Open Letter: Club Improvement

Hello all,

I have sadly ran out of free time to get thedonnypop updated often and also lost the website. But for a one off, I have bee looking at a few ideas on how to improve the club, enjoy!



Ways the club can improve (off pitch)
1- Communication
Everyone knows communication is poor at the club, how many check DROS for latest news? Chances are the news has broke elsewhere first. Communication between club and fans is massively important, and whilst we do have great schemes such as SLO's and IRWT, we still need to hear the official word from the club more. Even just simple things, it doesn't have to be difficult or expensive, at lot of times non league clubs are better at communicating then we are. I read a comment once, something along the lines of 'as this club has moved forward, we are still left with a conference level in many off field departments'.

John Ryan has now gone and the current board's approach is different, whereas John would often talk to the media and be in the public eye, the current owners do not. In my opinion I'm happy for this, it does not create any problems, however, I wish once in a while they did make a statement or two.
2- In town ticket sales
Something I have seen mentioned by fans time and time again. The club needs to have some presense in the town centre. Not so long ago we tried and failed to have an in town club shop, but maybe the club is just not big enough for this to be profitable. However, with the keepmoat out of the town centre and could be at least 2 bus trips away for the non-driver, many fans believe there should be some way of buying tickets in town. This doesn't have to be a club shop, but maybe a local store we could team up with or even some sort of self service machine situated in the frenchgate. The obvious argument for not doing this is tickets can be bought on line or by phone and picked up on game day. But teaming up with a local shop would have minimal cost and if the scheme sold an extra 5 tickets a game then why not. It is certainly something the club should be exploring and trialing.
3- Club shop 
The Club shop is poor in my opinion. Without going into detail about shirt prices and yearly changes. The stock in the club shop needs to be improved, recently we have see people advertising Rovers phone cases, this is something the club shop should have been doing a long time ago and would be a big seller. This such as this are simple, but if they make even a small profit, surely there is sense in it. I for one have never used the online club shop, so cannot comment on this experience. But I did not recall seeing any advertising of stock on the social sites around the festive period. Shops have sales, they advertise sales, this pulls in more customers and if our shop isn't doing this, it needs to.
4- Tickets to kids

Kids are the future, one day they will be bringing their kids and grandkids like we do. But first the club needs to get them to the keepmoat. We should, if not already be doing into schools, football and other sports teams and giving away free tickets with a paying adult. If the parent already goes, maybe has a season ticket, nothing is lost. If not, then not only do we get a potential new fan, but also a parent who may not often attend. It needs to be pushed, the keepmoat is too big for us at the moment, we should and can give two blocks worth of free tickets away. The food and drink sales would go up too, and kids love merchandise! And the extra stewards and staff needed would be minimal.
5- Offers

Did you know there is a quid a kid offer currently running at the keepmoat? Me neither, I'm sure the club have a vast amount of different offers on tickets to suit most people, but lack of advertising these offers is poor. There is no point reducing the price to try and sell more tickets if people think the price is standard. The current marketing is poor. Why are the club not teaming up with the free press or the star with a page with the next few home fixtures and a list of some of the deals. Posters in town, posters in the stadium. Better advertising online. It does'nt have to be expensive, but it needs to be done. Maybe get some players to announce something on twitter, straight away seen by thousands.

Ways the fans can improve
1- Anyone seen the videos of Manchester United fan Andy Tate?

This can about after an interview he did for fan group 'full time devils'. One of the reasons I started thedonnypop was because I had this idea before I came across the United version. But, I do not have the time I hoped for the dedicate myself to this project. We currently have two main fan organisations and I am throwing the challenge to you guys!

Maybe a radio show, maybe a podcast. We moan and moan we do not get enough coverage on radio Sheffield and what not, so why not just make our own. With technology now it is easy and can be free. VSC and DRSG, who will step up?!
2- Unite or stay apart

The fans are split, if we cannot unite (unlikely) thats fine, we don't always have the same opinion, then stay apart, don"t try to bring the other down or belittle them. Just get on with your own group. And when a matchday comes support the team.

Ways Matchday can improve
1- Win

Keepmoat atmosphere is dread full, our home form is just as bad. We do all right away, but need to carry this on at home.
2- Catering

When is the contract up? Get some caterers in that care. The current lot have proved they can do it, but simply do not out the effort in the live up to the promise. One ides is the get a number of local catering companies in, which if possible is the ideal win, win solution.

