The calendar year of 2011 was a difficult one for Sean O’Driscoll. After previously being linked with a number of high-profile jobs, O’Driscoll suffered a difficult spell at Doncaster Rovers and subsequently lost his role as manager.

O’Driscoll was in pole position to land a Premier League managerial position at Burnley in January 2010 and a Championship job at Sheffield United at the end of the year but opted to stay at Donny.

A high number of injuries in 2011 sparked a terrible slump in performances and results and, after collecting 17 points from a total of 31 games, O’Driscoll bit the bullet.

Was this a harsh decision by the club? Yes and no. O’Driscoll had done well enough to keep his job as long as he wanted it, but the reality was that relegation was staring Doncaster in the face unless something changed.

Some might stay that a drop down to League One after four consecutive years in the Championship is a natural one for a club with our limited finances and, in that event, O’Driscoll would be the ideal man to build another promotion-chasing side.

But the men who put the money into Doncaster Rovers desperately want to preserve the club’s Championship status and decided a change was necessary. This was hard to argue against based on the statistics alone.

Personally I don’t feel that staying up in the Championship is the be-all and end-all to a club of our size but, at the end of the day, who knows how I’d feel if it was my millions being pumped into Rovers.

So, although I would have kept O’Driscoll on and was sad to see him go, I can understand why the board felt something had to give.

Since then, the former Bournemouth stalwart has been linked with jobs at Bristol Rovers, Northampton Town and Preston North End but opted instead to work as an unofficial mentor to Carl Fletcher, one of his former players, at Plymouth.

I tweeted only yesterday that seemed to be, with all due respect to Argyle, a disappointing situation for O’Driscoll. Plymouth are bottom of the Football League and O’Driscoll wasn’t even being given the opportunity to manage them.

Plymouth are a fine club in their own right but surely O’Driscoll, in five generally successful years at Doncaster, deserved another chance in the Championship.

Only hours after posting that tweet, O’Driscoll had one. But I have to say, like Plymouth, it’s another interesting situation to say the least. O’Driscoll has not been given a managerial position; he has landed the role as first team coach at struggling Nottingham Forest.

Helping out former Bournemouth colleague Steve Cotterill in the second tier of English football at a club with a great history is a good opportunity to get back into football on the face of it. However, when you examine things a little more closely, the move to bring in O’Driscoll to assist Cotterill does not make a huge amount of sense to the untrained eye.

Their personalities and methods are chalk and cheese; as footballers and managers. O’Driscoll was the creative central midfielder at the heart of Bournemouth’s play while Cotterill played the role of old-fashioned centre forward.

Cotterill is the firefighter, the streetfighter, the man who loves to develop a siege mentality in a bid to galvanise his charges. His pragmatic approach is not generally liked by supporters but Cotterill has got results at Stoke, Burnley, Notts County and Portsmouth. It’s understandable. Aesthetics don’t pay the rent, after all. They don’t go down in the history books.

O’Driscoll is a football romantic who places emphasis on processes and not outcomes. For him, performance is everything because you cannot control the result. In O’Driscoll’s mind, if you focus on all of those behind the scene nitty-gritties, then the end product will look after itself.

He too has operated on a shoestring but demands footballers who fit a certain profile. O’Driscoll wants forward-thinkers, those who are brave enough to demand the ball and take command of its destiny. O’Driscoll wants his team to dominate possession, even if they are not actively looking to score. If you have the ball, the opposition can’t do any damage, after all.

Cotterill’s definition of bravery is different. He is a man of the trenches, one who wants his colleagues to fight for everything. Cotterill is happy to sacrifice possession for territory, the master of the nicked 1-0 away win with men tucked safely behind the ball. Those battling qualities his sides possess were one of the reasons he was given the job in the first place.

His start was promising but suddenly, it’s all gone a bit Frank Spencer. Forest have won just once in eleven games, and in the ten matches where they have failed to win, they have also failed to score. Their latest defeat, a disgraceful 4-0 F.A.Cup defeat at Leicester, epitomised their problems.

Granted they were without their rocks, Wes Morgan and Luke Chambers, and key striker Marcus Tudgay, but Forest defended like schoolboys, even with six men designed to be behind the ball at all times, and showed little attacking intent.

The third goal was a microcosm of their miserable evening, with one direct ball causing problems. Joel Lynch was easily beaten for a header by David Nugent and Jermaine Beckford got the wrong side of makeshift centre half Guy Moussi. There was no clever build-up play, or cute use of angles, just a punt forward, a flick on, and a neat finish.

Jonathan Greening and George Boateng were brought in as experienced midfield minds but their bodies look tired. Their limited possession was shifted sideways and backwards, their shield-like qualities were not apparent. Andy Reid is a technician but was in no man’s land between the midfield and lone frontman, Marlon Harewood, who was given aimless long balls to chase. Forest’s wide men were ineffective and one of them, Robbie Findley, missed their one clear-cut chance – the definition of an open goal, even in the world of football clichés.

Based on the evidence of Tuesday evening, it is hard to see how O’Driscoll cannot come to Forest’s aid but how will the new structure work?

If O’Driscoll preaches a careful passing game on the training ground but Cotterill prefers his more direct methods, then how will it fit together? O’Driscoll refused to sacrifice his principles in five years at Doncaster, even when the team were bottom of the league, so why will that change now? Cotterill has made a living by setting his teams out in a completely different way, so will he change his beliefs at a time when strong minds are needed most?

