HarryfromBath assesses the mood in the opposition camp ahead of Tuesday’s Capital One Cup second round tie by delving into their forums.

“Something needs to definitely change and quick”, “The frustration being expressed seems less to do with results and more to do with the feeling that nothing has changed in terms of the style of play”, “It doesn’t seem to matter who we have in the team. We just don’t produce performances.”

Rovers drew their opening three League One fixtures before losing at Port Vale on Saturday. Their only league goal came against Bury when Harry Forrester accidentally scored returning the ball to the Shakers after a break in play. Bury were sportingly allowed to score an unopposed equaliser.

Fans had already been unhappy with the team’s lack of creativity and impotence in front of goal so far this season, but Saturday’s listless 3-0 defeat at Port Vale has hardened opinion against manager Paul Dickov. “Something is sadly wrong with this team. I cannot see where another goal is coming from.”

“Championship football? Not this time, not with this team, not with this style of play and never with this manager”, “I have had enough, not just with results, but the performances especially have been really awful and show no signs of improving”, “A full pre-season and we are worse.”

Paul Dickov

“The start of the season has been bang average, nothing more or less than that. The key is to see how the next few games go as Dickov cannot afford to stay at the low level we currently have”, “We didn’t have a distracted pre-season and he has been able to secure at least some of his targets.”

“People expected a better start”, “Dickov has had three years to sort the style of play out and he still hasn’t, so when will he ever?”, “We should have come out this season all systems go with the team he has put together and having had a full uninterrupted pre-season.”

Fans were hopeful that team would play a more adventurous style of football this term under the former Oldham boss. The lack of change has set alarm bells ringing and the consensus among fans after Saturday’s defeat is that Dickov now has a finite number of games to turn things around.

“This club is a godsend for a manager. Even if we are mid-table and comfortably mediocre, I’ll support the team and Dickov at the ground. That is the great mentality our fans generally still have, but it won’t stop me having a reasoned opinion that he isn’t the right man for the job.”

Some fans can still see some method in his intentions. “Dickov’s current approach reminds me of George Graham and his Arsenal teams of the early nineties. It was a compact team that created few chances and relied on capable strikers converting them. Highly effective, but boy was it dull.”

A Misfiring Midfield

“There is no pace, no urgency, no creativity, no nothing”, “It’s not just this season. It’s last season. It’s the style of play. It’s the dreadful sleep-inducing performances”, “Playing good, patient football can be good to watch but you need to break quickly or play the killer ball at some stage.”

With a small squad of fit first-team players to choose from, the starting XI at Port Vale (above) was similar to most which have kicked off Rovers’ league games. Fans are exasperated with both the lack of pace and imagination from midfield and many are unsurprised at the lack of goals from open play.

“We lack both pace and tempo at the moment. The opposition are able to get numbers back into the defensive third before we have stretched them”, “Against Southend we started ponderous and struggled to raise the tempo. They were there for the taking but we were far too cagey.”

“We play the ball around the back four and then hoof it forward when under pressure. Every team that visits the Keepmoat Stadium works far harder for the ball, closing us down and making space for their team-mates. Against Southend it took us six or seven passes to cross the halfway line.”

“The deficiencies come from our midfield as a whole. We are too lightweight, too small and do not have enough penetration”, “We usually have the lion’s share of possession at home but when you look at the pitiful number of shots on target it is no wonder that attendances are falling.”

Port Vale 3 - 0 Doncaster

“Vale are putting real pressure on us and we are struggling to deal with it”, “This is one-way traffic”, “This could be a cricket score”, “Based on that performance we’re going to be in a relegation battle this season. I’m going to love Dickov’s excuses for this one.”

“It took 56 minutes before we had our first shot on target. This is not acceptable.” Many Rovers felt that they would have lost more heavily had it not been for the heroics of keeper Thorsten Stuckmann. The German saved a penalty as well as pulling off a series of other very fine saves.

“Am I allowed to boo?”, “We just keep getting better and better, don’t we? Top work, Paul Dickov”, “Now that was rubbish - I wonder what the positives from today will be”, “Vale had 75% possession at one stage”, “We got battered and had our backs to the wall for most of that game.”

