Frankie out for the season

[firestarter]

Hamstring injury and has returned to Everton

[mrfrost82]

This is a blow.
Gave us something different from an attacking perspective when he played.

[craigdrfc]

Massive blow that is

[DearneValleyRover]

The new Chris Black?

[Fal]

Before any doom mongerers come on here and say we are going down without him, i just want to point out one thing.

Games he played - 7 points
Games he hasn't played - 9 points

Its not ideal at all and its very disappointing but we have shown we can win even with a Sharp/Hanlan up top, personally for me i think we should just put Elliott Lee up there as i can't see McCann dropping Clifton for him.

[anton123]

Before any doom mongerers come on here and say we are going down without him, i just want to point out one thing.

Games he played - 7 points
Games he hasn't played - 9 points

Its not ideal at all and its very disappointing but we have shown we can win even with a Sharp/Hanlan up top, personally for me i think we should just put Elliott Lee up there as i can't see McCann dropping Clifton for him.

Lee cat play up top it will have to be Hanlon for me and to be fair he is improving his work rate and ability to be a hand full

[ncRover]

b*llocks.

Hanlan was pretty good when he came on against Stockport and Rotherham but getting him to stay consistent like that Saturday/Tuesday for the next 13 games is difficult. Alas, he’s our only option.

Sharp is done.

Lee not a lone centre forward.

[mrfrost82]

I wonder if we are looking at free agents.

Similar to when we signed Biamou a couple of years ago.

[donnievic]

Hanlon isn’t really the man you want to hold the ball up top unlike Frankie was,need more balls in the gaps or over the top for Hanlon

[Reg of the Rovers]

Gutted, he looked decent in the bits we've seen of him.

Hanlan plus a proper 10 (Lee) would be the way to go for me, to provide a bit more presence up top.

[CJK]

Free agent target man? I know they probably wouldn't be match fit but would provide something different even for 20-30 minutes at first. That's a big blow.

[Rupee92ONLY]

Hanlan is dog shit, Sharp is worse and completely finished and Lee hasn’t looked great there. It’s a huge loss and reason why we shouldn’t wear this “McCann’s January recruitment is magic” as a badge of honour. Drop on to a bad one, or drop unlucky like this one and you’re f**ked.

We cant feel sorry for ourselves and McCann has to find a way around it as it’s his laughable summer recruitment there which has made this normal situation a bit of a disaster.

[Alan Southstand]

That is dreadful news!

[graingrover]

Tough luck on both parties .We are really at a crossroads at which the three of them need to ressasees future strategies of squad building .Clearly money is seeping down from the Premiership. Even into league one now and making it more and more difficult to put together a league one promotion squad .More money needed ..what for ? Where do we think our level should be ..still Championship or League one ?

[LincsRover]

Bugger!

[colincramb]

This isn’t good news.

[jmt23]

Its not the Mcann way unless we are losing, but to get the most out of the forwards we have it has to be two up top, i would go with Hanlan with Lee, then Billy as the late sub.

[In the box]

This isn’t good news.

it’s hard imagine how so many loans signings could go wrong . McCann and CO’s policy of supplementing the squad with loans has to be more pragmatic and put the emphasis on contracted player recruitment. I very much doubt we can ever offer up challenge to even a playoff place unless your core playing squad is bedded in for at least 18months and play constantly together before you look for cover to protect in weak areas . We have struggled in front of goal all season and those teams above us all seem to have a surplus of talent upfront .

[GazLaz]

Not ideal, we need all hands to the pump between now and May. It’s also football and injuries happen.

The only Byrne of the January signings has really had an impact so far. Certainly a slight concern.

[Draytonian III]

Hanlan is dog shit, Sharp is worse and completely finished and Lee hasn’t looked great there. It’s a huge loss and reason why we shouldn’t wear this “McCann’s January recruitment is magic” as a badge of honour. Drop on to a bad one, or drop unlucky like this one and you’re f**ked.

We cant feel sorry for ourselves and McCann has to find a way around it as it’s his laughable summer recruitment there which has made this normal situation a bit of a disaster.

Well there you have it, the wise oracle has spoken, all of you on the way down or planning to go to Plymouth either turn around and head back or don’t bother.
 As everyone knows who followed Doncaster Rovers for 1 season or 61 seasons things don’t always run smooth, like it doesn’t at a load of clubs. I rather be in our situation than some of clubs we used to play year in, year out , namely the likes of Hereford ( who tomorrow play away at Worksop ) Torquay, Darlo, Scarborough, Scunthorpe etc

[danumdon]

Its not the Mcann way unless we are losing, but to get the most out of the forwards we have it has to be two up top, i would go with Hanlan with Lee, then Billy as the late sub.

