Towing the Party Line

[Alonzo Drake]

Not a hint of controversy in Hossack's piece in the Star today. What a good story this whole debacle would have been for a keen young journalist. In fact, as several on this forum on here will recall, Hossack consistently towed the party line eleven years ago.

Rovers Miss Big Pay Out

By Steve Hossack

Doncaster Rovers

DONCASTER Rovers were left counting the cost after missing out on a bumper festive gate yesterday when their home game against Leicester City was called off due to a frozen pitch.
Keepmoat Stadium groundstaff had been hopeful of the game going ahead after having had protective sheeting covering the whole pitch during the worst of the recent wintry weather.

But a severe overnight frost in the area - temperatures dropping down to minus six in parts - put paid to their efforts to get the game played.

A 10.30am pitch inspection carried out by referee Keith Woolmer, and attended by both Rovers' boss Sean O'Driscoll and his City counterpart Nigel Pearson, resulted in the game being called off.

Sections of the pitch, particularly in front of the South Stand, were frozen hard and the consensus of opinion was that the sun would not be able to bring about any major improvement in time for the game to go ahead.

It means that by their next scheduled home game against Watford on January 16, Rovers won't have played at the Keepmoat Stadium for a month and will have played four successive away games - including this weekend's FA Cup tie at Brentford.

With more wintry weather forecast for later in the week, Rovers are hoping that the game goes ahead and that if it does that there is a result on the day.

A postponement or a replay could further complicate matters when it comes to rearranging the Leicester game.

Rovers, whose preparations for last Saturday's trip to Coventry were disrupted by the weather, are hoping to be able to train outside ahead of the Brentford tie.

Brentford, meanwhile, took a point off second-placed Charlton yesterday at Griffin Park with a 1-1 draw to climb into the top half of League One.

Rovers on-loan striker Billy Sharp is one of the four nominated players for the PFA Championship Player of the Month award for December.

The Sheffield United man scored in four of the five matches Rovers played during the month, netting in wins over Neil Warnock's Crystal Palace, Sheffield Wednesday, Bristol City and at Derby County before drawing a blank in the 1-0 defeat at Coventry on Boxing Day.

Up to that defeat last Saturday at the Ricoh Arena, Sharp had scored in six successive games, the best such sequence by a Rovers player since Peter Kitchen did a similar feat in the autumn of 1976.

[graingrover]

Hundreds of  travelling Rovers' fans returning to their home town to enjoy the festive spirit of a bumper home gate against high flying Leicester City were left counting the cost of the postponement today. An Irish fan travelling from the Emerald Isle was red with fury and £500 out of pocket . Others travelling from Wiltshire , Northumberland , London , Hampshire , not only lost their travel costs but also many of them spent hours in heavy traffic in poor weather .
 The frustration was tinged with anger at the club's prevoius announcement that the match would be on and all efforts were being made to assure it did . The ticket office having been closed over the holidays many supporters flooded the telephone lines at Keepmoat on the morning of the match  and were still being sold tickets at 10. 30 a.m whilst the ill fated pitch inspection was being carried out simultaneously . The Rovers's Chairman, only days before , had spoken to the media at his disappointment at the level of support from the fans . No doubt  this event will further discourage those fans who live out of town or abroad from risking their money to pay for transport and overnight accomodation on the occasion of winter matches at Keepmoat.

  This one is for the Fanzine or the next Rovers programme ...

[Thinwhiteduke]

Somebody ought to stop spreadin this \" -6 degrees\" rubbish about though.

Whoever screwed up, and didnt protect that pitch adequately for a game in late December should be man enough to hold their hands up and admit to it, instead of throwing lies and smokescreens over the whole episode.

[Jonathan]

You should email that to the Star or the Free Press, Brian.

Come on Rigo, \"it could have been worse\" is no way of facing the shortcomings. You should get a job at the club with that attitude!

[Rios]

Alonzo Drake wrote:

Not a hint of controversy in Hossack's piece in the Star today. What a good story this whole debacle would have been for a keen young journalist. In fact, as several on this forum on here will recall, Hossack consistently towed the party line eleven years ago.

Something which I pointed out in a fanzine during the Richardson era and was collared by Mr Hossack at an away game at Cardiff.  It was made quite clear that he (and his paper) would not be afraid to take action if I said anything else.  He's always been this way as are most journalists (Radio Sheffield is terrible for this) and unfortunately decent investigative journalists don't spend any length of time working for two-bit publications like the Free Press or Star.

