Doncaster Rovers F.C.
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| Doncaster Rovers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Doncaster Rovers Football Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | The Rovers, The Vikings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Founded | 1879 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | Earth Stadium Doncaster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Capacity | 10,500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chairman | Image:Flag of England (bordered).svg John Ryan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manager | Image:Flag of Ireland (bordered).svg Sean O'Driscoll | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| League | League One | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005-06 | League One, 8th | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Doncaster Rovers Football Club (or Donny as they are more commonly known)are an English professional football club, based at Belle Vue in the town of Doncaster.
The club was formed in September 1879 by Albert Jenkins, a fitter at Doncaster's LNER railway works in response to the emerging popularity of the game in the nearby city of Sheffield. In 1938 the capacity of Belle Vue was increased to 40,000 and it was in 1948 that the stadium recorded its highest attendance of 37,099 against Hull City, although apocryphal accounts refute this and claim that many more gained entry to the ground by climbing over walls and thus avoided having to pay.
They hold the record for the most wins in a league season (42 in 1946-47). In 1997-98, Doncaster also set the record for losses in a season, suffering the humiliation of enduring a record 34 league defeats as they finished bottom of Division Three and went into the Football Conference. Just after this relegation, chairman Ken Richardson was sent to prison after he tried to set fire to the Belle Vue ground in hope of being able to pay off the club's debts with the insurance money.[1] They returned to the league five years later as Conference playoff winners, and were Division Three champions the following season. The 2006-07 season is the club's third successive season in League One.
In 2005-06, Doncaster beat two Premiership teams in the League Cup - Manchester City and Aston Villa. They reached the quarter finals of the competition where they were knocked out by Arsenal on penalties.
Harry Gregg kept goal for Doncaster in the 1950s, and was sold to Manchester United in December 1957 for £23,500. At the time, he was the most expensive goalkeeper in the world. He went on to help save lives in the Munich air disaster and was a regular goalkeeper for Northern Ireland.
The late Billy Bremner, who achieved fame for his playing career with Leeds United and Scotland, managed Doncaster twice, his final spell ending in November 1991 - six years before his death.
Doncaster Rovers were involved in the longest ever football match, against Stockport County at Edgeley Park on March 30 1946. The match was the second in a Division Three (North) two-legged cup tie and, after 30 minutes of extra time, was deadlocked at 2-2 (also the score in the first leg). After the referee had sought advice from the authorities, it was decided that the game would carry on until one team scored. However, after 203 minutes, and with darkness closing in, the game was finally stopped. The replay, at Doncaster, was won by Rovers 4 - 0. Stories abound of fans leaving the game, going home for their tea, and coming back to watch the end of the game.
After difficult times for the club in the 1980s and 1990s they have recently found their best form for arguably the past 50 years. Successive promotions in 2002/2003 and 2003/2004 under the helm of manager Dave Penney has returned them to the Coca Cola League I. Penney left in August 2006 and was replaced with former AFC Bournemouth manager Sean O'Driscoll. A new stadium is set for completion in December 2006 and the club has few financial worries due to owner John Ryan's commitment to invest heavily into the club. Doncaster's first game at their new Keepmoat Stadium is scheduled for New Year's Day, 2007.
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[edit] Achievements
- Carling Cup, Quarter Finals
- 2005-06 Knocked out Manchester City of the Premiership in a 3-0 on penalties[2] and Aston Villa 3-0[3] en route to the Quarter Finals where narrow defeat to Arsenal on penalties[4] brought an exciting cup run to an end.
- Nationwide League Division 3 Champions
- Third Division North Champions
- Fourth Division Champions
- Nationwide Conference Play-Off Winners
- Nationwide Conference Cup Winners
- Sheffield & Hallamshire FA Senior Challenge Cup Winners
- Sheffield County Cup Winners
- Yorkshire Electricity Cup Winners
[edit] Current squad
As of October, 2006
[edit] Notable former players
[edit] Mascot
The team's mascot, portrayed by Andrew Liney, is a brown dog known as "Donny Dog". The Donny Dog costume consists of a double-lined brown fur suit with a detachable head, and the mascot also wears a red and white Rovers jersey.
Before a scheduled appearance during a game against Huddersfield Town at the Galpharm Stadium in 2006, police prevented Liney from entering the stadium in costume, citing unspecified "police intelligence". Liney offered to remove the costume's head and sit in the stands without performing, but police refused to allow any part of the costume within 50 meters of the stadium. As Liney had brought no other clothing with him, he was forced to remain outside for the entire match.[5]
[edit] Fanzines
[edit] Supporters organisations
- Doncaster Rovers Supporters Club website
- Viking Supporters Co-operative website
- Doncaster Rovers United Independent Disabled Supporters website
[edit] External links
- Official club website
- Roversworld website
- Official website of Doncaster Rovers Belles, the club's women's team
- YAURS (Yet Another Unofficial Rovers website)
- Doncaster Rovers Mad website
- Donny Rovers Fans website
- Rovers On The Net website
- Doncaster Rovers unofficial website
| Football League One, 2006-2007 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Blackpool | Bournemouth | Bradford City | Brentford | Brighton & Hove Albion | Bristol City | Carlisle United | Cheltenham Town | Chesterfield | Crewe Alexandra | Doncaster Rovers | Gillingham | Huddersfield Town | Leyton Orient | Millwall | Northampton Town | Nottingham Forest | Oldham Athletic | Port Vale | Rotherham United | Scunthorpe United | Swansea City | Tranmere Rovers | Yeovil Town edit | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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