Cotterill reports the two to be good friends but tensions were high in last season’s meetings between Portsmouth and Doncaster, when the two were rival managers. In a particularly bad-tempered affair at the Keepmoat, O’Driscoll was visibly annoyed by Portsmouth’s tactics and he and Cotterill nearly came face-to-face at one point. It is the only time I’ve ever seen O’Driscoll get cross with an opposing manager. It may just have been a heat of the moment thing, of course.

The reason O’Driscoll left his position at Donny was that results were not forthcoming and that is what Forest need at the moment. Perhaps the best way to get them is to completely change the approach, but O’Driscoll lacks the power to do that as first team coach. If the style is changed, then O’Driscoll will surely get the credit if performances and results improve, and if it isn’t, then it will be obvious that he has not been allowed to make alterations. Either way, Cotterill isn’t going to come out of it with any credit, which makes his position difficult.

If Forest wanted to change their approach, the sensible idea would have been to appoint O’Driscoll as manager back in November. If they didn’t believe in his methods at that point, then what has changed since? Even if they believe fully in them now, how can they be fully utilised in the position he has been given?

O’Driscoll the tactician and Cotterill the motivator is obviously how it’s seen, but managers hate being pigeon-holed and want full control of the operation. I don’t know what happened to Billy Davies at Forest but he did a great job; nobody realised how good until he had gone. Either side of his appointment, Forest have been in the bottom three in this league so Cotterill and O’Driscoll have their work cut out, however they set about forming a partnership.

O’Driscoll, I feel, can be the man for Forest’s job. Just not necessarily the one he’s been given.

Knitters Lav the big games

A pair of Nuneaton old-boys inflicted plenty of misery on their former team as Hinckley United made a mockery of the Blue Square North table by landing an emphatic 5-2 away win on New Year’s Day.

Richard Lavery opened the scoring with just 46 seconds on the clock while the impressive Sam Belcher added the third and fifth goals as third-bottom Hinckley thrashed their fourth-placed rivals.

Skipper Andy Gooding and the dangerous Andre Gray were also on target for Dean Thomas’ men, who gained full reward for their attacking 4-4-2 formation.

The masterstroke from Thomas was placing usual wide man Lloyd Kerry at right back to allow Belcher to wreak havoc by drifting drift inside off the flank.

With Tom Byrne, Lavery and Gooding also getting forward to support the brilliant forward duo Danny Newton and Gray, the Knitters looked like scoring every time they went forward.

That trend started from the very first attack of the game. Newton beat goalkeeper Craig Alcock to Gray’s cross from the right and his flick-on was headed home by Lavery, who paid respect to his former club by not celebrating a goal he simply could not miss.

Hinckley doubled their advantage after 14 minutes following a well-worked move down the left-hand side. Byrne jinked his way down the flank before playing in Newton, whose pass was expertly finished by Gooding from the edge of the box.

When Belcher lashed home a shot from a similar position after linking well with Gray, the Knitters were 3-0 up after just 22 minutes. It could have been even better had Gray squared the ball when well-placed rather than going for goal but no doubt the visitors were delighted with how the afternoon was taking shape.

Nuneaton needed a response and Lavery was on hand to make a block that was as painful as it was crucial. Denham Hinds then dealt well with Wesley York’s dipping shot to keep the three-goal lead intact before Gray spurned a marvellous chance to kill the game on the stroke of half-time.

The striker latched onto a super ball from partner Newton but uncharacteristically slashed the one-on-one opportunity wide. Nuneaton were fortunate to still have a sniff and no doubt received some hairdryer treatment from manager Kevin Wilkin at half-time.

The players could have done with such a device as the second half kicked off as the heavens opened during the interval. Home fans scurried for cover behind the goal they were now attacking and the Knitters knew that Nuneaton were going to throw everything at them.

The visitors needed to keep their goal intact but conceded inside two minutes as Gareth Dean lost marker Callum Flanagan to plant home a header from a free-kick on the left.

Nuneaton were well up for it now and almost pulled another back from an identical situation. On this occasion, Flanagan cleared from under his own bar after a home player flicked the ball over Hinds in the six-yard box.

It was backs-to-the-wall stuff as Nuneaton scented blood but Hinckley managed to notch a fourth goal against the run of play just before the hour-mark. Newton was again provider as he played in Gray, who turned and passed the ball into the corner for a goal that knocked the stuffing out of their rivals.

Nuneaton conceded a soft fifth goal after 71 minutes as Byrne was bundled to the ground following a mazy run and Belcher belted the penalty down the middle. Hinckley may now have sensed a sixth or seventh against a side at sixes and sevens but the home side did not give up and Adam Walker flicked home a nice finish after a period of pressure.

Hinds was forced to make another smart save as Nuneaton kept pressing but Hinckley could also easily have added to their tally, with substitutes George Thompson and Jake Holt going close.

This was definitely Hinckley’s afternoon as they built on a 1-1 draw against the same opposition on Boxing Day. The Knitters have shown what they are capable of in these games plus cup fixtures against Conference sides Wrexham, Darlington and Tamworth and a charge up the table will now surely follow.

