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.

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Final Game

It all comes down to this, after 45 games, tomorrow will decide if this season has been a success or failure.

Following promotion and Dickov's appointment, we all pretty much said the same thing, "if we finish 21st, it will be a success". Well after a tough season we find ourselves in 21st With just one game to go.

If like me, you will of looked at the League table hundreds of times in the last few weeks, you will know we are 1 point above the relegation zone. The team that occupy the top drop spot is Birmingham who have a much superior goal difference.

Rovers face League champions Leicester on their home turf, whilst Birmingham travel to Bolton, below we look at the possible outcomes.
•Rovers win - If we beat Leicester, it doesn't matter what happens at the Reebok, or anywhere else for that matter, if we win, we stay up, and could finish as high as 19th.
•Rovers Draw, Birmingham Draw - If both teams Draw, Birmingham will drop, we will stay up.
•Rovers Lose, Birmingham Draw - Putting us on equal Points, we would be relegated on goal difference.
•Rovers lose, Birmingham Win - we will go down.
•Both Rovers and Birmingham Win - Rovers would ofcourse stay up, Birmingham would depend on Millwall and Blackpool.
League One next season?
Not for me, some People like the prospect of lots of local derby games, however, it is all about competing with the big boys.

Does Dickov say?
Yes, he has had a tough season and alot to learn, but his recent signings have been top quality, I believe with more luck with injuries we have the basis of a strong team.

What do I think?
Regardless of the Rovers score, I think Bolton will win, despite having little to play for.

Will Leiscter bring their foot off the gas?
Not a chance, they want as many points as the can get, and get over the tone mark. Go out on a win, in front of their home crowd, if possible.

What will the atmosphere be like?
Immense, an almost sold out away allocation, and sold out partying home fans. The King Power stadium will be bouncing.

Can't get to the game?
You can follow the goals on our website.

All finish at 2pm
With kick off 12:15, we will know what League we play in next year.

As the season finishes, don't forget, we will give you your dose of Doncaster through out the world cup, I have spoken to a fan who hasn't missed a game this season and he will be doing a season review. Next week we have Part 2 of that great interview with Chris Howe.

Look out for app updates, in the close season I will be updating the app, I will keep you guys informed, but it will have some great new features.
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And share us with friends, next season will be the first full season for TheDonnyPop and we want to grow, we can only do this with your help, we would like to see more getting involved.


We never do it the easy way, and it's going to be tough
Remeber what ever happens this weekend, we are all Rovers till we die!

James Coppinger - Rovers Hero!

May 2004, Rovers manager Dave Penney introduced James Coppinger as a new 30,000 pound signing from Exeter City. Making his debut in League 1 game away at Bradford City on the 14th August 2004.

Copps had started his career as a trainee at Darlington, however at the age of 17 he moved to Newcastle United for 500,000 in a joint move with Paul Robinson, not the goalkeeper. At the time of the move, Kenny Dalglish was manager of the toon, however his departure saw new manager Sir Bobby Robson take the role.

Copps made 1 first team appearance in his time at St. James' Park, coming on as a substitute in 2000 against Tottenham Hotspurs. During his time, he spent a loan spell at QPR, however didn't make an appearance, he also spent 2 loan spells at Hartlepool, making a total of 24 appearances, scoring 5 goals. He was also linked with a 650,000 move to Scottish club Hearts.

Copps at Hartlepool

Jamie left the Newcastle in 2002 and joined Exeter City, he went on to make 82 appearances for the Grecians scoring 13 goals. It was then in 2004 that he made his move to Belle Vue.

Above is the interview he gave after signing

Rovers were in pre season, ready to start their first year in League 1, and Jamie was a welcome addition. Despite being an important part of the team, in his first season he failed to find the net in his first season, making a total of 38 appearances in all competitions. He scored his first goal for Rovers on 26th November 2005 winning 2-0 to Bristol City. He has enjoyed many successful moments with Doncaster, so far, one of the first big moments he was involved in was the 2005-2006 League Cup run, which saw Belle Vue rocking, beating Manchester City, Aston Villa, and coming close to beating Arsenal. The next season saw Copps play his part in the team that won the Johnstone's Paint Trophy, but arguably his best moment came the next season. With Rovers pushing for League 1 promotion, we earned a play off spot. 

