The opponent: Doncaster Rovers
The deathly silence that filled the County Ground on Saturday seems to be coming a bit too familiar now. Not a particularly dreadful performance and plenty of chances created with above average performances from the Tottenham Trio, but it really ended up being a case of deja’vu, with another 2 vital points dropped. I have to say that I am firmly in the camp of “look at the shit that our club has gone through this season and look at our league position”, as we are sat well placed in the league with just a handful of games left. OK, I don’t fancy Wembley. The nerves, the cost, and the gut feeling that someone along the lines of Jonathan Douglas or Danny Wilson end up stiffing us under The Arch. A win against Donny today would be massive. If we had picked up the 3 points on Good Friday then the game would have had an even sharper edge to it, with top of league 1 at stake, but as it now stands, we can get within 1 point of the team who have been the consistent force for a few weeks, so a win would still be massive.
I really wanted to go to this one, but the current workload and the easy option of a bacon roll and Sky Sports on my TV won the day, earning rather than spending I guess. For those making the journey to South Yorkshire today it may well be worth taking a metal detector and a shovel (think Tony Robinson off Time Team), as it is said Doncaster was built on a Roman Fort sometime in the 1st Century. Even back then the need for social housing was as great as it is today. To be honest, Doncaster as a town, and a borough has quite a fascinating history. Way back in 1334 it was by far the wealthiest town in southern Yorkshire, and it even had her own banker! It seems Doncaster has traditionally been a prosperous area. The borough was known for its rich landowners with vast estates and huge stately homes such as Brodsworth Hall, Cantley Hall, Cusworth Hall, Hickleton Hall, Nether Hall and Wheatley Hall. This wealth is evidenced in the luxurious and historic gilded 18th century Mansion House on High Street.
Doncaster really is lacking in any real A-list celebrities, especially those of the same ilk as Cannon and Ball. Tony Christie is worth a shout, as is moon faced Tory, William Hague, but my all time favourite is a little different, no, not one of the planks from One Direction, but Stephen Wade who was one of England's executioners from 1940 until 1955. He assisted Tom and Albert Pierrepoint on 31 occasions and also carried out 28 executions as head executioner. His last assignment was Alec Wilkinson (aged 22), whom he and Robert Leslie Stewart hanged at Armley Gaol, Leeds on 12 August 1955. Perhaps some of the TEF oap’s may remember this?
What are they saying about us? – “4-1 - we're due to mash someone and Swindon are in the firing line.”
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Best defence in the division? doubt it.
1-1 or the usual 2-1 either way for me”
http://www.drfc-vsc.co.uk/index.php?topic=238489.0Doncaster Rovers Last 6 – WLWDWL (Currently top of league 1 on 72 points)
The Threat – Joint top scorer for Doncaster Rovers is none other than pop star Rihanna’s ex woman batterer Chris Brown, or at least someone with the same name as him. Brown has found the back of the net 11 times this season.
A Warm Welcome to – The other joint top scorer is none other than Billy Paynter. I got nothing against the lad to be honest, it must be hard enough carrying around 4 chins as it is.
The irrelevant stats – A bit like ourselves, Doncaster’s home form is not that great and not really the home form you would possibly expect from the team at the top with a handful of games to go, much like Charlton and Brighton in recent years. They have played 19 games at home so far, winning 8, drawing 5 and losing 6 matches, scoring 24 and conceding 20. Could we possible win this?
Head to Head – We have a rather miserable record against Donny, having met 19 times, we have only won on 3 occasions, drawn 9, and lost 7. Although we were formed back in the same year, the first meeting between us did not come until 1959!
The Odds – Doncaster 7/4 Draw 23/10 Swindon 6/4 (SkyBet) Surprisingly our odds have shortened a couple of times with most the bookmakers this evening and out of around 16 bookies we are slight favourites for this with all of them. The obvious first goal scorer odds aim to Paynter, best priced 6/1 with Bet365. Adam Rooney can be backed at several outlets at 13/2.
The Son Says – He thought even longer than normal about this one but has plumped as optimistically as ever for a 2-0 Town slaying.
The Prediction – Could it be another ex top of the league style thrashing we dished out to Tranmere a while back? (and that was at the CG!). Perhaps not, but a 1-0 victory awaits with the games only goal coming in the 78th minute after a corner ricochets off Paynters wide load and Adam Rooney slaps the ball in the back of the net with the palm of his hand, endearing us to the general footballing public just a little more. 616 STFC braves in attendance.
And Finally – Transport has played an important role in Doncaster's heritage. The stagecoach trade of the 17th and 18th centuries generated the wealth that built the town centre in the Georgian fashion complete with one of only three Mansion Houses in Britain as its civic headquarters. Horse breeding for the stagecoach trade gave rise to Doncaster Racecourse and the founding of the Great Northern Railway Locomotive and Carriage Buildings Works, the factory that built the Flying Scotsman and the Mallard, brought further recognition.
