Doncaster Rovers v Ipswich Town
Tuesday 25th August 2015 - 19:45
Keepmoat Stadium
Opening Thought – Jamma
Five games into the new season, four of them won – three by our new favourite scoreline of ‘2-1 to the Tractor Boys – and sitting proudly top of the league. Could we really have hoped for a much better start than this? Before Marko starts taking bets on which smart arse will be first to respond with ‘Yes – we could have held on to the 3 points at Brentford!’, I will answer that question for you: No, we couldn’t.
Although there was plenty of justified pre-season optimism floating around, no hardened Ipswich Town supporter would have approached 2015/16 without at least a smattering of apprehension. There were lots of unknowns, as a result of the way in which our previous campaign had ended and the arrival of all of our new signings. But the flip side of this is that not only do we have a team to be proud of, but one which keeps on pleasantly surprising us. Mick McCarthy will have caught many Town fans out as well as the opposition when naming three strikers in his line-up for the trip to Preston. But the way in which Freddie Sears and Brett Pitman dropped deep to help out the midfield provided further evidence of the versatility that we have in the squad, and the ‘selfless’ approach that McCarthy identified as crucial to our first league win at Deepdale for half a century. Against Sheffield Wednesday, we had to fight back from a goal down, while we found ourselves having to bide our time to work an opening against Burnley. On Saturday, we revealed another string to our bow, as we soaked up Preston’s pressure and dug in for the victory. We seem to have found the right balance between our strength as a team and individual match-winning quality, as illustrated by Ryan Fraser’s sumptuous strike and Dean Gerken’s point-blank save.
One interesting question raised by BBC Suffolk in their post-match coverage on Saturday was ‘Just who is the Blues’ fourth-choice striker at the moment?’. We knew going into the campaign that this area of the squad was one of our strengths. You could have made a case for any two from four being our first-choice strikeforce. But the opening five matches have only served to reinforce that, with Sears, McGoldrick and now Pitman all having opened their accounts. In fact, last-season’s top scorer Daryl Murphy is the one striker yet to get off the mark! But it has been equally pleasing to see the goals coming from all areas of the team, with our ten goals in all competitions having been shared between as many as eight players. The midfield bore the brunt of the criticism in 2014/15 but Fraser’s wonder strike on Saturday means that we are already 1/3 of the way to last season’s tally of goals from midfielders. Tuesday night gives us another chance to showcase our strength in depth, as Mick shuffles his pack again for the League Cup.
The Opposition – Doncaster Rovers
The club was formed in 1879 by Albert Jenkins, a fitter at Doncaster's Great Northern Railway works. He gathered together some friends to play a match against the Yorkshire Institute for the Deaf and Dumb in September 1879. On walking back from the game, the team took a rest at the Hall Cross, and had a discussion in which they decided to play more and called themselves Doncaster Rovers.
They were first elected to the Football League in 1901, as a replacement for New Brighton Tower. Their first season in the League was in fact the one when Doncaster achieved their highest position ever (7th in the Football League Second Division). They only lasted two seasons in the league before being voted out in favour of local rivals Bradford City, having finished the 1902 season in the bottom three.
They spent the subsequent season in the Midland League, only managing 11th place out of 18, but were elected back to the Second Division. This time, in 1904–05, Doncaster finished bottom with W3 D2 L29, adrift by 12 points, gaining only 8 points – an unfortunate still-standing record. They were voted out once again.
They remained in the Midland League until they were again accepted into the Football League Division 3 North for 1923–24 to replace Stalybridge Celtic.
The next few seasons saw them rise towards the top of the table, then descend towards the bottom, before in the early 1930s finishing consistently near the top and finally becoming Champions in 1934–35.
Rovers spent two seasons in Division 2, before being relegated in 1936–37.
Doncaster Rovers were involved in the longest ever competitive football match, against Stockport County at Edgeley Park on 30 March 1946, in a Division Three (North) cup tie. The match was deadlocked at 2–2 at 90 minutes, and after two 10-minute periods of extra time there was no further score. The rule at that time was that the game would carry on until one team scored. However, after 203 minutes, and with darkness closing in, the game was finally stopped.
