2021–22 Doncaster Rovers F.C. season
# 2021–22 Doncaster Rovers F.C. season

The 2021–22 season is Doncaster Rovers' 143rd year in their history and fifth consecutive season in League One. Along with the league, the club will also compete in the FA Cup, the EFL Cup and the 2021–22 EFL Trophy. The season covers the period from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022.

## Pre-season friendlies

Rovers revealed they would have friendly matches against Rossington Main, Spennymoor Town, Bradford City, Wakefield, Newcastle United, Sheffield United and Harrogate Town as part of their pre-season preparations.

## Competitions

### League One

**League table**

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 17 | Lincoln City | 46 | 14 | 10 | 22 | 55 | 63 | −8 | 52 | |
| 18 | Shrewsbury Town | 46 | 12 | 14 | 20 | 47 | 51 | −4 | 50 | |
| 19 | Morecambe | 46 | 10 | 12 | 24 | 57 | 88 | −31 | 42 | |
| 20 | Fleetwood Town | 46 | 8 | 16 | 22 | 62 | 82 | −20 | 40 | |
| 21 | Gillingham (R) | 46 | 8 | 16 | 22 | 35 | 69 | −34 | 40 | Relegation to EFL League Two |
| 22 | Doncaster Rovers (R) | 46 | 10 | 8 | 28 | 37 | 82 | −45 | 38 | Relegation to EFL League Two |
| 23 | AFC Wimbledon (R) | 46 | 6 | 19 | 21 | 49 | 75 | −26 | 37 | Relegation to EFL League Two |
| 24 | Crewe Alexandra (R) | 46 | 7 | 8 | 31 | 37 | 83 | −46 | 29 | Relegation to EFL League Two |

**Results summary**

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |

Last updated: 30 April 2022. Source:

**Results by matchday**

| Matchday | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Ground | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | H | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A |
| Result | L | L | L | D | L | L | W | L | L | W | L | W | L | D | L | D | D | L | L | L | W | L | L | L | L | L | W | L | L | W | L | L | W | L | W | D | L | L | D | L | L | W | L | D | W | D |
| Position | 20 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 23 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 22 |

**Matches**

Doncaster's fixtures were announced on 24 June 2021.

### FA Cup

Doncaster were drawn away to Scunthorpe United in the first round and at home to Mansfield Town in the second round.

### EFL Cup

Doncaster Rovers were drawn away to Walsall in the first round and Stoke City in the second round.

### EFL Trophy

Rovers were drawn into Northern Group E alongside Manchester City U21s, Rotherham United and Scunthorpe United. On July 8, the dates for the group matches were confirmed.

| Pos | Div | Teamvte | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | L1 | Rotherham United | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 1 | +14 | 9 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 2 | L1 | Doncaster Rovers | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 9 | −4 | 6 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 3 | ACA | Manchester City U21 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 3 | |
| 4 | L2 | Scunthorpe United | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | −7 | 0 | |

## Transfers

### Transfers in

| Date | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 July 2021 | CM | Ben Close | Portsmouth | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2021 | RB | Kyle Knoyle | Cambridge United | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2021 | LM | Tommy Rowe | Bristol City | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2021 | CB | Ro-Shaun Williams | Shrewsbury Town | Free transfer |
| 10 July 2021 | CF | Jordy Hiwula | Portsmouth | Free transfer |
| 28 July 2021 | LM | Aidan Barlow | Free agent | — |
| 6 August 2021 | AM | Dan Gardner | Wigan Athletic | Free transfer |
| 6 September 2021 | LW | Joe Dodoo | Wigan Athletic | Free transfer |
| 10 September 2021 | CB | Joseph Olowu | Arsenal | Free transfer |
| 12 January 2022 | CF | Kieran Agard | Plymouth Argyle | Free transfer |
| 19 January 2022 | CB | Ollie Younger | Sunderland | Free transfer |
| 21 January 2022 | GK | Jonathan Mitchell | Hartlepool United | Free transfer |
| 25 January 2022 | CM | Adam Clayton | Birmingham City | Free transfer |
| 31 January 2022 | CF | Reo Griffiths | Olympique Lyonnais | Free transfer |

