Here's something I wondered if I'd ever be able to write, again: "We welcome our old friends Rotherham United to Saltergate on Saturday." Their supporters were taken to Hell on a hand-cart during the closed season, just as ours were in the aftermath of the Darren Brown scandal. Wondering on a daily basis whether you'll have a club to support, and having to put up with suggestions that you had somehow "got away with it"was not pleasant in the summer of 2001, and I don't suppose it was easy for Millers fans in 2008, either. Whatever you think of what "the club" might have done, the club's supporters are invariably blameless.
The Football League's handling of Rotherham United's convoluted financial affairs over the summer can only be described in this article as "firm, but fair." They were not simply allowed to get away with dumping old debt and racking up a new lot; stringent but reasonable conditions were attached to the "new" Millers being allowed to continue in the Coca-Cola Football League League Two. Among those appears to be the idea that they'll surrender their place in the Coca-Cola Football League League Two if they do not return to a stadium within Rotherham before four years are up. Four years is not a long time to build a stadium from scratch - as the folk who first thought of a new ground for Chesterfield in 1919 might believe!
Still, of course, we hope they manage it. Mansfield have gone, perhaps temporarily; if Rotherham were to follow, it'd leave Macc as our local derby! As it stands, of course, the Millers game constitutes a "slightly more local than usual" derby, since their move to the Don Valley Stadium.
The game. With the permanent transfer window closed and the loan one yet to open, the Millers were unable to sign anyone this week ;-) so have to approach the match with the same squad that has done so well as to win Mark Robins the Coca Cola League Two Manager of the Month Award for August. Some folk believe that to be a curse, but I've seen research (is it sadder that someone researches it, or that I read it?) which suggests that the award makes no difference to a team's fortunes in their following game.
Having been given a "bye," The Millers did not play in round one of the Johnstone's Paints Trophy in midweek and are on a ten-game unbeaten run. I expect them to do what they did on their way to victory here last season and stick Pablo Mills in front of their back four to cut off the supply to Jack. Reuben Reid, having played here for two sides last term without making an impression has been rattling them in, in the manner of an uncomplicated, athletic striker, of the sort every club at this level could use.
For us, Jamie Winter came off during the draw with Grimsby Town in round one of the Johnstone's Paints Trophy but may recover to be in contention. Otherwise, two from Derek Niven, Paul Harsley and Lloyd Kerry must be fancied to start in central midfield. Trevor Carson will travel back from Northern Ireland's under-21 game in Wuppertal on Friday night to play and Jack Lester will of course come back in to the forward line. Lee Richardson feels that "Performances have improved in each home game" but the continued conceding of soft goals is as baffling as it is distressing. As he says, "Rotherham have lots of height and plenty of people who can attack the ball," so the fans will probably be happy if we spend the opening five minutes humping the thing over the stand roof, just to be on the safe side!
Radio Sheffield's match commentary will be relayed to Spireites World subscribers, with Kevin Blackwell joining their usual commentators as the expert summariser.
SB