Why do we not team up with some more local companies and get some official burger vans and various other food outlets around Alick Jeffery Way.
3- Make every game a big event

When I was younger every game seemed like a big event, now, its just another saturday. Maybe its because I'm older, maybe its the football on the pitch. But the club need to get this back, especially for the kids. Maybe have a little fair with some rides for kids around the stadium. Pre match out of stadium activity.
4- Big screen

Like it, nice improvement and looks brilliant. Advertising windows opened, well done Rovers.
5- Singing Section

Needs to the sorted, been talked about for far too long!


Do you have anything to add? 

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App Update

For those that don't know I created and released an android app for Doncaster fans, available to download for free from the amazon and samsung app stores.

The app gives you all the latest news in one place as well as news from around the football league.

If you have already downloaded the app, please make sure it is up to date, new features include live scores, fixtures and league table.

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Enjoy!

My Thoughts

After being silent for many reason of late, now we have a bit more clarity I have decided to share my views on the failed takeover.

One of the reasons why I have been so quite regarding the takeover; I have had absolutely no idea what to write. Whilst happy with Dick Watson and Terry Brammall, John is a Doncaster legend and Louis' worldwide status could be good for the club.

My initial concerns was strong reports that Mr Ryan and Tomlinson did not have the finances themselves to not only buy the club, but run it. My worry was that John would call on old friends and mystical businessmen Sequentia.

As time went by there were various celebrities rumoured to be ready to 'invest' however, why on earth would the likes of Jamie Oliver, Simon Cowell or Ant and Dec throw money into a club they have absolutely no link to. I'd be surprised is Mr Cowell has been to Doncaster, I'm sure he has only heard of the place through Louis...

So out to the media, John explains it is just him and Louis and claims we will have one of the biggest budgets in the league. Have you heard the expression facepalm? If not google it, if you have this is a facepalm moment. Imagine going into a sofa shop, talking to the salesman and saying your budget is much bigger then the sofa you want to buy, he will have your pants down, the same applies in football, clubs and agents would play on that sentence all summer long.

Now, Crowdfunder, there's a great idea. If you don't have the money yourself,  why not get others to pay for it? We don't have a lot of football fans so let's get thousands of 14 year old girls to donate 2 million. In my eyes, this turned us into a joke, and for anyone who still disagrees with this, go and take a long hard look at yourself. We are a football club, it was bound to fail for many reason. Good idea? Maybe for charity, not for buying a football club.

After a slow start we all expect it to fail, but don't worry, if it fails and all the pledges are returned to the pledgees the takeover will still go through...

Signings, finally football, due to this great timing of a takeover we give everyone a head start and cannot sign players until the 18th of July. What a great way to waste pre season and something called the transfer window.
So with Paul in sunny Portugal with an incomplete squad and weeks until the start of the new season, what happens now?
Will the likes of Copps and Keegan re-sign, will trialists such as Bailey sign? Who knows, I expect not even Paul knows.

The exits, I don't know, generally. Fair play they want to apply their trade at a higher level but why have three players come out slating poor communication. Even more reasons for new players to want to sign for Donny! As for Maxted, he should sack his agent, but I hope it works out for him, however I expect him to slip out of the football league, unfortunately.

Football League have stopped the takeover? Is this true, should we be angry at the football league? HA!

To add to the fire, Louis has come out on twitter stating he believed the takeover would still go through even if crowdfunder failed, has he been played/ pulled along? I have no idea.
But hopefully Louis can chuck some money in and maybe one or two fans in other ways.

Terry and Dick, thank you, once again people have slagged you off, but you are still staying committed, I would much rather see us build a sustainable club then come crashing down like Portsmouth.

As for John Ryan, well he has stated he has finished with football. Thanks for everything John, but it is time to stop. He has brought in some great managers and of course saved the club, a true fan but unfortunately in recent times it has not worked out. Hope he continues as a fan though.

One final thought in this, recently John Ryan threatened to call in a 4 million pound debt from Doncaster Rovers, if this happens could this place Rovers into administration? Would John jeopardise the club he loves? Does he have to, has his money dried up? Would the two guys people wanted out cover this, throwing in more money?
Who knows? I hope Ryan doesn't have to call in the debt of course.

It would be great to hear your thoughts on this, hopefully we have more clarity on these events soon and some Signings!!!

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Thanks for reading!

Former player to return?

Mentioned just about everywhere recently, fans have asked if a former could return, some I agree with, some I don't,  below is a quick list.

