# 2017–18 Rotherham United F.C. season

The 2017–18 season was Rotherham United's 93rd season in their existence and their first back in League One following relegation in 2016–17. Along with competing in League One, the club also participated in the FA Cup, the EFL Cup and the EFL Trophy.

## Key events

On 23 August 2017, Rotherham United were knocked out of the EFL Cup by Premier League side Huddersfield Town in the second round. Despite taking the lead in the first minute, they conceded two goals early in the second half, and saw a Kieffer Moore shot cleared off the line late in the game.
On 3 September 2017, the team won 1–0 against Portsmouth, who were managed by their former manager Kenny Jackett in a televised match at Fratton Park. This recorded Rotherham's first away league win in 27 matches, extending back to 9 April 2016.
On 4 November 2017, the team were knocked out of the FA Cup at EFL League Two side Crewe Alexandra, who scored a late goal to turn the tie around and win 2–1.
Despite playing their last game in the group stage of the competition on 7 November 2017, Rotherham had to wait three weeks to know their EFL Trophy fate. A draw between Chesterfield and Manchester City EDS on 29 November confirmed the clubs exit.
From 9 December 2017 to 24 February 2018, the team went 14 league games unbeaten, winning 11, including the last 7. The run was ended on 10 March 2018 with a 1–0 home defeat against Rochdale.
Having held 4th place in the league since mid-February, Rotherham confirmed a place in the play-offs on 21 April 2018, with a 2–0 win against Bristol Rovers.
Rotherham secured promotion back to the EFL Championship with a 2–1 extra time victory against Shrewsbury Town at Wembley Stadium on 27 May 2018.

## Squad statistics
### Player statistics

    As of end of season.
Players with zero appearances have been unused substitutes in one or more games.
| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name | Total | Total | League | League | Playoffs | Playoffs | FA Cup | FA Cup | EFL Cup | EFL Cup | EFL Trophy | EFL Trophy | Discipline | Discipline |
| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | | |
| 12 | GK | | Lewis Price | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | GK | | Marek Rodák | 38 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 30 | GK | | Laurence Bilboe | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | | Josh Emmanuel | 37+1 | 0 | 30+1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | | Joe Mattock | 39+1 | 1 | 34+1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 2 |
| 5 | DF | | Semi Ajayi | 34+8 | 5 | 29+6 | 4 | 1+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | | Richard Wood | 40+2 | 7 | 34+2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 1 |
| 14 | DF | | Dominic Ball | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | DF | | Ben Purrington | 12 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | | Michael Ihiekwe | 29+6 | 1 | 26+5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | | Shaun Cummings | 14+1 | 0 | 11+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 29 | DF | | Manny Onariase | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 43 | DF | | Akeem Hinds | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | | Will Vaulks | 45+7 | 8 | 38+6 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1+1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | | Anthony Forde | 31+18 | 3 | 27+14 | 2 | 0+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | | Matt Palmer | 12+4 | 0 | 10+4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | | Jon Taylor | 18+14 | 5 | 13+12 | 4 | 2+1 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | | Darren Potter | 18 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | | Richie Towell | 39+6 | 6 | 34+5 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | | Joe Newell | 27+18 | 8 | 22+17 | 7 | 2+1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | | Ryan Williams | 37+10 | 4 | 33+9 | 4 | 2+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 27 | MF | | Alex Bray | 1+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | MF | | Ben Wiles | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | MF | | Lewis Murr | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 45 | MF | | Reece McGinley | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | | Jamie Proctor | 6 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | | David Ball | 30+8 | 9 | 26+7 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1+1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | | Jonson Clarke-Harris | 4+15 | 1 | 1+13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | FW | | Jerry Yates | 10+10 | 2 | 7+10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | FW | | Michael Smith | 21+2 | 6 | 18+2 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 31 | FW | | Caolan Lavery | 1+14 | 2 | 1+13 | 2 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 42 | FW | | Joshua Kayode | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players played for the club this season on loan who returned to their parent club during the season: ||||||||||||||
| 24 | FW | | Kieffer Moore | 21+4 | 13 | 19+3 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| Players played for the club this season who have since left: ||||||||||||||
| 1 | GK | | Richard O'Donnell | 15 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | | Lee Frecklington | 18+2 | 4 | 17+2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 41 | FW | | Akeel Francis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Goalscorers