[Jonathan]

Rios wrote:

Alonzo Drake wrote:

Not a hint of controversy in Hossack's piece in the Star today. What a good story this whole debacle would have been for a keen young journalist. In fact, as several on this forum on here will recall, Hossack consistently towed the party line eleven years ago.

Something which I pointed out in a fanzine during the Richardson era and was collared by Mr Hossack at an away game at Cardiff.  It was made quite clear that he (and his paper) would not be afraid to take action if I said anything else.  He's always been this way as are most journalists (Radio Sheffield is terrible for this) and unfortunately decent investigative journalists don't spend any length of time working for two-bit publications like the Free Press or Star.

I will never forget the Star article attributed to Hosscack in that period. Priceless!

[Rios]

Rios wrote:

Alonzo Drake wrote:

Not a hint of controversy in Hossack's piece in the Star today. What a good story this whole debacle would have been for a keen young journalist. In fact, as several on this forum on here will recall, Hossack consistently towed the party line eleven years ago.

Something which I pointed out in a fanzine during the Richardson era and was collared by Mr Hossack at an away game at Cardiff.  It was made quite clear that he (and his paper) would not be afraid to take action if I said anything else.  He's always been this way as are most journalists (Radio Sheffield is terrible for this) and unfortunately decent investigative journalists don't spend any length of time working for two-bit publications like the Free Press or Star.

Just re-read this and it's not what I meant.  I meant that most of the local media hasn't got much of a backbone with regards to investigate reporting, not that they've all wanted to sue me at some point!

[DonnyBazR0ver]

Hundreds of travelling Rovers' fans returning to their home town to enjoy the festive spirit of a bumper home gate against high flying Leicester City were left counting the cost of the postponement today. An Irish fan travelling from the Emerald Isle was red with fury and £500 out of pocket . Others travelling from Wiltshire , Northumberland , London , Hampshire , not only lost their travel costs but also many of them spent hours in heavy traffic in poor weather .
The frustration was tinged with anger at the club's prevoius announcement that the match would be on and all efforts were being made to assure it did . The ticket office having been closed over the holidays many supporters flooded the telephone lines at Keepmoat on the morning of the match and were still being sold tickets at 10. 30 a.m whilst the ill fated pitch inspection was being carried out simultaneously . The Rovers's Chairman, only days before , had spoken to the media at his disappointment at the level of support from the fans . No doubt this event will further discourage those fans who live out of town or abroad from risking their money to pay for transport and overnight accomodation on the occasion of winter matches at Keepmoat.

This sort of artricle in the Free Press is mopre likely to represent the majority of fans views and I think it should be published.

I'm fed up of being taken for a mug.

[BobG]

And that, Baz, is why I will never, never, never forgive the Star, And Hosscrap, for what they didn't do 11 years ago now. Ive not bought a copy since and I never will.

10 years back, the example was there in front of their eyes: the Brighton Argus was simply fantastic in researching, questioning and standing up to bullying from the clowns in charge at the Goldstone. Our shit paper did none of that. Indeed for those that have forgotten it, Hosscrap was so poor at his job that he fell, hook, line and sinker for the spoof bid for the Rovers from the 'BSTR Consortium' - of which I was, and am, proud to be a member. I've still got that paper somewhere. It proved, beyond any shadow of doubt, that neither the paper nor Horsecack know their job. We were 4 blokes with about 50p to our names collectively. Yet they published banner headlines about us rescuing the Rovers. W***ers.

Horseshit is a rugby union man. He simply repeats what he's told when it's anything to do with football. He doesn't know how to ask a penetrating question. I'm not even sure he'd dare if he did. He and his rag are terrified of 'upsetting' their contacts within the club. But they're not scared of threatening individuals. I know that because we went to speak to the Editor in Sheffield asking him to give Horseshite a bit of backbone. You can all work out what sort of people typically display that behaviour.

Doncaster as a town is ill served by its local press generally and by Horsecrap and the Star in particular. It has been ever thus. We'd be better off if everyone boycotted the rag and closed it down.

BobG

[NathanDRFC]

Not one quote in that interview - not much sound coming out of DRFC/SMC over this.

[Surrey Rover]

...after having had protective sheeting covering the whole pitch during the worst of the recent wintry weather.

For my money that implies the pitch was not covered on Sunday evening.

