In life we often learn the most by listening to others.

I find the sharing of thoughts, ideas, and opinions both stimulating and enlightening.

Sadly, many people are not able to debate. They shut down those with differing views, preferring to trade insults rather than opinion.

I don't do Facebook. I come on here because we're better able to have proper discussions. I enjoy reading everyone's differing points of view.

I wish more people would join in.

Bang on Mike ..
People prefer one liners ala Twitter.

So very true, one-liners don't do communication justice.

My bad OneDon...I meant Newcastle (old habbits and all that).

Yes we have lost to teams we should have beaten and I firmly belive that we we had acutally played all our home games at home we had a really good chance of maybe 1st or 2nd in the League, but we surrendered home advantage and made it an away game for both teams, something that in my mind cannot continue. No Doncaster home games should be played outside the borough of Doncaster simple as, if Newcastle's ground passes I am fairly sure Brodsworth and grounds others have mentioned will pass muster with the RFL, so simply apply to the RLF so play only away games when the pitch is being relayed....Toronto have had this agreement in place for the past 3 years due to the somewhat harsher winters in Canada....Now we have the power of the president behind use surely we have this ability

Facebook/Twitter are for the FastFood generation, single lines and if you dont agree with an opinion you are shouted down until you agree or leave.

I dont post on the Dons portion of Facebook anymore due to the outright abuse I have had on their from so called fans, I will however make one more post this season to finally settle my bet with a "major club sponsor" Who apprently I have upset because I didnt agree with them (according to a twitter PM from CH).

Forums in general are in decline across the internet with people prefering to access social media on phones and tablets rather than traditional PC's and forums, hence the popularity of short messages, no one wants to write their magnum opus on a phone keyboard.

I shall be watching Sundays match at Gates...I mean Newcastle with interest and hoping for a positive result.

I know which person you refer to and he is a one-trick pony when it comes to posts, because he is a sponsor and cannot post negative comments he can only say get behind the lads.
But we do get behind the lads (well some of us do) on matchdays and if we don't play well we should bloody well be allowed to say so, without people like him shouting us down.

This is true, Steve. Sad but true.

People's commication behaviours seem to have changed considerably over the last 10 years. I've noticed this through my business too.

I strongly believe we're also creating a society that prefers to watch sport on TV rather than attend games. The very low crowd at Warrington recently for their play-off game against Castleford proves the point.

The game was moved to Thursday night for TV coverage which didn't help but shows how those who cough up the cash (Sky) can dictate what happens and when. The loyal supporter comes second. The consequence is that fewer people buy season tickets because they can no longer be sure whether the games will take place on a day when they can attend, although the Warrington game was a 'pay on the day' fixture not covered by season tickets.

I appreciate that without the Sky money the game would be much worse off. I also understand their need to get value for their cash but there is a potential consequence to all of this: lower crowds and disgruntled fans. This isn't good for the game.

I use Facebook and this forum and I have no issues with any posters. Some people though are just completely negative about the club from both sites.

I think that it is good that RH has devoted himself more to our club the Hull.

Yes it would have been great to finish at the top of the table, but there are some good clubs out there and the top 6 teams in this division are very tough to beat when they play to their full potential.

RH will be bringing more of his players in next year, so if we fail then it has got to come down to RH not being good enough, and i also would like to see him have another year in charge.

And lets not forget that at the point of writing this post we are still two games away from gaining promotion. I think injuries are going to take a toll on us though but I hope i am proved wrong. Stay positive because we are still in the play offs.

Yup I agree Double Movement, I think the game in general is struggling to find a audience. Crowds have declined across all divisions for me to many counter attractions in the Summer (holidays etc etc) we were resonably unique in being a winter sport and that was our niche.

I just dont feel the same going to games anymore, its all to clinical these days, there was always something comforting about a wet and windy Sunday at Crown Flatt.

To reply to Another Penalty, yes I can be negative I've been a Dons supporter long enough to see many many false dawns and almosts only to have the rug pulled out from under our feet, experience has told me to expect the worst and be suprised when something positive happens. If we do gain promotion it will be a well done with RH and the players, but you have to temper that positivity with realism that to survive in the Championship we will need to heavily invest in almost an entirely new squad there are probally only a hand full of the current squad who are ready for that level and its rigours.

