loan products, Waide Fairhurst can’t be far off that top 10.

[VivaRovers]

Alick Jeffery scored his 1st rovers goal at the age of 15yrs 10 months and 19 days on December 18th 1954

Thank you!

[VivaRovers]

If we’re counting our very own players and not loan products, Waide Fairhurst can’t be far off that top 10.

Fairhurst was 20 (and a few months) when he scored his first goal for us away at West Brom.

[Draytonian III]

What about Jordan Ball who came on verses Chesterfield in the Jonstones paint and scored with first touch, I think he was still eligible to play in the youth team

[VivaRovers]

What about Jordan Ball who came on verses Chesterfield in the Jonstones paint and scored with first touch, I think he was still eligible to play in the youth team

He was who I had in mind on my initial post (although I was getting him confused with Ben Jackson). Looks like Ball would've been 19 years and a few weeks when he scored against Chesterfield.

[Hickleton Rover]

By the way we won 4 - 1 how our path's have gone in different directions

[Bessie Red]

Glynn Snodin scored his first goal for  Donny aged 17yrs, 10 months & 12 days, so is in the top 5!

[drfchound]

Ian Snodin must have been quite young when he scored his first a rovers goal too.

[number19]

What about Jordan Ball who came on verses Chesterfield in the Jonstones paint and scored with first touch, I think he was still eligible to play in the youth team

He was who I had in mind on my initial post (although I was getting him confused with Ben Jackson). Looks like Ball would've been 19 years and a few weeks when he scored against Chesterfield.

I can remember the hype around Ben Jackson after him scoring goals for fun in the reserves, but then didn't really do anything in the odd chance he got in the first team.

[scawsby steve]

My first ever Rovers game was in January 1956, at home to Notts Forest in the FA Cup 3rd round.

We won 3-0 with goals from McMorran(2), and young Alick.

[Draytonian III]

Ben Jackson, wasn’t he Chris Brown’s cousin

[Surrey Rover]

Is it not Ian Snodin at age 16? He was born on the 15th August 1963. He scored his first goal for Rovers on the 19th April 1980 in a 1-1 draw with Aldershot.

[Ldr]

Is it not Ian Snodin at age 16? He was born on the 15th August 1963. He scored his first goal for Rovers on the 19th April 1980 in a 1-1 draw with Aldershot.

Alick was 15

[Surrey Rover]

Is it not Ian Snodin at age 16? He was born on the 15th August 1963. He scored his first goal for Rovers on the 19th April 1980 in a 1-1 draw with Aldershot.

Alick was 15

Well that’s me done with AI!

[Draytonian III]

Is it not Ian Snodin at age 16? He was born on the 15th August 1963. He scored his first goal for Rovers on the 19th April 1980 in a 1-1 draw with Aldershot.

Born exactly the same day as David Harle.

[graingrover]

At the tender age of 16 Alick was already thumping in goals .

[DRNaith]

My first ever Rovers game was in January 1956, at home to Notts Forest in the FA Cup 3rd round.

We won 3-0 with goals from McMorran(2), and young Alick.

I reckon my Dad must have started supporting Rovers around the same time

[ForsolongaRover]

According to the dystopian hell that is AI:

Player  Age at Goal  Date of Goal  Competition
1. Alick Jeffrey  17 years, 2 months, 1 day   30 Mar 1956   Second Division
2. Adam Brown  17 years, 3 months, 30 days   16 Apr 2005   League One
3. Paul Raven   17 years, 5 months, 12 days   09 Jan 1988   Third Division
4. Will Longbottom   17 years, 9 months, 22 days   04 Oct 2016   EFL Trophy
5. Jordan Mutch   18 years, 1 month, 24 days   26 Jan 2010   Championship
6. Bobby Faulkner   18 years, 1 month, 29 days   04 Oct 2022   League Two
7. Brendan O’Callaghan   18 years, 6 months, 13 days   05 Jan 1974   FA Cup
8. Jacob Ramsey   18 years, 8 months, 7 days   04 Feb 2020   League One
9. Tiago Cukur  18 years, 10 months, 2 days   02 Oct 2021   League One
10. Alfie Beestin   19 years (approx.)   17 Oct 2017   League One

Interesting that Cukur takes a place in our record books!