Finding a way…

Steve Waugh knew there was something about Paul Nixon during their time together at Kent. Waugh once said: “Nico should have been born an Australian.” It was the ultimate tribute from a man so proud to wear the Baggy Green.

Waugh also said that there are no fairytales in sport but he might have to revise that now for his old teammate. For Nixon had the perfect finale to his professional playing career in England.

The veteran played a key part in Leicestershire Foxes’ thrilling third Friends Life t20 title.  Nixon threw himself full-length to take a crucial one-handed catch for the team at a packed Edgbaston on Saturday evening.

“Every fairytale needs a sprinkling of magic,” grinned Matthew Hoggard in the post-match press conference, complete with a straw hat donated by a Leicestershire fan and an ice cold bottle of beer. “That was the sprinkling.”

Hoggard was spot on; the dismissal of Kieron Pollard proved the catalyst for an 18-run win that nobody outside of Leicestershire believed was possible. The feeling within the camp, of course, was the polar opposite.

“As a squad, we’ve had a belief in our abilities to get over the line, whatever the situation,” said Will Jefferson, the hero of the one-over eliminator that clinched a thrilling semi-final triumph against Lancashire Lightning.

“We talk about finding a way,” said Nixon. Josh Cobb echoed those sentiments: “We’ve always found a way to win,” he said, during the rain delay in the quarter-final tie against Kent. That was one of many games the Foxes pulled out of the bag during a fantastic campaign.

Cobb’s Finals Day story epitomised the spirit within the Leicestershire camp. It started horribly with a diamond duck but Cobb showed a tremendous lack of fear to go out to bat in the one-over shoot-out.

What was going through his mind? “The mindset was pretty simple: Clear the ropes,” he laughed. “It was the last chance saloon.”  In walking off the field as a winner alongside Jefferson, Cobb’s day had taken a significant turn for the better. It didn’t stop there.

Cobb took four wickets and completed a smart run out in the final as part of a man-of-the-match performance. He was also one of the few batsmen who scored freely in the showpiece game, gathering 18 runs from just 10 balls.

It took some bottle; as it did for Wayne White, who suffered the horrible feeling of going for the last-ball six in the semi-final that tied the game. White too bounced back, hitting a brisk 10 not out from five deliveries in the final before claiming that key wicket of Pollard via Nixon’s super glovework.

The duo’s character will not have been lost on Nixon, who picked up Cobb just hours after he was born. Just over 21 years later (Cobb celebrated his birthday during the recent LV=CC game at Colwyn Bay), the duo were holding a trophy and enjoying a drop of bubbly on the Edgbaston turf.

This was the stuff that dreams are made of. “Thankfully, it was written in the stars today,” said Nixon, with a glint in his eye.  “The timing was right, everything was right.

“The Kent game at home was very special and I felt like that was my send-off. Mentally, I felt that this was business time; that this was for the lads, who’d given me so much.

“That Kent game was for me, this is for everyone else. This is for Leicestershire as a Club. This is for Leicestershire as a county.”

It had all made for terrific viewing from the state-of-the-art press box at Edgbaston, where the media were very well looked after. Warwickshire had provided enough food and drink to cater for everybody twice over.

There were programmes, scorecards and information aplenty. Nothing was too much trouble; the little touches make a big difference and everything had been thought through.

I say terrific viewing, but I could barely watch the closing stages of the game against Lancashire. By the end of it, I felt physically sick; almost ready to explode at the combination of excitement and tension.

Thankfully, the players were the calmest people in the ground and it was fantastic for Phil Whitticase, his backroom staff, Chairman Paul Haywood, Chief Executive Mike Siddall, the Board of Directors, the committee members, the Club staff and the supporters to be part of this thrilling triumph.

From Abdul Razzaq’s hitting masterclass alongside White’s clean hitting at Lancashire at Old Trafford to the fearless batting of James Taylor and Jacques du Toit against Derbyshire at home, the Foxes developed a winning habit.

Brilliant all-rounder Andrew McDonald was the competition’s leading run-scorer and chipped in with runs and good catches, left arm paceman Harry Gurney was among the top wicket-takers and added hostility to the attack.

Look up economy in the dictionary and Claude Henderson’s picture would be next to it. Matthew Boyce, although not getting the opportunity to have much of a bat, was like dynamite in the field.

Hoggard took wickets throughout and showed his class and experience on Finals Day while Jigar Naik took three wickets in his first over of t20 this season and was always ready to come into the side.

Cobb and Jefferson were destructive in the powerplay overs, while Nixon, in his last professional season, importantly helped get the Foxes off to a winning start at Wantage Road.

They didn’t look back after ending Northamptonshire’s unbeaten start to the season. “Everyone has come to the party,” smiled Nixon. And everyone was going to one too, to celebrate this phenomenal achievement.

Throwing stones in glass cities

Being a football manager can be like trying to build a city out of glass. No matter how much time, care and patience you put into it, the fragile nature of the structure makes you vulnerable; it’s only ever a couple of minutes away from being shattered.

Take Arsene Wenger, for example. He may have introduced a whole new culture to English football, he may have signed terrific players, he may have brought trophies to the club. But Arsenal have not won anything for a while and Wenger is under fire from all angles.

While Wenger’s sulky manner on the touchline and lack of vision of key events in matches involving his side can be irritating, it is only because he is protective of his club and has a huge desire to win. Nobody can question what he has brought to Arsenal and the game of football in England. He has been an inspiration.

