During the 2007–08 English football season, Doncaster Rovers F.C. competed in League One. The team were in fourth place by the New Year, and ended up in the top three during the final stages of the league. They were promoted to the Championship along with two other teams.
Season summary
This was Doncaster's fourth consecutive season in League One.
Rovers were in 4th place by the New Year,[2] and by the last game of the season they were in 2nd place but needed a win at Cheltenham to guarantee promotion to the Championship. Cheltenham won, as did 3rd placed Nottingham Forest, so Doncaster had to compete in the play-offs. First, they drew away at Southend where Paul Heffernan was sent off for a "head butt", but in the home leg they won 5–1, with James Coppinger getting a hattrick.[2]
The play-off final was at the new Wembley against a Leeds side that had failed to get an automatic place partly following a pre-season 15 point deduction for exiting administration without a CVA.[3] The contest attracted an attendance of 75,132, the biggest crowd Doncaster had ever played in front of.[2] From a Brian Stock corner, James Hayter headed in the only goal of the match in the 47th minute and Doncaster were promoted to the second tier after an absence of 50 years[4] when they had been relegated at the end of the 1957–58 season.
Progress in the three cup tournaments was limited.
The average league attendance figure of 7,978 was marginally up on the previous season and the highest since the 1969–70 season.[5]
During the season it was announced that Terry Bramall and Dick Watson had become equal controlling shareholders alongside John Ryan.[2]
Updated to match(es) played on 3 May 2008. Source: The Football League Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored. (C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted Notes:
