Boiling point with Trevor Kettle...

Doncaster Rovers 1-0 Macclesfield Town
Nationwide Division Three
Saturday 14th February 2004

Valentines Day is an occasion which is traditionally meant to be about love, enjoyment, happiness and romance but when Trevor Kettle is present those feelings can go out the window.

Kettle keeps his beady little eye on Leopold. (Photo: Dan Westwell).

This was the Rutland-based referee's first year on the Football League list following promotion and with Rovers having only recently escaped non-league football themselves, it'd be the first time he took charge of a fixture involving the club.

It's an understatement to say that his 'unique' style of officiating caused confusion, bemusement and bewilderment amongst most of the 5,500 fans who'd braved the damp and miserable wintry weather to witness the game.

Certainly, there was no love in the air as fans and players alike reached boiling point at different stages, and the only cards Mr Kettle seemed prepared to dish out were of a red and yellow variety. Had the result been different there's every probability that newspaper column inches and fans forum comments would have been more damning towards him than what they were.

Rovers went into the clash in second spot in Nationwide Division Three - three points behind Hull, though firmly in automatic promotion contention. On the other hand, Macclesfield were caught up in a scrap for survival at the opposite end of the table along with a number of others.

After a sluggish opening 30 minutes during which Rovers saw separate penalty appeals turned down, one was finally awarded when visiting defender Karl Munroe twice attempted to wrestle a young Chris Brown to the floor inside the area. It was a stonewall spot-kick which Michael McIndoe duly dispatched but his celebrations were quickly cut short as Mr Kettle ordered a re-take for 'encroachment' - though quite how he'd made that call, who knows? The match video subsequently proved there was no other DRFC player inside the area when the ball was struck.

As is often the case, the re-take was saved and it wasn't long before a sense of bitterness, anger and injustice swept around the terraces of Belle Vue.

Rovers were then penalised for relatively soft challenges in comparison to some of the offences that Macclesfield's players hadn't been penalised for, which only served to heighten tensions, though it wasn't long until the deadlock was broken with an unmarked Greg Blundell producing an acrobatic six-yard finish on the stroke of half-time following a left-wing cross.

The Silkmen were forced to be more positive and open in their play in the second period, though it didn't prevent yet more bizarre decisions from Mr Kettle - the pick of the bunch being when he over-ruled his linesman to give a throw-in (the wrong way) and subsequently got upset when Rovers players were incensed by it.

There were to be no further goals as Dave Penney's team held on for three points which helped close the gap on leaders Hull who'd soon be overtaken en route to the title.

Kettle's 'legacy' was reinforced by a number of similarly chaotic displays in the weeks, months and years afterwards which earned him notoriety within football circles, yet (remarkably) he remains on the EFL list to this day.

Greg Blundell celebrates! (Photo: Dan Westwell)

Rovers on the attack! (Photo: Dan Westwell)  

Paul Green goes up for a header (Photo: Dan Westwell)

Leo Fortune-West in the thick of things (Photo: Dan Westwell)

Rossington Main 1-2 Staveley Miners Welfare

Rossington Main 1-2 Staveley Miners Welfare
Pre-Season Friendly
Saturday 12th September 2020

Although Staveley emerged victorious from this game thanks to Matty Davies' solo second half strike, it was a decent overall display by Rozzo who put up an admirable fight after their poor start.

The higher-division visitors, who were at the top of the NCEL (Premier Division) before last season was acrimoniously curtailed, looked as though they might run up a cricket score when they opened the scoring inside two minutes with a striker hammering a shot past Callum Fielding.

That wasn't to be the case, however, as Ben Hunter's team battled their way back into proceedings and on a different day they may have toppled their opponents.

Fielding produced a smart save to prevent further damage around the quarter-hour mark but after that incident, Rossington steadily grew in confidence with Jack Watson unfortunate to be denied with a header which drew a good save only a few minutes later before Cameron Barnett was off-target with an attempt after he was allowed to run forward and pull the trigger from outside the area.

Despite the 0-1 scoreline at half-time, it took just under 10 minutes of the second period for Rozzo to deservedly get themselves back on level terms - the goal coming courtesy of some good work by Jason Stokes whose clever movement and neat through ball fed Jordan Buckham who emphatically smashed his shot home.

With Rossington on top by this stage, they enjoyed two further chances in quick succession; Watson drawing a save on the hour mark before he burst through again a couple of minutes later and saw his intended pass to a team-mate cut out by a Staveley defender.

The visitors, donning their luminous orange strip, soon wasted a gilt-edged golden opportunity when some good movement of the ball pierced the Blues' back-line. A pass was eventually played to a striker inside the box who contrived to somehow blast the ball wide when he had the goal at his mercy and it seemed for all the world that he'd score.