Doncaster 0 - 0 Southend

“This is awful - it can only get better”, “We need to stop playing long ball football. Pass and move is the game to play with one up front”, “The midfield, Wellens especially, is getting closed down very quickly”, “Our movement is terrible. It feels like a pre-season friendly. We must step up as a team.”

“Rovers are being made to look very ordinary.” Fans had been content with draws in their opening two league fixtures, but this was seen as a first winnable game at home last Tuesday against a weaker Southend team. “We dropped points against opponents we should have been beating.”

“Sounds like an off-night”, “Let’s hope it’s not an off-season”, “It was a poor first half, more like a pre-season friendly with no spark at all. The second half was a lot better as we battled and created a bit more”, “We wanted too much time on the ball and didn’t close Southend down either.”

Wigan 0 - 0 Doncaster

“It’s beginning to be the same as last season, getting loads of chances and not getting the end product - goals”, “The defence are doing their part and hopefully the front line will click soon”, “A 0-0 draw at Wigan is a good result, end of story”, “Nice that we are staying tight at the back.”

“At least being hard to beat is a good place to start from.” Fans were happy with a performance which was similar to many of their solid away displays last season. “I would have taken that result beforehand but now I feel disappointed”, “We totally dominated that game and should have won.”

Defence

“It’s good that the defence is tight.” Apart from a widely agreed concern over their lack of a natural right-back, Rovers have been happy with the standard of their defending. The back five escaped criticism after Saturday’s defeat to Port Vale, many pinning the blame on an overrun midfield.

Thorsten Stuckmann

“The only player doing well, for obvious reasons, is the goalkeeper.” The 34-year-old German glovesman arrived from Preston this summer and “is a million times better than what we had last season”, “But for him we would have been severely embarrassed at Port Vale.”

“It will take a very good shot to beat this guy.” He has been widely praised for his shot-stopping. “Apart from some questionable distribution, I cannot recall him making any errors. He has been forced into far more saves than I am comfortable with but he has dealt with them extremely well.”

“Not a right-back. Next.”. Luke McCullough “is a half-decent ball playing centre-back for this level but was destroyed in pre-season by a pacey Sunderland winger. It served to show his shortcomings in this position. He is doing his best and it’s not his fault he’s being asked to play there.”

The 21-year-old ex-Manchester United youth player “is too slow and doesn’t know what to do with the ball”, “McCullough only sees a backwards pass”, “He is calm and collected on the ball and is okay unless the left winger has pace. He struggled against Bury but their winger was like lightning.”

“Aaron Taylor-Sinclair is solid if unspectacular. He looks fairly comfortable on the ball and is defensively sound. He is another strong physical presence.” The 24-year-old ex-Wigan man “looks a promising modern left-back with the height and physicality to suggest he can defend as well”.

“Taylor-Sinclair looks to be a clone of Tommy Spurr. He likes to get forward and is not afraid to unleash a shot from 30 yards out”, “He manages to get forward quite a bit without sacrificing his defensive duties”, “He plays some tidy football and can make a good tackle.”

“The manager knows exactly what he will get from Rob Jones. He knows he won’t play a massive 40-yard ball to feet but when a head needs to be put in a crowd of players to win the ball, usually Jones is the winner. He may not have pace but his reading of the game is very good.”

The 35-year-old centre-back and former Owl, who was interesting the Blues back in Jim Magilton’s time as boss, hasn’t featured recently.

“Can we wring another season out of Jones? I hope so if his standards can be maintained”, “His physical and aerial strength makes our defence more robust”, “I feel very confident that we won’t success when the Corporal plays.”

“Andy Butler may be our most dependable defender this year.” The 31-year-old former Walsall centre-back “is a more than adequate replacement for Jones. He looks very composed and very much at home”, “We have the number of goals we conceded when he initially arrived last season.”

“We need Gary MacKenzie at the back with Butler. Jones is not mobile enough by a long way.” The 29-year-old former Blackpool man “is our biggest threat from corners”, “He is our best right-footed centre-back and McCullough improved at right-back by having Gary playing alongside him.”

Central Midfield

“Our midfield is slow”, “We are not far away from being a very good side but our main problem is that stagnant midfield”, “We have far too many creative bricklayers and not enough hod-carriers. The trouble is that without the hod-carriers there is nothing to build the masterpiece from.”

“If Keegan is out long term, we will struggle”, “Foundation layers like Keegan are absolutely crucial to sides at this level.” Rovers keenly miss the absence of Paul Keegan. The former Bohemians man has not featured this season having taken a knock to his knee in pre-season training.

