The 2020–21 season is Rotherham United's 96th season in their existence and the first back in the Championship following promotion last season. The club also participated in the FA Cup and the EFL Cup.
Key events The delayed season started for Rotherham on 5 September 2021, with a defeat on penalties in the EFL cup to League 2 side Salford City.
On 15 September, manager Paul Warne and his assistant Richie Barker signed new contracts, keeping them at the club until the summer of 2023.
Rotherham suffered long-term injuries to four key players in the five weeks between 7 October and 12 November. Chiedozie Ogbene required knee surgery, and was ruled out until at least January; Clark Robertson suffered a broken foot, which ruled him out until the end of the winter; Shaun MacDonald broke his leg in the game against Stoke City on 31 October, and was out until the new year; and Kieran Sadlier suffered an ankle injury in the game against Preston the following Saturday, keeping him side-lined for three months.
In the run-up to Christmas, the club were hit by an outbreak of COVID-19, causing the postponements of the planned games against Derby County and Middlesbrough. They returned to competition on 29 December against Barnsley, under perceived threat of a points deduction if they did not complete the fixture, despite having an "obliterated" squad, and only being able to name six substitutes.
The first scheduled game of 2021, at home against Cardiff City, was called off an hour before kick-off due to snow, adding to the fixture congestion the club would face later in the season. A week later, Rotherham exited the FA Cup at the first attempt, after a close game with Everton went to extra time, due to FA Cup ties needing to be resolved in a single match this season.
A waterlogged pitch on 2 February caused the game against Derby County, postponed from December, to be postponed again. This time it was able to take place the following day. Nine days later, a frozen pitch led to the postponement of the fixture against QPR.
On 3 March 2021, the club beat Sheffield Wednesday 2–1 at Hillsborough Stadium, despite having Michael Smith sent off (a decision which was later overturned), claiming a first-ever league double over their South Yorkshire rivals.
On 5 March 2021, Rotherham announced a second COVID-19 outbreak at the club, causing the postponement of games against Brentford and Luton Town, the latter of which had already been moved once due to Luton's appearance in the FA Cup fourth round. On 9 March, further positive COVID-19 tests were announced, and the game against Coventry City was postponed. At this stage, with the Luton and Coventry games yet to be rescheduled, the club had only one free midweek slot left in the calendar.
By 8 April 2021, the club faced a run-in which entailed playing ten games in 28 days, including four in nine days between 10 April and 18 April.
A 1–0 defeat to Brentford in the rearranged game on 27 April 2021 saw Rotherham set an EFL record of 19 single-goal defeats in a season.
Going into the final game of the season, Rotherham sat two points from safety, needing to win and hope Derby County did not. They led at Cardiff City from the eighth minute of the game, but conceded an equaliser two minutes from the end of normal time.
Squad statistics Player statistics