Brian Stock - The midfielder joined Rovers initially in 2006 on loan from Preston. He signed the following transfer window for £150,000. Stock was an important part in midfield, and captained the club to a Wembley winning promotion. This attracted a fair bit of interest in Stocky, who was most memorably linked with Wolves for 2.5 Million, however this never happened. Stock made 178 appearances for Rovers before a 2012 move to Burnley.
After 2 seasons at Burnley, following their promotion to the Premiership, he was released and became a free agent. This has led many fans to wonder if a keepmoat return is on the cards, he did return for a charity match, however I do not believe it will go further then this. Brian is now 32, and in my opinion we should be building a younger squad capable of Championship survival. Especially if Wellens stays on, we could have a midfield of pensioners, Richie, Brian and Paul Keegan, which wouldn't be grumbled at for next season, but I doubt they could take us forward the season after.
As for Brian, I think a League 1 club will snap him up, and he will be a great asset, but for Rovers, we should look at other targets.

Paul Green - Ok, I'll admit it, I'd love Greeny back. He fell out of favour at Leeds, after joining from Derby and has been released. He had spent the back end of last season on loan to Ipswich, despite now being 31, that was his first loan spell. Greeny is a Rovers legend making 236 appearances in a spell that saw him joing a conference club's youth team, a stay with them to League 1 promotion. Many fans have said Paul's motor in midfield is exactly what's needed, however the same applies as with Stock, at 31, could we get a few more seasons out of him that we need? Maybe, I'm not sure. But with budget cuts, an no doubt Greeny has been on a decent wage, I imagine he will stay at a Championship club, possibly Ipswich.

Billy Sharp - Unlikely to return, his latest spell was a sad one for all involved, clearly out of match fitness. Where is he off next? Well Blades fans believe he is returning to Bramhall Lane. But I think if he gets fit he could do a job in the Championship as he has proved many times before. Is he returning to Rovers? No, it's very unlikely. We can't afford his wages and based on last season, we need a different type of striker.

Ryan Mason - Still at Spurs, however his contract is up in the summer. He has bags of skill and potential,  since his time at Rovers he has spent loan spells with Millwall,  Lorent and Swindon, where he scored 5 in 18, a good return for a midfielder, and in League 1. Remember Ryan is only 22, the type of player I believe we should be focusing on, can perform in League 1 and has the potential to progress. Could we afford his wages? I don't know, would he come back? I don't know. But I would welcome him. A good creative midfielder.

Milan lalkovic - Still at Chelsea and still just, unfortunately for him there are players in the first team of Chelsea, his age or younger. Like Ryan Mason, his contract runs out in the summer and looks likely to move. Could we afford his wages? Well he was rumoured to be on a fair wack at Chelsea. His last loan spell was at Walsall, where he was liked by the fans, he scored 6 goals in 38 appearances. Could he come back? It's unlikely, I think Harry Forrester could be a better option.

Bryon Webster - Centre Back never got a good enough chance at Rovers following Darius Henderson's elbow. He looked promising then, and Yeovil seem to of beafed him up and brought out his best. I believe he is still under contract at Yeovil, but following their relegation he has been linked with a number of Championship clubs including Ipswich and Leeds.

Paul Heffernan - Stop It, yes O'Driscoll maybe should of given him more playing time and he might be doing well in Scotland, playing in the SPL, but Heffs isn't what we need right now, people have wanted him back every window since he left.

James O'Connor - Out of Contract in the summer at Derby, been on loan to Bristol City, until injury forced his return to Derby. He has had a lack of football this season, now aged 29 he could be a possible target. I'm unsure about this one, he could be a decent signing.

JET - Former Arsenal prospect, currently playing for Bristol City with still 1 year remaining on his contract. He could be awful and lazy all game and have a moment of brilliance. He has bags of skill, but he work rate was never there. I would take him back, but I believe he would cost too much to take the risk. That said, he has scored 15 in 46 at league 1 level.

James Baxendale - Since leaving Rovers he has proved himself to be a useful player at Walsall,  whilst many question why we let him go, unfortunately his position is one we are strong in, with Copps, Cotts, Duffy, Forrester and even Bennett.

El Hadji Diouf - After leaving Rovers he joined Leeds, and like Paul Green has been released. Diouf enjoyed his short spell at Doncaster, and there is doubting his excellence. However, it is unlikely he will return, due to the league and wages, I wouldn't be surprised to see him play in America.

