Weekend Preview

We take a brief look at this weekend's games for our local sides;

Barnsley vs. Coventry City @ Oakwell

After 5 straight draws for Barnsley, Keith Hill's men will be looking for their first three points since winning away at Reading in August. The Tykes are yet to win at home this season, but will fancy their chances against the struggling Coventry City, who sit just outside the relegation places in The Championship.

                                    Barnsley are without a win at home so far this season.

Peterborough United vs. Doncaster Rovers @ London Road 

This looks like the first real test for Dean Saunders since taking charge at Doncaster Rovers, as he takes his side to newly-promoted, Peterborough United. Darren Ferguson's Posh team are notoriously tough to beat at home and are currently placed just outside the play-off places in the league. Rovers haven't won away on the road yet this season, but they will be buoyed after taking four points out of six in their last two games against Hull City and Crystal Palace at The Keepmoat.

                  Rovers have taken four points from their last two in The Championship.

Sheffield United vs. Charlton Athletic @ Bramall Lane

This a real clash of the titans at the top of League 1 this weekend as Sheffield United face table topping Charlton Athletic. It's difficult to pick a favourite for this game, as both teams have hit the ground running at the start of the season. Chris Powell's Charlton side have brought in many players over the summer and have gelled together remarkably quickly, whilst despite last week's defeat at Wycombe, Danny Wilson's first season in charge of The Blades has got off to the best of starts. One thing is for certain, whoever comes on top after 90 minutes will cement their position as real title contenders and favourites for promotion to The Championship.

    The Blades will be looking to bounce back from their defeat at Wycombe last week.

Hartlepool United vs. Sheffield Wednesday @ Victoria Park

Wednesday's away form will once again be at the forefront of Manager Gary Megson's mind as he takes his side to the North-East to face an unbeaten Hartlepool United side so far this season. The Owls picked up a 3-2 win over Yeovil last time on the road, their first away from Hillsborough this season, and will be looking to repeat the feat at Victoria Park. Keep in mind however, that in the same fixture last season, Wednesday thrashed Hartlepool 5-0. 

       Last time out, The Owls recorded a 5-0 win over Hartlepool at Victoria Park.

Port Vale vs. Rotherham United @ Vale Park

The Millers will be looking to get back on track in the league at Vale Park, after being hammered 4-0 at Don Valley by Southend United last weekend. Micky Adam's Port Vale side have only two wins at home this season so far, so Andy Scott's Rotherham will fancy their chances. Rotherham currently lie in the play-off places in League 2, just outside the automatic promotion places, whilst Port Vale sit in mid-table. The last time these teams faced off, The Millers ran out 5-0 winners at Don Valley on New Years' day back in January.

      The Millers will be looking to bounce back from their 4-0 defeat to Southend last week.

Rovers sign Chimbonda

Doncaster Rovers today completed the signing of former Spurs and Wigan defender, Pascal Chimbonda.


The French full back has signed a short-term deal with Rovers until January and goes straight into the squad to face Peterborough United at London Road on Saturday.


The 32-year-old ex-Premier League star played for about an hour at left back in the 3-2 win over a Chesterfield XI. He can also play centre back, but prefers the right back position.

             Chimbonda signs for Rovers as a Free Agent, after leaving QPR in April.


Chimbonda was born in Guadeloupe and began his career at Le Havre in France before transferring to Bastia.

He moved to Wigan in 2005 and was one of the stars of the Latics’ first season in the Premier League, missing only one league match.

At the end of the season he was named in the PFA team of the year for being the outstanding right back in the Premiership and also played in the League Cup Final where Wigan lost out to Manchester United.

Chimbonda joined Tottenham for £4.5 million in August 2006 and clinched a League Cup winners medal after beating Chelsea 2-1 in the 2008 final.

He returned to Tottenham following a spell at Sunderland and then joined Blackburn Rovers for a £2.5 million fee in August 2009.

His last club was Queens Park Rangers where he became a free agent after being released in April this year.

Chimbonda was selected for the French 2006 World Cup squad and has gained one cap for his country.

Rovers & Tykes Make a Point

It was an evening of 'what if's' for our local sides in the midweek games for Barnsley and Doncaster Rovers.


The Tykes were up against the odds as they travelled to Pride Park to face an in-form Derby County side at the top end of the table.


However, the ever impressive Jacob Butterfield gave Barnsley a shock lead, taking the Reds a goal to the good at half time.

             Butterfield has been in fine goalscoring form recently for Barnsley.

Derby County turned up the heart in the second half and managed to level late on thanks to a penalty converted by Steven Davies for The Rams.


This was a stand-out performance from Barnsley, who were unlucky not to take all three points back to Oakwell. Keith Hill's men now have three 1-1 draws on the trot, and will look to get a win against Coventry City at the weekend.


