It won’t have escaped your attention that Saturday brings the big South Yorkshire coal-field derby, between Doncaster and Barnsley. In fact, you’ve probably already nailed down your travel plans, so whilst you get set to travel by bus, train, or car, spare a thought for two Rovers fans who will be making the trip to Oakwell on foot. Continue reading “Charity Walk to Barnsley vs Doncaster Rovers”
At the start of Doncaster Rovers’ fixture at Hillsborough earlier this month the Radio Sheffield commentary team voiced their surprise that the entirety of the upper tier of the Leppings Lane End was not completely awash with red and white hoops. Mickey Walker couldn’t believe that the away end was not packed out for a derby game. However, Walker’s opinion, and that of the match commentator, had been voiced with no knowledge of the prices Rovers supporters had been asked to pay. £29 or £30 for adults and £18 for juniors is quite frankly a ludicrous price to be asked to pay for a lower second tier fixture between two teams from the second poorest county in the UK. And, it was a price which rightly many Rovers fans refused to pay. Continue reading “Not Going Away; On The Cost of Watching Football”
This Sunday should have been host to the biggest game in Doncaster Belles’ illustrious history. Final game of the season, with a win needed for survival in the top flight. The Belles have never been relegated, and they would have been playing to preserve that proud record, rallying the support of the town behind them in the process. This could have been a huge weekend for women’s football in Doncaster, driving publicity, interest and pride. Should. Would. Could. But won’t. Continue reading “On Why You Should Sound The Belles One Last Time”
To quote the comedian and writer Charlie Higson from earlier this week; “For f*** sake, is it ever NOT London Fashion Week?” Those of you who frequent Twitter will be aware of that point each year (or seemingly every couple of months) when the hashtag #LFW begins to trend across the social network. As Higson’s quote may have indicated the key reason for this, is London Fashion Week; overpriced clothes on underfed people for the delectation of the over-funded. Continue reading “#LFW; Leo Fortune-West at London Fashion Week”
When teams get promoted they often see a change in playing personnel, occasionally a change of manager, and probably a change in supporter expectations too. At Doncaster Rovers we crank things up another notch; when Rovers are promoted the team also undertakes a change in name. Continue reading “Re-Introducing The Likes of Doncaster”
Eight years ago I was elected as a Student Union officer. A month into my role the University reneged on an agreement to allow our Freshers Fair to be held in the Sports Hall – the only suitable venue – as they wanted to expand their enrolment process. I did my research, I sourced the numbers and equipment involved in each event, I scoured plans and timetables for the entire university, and I went to a meeting with a pro-vice chancellor ready to put across a very valid alternate option that satisfied both parties. Said Pro-Vice Chancellor, presumably having not expected a new officer to be so prepared and logical – let alone the Sports Officer – lost patience and became more and more exasperated before eventually yelling “You’re missing the point, this is already happening”. Continue reading “Silenced Belles; On the FA’s Rejection of the Doncaster Belles’ Appeal”
Hopefully this will be the last piece I write about the Doncaster Belles which doesn’t have a football match as its focus. With a bit of luck it will also be the last time I have the cause to write the word ‘relegation’ in inverted commas too. Today, following an adjournment a fortnight ago, the Belles will have their appeal heard by the FA, it is D-Day, the ‘D’ being for decency, as this will be the last chance to resolve this issue within the confines of football governance. Continue reading “D-Day at the FA; On the Doncaster Belles’ Appeal”
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”
In popular STAND this season we serialised Ray Jest‘s detailed account of the 1973-74 season. Unfortunately, due to print deadlines and copy space we omitted to bring you the concluding part, and so to address that issue we now present the feature in full. Sit back, light up a Woodbine and crack open a Party Seven, here is Ray’s account of Rovers’ 1973-74 season. Continue reading “Seasons in Retrospect; 1973-74”
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”
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