Football Season Guide

Doncaster Rovers lived up to their promotion favourites tag as they sealed promotion to League One after lifting the League Two title. It was a personal triumph for manager Grant McCann too, who inherited something of a mess after returning to the Keepmoat Stadium. Rovers were beaten in a play-off semi-final penalty shoot-out by Crewe Alexandra but didn’t allow that disappointment to linger and they soon showed why they were the best team in the division. McCann got all of the big decisions right. Goalkeeper Ted Sharman-Lowe performed superbly during his season-long loan from Chelsea whilst centre-back Jay McGrath grew in stature and made the position his own. Midfielder George Broadbent and Owen Bailey formed a reliable midfield partnership whilst winger Luke Molyneux showed his potential with a series of goals and assists that saw him nominated as League Two’s Player of the Season. The good news for Rovers is that all of those players have been retained for their return to League One, which the exception of Sharman-Lowe. He has been replaced by another loanee, Hull City’s Thimothee Lo-Tutala, who impressed during a previous loan in 2024. McGrath attracted serious interest over the summer but that has been fended off and he has signed a new, long-term contract. The squad has been supplemented by half-a-dozen new additions. Centre-back Matty Pearson brings plenty of experience with him from Huddersfield Town whilst midfielder Robbie Gotts will be looking to make the step up having performed consistently for Barrow in the last two seasons. McCann tends to adopt a 4-2-3-1 formation which saw Billy Sharp and Joe Ironside rotated when leading the line. They will be fighting it with new signings Brandon Hanlon and Tottenham Hotspur loanee Damola Ajayi as they look to fire the goals to keep the side above water in League One.