John Lundstram - Still at Everton, although I believe his contract is up in the summer. Since helping Rovers to League 1 victory he has had loan spells at Yeovil Town and Leyton Orient. He could certainly do a job, but I am expecting him to be given another year at Everton, if he is released by Everton, a top end Championship or lower end Premiership club would snap him up for the future.

Fabien Robert - Former loanee at Doncaster, still at Lorent, now 25 with 1 year remaining on his contract. Unlikely to be a target but added to this list anyway.

So sometimes it is better to move on then go back. Players such as Stock who were great players have sadly peaked, and we should be using the drop to League 1 as a chance to bring through younger players. The ideal situation is Dickov puts together a team that can earn Promotion and then keep going in the Championship, with 1 or 2 additions. This cannot be done signing a load of 32 year olds.
Do not get me wrong, we need leaders on the pitch,  Rob Jones, Richie Wellens but these should be there to guide younger players.

Thanks for Reading, what are you thoughts? Who would you like to see back?

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Expected Retained List

Later this week Doncaster Rovers will release their retained list. This will give us a better indication to which players will be here for next season.

in anticipation for this announcement, here is what I expect the list to say.

Below is a list of players in focus, all out of contract.

Turnbull - we all want Turnbull to stay, he has been an excellent signing this last season, and if it wasn't for injury,  no doubt he would of been player of the season. By far the best Goalkeeper we have had in recent years. As much as I would like to see him stay, I am expecting he will not be here to play in League 1, simply he is just too good. I believe he joined Rovers in the hope of impressing, proving himself and finding a bigger club. In my opinion he wouldn't look out of place playing every week in the lower end of the Premiership. The only chance we would have to keep him on, is his injury picked up at the back end of the season.
Maxted - I am expecting Maxted to stay, providing cover for the number one goalkeeper.
Wakefield - Liam has already earned himself a new deal. Got thrown in the deep end this year, deserves a loan spell.
McCombe - Back to fitness, I expect McCombe to be part of the squad next season. Let's face it, he isn't going to be on someone's radar.
Tamas - I expect to leave, his name has already attracted interest from bigger clubs before relegation. His ability is unquestionably better then League 1.
Meite - The one I'm struggling with, at first thought he will leave. But remember he was on the edge of obscurity a few months again, regular game time may tempt him at his age.
Cotterill - Question marks hang over Dave, reported personal problems being the start of these rumors, I think he will stay, maybe with a get out clause depending on next season. Dispite what people say, he is Championship quality, and very deadly in League 1. The mouthwatering prospect of having both him and Duffy, who finished 1st and 2nd in the assist table 2 seasons ago is the reason why he should be high up on the priorities to be signed
Keegan - Battler in midfield, but seems to have a limited game. I think he will stay, but we cannot rely on a midfield consisting of him and Wellens. We need other options.
Coppinger - Think he will stay, and not just for sentiment. He has shown glimpses that he can still perform very well, he has also shown he can be used in other positions.  A very good squad player with Cotts and Duffy ahead of him in the pecking order. Also for Coppinger, I don't think he will try his luck elsewhere unless forced, after his loan move to Forest was unsuccessful.
Peterson - Like Wakefield,  he has earned himself a deal already. Needs a successful loan spell after he was unable to prove himself in his loan spell to Barnet.
Paynter - Top scorer in League 1 last time, didn't get his chance in the Championship. Not pulled up trees in loan to Sheffield United. I'm expecting him to leave.
Binns - We have already been told he has been released.
Finnegan - We know he has already been released, surprising considering he was a highly rated prospect.
Middleton - Been giving a deal, like Wakefield and Peterson, he needs a loan spell to give him chance to prove himself.
Meade - Another one to of already been released, never got the chance, but the people who watched him day in day out made this decision.
Whincop - Again Whincop has been released like the others.


The players still in contract are;
Harry Forrester, Rob Jones, Paul Quinn, James Husband, Luke McCullough, Dean Furman, Mark Duffy, Richie Wellens, Marc De Val, Chris Brown, Theo Robinson, Kyle Bennett.

Out of these players it is believed atleast one of them has some sort of relegation release contract. Many have been thinking it is Richie Wellens, after a recent interview.  Questions hang over if Jone will play again and Quinn and Husband have been linked to various clubs by transfer speculation.  Harry has said he 'owes' us a great season next season. Whilst Kyle could be joining his loan club permanently.

