# 2015–16 Rotherham United F.C. season

The 2015–16 season was Rotherham United's 91st season in their existence and the second consecutive season in the Championship. Last season, Rotherham secured their place in this season's championship with a 21st-placed finish, 5 points from the relegation zone. Along with competing in the Championship, the club also participated in the FA Cup, at which they entered in the third round, and League Cup.

## Key events

On 8 July 2015, Eric Black was appointed first-team coach, after leaving Wigan Athletic at the end of the previous season.
On 23 July 2015, it was revealed that defender Kirk Broadfoot had been given a 10-game ban for the start of the upcoming season due to sectarian abuse. The incident occurred on 14 March 2015 in a home encounter against Wigan Athletic, where he was deemed by an FA tribunal to have made sectarian comments about Wigan's James McClean. As well as the 10-game ban, Broadfoot was also ordered to pay £7,500 and complete an education programme. It is currently the longest ban for verbal abuse in English football history.
On 3 September 2015, Steve Evans appointed midfielder Lee Frecklington as the new club captain. Frecklington replaced Greg Halford as the captain for the season, with Evans citing that Halford had would be able to focus on his individual game as a result of this decision.
On 28 September 2015, the club released a statement detailing that Steve Evans and Paul Raynor had left the club after three years in charge. The two parties were stated as wanting to move in "different directions" with the club, resulting in Evans and Raynor leaving the club. First-team coach Eric Black would take temporary charge of the team until Evans' successor was appointed.
On 9 October 2015, Rotherham United announced the appointment of former Leeds United head coach Neil Redfearn as the new manager of the club. Redfearn agreed a two-and-a-half-year deal with the club. He was unveiled in an official press conference on the following Monday, 12 October.
On 3 December 2015, Rotherham suspended new signing Simon Lenighan following his trial for assaulting three women. Rotherham also opened their own investigation into the matter. The investigation resulted in the termination of Lenighan's contract on 4 February 2016.
On 11 December 2015, Andrew Hughes was appointed as the first team development coach.
On 25 January 2016, Eric Black left the club by mutual agreement, to become Assistant Manager at Aston Villa.
On 4 February 2016, the club confirmed the appointment of Nicky Eaden for a second spell as Assistant Manager. Eaden left his role as a coach with Leicester City Under 21s prior to the confirmation. This was Eaden's second spell in the management team at the club, having previously been appointed by Andy Liddell in 2011.
On 8 February 2016, it was announced that Neil Redfearn had been relieved of his managerial duties. Redfearn had been in charge of the team for 21 games, losing 14 of them and with a win percentage of 23.8%. The following day, the club announced that coach Andy Hughes had also left the club and that Nicky Eaden would take charge of the first team until a new manager was appointed.
On 11 February 2016, the club announced the appointment of Neil Warnock as manager and Kevin Blackwell as assistant manager, both until the end of the season. As a consequence, Nicky Eaden was demoted to first team coach.
On 18 May 2016, it was announced that Warnock would not be continuing as manager. Along with assistant Blackwell and Ronnie Jepson, he left the club with immediate effect.

## Squad statistics
### Player statistics

    As of 8 May 2016
| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name | Total | Total | Championship | Championship | Capital One Cup | Capital One Cup | FA Cup | FA Cup | Discipline | Discipline |
| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | | |
| 1 | GK | | Lee Camp | 42 | 0 | 41 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | GK | | Alex Cairns | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | GK | | Adam Collin | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | | Lewis Buxton | 20+2 | 0 | 18+2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | | Joe Mattock | 36 | 1 | 35 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 |
| 4 | DF | | Danny Collins | 23+3 | 2 | 21+3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | | Kirk Broadfoot | 32+1 | 1 | 31+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | | Richard Wood | 13 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 12 | DF | | Stephen Kelly | 13+2 | 0 | 13+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | | Greg Halford | 21+2 | 2 | 19+2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| 16 | DF | | Frazer Richardson | 15+5 | 0 | 13+4 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | | Tom Thorpe | 5+2 | 2 | 5+2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | | Aymen Belaïd | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | DF | | Shay Facey | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 34 | DF | | Lloyd Doyley | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | DF | | Mason Warren | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | | Lee Frecklington | 28+1 | 5 | 26+1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | | Emmanuel Ledesma | 3+5 | 0 | 1+4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | | Paul Green | 15+11 | 1 | 14+10 | 0 | 0+1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | | Chris Burke | 5 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | | Grant Ward | 35+8 | 2 | 33+7 | 2 | 1+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | | Andrew Shinnie | 1+2 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | | Chris Dawson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | MF | | Richard Smallwood | 44+1 | 1 | 42+1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | | Jerome Thomas | 3+3 | 0 | 3+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | | Joe Newell | 31+7 | 5 | 28+7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 42 | MF | | Darnelle Bailey-King | 0+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | | Danny Ward | 23+13 | 4 | 22+12 | 4 | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | | Jonson Clarke-Harris | 20+17 | 6 | 19+16 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 32 | FW | | Luciano Becchio | 0+2 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | FW | | Matt Derbyshire | 30+8 | 8 | 28+7 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| 39 | FW | | Jerry Yates | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 50 | FW | | Leon Best | 10+6 | 4 | 10+6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Players played for Rotherham this season on loan who returned to their parent club: ||||||||||||||
| 1 | GK | | Kelle Roos | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | DF | | Harry Toffolo | 6+1 | 0 | 6+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | | Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | MF | | Brandon Barker | 1+3 | 1 | 1+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | | Luke Hyam | 2+3 | 0 | 2+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | | Tony Andreu | 10+1 | 2 | 10+1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | | Farrend Rawson | 15+1 | 2 | 15+1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Players permanently contracted to Rotherham this season who left the club: ||||||||||||||
| 14 | MF | | Aidy White | 4+6 | 0 | 3+5 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | FW | | Jordan Bowery | 3+5 | 1 | 2+5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | FW | | Chris Maguire | 6+9 | 0 | 6+8 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
* (starts) + (substitute apps)