    As of end of season.
| Place | Position | Number | Name | Total | League | Playoffs | FA Cup | EFL Cup | EFL Trophy |
| 1 | FW | 24 | Kieffer Moore | 13 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | FW | 10 | David Ball | 9 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | MF | 22 | Joe Newell | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| = | MF | 4 | Will Vaulks | 8 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 | DF | 6 | Richard Wood | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | FW | 24 | Michael Smith | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| = | MF | 17 | Richie Towell | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | MF | 11 | Jon Taylor | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| = | DF | 5 | Semi Ajayi | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | 8 | Lee Frecklington | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| = | MF | 23 | Ryan Williams | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | MF | 7 | Anthony Forde | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 13 | FW | 31 | Caolan Lavery | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| = | FW | 21 | Jerry Yates | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 15 | DF | 3 | Joe Mattock | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| = | DF | 20 | Michael Ihiekwe | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| = | FW | 9 | Jamie Proctor | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| = | FW | 19 | Jonson Clarke-Harris | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |

## Pre-season friendlies

On 12 May 2017, Rotherham United announced they will host Sheffield United as part of their pre-season preparations. Four days later, the Millers added Parkgate friendly to the pre-season diary. On 17 May further friendlies at North Ferriby United and Chesterfield were confirmed. A fifth friendly, against Alfreton Town was revealed a day later. Two further friendlies, against Gainsborough Trinity and Barnsley were announced on 19 May.
The club announced a two-game training camp in Austria on 6 July 2017. The team will be based at the Sportschule Lindabrunn in Enzesfeld-Lindabrunn where they will face Hungarian side Soproni VSE. They will also play Floridsdorfer AC at the Austrian club's ground.

## Competitions
### League One

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 2 | Blackburn Rovers (P) | 46 | 28 | 12 | 6 | 82 | 40 | +42 | 96 | Promotion to the EFL Championship |
| 3 | Shrewsbury Town | 46 | 25 | 12 | 9 | 60 | 39 | +21 | 87 | Qualification for League One play-offs |
| 4 | Rotherham United (O, P) | 46 | 24 | 7 | 15 | 73 | 53 | +20 | 79 | Qualification for League One play-offs |
| 5 | Scunthorpe United | 46 | 19 | 17 | 10 | 65 | 50 | +15 | 74 | Qualification for League One play-offs |
| 6 | Charlton Athletic | 46 | 20 | 11 | 15 | 58 | 51 | +7 | 71 | Qualification for League One play-offs |
* ↑ Four teams play for one spot and promotion to the EFL Championship.

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 5 May 2018. Source:

#### Matchday summary

| Matchday | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 |
| Ground | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H |
| Result | L | W | L | L | W | W | W | L | W | L | W | W | W | L | D | L | D | L | L | L | W | D | W | W | W | D | D | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | L | L | W | L | D | L | W | D | W | W | L | W |
| Position | 24 | 8 | 15 | 19 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 13 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |

#### League One play-offs
### FA Cup

On 16 October 2017, Rotherham United were drawn away to Crewe Alexandra in the first round.

### EFL Cup

On 16 June 2017, Rotherham United were drawn at home to Lincoln City in the first round.

### EFL Trophy

| Pos | Lge | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L1 | Bradford City (Q) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 6 | Round 2 |
| 2 | L2 | Chesterfield | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 7 | −1 | 5 | Round 2 |
| 3 | L1 | Rotherham United | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 4 | |
| 4 | ACA | Manchester City EDS | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 3 | |

## Transfers
### Transfers in

| Date from | Name | From | Fee |
| 1 July 2017 | Semi Ajayi | Cardiff City | Undisclosed |
| 1 July 2017 | David Ball | Fleetwood Town | Free |
| 1 July 2017 | Alex Bray | Swansea City | Undisclosed |
| 1 July 2017 | Michael Ihiekwe | Tranmere Rovers | Free |
| 1 July 2017 | Darren Potter | Milton Keynes Dons | Free |
| 1 July 2017 | Ryan Williams | Barnsley | Free |
| 3 July 2017 | Jamie Proctor | Bolton Wanderers | Undisclosed |
| 9 August 2017 | Shaun Cummings | Millwall | Free |
| 31 August 2017 | Manny Onariase | Brentford | Undisclosed |
| 11 January 2018 | Michael Smith | Bury | Undisclosed |
| 25 January 2018 | Matt Palmer | Burton Albion | Undisclosed |