It was the semi final against Southend, and after a 0-0 draw at Roots Hall, it was all to play for in the second leg at the Keepmoat. 

Brain Stock scored an 11th minute penatly, and an own goal by Adam Barratt in the 21st put Rovers 2-0 up. 

But then on the 38th minute, O'Connor wins the ball back, by the touchline, and gets it to Copps who uses his quick feet the wriggle his way past 5 Southend players to just inside the box before slotting it past Darryl Flahavan in the goal.

It was then in the second half, the 51st minute, Copps received the ball again by the touchline, and going past Southend players as if they wasn't there, he cut inside to a central position on the edge of the box where he shot with his left foot, again finding the back of the net.

In the 78th minute, Copps was again running into the box, this time it looked like he was wanting to pick out a team mate, with 3 Rovers players already in the box. Instead he was brought down just outside the box by Nick Bailey. Copps stood over the freekick he had won, with Paul Green standing with his back to the goal 2 meters away, Copps passed the ball to Greeny, who stopped it for Copps to hit, he curled it into the far left top corner.

This was a truly excellent hattrick, maybe the best I have ever seen. Ever goal was worthy of goal of the month. 

A bad day for the Southend goalkeeper, however he cannot be put at blame for the sheer excellence. Darryl himself made an impressive 294 appearances for Southend in 8 years and is currently at Bournemouth.

Rovers of course went on to win the Play Off final against a small local team called Leeds United, with Copps playing his part in that match.

With Rovers now in the Championship, Copps was still a major part in the team, making at least 30 league appearances in the 4 years before relegation.

His fine form, and ability to win the game on his day, he attracted interest from clubs including Ipswich and Barnsley. However Ipswich seemed to never make an official serious bid, despite a few numbers been rumored, and Copps rejected Barnsley.

In January 2012, he became one of only 10 players to reach 300 league appearances for Rovers.

With Rovers relegated from the Championship, new manager Dean Saunders needed to cut the wage bill.

In August 2012, Rovers fans feared the worst when the team coach stopped on the motorway for a player to get off and join another club, it was James Coppinger who exited the coach, linking up with ex manager Sean O'Driscoll. However he only made 2 starts and 4 sub appearances.

Ending his loan in December, he returned to Doncaster and played an important part in Rovers winning League 1 at first try. Many Rovers fans said, his return was just like a new signing and brought a lot to the squad.

In fact, Copps played his part in Rovers history once again, and one of the best, most exciting moments in English football as the league ended in fantastic style.

They say a picture says a thousand words, and i'm not going to describe what happend, but instead watch the video below.

It was James Coppinger that got the goal, and we won the League 1 and earned promotion.

On the 15th March 2014, James became 1 of 5 players to reach 250 league appearances for Rovers.

The 5th April 2014, Rovers are at home to Birmingham, if selected, James Coppinger will make his 400th appearance in all competitions for Doncaster Rovers. An achievement that is incredible.

This achievement shows great loyalty, and when people question if there is loyalty in the modern game, just think of Copps. He has had the opportunity to player for 'bigger' teams but has stayed loyal.

On Saturday, the club have a special plan for Copps, however, details of this plan are being kept secret, however what we do know is the match day programme will be a special one to show his achievement, also as fans we will sing his name before the match and on the 26th minute. Also after the game, whatever the result, don't beat the traffic, stay in the ground, maybe something will happen then.

Testimony, for me, we need to sell out the Keepmoat, I think Newcastle would be fitting, with him starting his professional career there. 

The future, I have seen many people say they would like him to become a future manager for Rovers, or a coach. But for me, I hope he has a few seasons left here. We have seen recently his adaptability whilst playing right back. I hope he gets a contract extension at the end of the season, 2 years maybe. Even if players like Duffy and Forrester keep him out of the first team, he is a hell of a substitute to come on. After he does hang up the boots, I hope he sticks around at Donny, and gets a role within the club. I would also like to see his number retired. I am unlikely to see a player reach what he has in a Rovers shirt. However, he is only 33!