Just after one former Doncaster Rovers scholar in Cameron Barnett (who had a decent game in midfield against his old club) was taken off with a hamstring injury, it was another ex-DRFC youngster in the shape of Matty Davies subsequently won it for Staveley with a quarter-of-an-hour to go.

The wingman-cum-midfielder, who'd come back onto the pitch as a substitute having also appeared during the first 45 minutes, carried the ball forward with a 20-yard run and having weaved into the box, he managed to get a shot away on his weaker left-foot which trickled past the 'keeper, was just inside the post, and went into the net.

Although he had to go off again only a couple of minutes later, having been on the receiving end of an ill-judged tackle, his goal proved enough to be the difference between the sides and thus give the higher-division Trojans the win.

Overall, it was another enjoyable day at Oxford Street and good to see quite a few familiar faces and ex-DRFC scholars around the place. Myron Gibbons, Joe Pugh and Matt Parkin (all now on Staveley's books) were present at the game though unable to play for different reasons.

Although this is a second defeat in four days for Rozzo, they've definitely got some decent, technical players - including also the diminutive right-back who impressed me as well.

Next game: Who knows? Possibly at Oxford Street next Saturday, but can we trust Boris Johnson to not lock us all down again in the next seven days?

MK Dons 0-1 Doncaster (2004)

Milton Keynes Dons 0-1 Doncaster Rovers
Coca-Cola League One
Saturday 11th September 2004

It's September 2004.

Nelly's 'Flap Your Wings' is keeping JoJo and Natasha Bedingfield off the top of the charts, Kelly Holmes is basking in the glory after her double gold medal exploits at the Summer Olympics, whilst Dave Penney's Doncaster Rovers are still searching for their first win on the road in the newly-named Coca-Cola League One.

Rovers, still riding very much on the crest of a wave following back-to-back promotions, had adjusted well to life in the higher division though all 10 of their points had come at Belle Vue with Blackpool, Huddersfield and Walsall beaten and Tranmere picking up a draw.

Up next was their first ever meeting with the Football League's most controversial club at the time; Milton Keynes Dons - the club who'd stolen Wimbledon FC, moved them 60-odd miles up the road to Buckinghamshire, changed their name, changed their colours and set-up camp in a hockey stadium.

It's not surprising, therefore, that they weren't particularly well-liked and had earned the moniker 'Franchise FC' from rival fans, along with many more less than pleasant names.

The 'Dons' were struggling in every possible way. Crowds were already dwindling at their ramshackle base situated just a stones-throw from Milton Keynes train station, whilst on the pitch they languished in the relegation zone with just five points to show for their early-season efforts.

It's fair to say that Stuart Murdoch's team needed a win just as much as Rovers needed to end their 'hoodoo' on the road.

Despite debates and arguments dominating fans' forums about whether it was morally right to attend this fixture for many weeks beforehand, a strong turnout of around 1,000 Rovers fans did make the trip to a place famed for it's sculptures of concrete crows. They were housed in a temporary, uncovered golf stand behind one of the goals though thankfully it didn't rain!

The game itself wasn't a classic - the acoustics of the stadium hardly paved the way for a good atmosphere and at times it felt almost eerie as despite the travelling army's best efforts to generate noise, sound simply didn't travel far.

Chances were few and far between and Andy Warrington had to parry away a powerful shot by Izale McLeod as MK enjoyed the better of the opening half. However, after the re-start, Rovers regrouped and gradually began to get on top with Mark Albrighton netting what turned out to be the only goal of the afternoon when he headed home from Jermaine McSporran's corner.

The reverse game at Belle Vue on Boxing Day ended in another triumph for Rovers, this time by a 3-0 scoreline with loanee Simon Johnson bagging a couple of goals.

At the end of the season, Donny finished in the top half of League One - only a few points shy of the play-off positions whilst MK, who sacked boss Stuart Murdoch and replaced him with Danny Wilson in December, pulled off a minor miracle to escape from what seemed at one point to be an inevitable relegation campaign.

Good luck to the Under 18s

The new football season is upon us so 'good luck' to everyone involved with the Doncaster Rovers academy set-up ahead of the Under 18s beginning their title defence in the EFL Youth Alliance this weekend.

The YT's have been training at the Keepmoat Stadium during pre-season.

The fixture(s) haven't been publicised due to the current Covid-19 restrictions (though some clubs have published their fixture lists on their own websites) and this weekend's clash is strictly behind closed doors anyway. However, the lads will go into it with confidence having come from behind to triumph 4-1 against Nottingham Forest in midweek.