You could argue that this has been GM's biggest issue this season. We have struggled all season with our playing personnel not being a good match for the type of systems GM wants top play.

So what do you do, I'd say most managers would adapt and change the setup and attempt to accommodate their playing staff, rather than square pegs in round holes, change the formation to ensure everyone was on the same hymn sheet.

Its common knowledge that our system of play has struggled to adapt ever since Joe Ironside was eased out of the squad, we had Street on loan and he even though being a different player to Ironside achieved greatly in our setup that was adapted to suit his particular skillset. We then brought in Hanlan which nobody would ever say was anything like playing a Ironside or even a Street, but we attempt to play him as a lone holdup striker which is just not in his game, playing with his back to goal is always going to be sub optimal. Asking him to run onto through balls played over the top is an option but we have all seen that with our players this system struggles to be achieved.

And then we have Billy, a great player who is being made to look very pedestrian and ineffective because of how we ask him to play, for a player of his calibre and at this stage in his career this is a horrible thing to have to watch never mind having to endure for him. When we think of all the permutations we could have with payers playing alongside and in support of him to allow him to perform at his optimal level its just never happened outside of the very odd substitutions, usually when we are chasing a game, again.

If we survive in this league this season(and we really should) a great deal of soul searching needs to be performed before the start of next season, players, playing styles and formations need to be reviewed and amended because we can't suffer another season like this and hold onto our current league status.

Plenty for GM to take on board(which i'm quite sure he's well aware of) and to work on for both him and his coaching team.

[i_ateallthepies]

This isn’t good news.

it’s hard imagine how so many loans signings could go wrong . McCann and CO’s policy of supplementing the squad with loans has to be more pragmatic and put the emphasis on contracted player recruitment. I very much doubt we can ever offer up challenge to even a playoff place unless your core playing squad is bedded in for at least 18months and play constantly together before you look for cover to protect in weak areas . We have struggled in front of goal all season and those teams above us all seem to have a surplus of talent upfront .

We've all seen in recent years players signed on contracts who turn out to fall a long way short of the mark and we're lumbered with them for years whilst their contracts run down, I don't need to list names, I'm sure we can all think of numerous examples.  We still have the same situation now and probably with more players than ever.  It's no good signing players on contracts if we're signing the wrong type or players not of the required quality.  Loan players at least come with the benefit that we don't have them long term and I am not saying contracted players is not the way to go but the elephant in the room is our piss poor recruitment.  It has to be sorted out before we go around giving out contracts one, two and three years long.

[keith79]

Id like to think wed go in for frank next season.

[ForsolongaRover]

Its not the Mcann way unless we are losing, but to get the most out of the forwards we have it has to be two up top, i would go with Hanlan with Lee, then Billy as the late sub.

You could argue that this has been GM's biggest issue this season. We have struggled all season with our playing personnel not being a good match for the type of systems GM wants top play.

So what do you do, I'd say most managers would adapt and change the setup and attempt to accommodate their playing staff, rather than square pegs in round holes, change the formation to ensure everyone was on the same hymn sheet.

Its common knowledge that our system of play has struggled to adapt ever since Joe Ironside was eased out of the squad, we had Street on loan and he even though being a different player to Ironside achieved greatly in our setup that was adapted to suit his particular skillset. We then brought in Hanlan which nobody would ever say was anything like playing a Ironside or even a Street, but we attempt to play him as a lone holdup striker which is just not in his game, playing with his back to goal is always going to be sub optimal. Asking him to run onto through balls played over the top is an option but we have all seen that with our players this system struggles to be achieved.

And then we have Billy, a great player who is being made to look very pedestrian and ineffective because of how we ask him to play, for a player of his calibre and at this stage in his career this is a horrible thing to have to watch never mind having to endure for him. When we think of all the permutations we could have with payers playing alongside and in support of him to allow him to perform at his optimal level its just never happened outside of the very odd substitutions, usually when we are chasing a game, again.

If we survive in this league this season(and we really should) a great deal of soul searching needs to be performed before the start of next season, players, playing styles and formations need to be reviewed and amended because we can't suffer another season like this and hold onto our current league status.

Plenty for GM to take on board(which i'm quite sure he's well aware of) and to work on for both him and his coaching team.

A well considered summary, but like a lot of analyses on here, it identifies where things have gone wrong, seemingly acknowledges that McCann is responsible and advocates that he be given another chance to get it right next season even if the team get relegated. He has repeatedly failed to revive and restructure once we go behind, picks the wrong players and seems unable to learn from his mistakes or motivate his players. Yes it’s difficult to dislike him, but how long can this go on?

