Against all odds...
James Coppinger’s Legends Game at Keepmoat Stadium is only seven days away.In preparation for this event, doncasterroversfc.co.uk are reviewing each of the seasons played by the 34 year old midfield maestro.
Previous editions include:
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
Season 4
2008/09
It was most certainly a season of two halves for Coppinger and his Doncaster Rovers teammates.
Finding themselves – as predicted – bottom of the pile at Christmas, the fate of the South Yorkshire side seemed assured and their stay in the second tier, after an absence of 50 years, a brief one.
Despite losing the likes of Paul Green in the off season, Sean O’Driscoll recruited well and made permanent signings in Matt Mills and James Chambers.
The season got off to a dream start with a famous 1-0 win over recently relegated Derby County – whom Green had joined – at Pride Park in front of over 33,000 fans.
Victories were few and far between though for the Keepmoat Stadium side and despite attractive football, there was a naivety occasionally about how they played.
That was until Boxing Day and a comprehensive 4-2 victory at Nottingham Forest and Coppinger was to get his first goal of the season (in a 2-1 win over Burnley) just two days later to carry on the revival.
With attacking options limited, Coppinger was used as an emergency striker and revelled in the number 10 role off Paul Heffernan – notching important goals in the wins at Southampton, Blackpool and Charlton (above).
Coppinger’s season was cut short in mid-March when he suffered an injury against Reading that would rule him out for the remaining six weeks of the season.
In the end, Doncaster’s second half of the season was second only to eventual Champions of the division Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Rovers finished a healthy 14th place – some 12 points clear of the drop zone.
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