Others in question are
Billy Sharp who doesn't look likely to return to the keepmoat, Blades fans think he will return there but in truth I see him staying in the Championship.
Sam Johnstone will not drop to league 1, he is destined for bigger things.
Enda Stevens, maybe surplus to requirements at Villa, maybe coming back.

All will be revealed over the coming months, we are sure to see a few new arrivals.

Season Review 2013-14

It's over for another year, a season that has many ifs and buts, and has no doubt gave us every emotion. Fitting to this I have contacted a die hard Rovers fan called Josh Arnold to write his season's review. Many of you may know Josh, if not by name, probably by face in and around the grounds. Josh has not missed a game this campaign, which makes him very qualified to give his views. I would like to express my thanks to Josh for taking the time to write this, you have been great!

Enjoy!

Doncaster Rovers Fc season review 2013-2014

What another roller coaster season once again following Doncaster rovers it came down to the last minute of the last game of the season to decide our fate. The fans and players felt every emotion going until the final whistle sounded at the end of the Leicester match. The result didn’t go our way but no one could have blamed any of the players for the determination and effort to play for the shirt and attempt to keep us up in the championship.
Pre-Season was very tough and a lot of unrest with news of a possible takeover by Sequentia Capital. The Takeover talk came at the wrong time in my opinion during last summer we needed a clear plan to allow us to build a good enough squad in order for us to stay up. The takeover talk was still surrounding the club with a week before the season which didn’t help but the players we managed to bring in with the small amount of time we had was very pleasing. The quality of Mark Duffy, Harry Forrester, and Ross Turnbull was great and it showed that Paul Dickov contacts in the game managed to help us get these types of players in. Throughout pre-season I was confident we were good enough to avoid the drop which was always our target.  
We started off the season with a similar team to what we went up with which was a good decision by Paul Dickov because every player deserved their chance for a few months to show us what they can do and in the first month we picked up a few notable results with a win against Blackburn and a Draw against Wigan. The following month in September we picked up 5 points so it was very pleasing to have picked up 9 points in the first two months with us dropping points against teams because of referring decisions i.e. Watford away. From October this is when we our form began to drop with such a small squad we started to pick up injuries and with the lack of experience began to show. In October we started to concede a lot more goals with a 4-0 and a 4-1 defeat to Middlesbrough and reading respectively. 
November provided to be a better month for us with us picking up a great win at home to QPR which raised many eyebrows in the championship because QPR was on form at that time with Charlie Austin scoring goals left right and centre. The disappointing factor was that we dropped four points to other relegation candidates Charlton and Barnsley which was disappointing because we should have been looking to win in them type of matches. December one the most vital months in the football season it can prove vital because you play lots of game over a short time. In December this is the month I started to get nervous about because we had lots of key injuries at this point and the results can speak for themselves. We managed to concede 13 goals in six games which is great but we had to have a makeshift defence before we could improve in January.
January couldn’t come quickly enough and thank fully Paul Dickov was heavily backed by the board with the signings of Abdoulaye Méïté, Gabriel Tamaș and Billy Sharp. These players were very pleasing for the fans to see with the amount of experience and quality they would bring to the club. The Signing of Abdoulaye Méïté particularly worked the best he managed to play in the majority of the games. In every game he played he might not have the pace but he had a good footballing brain and he was always there to make a vital interception or tackle. Obviously at the time every single fan was over the moon with the signing of Billy Sharp but they do say never go back and in this case it may be correct .In the majority of matches Billy looked like he wasn’t in the zone lacking that big of sharpness or match fitness. Just like many other fans I will remember and always be grateful for what Billy did during his first few seasons for the club.
January provided a good month we narrowly lost at QPR to a late Charlie Austin goal but then we picked up a respectable 7 points which started to push us to closer towards the safety mark. Just like typical Rovers after a good month in January we had a poor February which is typical Doncaster we always lack consistency. In February we dropped points to Yeovil and Barnsley which would have disappointed many fans because for us to achieve safety we need to be picking up as many points we can when playing teams around us. March was a fantastic month with wins against Huddersfield, Watford, Sheffield Wednesday and finally Leeds after years of trying. At the end of the month we all became confident because we was 8 points clear of the drop zone and we only needed another win to guarantee championship survival.
In true rovers fashion the Rovers Players took the run in to the deciding day after not winning in the final 7 games. In the Run in I became very nervous and frustrated because in games at home to Birmingham and Bolton we expected to pick up some number of points after a very good season at the keepmoat. In both of the games none of our squad turned up for a period of time which cost us because in this league you need to be at your best for every minute of the game or the quality of the players in this league will punish you and this is what happened. On the other hand in games at Ipswich and Millwall we performed very well but referring decisions cost us. At Ipswich we was deserving of a point and that is what we would of got if the referee made the correct decision to give a free kick for the tackle on Gabriel Tamas or at Millwall if Abdoulaye Méïté wasn’t wrongly sent off we may of got more than a point because we would have had 11 players on the pitch. Leicester away felt a strange day and I could have sensed it was going to go down go the wire and that is what happened and sadly this year it didn’t quite go our away but we will come back up a bigger and stronger team. 
The things that need to happen for next season is Paul Dickov gets a hassle free summer to build a team that he thinks will be good enough to get Doncaster rovers back in the championship. Ideally I would like to start building a team for the years to come with us bringing in players in for 2/3 years rather than 6/12 month contracts. We need a mix of players that we can develop for the future but have the quality to play in league one such as Luke McCullough and a mix of senior players who have been there and done it Paul Quinn rob jones etc.
Rovers Till I Die
Josh Arnold

