Football Season Guide

Despite being often seen as a club that was punching above it's weight by being in the Championship, there is little doubt that Doncaster would've done better last season had they not been grossly mismanaged. The board couldn't do nothing about the departure of Billy Sharp midway through the season, but could've sure opted to give Sean O'Driscoll more time to turn their season around and avoided turning themselves into a "shop window" club that signed a number of former Premier League players on short term deals in order to give them a chance to attract other suitors. Their bizarre transfer policy means that now, following their relegation, a number of players who were on short term deals have left the club, including the likes of Habib Beye, El Hajdi Diouf, Herita Ilunga and Pascal Chimbonda, among others. A total of 20 players left the club over the summer, including some of the players who were at the club for years, such as Brian Stock, james Hayter and Adam Lockwood. Obviously, manager Dean Sounders is looking to have a fresh start with a new-look Doncaster side, and some signings of real quality have been made, as all of their summer signings bar Dave Syers are proven League One or Championship players. However, that is far from being enough to make the club genuine challengers for a return into the Championship - the overall quality on the squad, while decent, isn't among the best in the division, while Donny have only seventeen professional players at the moment, which is not a squad that can compete with the demands of League One's busy schedule.