- 28/05/2025
Ricky and Robbie discuss Olowu, Gotts, Faulkner and all things DRFC
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00:00Hello and welcome along to the latest episode of Rovers Chat. I'm joined as ever by Robbie
00:06Andrews from BBC Radio Sheffield. Robbie, how are we doing?
00:09Yo, good Ricky, thank you. Yourself?
00:11Yeah, good stuff matey, good stuff. It's quiet, isn't it? It's pretty quiet this time of year.
00:17Yeah, just waiting for it to all kick into action, aren't we? Waiting for the announcement,
00:21players and Friendly's just started to drip feed through as well, so it's probably the
00:26quietest couple of weeks, I think, of the year, isn't it? And then it'll all, I'm sure,
00:30roll into action again.
00:32Yeah, it'll be long before it kicks into force. So yeah, let's kind of reflect then. I think
00:36the last time we did one of these chats was just after the retain list. Obviously, we spoke
00:42about Richard Wood going and obviously retiring, but a couple of exits since then, quite high
00:47profile ones. Obviously, although we kind of had an inkling that he wasn't necessarily
00:52going to stay put. He's gone, we don't know where to next. And then Tom Anderson, thought
00:59hot on the heels of that. Obviously, Shrewsbury electing to stay in lead two. What do you kind
01:05of assess both exits as, you know, in terms of not much of a surprise with all of who was
01:11there really? And Anderson, how do you kind of judge that one?
01:15I think sad to see them both go, I think, first of all, from sort of the type of people
01:19they are. I've worked with them for quite a lot during my time at the club. I think
01:24it's sad to see them go, but also I think in both cases you can almost see a little bit
01:28why. I think Joseph Oluw, you know, from reading between the lines, keen to test himself
01:33elsewhere. I would imagine he's got something else in the pipeline. Otherwise, why would
01:38you sort of reject a guaranteed offer at Rovers? Tom Anderson, I think, maybe looking at
01:45whether, how often he would play next season, you know, he might see his chances in
01:49league two at Shrewsbury as playing a lot more, certainly starting a lot more. But I think,
01:54yeah, I think Rovers have lost two really big characters, very different characters, you
01:58know, I think the way they go about their business. But sad to see them both go, I think,
02:02but I can understand both their reasons why, if that makes sense.
02:07Yeah, I think with Anderson, it's almost, I know that they got offered a two-year deal by
02:12Rovers as well as Shrewsbury, but, you know, it's not as if it's close to home. I think
02:17if anything, it's further, isn't it, from, you know, from where he's based in Lancashire
02:20to Shrewsbury. But I guess maybe going there is almost guaranteed to be playing, whereas,
02:26you know, you'd, you know, Rovers go into a stronger division. You know, it's not the
02:32case, is it, if he was to stay at Rovers? Not saying he wouldn't be first choice, but,
02:35you know, I guess there was a kind of an ulterior motive to going there.
02:40Yeah, and I think it would have been a difficult decision for Tom as well, because, you know,
02:45seven and a half years at one club is a long time, isn't it? So I suppose it was maybe now
02:50or never for him. If he was to stay at Rovers for another couple of years and get to sort
02:54of that mid-30 mark, then you started to become a player who's maybe only offered the one-year
03:00deals wherever you go. So maybe he's looked at it and thought, you know what, off the back
03:05of winning the league. It's a different area to potentially go and live in, if that's
03:09his plan for him and his wife. And I think, yeah, maybe it was just that of, well, if
03:15it's not now, when is it going to be? Because he's given great service to Rovers, hasn't
03:18he? I think more than 250 appearances. And so, you know, bowing out as a champion, there's
03:24every chance under Michael Appleton that Shrewsbury will be right up there next season
03:28as well. So, yeah, I can see his thinking and, you know, if he had committed his future
03:34to Rovers, there's every chance he could have retired with the club, isn't there?
03:39So there's that sort of sentimental aspect of it that Rovers fans may well be thinking
03:43that Woody being happy to do that, but he may well have been thinking in his head, well,
03:47if I commit to Doncaster Rovers and then I'm not playing, you know, a year down the line,
03:52he might be looking for a new club anyway. So he's got that opportunity now to start afresh
03:57at Shrewsbury to really challenge again in League Two next season. And I think all Rovers fans
04:02will sort of send him off with best wishes and appreciate the sort of services he's given
04:06since he came in as a loanee from Burnley back in the day.