Wenger once went a whole season undefeated in the Premier League and he has introduced players of the calibre of Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry and Cesc Fabregas to England. It has been sad for myself, as a neutral, to see Wenger receive such stinging criticism from all quarters – particularly the media – because he deserves more respect.

Perhaps it is easy for me to enjoy Arsenal’s football because I do not hang on their every result like the diehard. But I see similarities to Wenger in Sean O’Driscoll, the manager of the club closest to my heart.

Dave Penney did a terrific job to take us from the Conference to League One but O’Driscoll’s tactical awareness and eye for a player allowed us to take the next step. He transformed us into a side that has mixed it with the Championship’s best for three seasons on a shoestring. We have been labelled the ‘Arsenal of the North’ as a result.

Now, four games into the new campaign, we sit at the foot of the table with a lengthy long-term injury list including key duo Billy Sharp and James Hayter, one goal and no points. We have not won a league game since March 1. Already, like in Wenger’s case, there have been calls for O’Driscoll’s head.

I’ve been watching Doncaster since 1993 and if anyone thinks this is bad, then they can’t have stood among their own piss at Northampton’s old ground, or witnessed the 1-0 defeat at home to Forest Green Rovers at Belle Vue. My goodness, I have seen some shite over the years. These are still great days at Doncaster Rovers, I promise you.

We always knew this year was going to be tough. In the first season of the Championship, we were bottom on Boxing Day with barely a point or goal to our name and we stayed up comfortably. I’m not saying we’ll do that again but there’s no reason why we won’t start to pick up points once players start coming back – and even before then.

Although that is heavily dependent on a good squad of players, I have belief in O’Driscoll, for he has installed a culture at Donny that goes beyond individual results. His focus on performance may appear obsessional to the neutral but it was that approach that kept us afloat after promotion.

We have learnt and accepted that you can play well and lose. That, to many, is no good – I can understand that. But a football season is a 46-game marathon, not a four-game sprint. Sure, it is better to have a good start to the season than a poor one, but how you begin is neither here nor there. League tables at this stage, quite frankly, are a nonsense. Maybe that’s easy to say when you’re bottom but O’Driscoll would laugh it off if we were top.

Although Arsenal and Doncaster may well go on to have poor seasons – and the definitions of that will vary widely – they each have a manager who has transformed the working environments at their clubs. They each have managers who invest in people as much as players; leaders who are prepared to invest in youth and cast the net far and wide to find their latest rough diamond.

I don’t quite know when and why but football has become win-win-win to the extent that managers are now ten-a-penny rather than valued. There is always a bigger picture. Doncaster Rovers will be said to be facing a crisis but we nearly went out of business in the 90s. Losing four games is disappointing but the situation is not irretrievable.

Wenger, meanwhile, has had to say that he’s not a quitter after taking one point from two Premier League games. Does he really have to fight for his job after two league games? Do his achievements since taking over in 1996 count for so little?

I appreciate the frustrations of Arsenal fans but Wenger’s method is proven to work and he built those exceptional Arsenal sides that brought glory in the past. Arsenal won with an identity. Doncaster achieved promotion and survival with an identity. It is increasingly difficult to do that in a game where money talks, but it has been done before. I, for one, admire the fact that both Wenger and O’Driscoll believe it can be done again.

I’m not suggesting that either manager is flawless, or that supporters and journalists cannot ask questions. But if both managers were to leave tomorrow, would it really improve the long-term fortunes of either club? People who disagree with me will argue yes, and, that when change is needed, it’s a switch at the top.

But would it be change for the better or simply for change’s sake? Sometimes, you have to be careful what you wish for because glass cities, like Rome, cannot be built in a day.

Under no illusions

If the first week of the season is anything to go by, then Sean O’Driscoll is facing a long, hard season as Doncaster Rovers manager. The team lost an equaliser in the 83rd minute at Brighton and a winner in the eighth minute of injury time. As if that somehow wasn’t enough, Rovers saw their two leading goal threats depart the Amex Stadium on a stretcher.

With Billy Sharp and James Hayter joining seven others on the injury list, Donny could ill-afford to lose anyone else in the League Cup game against fellow Rovers, of Tranmere. Imagine O’Driscoll’s horror when talented playmaker Ryan Mason became the third player to be carried off in agony in the space of two games.

So now Doncaster have to prepare for tough back-to-back home games with promotion fancies West Ham and Nottingham Forest with a full team unavailable. There are no guarantees that Muzzy Dumbuya and Richard Naylor will be fit either, while Rachid Bouhenna awaits international clearance and Chris Brown is struggling to get through 90 minutes at the moment.

While certain clubs have expressed disappointment at the number of subs allowed dropping to seven, O’Driscoll will be pleased to be able to name five. An attacking option among them? Unlikely, unless a loan move goes through, because Giles Barnes and Kyle Bennett will probably start. O’Driscoll’s task to keep Rovers competitive in an uncompromising division is getting tougher.

Rovers, I feel, are at a Championship crossroads. We no longer have the momentum that comes with promotion (Brighton, Southampton and Peterborough benefitted from this last week), we are no longer a club that is under-estimated (like the first year), we no longer have the likes of Matt Mills, Richie Wellens, Jason Shackell, Elliott Ward or Gareth Roberts and too many key players are sidelined.

