Quote: Harworthdon "I admire your enthusiasm DM, but can you convince me as a loyal supporter of 35 years,, that no matter who signs who goes who stays, and we must not forget the potential of yet another super dooper D/R deal with Hull that we wont be in EXACTLY the same position as we are today (wrong end of the play offs) next year. I cant see anything changing'"
I’m probably no different to every other football or rugby fan in the country in that I live in hope that the next season will be better than the previous season. After all, without hope what do fans have?
If a club has under-performed relative to its stated aims, as each year passes without success, fans optimism slowly ebbs away. This is where Harworthdon and many other fans are at the moment.
Before I go any further, I’d just like to say a couple of things. My love of rugby is mainly driven by the commitment and bravery of the players who put their necks on the line week-in, week-out for our entertainment. I will always give 100% support to every player who wears a Dons’ shirt.
Secondly, having recently turned 60, nothing would give me more pleasure than seeing the Dons reach Super League or indeed being in the mix at the top of the Championship. Nevertheless, no matter what league we play in, I will always be there to cheer the team on.
Why are many fans not ‘feeling it’ at the moment?
Our recent past tells the story:
Season 2014: Championship: 4th of 17 teams
Season 2015: Championship: Relegated, bottom with one win in 23 games
Season 2016: Championship One: 4th of 15
Season 2017: Championship One: 5th of 16
Season 2018: Championship One: 3rd of 14
Season 2019: Championship One: 4th, 5th or 6th of 11 (The league game at Workington hasn’t been played at the time of writing).
We peaked in 2014 when finishing fourth in the Championship under Paul Cooke before having an horrendous 2015 season. Mid-season (June 2015) Gary Thornton replaced Paul Cooke. Our performances in that season under Gary Thornton didn’t improve and we ended the season with one win.
In 2016, Gary Thornton’s first full season in charge, we finished 4th in League One.
After a relatively poor start to 2017 Gary Thornton was then sacked in May. He was replaced by Richard Horne. We eventually finished 5th in 2017.
In 2018, during his first full season in charge, Richard Horne improved our league position as we finished third, before losing at home to Workington in the first round of the play-offs.
Based on the fact that we are now likely to finish 4th, 5th or 6th this season, we appear to have gone backwards. Our 2019 finishing position will be lower than last year in a league with fewer teams in it.
However, due to the peculiarities of the league structure, we may still get promoted this season.
I write the following comments regardless of whether we get promoted in 2019.
After relegation from the Championship, the club announced a five year plan to get to Super League by 2022. In each season since we got relegated the club’s stated target has been to achieve promotion back to the Championship.
I’m not a great fan of the promotion play-offs as I believe the best two teams over a season deserve to be promoted. I’ll still be highly delighted if we go up through the lottery of the play-offs but it won’t mask the fact that over the full 2019 season we have not managed to get into the top three and in four attempts to get out of this league we’ve not made the top two.
Based on what has happened in the recent past, I can fully understand why Harworthdon believes more of the same may take place in 2020. The club needs to do something to restore belief or else our fan base will dwindle even further.
Why have we not achieved a top two finish in the last four seasons?
Gavin Baldwin has stated that Club Doncaster have provided a large enough budget to the Dons in each season to achieve promotion. If money isn’t the problem, what has held us back?
The 2019 enhanced DR arrangement with Hull looked very good on paper but hasn’t worked in practice. Whether this is due to Richard Horne choosing not to use it, whether it has been down to Hull’s injuries, or whether Hull haven’t kept to their part of the bargain, we will never know.
Only with their ‘inside knowledge’ on this will the club know the answers. The club has now got to decide whether DR needs ditching or whether there is a way forward for it. With Hull having a reserve team next year, it also changes the dynamics.
My personal view is that the root of our problem is that at no point during the last 5 seasons (not staying in the Championship, and not reaching the top two in any of the four seasons after) have we built a squad of players with sufficient quality and depth to achieve our aims.
Carl has stated that his role within the club is to provide the financial stability we need, not to get involved with the playing side of the operation. With this in mind, Paul Cooke, Gary Thornton, and Richard Horne have all had the full burden of responsibility for building the squad and coaching them.
It was particularly disappointing to lose a man of Paul Cooke’s standing. I felt he was probably the best man to take us forward but for whatever reasons he couldn’t make it work. Gary Thornton and Richard Horne have found it difficult too.
I do believe Club Doncaster, Carl and everyone connected with the club work hard to try to make the club successful; our shortcomings aren’t due to any lack of effort. However, I feel we’re lacking in direction at the top level when it comes to player recruitment and coaching.
Even though Club Doncaster has invested amounts they felt are adequate enough to reach our goals it may be necessary to go further and invest more. To provide the missing direction at the top level and improve player recruitment and coaching, I would copy the Toronto and Leeds model and employ a Director Of Rugby to work alongside Carl Hall and the coaching team.
Ideally this should be someone with Super League experience who knows what it takes to coach and win at the highest level. Someone similar in stature to Ellery Hanley would fit the bill. By appointing someone of this nature not only would it provide the direction we need it would also send a signal of intent to the fans.
Ultimately, unless we do things differently, correcting the short-comings of the past, we are likely to end up with similar outcomes in the future and Harworthdon's concerns may come to fruition. Our fan base will decline and being competitive at the next level, whenever we get there, will become more difficult still.
Now is the time for the club to take stock of everything and show the fans that lessons have been learnt, giving everyone hope for the future.