His latest interview post Sheffield Wednesday

Thanks for the years Jamie! 

Copps has played with 5 managers at Rovers

Penney, O'Driscol, Saunders, Flynn and Dickov

Copps played at both Belle Vue and the Keepmoat, scoring at both

Colin Douglas holds the record for the most Rovers appearances with 444, between 2 spells at Rovers. (not including wartime leagues) 

Fred Emery holds to record for the most League appearances for Rovers with 417.

Syd Bycroft who made 333 official appearances could of beaten Fred, however the Second World War limited his appearances. (he made 501 appearances including wartime leagues)

James Coppinger stats whilst at Doncaster

Signed 2004

League 

Appearances

353

Goals

35

F.A Cup

Appearances

18

Goals

0

League Cup

Appearances

18

Goals 

2

Johnstone's Paint Trophy

Appearances

7

Goals

0

Play Offs

Appearances

3

Goals

3

All Competitions

Appearances 

399

Goals

40

Career Total

Appearances

519

Goals

59

Acheivements

Johnstone's Paint Trophy 2006-2007

League 1 Play-Off final winners 2007-2008

League 1 Champions 2012-2013

I do not own the pictures or videos

www.newsrt.co.uk

Nufc.co.uk

doncasterrovers.co.uk

http://www.football-league.co.uk/

http://www.thestar.co.uk/

 

Hi all, thanks for reading, I would just like to add that I have been working on a Doncaster Rovers app, the app has been approved and will be available to download soon, however, I am not 100% happy with it yet and need a handful of people to download it and us the app and report back to me with feedback. The app will be free to use and download. If anyone is interested in helping out you need to email me at thedonnypop@gmail.com and just explain that you are interested in helping out with the app. For more info contact me.

Thanks

Confient Cotterill

Last year we saw new signing David Cotterill getting the most assists for the whole of League 1 with 20 and scoring 10 goals, many of which were wonderful, funny enough the player that finished 2nd in the assist table was Scunthorpe United player Mark Duffy on 15. However, he has been unable to continue this during the current season, we look at why the Welsh International has been struggling. I mentioned this in my article about how this season has been difficult for him, you can read other difficulties the team has faced here.

Firstly let's remind ourselves what Cotterill brought to the team last year......

There is no doubting his brilliance and skill. He can bring a lot to the team and certain help the team win a good number of points over the season. Recently David has had a revival in form, and starting to show he can do it at this Level. We all knew he had the class, but grew frustated with him, many people used him as a scape goat, wrongfully.

He has scored recently against Huddersfield and Leeds, but more importantly, his game has improved. His best assest are his shooting, passing, crossing and dead balls. And according to Paul Dickov, David stays behind at the end of training to work on these. So for those questioning his attitude, should take note.

So why has he had this revival?
In my opinion, it is all due to confidence, David is a confidence player, last season we saw him at high confidence and he was unstoppable, however he lost his confidence mid this season. The reason for this probably lies with Paul Dickov, who has recently gave David a run of games in the team. Another reason could be do to with Billy Sharp, as someone had pointed out on the VSC forum.
Billy's presence does bring out good form in those around him, you only need to look at Cotts and Copps to see the effect of this.

David is out of contract at the end of the season, has he done enough to earn a new one, well providing he isn't after mega bucks, I do believe he has done enough, and still at the age of just 26 has many years ahead of him, I think a 2 year contract would be ideal. And ofcourse there are always those people that believe his good form is a result of his near ending contract, but if you gave these people 5 pound, they would moan that it isn't 10. From watching David all season, you could see he was low on confidence, we witness the same with James Coppinger, he goes through stages where his performances drop due to low confidence, and then when his regains his confidence, he is unstoppable.

I really think David is an important player, people should lay off him and credit him. Thankfully I have seen one or two go back on their word, hold their hands up and admit they made a mistake.

