How John Ryan saved Doncaster Rovers
The Story of John Ryan and how he saved Doncaster Rovers
Kurt Leyland interviews former owner John Ryan about the remarkable fall and rise of Doncaster Rovers Football Club.
Twenty- three years ago, Doncaster Rovers nearly went up in flames…
Former owner Ken Richardson had burned down a stand at Doncaster Rovers’ old ground, Belle Vue, to get the insurance money. The club was relegated with 20 points from 46 games, picking up just four wins all season. This remains the worst-recorded season in Football League history.
On the final game of the 1997-98 season, the fans held a funeral on the pitch. They thought it was all over and Richardson was given a four-year prison sentence for arson.
Fast forward ten years and Doncaster Rovers rose like a phoenix from the ashes, climbing through the leagues and earning a shock promotion to the Championship in 2008. It was the highest division they had been in fifty years.
Enter John Ryan
The man responsible for this miracle was local businessman John Ryan, a fan of Doncaster Rovers since 1958. “I took over Doncaster Rovers because no else would,” said the 68-year-old cosmetic surgery entrepreneur from his home in Cheshire.
“The club was left in a toxic state. The stadium was ramshackle, and we only had three first-team players. We had to pay a £100,000 bond just to play in the Conference otherwise we would have been kicked out.”
John Ryan’s first task was to rebuild the club. He did this by attracting big-name players such as Neville Southall and local legends Ian and Glynn Snodin to coach at the club.
” We needed to get a feel-good factor back at the club and getting these figures involved helped create a much more positive atmosphere.
Doncaster Rovers were promoted in 2003, returning to the Football League after a five-year absence.
Setting new records
During the 2002-03 season, Ryan entered The Guinness Book of Records as the oldest footballer to appear for a professional British club. Ryan came on as a substitute in the 89th minute for Doncaster Rovers against Hereford United in the final game of the season, at the age of 52 years and 11 months.
“It had been a boyhood ambition of mine to play for Doncaster, growing up I used to love watching players like Alick Jeffrey. I enjoyed playing football as a child, but I was never good enough to go pro. On the final game of the season with a place in the playoffs secured I registered myself as a player.
“We were 2-1 down with ten minutes to go when I started warming up. Nobody wanted to be the player who was subbed off for me. As soon as I started warming up the performance levels went up. By the time I came on, we were 4-2 up. It was a fantastic day and great publicity for the club.
Moving up the Leagues
After returning to League Two Doncaster, managed by Dave Penney completed back to back promotions by steamrolling their way to the League 2 title.
“Before the season began, we were actually the favourites to go down. That summer we had a good transfer window and strengthened in key areas. I promised the team a big bonus if they won the league and ultimately the momentum was with us.
Doncaster successfully consolidated themselves in League One challenging for the playoffs in their first two seasons.
The Cup Run
In 2005, Rovers enjoyed a cup run, reaching the quarter-final of the Carling Cup by pulling off an upset against Manchester City on penalties before beating Aston Villa 3-0. Doncaster narrowly missed out on a place in the semi-final, only losing to Arsenal on penalties.
“It’s the kind of cup run you dream about. Defeating Villa was fantastic because they were a full-strength Premier League team and we played them off the park.
“What disappoints me is that we deserved to beat Arsenal and should have been in the semi-finals.
A New Era for Donnie Rovers
In 2006 Doncaster appointed Sean O’Driscoll as manager, replacing Dave Penney. Penney decided he had taken the club as far as he could. “I knew immediately who to bring in. When we played O’Driscolls Bournemouth in the previous season, they hammered us 5-0. The style of football they played was magnificent.”
“Once he settled in, we became known as the Arsenal of the north for the entertaining football we played.
Ryan told me that when he joined Doncaster Rovers, he made three promises to the fans. The first was to win a trophy, the second was to move stadium and the third was to return to the championship.
He achieved all of these.
Doncaster Rovers began life in a new stadium, moving to the Keepmoat Stadium in January 2007 and celebrating their first game with a 3-0 win against Huddersfield.
“The stadium move was massive. I loved the memories at Belle Vue, but the Keepmoat offered much more. We knew to go forward we had to move stadium.”
Doncaster Rovers achieved Ryan’s second objective by winning the Johnstones Paint trophy in 2007 beating Bristol Rovers 3-2 at the Millennium Stadium.
Ryan completed his promise in 2008 when Doncaster Rovers won promotion to the championship by beating Leeds United 1-0 in the play-off final at Wembley.
“That was the highlight of my time as the owner. It was a special day to see us play at Wembley. 80,000 attended that day, the biggest crowd we have ever played in front of. It was amazing for the fans.
After four seasons Doncaster were relegated in 2012. They immediately bounced back in 2013 by winning the League One title in dramatic fashion against Brentford. A fitting end to Ryan’s final full season with the club.
Ryan left his position as owner in 2013. Reflecting on his experience Ryan looks back with pride.
“I was sad when I left. I still had ambitions to try and get to the Premier League, but I wanted to go in a different direction to some of the investors. Looking back one of the key things about our success was the fact I was a fan, I was never in the game to make a profit.
“I am just glad myself and others allowed the club to dream again and I wish the club all the best in the future.”
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