Doncaster Rovers Belles

Appeal of Belles; The Road to Wembley

by glen wilson4 Comments on Appeal of Belles; The Road to Wembley
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” →

Doncaster Rovers Belles

So Who Did Ban Our Banner?

by glen wilson1 Comment on So Who Did Ban Our Banner?
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?” →

Doncaster Rovers Belles, fan issues

Bells, Banners & Belligerence; On Trying to Speak Out

by glen wilson12 Comments on Bells, Banners & Belligerence; On Trying to Speak Out
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” →

Doncaster Rovers Belles

Tolling for the Belles; On a Week of Campaigning

by glen wilson1 Comment on Tolling for the Belles; On a Week of Campaigning
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” →

Doncaster Rovers Belles

The Belles’ Toll – Update and Points of Action

by glen wilson16 Comments on The Belles’ Toll – Update and Points of Action
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” →

Doncaster Rovers Belles

The Belles’ Toll; On The FA’s ‘Relegation’ of the Doncaster Belles

by glen wilson51 Comments on The Belles’ Toll; On The FA’s ‘Relegation’ of the Doncaster Belles
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” →

football photography

It Was Seventeen Years Ago Today; Point of Return

by glen wilson4 Comments on It Was Seventeen Years Ago Today; Point of Return
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” →

history

Happy Tristram Whitman Day

by popular STAND fanzineLeave a Comment on Happy Tristram Whitman Day

Thanks to popular STAND subscriber Wayne Tomlinson who emailed us today to remind us that the 1st May is of course Tristram Whitman Day. Sometimes you forget how far Doncaster Rovers have traveled in just a decade, and as we get set for a second spell in the second tier it is often a little too easy to forget that only 10 years ago we were still a non-league club. It is now 10 years to the day since Rovers hosted Chester City in the first-leg of the first ever Conference Play-Off semi-finals. Continue reading “Happy Tristram Whitman Day” →

history

“I Cannot Believe What We’ve Just Witnessed” On How Doncaster Won the Title

by glen wilson5 Comments on “I Cannot Believe What We’ve Just Witnessed” On How Doncaster Won the Title

Doncaster Rovers Celebrate at BrentfordUp 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” →

match previews

Brentford vs Doncaster Rovers; A Few Pre-Match Thoughts

by glen wilson1 Comment on Brentford vs Doncaster Rovers; A Few Pre-Match Thoughts
Brentford vs Doncaster Rovers; A Few Pre-Match Thoughts

I had a good night last night; half-price drinks, food, good company and I didn’t think about football once. Then this morning, the moment I stepped outside into the South London sunshine and closed my girlfriend’s front door behind me, it began again. All those feelings I’d tried to suppress by telling myself that it’s not normal to feel this way about what is just a game, a pastime, a hobby… those feelings surfaced again in my throat and in my stomach. Bloody football eh? Continue reading “Brentford vs Doncaster Rovers; A Few Pre-Match Thoughts” →