McCann's future, car park gripes and pint prices - A night at the Doncaster Rovers fans' forum
Anyone who has ever been to a fans' forum knows that they can quickly go off-topic.
Whenever the hierarchy of a football club are put up for questioning by the fanbase, it can suddenly end up down a rabbit hole.
However, it always helps when the mood music around a club is favourable. That's certainly the case at Doncaster Rovers right now thanks to a strong end to last season and a busy summer of transfers.
And that contributed to last night's AGM of the Supporters Club Main Branch being a relatively straightforward affair. "We’ve got our club back” proclaimed one fan at the start of proceedings.
Manager Grant McCann was on the top table along with chief exec Gavin Baldwin and Shaun Lockwood. The Free Press was in attendance, purely on a watching brief. As anticipated there was a smorgasbord of topics raised. These ranged from the very much need-to-know category of transfers, the trivial stuff about how many times the third strip will be worn this coming season and (importantly) why the cost of a pint has suddenly shot up – more on that later.
Baldwin and Lockwood, understandably, fielded the off-field questions and on the whole those asking seemed content at the answers handed down. There were some gripes about the recent car park changes but Lockwood did his best to iron out any misunderstandings with the clear retort: "This isn't about trying to make money from fans."
Another supporter inside the Belle Vue Bar raised the question about stewarding and highlighted the pitch invasion against Barrow late last season, to which it was stated that the club employ as many stewards as possible without restricting supporters' view of the pitch.
Rather tongue-in-cheek branch chairman Len South, who was conducting affairs, declared that "Grant has been let off lightly so far."
The football questions did eventually come, with McCann declaring himself pleased at the look of the squad – “we’re so much more dynamic that last season – but suggesting no more incomings were likely. He also revealed they've arranged an in-house friendly at the training ground this coming weekend before they fly out to Portugal.
Baldwin reported that the club were "happy" with how season ticket sales are going and Lockwood added that individual match packages have shot up by more than 200 per cent. McCann also indicated that he feels the club have "12 or 13 saleable assets" with more players tied down to longer contracts. He added the expectation is that more will follow suit in the coming weeks.
Arguably the toughest question Baldwin and McCann fielded was when someone asked what happens if a club higher up the pyramid comes in for the manager. After a brief pause Baldwin said that the hope is that Grant would reject such an approach, although he added the caveat that the club has covered its back as best as possible against such a possibility.
And with that the Q&A for the trio was over. McCann stayed behind afterwards to mingle and oblige with photo requests. Then he was off, ready to fully focus on pre-season and ensure the supporters he left behind have a team to be proud of this coming season.
* Incidentally, for those interested, the price of that pint of Worthington's came in at £5.20. Lockwood assured the punter that such a price rise, from around the £4-mark last season, would be looked into.