On this day - Doncaster Rovers were ‘dead and buried’ but ended up being promoted

Even in the most difficult times, there is always hope.
Mickey Walker, then Doncaster Rovers assistant manager, at the club's victory parade celebrating becoming champions of Division Three.Mickey Walker, then Doncaster Rovers assistant manager, at the club's victory parade celebrating becoming champions of Division Three.
Mickey Walker, then Doncaster Rovers assistant manager, at the club's victory parade celebrating becoming champions of Division Three.

That is the lesson Mickey Walker draws as he recalls the joy he felt 16 years ago today.

The coronavirus pandemic has put football in its proper perspective, but in purely footballing terms, Doncaster Rovers were going through some of their darkest days when Walker joined in 1999. The previous year, they dropped out of the Football League, horribly mismanaged by majority shareholder Ken Richardson.

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Even with new owner John Ryan at the helm, such neglect was not going to be quickly fixed. It took five seasons to return to the Football League by the barest of margins, as Francis Tierney became the only man in English footballing history to secure promotion with a golden goal, in the Conference’s first play-off final.

Rovers' director of football Mickey Walker with Newcastle boss Kevin Keegan in 2008Rovers' director of football Mickey Walker with Newcastle boss Kevin Keegan in 2008
Rovers' director of football Mickey Walker with Newcastle boss Kevin Keegan in 2008

Doncaster were the bookmakers’ favourites to be relegated in 2003-04 but often teams that come into the League continue to rise and on May 1, 2004, they were celebrating a second successive promotion with the Division Three title. Within four years they would be back in the second tier, for the first time since 1958.

It is, Walker, hopes, an inspiration for the darker, more serious problems the world is suffering now.

“I’m trying to relate the situation when I joined Doncaster to where we are now with the covid-19 scenario,” he says. “As a club, we were down there, dead and buried, but we got good support from John Ryan and all the board.

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“We had a bit of a tatty time when the Snodins (Ian and Glynn) were in charge and we had no balls and no bibs and a few 15 and 16-year-old players, so we started from scratch. Our aim was to get back into the Football League and we managed it.

Francis Tierney celebrates his golden goal..Francis Tierney celebrates his golden goal..
Francis Tierney celebrates his golden goal..

“Doncaster are now in a fairly comfortable position.”

Rovers are now in League One, with an outside chance of making the play-offs if 2019-20 can be resumed.

The lack of a thumping victory the day they secured the Division Three title whilst Hull City went up in second, made it ideal for Walker. Alongside spells as a youth coach at Nottingham Forest and Leeds United, and scouting for Liverpool and Rangers on the Harrogate-born winger’s cv were spells as player and manager of Boston United.

In 2004 he was back as assistant manager to Dave Penney, with 2,000 Doncaster supporters willing his side on.

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“I was there with Howard Wilkinson and Jim Smith and Boston gave me some great memories,” says Walker, who arrived at Belle Vue as a youth team coach and left the Keepmoat Stadium as director of football in 2012. “It was a fantastic club, so to go back there, I had mixed feelings, really.

Steve Evans (Boston’s then-manager) is a bit of a character and that’s an understatement! He was his usual self before kick-off – very polite initially and telling us he couldn’t wish for anyone other than us to go up.

“Steve Evans had wanted to give us a guard of honour but Pens (Penney) didn’t want that.Once the game got started it was a battle royale, which I quite enjoyed.”

A draw was all Doncaster needed, and they got it, a 0-0 setting up a party for Carlisle United’s visit to Belle Vue.

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“We knew all we needed to do was draw and we’d be champions,” says Walker. “We worked hard and deserved to win it – we pummelled them at times – but in a way it was quite nice for me because I had a love for the club so I didn’t want to bash them 4-0. It’s those times you look back on. It brings back memories of what we achieved as a team, ultimately getting Doncaster Rovers from the Conference to the Championship in a few years.”

Once the happy memories start flowing, Walker’s mind quickly races back to Stoke City’s Britannia Stadium and the previous season’s thrilling climax. “We’d had a great run to come up,” he says. “Pens (who took over in 2001, promoted Walker from the youth set-up) was a good young manager and we were good family friends as well.

“I will never forget the Conference play-off final against Dagenham and Redbridge.

“It felt like everyone from Doncaster was there that day. We were 2-0 up and strolling but they got back into it (taking the game into extra time at 2-2).

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“I’ll never forget Paul Barnes, whose lad (Harvey) is banging in goals for Leicester now, going down the left and pulling it back for ‘Sir’ Francis Tierney, a typical Scouser, to put it into the net.

“I set off because I knew it was all over, and Pens was saying, ‘What are you doing?’”

If that was the moment Doncaster were back, May 1, 2004, was confirmation they were here to stay. There is always hope.

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