I was going to open by saying AI is only as good as what’s online, but in fact, when I checked, at least some of what  I’m adding below IS online.

Some of you will remember Mike Elwiss born 2/05/54 who scored at Newport County on his debut on 16/10/71. He was 17 and 5 months.

One might make the observation that back then players were considered ready for “man’s football” much earlier than is now the case. Undoubtedly it was rather more robust in those days too.

Those a bit older will also recall Graham Watson born 3/08/49 who scored his first goal on 15/11/66 (17 and 3 months).

My point of reference is the booklet “100 Doncaster Rovers Greats” by Peter Tuffrey published in 2003 ISB No 0-7524-2707-5. I haven’t crawled through it all, but just picked out the ones that I thought most likely.

[Draytonian III]

Another one to look up/think about Mickey Nesbitt, didn’t he score on his debut the first game of a season in the early eighties

[VivaRovers]

If nowt else, hopefully we've all learned how much AI search bots and info sources still need to be taken with a pinch of salt and fact-checked.

Thanks to those replying to this thread.

[Pintolager]

In the grand scheme of things it makes no difference, but I thought Paul Raven scored against York on Boxing Day (2-0 win) 1987.

[BillyStubbsTears]

If nowt else, hopefully we've all learned how much AI search bots and info sources still need to be taken with a pinch of salt and fact-checked.

Thanks to those replying to this thread.

This!

Last year, just as a test, I asked Chat GPT to predict what the result would be of a certain standard experiment that my company does every day. The response started off very impressively. It quoted several very important and appropriate references, set out some correct formulae and looked to be on the money. It wrote in a very authoritative style. Then it started going totally off the rails into what was frankly, made up batshittery. The final answer it presented was wrong by a factor of about 10,000%.

That experience was actually quite frightening. The idea that people might use AI as some sort of oracle or easy path to the Objective Truth should scare the shite out of all of us.

[graingrover]

I agree BST and  moreover AI was wrong in dating Alick’s first  goal in the Second Division .I tell my granddaughter to not imagine her AI companion is always 100 % correct with facts and that opinions are just that whatever source they emanate from .

[DRNaith]

It's not quite the same, but if any of you had an Amazon Echo, ask it who the current manager of Man Utd is. That shows how little you can trust what you're told.

For info, it says Erik Ten Hag

I also think there's a clear difference between genuine, and rare, AI and something working from a database or the internet and pulling out information

[Monolith No. 9]

If nowt else, hopefully we've all learned how much AI search bots and info sources still need to be taken with a pinch of salt and fact-checked.

Thanks to those replying to this thread.

This!

Last year, just as a test, I asked Chat GPT to predict what the result would be of a certain standard experiment that my company does every day. The response started off very impressively. It quoted several very important and appropriate references, set out some correct formulae and looked to be on the money. It wrote in a very authoritative style. Then it started going totally off the rails into what was frankly, made up batshittery. The final answer it presented was wrong by a factor of about 10,000%.

That experience was actually quite frightening. The idea that people might use AI as some sort of oracle or easy path to the Objective Truth should scare the shite out of all of us.

Totally concur.

I bought some music recording mixing and mastering software a long while back and I bought a fair bit of associated stuff and when I found time to load it all up I’d pretty much forgotten what it all was. So, I asked Chat GPT to give me a snapshot to help remind me, which to be fair, it did. But it also told me about the various advantages and qualities of all this kit. A couple of hours later when reading the various maker’s websites that most of this stuff had been quoted verbatim from the designer’s own marketing blurb. This is not good.

Like BST I decided to test it out by questioning it about my own sphere of work. Was XYZ a good thing? Was XYZ a bad thing? I received totally contradictory responses including several fundamental incorrect assertions.

I might continue to ask it for park & ride timetables but that’s all.