Forgotten Rovers: Damien Plessis

January 2012 saw Rovers sign a number of players including three on the same day, Mamadou Bakayoko, Habib Bamogo and Damien Plessis. With all three coming in as part of the dreaded 'experiment'. 

The idea was these players were brought in by their agent Willie Mckay, be cheap for the club, help the club stay in the championship and boost the reputation of these players, putting them in 'the shop window' for a move to the Premiership. 

None of these players really made an impact, and will be quickly forgotten, however one player, many Rovers fans will find it hard to understand existed. 

Damien Plessis. Making a magnificent 0 appearances, in fact pop star Louis Tomlinson has had more of a playing infact, in fact a 52 year old has made more of an impact.

So who is he?

He is a towering, strong, defensive midfielder, the Frenchman was 15 when he was a highly rated talent. If you read an earlier article about failed talents I wrote, he would certainly fit into that list.

He began to be recognised whilst playing for Lyon's youth before a 2007 move to English giants, Liverpool. Manager Rafa Benitez holding him in high regard. In 2008 his impressive reserve team form earned him his first team debut.

This form also earned him international call up for the French u21 team, having previously been capped at u20, u19, u18 amd u17.

His career was certainly looking promising. However had tough competition for places with Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso.

In 2010 he joined Panathinaikos for an undisclosed fee, he was signed with lots of potential, however, he failed to impress his manager with poor performances. In July 2011 the Greek club allowed him to go on trial to Sven Goran Eriksson's Leicester City, however the former England manager cut this trial short due to Damien failing to impress. He was also rumoured to be in talks with 1860 Munich, however this came to nothing and he returned to Panathinaikos.

After 6 months he then came to the keepmoat on loan to try and resurrect his career. Or did he?

Well we have no idea if he actually found the keepmoat. 

All we saw of him was his signing picture along with Bomogo and Bakayoko. 

This was strange, especially considering at the time, a strong, towering defensive midfielder was well needed, but we never saw him.

I would love to talk more about his time at Rovers, but there is nothing more to say. We don't know why he never played, many of use a few years on, don't really care.

The fact that Chris Black played more games for Rovers then Plessis. 

Forgotten? Well it is easy to.

So where is he now?

As you can imagine, his time at Rovers did not re start his career and he didn't return to the Premiership. Instead he was released by Panathinaikos and signed for French Ligue 2 side, Arles-Avignon. 

Infact, he seemed to find his feet here, and played regularly making 40 appearances in 1 and a half seasons.

In January 2014 he moved to Swiss Super League side, Fc Lausanne-Sport.

So there you have it, Damien Plessis, forgotten Rover, however maybr this has been a waste of time as he never seemingly was here. Infact I have probably spent more time and put more effect into writting the badly written article, then Damien did for Rovers. And for that reason, be sure to give us a follow on twitter and facebook, share with friends and leave a comment. 

My honest opinion, maybe he already had the move to Ligue 2 lined up. But this is just an opinion. 

Thanks for reading.
As always I would like to here your thoughts on this subject.
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Promising Luke

Young centre back Luke has a bright future ahead of him, we take a look at why.

Luke McCullough joined Rovers in the summer 2013 from Manchester United, whom he had joined in 2010 from Irish club Dungannon Swifts. At the age of 15, he played in the IFA Premiership, which is the top league in his native country, Northern Ireland.

Upon moving to Manchester, he made 25 youth appearances as team captain for the 2011-2012 season. And in January 2013 he made a short term loan move to Cheltenham making 1 appearance. Luke was released from Old Trafford in the summer 2013, and joined Doncaster on trial.

After impressing Paul Dickov, he was quickly signed up as one for the future, signing a 2 year contract. 

However, Paul needed to use the youngster quicker then expected with injury to Rob Jones andJamie McCombe, he made his debut and played the full game against Brighton in November. He has since made 13 appearances for Rovers.