Massive thanks to Josh, I'm sure he, like all of us will be eagerly anticipating the start of the 2014/15 season!
What do you think about this review?
What are your thoughts on the season?
Comment below!

Want to write something for thedonnypop? maybe your views on the season, a look to next season or anything Doncaster related, if you do, simply send an email to thedonnypop@gmail.com and I will put it up.

I am hoping to tempt Josh to write a few more bits for the blog as I have enjoyed reading his review.

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Once again, thanks to Josh for writing, and thanks to you for reading. Remember to get involved and make thedonnypop the best place for DRFC fans!

Chris Howe: Doncaster to L.A (Part 2.)

Following on from last weeks article where Chris explained what life in the Rovers youth team was like, here is part 2. Chris explains his current roles and how he got there.

Not read part 1? View it here.

First of all, Chris explains how he earned his stripes and got to be part of one of the biggest football clubs in America.

While I was playing football for a college in Florida, during the summers I would work for a company (UK International Soccer Camps) here in LA, coaching community football camps all over the West Coast of America just to earn money for when I went back to college. After I finished college the company offered me a full time job; working in the office and also coaching a local team. So I drove across America to start my career as a 'soccer coach'. I was living in a small town about 60 miles outside of LA, not very exciting at all but being in my first year out of college, had to go where the money was and where it was cheap to live! I volunteered with a couple of different youth teams/clubs, including LA Galaxy and college teams just to gain some experience and try to get my foot in the door. Finally got a job offer to coach a couple of teams from a bigger club, FC Golden State, and moved to Pasadena where they were based. Volunteering with Galaxy was starting to pay off and was working with them more and more regularly. I took as many coaching courses and licences/badges as I possibly could and just tried to build my resume like any other person would trying to work their way up in a any other job. Tried to network as much as possible and build my reputation which is where I find myself today. It's been a hard path so far and by no means nearing the end!

This goes to show, hard work does pay off. In a time where many people question attitudes of young footballers, Chris's story is fantastic, he hasn't got to where he is now through connections or Luck, he has got there from working his way up, and from the sounds of Things, he certainly hasn't reached his peak, and even bigger things could be ahead for the local lad. He is still only around 30, and is young for someone in his position.

I asked Chris what he currently does out in the states, and I was surprised by the answer. I was expecting Chris to tell me he was doing some sort of coaching at L.A Galaxy or FC Golden state, as I mentioned in the article 'American Dream', however this is a massive underestimate of what he actually does.
Instead of working for 2 teams/organisations, Chris currently works for 4.

His main or what he calls his first time job is with L.A Premier FC, Chris explains

I work for LA Premier FC which is a youth football club based in Pasadena (I was formally with FC Golden State in a similar role). This is considered my full time job. I have three teams which I coach and then games/tournaments on the weekend. I have a Boys Under 8 team, a Boys Under 16 team and a Girls Under 17 team.

In the US the structure of youth soccer is different. To play on a club team, the kids have to pay fee's. It can range between $1600 - $2200 a year depending on the club. Our fee's are $1850 per year. Obviously the price to play will depend on where a parent wants to take their child. Some teams do not charge fee's as they do not pay their coaches, so it is normally a dad running the team where as our coaches are billed as professional, qualified coaches.

Chris during his time With FC Golden State on a visit to Old Trafford

It is interesting to hear how the youth structure is so different, in England, the clubs some times pay to get hold of the players with the best potential, where as in the US it sounds the other way around.