### Goalscorers

    As of 8 May 2016
| Place | Position | Number | Name | Total | Championship | FA Cup | Capital One Cup |
| 1 | FW | 27 | Matt Derbyshire | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | FW | 19 | Jonson Clarke-Harris | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | MF | 22 | Joe Newell | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| = | MF | 8 | Lee Frecklington | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | FW | 9 | Danny Ward | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| = | FW | 50 | Leon Best | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | DF | 5 | Danny Collins | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| = | DF | 23 | Tom Thorpe | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| = | MF | 17 | Grant Ward | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| = | DF | 20 | Farrend Rawson | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| = | MF | 24 | Tony Andreu | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| = | MF | 14 | Chris Burke | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| = | DF | 15 | Greg Halford | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | FW | 18 | Jordan Bowery | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| = | MF | 11 | Paul Green | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| = | MF | 25 | Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| = | MF | 26 | Brandon Barker | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| = | DF | 5 | Kirk Broadfoot | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| = | MF | 33 | Richard Smallwood | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |

## Competitions
### Championship

On 17 June 2015, the fixtures for the forthcoming season were announced.

#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 19 | Huddersfield Town | 46 | 13 | 12 | 21 | 59 | 70 | −11 | 51 | |
| 20 | Fulham | 46 | 12 | 15 | 19 | 66 | 79 | −13 | 51 | |
| 21 | Rotherham United | 46 | 13 | 10 | 23 | 53 | 71 | −18 | 49 | |
| 22 | Charlton Athletic (R) | 46 | 9 | 13 | 24 | 40 | 80 | −40 | 40 | Relegation to EFL League One |
| 23 | Milton Keynes Dons (R) | 46 | 9 | 12 | 25 | 39 | 69 | −30 | 39 | Relegation to EFL League One |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 7 May 2016. 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 | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | D | A | H | H | A | H | A |
| Result | L | L | D | L | L | D | L | W | W | L | L | D | L | L | L | L | W | W | L | L | L | W | W | L | L | W | L | D | L | L | D | L | L | W | W | W | D | W | W | D | W | D | D | D | L | L |
| Position | 24 | 24 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 20 | 21 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 20 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 20 | 21 |

#### Fixtures
### FA Cup

On 7 December 2015, the draw for the third round of the FA Cup was made.

### League Cup

On 16 June 2015, the first round draw for the League Cup was made.