Many people have been impressed with Luke, whilst he is not the defender that Rob Jones is, he does show a lot of promise. Especially with his ball playing skills, in fact it has been this that has called for many fans wondering if he could provide cover further up the field as a defensive midfielder.

During his first run in the side, he was partnering Khumalo, however, with the South African picking up an injury, fellow youngster Liam Wakefield was called on to step up. Unfortunately this partnership didn't have a great effect, mainly due to lack of experience of the two 20 year olds. This was not a decision Paul Dickov had wanted to do, but he was forced due to injury. The next game Liam moved to right back, and Paul Quinn partnered Luke, which worked much better and took the pressure off the too youngsters a bit.

Against Watford, with Tamas missing the game due to injury, the back 4 consisted of Coppinger, Quinn, Meite and Husband, however, injury to Meite saw Luke McCullough take his place, he put in a solid display despite the incident which led to Watford's goal, which seemed to involve lack of communication from Husband, allowing his man to run behind Luke who was watching the ball. This is expected with a defense that doesn't play together.

Watching Luke, reminds me a bit of Sam Hird, not in the style or way they play, but Sam was fantastic, when he had a strong character such as Matt Mills next to him, however when Sam was playing the lead role at the back, he wasn't as good. And I think at the moment Luke is the same, he would be great playing with and learning from a leader such as Rob Jones, but he is not ready to be the lead man.

One further thing that impresses me is his professionalism off the field, now I am aware of his naughty behavior whilst at Manchester United, but on the social media he does come across very well. Much more mature then a lot of youngsters, you only have to look at ex Rover Oscar Radford to see what I mean. This tells me Luke is the type of player that can develop and reach his potential.

Pior to joining Rovers, Luke had been capped for Northern Ireland at u16, u17 and u19 level. His move to Doncaster earned him his first call up for the u21 squad and he has gone on to make 6 appearances so far. I would certainly tip him to make a full international appearance within the next few years.

The future looks bright for Luke, he has shown he is quite capable at this level and will only improve the more experience he gains. Next season could be very important for him, with Rob having a career threatening injury and Jamie McCombe unknown how he will return. Also with Tamas and Meite only on short term deals and contracts expire at the end of the season, finally Khumalo is unlikely to play for Rovers again after a season ending injury picked up on international duty and will return to parent club,  Tottenham. This only leaves Luke and Liam Wakefield here next season, in my opinion Liam is not ready, I would also like to see Meite and Tamas here next season, but there are a lot of signs showing Luke could play am important part next season.

After this, who knows, he has the potential to go far in the game, let's hope this future star can bring a lot to Rovers.

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Thank you for your continued support!

Mysterious Mark

Mark De Val Fernandez arrived at the Keepmoat in the last pre season as one of Paul Dickov's summer signings. But why has he only made a handful appearances so far during his Rovers career?

Mark joined from Spanish giants Real Madrid, whom he had joined at the age of 19 for 4 Million Euros from Espanyol. Mark played in their C team making 41 appearances. He also spent loan spells at UE Olot and CD Olimpic de Xativa, the latter he made 36 appearances for and scored on his debut. 

New Rovers manager Paul Dickov had been watching Mark since 2011, however could not make a deal due to Real's asking price of 260,000 Euros being too high for Oldham. Paul did however manager to land his man on 24th June 2013. After an impressive pre season, Mark was unfortunate to pick up a bad injury during a friendly against Motherwell, which would keep him out of action until mid November, however, since coming back he has only made 4 appearances so far. 

Many people have questioned why he has played so few games, is he not good enough? has Dickov made a mistake? or is he simply not fit?

Well Dickov has said that Mark has been struggling to adapt to life here in England, even so much that he cannot eat English food. Rather then cook him a Paella, maybe it is important to Paul that everyone who plays for Doncaster must eat Yorkshire puddings. However, maybe this is the main reason behind his lack of involvement, whilst having no experience myself, I do imagine moving countries can be very hard, especially going from the place most of us go to to get away from our weather.

