Doncaster Rovers are looking to appoint a new manager for the start of the 2021/22 campaign, having been managed under club legend Andy Butler since Darren Moore’s departure from the Keepmoat Stadium to Sheffield Wednesday on 1st March.
Butler’s time at Rovers saw them win just four of his 18 games in charge, seeing Donny slide from sixth place in League One to 14th place, 10 points off the playoff places.
Aidy Boothroyd is the favourite for the Doncaster Rovers job, having recently left his post as England Under 21s manager, having failed to progress from the group stages at the European Championships in Hungary and Slovenia.
The 50-year-old had been in the England youth setups since 2014, having previously had spells at Northampton Town, Coventry City and Colchester United. However, Boothroyd Is best known for his time at Watford between 2005 and 2008, where he managed to lead the Hornets to promotion via the playoffs in his first full season as a manager, having guided them to safety in the Championship at the end of the 2004/05 season.
Since his impressive time at Watford, Boothroyd’s only real achievement to date was with England Under 21s where he guided them to victory in the Toulon tournament in 2018.
Having said that he would like to venture back into club management, this would be a good opportunity for Boothroyd to put his name back on the map in club football.
Club legend Richie Wellens is also under consideration to become Donny’s next manager. The Moston born manager played for Rovers in two different spells between 2007 to 2009, as well as 2013 to 2016.
Wellens has had a decent start to life in management, having initially learned his trade at another former club in Oldham Athletic, before winning League Two with Swindon Town in the 2019/20 season, following the curtailment of the league, which saw the outcome of the title race decided on a points per game basis.
The 41-year-old then left Swindon in League One to join Salford City in the division below, who he has close affiliations to, having been a former Manchester United youth player, meaning that he knew the owners prior to taking the job at Moore Lane. However, following just 11 wins in 30 matches with Salford, he was relieved from his duties on 22nd March.
However, Wellens did manage to claim another honour as a manager, as Salford beat Portsmouth in the EFL Trophy final via a penalty shootout in what was the postponed final from the 2019/20 season.
A move to Doncaster could do Wellens the world of good, as he will be at a football club that thinks highly of him from his playing days, as well as being given the opportunity to manage in League One again, as he did with Swindon prior to his move to Salford this season.
Wellens is priced at 5/2 to make a return to the Keepmoat Stadium.
Stephen Robinson is also rumoured to be in close consideration for the job at the Keepmoat Stadium following an impressive three-year spell as Motherwell manager, where he managed to get the Well a third-placed finish in the Scottish Premiership in 2019/20
The Northern Irishman’s time at Fir Park saw a drastic turnaround at the club, as they finished ninth in the 2016/17 season where he took over the reins from Mark McGhee.
Robinson does have experience of managing in England with Oldham Athletic between July 2016 and January 2017, but it is well documented that the Latics are one of the toughest clubs to manage in the country.
Having shown his true capabilities in Scotland with Motherwell, a move to Doncaster would be a good challenge and opportunity for Robinson to get back into English football with a promising club in Doncaster.
Robinson is priced at 7/2 to be Doncaster manager at the start of next season.
The final manager on this list of those that have been linked to the managerial vacancy at Doncaster is Danny Wilson.
Wilson is one of the more experienced managers at Football League level, having started off at Barnsley in 1994, with his last job coming with Chesterfield of which he left in 2017.
The 61-year-old boasts achievements such as promotion to the Premier League with Barnsley back in 1996/97 having finished as runner up in the Championship, as well as winning the Football League Trophy with Bristol City in 2002/03 and earning promotion to League One four years later with Hartlepool United.
Wilson has managed in all of England’s top four leagues, including with two Premier League clubs, such as Barnsley, as mentioned above and Sheffield Wednesday between 1998 to 2000.
A move to Doncaster would be a good move for Wilson, considering he hasn’t managed for four years now, if he is to utilise his experience to his advantage then he would effectively be managing a squad of players that will be expected to compete for the playoffs once again.
Wilson is priced at 11/2 to become Doncaster’s next manager.