“We can all agree that we are missing something in midfield. Our results last season dropped off a cliff when Keegan went lame”, “Get Keegan fit and we will be promotion contenders. Have him injured long term and we may never score a goal from open play again.”

“Okay, but it’s early days”, “Harry Middleton looks a real prospect. He uses the ball intelligently.” The 20-year-old youth product “looks solid. He has a good powerful build for such a young lad”, “His passing lets him down on occasion but he’s eager to be on the ball and comfortable in possession.”

Richard Chaplow

“We have a small squad, but this has enabled us to go for quality rather than quantity, and we have been able to sign players of the calibre of Chaplow.” The 30-year-old ex-Millwall man “rarely gives the ball away and can see a pass”, “He has played a couple where players really should have been.”

“He is primarily an attacking midfielder and that is why he is not so good defensively”, “Chaplow dives into tackles so I expect a lot of yellow cards over the season”, “He was played in the wrong holding slot against Bury, but played some very good balls and attempted to impose himself on the game.”

Several Rovers believe that the former Ipswich loan signing and hero of Vicarage Road will form a very effective two-man midfield pairing with Paul Keegan when the latter returns to the starting XI. “A technical player like Chaplow will dictate the tempo with Keegan playing a holding role.”

Richie Wellens

“The slow passing rather than the formation is the biggest issue with this team and I have to say that Wellens’s presence has a lot to do with this.” The 35-year-old ex-Leicester man “stops the flow when he gets the ball and our tempo dies. I would replace him as the midfield seems to have no speed.”

The former Ipswich loan player has been widely criticised for his reluctance to go for goal. “It’s like Superman and green kryptonite - as soon as Wellens gets near the penalty box he loses his super powers”, “Everything stops when he gets the ball and he won’t shoot when he does get up field.”

“Wellens is well past his prime. He can be a quality player but opponents have midfielders who are younger and fitter so he offers nothing. He doesn’t tackle, track back or shoot. Every now and then he plays a pass we all get excited about. The only advantage is he’s helping develop Middleton.”

“Wellens is capable of chipping in with goals but doesn’t move from the centre circle”, “One moment against Southend took the packet of biscuits. The whole penalty box opened up. It was crying out for a pile-driver and so he took six touches and tried to lay it off. I was going mad.”

Wide Midfield

With former Brentford man Harry Forrester ruled out for up to two months with ankle ligament damage sustained in last week’s draw at home to Southend, Rovers are light on first-team options out wide. Although primarily left-sided, many wanted to see him used in a central playmaker role.

“We have missed a trick for years in not getting a proper old-fashioned left-footed left winger who can cross a ball. Cedric Evina has done a fine job to give us more balance out there but doesn’t have the skills to create openings on a regular basis”, “His best position is as a wing-back.”

“Cedric Evina wants to run at teams and is well worth a run in a five-man midfield.” The 23-year-old ex-Charlton man “is enthusiastic and gets up and down the pitch but won’t contribute many goals”, “People are getting carried away simply because we haven’t had a good left-sided attacking player.”

James Coppinger

“Coppinger is likely to break the club appearance record in late October or early November”, “If he keeps playing like he has been so far this season, he will be lucky to make it. He’s getting worse with every game”, “We need to play him out wide and we will get the best out of him.”

“James is being played out of position and looks like a fish out of water.” The right-sided 34-year-old club veteran, a Town target under Paul Jewell, was played behind the striker against Southend and struggled to make an impact. “He was truly awful and was never going to give the striker any service. He looked very frustrated.”

He starred in Rovers’ win over Leeds in the previous round of the Capital One Cup. “He looked a constant threat, more so out wide and drifting in. Leeds’ young stars were constantly wrong-footed by him so many times. The way he ghosted past players with the slightest movement was excellent.”

Strikers

“The only track record Dickov has developed in his time with us is that he can take strikers with potential or proven track records at higher levels and make them look like they have never seen a football before”, “Hoofing the ball forward to the lone striker is simply no good.”

“I rarely get harsh on players but Curtis Main is a poor impression of a footballer. At times he’s average but mostly he’s a clown and quite embarrassing when he keeps falling over. The man is not in control of his limbs”, “I would be quite happy if I never saw Curtis Main in a Rovers shirt again.”

