Millers
tale
Rotherham Utd
v Darlington
Coca-Cola League Two
Tuesday 28th October, 2008, 7.45pm

Since we enjoyed a hard-fought win at Rotherham
last September, the Millers' continued run of bad luck off the field
returned with another financial crisis, the loss of 10 points and
real fears of liquidation. It stalled their promotion push, they
survived but they look to be spending the new season in a temporary
home thanks to a row with their landlords, the Booth family over
their entitlement to privileges at the club. The new owners have taken a drastic, but some would say, principled step to move to Don Valley in Sheffield.
Man
to watch Derek Holmes Well-travelled Scottish striker, who arrived from Carlisle over the summer.
Full match previews on the D@rlo
Uncovered website.

Rotherham expect to be playing
their matches at the Don Valley Stadium near Sheffield for
the 2008-2009 season, thanks to a dispute with the owners of their
ground. The ground has a reduced 25,000 capacity, which may be set
for the Millers at 14,000 - all in the main stand! Tickets in the
upper tier are £20 adults, £12 (OAP, student, disabled),
£8 (ages 13-15) and £5 (12 and under); lower tier tickets
cost £18 (£10 concessions and £6, ages 13 to 15,
£5 under 12).
At Millmoor: Away fans are given the Railway End, with plenty
of room (for 2,000) in covered seating behind the goal. The new
main stand was nearly completed on our visit, with half the seats
put in, otherwise the ground was much as we remember. The away end
is still in front of the scrap yard and railway line. The refreshment
kiosk had the usual Pukka Pie range at £2.20 each - tasty and well
cooked with fluffy pastry. The toilet block was sizeable and clean.
Stewarding was unobtrusive and the PA announcer had a good taste
in oldies, including punk.
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Rotherham
United FC:
c/o Don Valley Stadium (2008-2009)Millmoor, Masbrough St, Rotherham,
S Yorks, S60 1HR
Tel: 01709 512 434; ticket office 0870 443 1884
History:
The Rotherham (Town) club was formed in 1870 and elected to Div 2
in 1893. But it became United after a merger in 1925 between Town
and Rotherham County. In common with many, it became professional
in 1905. The club's high point was reaching the Championship under
Ronnie Moore in 2001.
Record Attendance: 25,170 v Sheffield Utd, Div 2, 1952.
Capacity: (Millmoor) 9,707
Last season: 9th
Honours: Div 3 champions 1980-1981, Div 3 North champions 1950-1951,
Div 4 champions 1988-1989, Auto Windscreens Shield winners 1996, League
Cup runners-up 1961
Record victory: 8-0 v Oldham Athletic, Division 3N, 1947
Defeat: 1-11 v Bradford City, Div 3N, 1928
Nickname: The Millers
Colours: Red and white
Manager: Mark Robins
Owner: Tony Stewart
Players in: Mark Burchill (Dunfermline), Mickey Cummins (Darlington)
Players out: Chris O'Grady (Oldham)
Famous fans/players/connections: The Chuckle Brothers
(fans), Jack Shaw (scored a club record five goals v Darlington
in 1950), Mike Pollitt (played for both clubs), Gladstone Guest,
Danny Williams, Shaun Gioater, Peter Eustace (players)
Click for Streetmap of ground |

From North - Millmoor:
Leave the M1 at junction 34 and take the A6109 towards Rotherham.
At the roundabout turn right onto the A629 - then at the second larger
roundabout, take a right and the ground is found on the right.
Millmoor Parking: If room there is a carpark behind the
main stand, or use the match-day carpark behind the Zone nightclub
on Main Street (then walk to the ground via a subway). Or there
is street parking.

Alpine Taxis 01709 552777
A1 Taxis 01709 555555 Bluebird Taxis 01709 528528
Millennium & Tiger Taxis 01709 382838
Darlington FC Supporters Club
Coach TBC.
Contact: 01325 243911. See Supporters'
Club website for more details.
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The Don Valley Stadium is easy to reach by tram from the centre of Sheffield. For Don Valley and Sheffield: The stadium is on the tram
link, so any Sheffield city centre pub (below) is accessible by
public transport. Fsres are currently £1.70 single from city centre,
or £3 all day-ticket for all tram routes Trains: (TIMES
TO BE UPDATED):.
Darlington 10.01-Doncaster (10.54) 11.02 arr 11.26 or 10.27-Doncaster
(11.50) 12.02 arr Rotherham Central 12.26. Rtn 15.37-Doncaster (16.04)
16.17-arr Darlington 17.12 or 17.38-Doncaster (18.02) 18.23-19.14.
Fares from £20.50, saver return £36.10.
London Kings Cross 08.00-Doncaster (09.37) 10.02 arr 10.26
or 09.05-Doncaster (10.47) 11.02 arr Rotherham Central 11.26. Rtn:
15.10- Doncaster (15.36) 15.55-arr 14.45. Or 17.10-Doncaster (17.35)
17.55-arr 19.51 or the 18.10 via Doncaster arr 20.45. Fares:
£63.80 saver return.
Birmingham New Street 09.03-Sheffield (10.15) 10.25-arr
10.37. Or 09.30-Sheffield (10.51) 11.14 arr 11.26. Rtn: 15.27-Sheffield
(15.41) 15.53-17.04. Or 17.27-Sheffield (17.41) 17.53-19.04. Fares
from £17, saver return £30.80.
For Millmoor - walking
from the station: From the railway station, turn left into
College Rd and follow the pedestrian signs to take you to stadium
- left into Masborough Street and via a subway under the main road
as it continues to the ground. Less than 10 minutes walk.
Bus: Services No 8 ( Kimberworth) and 14 (Meadowhall)
go past the ground from Rotherham bus station
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Real ale in Rotherham
The Rhinoceros, 35–37 Bridgegate, Rotherham, South Yorkshire, S60 1PL (01709 361422) A Wetherspoon pub a couple of minutes' walk from the railway and bus stations, popular and busy on matchdays.
Near Millmoor