It was a similar story for Doncaster Rovers, who managed to claim a draw against local rivals, Hull City at The Keepmoat Stadium.


Martin Waghorn put The Tigers ahead at The Keepmoat early in the first half, before Simon Gillett's volley snatched a draw for Rovers in the second half.

                       Rovers midfielder Gillett levelled the scores at The Keepmoat.


Doncaster now have four points from two games in Dean Saunders' first week in charge, after claiming their first win of the season against Crystal Palace at the weekend.

Two More Bloggers for Sport:Yorkshire

We are pleased to announce our latest bloggers for this season. Rob is our official Barnsley blogger, whilst Paul will be covering Sheffield United for Sport:Yorkshire.


You catch their first blogs, as well as the latest from Adam, Don and Sam on Friday 7th October.




                           Rob, Barnsley.

                         

                         Paul, Sheffield United.

Midweek Preview

Doncaster Rovers vs. Hull City @ The Keepmoat Stadium

Rovers will be looking for back-to-back wins on Tuesday night after picking up their first win of the season against Crystal Palace under new boss, Dean Saunders. They face a Hull City side who sit joint 6th in the league, just outside the play-off positions.

Last time out: Rovers picked up all three points in a thrilling 3-1 win for the home side.


Derby County vs. Barnsley @ Pride Park

After being denied a point against promotion favourites Birmingham City on Saturday, this will be yet another tough test on the road for The Tykes.

Nigel Clough's side are currently joint second at the top of the league after a blistering start to the new season, including a recent win over near neighbours, Nottingham Forest.

Their former defender, Jason Shackell, will no doubt line up against his former side after cementing his place in the heart of Derby's back four under Clough this season.

           Former defender, Shackell in action for Barnsley in this fixture last season.

Result of the Weekend

Doncaster Rovers 1 - 0 Crystal Palace @ The Keepmoat Stadium

Rovers striker Billy Sharp made his return to the first team from the bench on Saturday

Rovers' fans welcomed Dean Saunders to The Keepmoat Stadium after taking charge just 24 hours previously following the dismissal of former boss, Sean O'Driscoll.

They faced a Crystal Palace team in relatively good form, with 10 points at the start of the season, after manager Dougie Freedman acquired several loan players recently.

But Rovers were searching for their first three points of the season, and badly needed to begin climbing the table after only coming away with one point from their opening few games of the campaign.

They collected their win thanks to a deflected effort in the second half from former Palace midfielder, John Oster.

This brought a great sense of relief for the home crowd, but the greatest cheer of the day came when substitute striker Billy Sharp joined the action from the bench late in the second half. This was his first appearance since the opening game of the season, where he picked up an ankle injury against Brighton & Hove Albion.

There is no doubt that his goals are going to be vital this season, if Rovers are going to secure another season in The Championship.

The performance was something to improve upon, but Rovers are now at least on course to pick up more points this season, and will be hoping to bag another win when they face local rivals, Hull City, at The Keepmoat Stadium tomorrow night.

RESULTS: 2 wins, 2 defeats and a draw

We witnessed a mixed bag of results this weekend for our local sides, some fantastic, some not so.


Doncaster Rovers recorded their first win of the season with a 1-0 win against Crystal Palace at The Keepmoat Stadium. Former Palace man John Oster's deflected strike granted new Rovers boss Dean Saunders his first win since arriving at the club yesterday.

                          Oster's strike gave Rovers their first win of the season.




Barnsley were minutes away from three points at Birmingham City, but were left to settle for a point and their fourth draw in a row, after allowing Chris Burke to equalise with just four minutes left to play.




Sheffield Wednesday's unbeaten record at home continued with an emphatic 3-0 win over the struggling Exeter City at Hillsborough. League 1's top goalscorer, Gary Madine, notched another two goals to add to his tally of nine for the season, which moves Wednesday within one point of the automatic promotion places in the league.

2 more goals for League 1's top scorer, Gary Madine, resulted in a 3-0 win over Exeter.




Sheffield United were defeated on the road, losing 1-0 to newly-promoted Wycombe Wanderers away at Adams Park. Despite playing good football and having the majority of possession, The Blades were unable to break down Wycombe's defence. Despite the loss, United stay second, but fall three points behind table toppers, Charlton Athletic.




Rotherham United had somewhat of an 'off day' at The Don Valley Stadium after suffering to a heavy 4-0 defeat to Southend United.

BREAKING NEWS: Morrison Makes Dons Switch

MK Dons have signed 32 year old Sheffield Wednesday Striker Clinton Morrison this morning on an Emergency Loan up to and inclusive of 22 Oct 2011.

Having recently suffered defeat to The Owls 3 goals to 1 at Hillsborough, it looks like Karl Robinson is adding to his squad to continue a promising start to MK Dons' season.

