Doncaster Rovers F.C.
| Doncaster Rovers club badge | |||
| Full name | Doncaster Rovers Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Big Rovers, The Rovers | ||
| Founded | 1879 | ||
| Ground | Earth Stadium Doncaster | ||
| Capacity | 10,500 | ||
| Chairman |  John Ryan | ||
| Manager | Sean O'Driscoll | ||
| League | League One | ||
| 2005-06 | League One, 8th | ||
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Doncaster Rovers Football Club is 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
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, 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
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and Scotland, managed Doncaster twice, his final spell ending in November 1991 - six years before his death.
After difficult times for the club in the 80's and 90's 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 Penny has returned them to the Coca Cola League 1. 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. Dave Penny left in August 2006 and is set to be replaced with Sean O'Driscoll from Bournemouth FC.
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
Current squad
As of July, 2006 Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Notable Former Players
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
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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]
Fanzines
Supporters Organisations
- Doncaster Rovers Supporters Club website
- Viking Supporters Co-operative website
- Doncaster Rovers United Independent Disabled Supporters website