Our recruitment (some recent notables aside) on the whole has been poor its we have improved with midseason signings and been fortunate that there are some poorer sides in CL1. We wont have this in the Championship every single game will be a challenge. If we get promoted and if we recruit (no reliance on DR) well for the season I could be positive about our chances of retaining Championship status, but as yet its an IF and history indicates we traditionally dont recruit well in the off season.

Some very good posts on here at present. Every on this site usually at heart wants the club to do well. There is frustration at present, with the lack of promotion probably being the biggest factor. The club is financially sound, the set up and the stadium is first class. All that is needed is the promotion cherry. York IMO are a good example at present, the crowds have come back given their excellent run of form. This assists with player recruitment and they now have the added benefit of their new stadium to look forward to.

We will at some point get out of this League, I am not convinced it will be this year, we may just fall short again but it will come.

York and much as it agreives to to say but T'Eagles have both done very well on limited budgets and being effectively nomads for a few years, they have reinforced there identities and performed on the pitch which as you say has brought the crowds in, we need to follow in there footsteps going forward, a stable and settled side can do wonders (see second half of season). I am still skeptical of RH he needs to win me over gaining promotion would be a good step, failing to do so I would still see as failure given all the pre-season hype and rhetoric we were fed.

And Wilf surely I am being a negative nelly who has no right to comment as I dont attend games.... :-p

Without doubt, York have done an outstanding job not only getting out of this league but also with their achievements in the Championship this season. They deserve a huge amount of credit. It's great to see their attendances improving too, giving hope to everyone else that they may do the same. I'm sure there's much that can be learned from what York have done.

Championship One is a tough league to get out of but this season has probably provided an easier challenge than of late with no Toronto, Toulouse, or Bradford to deal with. Having said that, the likes of Whitehaven, Oldham and Newcastle are certainly no pushovers.

For whatever reason, the Dons enhanced DR arrangement hasn't worked as well as we could have expected. It left us with some gaps to plug. As a consequence, we dropped points in a number of games, especially in the early part of the season, where we could have reasonably have hoped to win.

In the end, we were 8 points (4 wins) worse than Whitehaven, 6 points (3 wins) adrift of Oldham, and 5 points behind Newcastle. We may have won two more games (although this is not certain) had we not played at Fev but still finished some way off the best.

We've done well towards the back end of the season going into the play-offs in good form. I would certainly fancy our chances of beating Oldham at the Keepmoat but their home advantage certainly plays to their strengths. It has to be said Oldham fully deserve the right to have this weekend off and home advantage next week as they have earned that right by finishing second.

If we don't go up, we really cannot afford to get off to a sluggish start next season. 2020 will be a year when going up will be vital as New York and Ottawa could be in the league the following season. If we do go up, I would imagine the first objective will be to stay up.

As fans, we don't really know how player recruitment works. Will most players already be signed up to their clubs for next season giving limited scope for improving our squad further? I presume we will have already made some new signings for 2020, signings that have yet to be revealed. Will Dons' players who have signed up for next year have release clauses if we don't go up? Or do they not consider their options until the last match of this season has been played?

Anyway, there are two possible matches left season. Let's hope for the best!

I never mentioned anyone's name Steve, I said across both platforms people have negative views. One big issue for me is that the club do not get important information across to fans quick enough and this is something that needs to be worked on.

I agree, Baz. As an example, there's still nothing on the Dons website about the awards' night.

Here's a link to the Free Press reporthttps://www.doncasterfreepress.co.uk/sport/other-sport/doncaster-rlfc-honour-players-they-get-set-newcastle-thunder-test-636659rl

I know Baz, people think or believe I am a "negative nelly" It wasnt a dig at you

Yes the club is poor at communication, the post match videos stopped dead, highlight have stopped but I suspect Rob was doing those off his own back and does it purely on an voulenteer and goodwill basis.

Re: The Championship, I am a firm believer that the top of League One is better than the bottom of the Championship. Even ourselves in recent years have beaten Batley and had very narrow defeats to Sheffield and Featherstone, all of whom are top half champ sides (or mid table at worst). Very rarely does a relegated team go straight back up to the Championship, (with the exception of Bradford who spent a bomb to do it) and very rarely does the promoted team come straight back (any return to League is often after a few years at least, as is the case again this year). The problem with the Championship is always keeping hold of the better players now they're in that shop window as well as the interest dwindling when teams start losing more than they win, season three always seems to be the tough one.