Perhaps most worryingly, we are not able to compete financially with many of our rivals. One therefore has to sympathise with O’Driscoll, his assistant Richard O’Kelly, Chairman John Ryan and the directors. They all know what we need to be successful but it is not sustainable to plough money into the football club the size of ours, because that only goes one way.

The team’s search for a league victory stretches back to Tuesday, March 1 at Derby. How do we end that sequence? How can we get to 50 points with all of these long-term injuries? In some senses, all we can do is try to win the next game. Which brings me back to an excellent article on O’Driscoll written by Michael Walker last season after our excellent start. In that interview, O’Driscoll was quizzed on his ambition for the campaign.

He said: “Our ambition is to win the next game.” And beyond that?  “Win the next game. That’s my ambition.” He later added: “To go back to your original question about where that will take us, I haven’t got a clue. And in some senses, I don’t care. It’s pointless if I’m fixated on promotion.

“I’m under no illusions that I have to win matches but for me the best way to do that is to have a team that is flexible, made of players who understand why we do what we do. And when we do that well, we’re as good as anybody.”

While luck has not been on O’Driscoll’s side since that interview, his philosophy will remain the same. Rovers will go out tomorrow afternoon looking to play good football, looking to put in a performance, looking for a way to overcome a West Ham side who possess a Premiership midfield in the form of Scott Parker, Mark Noble, Kevin Nolan and Matt Taylor.

The odds will be stacked against us, but, in all honesty, when are they not? O’Driscoll said he will send the team out with no fear and I reckon that is the way to go. If we go out feeling sorry for ourselves, if we are in awe of the Hammers, we’ll get beat. However, if we’re positive in everything we do, if we’re competitive and creative in equal measure, then you never know.

With eleven players (at least) unavailable, will that be enough? And where will that approach take us this season? I don’t know, and in some senses, I don’t care. We’ve already been written off but we’ll give it our best shot. I can’t speak highly enough of O’Driscoll or his players, and will back them to the hilt, whatever the weather.

Rovers make it four

It is that time of the year where everybody talks in length about their team’s season and the one ahead. But I’m going to keep it fairly brief!

Doncaster Rovers had a terrific start to the season and were in play-off contention early in the New Year, but a terrible second half meant Rovers were sucked into a relegation battle.

Although it was more nervy than anyone would have liked, the only thing that matters is that Donny got over the finishing line without having to win any of their final 12 games.

But we’ll start again from scratch in 2011-12. Neither Rovers, Palace nor Derby got to the coveted 50-point mark and all three could (maybe should) have gone down. Scunthorpe, Sheffield United and Preston each getting 42 points is, frankly, awful.

Many viewed finishing 21st as a disappointment but I said at the start of the year I’d take fourth-bottom and O’Driscoll to still be at the helm. My attitude is always to get to 50 points and go from there. We got 48 this term; if we don’t register 50 this time, we can’t expect another reprieve.

Although I would have loved to have seen us finish higher, being in the Championship for a fourth consecutive season should not be taken for granted. Just look at what happened to the Blades, who, at £12m, had a far bigger wage budget than ourselves.

A lot of our problems came down to injuries and O’Driscoll struggled to put a squad out at times. However, you have to look at factors that can be controlled.

Rovers were leaky at the back and although that stems from the back five as a collective, Doncaster badly lacked a commanding centre half in the mould of Matt Mills, Jason Shackell and Elliot Ward.

George Friend had a successful conversion from left back but Shelton Martis wasn’t available enough and signings Matt Kilgallon, Wayne Thomas and Dennis Souza did not nail down a place. All three have moved on.

In Jimmy O’Connor, Muzzy Dumbuya, (potentially) Joe Mills and Friend (who could play left back if needed), the full back positions are sorted. Even if Martis comes back fully fit and firing, I’d like to see another CB to come in to challenge for the position.

Elsewhere, the team coped without Brian Stock for long periods but struggled for goals whenever Billy Sharp and James Hayter weren’t around and lacked creativity if James Coppinger was out. Ryan Mason, Franck Moussa and Jason Euell were excellent loan signings – but will any of them return?

With Martin Woods barely playing a game, he will be like the proverbial new signing, so we are covered in central areas if Stock is out long-term like suggested. The under-rated Simon Gillett is an ideal partner for Woods while John Oster and Mark Wilson are good players.

So my hopes for this term? My Championship philosophy is unchanged; every point is precious, fourth-bottom is fine and O’Driscoll is the right man for the job.

Preston’s pleasure in pain

Oh how we’ve been spoilt at Doncaster Rovers in recent times. I genuinely can’t remember the last occasion we had a game like against Preston last night; one of those dreaded games billed as ‘MUST WIN’ or a ‘REAL SIX-POINTER’

These sorts of matches are apparently exciting for the neutrals but faithful followers are put through the wringer – the long way to hell and back.

Chances were frequent but frittered away and the action was as frenetic as it was fragmented. It was an evening fraught with frustration.

There were two spirited sides who were committed to attack but both possessed little cohesion in their play and a complete lack of co-ordination in defence.

If it hadn’t mattered so much, it might have been good fun. Having said that, I have found the Championship to be far from a joy division as a supporter, so I’m sticking to my verdict: It was painful!