He went on to explain about his other roles

Also work for the State of Nevada for whats called Olympic Development Program. Every State has an ODP team which is made up of the best players from that State (different age groups as well starting at U14). Then the States compete in a Regional Tournaments - West Coast, East Coast, Mid West etc. The US National teams at U14 and up select players from these teams as its the best players. As you can imagine at the tournament there is a lot of interest. My role is Director of Goalkeeping for the State of Nevada. It's handy as all our trials are held in Las Vegas!

I also coach a female high school team. Here the high school has only one team, made up of the best players regardless of age. As we know at home each year has their own team so its completely different. This is just seasonal though as the high school season is just from Nov - Feb.

Chris' detailed explanation of his roles, gives us an insight into the differences between football in the two countries.

I also coach the goalkeepers at the University of Redlands. As you may be aware playing football at university/college in America (College/university is the same thing however we classify college and university as two different things in England) is a very good standard. College players are 'drafted' (aka selected) every year by MLS teams. How it works is the worst team in the MLS that year has the first pick of all the college players and it goes down the line. Again, so many rules involved. A scholarship isn't just for foreign players. Many American players get scholarship money also. Basically a scholarship is an amount of money that the coach is willing to give you to pay for your school fee's (tuition, room, board etc) out of his team budget. Some players will receive 100% scholarship money and therefor have all their fee's payed, some may get 75 % or 50% etc. Some colleges may have a big budget, others not so big. So it's a very competitive environment. This year we at the U of R has a player selected by Philadelphia Union in the MLS.

Finally as you will know, Chris is connected to MLS giants, L.A Galaxy, Chris explains his role there

As you've seen I also work for the LA Galaxy. I've worked there for just over 4 years and have basically been involved with just about every aspect of the club. My main role is working with the youth programs. Its similar to football in the community at home but on a larger scale. We hold many different camps year round at the stadium complex and also in various communities around LA and even further. Camps range from: 

• Community Camps - all ages and abilities are welcome. Main focus on having fun, learning and making the camp a great experience for the kids.
• Elite Player Camps - Players must have played club soccer for a number of years, be 13 or older and of a high level. We have invited players who are good enough that we have seen to train with the Galaxy Academy on a trial basis.
• Residential Camps - where the players can stay over night. We have a lot of people from all over the US and even beyond attending these. Ties in with the Elite Player Camp.
• Academy Identification Camps - We will generally go into a community where we know there is a high level of teams and put players through their paces to see if the are good enough to trial with the Academy at their age group.
• Goalkeeper and Striker Camps - Specific training for gk's and strikers.
• Community Clinics - going into an area and putting on an hour or so training session for local kids to get them excited about the Galaxy. We will make these an even and have a player come to sign autographs etc.

Chris' roles range from community work to coaching up and coming talent. Who knows in a few years time there could be the next Tim Howard or Brad Friedel, coming through, having been coached by Doncaster lad Chris Howe.

The Galaxy have also just started another professional team to play in a league below the MLS. They are the first to do so in America and its a massive step forward for football in America. Other clubs will definitely do the same thing if they can afford it. Its basically a reserve team (like Barcelona B playing in the third division) made up of young players who are being molded for the first team. They are there own entity, train separately and have their own budget etc. However players can be loaned to and from the first team to the Galaxy Two (as they are called) which has caused massive uproar in the MLS because there are so many complicated rules in the MLS such as salary cap and so forth. Also, the players are actually signed to the league, rather than the individual club. It's crazy and just one of the many reasons why, in my opinion, the MLS is restricting itself. So during the forming of this Galaxy Two team I was involved with working training the goalkeepers and helping identify the pecking order for potential GK players. We then also had an open try - out for any player (at a cost of $175) and I was involved with the scouting for that as well. Finally, I've actually trained with the team! Hahaa I know, completely random but fantastic experience. I was working there doing a camp one morning when my friend came over and said the keeper has been injured and they wanted me to fill in! My friend called me later on the night and said they wanted me to come back the next morning again - I thought he was winding me up as I was supposed to be going out for a few beers that night! Great experience.

Upon hearing this, my first question was, does that mean you was training with David Beckham?

