The Season That Was 04/05 – Deano's March Review

Skinned

On the first day of the month the news broke that a certain Mr Moore was appointed boss of League one strugglers Oldham until the end of the season, but of course Ronnie was gone and it was time for a new era at Millmoor.

As the squad prepared for a home six pointer with relegation rivals Gillingham, young trialist David Fox returned to Old Trafford after a promising period with us. A 3-1 reverse against the Gills was the final nail in our Championship survival hopes, as Mamady Sidibe raced clear of Phil Gilchrist to seal the points in front of the travelling contingent, disgruntled fans streamed out of Millmoor hoping and praying things wouldn’t get any worse.

Keane - Debut

A trip to Burnley followed a week later, with loan signing Michael Keane coming on for his Millers debut. Fellow loanee Leandre Griffit barely lasted 20 minutes as he limped off injured. Phil Gilchrist’s header had given Rotherham a sixth minute lead, but that was short lived as Burnley responded with an immediate reply from Graham Branch, then sealed the win soon after with the second from a left wing corner. Keane did look promising, showing decent touches and linking well with his other midfield colleagues, but positives were thin on the ground.

Yes - He actually SCORED!!

A miserable Tuesday night then saw the Millers win only their fourth match of the campaign, a scrappy affair with play off chasing Reading. Millmoor saw its lowest league crowd for several years as just 3,804 were in attendance to see Paul Warne shin the ball home at the Tivoli end deep into stoppage time. We celebrated like Wembley re-lived, just to have that winning feeling in the stomach was great, until reality hit that two home victories all season is simply nothing to shout about.

Normal service was resumed on the Saturday as QPR travelled north and took home the three points with a 1-0 victory.

Millers fans can reflect on a somewhat disappointing season for young forward Will Hoskins, much was expected of Will after he burst onto the scene with those two goals at Wigan. He obviously has a natural talent and bags of potential, and received the call to link up with England’s U19 squad once again, this time for a pre-tournament warm up for the European Championships. Having come off the bench to set up the equaliser in the first game, Will went on to make the starting line up against Moldova.

Tony Thorpe

Meanwhile back at Millmoor there was a busy end to the month. Two trialists came and went, Gary Peers of Blackburn and Crystal Palace’s Karin El-Salahi. Transfer deadline day saw us snap up Michael Keane on a two-year deal, whilst striker Tony Thorpe arrived on loan from QPR. The share rights issue was announced with plans for the new stand and fundraising structure, whilst on the injury front, Phil Gilchrist’s campaign came to an early end.

April loomed and a trip to the Britannia Stadium to face Stoke City, with seemingly just pride to play for….