### Transfers out

| Date from | Name | To | Fee |
| 1 July 2017 | Fabian Bailey | Free agent | Released |
| 1 July 2017 | Lee Camp | Free agent | Released |
| 1 July 2017 | Chris Dawson | Free agent | Released |
| 1 July 2017 | Joel Ekstrand | Free agent | Released |
| 1 July 2017 | Stephen Kelly | Free agent | Released |
| 1 July 2017 | Tom Rose | Free agent | Released |
| 1 July 2017 | Richard Smallwood | Free agent | Released |
| 1 July 2017 | Tom Thorpe | Free agent | Released |
| 1 July 2017 | Danny Ward | Cardiff City | Undisclosed |
| 1 July 2017 | Kelvin Wilson | Free agent | Released |
| 4 July 2017 | Kirk Broadfoot | Kilmarnock | Undisclosed |
| 12 July 2017 | Dexter Blackstock | Free agent | Released |
| 26 July 2017 | Darnell Fisher | Preston North End | Undisclosed |
| 31 August 2017 | Aymen Belaïd | Free agent | Mutual consent |
| 8 January 2018 | Richard O'Donnell | Northampton Town | Undisclosed fee |
| 11 January 2018 | Lee Frecklington | Lincoln City | Undisclosed fee |
| 11 January 2018 | Akeel Francis | Accrington Stanley | Free |
* ↑ Camp subsequently signed for Cardiff City.
* ↑ Smallwood subsequently signed for Blackburn Rovers.
* ↑ Thorpe subsequently signed for Atlético de Kolkata.

### Loans in

| Start date | Name | From | End date |
| 10 July 2017 | Kieffer Moore | Ipswich Town | 30 June 2018 |
| 13 July 2017 | Josh Emmanuel | Ipswich Town | 30 June 2018 |
| 30 August 2017 | Marek Rodák | Fulham | 30 June 2018 |
| 31 August 2017 | Richie Towell | Brighton & Hove Albion | 30 June 2018 |
| 29 January 2018 | Caolan Lavery | Sheffield United | 30 June 2018 |

### Loans out

| Start date | Name | To | End date |
| 4 August 2017 | Mason Warren | Boston United | 1 September 2017 |
| 10 August 2017 | Darnelle Bailey-King | Matlock Town | 6 September 2017 |
| 10 August 2017 | Ben Wiles | Frickley Athletic | 6 September 2017 |
| ?? August 2017 | Akeel Francis | North Ferriby United | ?? September 2017 |
| 31 August 2017 | Dominic Ball | Aberdeen | 9 June 2018 |
| 12 September 2017 | Darnelle Bailey-King | North Ferriby United | 9 November 2017 |
| 22 September 2017 | Kuda Muskwe | North Ferriby United | 21 November 2017 |
| 22 September 2017 | Mason Warren | North Ferriby United | 7 November 2017 |
| 13 November 2017 | Mason Warren | North Ferriby United | 11 December 2017 |
| 1 December 2017 | Kuda Muskwe | Nuneaton Town | 1 January 2018 |
| 11 December 2017 | Mason Warren | Gainsborough Trinity | 10 January 2018 |
| 15 December 2017 | Laurence Bilboe | Brighouse Town | 14 January 2018 |
| 1 January 2018 | Manny Onariase | Cheltenham Town | End of season |
| 31 January 2018 | Alex Bray | Forest Green Rovers | End of season |
| 31 January 2018 | Jonson Clarke-Harris | Coventry City | End of season |
* ↑ On 24 October, Darnelle Bailey-King's loan at North Ferriby United was extended.
* ↑ On 24 October, Kuda Muskwe's loan at North Ferriby United was extended.
* ↑ On 24 October, Mason Warren's loan at North Ferriby United was extended.
* ↑ On 7 November, Rotherham exercised the option to recall Mason Warren.