Yes, Beckham was in the training session as it was regular team training, plus a few trialists and youth team players. It was split at the beginning with the first team doing their own thing and the resi's off to one side then everyone coming together. That was an incredible experience. All I wanted was for someone to take a photo but because it was just a normal Tuesday morning for everyone else no one even batted an eye lid. It wasn't a long training session in fairness although it finished with an 8 v 8 game and the pace was rapid. I was concentrating so hard as to not embarrass myself! Some players stayed behind to do a bit of shooting and I ended up going in net. Beck's had a couple shots (one saved by the way!!!) before leaving early. All I remember thinking is that I was absolutely knackered (basically unfit from not playing anymore!), it was bloody red hot and I just wanted to get off the pitch and out of the sun but realised I would probably never be able to do this again so was literally the last player off the field that morning.

Chris on a Soccer camp, visited by Landon Donovan and David Beckham (Chris is stood next to David)

Chris is not the first Rovers goalkeeper to face shots from Beckham, Neil Sullivan played against him, whilst at Wimbledon, however, this probably wasn't Neil's proudest moment, especially watching the ball fly over his head into the net, having been struck from the half way line. I asked what was he like in person? And Chris explained about how he is with the kids.

We do a lot of camps for the kids around the StubHub Centre (Galaxy's home ground) and sometimes we'll take the kids to watch the first team train. Beckham was always the first to wave at the kids, even while playing. He would always smile and give the kids a thumbs up or something which made the kids's day. If we saw Beckham around the ground he would always make a point to talk to the kids and take photos. The same with Robbie Keane to be fair. He's also very sociable and great when talking to the kids. Keane's son does some of the summer camps and Keane will always have a kick about with the young ones at the start before he goes off to training.

I asked what has been your highlight so far?

 I've Met some fantastic people along the way through football, played in Vinnie Jones's team for a bit which was interesting, played footy in Robbie Williams's team and at his house for a couple years - that was pretty amazing as I constantly think to myself I'm just a normal lad from Rosso!

The highlight so far has been working my up in the LA Galaxy and working with the Galaxy Two team. To be trusted to coach within the best football organisation in America is no small feat in fairness, especially working with the professional team.

On a personal level I think playing football at Robbie Williams's house and with Robbie is still unbelievable even to me. Just having a chat with him and a kick about like he's one of the normal lads. He sold his house with the footy pitch so gutted that came to an end!

Chris (in red) playing in Robbie William's team (seen directly below Chris)

Rubbing shoulders with house hold names and international superstars, I asked what the future holds for Chris.

Personally I am just trying to get more experience at a higher level of coaching, learn and educate myself all the time and see what happens. I've been in touch with a couple of professional and semi professional clubs who play in leagues below the MLS about jobs coaching in different capacities but nothing concrete yet. America is such a vast place and teams are popping up more and more but I don't think I would leave LA for the middle of no where! The lifestyle here is fantastic and it's been a long time coming so I'm happy living in Hollywood for the minute.

Finally I asked Chris what advice he would give to someone who would want to follow in his footsteps.

 As far as advice - I think people coming over here wanting to work have to realise their situation. Just like any job you have to prove yourself before climbing up. I get emails all the time from people saying "I'm so and so, played here, coached there, can you get me a job at the Galaxy?". People have a misconception that America knows nothing about football and anyone can do a job over here which isn't the case at all. Admittedly the structure for youth and professional football, in my opinion, does need some adjustments but the structure is being  constantly improved even more so now Jurgen Klinnsman is in charge of the US Soccer Federation. Obviously starting at the bottom is never going to be desirable for anyone but you must always have a strong belief there are better things to come. If you put in the hard work in; people and organisations here in America will put the trust in you - but like anywhere else that trust has to be earned. To a certain extent you must also be brave and willing. People see the glitz and glamour of LA but that comes after the 80 hour work weeks to be able to put yourself in a desirable position. You also can't under estimate the sacrifice of not seeing your family and friends. Going years at a time without retuning home is hard not being able to see loved ones and there are always certain comforts that will be missed. I think lastly, it also starts with a journey into the unknown as no one can predict what might happen so you have to be prepared to make that jump and stick with the consequences and be courageous enough to fight your way up. You have to e willing to take that first step. That's the best advice I can give really, but America is the Land of Opportunity and I, plus many of my friends, can certainly attest to that.

Chris is a great example that if you work hard you can reach good stuff, it is obvious Chris will continue to grow as his experience and reputation grow. All the best for the future Chris!

Once again massive thankyou Chris for doing this, and I would like to let everyone know despite being miles away in a different time zone he has followed the relegation battle with as much passion as most. A true pro.

We look forwards to catch up with Chris in the not so distant future.

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PART 1