The PNE travelling contingent seemed to be made up of masochists. Like the song about the post-punk band by the Wombats, they were celebrating the irony: Everything is going wrong, but they were so happy.

Donny fans, including myself, were notably more tense and grumpy. We didn’t care for this drama, for there’s only one thing worse than a ‘must win’ game and that’s a must not lose affair, which is what this game actually was for us.

Perhaps Preston had accepted their fate beforehand and were hoping for the best whereas all we could do, as Rovers followers, was live in fear of the worst. Being seven points outside the bottom three with six games to go meant only one thing: it was ours to mess up while for Preston, it was the chance of the Great Escape.

While PNE fans seemed fairly relaxed, their manager, Phil Brown, who would love to do a Steve McQueen around Deepdale, was living on the edge. Sporting his traditional suit with overcoat, earpiece and perma-tan, Brown was like a ticking timebomb on the bench.

The man at the helm didn’t need an invitation to come onto the pitch, but boy did he get one in the second half, with a huge RSVP stamped all over it, when referee Scott Mathieson inexplicably decided that Jimmy O’Connor hadn’t fouled Eddie Johnson in the box.

Johnson raced up field from a break following a Rovers corner and was about to score when O’Connor took him down. Even as a die-hard fan with rose-tinted specs, my head went into my hands. Penalty. Red card. 1-0 down with ten men in the game we couldn’t afford to lose.

To my amazement – literal, full-bodied amazement given Mr Mathieson had penalised every little thing in the match – as I looked up thinking it was all over, Brown was on the pitch not celebrating a goal but berating the wee man in charge.

Mr Mathieson was pointing for a corner; not to the spot. But although O’Connor had been booked for simulation in the first half, there was nothing given here, so what exactly was the ref’s interpretation? Like most of Mr Mathieson’s decisions or the game in general, I couldn’t quite fathom it out but I’ve long given up trying to understand.

One thing I do know is that it felt like a sign that we’d stay up at PNE’s expense. And after 77 minutes of basketball-style football without a goal despite it gaping on countless occasions, we got another nod from the footballing gods.

Brian Stock was treated like an outcast at Deepdale, so when our skipper lashed home the opening goal, how good that must have felt. My parents always told me that getting payback is not the way to react but I concur with little Karen from Outnumbered: “Revenge is quite a good thing,” she says, “cause then they know never to do it again.”

The most important thing, naturally, was the goal boosted our survival bid but Stock looked as though he’d put the final nail in their Championship coffin. What with the penalty and manner of the goal – with its timing and its scorer – it was all going our way, right?

Wrong. Before I’d even had time to say ‘Paul Hayes always scores against us’, the sub had stuck in the equaliser with his first touch from an offside position and suddenly our luck had run out. It was game back on. Brown was again on the pitch, dancing around like the man from those silly tango adverts.

It was now time for tactical astuteness. There was a special gesture from Brown, with his arms being waved quickly towards our goal (code for ‘take no care, just boot the bloody thing forward’). This, I thought, had been the general gameplan throughout but Brown now sensed victory so the signalling was being done more vigourously.

The penalty was forgotten (for now). It was Preston’s turn to feel their destiny was to score another goal and close the gap. For Brown to make it a hat-trick of forbidden appearances on the Keepmoat turf before the final whistle.

From my point of view, it was a baffling turn of events. Suddenly we went from looking safe to defending like madmen. Sean O’Driscoll shoved another big centre half on, whose sole aim in life was to head the bloody thing away after it had been booted forward with hope in the absence of accuracy.

With a lack of conviction in both teams’ defending, this was not for the faint-hearted. They attacked. Then we broke forward again. Then we were caught short again. This was end-to-end stuff and quite frankly, I didn’t care for it. Although 1-0 would have been great, 1-1 was acceptable. Blow up Mr Mathieson, put us all out of our misery.

Still no whistle. Another break. A yellow shirt was again sprinting towards our goal with no challenge forthcoming. Out came Gary Woods, who had a fine game, and the ball deflected over him and across goal. From the angle I was sat at, it looked like it was in. It wasn’t, thank goodness.

The final whistle went and I didn’t really know whether to laugh or cry; to be pleased, disappointed or relieved. I suspect Preston’s fans felt the same. Brown was again on the pitch – this time legally – clapping the travelling supporters who sung their little hearts out for their beloved Lilywhites.

I couldn’t help feeling a little sorry for them because they’re clearly a loyal bunch and had their team played with such endeavour all the way through, they surely wouldn’t be in the bottom three.

But the feeling quickly passed because there’s no room for compassion in these situations. Put simply, Preston needed to win and we didn’t. It was a good result for us in the circumstances.

While Brown was presumerably heading towards the referee’s room, O’Driscoll just stood quietly with the look of a man who didn’t know what had just happened – and he wasn’t the only one. He may also, I suspect, have been wondering quite why we are all fascinated by this frustrating game.

Upon hearing that Scunny and Sheffield United had lost, it emerged that we’d moved one point further away from the bottom three with another game chalked off the list. So I was just grateful for small mercies.

The good news is we can go through it once more on Saturday. Love – no doubt – will tear us apart, again.

Sheffield shambles…

What on earth has happened to football in Sheffield in recent times? Not so long ago the Blades were in the Premier League while the Owls were an established Championship team.

