Doncaster Rovers

Name: Len South

Age: 69 

Where were you born and raised?

Born and raised in Wheatley 

Where do you live?

Wheatley Hills 

What supporters groups are you affiliated to?

I am chairman of Doncaster Rovers Supporters Club  

Tell us about your background 

I was born and raised in Doncaster and I attended Wheatley Hills High School for Boys. I left in 1969 to pursue an apprenticeship at a local engineering company. I married my lovely wife Linda in 1978, and became the father of my lovely twin daughters in 1983. I became member of the Welding Institute, Engineering Council and the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health and worked as a quality and health and safety manager at Optima International, an engineering company based in Toll Bar. I retired in 2018 to look after Linda after she had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.  I subsequently lost her to this dreadful disease in April 2019 and am still totaly devastated. I now try to raise awareness of the symptoms of this dreadful disease.  

How long have you supported Rovers?  

I attended my first Rovers game when I still at school in the mid 1960s but had a ten-year gap when thoughts turned to the fairer sex. I returned after I got married after being invited to a game and have continued to attend many games ever since. I served as a committee member of the supporters club under Charles Walker and Ken Avis. Following Charles suffering a medical emergency at Bournemouth, I was asked to take on temporary chairmanship - however I have been doing it ever since. 

Who is your favourite all time player? 

Wow that’s a difficult one as there are so many Alan Warboys, Peter Kitchen, Alec Jeffrey, Francis Tierney’s golden goal that brought us back into the league, James Coppinger’s goal at Brentford - all great players that I remember. 

Where do you sit at the Eco Power stadium? 

I am currently sitting in the James Coppinger West Stand 

How long have you been part of the Supporters/Shadow Board? 

I was asked to be part of the original supporters' board and now the Shadow Board. 

Why are you part of the Shadow Board? 

I feel that being on the shadow board gives the regular fans a voice to air any issues or grievances they may have and we represent fans to hold the club to account. That being said I don’t believe we should be involved in the day to day management of the club i.e. signings or departures, but would say that we can be involved in decisions on ticket pricing, catering, strip design and many more that affect the club's integrity with the fans and the local community. We may not always agree with the decisions the club take but we can put forward the fans views. With recent EFL recommendations alongside the fans review I believe that fan engagement is of vital importance and, to be fair, we as a club have been doing this for years and I consider us to be a leader that many clubs could follow. Our relationship with the club has never been better - we are a family club. However, we can as a group do better and the club can do better. Standing still is not an option - we must move and improve at all levels and the Shadow Board, with the trust of the fans, will try its best to achieve this.