[Rupee92ONLY]

Hanlan is dog shit, Sharp is worse and completely finished and Lee hasn’t looked great there. It’s a huge loss and reason why we shouldn’t wear this “McCann’s January recruitment is magic” as a badge of honour. Drop on to a bad one, or drop unlucky like this one and you’re f**ked.

We cant feel sorry for ourselves and McCann has to find a way around it as it’s his laughable summer recruitment there which has made this normal situation a bit of a disaster.

Well there you have it, the wise oracle has spoken, all of you on the way down or planning to go to Plymouth either turn around and head back or don’t bother.
 As everyone knows who followed Doncaster Rovers for 1 season or 61 seasons things don’t always run smooth, like it doesn’t at a load of clubs. I rather be in our situation than some of clubs we used to play year in, year out , namely the likes of Hereford ( who tomorrow play away at Worksop ) Torquay, Darlo, Scarborough, Scunthorpe etc

No need to be an arse is there? Everyone is offering an opinion on here

Also, i’ve said McCann has to find a way around it, not that he won’t.

If you’re gonna be cocky and try humiliate someone go pick anyone other than me.

[jmt23]

It has been said in a few different topics...

Grant has reorganised us; we were staring at the non-league abyss again. He is a proper manager who knows what he wants and how to achieve it, but he is at a club where finances are tight (ish)

We cannot keep up with the top clubs at this level anymore, thanks to several lucky clubs who have been lucky enough to pay their way out, but in doing so have distorted the league's finances.

We are a League 1 club based on attendance; this is our natural level, but Grant has to find a way to beat the system almost for success - that is extremely hard over a full season.
We have to pick up rough diamonds, and we have to be prudent enough to spot talent early before others, but it is a gamble - he also cannot just offload players; we need to have squad players.

I know, after a few really poor performances (and a couple were exceptionally poor) it becomes hard to see the wood for the trees, but in general we look like we should stay up. Then the small rebuild starts again... Minimum for me is that he gets another year.

[Draytonian III]

Hanlan is dog shit, Sharp is worse and completely finished and Lee hasn’t looked great there. It’s a huge loss and reason why we shouldn’t wear this “McCann’s January recruitment is magic” as a badge of honour. Drop on to a bad one, or drop unlucky like this one and you’re f**ked.

We cant feel sorry for ourselves and McCann has to find a way around it as it’s his laughable summer recruitment there which has made this normal situation a bit of a disaster.

Well there you have it, the wise oracle has spoken, all of you on the way down or planning to go to Plymouth either turn around and head back or don’t bother.
 As everyone knows who followed Doncaster Rovers for 1 season or 61 seasons things don’t always run smooth, like it doesn’t at a load of clubs. I rather be in our situation than some of clubs we used to play year in, year out , namely the likes of Hereford ( who tomorrow play away at Worksop ) Torquay, Darlo, Scarborough, Scunthorpe etc

No need to be an arse is there? Everyone is offering an opinion on here

Also, i’ve said McCann has to find a way around it, not that he won’t.

If you’re gonna be cocky and try humiliate someone go pick anyone other than me.

I’m not humiliating anyone, I have my opinion, you have yours that’s it .

[Alan Southstand]

I don’t disagree, jmt, but I would add that he has to do something about recruitment, if he’s to continue. We have had a fairly poor season for signings and it needed major surgery in January. And we still never found a suitable replacement for Rob Street. Okoronkwo looked promising but still not up to Street’s level and now we’ve lost him to (what looks like) a bigger problem for the lad.
Not an ideal situation for us going into a very busy March. But longer term, there has to be some sorting out in the recruitment dept.

[Thorney]

Never get the statements saying weve not replaced rob street.
Rob street was never ours, so its not like we gave him away to have to replace.

Dont think we ever have replaced marquis in my opinion since he left.
Yes ironside was good for a season but only at the level below.
When did we last have a league 1 quality striker that was ours.

[Barmby Rover]

Losing Frankie is disappointing to say the least. So how do Rovers adapt to his loss? Billy is not able to produce the goods for us now in League matches which is a great shame, and Hanlan is constantly under performing as a striker.

The only other option we have as a goal scorer is Bailey, despite being an attacking midfielder he is the only member of the team who regularly gets into those positions giving himself a chance of scoring, so let him do that until the end of the season. This obviously leaves us short in midfield, but Rovers have a lot of options here to replace Bailey in his current role, Utilising Robinson, Lee, Clifton, Broadbent, Close or others to reinforce midfield to shore up the middle is definitely an option. This is not a permanent solution, that obviously comes in the summer now, but surely this gets us enough points to get us over the line and allows a rebuild and getting over the gaps that are in the squad with the signings during the summer.