Players with zero appearances have been unused substitutes in one or more games. No.Pos.Nat.NameTotalLeagueFA CupEFL CupEFL TrophyDisciplineAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals1GKViktor Johansson2102100000000027GKJamal Blackman27+1025+101010002031GKJosh Vickers0000000000002DFBilly Jones3+403+200+100+1000203DFJoe Mattock13+2012+20001000206DFRichard Wood29+3227+321010008115DFClark Robertson11+5011+500000000018DFTrevor Clarke1+901+800+1000000019DFWes Harding43+5041+501010003020DFMichael Ihiekwe44242210100012021DFAngus MacDonald37+3136+311000009122DFMatthew Olosunde23+10122+1001100004023DFCurtis Tilt00000000000030DFRyan Giles12+11212+1120000000035DFJake Hull0000000000004MFShaun MacDonald16+4015+40001000205MFLewis Wing18+2218+22000000108MFBen Wiles37+8236+821000007011MFChiedozie Ogbene7+506+500010000014MFMickel Miller6+306+300000003116MFJamie Lindsay30+7328+731010006017MFKieran Sadlier6+1015+1010010000025MFMatt Crooks35+7734+66100+11007126MFDaniel Barlaser30+4329+431000003028MFFlorian Jozefzoon9+1609+1500+100000007FWKyle Vassell6+806+600+100+1000009FWGeorge Hirst4+2804+2700+1000003010FWFreddie Ladapo24+19923+1990010000024FWMichael Smith36+101034+10101010008034FWJacob Gratton000000000000Players played for the club this season on loan who returned to their parent club during the season:Players played for the club this season who were permanently transferred out before the end of the season:5DFAdam Thompson000000000000
Goalscorers
PlacePositionNationNumberNameTotalLeagueFA CupEFL CupOther1FW24Michael Smith10100002FW10Freddie Ladapo990003MF25Matt Crooks760104MF16Jamie Lindsay33000=MF26Daniel Barlaser330006MF5Lewis Wing22000=DF6Richard Wood22000=MF8Ben Wiles22000=DF20Michael Ihiekwe22000=DF30Ryan Giles2200011MF17Kieran Sadlier11000=DF21Angus MacDonald11000=DF22Matthew Olosunde10100
Pre-season friendlies Due to the COVID-19 situation meaning fans could not attend games at the time, a full pre-season schedule was not published by the club. The club were involved in a friendly game on 18 August 2020 against Gainsborough Trinity, which ended with a 6–0 victory. The club also played unadvertised games against Hull City and Doncaster Rovers.
Competitions Championship
League table
Results summary
Results by matchday
Matches The 2020–21 season fixtures were released on 21 August.
FA Cup
The third round draw was made on 30 November, with Premier League and EFL Championship clubs all entering the competition.
EFL Cup
The first round draw was made on 18 August, live on Sky Sports, by Paul Merson.
Transfers Transfers in Date Pos. Nationality Name From Fee Ref. 5 July 2020 CF Mickel Miller Hamilton Academical Free transfer 11 August 2020 LW Kieran Sadlier Doncaster Rovers Free transfer 15 August 2020 CB Angus MacDonald Hull City Free transfer 20 August 2020 CB Wes Harding Birmingham City Undisclosed 2 September 2020 GK Viktor Johansson Leicester City Free transfer 2 October 2020 CM Daniel Barlaser Newcastle United Undisclosed 6 November 2020 GK Josh Vickers Free agent Free transfer
Loans in Date from Pos. Nationality Name From Date until Ref. 24 August 2020 GK Jamal Blackman Chelsea End of season 16 September 2020 CF George Hirst Leicester City End of season 15 October 2020 RW Florian Jozefzoon Derby County End of season 26 January 2021 LWB Ryan Giles Wolverhampton Wanderers End of season 1 February 2021 CM Lewis Wing Middlesbrough End of season
Loans out Date from Pos. Nationality Name To Date until Ref. 4 August 2020 CF Joshua Kayode Carlisle United End of season 15 September 2020 CB Jake Hull Matlock Town 28 October 2020 18 September 2020 CB Jake Cooper Gateshead 4 January 2021 15 October 2020 CB Curtis Tilt Wigan Athletic 4 January 2021 16 October 2020 CF Jamie Proctor Newport County 19 January 2021 14 January 2021 CF Mickel Miller Northampton Town End of season 15 January 2021 CF Kyle Vassell Fleetwood Town End of season 21 January 2021 RB Billy Jones Crewe Alexandra End of season 30 January 2021 CB Curtis Tilt Wigan Athletic End of season 1 February 2021 CF Jamie Proctor Wigan Athletic End of season 5 March 2021 CB Jake Cooper Hartlepool End of season
Transfers out Date Pos. Nationality Name To Fee Ref. 1 July 2020 LW Julien Lamy Free agent Released 1 July 2020 GK Laurence Bilboe Free agent Released 21 July 2020 CF Jerry Yates Blackpool Undisclosed 6 November 2020 GK Lewis Price Free agent Mutual consent 30 January 2021 CB Adam Thompson Leyton Orient Mutual consent
References