In 1946–47, Doncaster set a record for the most games won in a league season (33), when they won the Third Division North title. The following season saw them relegated from the Second Division but, two years later, they won the Third Division North again. This time, they stayed in the Second Division for eight seasons, their most successful period to date.
During the early 1990s, Ken Richardson, who was later described by detectives as "the type that would trample a two-year-old child to pick up a 2p bit”, took over as the majority shareholder of the club. He ploughed a lot of money into Doncaster Rovers with one thing on his mind: a new stadium. When he was refused a new stadium by the council, he soon lost interest. Richardson hired three men to torch Belle Vue and planned to sell the ground to developers. The attempt put Richardson in jail for four years. In 1998, Rovers dropped out of the league with a −83 goal difference.
The Westferry Consortium took over the Club just before the beginning of the 1998–99 season with a commitment to invest heavily in the club. They also brought in John Ryan as a non-executive chairman and he took over at the end of that season. Having aspirations of returning it to the second tier where he had seen them when he was a boy, he stated that he would build a new stadium within ten years, both of which he went on to achieve within the ten years. Doncaster found their best form in 50 years in the 2000s.
After five seasons in the Conference League, under the helm of manager Dave Penney the club returned to the fourth tier (known at the time as Division Three) after winning the 2003 Conference Play-Off final.
In 2003–04, the first season they were back in the Football League, Rovers achieved promotion to the third tier as Champions.
A new stadium was completed in December 2006. Doncaster's first game at the new Keepmoat Stadium was against Huddersfield Town on New Year's Day, 2007.
On 1 April 2007, Doncaster Rovers travelled to the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, to play Bristol Rovers in the Football League Trophy final, which they won 3-2 to claim their first major trophy.
2007–08 proved to be one of the most exciting seasons in Doncaster's history. Defeat on the final day of the season cost them automatic promotion but they won their play-off semi-final to advance to the League One play-off final at Wembley on Sunday 25 May 2008. They beat Leeds United 1–0 to move into Football League Championship after a half-century absence.
The first half of the 2008–09 season saw Doncaster struggling to adapt to the Championship despite a promising start, sending them bottom of the Championship on 20 December 2008. Rovers managed to turn things around and ultimately ended their first season in the Championship comfortably in 14th position.
Doncaster finished two places higher in 12th in the 2009/10 season. However, the 2010–11 season proved to be Doncaster's most trying season in the Championship thus far, as they finished in 21st place.
Doncaster Rovers struggled in the 2011–12 season and were relegated to League One with three games still to play.
The squad was rebuilt for the 2012–13 season, with 19 players leaving. Expectations were low but, after an average start, Doncaster finished the season one point above Bournemouth as Champions.
Following promotion to the Championship for the 2013–14 season, Paul Dickov was brought in as manager. To boost support for their chosen charity, Bluebell Wood Children's Hospice, the club signed Louis Tomlinson of boy band One Direction on a non-contract basis.
On 9 November, John Ryan gave an emotional farewell and stepped down as Chairman of the Club after 15 years, amid reports of boardroom disagreements following a proposed takeover bid by a hedge fund consortium lead by Sequentia Capital.
On 3 May 2014, Doncaster were relegated back to League One after just one season, following a defeat to Leicester City on the final day of the season.
Last season, Doncaster managed a 13th place finish in the Division below us.
One To Watch – Curtis Main
Paul Dickov has changed his squad around considerably since Doncaster's unfortunate relegation two seasons ago, in an attempt to bounce back to the second tier. One of the players to come in is a former Middlesbrough striker with a point to prove.