Dons Boss quoted: "Clinton is someone I respect and have liked for a long time. Whenever we have played against Sheffield Wednesday in the past we have done a lot of work to stop him playing which just proves what a top player he is.

"I love his character, his desire and the fact that he is a winner. I think the fans will take to him and make him feel at home at stadiummk."

Morrison added: "I'm buzzing to have signed; I know the manager has been interested for some time and it's nice to know he wanted to get me to the Club. As soon as I knew MK Dons were interested in bringing me in on loan I wanted to join the Club.

"MK Dons are the best passing team in the division and I'm delighted I will be playing for them. When they played Sheffield Wednesday recently I thought they played brilliantly, they were probably the better team in the first half.

"I don't feel I need to prove a point, I'm just here to play my football, I want to enjoy myself and be happy and hopefully I can help with MK Dons' ambitions of promotion."

Clinton Morrison looks to boost his profile in League 1 by hopefully getting on the score sheet for The Dons over the next six games including a possible feature in today's fixture against Bury at Gigg lane.

With Competition strong at Hillsborough this move is without a doubt a 'no brainer' .

Good luck to Clinton and we'll see you in October (maybe)

- Don
@DonAlfieGarnett

Dean Saunders: Press Conference

It was a very interesting day at Doncaster Rovers, as we rocked up at Cantley Park for the scheduled 2pm press conference, where John Ryan and the board of directors introduced Dean Saunders as the new manager of the club to the local and national media.

                         Saunders is introduced to the media by Rovers chairman, John Ryan.


It was immediately apparent that Rovers are simply not used to big press conferences, as we were put up first in a port-a-cabin, before being moved into the first team's gym at the training ground.

Once everyone was seated, Club Chairman John Ryan began proceedings with this statement;

"I would first of all like to place on record my thanks and gratitude to Sean O'Driscoll for the last five years, as we wouldn't be where we are today without him."

This was immediately followed with the introduction of Dean Saunders, who only found out about the job less than 24 hours ago. He said;

"It all happened very quickly. I received a phone call offering me the job, I then watched the last game against Reading last Saturday and didn't get to bed until 5am.

"I then drove here this morning, met the players, trained with them and now I'm here speaking to you."

Dean Saunders seemed very enthusiastic to get going, something which he believes, has already rubbed off on the players;

"When I arrived, everyone was really down. But we had a chat and a healthy, fun session, and they left laughing and joking.

"I hope they bring that with them to tomorrow's game."

John Ryan explained the departure of O'Driscoll, and answered critisism that he had publicly backed the manager as early as this Tuesday;

"Things change overnight in Football. I felt that Sean was struggling to cope with the pressure and believed that a change needed to be made.

"I also believe the club needed invigorating, and I can't think of anyone better than Dean to do that.

"We're really hopeful the fans will come and get behind us and start moving up the table."

When asked about his style of play and his influences, Saunders referred to his admiration of Liverpool and in particular, Kenny Dalglish;

"If you look at what Kenny is doing now, he's building a team that plays as a team. It's not about individuals.

"I want to win games, I've always been passionate and take pride in my performances as a manager, as I did when I was a player.

"If you go out on a Friday and have a McDonald's or a pint, then you're not taking pride in your performance.

"I want to play good football. But clearly, it's not been working and at the end of the day, it's about results."



Dean Saunders' first game in charge will be against Crystal Palace at The Keepmoat Stadium tomorrow.

Weekend Preview

We take a brief look at this weekend's games for our local sides;

Doncaster Rovers vs. Crystal Palace @ The Keepmoat Stadium

                 
                                            First game for new Rovers boss, Dean Saunders.

This is a must-win game for Doncaster Rovers, after picking up just one point this season so far. Plus, the shock news that their beloved manager Sean O'Driscoll departed the club just 24 hours ago, leaving Dean Saunders at the helm in his first game in charge as Rovers boss.


Birmingham City vs. Barnsley @ St. Andrew's

                            Barnsley manager, Keith Hill, unbeaten in last three league games.

This will certainly be a tough task for Keith Hill's Barnsley side, who will be buoyed be a recent run of three games unbeaten. Recently relegated and Carling Cup holders Birmingham will be looking to get back on track for promotion to the Premier League, after stuttering recently with a 4-1 defeat to Southampton.


Sheffield Wednesday vs. Exeter City @ Hillsborough

            With seven goals in the last six games, Gary Madine is League 1's top goalscorer.


The Owls return to 'Fortress Hillsborough' sitting joint 5th in the npower League 1 with an unbeaten home record at the start of this campaign. They will be strong favourites for three points on Saturday against an Exeter City side with just one win in nine.


