Football Season Guide

Doncaster Rovers have high hopes of making an immediate return to League One after being relegated at the end of last season. Donny have had mixed fortunes over the past few seasons having been crowned League One Champions following a dramatic last day win in 2012/13 before finishing bottom of the Championship a year later. A mid-table finish in 2014/15 saw Paul Dickov kept his job as manager at the start of last season but he was sacked within a month and he was replaced by former Peterborough United manager Darren Ferguson in October. An encouraging start saw talk of a play-off push at the turn of the year but they suffered a terrible run of 16 games without a single victory and found themselves staring relegation in the face. They had left themselves with too much to do and were relegated to the third tier of English football for the first time since 2004. It was shocking fate for the Vikings and Ferguson now faces a real job to rebuild his fading reputation and turning the club around. They have kept their faith and backed him in the transfer market during the close. The loans of midfielders Gary McSheffrey and Tommy Rowe have both been made permanent whilst winger Riccardo Calder has returned for another loan spell from Aston Villa. Goalkeeper Ross Etheridge, defenders Joe Wright and Mathieu Baudry, winger Matty Blair and striker John Marquis have all been added to the squad having impressed in League Two for their previous clubs last season. Added to the likes of last season’s player of the season Andy Butler, Captain James Coppinger and striker and leading goalscorer Andy Williams, Donny have a squad capable of challenging for promotion in 2016/17 and if they can arrest their downward spiral, they ought to go close.