Take a look at this, below is a picture from Wikipedia of Mark's hometown, Blanes

And here is Doncaster's

Has Dickov made a mistake? Well after years of keeping an eye of Mark, i highly doubt it, maybe Paul is a little disappointed that he hasn't been able to use Mark more, but i'm sure they have sat down together and had a chat and come up with a plan.

I have never spoke to Mark, but maybe communication is a problem, maybe he is not fitting in with the team, maybe after his injury he has struggled with confidence  and Paul knows, playing him in a game where every point is important may not help him.

Many fans have cried out for him to be given a chance, especially whilst we have missed players Paul Keegan (injury) and Richie Wellens (suspension). But I have heard mixed reviews, whilst many have praised his few contributions so far, some people have said he doesn't seem to have the quality. To me, Mark looks quite lightweight, maybe playing in one of the toughest leagues in the world in one of the most physically demanding positions is not the best idea.

In this case, I would normally be crying out for him to get some experience out on loan, get some playing time, however in this case, I don't think it would help, especially if he is not settled in to Doncaster. He could of started to get used to life here right now, it might not be for the best to ship him out to somewhere like Shrewsbury. The benefit of him staying at the Keepmoat is that he is in and around his team mates, he is training with them and is playing in development matches.

He seems pretty decent from dead balls

My opinion on this matter is one that I share with many, if he gets a chance this season the great, if not, give him next season, give him the whole summer to maybe take a trip back home, come back and prepare for the season, give him a run of 90 minutes in competitive games and see how he does. 

I for one am certainly not writing this player off as I would like to believe he could be a great coup for us. 

Many of you might recall when Dumbuya was signed, he joined from a non league club, and we barely saw him during his first season, O'Driscol used this first season for him to adjust, and by the time he was in his second season he impressed many of us. I wouldn't be surprised if it is a simular story here with Mark.

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Difficult Season

After winning League 1 in the last seconds last season, winning promotion back into the championship, we knew we was going to have a difficult season to stay up, many of us said we would be happy finishing just above the relegation zone, a position in which we occupy today, however many seem unhappy at this, slating the squad and calling Dickov's head. There is still games to be played and points to be won, I for one will be happy if it finishes as it is, but why has this season been so difficult, for the players, the owners, the manager and us fans.

Well to answer these questions I think we need to take a look back to last summer and pre season.

Pre Season
With Brian Flynn stepping down from management and Rob Jones concentrating on playing, a new manager was needed. John Ryan and board gave the job to Ex Premiership striker and at the time, Oldham manager Paul Dickov. There was many rumors about with different names including Appleton, Saunders and many more, however Dickov was one of the few that I didn't mind, he was a great player, and still a young manager, his managerial record was hardly world class but it wasn't too bad. Paul came in and was seemingly promised 40 million pounds to build his squad. Now I don't wish to talk about the saga that followed in dept, but to be promised this would allow us to bring in players such as Sharp, Dunne and Ireland, all of which are top quality Championship players if not Premiership.
However this money didn't come, however, Paul still managed to bring in players such as Ross Turnbull, Mark Duffy, Harry Forrester and Khumalo. For this you have to give Paul and staff great credit, to whilst most of these players didn't have championship experience, they were all exciting prospects.
To put this in perspective, maybe this is like saying to a building 'build me a house on this millionaire road that is just as good as the rest' and only giving the building 250000 to do it with. The building, Dickov has still done a good job.

The pre season is supposed to be a time where the manager builds his squad and prepares for the season ahead, however it was these events that certainly interrupted this.

Injuries
Once again, injuries have played a massive part in making this season difficult. If you think back to last season, when we won, we wasn't always playing well but we had leaders on the pitch that got us through the game, most importantly Rob Jones. Unfortunately Rob's season is pretty much over, after what is a bad injury. And despite Dickov and board bringing in excellent players to replace him such as Meite, Rob has been massively missed. In the start of the season people questioned if he was good enough for this league, but what Rob brings to the team is leadership and unfortunately after watching on saturday, no one seems to do this half as good as Rob. We also need to remember when Rob first got injured this season around christmas when Khumalo was also out, we played with 2 centre backs 19 years of age. We certainly missed Rob then.

