How far Doncaster Rovers have come since their opening day clash with this weekend’s opponents Gillingham

Moore had been in charge at Rovers for only 24 days, was still working on recruitment into a squad that had seen a significant amount of experienced players ripped from it and had been frantically attempting to drum his playing philosophy into those committed to the club.

An undercooked Rovers side - featuring five debutants - came from behind to secure a point after an understandably disjointed performance.

Six months on, Moore has his feet firmly under the table at the Keepmoat. Rovers are eighth in League One, two points off the play-offs and fresh from the addition of four new faces in the January window.

So, as they prepare to head to Gillingham for the reverse fixture, how far have they come in a short space of time?

Here, we compare Rovers then and now.

DONCASTER ROVERS ON AUGUST 3, 2019

What Darren Moore said….

“It was me having come in just three weeks before that and coming into the football club with a new group of players and only having that time to work on a system and style of play.

“I would say we were gritty, plucky, energetic, probably not as fluent as we’d have liked to be but we were determined on the day.

“Having gone a goal down, to come back into it was excellent really and showed great character from the boys.

“It showed me there was a real spirit in the team.

“Both teams are very different now, six months down the line.

“I’d say we’d both developed and we’ll both be well rehearsed.”

The team

Ian Lawlor

Brad Halliday - debut

Alex Baptiste - debut

Tom Anderson

Reece James - debut

Ben Sheaf - debut

Ben Whiteman

Madger Gomes - debut

James Coppinger

Alfie May

Kieran Sadlier

Subs

Niall Ennis (on for Gomes, 64 minutes) - debut

Ali Crawford (on for Coppinger, 84 minutes)

Seny Dieng

Cameron John

Matty Blair

Will Longbottom

Alex Kiwomya

What the Free Press said….

“First impressions count for a lot. But on this occasion reading too much into first impressions is more than a little unfair.

“Doncaster Rovers kicked off the Darren Moore era with a 1-1 draw against Gillingham that delivered both cause of concern and grounds for optimism.

“Before Kieran Sadlier superbly volleyed them level on the stroke of half time, Rovers were up against it and deservedly behind thanks to Alex Jakubiak's simple finish on the half hour mark.

“But, buoyed by the goal, they rallied after the break and turned in a much-improved performance.

“The biggest conclusion drawn by the end - one on which Moore himself was fully agreeable - was that Rovers remain firmly a work in progress and that it will likely be some time before they play fully in their manager's image.”

DONCASTER ROVERS ON FEBRUARY 15, 2020

What Darren Moore said….

“We’re a team with the right culture. A team that is respectful of one another, is hard working, tries to get the ball down and play and a team that creates chances to score goals and play on the front foot.

“Those pictures have been clearly evident in getting that side of the game right.

“But we’re also a team that in the last couple of months, have shown a resilience in terms of their defending and off the ball work.

“Getting both aspects right really.

“But we also feel that we’re a team where there is further improvement to come from us.

“We don’t feel that we’re the finished article yet and we’re still trying to improve as the season goes on.”

The matchday squad (likely)

Seny Dieng

Brad Halliday

Joe Wright

Tom Anderson

Cameron John

Ben Whiteman

Ben Sheaf

Jon Taylor

Kieran Sadlier

Madger Gomes

Fejiri Okenabirhie

Louis Jones

James Coppinger

Devante Cole

Matty Blair

Jacob Ramsey

Niall Ennis

Danny Amos

What the Free Press says....

Undoubtedly, Rovers have come a long way since the start of August.

A glance at the players available to them then and now says plenty about that - particularly with the attacking options at Moore’s disposal.

But it has also been a team in evolution since that day - and they have gone through some pretty dramatic transformations over that time.

They were a free-flowing side allowed to play by the opposition who were punished accordingly. Then they saw themselves shut down by opposing sides and took a while to overcome such a challenge.

And now they are a side with real, strong game plans to hamper the opposition and strike at their weaknesses. When it works, it works very well.

The difference between Rovers then and now is chalk and cheese.