This season was always going to be a big one for football referees. The evolutionary scale has shifted once again from one man, one whistle to five men, one whistle, two flags, one board, umpteen cameras and one TV screen. We’ve dropped the wand-wielding idiots on the touchline, but we’ve inherited a far more dangerous precedent. Continue reading “VAR – Eats shoots and leaves”
On occasion, assuming you’re of sound mind, you’ll find yourself wondering why you bother. Why do you spend so much money, expel so much effort, give up so many hours and days of your life to travel to towns you’d otherwise never entertain the idea of visiting? Usually, that occasion is Gillingham away.
Continue reading “Gillingham 0-0 Doncaster Rovers; 250 word match report”
Doncaster Rovers were backed by an increasingly optimistic away following as they earned a deserved victory over Blackpool. Sadly, the sparsely occupied home stands were indicative of an understandably gloomier mood amongst Blackpool’s supporters. Continue reading “Blackpool 1-2 Doncaster Rovers: 250 word match report”
The internet was supposed to stop this from happening. The immediacy of messageboards and social media were supposed to kill us off. Yet, somehow, in an age that revolves around screens, our paper fanzine has soldiered on and made it to this remarkable point; issue 93 – our twentieth birthday. Continue reading “popular STAND fanzine issue 93”
‘It’s been a scrappy five minutes or so’ said the Sky commentator midway through the second half, as if anything occurring on the pitch before the hour mark had been in any way different to the turgid possession-less back and forth we were currently witnessing.
Continue reading “Doncaster Rovers 2-0 Bradford City: 250 word match report”
The tide was in when we got to Southend seafront; no matter, someone had helpfully repositioned the beach between Roots Hall’s four gloriously antiquated stands. Continue reading “Southend United 0-0 Doncaster Rovers: 250 word match report”
The last thing you want to be doing on a blistering cold Saturday afternoon in February, is going into deepest, darkest Rotherham, but given the fixture schedule, Rovers fans really had no other choice. Continue reading “Rotherham United 2-1 Doncaster Rovers: 250 word match report”
Rovers lost heavily the day I was born, but with my last six birthday matches all at home and unbeaten I was hoping it would prove a lucky number seven against Fleetwood. Continue reading “Doncaster Rovers 3-0 Fleetwood Town: 250 word match report”
Good news: Rovers managed to get through a match without conceding from a set piece. Bad news: they produced a performance so abject that they managed to make an average League One side look like Champions League material. Continue reading “Walsall 4-2 Doncaster Rovers: 250 word match report”
If I had to summarise the season so far, it would be one of lapse defending and injury time goals, so no surprise we had both today. The celebration of James Coppinger’s 500th Football League game for Rovers had many romancing of a vintage performance, a win, and a goal for the legend. Instead we got an uninspiring game with shots on goal a scarce commodity. Continue reading “Doncaster Rovers 1-1 Charlton Athletic: 250 word match report”
popular STAND fanzine 