In that game, Forest opened the scoring inside 10 minutes with a header from a set-piece and they enjoyed plenty of possession throughout the opening quarter. Rovers eventually got to grips with things and Owan Derrett converted a spot-kick, awarded after he was brought down, to level things up by half-time. Alex Wolny then illustrated just how much of an important player he could be this season by bagging a second half hat-trick - even though he missed his easiest chance where he could/should have had another. His first goal was a stooping low header from Lewis Cunningham's excellent left-wing cross; his second was a selfish, but predatory, striker's finish following a swift break-away attack and his third was a powerfully-struck shot from the outside of the area which the visiting 'keeper should perhaps have done better with.

In the lads' other pre-season fixtures, they drew 1-1 at Sheffield United (an 'own goal' being Rovers' scorer), whilst Chesterfield were narrowly beaten 1-0 over a week ago, in an encounter which could quite easily have gone either way; the Spireites having a goal disallowed before Luca Nelson was on target from the penalty spot in the closing stages.

The Under 18s in action against Rotherham last season.

Standards will no doubt be high again this year and there'll be some big shoes to fill for the new first-year scholars following last season's success when the Under 18s became the first ever Doncaster Rovers youth team in history to win a league title - stretching back as far as when records began after the Second World War. The lads were perched at the top of the table for almost the entirety of the campaign and had established a massive 11-point lead over their rivals before football was suspended in March and positions were eventually settled on a points per game basis.

Many of the new first-year scholars themselves enjoyed success last season as they were crowned as National Champions whilst in the Under 16s.

Seven members of the youth team title-winning squad have since departed DRFC - those being Nathan Dimou (now back in Australia), Marius Conradi (now back in Norway), Elliott Walker (recently at Rossington Main), Jack Watson (currently at Rossington Main), Junior Smith (awaiting a club - watch this space), Will McGowan (awaiting a club) and Kian Johnson (now playing at Worksop Town).

They've been replaced by the following players who make up the current crop of first-year scholars hoping to ultimately earn a professional contract:

Luke Chadwick: A tall and well-built goalkeeper who grew up supporting the correct team in Sheffield (good lad!). He featured on the bench a couple of times for the U18s last season as well as appearing in 2018/19.

Tom Henson: A neat, tidy right-back who is comfortable on the ball and constantly improving.

Michael Nesbitt: A centre-back who excels in one-on-one scenarios and will be eager to make a good impression when he gets game-time.

Dan Wilds: An athletic midfielder signed from Sunderland. He demonstrates craft and guile - whether it be in and out of possession.

Corie Cole: A hard-working and technically-gifted player who'll most likely feature in midfield but can also perform elsewhere.

Will Hollings: A tenacious yet visionary midfielder with the ability to open up teams with his passing range.

Tavonga Kuleya: An attacking, skilful wide player with rapid pace and good feet. He's likely to form part of 'the three' behind the frontman.

Alex Wolny: A hard-working, clinical and determined talisman who'll chase things down, has plenty of strength and pace and is a predatory finisher.


The above players will join the following second-year scholars:

Ben Bottomley: A goalkeeper who was a regular between the posts last season and was on the bench for the first team's fixture against Bradford City in midweek.

Lewis Cunningham: A consistent and vocal left-back. He leads by example, has good attributes, and will want the team to go marching on together to more success this term.

Max Jemson: The tallest player in the squad who plays at centre-back and will be keen to get more minutes under his belt this term.

Josh Clemitson: A versatile player who can play either out wide, in midfield or in defence. He'll also be keen to play more minutes over the next 6-7 months.

Charlie Bell: A hard-working, 'ratty' and fully-committed midfielder who'll wear his heart on his sleeve and always give 100% in every situation.

Ethan Bojang: The oldest squad member. An intelligent and versatile player, he was out for a while last season but adapts well to whichever position he's asked to play.

Liam Ravenhill: A technical, talented and composed midfielder who has featured in some games for the first team during the course of pre-season.

Luca Nelson: A strong, powerful and hard-working frontman, capable of causing teams some damage with his attributes.

Owan Derrett: A rapid attacker with tremendous pace who'll be hoping to be both a regular goalscorer and name in the starting xi.


As has been the case for several years now, DRFC will once again compete in the EFL Youth Alliance (North-East Division) this season, along with Bradford, Burton, Grimsby, Huddersfield, Lincoln, Mansfield, Notts County, Rotherham and Scunthorpe.

The 'regular season' is scheduled to conclude with an away game on Saturday 13th March 2021 - meaning there's every possibility of further fixtures being added to the schedule if the table is split to determine a 'top half' and 'bottom half' as was the EFL's intention last season.