Well, thank God that’s all over. A terrible season that started badly and never really looked like getting better. A 46 game-long slow trudge towards League Two. Each of our most recent engagements with the fourth tier have ended in promotion… it’s hard to see 2022-23 going a similar way.
As you might expect, the bulk of this issue is spent attempting to determine where this past nine months went so wrong, with Glen Wilson given the short straw of attempting to surmise all that nonsense inside 800 words. Elsewhere we’ve a detailed piece from Jack Peat that looks at the other sides battling the drop in the season’s closing weeks in an attempt to understand how we could be so bad, and yet still not be officially relegated until the campaigns final day.
There are positives in amongst all this – a reflection on the first season of the Women’s Supporters Group, the joy to be found among your old football shirts, and also how said shirts can make you an unlikely fashion icon this summer. But yeah, for the most part its a collective sigh of relief that the summer is finally upon us, and we can forget about everything Rovers related and pretend to care about things like cricket, tennis and Pimms, whatever the hell that is.
Here’s a fuller breakdown of what’s in issue 108; not exactly a summer beach read, but plenty of thoughtful prose at least.
Editorial: Someone has to try and work out where it all went wrong, so Glen Wilson has a bash
Bernard Glover’s Diary: A look back at the closing two months of an awful season
The Fan Panel: Our sextet of supporters answer questions on the season just gone, whilst also trying to look forwards
Follows the Rovers: Mike Follows is worried that it’s easier to give up habits than he previously thought
For Peat’s Sake: Jack Peat speaks to fans of other clubs at the wrong end of League One to try and answer the most pressing question; why did it take so long for us to go down?
Lazarus Comes Forth: It’s not all been bad news this season; Lazarus has discovered he’s a fashion icon
Remembering the First Time: George Peat brazenly highjacks our column to put his Rovers support into perspective
The Doncaster Free Mess: The latest local news headlines… kind of
Voice of the Pop Side: Ever wondered. How a football historian spends his summer? Wonder no more thanks to John Coyle
Gary Brabin Memorial Lounge: Inspired by the recent BBC documentary, James McMahon revisits the life of Gazza
Marshall’s Matters: Rob Marshall finds solace in a pile of old football shirts
Jacob’s Selection: With things proving stale at home, Jacob Goodwin plays away
Howard’s Marks: Howard Bonnett looks at what became of some of our previous League Two running mates
From Beneath the Statue: With Wales on the verge of a possible World Cup place Glen Wilson faces a moral quandary
Liberty, Equality, DRFC: Emma Dawson and Lizzie Robinson reflect on the first season of the Doncaster Rovers Women’s Supporters Group
Windmills of Your Mind: Dutch Uncle has put down the spreadsheets and made his way over to the piano
For the 2021-22 season popular STAND is a subscription-based fanzine, however we have a small number of individual copies of issue 108 available for sale via our back issue page.
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