04:12Absolutely, yeah. He's had plenty of ups and downs, I guess, weren't there, during his
04:15career, obviously, at Rovers. You know, a lot of managers, like we said, ups and downs,
04:20but it's ended on the way that you'd want it to end with that title performance.
04:24So that title win and also his performances that contributed to that.
04:27Yeah, and I think the sort of type of bloke he is as well, I know I sort of referred to
04:32it earlier on, but typical old school defender would put his head where most people wouldn't
04:38put their feet. I know he's been pretty open about the number of times his nose has been
04:42broken and just the way he went about his business. And he did have times out of the
04:46side, whether that was through selection or injuries, it was a year or sort of 18 months
04:51under one or two different managers where it was just issue after issue. I think he had
04:56sort of issues with his foot, with his back. And you wondered at that point, would that
05:00be the end of him at Doncaster Rovers? But showed great commitment and sort of a resurgence,
05:06really, to come back again. And even last season, you know, and I think the first season under
05:11Grant McCann, there was a time where he was out of the team. He came back in for a great
05:15winning run, sort of to the back end of the season before, which is now last. And then
05:20again, this season, you know, injuries, suspensions, whatever, whenever his chance came,
05:26he took it and nobody in the stand was ever in doubt, really, that he wouldn't let anybody
05:30down. So, yeah, great servant for the football club. The type of character I think is probably
05:35dying out of football a little bit. There aren't many sort of Tom Andersons around anymore.
05:41And I think Rovers' loss will definitely be Shrewsbury's gain.
05:44Absolutely, yeah. And obviously, it leaves some light, you know, in terms of centre-half,
05:49you know, not just those two, but Richard Wood as well. And we'll come on to that in a bit.
05:53But, you know, that's the outgoings, the incomings, if you like. Obviously, Billy Sharpeny
05:58and Lawler, both of a certain age, if you like. I know Lawler's only just 30, I think, but
06:03very different contributions. You know, Sharpe, I think, missed only three games just due to
06:10the suspension, of course, last year. Lawler didn't play a minute in the league, but
06:14if you ask Grant McCann, I think he's, you know, very happy to get both of those two
06:19tied down because they offer a lot, don't they, in terms of experience.
06:23Yeah, they certainly do. And when you consider the players that Rovers have lost now, whether,
06:27you know, ones they did want to keep, ones they couldn't keep in the end, whether, you
06:31know, Richard Wood's retired. So, to have those two on board, no matter how many minutes
06:35they play next season, just in and around it, they've been there, seen it and done it.
06:39Billy Sharpe is guaranteed goals, isn't he? Even if he doesn't start many games next
06:44season, I'm sure he'll want to, certainly. But if you could guarantee, what, seven, eight,
06:50nine goals from him in League One next season, that may be the difference between finishing
06:5318th and finishing, you know, up towards that mid-table, top half sort of position.
06:58I think those two, keeping them around, Ian Lawler, you know, he's made no secret the fact
07:03he wants to play, but they're two people and two players there who love the club. They know
07:08the club inside out as well. And I suppose almost if Grant McCann's then having to go and replace
07:13those two characters as well, it's very different losing two or three players to then five or
07:19six, isn't it? So, I think they've certainly plugged gaps that Grant McCann wouldn't have
07:23wanted to have filled come, you know, start of June to the end of that month as well.
07:29Yeah, absolutely. I think they're easy wins as well in terms of, you know, like you just
07:33said there, I think if you add up how much service those two have done, I think this is
07:36Bill Lawler's eighth season at the club, you know, which is quite remarkable really
07:40and sharp across his four spells, you know, it's a lot more seasons and games as well.
07:45So, yeah, they know the club inside out and at both ends of the field as well, aren't
07:49they? Robbie Gotts, an interesting one, obviously the only addition so far to what's a quite
07:55stacked midfield already, but he looks an interesting prospect, doesn't he?
