By Albatross
April 19 2005

Hartlepool United will travel to Doncaster Rovers this weekend for the first time in several years. The ground may not have changed much - but, happily, the circumstances for both clubs are much improved since our last meeting there back in 1997. If you'd said, seven and a half years ago, that the next time Hartlepool United travelled to Belle Vue (or the Earth Stadium as it is now called) both sides would be in the top ten of Division 2, you'd probably have been pursued by men in white coats. Yet this Saturday will see that statement become a reality.

To be honest when Pools took on Donny that day it looked like it might be the last time we ever visited them. Rovers were in a terrible state, on and off the pitch; Pools were at least stable off the field thanks to Harold Hornsey (and IOR, who had just taken over) but were hardly in the best of states on the pitch with Mick Tait on his way to a record number of draws and yet another bottom half finish. Doncaster meanwhile were already adrift at the bottom, with relegation already looking assuered - provided they didn't go bust first. Club "Benefactor" Ken Richardson, his crony Mark Weaver, and a shadowy offshore company called Dinard were on the verge of driving Rovers out of business; in a ground that was falling to pieces and still not entirely recovered from the fire that Richardson was later convicted of conspiring to cause, the atmosphere was one of desperation, decay and impending doom.

It was a day laden with farce and tragi-comic moments. The Supporters Club had been turfed out of their Portakabin at the ground, and were reduced to selling their wares (the only club merchandise available) from someone's car, pointed out by a man with a Placard, and also apparently at a local Sunday Market. Richardson's Bouncer had to take over on the tannoy when the announcer quit in disgust, and we were treated to a string of announcements that sounded more like Norman Collier (famous for his "This Micro....ne is...t wor....g" routine) was in charge. A number of supporters boycotted the game, others left early but waited for the gates to the main stand to open before charging in to harangue the board again. One of the stewards in the Hartlepool end didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the sight of his club in such disarray; he shared with us the story behind the appearance of a rotund figure in a goalkeeper's jersey on the front of the programme, who was a Sunday League keeper that had played for the first team after the part-time "Regular" keeper was punished for not being able to take time off to play for the reserves. It sounded suspiciously as if the team coach had got to Stockport, gone into a pub and shouted "anyone fancy playing in goal tonight" - and the guy who filled in was given an unlikely first team appearance the follwoing weekend, to much barracking as Doncaster slumped to another heavy defeat.

Pools made their own contribution to the farce as well. Doncaster, who were on an incredibly bad run that saw them certainties to be relegated from about the halfway point in the season, fielded a motley array of former non-leaguers and cast-offs. Several of them must hardly have been able to believe that they were playing in pro football; one of them was sometime Pools trainee Paul Conlon, who had forsaken Pools for Sunderland not too long before. Best player on the pitch though was Prince Moncrieffe, and he put the struggling Rovers 2-0 ahead before goals in the last ten minutes from Jon Cullen and (of all people) Richard Lucas denied Doncaster a rare win - not that many were there to see it, the official attendance being just over 1500.

How times have changed. I asked Nick Raynor, editor of the Doncaster Rovers site on Sport Network, DonnyRoversNet.co.uk to help with some of the background for this article, and the situation could hardly be more full of hope.

Things really started looking up for Doncaster when John Ryan - a local lad made good, and lifelong Rovers fan - got involved on the board and eventually became Chairman. Having made a fortune through his business (Cosmetic Surgery), he got the opportunity to get involved on the board before effectively taking over and opening his wallet in the sort of way any lower division fan dreams of. After one or two false starts, Dave Penney took over the managerial reins and started the charge for glory. A Playoff Place in the Conference assured in 2002/3, Ryan even took to the pitch - playing the last few minutes of a win over Hereford after registering as a player, the oldest ever for a Pro side, eclipsing Neil McBain's record when he turned out against Pools for New Brighton.

Few people expected Rovers to be back in the league, but a golden goal in the Playoff Final saw them return to Division 3; and with Ryan backing Penney financially, some astute signings saw them storm through to win the Title in their very first season back. This year they have again exceeded many expectations, and it's only really in the last 2-3 weeks that they've ceased to be real challengers for a playoff place. Ryan has already put in several million pounds of his own money and there's a new stadium on the way; but commendably he's letting Penney do things on the pitch and instead concentrating on getting things right off it.

With a new ground on the agenda (they are hoping to move in the season after next) improvements at Belle Vue have been minimal. Refreshments are still pretty limited, there's no new stands - although there is a new name, with sponsorship meaning it's now called the Earth Stadium. The majority of the away fans will be back on the open terrace - so keep an eye on the weather forecast - but the outlook as far as Doncaster fans are concerned has never looked brighter. Nick is of the opinion that they will be looking to get into the Championship in the next couple of seasons - and from then on, who knows?