Moulders Rest, 110-112 Masborough Street, Tel: 01709 560095
Local pub, with away fans welcome. Also does accommodation. Real
ale limited to Black Sheep, although none on our visit. This is the nearest pub to the away end, with visiting supporters given a warm welcome.
The Kingfisher, 17 Mary Street
Quieter and friendly pub, close to the station - under the subway and left on the corner. One real ale, plus pool table and Sky. 
Blue Coat, The Crofts, S60 2JD
A Wetherpoon's which has won CAMRA awards for its consistency, with
a good choice of ales - found behind the town hall. There's a larger, family room and dining room downstairs too. One real ale was off on our visit, but the beer quality otherwise was pretty good. Sky Sports screens and an oddly large police presence "intelligence gathering" outside, considering this was a low key. Click
for Streetmap
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Other
local pubs
The Tabard, Herringthorpe Valley Road, S65 3BA (01709) 364761
- Mansfield
brewery owned, family friendly and pub food of above-average quality.
Real ale in Sheffield
Suggested particularly if the Millers are playing in "exile" at the Don Valley.
Kelham Island Tavern, 62
Russell St, S3 8RW
A regular award-winner with a huge choice of beers.
Corner Pin, 231-233 Carlisle St, S4 7QN
Back-street boozer on the corner with guest ales.
Also is the renowned
Devonshire Cat, Devonshire Green (off West Street
near the West Street tram. It was famously built as the part
of the ground floor of a privately developed student hall of residence.
For a more "traditional" setting, try the
The Red Deer, , also near the West Street tram. If you don't
want to wander too far from the station, then The
Red Lion 109 Charles Street is the best of the bunch. A separate snug and Black Sheep and Taylor's among the ales.
Near Don Valley
The Cocked Hat, 75 Worksop
Road Attercliffe, S9 3TG
Next to the stadium (Attercliffe tram stop), a Marston's pub with
Pedigree. Serves food and has Sky TV.

If you're driving in, Liz of London Millers suggests a detour to The
Tabard, Herringthorpe Valley Road, S65 3BA (01709) 364761
- (see Other local pubs - above).
There are also a couple of restaurants on the High Street if people
are looking for something a bit more extensive - the Dragon Pearl
chinese (23 High Street 01709 374994) and the Italian Pizza Oven
(Unit 2, Essoldo Buildings,High Street, 01709 382100) - otherwise
it's the legendary Eric Twigg Pukka Pies in the ground itself!

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Rotherham Visitor Centre,
40 Bridgegate Rotherham S60 1PQ Tel: 01709 835904
There are accommodation
details on the council website. One place we recommend is just
outside Rotherham off the M1, the Red Lion at Todwick, which has
a hotel extension and does good food in the pub.
Between the bus station and the railway station is Chantry Bridge,
the site of one of only four remaining chapels built on bridges
in England. The chapel is still used for regular services. Clifton
Park Museum - recently refurbished, and best known for locally
Nelson, a stuffed lion Boston Castle, built in 1776 in the grounds
of Boston Park, in sympathy for the American War of Independence.
Apart from the Chuckle Brothers (see famous fans above),
famous local people include: Lynne 'Ivy Tilsley' Perrie and Paul
'Hi-de-hi' McShane
Rail
timetables
Virgin
Trains
GNER
National
Express
Online
map
Hotels/B&Bs
Rotherham
council/ Sheffield Star, Rotherham Unofficial
Surfing
there...
There's the official
website, and the Rivals site MillersNet
and of course that self-help exiles group, London
Millers
Next away match: Grimsby (Sat 1st November, 3pm)
No responsibility is taken for accuracy,
if in doubt check before travelling.
© DAFTS 2008

Anything
worth adding? Please e-mail
us any suggestions. Back to index page
Thanks to Liz Coldwell of the London Millers and Brian Elsey
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