The 23-year-old former Middlesbrough man “is sadly here for another two years”, “It is clear that Main doesn’t want to get hurt”, “He would rather feign a foul than genuinely win and protect the ball”, “Any ball played to his feet is like playing a pass to a brick wall. He has no ball control at all.”

Andy Williams

“I am very impressed with Williams but what upsets me is if that Dickov continues to send his team out to aimlessly lump the ball forward to his head and hope he can make something of it with little or no support from midfield, then the poor lad will be on his knees come Christmas.”

With Curtis Main struggling for form and Nathan Tyson unavailable with a hamstring injury, the burden up front has fallen on the 29-year-old former Swindon striker. Despite the lack of goals, supporters have been sympathetic towards him given the quality of service he has received.

“It will be sad if Williams goes bad as a result of the formation and lack of tactics we can all see”, “He has been getting as frustrated as anything.” The 29-year-old “can put crosses and through balls away but not with him on his own and not with a big punt up-field hoping he gets on the end of it.”

Doncaster Fans’ Views on ITFC and the Game

“Bloody Ipswich.” There was a familiar groan when our name came out of the hat, but most Rovers are not underestimating us. “To beat Ipswich would be even better than Leeds. They are serious promotion candidates. Even their fringe players are vastly experienced with young talents mixed in.”

On one prediction poll, 83% of fans expect an Ipswich victory, with words like “debacle” and “big style” cropping up. “We do not know how Mick McCarthy will start and I don’t suppose he wants to join the other teams who are out of the Cup.”

“Giving the Rovers’ youngsters a chance against Ipswich would be as good as giving the game away. Not one of the fringe players suggested are anywhere near good enough.” The feeling among home fans is they have little choice but to put out a strong team given their lack of depth.

“I don’t think Paul Dickov will play a weakened side. He may rotate a player or two but I expect a few young professionals on the bench. If may be unpopular with fans, but I expect McCullough to play at right-back. If Dickov wants to develop him in that role he has to play there.”

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Photo: Action Images

MeenoITFC added 11:30 - Aug 24 Great read again Harry. Chaplow looks to be a key player for them which is good for him.
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rickw added 11:38 - Aug 24 I would imagine we'll play a similar team to the Stevenage game again, with maybe Emmanuel coming in at right back, perhaps Tabb switching to centre mid for Douglas and Maitland Niles on the left (as he was rested on Sat) It'd be good to see some other youngsters like Hammond, Benyu, Henshall, McDonnel, Connolly on the bench and given some game time, perhaps even a debut for Crowe?

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IamSpartacus added 11:51 - Aug 24 Every week I look forward to this read... good stuff, Harry!
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jas0999 added 12:14 - Aug 24 A great read Harry, thank you. Personally I don't share their optimism though. I don't honestly think MM gives two hoots about this game and can see many changes, inc lots of young inexperienced players starting. Time will tell of course.
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ozzie added 12:23 - Aug 24 No disrespect to Doncaster but if we have the youngsters on form then give them the chance against a team with no confidence. This game could give them the break they have been waiting for so Mick if you think they are good enough ,pick em.
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MooseJuice added 12:41 - Aug 24 Another great report Harry. Personally I'm looking forward to seeing our youngsters and fringe players get another run out. Can't remember the last time I had faith in our second string, but now I'm quite excited by them!
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dude added 13:37 - Aug 24 A frustrated, dismal lot who could kick lumps out of our senior players. Prefer to have a rested and injury free squad for our burgeoning promotion push than taking a chance in the credit card cup that no one cares about.
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itsonlyme added 15:52 - Aug 24 We should take every game seriously! Cup games are important but I think our youngsters should be enough for them having watched their Leeds United game
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JimInGreensboro added 22:47 - Aug 24 Cheers, Harry! Checking the Port Vale highlights, if that's the best Donny's defenders can do, this should be a romp, even with our youngsters out there. Look at the space and total lack of tackling, and in a League game. Shoddy stuff.
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karls_dad added 11:46 - Aug 25 I can see a very weak team played tonite, MM will not risk any injury to the main players, so for me its a game that counts for nothing, MM is not interested in this cup run at all, i doubt we will come away with a win, mainly the youngsters out for a run out, still be interesting to see how they do though!
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