Having started out at Sunderland, Curtis Main joined Darlington's academy and became the youngest player to represent the Quakers, aged 15 years and 318 days, against Peterborough on the final day of the 2007/08 season. Tony Mowbray saw potential in the youngster and signed him for Middlesbrough in May 2011. Main couldn't have asked for a much tastier debut, as he made his first start for the club in an FA Cup 4th round clash against North-East rivals Sunderland. Despite his early promise, his Boro career never really got going, with most of his appearances coming off the bench. After taking in a loan spell with Shrewsbury in 2013/14, the striker moved to Doncaster as part of the deal that saw James Husband go the other way. He had a much bigger part to play last season, making 44 appearances and scoring 10 goals for Donny. Equally strong on either foot, Main, still only 23, is a physically imposing player with a good turn of pace and natural finishing ability. Having been tipped for big things earlier in his career, he will be keen to prove that he is capable of playing at a higher level.
The Manager – Paul Dickov
Born in Scotland, Dickov started playing football around the age of nine years old, playing for his local under-11 team Livingston United. He continued to play for Livingston United each year until he joined the youth ranks of Arsenal in 1989, before being promoted to the First Team in 1990. Under George Graham, chances were limited for Dickov as he struggled to break into an Arsenal team that was rich in talent. Whilst at Highbury, he spent several loan spells at both Luton Town and Brighton & Hove Albion. He left Arsenal in 1996 having made 26 appearances in all competitions, scoring seven goals.
Dickov joined Manchester City on 22 August 1996 in a transfer valued between £750,000 and £1 million. In his first season at Manchester City, he played under five different managers (three full-time appointments and two caretakers) and finished the season with five goals from 25 League starts. At the start of the 1997–98 season, Dickov did not feature in the First Team but he was restored to the starting line-up following injuries and he finished the season as City's top scorer with nine goals.
The following season, Dickov, wearing the number 9 shirt, scored 16 goals in all competitions, including a hat-trick against Lincoln City. Dickov retained his place in the First Team at the start of the 1999–2000 season until he damaged knee ligaments in a match against Ipswich Town and most of Dickov's appearances in the second half of the season were as a substitute.
When Manchester City returned to the Premier League for the 2000–01 season, it appeared that Dickov's chances of playing would be limited. However, after earning a place in the team, his performances attracted the attention of Scotland manager Craig Brown, who called him up to the Scotland squad for the first time.
City were relegated back into the First Division for the 2001–02 season and, having fallen out of favour, on 22 February 2002 Dickov moved to Leicester City.
He scored a career-high of 20 goals in the 2002–03 season as Leicester returned to the top flight, finishing runners-up in Division One behind Portsmouth. Dickov managed to score 13 goals in the 2003–04 season. However, Leicester were subsequently relegated to the First Division and Dickov moved to Blackburn Rovers (due to a release clause), declining an offer of an improved contract from Leicester.
He left Blackburn in the summer of 2006 following the expiry of his contract.
Dickov re-joined Manchester City on 26 May 2006, signing a two-year contract, but he suffered several injuries over the course of the season. He joined Crystal Palace on a three-month loan on 31 August 2007 and, on 31 January 2008, Dickov joined Blackpool on loan until May 2008. He returned to Manchester City after his loan before then being released at the end of the season.
Dickov decided to rejoin Leicester on 7 August 2008, signing a two-year contract, which included a loan spell at Derby before he was released by his parent club.
On 3 March 2010, Dickov signed for Leeds United until the end of the season and helped them achieve promotion to the Championship. Despite this, his contract was not renewed at the end of the season.
Dickov played in Scotland's run in the 1989 FIFA U-16 World Championship and made his senior international debut on 7 October 2000. In total, Dickov earned ten Scotland caps and scored one goal.
On 9 June 2010, Dickov agreed a one-year rolling contract with Oldham Athletic to become Player/Manager. Dickov opted to build a youthful side and made controversial decisions at the start of the season to offload 2009–10 Player of the Year and club captain Sean Gregan as well as top scorer Paweł Abbott amongst other First Team players. The team went into the New Year in ninth position, with games in hand on the teams above them, and being unbeaten at home in the league. Results in the second half of the season were less consistent and the team finished the season in the bottom half of the table.
They finished the 2011–12 season in 16th position in League One, one place higher than the previous season.
