Doncaster Rovers v Leeds United: Yorkshire desperate for some cup glory, says Ryan

The White Rose rivals being drawn together means there will, at least, be no repeat of last season when not one club from within the Broad Acres made it through to the third round.

However, with Sheffield Wednesday and city neighbours United facing Premier League opposition on the road tomorrow and Huddersfield Town considered outsiders against high-flying Cardiff City, whoever prevails in Doncaster tonight may well be ploughing a lone furrow in the competition next month.

To Ryan, this is not a happy state of affairs and indicative of the problems Yorkshire, which for the second season running does not have a top-flight representative, is facing.

He said: “Yorkshire football has been struggling of late and that is a real shame. Both Sheffield clubs are in League One, while Bradford, who were in the Premier League not so long ago, are even lower down.

“The county needs a lift. In the old days, Leeds would fly the flag and they had a lot of success. Leeds might not be my favourite club in the world but I did like to see them representing Yorkshire football. The same went for the other clubs who were in the top division.

“But now, what do we have? ‘Not a lot’ is the honest answer with not even one club in the Premier League. That point is brought home to me often as where I live (in Cheshire) there are fans of countless Premier League clubs.

“It is a sad state of affairs and the worst thing is I can’t see it changing for some time. Barnsley, Doncaster and Leeds probably won’t be challenging for promotion this season.

“None of us have got the money to do so. And in a division where Leicester City, West Ham United, Brighton, Southampton and so on are spending huge amounts, that puts us all at a disadvantage.”

In terms of creating a more level playing field in the Football League, the adoption of a salary cap in League One as well as the basement division from the start of next season was one initiative that Ryan welcomed during the summer.

However, when it comes to the proposal to bring in some form of financial restraints in the Championship – a measure Ryan is firmly in favour of – the Rovers chairman is less confident of success.

He said: “I just don’t think it will happen. There is too much self interest, plus there are so many ways round whatever regulations are brought in.

“This year’s Championship is almost like a Premier League 2 and a different world for the likes of us compared to Leicester and all those clubs with loads of money. It is going to be a tough year.”

Rovers and Leeds have not had the best of starts to life in the Championship this year with Sean O’Driscoll’s side sitting bottom after four games and their West Yorkshire rivals also in the bottom half of the table.

Tonight, however, both can forget their respective struggles in the league as a place in the Carling Cup third round beckons.

For Doncaster, the League Cup has not been overly kind down the years with the club getting beyond the second round just seven times since its inception in 1960.

Three of those have, however, come in the past seven seasons with the clear highlight being the run to the quarter-finals in 2005-06 that only ended after Arsenal equalised at the death and then went on to win the penalty shoot-out 3-1.

Ryan said: “I still can’t believe the referee Mark Clattenberg added two minutes at the end of extra-time, during which time Arsenal scored an undeserved equaliser.

“To then lose on penalties was heart-breaking but the run did put us back on the map. It was wonderful for Doncaster Rovers. The big one was probably the night we beat a full strength Aston Villa side 3-0 at Belle Vue.

“After that, people woke up to what was happening here. That season showed what a good cup run can do and it would be great if we could experience something similar this time.”

On tonight’s tie, Doncaster chairman Ryan added: “It is an excellent draw to have Leeds at home. There is a bit of a rivalry there because of what happened in the play-off final so it should be a good game.

“Us winning at Wembley upset Leeds a lot, though I am still glad to see us both in the Championship.

“Cup nights are special. I think it will be a good entertaining game, especially as there won’t be three points at stake. It means maybe the pressure is off.

“We have not done very much in the cups at the Keepmoat so it would be nice to change that with a big win over Leeds.

“Leeds almost went out against Bradford in the first round. I doubt we will win the Carling Cup and I doubt Leeds will either. But it would be great to go on a Cup run.”

Last six games: Doncaster Rovers LLWLLL, Leeds United WLWLWD.

Referee: M Brown (East Yorkshire).

Last time: Doncaster Rovers 0 Leeds United 0; September 17, 2010; Championship.