2009/10 to 2017/18

Doncaster Rovers never reached the Premier League in the nine seasons from 2009/10 to 2017/18, spending four in the Championship and five lower down. Their best finish was 12th in the Championship, in 2009/10. They didn’t win a major trophy. Over those nine summers they paid £1.7m in transfer fees and took in £1m, a net spend of £647k.

Doncaster Rovers opened the decade with a comfortable 12th in the Championship in 2009/10. It was the high point. Twenty-first followed, then bottom place in 2011/12 with 36 points. They bounced straight back from League One, but 2013/14 ended in 21st and another relegation.

Doncaster's transfer business barely registered in fees. Billy Sharp, signed from Sheffield United for £1.5m in 2010, was the big one. George Friend and James Husband both left for Middlesbrough for modest sums.

On 115.football Rovers are a test of how far a club from outside the usual conversation can go. The ground is small and the history at this level is short, so every signing has to count. Get the first two summers right and that 12th place becomes a starting point, not the best it ever gets.