Doncaster Rovers 1-2 Bolton Wanderers

Doncaster Rovers 1-2 Bolton Wanderers

Sky Bet League One

Friday 15th April 2022

No sooner had Mipo Odubeko equalised to give Doncaster Rovers a fighting chance of getting something from this game, Kieran Sadlier went down the other end and scored for Bolton Wanderers.

And that was the moment, psychologically at least, which confirmed Rovers' long-awaited relegation from League One this season!

Okay, so it hasn't officially happened yet and some people will cling to the hope that Rovers will win their remaining three matches, Morecambe will lose all their remaining fixtures and both Gillingham and Fleetwood won't get good enough results to reach 42 points - despite the fact they face each other on Easter Monday.

Realistically it's not going to happen. There'll be no 'Great Escape' and DRFC will be competing in the fourth division for only the third time in the best part of 20 years next season! 

The proverbial fat lady has the song book, she's on the right page and is ready to give an operatic performance which will be as memorable and mesmerising as Andrea Bocelli's cover of 'Nessun Dorma' at Euro 2020 last summer. She knows what's coming alright!

Some people will argue that Rovers' overall performance in this 'must win' game merited more than the defeat which was inflicted by Bolton and, granted, there were plenty of times (especially in the second half) when those wearing red shirts had the ball around the opposition penalty area or saw shots fly just wide of the target. It can't also be argued that James Trafford made a few decent saves for Bolton!

However, that chain of thought deflects away from the fact that Rovers' start to the game wasn't good enough and evidence of that can be found in the early possession, territory and 'second balls won' statistics. The start to the second half wasn't good enough either and evidence this time was the massive warning sign within 30 seconds when John Bostock (I think) had to clear a loose ball that dropped to him in a very dangerous position inside the box. Then, the response from the re-start, having just equalised, wasn't good enough and Kieran Sadlier's goal from the cross in was just a demoralising hammer blow!

It's more than a coincidence in my eyes that both the goals conceded came down the same flank and it's ironic that the winning goal was scored by a former player who put in some great performances in a Rovers shirt in what nowadays seems a bygone era... but that's just how football works quite a lot of the time.

With the final nail likely to be hammered into the relegation coffin on Easter Monday, the inquest into where precisely things went wrong will continue for weeks and months considering it's been such an utterly toxic, tumultuous and shambolic sh*t show of a season.

Gary McSheffrey has received plenty of criticism of late and I've no doubt he'll be the target of some more abuse for substituting John Bostock (who was Rovers' best player in this game), even though it could easily be argued the change worked as Mipo Odubeko equalised three minutes later.

Some fans will spin things and drag them out of context to suit their own agenda and if they're part of the 'McSheffrey Out' brigade (which definitely exists), they'll probably be squawking quite loudly on internet forums and social media platforms right now. Considering what he inherited and knowing just how bad things were during Richie Wellens' bomb scare of a tenure, I'd love to know exactly who his critics believe could have done a better job and turned things around to the extent where this team avoids relegation because that was on the cards long before his appointment in December.

This team has scored the fewest goals, conceded the third-highest amount, have the worst goal difference in the division, haven't recovered from a losing position to win a league game, and have been in the relegation zone since the second weekend of the campaign for a good reason.

And that reason is because they're not good enough - certainly collectively, probably individually in some cases, and there's a multitude of things as to why.

A big finger can be pointed towards Mr Wellens (now at Leyton Orient) after his dreadful recruitment last summer when he blew the lions' share of his available budget on utterly bang average players who haven't come anywhere close to living up to expectations. Not to mention his style of management.

Wellens has since spoken out about the 'terrible' budget he had which is par for the course where he's concerned because he'll always look to point the finger away from his own shortcomings - and there were plenty of them!

That said, dozens of justified questions do need to be asked of the 'Club Doncaster' model because it's not working, it's already alienated many fans who no longer attend games (and is something which is growing in numbers all the time), the off-field staff turnover at the club has been ridiculous in recent months, the penny-pinching cost cuts have been more visible than ever since the pandemic, off-field standards are shoddy and sloppy (such as posters in and around the stadium that are outdated by many months) and there's a stinkingly bad vibe and aura around the place. It isn't pleasant.

Ultimately, it just leaves a sour taste and who knows what Terry Bramall, David Blunt and Gavin Baldwin are trying to achieve anymore - or where this entire story ends for Doncaster Rovers in the long-term?

The boardroom trio have trotted out claptrap about a 'sustainability' structure in the past. The only other club owner that I've seen state similar in recent months is Peter Swann at Scunthorpe United and their fans spent today watching their club get relegated from the Football League - possibly to never, ever return!

I don't think I'm the only one who'll have concerns as to whether DRFC are on a similar sort of path because there's a lot of changes in psyche, philosophies and ambitions which need to happen within the club - and quickly. And I lack confidence in the owners to deliver the required changes considering how often they've got so many things spectacularly wrong over the past year or two.

Who knows when the fat lady will be singing again?

Perhaps the most ironic (and outdated) poster in the stadium!