DONNY STOCK RISING AGAIN!
DONCASTER Rovers are currently having a mixed bag of a season in League One, attempting to escape the midtable mediocrity and attempting to put together a solid promotion push.
Looking at the bigger picture, though, the club are enjoying something of a resurgence under manager Darren Ferguson after dropping down to League Two last season, their lowest level since 2004.
However, Donny are still a long way away from the glory years they enjoyed between 2008 and 2012, when the club competed in the Championship for four seasons running.
Midfielder Brian Stock was an ever-present when business was booming under the stewardship of chairman John Ryan, who stepped down in 2013, following a 15-year spell at the helm, to be replaced by David Blunt.
“When you had the likes of John as chairman, there was only one way he was going to take the club,” said Stock.
Stacked
“We won the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy in my first season and got promotion the next, but probably the biggest achievement was staying in the Championship when all the odds were stacked against us.
“We were bottom of the league at Christmas that first season and we defied the odds to stay up.
“For a team like Doncaster to be plying their trade in the Championship is maybe a bit beyond what the stature of the club is.
“We feel like we brought the best times for Doncaster Rovers when we were there.”
Ryan’s reign helped lift the club out of Non-League and into the second tier for the first time in 50 years, with Stock joining as a Preston loanee in September 2006 before signing permanently in January 2007.
The central midfielder, famous for scoring spectacular long-range efforts, played a vital role in claiming the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy for Donny in 2007 as they beat Bristol Rovers 3-2 after extra-time.
Rovers gained promotion to the Championship at the end of the 2007-08 campaign, with Stock captaining the side in their play-off final victory over Leeds at Wembley.
James Hayter’s effort guided the South Yorkshiremen to a 1-0 triumph.
Stock enjoys reminiscing about those halcyon days when Rovers punched emphatically above their weight.
“We had the likes of Billy Sharp, Richie Wellens – who’s a fantastic footballer and doing really well at Oldham now – and James Coppinger, one of the best players I’ve ever played with,” said the 36-year-old.
“(Goalkeeper) Neil Sullivan brought all of his experience and we all bonded as a team.
“It was amazing there, a fantastic club at the old Belle Vue, and then we moved into the new stadium. People said we’d never get promoted playing proper football, but we proved everyone wrong.”
Stock, who departed Donny to join Burnley in the summer of 2012, is still picking up silver- ware, helping Havant & Waterlooville win the Isthmian League last season.
The landscape may be different now, but, as a former Donny favourite, he thinks his old club are in safe hands with boss Ferguson at the helm.
“It’s a fantastic area and the supporters were great for me, so that’s the club I really look out for. I’d love to go back one day to see the people,” said Stock.
“I speak to a few people there still and they think Darren Ferguson’s a good manager. They like what he does on the training field.
“Back when money was getting pumped in, success was promotion, but I don’t know whether that’s possible now.”