On 27 January 2013, Dickov lead Oldham to a shock 3–2 victory against Premier League side Liverpool in the FA Cup fourth round but resigned on 3 February, primarily due to the team's poor league form.
On 20 May 2013, Dickov was appointed manager of Doncaster Rovers, who had been promoted to the Championship having won the League One title in the 2012–13 season. Doncaster were relegated back to League One after just one season following a final day defeat to Leicester City.
Last season Doncaster finished in 13th place under Dickov’s management.
Past Match - Video Highlights - Trev
Action from one of our more memorable matches in 2013/14, when a dramatic winner by Luke Chambers kept our play-off dreams alive:
Trev's Trivia
Players to play for both teams
Richie Wellens ITFC 2012 loan DRFC 2013-present
Richard Chaplow ITFC 2015 Loan DRFC 2015 -present
Media Watch – K L Blue
A couple of articles reflecting on a job well done at Deepdale:
http://www.itfc.co.uk/news/article/mick ... 39397.aspx
http://www.greenun24.co.uk/ipswich-town ... _1_4205202
Stat Time
Head To Head
Doncaster Wins......................4 (26.67%)
Ipswich Town Wins..................7 (46.67%)
Draws...................................4 (26.67%)
Doncaster Goals.....................21 (ave. 1.40 per match)
Ipswich Town Goals.................33 (ave. 2.20 per match)
Head To Head At Doncaster
Doncaster Wins.......................2 (25.00%)
Ipswich Town Wins..................3 (37.50%)
Draws..................................3 (37.50%)
Doncaster Goals......................10 (ave. 1.25 per match)
Ipswich Town Goals..................17 (ave. 2.13 per match)
The Predicted Teams
Doncaster
After failing to score in their three league matches since overcoming Leeds in Round 1, Donny could make changes. Summer signing Richard Chaplow will be sure to get a good reception from the travelling support, with fellow former Town loanee Richie Wellens also likely to feature.
12 Thorsten Stuckmann
20 Aaron Taylor-Sinclair
5 Rob Jones
6 Andy Butler
3 Cedric Evina
8 Richard Chaplow
7 Richie Wellens
29 Harry Middleton
26 James Coppinger
9 Curtis Main
11 Andy Williams
Ipswich Town
Expect to see a similar line-up to the one that prevailed over Stevenage in the previous round, with Mick confirming that Daryl Murphy won’t be risked until Saturday at the earliest. Latest signing James Alabi could feature at some point.
1 Dean Gerken
29 Josh Emmanuel
4 Luke Chambers
25 Josh Yorweth
30 Myles Kenlock
39 Larsen Touré
16 Giles Coke
26 Adam McDonnell
18 Jay Tabb
10 David McGoldrick
11 Brett Pitman
Match Referee – Scott Duncan
(no – not that one!)
Final Thought – Frosty
Goodness me, COC matches make for a congested August. At the conclusion of next Saturday’s game against the ‘Seagulls’, we will have played 7 matches in 21 days. Still, doesn’t appear to be doing us too much harm at the moment huh?
I know some may consider the League Cup a distraction to the primary focus of the season. However, the competition equally provides additional meaningful matches in order for us to try new combinations and give game time to the current ‘fringe’ players in the squad who will no doubt be needed as the season progresses. With the two week International window to follow the game against Brighton and (if we are successful on Tuesday night) the next COC match a month away then I imagine this match may assume some real importance for the players that are pushing for a regular start.
Doncaster are at best a useful side, three draws (most notably against Wigan) and a heavy loss to Port Vale last weekend summarises their start to the season and a current 17th place spot on the League 1 table. The Round 1 League Cup win over Leeds which went to penalties after extra time is their only win of the season and even then Leeds were down to 10 men after only 36 minutes of a match that went for 120 minutes.
I honestly think this match is a great opportunity to keep the winning mentality going and hopefully see us progress to the next round. Let’s face it, we seem to enjoy playing sides from ‘up north’ at the moment.
Have a safe trip if you are making the trip to Yorkshire.
DONCASTER ROVERS 0 IPSWICH TOWN 2
