Football Season Review

The season that is behind Doncaster Rovers can only be described as stuff of nightmares, as the Vikings will play their trade in League Two next season after suffering their second relegation in three seasons. Paul Dickov, who started their season at their helm, was always on borrowed time after being allowed to stay on after back-to-back disappointing seasons, and there was little surprise when he was fired only a month in the new campaign following a start that saw Doncaster win only once in their opening six matches. He was replaced by Rob Jones, who initially took over as player-coach and steadied the ship a bit, but the Vikings still opted to name a more experienced manager and appointed Darren Ferguson in mid October. The experienced Ferguson has certainly improved their form quite a bit in his first two months in charge, and the former Peterborough and Preston manager openly spoke about still hoping for a play-off push in January. However, pretty much no one could have predicted what was to unfold, as Doncaster went on 16-game winless run between mid January and mid April, before ending it with a win over eventual league winners Wigan. The win over the Latics was enough for them to restore some hope of staying up, but their three-month winless run eventually left them with too much to do, and their relegation was virtually confirmed with a game to spare. The Vikings still seem to be able to attract League One players of decent pedigree despite their relegation, having already completed the captures of Gary McSheffrey and Tommy Rowe, who both spent time with the club on loan last season. They are on a huge downward spiral as a club at the moment and Ferguson, who is set to stay at the club, will have the imperative of guiding them straight back up next season.

Player of the Season: Andy Butler