08:00Yeah, and somebody who's hungry as well, I think, isn't he? When you listen to his
08:03interview, he's keen to test himself at League One, almost feels like he's earned
08:07that, which is the type of player that Grant McCann has signed throughout his
08:12managerial career, not just at Rovers. And I think when you look at the amount of
08:15games he's played for Barrow, he almost had to drop down a little bit when he left
08:19Leeds. I think that would have hurt him at the time as well, reading between the
08:23lines there, you know, leaving your club, if you like, taking that knock back. But then
08:28the character he's had to show to almost rebuild his career again at Barrow,
08:32whenever you see him, you know, a neat and tidy footballer can pass, can move as
08:37well. He's got that energy that Grant McCann would want from his midfield, but that
08:41bit of bite as well to him. So whenever I've seen him play, you know, although he's good
08:45on the ball, he's not afraid to maybe stick his foot into a tackle and make things sort
08:49of a bit spiky as well, if you like. And I think as starts to recruitment go, we know
08:55that Grant McCann will be working on this for weeks and months, won't he? It's not
08:59something that just comes out of the blue and he makes a decision on it. So, yeah,
09:03I think when you read the sort of the write-up on Robbie Gotts, every award at Barrow was
09:09his. You know, it was a clean sweep pretty much, wasn't it, for him? Barrow gutted to
09:13see him go. It does seem like he's earned that chance at least to test himself now at the
09:19level above.
09:19Yeah, when you were describing him then, he sounds very much like Grant McCann, you
09:24know, good on the ball, but, you know, not afraid to kind of put his foot in. And as
09:27you said, you know, Leeds United, what a grounding. You know, Bielsa spoke very highly
09:32of him. You know, not that long ago, Rovers had a midfielder on loan from Leeds, obviously
09:37Charlie Crewe. You look at what he did and what he's doing. He got in the Wales squad today,
09:41I think, for their qualifiers. So I think it's a great sign. I think it's, you know, in
09:46terms of starts, getting it done early. And he spoke about him. I think even when he
09:49was at home, Grant McCann wanted him. And something happened, it didn't quite fall into
09:54place. So he's finally got his man. So it'd be very interesting to see kind of what, you
10:00know, what follows, which brings us on to, I guess, you know, which of the priority areas.
10:05Obviously, he said he wants to bring the keeper in. What do you think of the other priority
10:10areas right now? Because you're looking at the squad and it's kind of its base now. You
10:14know, you wouldn't imagine there would be too many more departures unless some sales
10:19are sanctioned. But as it stands, what for you is the priority?
10:23I think the goalkeeper is an obvious one, isn't it? It depends what route that McCann wants
10:28to go down. They've got Ian Lawler already in the building and the loans have worked for
10:34the last couple of years, haven't they? With Lota Tala, with Teddy Sharman-Lowe. I know
10:39Ted Sharman-Lowe is somebody of interest this time. Why wouldn't he be when Rovers have gone
10:43up a division? And I think with a goalkeeper, it's sometimes difficult because, you know,
10:49you could nail your colours and say, right, we're going to bring in a permanent number
10:51one. But then two or three months into the season, you think, actually, I'm not sure if
10:57this is the right one. Whereas with a low knee, you've got that chance to build them.
11:02And I think when Ted first came in, maybe people were comparing him to Lota Tala a little bit.
11:07But I think as the season went on, he showed that he was very, very capable of being a,
11:12you know, a very good EFL goalkeeper. So I think almost that, you look down the spine
11:17of the team and I think centre-half clearly now needs some work. I think Grant McCann
11:22had Oluw and Anderson stayed, would have looked to strengthen anyway, but it might have just
11:26been one. So now you can, well, hang on, maybe two or three because Rovers have only really
11:32got Jay McGrath as a senior centre-back, haven't they? So I think midfield looks fairly well
11:38stocked now. It all depends, I suppose, where Grant McCann sees Owen Bailey moving forward
11:44because although he did a brilliant job in central midfield, once he moved back to centre-half,
11:49arguably, he looked even better, didn't he? It depends a little bit on that, I think.
