The 2013-14 Football League fixtures are announced in the next few hours, always a fascinating day, not simply to see how the season will take shape, but also marvel at how much news agencies and official club websites can pad out what is in effect the publication of a list into a ‘news’ story. But as 24 hour rolling television news has shown us, its not necessarily about being right, just making sure you’re first with the breaking story. So to that end, we’ve got in quick, and the fanzine is delighted to bring you our own breaking news before it happens with our do-it-yourself fixture announcement news piece. Here you go… Continue reading “Rovers’ 2013-14 Fixtures Released”
Author: glen wilson
Former schoolboy, Glen Wilson writes on football and travel and has been editor of the award-winning popular STAND fanzine since before the award.
How I watched football 2012-13
I’m not a photographer. I don’t even own a camera. So this is neither a portfolio nor an exhibition. But I do like photos, so when attending matches last season I made an effort to take at least one, using just the camera on my phone and the instagram app. These are they; a collection of images representing all the football I saw between July 2012 and May 2013. Only one game is missing – Doncaster Rovers’ 2-1 win at Crewe in April – as I had my phone stolen on the morning of the game, but the rest are all present and documented below, some it has to be said, much better than others. Continue reading “How I watched football 2012-13”
Appeal of Belles; The Road to Wembley
Later today, at an undisclosed time, representatives of the Doncaster Belles will be at Wembley to have their appeal against arbitrary ‘relegation’ from the FA Women’s Super League heard by the Football Association. After twenty-two years, the Belles’ status as the only ever-presents at the top-tier of women’s football comes down not to a football match, but to folk in suits with laminated security passes bearing three lions. Whether the Belles are succesful in their appeal or not, seeing a sustainable and historically important football club’s status and future settled in this manner cannot be for the good of the game in any sense. Continue reading “Appeal of Belles; The Road to Wembley”
So Who Did Ban Our Banner?
It’s now five days since supporters, protesting against the arbitrary ‘relegation’ of Doncaster Belles as part of the FAWSL’s planned restructure, had a number of items confiscated from them ahead of the FA Women’s Cup Final. Taken from the supporters by Keepmoat Stadium stewards were flyers about a planned minute’s bell-ringing and applause to create awareness of the issue, a petition on the issue, some shirts kindly donated by the Belles kit supplier Jako, bells and our banner (fuller details of which you can read in our previous post on the subject of the Belles). But the question has remained since, under who’s instruction were the items confiscated; Doncaster Rovers or the FA? Continue reading “So Who Did Ban Our Banner?”
Bells, Banners & Belligerence; On Trying to Speak Out
That banner in the picture there. I made that. I bought the paints and brushes on Tuesday lunchtime. I painted it (and much of our living room table too) late on Wednesday night. On Thursday I took it to the UEFA Women’s Champions League Final. On Friday I posted it to a group of Belles fans who were planning to attend the FA Women’s Cup Final at Doncaster’s Keepmoat Stadium. On Saturday it reached them up in Doncaster. And on Sunday it was carted off by officials acting on behalf of the Football Association. Continue reading “Bells, Banners & Belligerence; On Trying to Speak Out”
Tolling for the Belles; On a Week of Campaigning
The amount of traffic this website has seen since we shone a light on the nature of the FA’s restructure of the Women’s Super League has been unprecedented; thousands of views from all over the globe. Whilst I’m proud of this site and our humble print fanzine, I don’t for one minute assume that all who should know about the FA’s approach to altering women’s football and how it has affected the Belles will seek out the information or find it when visiting here. So this past week we have been out and about; making our presence known and getting this case out to a wider audience. Continue reading “Tolling for the Belles; On a Week of Campaigning”
The Belles’ Toll – Update and Points of Action
On Sunday night I wrote an article for this site about the Doncaster Belles and how they had been ‘relegated’ one game into the current season as part of the FA’s plans to expand the Women’s Super League. That piece has since had a lot of exposure, indeed it ensured Monday was the busiest ever day on this site (and today we’ve already had three times as many visitors as then), but what was most surprising for me was that it turned out to be the first many people knew of the situation. Continue reading “The Belles’ Toll – Update and Points of Action”
The Belles’ Toll; On The FA’s ‘Relegation’ of the Doncaster Belles
Beneath the Keepmoat Stadium, as you enter the Belle Vue Bar, on the wall to your left there sits a huge picture of one of Doncaster’s most famous footballers in action for England. It is not Kevin Keegan, the Armthorpe-born European Footballer of the Year, nor is it Alick Jeffrey, predicted to be one of the all-time greats before a tragic broken leg suffered against France. No. In fact it is not even a man. Instead it is Karen Walker, 83 caps and 40 goals for the national side, all achieved during the two decades she spent playing for Doncaster Belles. Continue reading “The Belles’ Toll; On The FA’s ‘Relegation’ of the Doncaster Belles”
It Was Seventeen Years Ago Today; Point of Return
In a corner of South Yorkshire, 10 May is Sir Francis Tierney Day. He won’t mean much to many who reside more than ten miles from the chimney at Peglers Works (except perhaps supporters of Crewe and to a lesser extent Notts County) but Franny Tierney will always hold a special place at Doncaster Rovers. His knighthood is not official, it was bestowed on him not by Her Majesty but by the Pop Stand, and it remains as a longing acknowledgment of him scoring THE goal in Doncaster Rovers’ history. The goal that returned the club to the Football League five long years after our status as one of the 92 had been ripped away from us through one man’s spite. Continue reading “It Was Seventeen Years Ago Today; Point of Return”
“I Cannot Believe What We’ve Just Witnessed” On How Doncaster Won the Title
Up high in the Main Stand at Brentford’s Griffin Park at about 5pm yesterday, as I tried to regain my breath and the feeling in my hands and legs I uttered those words quoted in the title of this piece. I’ve seen a lot of football in my life at all manner of levels, and I thought I’d seen everything the game had to offer… until yesterday. Continue reading ““I Cannot Believe What We’ve Just Witnessed” On How Doncaster Won the Title”
popular STAND fanzine 