Editorial: Managerial hope not hate

Editorial: Managerial hope not hate

When he was still a player, Gary McSheffrey dated a girl at our university. He even turned up for a Christmas Ball once, wearing a pair of remarkable brogues, and thus without prompting everyone who saw him in Lincoln’s Engine Shed that night remarked, ‘he’s smaller than you’d think… nice shoes though’. To the point that it became a catchphrase among our friendship group, used whenever he popped up in any of our football-watching lives. ‘I see your lot have signed McSheffrey, what’s he like?’ ‘Oh OK… smaller than you’d think… nice shoes though’.

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Editorial: Where did it all go wrong for Doncaster Rovers in 2021-22?

Editorial: Where did it all go wrong for Doncaster Rovers in 2021-22?

At the end of the summer I sat in the same spot I’m writing this editorial, whilst Richie Wellens looked back at me and my decor via Zoom, and told me that he didn’t foresee Rovers being in a relegation battle come the second half of the season. A couple of weeks later Gavin Baldwin told the BBC that ‘we are nowhere near [a relegation battle] at this stage’. 

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You can’t spell new manager without ‘anger’

You can’t spell new manager without ‘anger’

Right, cards on the table from the off here so we all know where we stand before I crack on. When I read that Gary McSheffrey had been given the role of Doncaster Rovers manager permanently my first reaction was disappointment. It wasn’t what I’d been hoping for, for two reasons. Firstly because he’s done a great job with the academy, and if we’re to salvage some sort of continuity from the last 18 months then I felt this was the space in which to do it, and let him carry on his good work. And secondly, because I felt that what our squad needed was a fresh pair of eyes on it to come in, without allegiance or empathy, and make bold decisions on what happens in the January transfer window.

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The Big Interview: Sean O’Driscoll

The Big Interview: Sean O’Driscoll

In March 2019, popular STAND fanzine was lucky enough to secure something of an exclusive as former Doncaster Rovers manager Sean O’Driscoll agreed to sit down with editor Glen Wilson and discuss his tenure at Rovers for the first time since it’s unfortunate end. That interview was first published in issue 99 of the print fanzine, and we’re happy to now bring it to you here, online. Continue reading “The Big Interview: Sean O’Driscoll”

Doncaster Rovers Managers | Jack Crayston and Jackie Bestall

Doncaster Rovers Managers | Jack Crayston and Jackie Bestall

During Doncaster Rovers’ 1998-99 season, as the club resurrected itself in non-league the matchday programme was put together by a group of very committed supporters. Within that group, contributing to an excellent publication, was long-serving popular STAND contributor John Coyle, who penned a series on the men who have managed the club since re-entering the Football League in 1923. John has very kindly let us reproduce this series here on the popular STAND website, and today we reach the seventh episode, the brief reigns of Jack Crayston and Jackie Bestall. Continue reading “Doncaster Rovers Managers | Jack Crayston and Jackie Bestall”

Doncaster Rovers Managers | Syd Bycroft and Jack Hodgson

Doncaster Rovers Managers | Syd Bycroft and Jack Hodgson

Back in 1998-99, during Rovers’ first season in non-league the matchday programme was put together by a group of very committed supporters, and an excellent job they did of it too. Among them was long-serving popular STAND contributor John Coyle, with one of his contributions a series looking at the men who have managed the club since re-entering the Football League in 1923. John has very kindly let us reproduce this series here on the popular STAND website, and today we reach the sixth incumbents; Syd Bycroft and Jack Hodgson. Continue reading “Doncaster Rovers Managers | Syd Bycroft and Jack Hodgson”

Doncaster Rovers Managers | Peter Doherty

Doncaster Rovers Managers | Peter Doherty

During Rovers’ first season in non-league the matchday programme was put together by a group of very committed supporters, and an excellent job they did of it too. Among them was long-serving popular STAND contributor John Coyle, with one of his contributions a series looking at the men who have managed the club. John has very kindly let us reproduce this series here on the popular STAND website, and today we reach the fifth man on the list, the great Peter Doherty. Continue reading “Doncaster Rovers Managers | Peter Doherty”

Doncaster Rovers Managers | Jackie Bestall

Doncaster Rovers Managers | Jackie Bestall

With Rovers enduring something of a dip in form lately it seems apt to hark back to a more enjoyable time for the club as we continue John Coyle‘s excellent series on Doncaster Rovers’ managers, which was first published in the match programme over a decade ago. We’re up to the fourth manager in the series, Jackie Bestall, as League football returns following the Second World War with a bang.
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