Predictions - 14 Jan

[SilverTop60]

I was waiting for a title with the correct date and didn't realise this was the one for Saturday.

Accrington 2 Southend 1
AFC Wimbledon 1 Peterborough 2
Bolton 1 Portsmouth 2
DONCASTER 2 Coventry 1
Fleetwood 1 Shrewsbury 0
Gillingham 1 Oxford 1
Lincoln 2 Blackpool 1
Milton Keynes 1 Sunderland 1 (Bonus Game)
Rotherham 2 Bristol Rovers 1
Tranmere 1 Ipswich 3
Wycombe 1 Rochdale 0

Half way through the window and still nothing to get excited about. Moore is all talk about being prepared early and he had targets but still nothing happens. It has to be about budget constraints or he would succeed in getting his targets. I don't accept any other reason.

This squad badly lacks the likes of Tommy Rowe and Andy Butler. Andy was a great defender who also popped more than his fair share in the net. Good luck to him and glad to hear he is coming back in one way or another. As you say, Rob Jones was a Rovers stalwart up there with Andy Butler. I doubt many of the current squad will be looked back upon with such appreciation.

I am convinced Darren Ferguson lost interest with Rovers because of the budget, and Grant McCann talked rubbish about paying all players the same salary because of the budget, and now Darren Moore can't get anyone "over the line" for the same reason. But no manager will be openly critical. It's easy for the board to claim we have a 6th or 7th best budget when they don't have to prove it.

[Waldron40]

PREDICTIONS LEAGUE TABLE 18 JAN 2020

............ Points .. Total
Lifelong .... 28 .... 92
Scarjo ...... 16 .... 76
Madirish .... 14 .... 60
Silvertop ... 14 .... 52
Waldron .... 14 .... 38

Everyone scored : Rotherham, Wycombe
Only ones to score : AFC Wimbledon (Lifelong)
Correct scorelines : AFC Wimbledon (Lifelong) Bolton (Lifelong) Gillingham (Silvertop) Lincoln (Waldron, Lifelong) Milton Keynes (Lifelong) Rotherham (Scarjo, Madirish) Tranmere (Scarjo)
No points scored : Accrington, DONCASTER, Fleetwood
Recorded most correct results : Lifelong (8/11)

Please check your points!

[SilverTop60]

Before Marquis headed south the board must have known he was going. We have waited and waited for a replacement from July to now, and we are still waiting. Having 1 or 2 games in hand gave fans hope that we will win them, but it is looking clearer now that the hope of the playoffs is becoming more and more unlikely, as without winning both we are not in the playoffs. Constant waffle from the club about “getting someone over the line” doesn’t make it happen. There must be a player out there who would come to Doncaster if we offered the right money, so it has to be a budget issue.

Grant McCann could pull in great loans for us like Kane and Wilks but Moore clearly struggles.
Darren Ferguson’s dad may have been the best footballing manager ever but that doesn’t make Darren the same.
Darren Moore may have been a very good Doncaster player but that doesn’t make him a great manager. Unless he signs a quality striker in the next week (and I very much doubt it) we will be consigned to a mid-table position at the end of the season. Top teams have strengthened in the window, and as a mid-table team we have not done the same. Before the window opened we were told Moore had potential targets but nothing ever happens. No manager in his right mind would have a budget and not use it in every industry.