[PDX_Rover]

The Star4's always been shite.  A Sheffield paper with a Donny front and back page.  And Hosscack... he should have stuck to f**king rugby.  A sad sorry excuse for a journalist.

[The Red Baron]

Surrey Rover wrote:

...after having had protective sheeting covering the whole pitch during the worst of the recent wintry weather.

For my money that implies the pitch was not covered on Sunday evening.

Now THAT would have been a good question for a local journo to have asked- namely was the pitch covered on Sunday night.

Even if it was, I can't help wondering whether the problem was that the pitch was already frozen UNDER the covers- meaning that no covering in the world would make an ounce of difference.

If that was the case the only thing that would have allowed the game to go ahead was a steady thaw over the weekend, including Sunday night and Monday. Obviously that was never on the cards.

[LongbridgeMGRover]

i for one certainly don't like the Doncaster Star, or Doncaster Scab as those of us who worked on the old Doncaster Evening Post knew it.
a fake paper borne out of a conspiracy just as the Miners strike was about to start.
it only came into existence because of the apalling mnagement of the Post by idiots from Leeds using it to get experience before moving on to bigger and better papers in the United Newspapers Empire.Donny has not had proper journalism since the days of the Gazette and the early days of the Post.
definately feel like a DEP memorial blog if i get particularly maudlin over he newyear.
for lovers of trivia, Donny Dog made his first appearance as a cartoon dog who fetched the newspaper [dep] delivered through the letterbox, and now 25 years on he is the Rovers mascot.

[BobG]

Bring back Joe Slater!!

BobG

[Alonzo Drake]

Indeed, Bob I'd like to see what Joe would have written about the club's disgraceful behavior over pitch preparation. The late and great Joe Slater, a newspaperman of the old school, did not take any crap! I'm proud to say that I knew Joe, a West Country man if I recall, who adopted Donny as his home town. He loved it in Donny, and his wife served behind the bar at Beethams during our 68/69 Championship season! Bearded Joe always had a kind word for us at away matches, and admired our loyalty. He also had kind words in his pieces for fans such as Archie, Swaho and Winston. Also, Longbridge, let me fondly recall the Doncaster Evening Post, which was full of Donny news and sport. It's a disgrace that a town, almost city, the size of Doncaster has had to put up with that Sheffield Star rag which has passed itself off as a Donny newspaper. If memory serves we were honored to have it around between 1967 and 1983, and it evolved from the Leeds-based, Donny edition of the Yorkshire Evening Post, which I delivered as a paper boy for 15 shillings a week!

[Donnywolf]

Bring back toeing the line !

Toe the line
Meaning

To conform to an established standard or political programme.

Origin

There is some confusion between 'toe the line' and the frequently seen misspelling 'tow the line'. The 'tow' version is no doubt encouraged by the fact that ropes or cables on ships are often called lines and that 'tow lines' are commonplace nautical items.

The earlier meaning of 'to toe the line' was to position one's toes next to a marked line in order to be ready to start a race, or some other undertaking. In the 19th century, we wouldn't have been limited to lines when it came to placing our feet, but would have had a choice of what to toe - a mark, scratch, crack or trig [a line or small trench]. These were all then in use in 'toe the ...' phrases. The earliest version we know about is from The Diverting History of John Bull and Brother Jonathan, 1813, by 'Hector Bull-Us' - known to his family and friends as James Paulding:

\"He began to think it was high time to toe the mark.\"

[LongbridgeMGRover]

a truly scholarly post from Wolf. 'TOWing the line' is definately a 'cockup', which my learned colleagues is not a sexual phrase but is from the newspaper and printing industry in the days of hot metal production, where to 'cock up' is to raise up small letters.

will definately do an evening post post at the weekend, its al coming back to me now.........

[CusworthRovers]

Voicing ones anger on here is all well and good (and sharing each others concerns and upset), but it's not hitting the right notes.

Loads on here have written a good account about the events of the Leicester game, simply cut/paste it onto an email and send it to DRFC or Free Press or Trax or Radio Sheff or preferably all.

Need lot's of voices, big voices. It might just make the club or 'Mess up Morris' come out and explain what infact went wrong and hopefully what he can/can't do to stop it happening again.

[colchester exile]

Joe was from Germany, via South Wales.

[colchester exile]

Bob - I'm sure, from wherever he is, Joe will be smiling at the success of Rovers now.