This was happening while Doncaster Rovers were re-establishing themselves as a Football League team but how the tables have turned. It looks increasingly likely that Rovers will start in a division higher than both clubs next season. What a turnaround.

While Donny were battling to an extremely valuable goalless draw at Nottingham Forest, Sheffield Wednesday were losing 1-0 at Notts County in League One and Sheffield United were even worse.

They lost 3-0 at Watford with just nine men in an important Championship game. It was their second loss by that margin with two men short in recent weeks and left manager Micky Adams questioning his future.

Adams is on the brink after overseeing just one win since taking over at the beack end of 2010 and his charges are six points adrift of safety with a goal difference of minus 27. They have picked up just 32 points from 37 games; needing roughly 18 more from their last nine matches.

Two points a game is promotion form and there are no signs they are capable of pulling it out of the bag. Just take a listen to Adams’ depressing post-match interview after the Watford debacle:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/9418799.stm

I thought he’d be struggling to keep the Blades up after the very first game at Burnley on New Year’s Day – he was already questioning character and leadership just one game in. Have a listen to this:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/9322915.stm

There was talk of a ‘siege mentality’ in an interview not long after this one; the writing has been on the wall for some time now.

So the Steel City derby looks like being a League One fixture next year. As a follower of football in the region, it gives me no pleasure to see it. But it does provide an insight as to how well Doncaster have done in recent times.

We are still not safe, but the resilience shown by the club in the face of many injury problems has been heart-warming. We should have enough to stay up; six points from nine games will do it.

If we do, we’ll start next season as one of the Yorkshire’s leading placed clubs. Who’d have thought that when the 1998-99 season came to its conclusion?

Nottingham Forest 0 Doncaster Rovers 0

Gordon Ramsay loves an F-word and there were plenty flying around the City Ground on Saturday afternoon. Many being uttered by the home faithful were unrepeatable but one that was popular – and printable – was ‘frustrating’. That suited Doncaster Rovers just fine as they ground out a priceless goalless draw by the side of the Trent.

The buzzword that circulated among the travelling contingent was Friend; for although the stand-in centre half nearly let in Rob Earnshaw on the stroke of half-time after a miskick, the youngster was otherwise outstanding for a fourth time in five games.

His general calmness on the ball and solid defending epitomised a fine Rovers’ rearguard that could have seen one point turn to three as the team grew in confidence. Ryan Mason (twice) and James Coppinger went close in the latter stages as Forest got fragmented and flustered but the hosts could well have nicked it too.

They probably should have on balance of chances and Forest fans were left to bemoan what was generally thought to be a drab game. From the away end, it appeared to be gripping; perhaps that’s the joy of following a smaller club trying to stay up than supporting a bigger one with larger expectations.

Maybe it’s just that results change perceptions and an away point is always more satisfying than a home one. An away clean sheet and subsequent point against a top-six team who hardly lose at home is certainly pleasing when you’re contending with multiple injuries including leading marksman Billy Sharp and possess the worst defensive record in the league.

Sean O’Driscoll rarely gets his tactics wrong and Doncaster played this one to perfection. It was reminiscent of an underdog in a cup tie; soaking up the pressure and growing in stature as the game wore on. However, it is also a dangerous game because Forest knew they were only ever a goal away from blowing the visitors’ best laid plans out of the water.

Doncaster needed to be men and not mice – and there was no squeaking. The early pattern of play was set as Forest enjoyed plenty of the ball and Rovers sat deep. They looked nice and organised. Was this really a side that had only kept one clean sheet away from home all season?

It didn’t look that way. There was a resilience and character here; a bloody-mindedness. The visitors were going to have to be broken down. One goal may well have been enough but Rovers seemed to relish living on the edge and the spirit pulled them through as much as anything else.

Forest had plenty of huffing and puffing but when the ball broke in front of goal, there was nothing but fluffing. Earnshaw was denied by a smart save by Gary Woods at the end of the first half but he really should have punished a rare Friend mistake. Nathan Tyson should also have buried a free header from one of several threatening Chris Gunter crosses when well positioned after the interval; he glanced it well wide.

Winger Garath McCleary then had the freedom of Nottingham with six minutes remaining but took a heavy touch and Friend recovered brilliantly to block. When home debutant Kris Boyd completely missed his kick towards the end of the game, Rovers knew they were leaving with a precious 44^th point of the campaign.

Between those chances the assured Sam Hird punted one off the line and Doncaster, buoyed by the introduction of the livewire Mason, were also a threat on the break. Workhorse James Hayter ploughed a lone furrow valiantly in the face of the brick wall that was Wes Morgan and Luke Chambers and when he linked well with the Tottenham loanee, Rovers ought to have been ahead.

Mason slipped the shot agonisingly wide and also shot across Lee Camp from another counter. You could sense there was a goal in the match but given Rovers’ horrible tendency to give away late goals – particularly when Keith Stroud is refereeing – and their lack of shut-outs, Forest were always favourites to nick it.

When Stroud last officiated Rovers, a brave performance was undone by a last-gasp sickener at Millwall and the season before saw the official give an injury-time penalty at Scunthorpe. There was no repeat here. Rovers, well marshalled in midfield by Brian Stock and the excellent Simon Gillett on his welcome return from injury, got the tangible reward their endeavours warranted.

