In the 2012–13 season, The Millers competed in League Two-the fourth tier in the football league. It was the 142nd season for the club since forming in 1870 as Thornhill and the fifth season in a row that Rotherham have been in League Two. It was a commemorative season for Rotherham United and a new chapter in the history books, as they returned home to Rotherham. They played their home games at The Don Valley Stadium in nearby city Sheffield, of which they had been shadowed by for 4 years since the dispute with Ken Booth, the owner of traditional home Millmoor-which forced them to leave. Rotherham's first game of the season was played on 18 August 2012, versus Burton Albion, in their new home; which was requested by chairman Tony Stewart because of the homecoming occasion. They came out victorious 3–0. Before the season began, the club were tipped by many bookies to lift the League Two title, leaving newly promoted Fleetwood Town and local rivals Chesterfield in their tracks. United were also tipped to be one of numerous favourites to contest the Football League Trophy, however they were out in the first round prior to a 1–0 defeat to York City.
Just one week prior to the first league encounter, Rotherham faced a trip to Yorkshire rivals, Hull City, in a League Cup first round fixture. They were knocked out 7-6 on penalties.
Rotherham United won promotion to League One after finishing second in the league.
Kit
Rotherham wear traditional colours red and white as their home kit. On the right shoulder, there is a solid white bar, with the black Puma logo on it, due to them being the kit manufacturers. Below it is the town crest, put on as a symbolic representative of the move back to Rotherham. It retains the sponsorship of local shopping centre Parkgate. The away kit is an amber and black coloured strip. The reason behind the chosen colours is that in 1925, when Rotherham Town and Thornhill United merged to become Rotherham United, their first ever kit was amber with a black rugby-like 'V' design on the chest. However, this season's away top is a thick, black bar across the chest, with the badge on the left, Puma logo in the centre and the town crest on the right. This kit also retains sponsorship from last season, with One Town One Community.
Season fixtures
Pre-season
The first training session of the season was held on week commencing 2 July 2012, 13 days previous to the first pre-season fixture against local team Parkgate. It was a vital time, as the players got a long jog and light training to get back into the football routine; as well as meeting the summer recruitments. On 14 July 2012, a few hours after the 0-6 victory against Parkgate, The Millers flew out to a training camp in the Algarve District of Portugal. On 18 July 2012, Rotherham locked horns with nearby training Oldham Athletic. Managed by Paul Dickov, Oldham were a stature of whom were a League One side. Surprisingly, Steve Evans' men came out on top 3–1. The players returned home the next day to prepare for the upcoming pre-season.
For Rotherham, not just the club but the fans too, this was a special pre-season. The first ever match at their new home venue The New York Stadium would be staged during this period of time. However, this match was just one quarter of stadia safety certificate matches. The opponents in these games, of which were two Yorkshire rivals in Barnsley and Doncaster Rovers, would stage 6,000 and 9,000 maximum capacity matches respectively. The 2012 Scottish Cup champions Hearts, and local rivals Sheffield United would both stage maximum (12,000) capacity matches, also respectively. These fixtures were simply to ensure that the facilities of the ground were able to cope with match-day standards.
Other games included away trips to Mansfield Town, Stocksbridge Park Steels, Stamford, a short journey to local lads Dinnington Town, and an encounter at Nene Park against Kettering Town.
Rotherham fans grew ever confident that the club would be successful this year. The performances were "too good for the league" according to many fans, and it was justified with victories over higher league outfits Oldham, Doncaster and Barnsley. Comments from other supporters suggested that the players brought in were Championship quality, and would tear other teams such as Barnet and Accrington Stanley to pieces.