11:54You've got almost a floater there who can do a bit of everything. I think centre-forward,
11:58there's no doubt Rovers need to strengthen and go and get somebody. Who that is remains
12:05to be seen. I think Rob Street's already been sort of spoken about as somebody who may be
12:09slightly out of Rovers' price range, hasn't he, given his contract length at Lincoln and
12:14the fact that, you know, Lincoln aren't going to loan him out, I don't think, to another
12:18League One club, are they? Rovers' position they find themselves in now almost goes against
12:22them a little bit, doesn't it? The fact that they're now in League One. But I think with
12:27Sharp and Iron side there, they've got a good base to build from, don't get me wrong,
12:30there's going to be goals between those two. But I think, yeah, looking at that spine of
12:34the team, I think goalkeeper centre-half and striker are the three I think Grant McCann
12:38will be looking at. And then I think elsewhere, you could maybe argue Rovers could maybe do
12:42with one or two more wingers, just somebody to really put the pressure on. I mean,
12:48Molyneux's going to start every week, isn't he? But, you know, Rovers' still got Kyle
12:51Hurst on the other flank. I know he's sort of had his loan up in Scotland, didn't he?
12:56Jordan Gibson as well. I think maybe one more winger would be good, I think, just to sort
13:02of complement what's there. But I certainly think the spine of the team, when you look
13:06down it and what Rovers have lost from the team that won promotion, Sharman Lowe and Street
13:10no longer there. Anderson and Oluw have departed already. You know, you've got four or five players
13:16there that really need replacing. And I think Grant McCann will be doing everything he can
13:20to try and make that happen.
13:23Absolutely. Yeah, like you said, just there, I think that the centre half is probably the
13:26most striking, you know, position in need of strengthening. And obviously that brings
13:33us, well, we're going to round off on this subject, Bobby Fulton, because it's an interesting
13:37one. And, you know, he's not played a senior game for Rovers since, I'd have to double check
13:42it. I'm pretty sure it's November 2023, might even be October 2023. So we're talking 18 months
13:48without a senior appearance. He's obviously gone on loan to Dundalk in Ireland, then went
13:54to Buxton, second loan, but I was a lot more successful than the first. And then this kind
13:59of contract standoff, if you like, what have you made to it?
14:02Well, it's a strange one, isn't it? I can see why Rovers have offered him a deal, given
14:08when he first came onto the scene, he was almost seen as this next big thing. Again, a bit of
14:14a throwback, similar to Tom Anderson. I think there were elements of his game when it came
14:18to playing out from the back that he'd not quite reached the level that, you know, people
14:23expected of him. But certainly a solid enough centre-back. He played quite a few games under
14:28Gary McChefrey. Then he had injury problems. He's been out alone a few times. So I can see
14:34why Rovers have offered him a deal. But I can also almost see why Bobby might be thinking,
14:39well, am I going to play? You know, he's probably getting to an age now where he feels, wherever
14:44he goes, he's got to play. However, I think it's a move that would make sense for all parties
14:50if he stays at the football club, wouldn't it? He's a local lad. You know, he didn't do it
14:55the easy way. He didn't come through an academy or anything like that. So he's still
14:58young in age and in experience as well, of being around a football club. So it's one
15:04of those, I suppose, you know, he's got to listen to the people around him, hasn't he?
15:07But make sure that those people around him are the right people as well. Because, you
15:10know, I think staying at Doncaster Rovers, under Grant McCann, under Cliff Byrne, who's,
15:15you know, experienced centre-half himself, is probably the best all round. It remains
15:20to be seen, you know, we don't know what the offer is, do we? You know, on paper, it might
15:23be that he thinks he can go and get better elsewhere, might be better prospects. But I
15:28think, yeah, Rovers obviously keen to keep him. And when they are down to the bare bones
15:33in terms of centre-halves already, it does seem like a move that would suit everybody
15:38for him to stay at the club. If he heads for pastures new, it'd be interesting really to
15:42see where he goes, because he's not had, as you said, not had much game time in the EFL
15:47for a long, long time. So, you're starting to think, well, hang on, who's sort of queuing
15:51up for him? But, yeah, again, similar to Oluwu, to reject a deal at one club, you almost think,
15:58well, there's got to be something on the table that's quite attractive elsewhere.