Wycombe Wanderers vs. Sheffield United @ Adams Park

               Blades boss, Danny Wilson, has had an electric start to the season with his new club.

The Blades are currently joint top in League 1 and will want to cement their place at the top of the tree with an away win over Wycombe Wanderers, who find themselves in the bottom four since their promotion from League 2 last season.


Rotherham United vs. Southend United @ Don Valley Stadium

   Lewis Grabban has been fine form for The Millers, since the departure of Adam Le Fondre.

The Millers are two points behind top of the table Morecambe coming into this one at Don Valley and will be looking to try and top the table with a win over Paul Sturrock's Southend, who are in the early play-off places.

BREAKING: Saunders Named Rovers Boss

Dean Saunders has been announced as the immediate long-term replacement for Rovers boss Sean O'Driscoll, who was relieved of his duties this morning.

Saunders has left his post at Wrexham to take charge at Doncaster Rovers, who lie rooted to the bottom of The Championship with just one point from their opening league games this season.

His playing career involved spells with Sheffield United, Nottingham Forest and Bradford City, although he is mostly known for his three year spell with Aston Villa, where he notched 37 goals in 112 appearances.

                                                        Dean Saunders managerial career:

                                            Manager of Wrexham from Oct 2008 - Sept 2011.

                                                                          Won: 27
                                                                         Drawn: 16
                                                                           Lost: 21

                                                                     Win ratio 44.19%

More to follow after this afternoon's press conference....

BREAKING NEWS: O'Driscoll Placed on Gardening Leave

Doncaster Rovers have parted company with manager, Sean O'Driscoll.

A club statement issued this morning read;


"It is with regret that the shareholders of Doncaster Rovers FC have taken the decision based on the long run of poor results, that Sean O’Driscoll and Richard O’Kelly be put on garden leave.  They felt that action needed to be taken to address the current position.

They would like to thank Sean and Richard for all their work is work during their five years at the club including winning at the Millennium Stadium and Wembley."


More to follow.

First Blogs: Highlights

We at Sport:Yorkshire have been working hard behind the scenes before the launch of this blog, to bring you quality content from fans of our local sides in South Yorkshire.

We are therefore delighted to finally announce our featured bloggers for the 11/12 season.

Don, Sheffield Wednesday.

"I believe we have found faith in Mandaric and Megson..."

Follow Don on Twitter @DonAlfieGarnett

                                             
Adam, Doncaster Rovers.

"It's a breath of fresh air for a football club to have faith in a manager..."

Follow Adam on Twitter @AM_liveforever

Sam, Rotherham United.

"Although Alfie will be missed, there has hardly been a goal drought since his exit..."




Follow Sam on Twitter @5am90

Result of the Week

Yeovil Town 2 - 3 Sheffield Wednesday @ Huish Park

McGoldrick (pictured) managed to score on his Owls debut at Huish Park.

It was a tough ask for Gary Megson's men on Saturday.

A trip down to Yeovil is a tough one for any team at the start of a new season, especially if you haven't won away from home for going on eight months.

Not only that, but Sheffield Wednesday's last trip away from Hillsborough finished in a miserable 5-1 defeat away at Stevenage on Tuesday night.

So the odds were stacked against Megson's Wednesday side as they rocked up at a confident looking Yeovil team, who were buoyed by a recent win over Wycombe Wanderers. Not to mention, the form of their new striker and ex-owl's hero, Steven MacLean.

But Wednesday managed to pick up all three points on the road for the first time this season, thanks to a 3-1 win courtesy of goals from Julian Bennett, top goalscorer Gary Madine and a debut goal from new signing on loan from Nottingham Forest, David McGoldrick.

"A great performance which showed a lot of character..." was the summary of Gary Megson.

After witnessing his side throw away a one goal lead to trail 2-1, losing captain Rob Jones to injury and conceding a very strange goal from a 'drop ball' scenario, The Owls' came out with grit and determination in the second half to turn the tie back around and win the game 3-2.

News: Rovers Bag The Beast

Doncaster Rovers today completed the loan signing of Jon Parkin on an initial one month loan from Cardiff City.

The robust Barnsley product joins at a time when the injury list at Rovers show no sign of decreasing, with the likes of Ryan Mason and Billy Sharp out for lengthy spells on the sidelines.

The signing of Parkin follows news that Slovakian striker Milan Lalkovic has also extended his stay with Rovers for a further month, after initially joining the club on loan from Chelsea in September.

Welcome

Hello and welcome to Sport:Yorkshire, a blog for fans, by the fans of the local football sides around South Yorkshire.


Coming up on this fortnightly blog will be views and opinions from specially selected contributors and fans of Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, Doncaster Rovers, Barnsley, Rotherham United and Chesterfield.


Watch this space...


Best wishes,


Jono x