### Loans in

| Date from | Position | Name | From | Date until |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 5 July 2021 | CM | Matt Smith | Arsenal | End of season |
| 19 July 2021 | CF | Tiago Çukur | Watford | 11 January 2022 |
| 6 August 2021 | GK | Pontus Dahlberg | Watford | 13 January 2022 |
| 13 August 2021 | CM | Ethan Galbraith | Manchester United | End of season |
| 31 August 2021 | AM | Rodrigo Vilca | Newcastle United | 31 December 2021 |
| 17 January 2022 | LW | Josh Martin | Norwich City | End of season |
| 27 January 2022 | CF | Mipo Odubeko | West Ham United | End of season |
| 28 January 2022 | LB | Ben Jackson | Huddersfield Town | End of season |

* ↑ On 11 January, Çukur was recalled by his parent club Watford.
* ↑ On 13 January, Dahlberg was recalled by his parent club Watford.
* ↑ On 31 December, Vilca was recalled by his parent club Newcastle United.

### Loans out

| Date from | Position | Name | To | Date until |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 12 August 2021 | CM | Lirak Hasani | Matlock Town | 1 January 2022 |
| 13 August 2021 | GK | Ben Bottomley | Frickley Athletic | |
| 22 September 2021 | CB | Ben Blythe | Farsley Celtic | 22 October 2021 |
| 22 September 2021 | CM | Liam Ravenhill | Matlock Town | 21 October 2021 |
| 15 October 2021 | DM | AJ Greaves | Redditch United | |
| 22 October 2021 | CM | Liam Ravenhill | AFC Telford United | 22 November 2021 |
| 10 December 2021 | GK | Ben Bottomley | Tadcaster Albion | February 2022 |
| 13 January 2022 | DF | Bobby Faulkner | Frickley Athletic | March 2022 |
| 3 February 2022 | CM | Liam Ravenhill | Mickleover | 24 April 2022 |
| 3 February 2022 | RM | Ed Williams | Rochester New York | End of season |
| 4 February 2022 | CM | AJ Greaves | York City | End of season |
| 24 February 2022 | CM | Lirak Hasani | Basford United | 27 April 2022 |
| 18 March 2022 | GK | Tom Chambers | Armthorpe Welfare | End of season |

### Transfers out

| Date | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 9 May 2021 | RM | James Coppinger | Retired | Retired |
| 30 June 2021 | LB | Danny Amos | Port Vale | Released |
| 30 June 2021 | RB | Charlie Bell | Staveley Miners Welfare | Released |
| 30 June 2021 | CM | Ethan Bojang | Peterborough United | Released |
| 30 June 2021 | MF | Josh Clemitson | Free agent | Released |
| 30 June 2021 | LB | Lewis Cunningham | York City | Released |
| 30 June 2021 | CF | Owan Derrett | Handsworth | Released |
| 30 June 2021 | CM | Madger Gomes | Crewe Alexandra | Released |
| 30 June 2021 | RB | Brad Halliday | Fleetwood Town | Released |
| 30 June 2021 | LB | Reece James | Blackpool | Free transfer |
| 30 June 2021 | CB | Max Jemson | Sleaford Town | Released |
| 30 June 2021 | CF | Luca Nelson | Billingham Town | Released |
| 30 June 2021 | GK | Ian Lawlor | Dundee | Released |
| 30 June 2021 | RM | Jason Lokilo | Górnik Łęczna | Rejected contract |
| 30 June 2021 | CB | Joe Wright | | Released |
| 9 July 2021 | CB | Andy Butler | Boston United | Mutual consent |
| 27 January 2022 | CF | Omar Bogle | Hartlepool United | Free transfer |