16:02Well, that's it. And added into the pot is kind of, well, the confusion, if you like,
16:06is that McCann's comments about compensation last week, which, you know, quite interesting
16:12in terms of saying, well, if he does go, we buy rights, probably due, you know, a tribunal
16:18fee will be set or compensation has to be paid, which could put off, you know, clubs in the
16:23National League or National League North or whoever's looking at him. So, it's a bit
16:27of an odd situation for him to be in, isn't it? And it's, like I say, on the face of it,
16:32there's only Jay McGrath, it was a natural centre-half. So, effectively, you know, he's in
16:38the box seat. I know there's still a few weeks to go before pre-season, but it's
16:42a very odd situation, isn't it?
16:44Yeah, it is. And, you know, Bobby may well be looking at it thinking, well, I haven't
16:49played here for a long time. You know, I've been out on loan, I've earned my stripes,
16:53if you like. So, and the compensation issue does come into it, doesn't it? Because clubs
16:58ultimately now will try and get players for as cheap as they can. We've seen it at the
17:03top, haven't you? A certain right-backer who's departing the Premier League soon for a free
17:07transfer. If that club had had to pay 60, 70 million for him, would that have
17:12still happened? Well, I'm not too sure it would. So, yeah, that may complicate things
17:16a little bit from Bobby's side. But as I said, I would be surprised if having turned
17:21down a deal at Rovers, he'd not got something else lined up. So, yeah, really intriguing
17:26one, that. Because on the face of it, when the news came out that Rovers had offered
17:30contracts to all these players, you almost felt that Faulkner was the obvious one that
17:34would sign. Because, you know, young lad, been out on loan a few times. Good opportunity for
17:39him to stay at Rovers and a good opportunity for them to develop him as well.
17:44Yeah, it would be interesting to see how it plays out. I would imagine it's going to come
17:49to a halt either way, really. You know, sharpish, because you don't want it to be too rumbling
17:54on, do they? For, you know, going into, you know, June and as we get closer to that pre-season
18:00return. Well, we know that as well, that Grant McCann, it doesn't matter who you are, does
18:04it? He'll give you a deadline. And if you don't sign, then it's sort of all the best and we'll
18:08move on to the next target. He's done that with, you know, players in the past. I can remember in
18:13his first spell, Danny Andrew, I think, was sort of umming and ahhing whether he wanted to stay at
18:18Rovers. We saw it last summer, didn't we, with Adelican, with Harris Biggins. He's sort of a very
18:25unforgiving manager, is Grant McCann. If you're not willing to be a part of it and sign on the
18:29dotted line by his deadline, he'll move on and get somebody else in. And that's the one thing I think
18:36that probably we love about him and the one thing that the supporters love about him as well. He's
18:40very sort of cutthroat and wants the best for the football club ultimately. Yeah, absolutely. And
18:45it's just worth adding, I suppose, at the end of all this, um, on that note, finally got some
18:50recognition. The LMA lead two manager of the year. Not as good enough for the EFL's four-man
18:55shortlist, but LMA did it in. Well, yeah, he did. And it was funny at the weekend, funny, maybe not the
19:02right word, but, uh, amusing at the weekend that, uh, one manager who did get a nomination
19:06didn't even get promoted in the end. So, uh, I'm sure those fans will, uh, will know who we're
19:11referring to there. But yeah, quite rightly, Grant got the recognition. I know he said it was sort of
19:16a team effort and quick to recognise the work of his staff as well. Um, but yeah, well-deserved,
19:21you know, going up as a champion. He had to get some sort of recognition, didn't he? And the LMA
19:26manager of the year was, uh, was quite rightly awarded to him. Absolutely. Yeah. Well, uh,
19:31we'll leave it there. Um, thanks very much for joining us. If you missed any of it,
19:35obviously you can rewind it and watch it on demand on the Facebook page. Um, me and Robbie
19:39will do another one of these probably about, well, we'll try and pencil one in for, uh, later
19:44in the summer when there's actually a bit more to speak about and the friendlies are nearly up and
19:49running and hopefully Rovers have got a few more, uh, bodies in the door, but yeah, thanks for
19:53tuning in and we'll catch you again next time.
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