Why Doncaster Rovers are the perfect antidote to all of football's messy problems right now

It might be the dog's dinner of a tweet sent out by Nottingham Forest. It could be the absolute farce that is VAR and its constant meddling in matches, robbing supporters of any ounce of joy for fear of jumping the gun. It might be Gateshead being booted out of the National League play-offs for non-footballing reasons.

Or how about the FA shamelessly scrapping replays and trying to sweep it under the carpet?

Safe to say football has had better weeks. Less controversial ones, too. Wherever you turn, the landscape just feels messy. No wonder fans seem to be falling out of love with football.

Step forward then, Doncaster Rovers. They are the symbol for all that is good right now - on the pitch and, perhaps crucially, off it too.

Grant McCann's side have won ten league games in a row. It is a bonkers statistic and if they increase it further, this weekend at Gillingham, they will rewrite the club record that had previously stood for 77 years.

It has not so much shoved the club to the front of the national limelight - we could be here all day listing various reasons why that will never be the case - but at least ensured that fans of clubs higher up the pyramid are aware of the magnitude of what's happening in this corner of South Yorkshire.

Plenty of neutrals are willing them on to not only break the record this weekend but go the whole hog and complete the most miraculous of promotions next month.

A big reason why perhaps so many have adopted Rovers as their 'second team' - at least for the time being - is owing to the viral phone call made by one of the club's fans earlier this week.

Rovers season ticket holder Andrew Taylor, 33, rang BBC Radio Sheffield's long-standing phone-in 'Football Heaven' to share his experience of attending last week's thrilling win over Barrow.

He took in the breath-taking comeback in he South Stand with his dad, John, who has Alzheimer's. The clip of his poignant and emotional call has been been viewed hundreds of thousands of times in the space of just a few days.

It is a story of joy, sadness, hope and love - with football merely the backdrop.

Of course, Andrew and John's story is just but one. There will be countless others in similar situations. People will resonate, if not directly then certainly indirectly.

The call has captured the imagination not just of Rovers fans, but plenty of neutrals and even rival supporters.

Speaking to the Free Press, Andrew admits he is bowled over at how far it has reached: "I maybe expected it to get some Rovers' fans attentions. What I didn't expect was people willing Rovers to do well just for my dad. Which is just lovely. People have shared so many different stories of loss and grief.

"Just to have played a little role in sparking something within people's minds such as special memories - it's been mint."

Such is the community aspect of Rovers that manager McCann shared it on his own Twitter/X page whilst a number of the players have also interacted. One player, defender Jamie Sterry, reached out to Andrew to offer a signed shirt from him and his teammates but such is the generosity of Andrew, that he instead wished for it to be auctioned off with funds to be raised for

Alzheimer's Association.

Given the reach of the story and the feelgood factor surrounding the whole episode, you get the feeling that Rovers' fans will play their part to ensure the fundraising target is not just met but smashed.

Amid all the nonsense in football right now, stories like this remind you why we love the sport so much.