Forest fans on BBC Radio Nottingham were far from impressed but although a run of six games without a win is disappointing, it does not constitute a crisis. The Trees were far from their best and badly missed the presence of Dexter Blackstock but Doncaster were never going to just lay down and die; our Championship status is far too precious for that.

It was pleasing to see a combative display and there were also signs of the Rovers we know and love with the reacquaintance of Stock, Gillett, Coppinger and Hayter and their combination with the vivacious loan duo Mason and Franck Moussa. Although it wasn’t vintage stuff by any means, the lads kept the ball far better than in recent weeks and it meant the defence was not under constant pressure.

Although the stoppers get blamed for concessions, you defend as a team and Rovers’ midfield worked tirelessly to protect the back four; Gillett undoubtedly improved us in that regard. The indefatigable Hayter defended from the front and the outcome was one of those gutsy team performances where you couldn’t fault anybody.

Sections of the home crowd were understandably annoyed by the result but whereas Forest need wins to keep up with the pace, Donny are in a position where they can chalk on any point and chalk off every game. With Sheffield United, Scunthorpe United and Crystal Palace all losing – the former being thrashed 3-0 with nine men for a second time in recent weeks – this was one more on and one more off, as it were.

Every point nudges us closer…

At first glance, Nottingham Forest against Doncaster Rovers looks a home banker. It’s 6th v 17th, it’s promotion chasers against a team looking to survive, it’s the league’s leakiest defence travelling to a potent attack literally buoyed by the arrival of a new striker. It’s a strong Forest rearguard against a Rovers side lacking their leading marksman, Billy Sharp.

This is not a clear-cut division though. After writing about how well Nottingham Forest played in their 2-1 success against fellow promotion chasers Cardiff City the other week, the Trees have not registered a win in their last five games.

As if to underline the unpredictability of the Championship, Doncaster Rovers have lost just once in the same period despite not registering a shot or corner during a 3-0 trouncing at Swansea that very afternoon. The defeat followed up a 6-0 reverse at home to Ipswich the previous Tuesday and to say things weren’t looking good is putting it mildly.

Strong minds were needed and the team has shown great character to come from behind to record draws with Norwich, Watford and Coventry and to see off Derby at Pride Park since the defeat in South Wales. The 5-2 loss at Leeds last Saturday displayed all of Rovers’ well-known defensive frailties but I’d have taken six points from the last five games and it gives us a nine-point ‘cushion’ going into the last ten.

That gap was put in inverted commas because third-from-bottom Scunthorpe possess a game in hand and that’s basement boys Preston on Tuesday so, in theory, it could be six. That doesn’t sound a lot but when you consider Leicester are questioning their play-off credentials because they trail by seven points, then you realise it is. The Foxes, ironically, could do their hopes – and ours – a huge favour by winning at Glanford Park tomorrow.

It would be nice to have more and be pushing for the play-offs but Sean O’Driscoll has done a terrific job in the circumstances given he has been fire-fighting with limited amounts of water. Staying up will be a huge achievement given the injury problems and it’s well within reach. I reckon another seven points will do and I’m sure we can get them.

The important thing in this division is to concentrate on what you’re doing and not to worry about results on any given day, such as Sheffield United beating Forest and Crystal Palace seeing off Cardiff in the week. If anything, it shows that anyone can beat anyone and should give Rovers heart ahead of the next two tough assignments.

Although it’s hard to see how a team struggling for points can overcome two of the best sides in the league, we are meeting them at good times in my opinion. It’s not often Forest lose two on the bounce – they’ve lost just seven all season – and QPR are facing a points deduction following an investigation into the signing of their midfield playmaker Alejandro Faurlin.

Forest followed an extremely rare home defeat to Hull with a setback at the Blades, who had not won under ‘new’ boss Micky Adams; a run that stretched back into 2010. Some might say this is therefore a dangerous time to play Forest (the ‘wounded animal’ argument) and they may be right but it’s probably as good as any. The same goes for QPR, whose rise to the top has been relentless and trouble-free to this point.

Whichever way you look at it, there is nothing to lose because Donny will be expected to lose both games. Even if results go the way that many expect, there will be a much-needed fortnight off after the QPR game and then eight games to go. There are players to come back and plenty of opportunities to keep our heads above water.

Every point nudges us closer to our target as the 1-1 draw with Coventry in midweek demonstrated. Sharp will be a huge loss but James Hayter’s return is vital and he epitomised Rovers’ spirit during the dire 1-1 stalemate.

Despite receiving precious little service in a dreadfully scrappy game – and although it was a first full 90 minutes for some time – Hayts kept going and grabbed a vital equaliser in the final minute of normal time. Hayter’s sheer desire to chase every single ball has been badly missed and that’s not mentioning his knack of popping up with vital goals.

Donny could even have nicked all three points in stoppage time and the endeavour was commendable in tough circumstances. Coventry came to be dogged and time waste at every available opportunity but the team were not disheartened and refused to lie down; a vital quality at this stage of the season. (As an aside, it was also nice to score a late goal against Coventry for once rather than suffering an undeserved setback to one going in at the other end.)

So although we’re not in great form and still have several players out, the last five games has proved the team has what it takes to survive. One huge bonus at the moment is there are plenty of poor teams in and around us; Derby and Coventry are testament to that. And that’s not even mentioning the bottom five, who have plenty of problems between them.