But it is not just Rob that we have missed, summer signing Harry Forrester has been virtually not seen all season, and will not be seen on the pitch until next year. He was signed with potential, and the type of player that could make a fair bit of difference.  Unfortunately picking up injury during pre season and only featuring for a hand full of games before picking up further injury has ruined his season.

Another player who has been injured for the majority of the season is David Cotterill, whilst not actually being injured, he has suffered from lack of confidence throughout the campaign, maybe a mental block at this level. Self admitted, he has not been at his best this year and despite often coming under alot of stick due to not working hard on the pitch, he was a major part in our promotion last season. Cotts got the most assists in League 1 last year and scored some beauties! Unfortunately he hasn't been able to continue this form this season and we have missed it. He is the type of player that doesn't need to do an awful lot all game before doing one thing magnificently which could win us the game.

Now injuries do happen, and to replace then Dickov has brought in good loanees this season, however we have been unlucky with some of these. Reece Warbara played a few games whilst still injured, Yun Suk Young returned to QPR injured, after been brought in to replace injured James Husband. Macheda, seemed to of brought his scoring boots however picking up an injury he returned to Manchester, unfortunately he left his boots at home when he returned to us.

Last night we learnt that Khumalo got taken off injured playing for South Africa against Brazil, he has been ruled out for the rest of the season.

It's Raining
Good form can give the whole squad a boost, and after a run of good results, the last thing you want is what happened at Charlton. After 3 games unbeaten picking up 7 points we took a 3-0 lead at the valley, only for the game to be 'controversially' called off with the scores at 3-1. Also with Paul Keegan being sent off for 2 bookable offenses. Now if you were at the game, you would off seen the Charlton ground staff working extremely hard to try and get the playing surface playable, in fact, they was working so hard that Theo Robinson and James Husband needed to help them. Now I can accept games do get called off, and this cannot be helped, but it certainly knocked our team a bit and we only picked up 3 points in our following 6 games. What is especially annoying is how when the game was replayed, the scores would be 0-0 however, Paul Keegan still had to serve a suspension. Now I would accept if the F.A rules said that the scores would be 0-0 and Paul's suspension is forgotten about, or we pick up where we left off with the scores at 3-1 and Paul serving suspension. We received a double punishment, and it wasn't even our pitch. What is worse, as SOD's law goes, Charlton beat us when the game was replayed...

John Ryan
Again, i'm not going to get into this in great detail, it has been discussed many times and we still don't know what officially happend. John Ryan is a hero, it is a great loss that he is no longer chairman, however, I feel the club is still safe with the current owners. My main concern is how the politics in the board room will of had a bad effect on the team, making the season even more difficult, it would of been better if both parties agreed to either wait until the close season, or shut up about the matter and try not to distract the team. We all saw the negative effect it had on us fans, i'm sure it affected the players too. I would of loved to give John Ryan a hero's exit and thank him for how he has saved the club, but the manner of which it was done, it is very hard to do that.

That is all I will say on the matter, yes John Ryan is still a legend, but the politics should of been kept away from the squad better.

Lack of Goals
I've seen a lot of people slating Dickov's formation. Especially away from home, now whilst I can see it hasn't been working hence the bad away form. I can understand Dickov, we don't score a lot of goals, and goals need to be scored to win games, therefore Dickov goes for the win because if the team plays defensive and a mistake is made and we go 1-0 down we will struggle to get back into the game so Dickov plays to score the first goal, however due to whatever reason, we haven't been scoring enough. And for the people slating his line up against Bournemouth, I'm sure Dickov like most of us, was expecting a win.

After reading this, I just hope a number of fans understand just how difficult the current season has been so far, it is not doom and gloom as a couple of good results and we could be safe from the drop, remember we can beat anyone in this league on our day, we have proved that this season, and no doubt we will spring a few shocks too.

Let's not get on the players backs or demand Dickov out, they are all trying to do what we want, and that is to stay in this league, so as supporters, we should be doing our bit, get behind the boys!

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