FA Cup
League Cup
Football League Trophy
Squad statistics Everything below is not up-to-date
Out on Loan
Goals, Appearances and Disciplinary
No.Pos.NameLeagueFA CupLeague CupLeague TrophyTotalDisciplineAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals21GK Andy Warrington6010001080001GK Scott Shearer1100010001201020DF Craig Morgan12+1010000013+10306DF Johnny Mullins2000101040005DF Ian Sharps170101010200302DF Dale Tonge6+100000006+100018DF Nicky Hunt6+200000006+20403DF Laurie Wilson50001010700014DF Mark Bradley7+3011101010+311011MF Gareth Evans9+3200101011+32308MF Jason Taylor8+300+100+10109+5110MF Nicky Walker0+100000000+100026MF Danny Schofield00000000000019MF David Noble5+100010006+100015MF Ben Pringle17410100+1019+143024MF Mitch Rose1+100000001+10007MF Lionel Ainsworth6+50000+11107+61004MF Kári Árnason1110010001213010MF Michael O'Connor11+240+10001012+345017FW Daniel Nardiello8+4700100+109+57109FW Alex Revell9+4310001011+430125FW Alec Denton0+100000000+100016FW Kayode Odejayi13+3210100015+322022FW Kieran Agard0+1010+100+10101+12100Players played for Rotherham this season on loan who returned to their parent club:23DF Robert Harris61000000610028MF Jamie Devitt101000001000Players on loan at Rotherham:23DF Josh Morris40100000500027MF Lee Frecklington62120000742031MF Courtney Cameron100000001000 Key x+x Starts plus substitute appearances
Top scorers
PlacePositionNationNameLeague TwoFA CupLeague CupFL TrophyTotal 1 FW Daniel Nardiello 7 0 0 0 7 2 MF Michael O'Connor 4 0 0 0 4 = MF Ben Pringle 4 0 0 0 4 = MF Lee Frecklington 2 2 0 0 4 = FW Alex Revell 3 0 0 0 3 4 FW Kayode Odejayi 2 0 0 0 2 = MF Gareth Evans 2 0 0 0 2 5 MF Lionel Ainsworth 0 0 1 0 1 = MF Jason Taylor 1 0 0 0 1 = DF Robert Harris 1 0 0 0 1 = FW Kieran Agard 1 0 0 0 1 = DF Mark Bradley 0 1 0 0 1 = MF Kari Arnason 1 0 0 0 1TOTALS2831032
Transfers
Players transferred inDatePos.Nat.NamePrevious clubFeeRef.10 May 2012FWDaniel NardielloExeter City F.C.Free15 May 2012FWKayode OdejayiColchester UnitedUndisclosed22 May 2012DFIan SharpsShrewsbury TownFree22 May 2012DFNicky HuntPreston North EndFree24 May 2012GKScott ShearerCrawley TownFree30 May 2012DFMichael O'ConnorScunthorpe UnitedFree7 June 2012MFKári ÁrnasonAberdeenFree18 June 2012MFLionel AinsworthShrewsbury TownFree20 June 2012DFLawrie WilsonMorecambeFree13 July 2012MFDavid NobleExeter CityFree27 July 2012FWKieran AgardYeovil TownFree7 September 2012DFCraig MorganPreston North EndFree2 January 2013MFLee FrecklingtonPeterborough UnitedUndisclosedPlayers transferred outDatePos.Nat.NameToFeeRef.1 May 2012DFRichard NaylorReleasedFree4 May 2012DFLuke FosterReleasedFree7 May 2012MFDanny HarrisonReleasedFree7 May 2012DFTom NeweyReleasedFree7 May 2012MFOllie BanksReleasedFree7 May 2012MFMarchus MarshallReleasedFree7 May 2012FWPaul WarneCoaching StaffRetired7 May 2012GKRhys TaylorChelseaReturned7 May 2012DFSam WoodBrentfordReturned7 May 2012MFKieron CadoganCrystal PalaceReturned7 May 2012FWSam HoskinsSouthamptonReturned7 May 2012DFScott GriffithsPeterborough UnitedReturned23 May 2012DFMichael RaynesMutual ConsentFree1 June 2012FWLewis GrabbanAFC Bournemouth£300,0003 July 2012DFRyan CresswellSouthend UnitedFree13 July 2012GKJamie AnnersonMutual ConsentFreePlayers loaned inDate fromPos.NatNameFromDate toRef.27 September 2012DFRobert HarrisBlackpool25 October 201219 October 2012MFLee FrecklingtonPeterborough United1 Month25 October 2012DFJosh MorrisBlackburn Rovers1 Month1 November 2012MFJamie DevittHull City8 November 2012 (Injury)9 November 2012MFLuke RooneySwindon Town1 Month16 November 2012MFCourtney CameronAston Villa F.C. Reserves and Academy5 January 2013Players loaned outDate fromPos.NatNameToDate toRef.12 September 2012MFDanny SchofieldAccrington Stanley3 Months5 October 2012DFJohnny MullinsOxford United3 Months
Competitions Classification
Coverage Throughout the season, Rotherham will feature on many highlight shows. BBC's Football League Show will show highlights of every Football League game played on a Saturday, sometimes doing special segments-in which The Millers featured in when they beat Burton Albion 3–0 on the first day of the season. A weekly post-match program on Sky Sports News, called Goals Express, also shows goals from the matches. Local radio station BBC Radio Sheffield sometimes do commentary, and 6 days a week hold the Football Heaven phone in, and after matches fans are able to call and express their opinions. Rotherham may be on Sky Sports sometimes, and if the club were to progress far in a domestic cup then they may have matches on BBC or ITV. Millers Player also host commentary and match stats during games, for under 10p a day the buyer is treated to exclusive information that can only be seen via the player.
References