## Transfers

    As of 22 February 2016

### Transfers in

| Date from | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| 1 July 2015 | LW | Aidan White | Leeds United | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2015 | LB | Joe Mattock | Sheffield Wednesday | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2015 | RB | Lewis Buxton | Sheffield Wednesday | Free transfer |
| 2 July 2015 | AM | Emmanuel Ledesma | Middlesbrough | Free transfer |
| 3 July 2015 | CB | Danny Collins | Nottingham Forest | Free transfer |
| 3 July 2015 | CB | Tom Thorpe | Manchester United | Free transfer |
| 6 July 2015 | UT | Greg Halford | Nottingham Forest | Free transfer |
| 24 July 2015 | CF | Chris Maguire | Sheffield Wednesday | Free transfer |
| 5 August 2015 | LM | Joe Newell | Peterborough United | Undisclosed |
| 1 September 2015 | GK | Lee Camp | Bournemouth | Free transfer |
| 16 November 2015 | CF | Leon Best | Free agent | Free transfer |
| 19 November 2015 | CB | Stephen Kelly | Free agent | Free transfer |
| 27 November 2015 | CM | Simon Lenighan | Harrogate Town | Free transfer |
| 8 January 2016 | CB | Aymen Belaïd | Levski Sofia | Free transfer |
| 8 January 2016 | GK | Alex Cairns | Chesterfield | Free transfer |
| 21 January 2016 | CF | Luciano Becchio | Free agent | Free transfer |
| 28 January 2016 | AM | Chris Dawson | Leeds United | Free transfer |
| 17 February 2016 | LW | Jerome Thomas | Free agent | Free transfer |
| 19 February 2016 | GK | Paddy Kenny | Free agent | Free transfer |
| 19 February 2016 | RB | Lloyd Doyley | Free agent | Free transfer |
* ↑ White joins following his release from Leeds United.
* ↑ Mattock joins following his release from Sheffield Wednesday.
* ↑ Buxton joins following his release from Sheffield Wednesday.
* ↑ Ledesma joins following his release from Middlesbrough.
* ↑ Collins joins following his release from Nottingham Forest.
* ↑ Thorpe joins following his release from Manchester United.
* ↑ Halford joins following his release from Nottingham Forest
* ↑ Maguire joins after rejecting a contract extension at Sheffield Wednesday.
* ↑ Camp joins following his release from Bournemouth.
* ↑ Cairns joined following his release by Chesterfield
* ↑ Dawson joined following his release by Leeds

### Transfers out

| Date from | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| 1 July 2015 | RWB | Mark Bradley | Free agent | Released |
| 1 July 2015 | RWB | Richard Brindley | Colchester United | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2015 | CM | Robert Milsom | Notts County | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2015 | LB | Mat Sadler | Shrewsbury Town | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2015 | GK | Tony Thompson | Morecambe | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2015 | CB | Craig Morgan | Wigan Athletic | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2015 | LW | Ben Pringle | Fulham | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2015 | CB | Daniel Rowe | Wycombe Wanderers | Compensation |
| 15 July 2015 | CB | Kári Árnason | Malmö FF | Undisclosed |
| 15 July 2015 | GK | Scott Loach | Notts County | Free transfer |
| 16 July 2015 | CM | Conor Newton | Cambridge United | Free transfer |
| 8 January 2016 | LB | Aidan White | Barnsley | Free transfer |
| 22 January 2016 | CF | Jordan Bowery | Oxford United | Free transfer |
| 1 February 2016 | CF | Chris Maguire | Oxford United | Free transfer |
| 4 February 2016 | CM | Simon Lenighan | Free agent | Contract terminated |
* ↑ Following Brindley's release he joined Colchester United.
* ↑ Following Milsom's release he joined Notts County.
* ↑ Following Sadler's release he joined Shrewsbury Town.
* ↑ Following Thompson's release he joined Morecambe.
* ↑ Following Morgan's rejection of a new contract he joined Wigan Athletic.
* ↑ Following Pringle's rejection of a new contract he joined Fulham.
* ↑ Following Loach's release he joined Notts County.
* ↑ Following Newton's release he joined Cambridge United.
* ↑ Following White's mutual contract termination, he joined Barnsley.
* ↑ Following Bowery's contract termination, he joined Oxford.
* ↑ Following Maguire's contract termination, he joined Oxford.

### Loans in

| Date from | Position | Name | From | Date until |
| 13 July 2015 | AM | Grant Ward | Tottenham Hotspur | 8 May 2016 |
| 15 July 2015 | CB | Farrend Rawson | Derby County | 22 February 2016 |
| 15 July 2015 | GK | Kelle Roos | Derby County | 1 September 2015 |
| 1 September 2015 | CM | Tony Andreu | Norwich City | 7 January 2016 |
| 1 September 2015 | RM | Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe | Norwich City | 29 September 2015 |
| 19 October 2015 | LB | Harry Toffolo | Norwich City | 16 January 2016 |
| 7 November 2015 | CM | Brandon Barker | Manchester City | 15 December 2015 |
| 26 November 2015 | CM | Luke Hyam | Ipswich Town | 22 December 2015 |
| 2 January 2016 | RB | Shay Facey | Manchester City | 8 May 2016 |
| 22 January 2016 | RM | Chris Burke | Nottingham Forest | 8 May 2016 |
| 27 January 2016 | AM | Andrew Shinnie | Birmingham City | 8 May 2016 |

### Loans out

| Date from | Position | Name | To | Date until |
| 23 September 2015 | CB | Richard Wood | Fleetwood Town | 24 October 2015 |
| 26 October 2015 | CB | Richard Wood | Chesterfield | 29 December 2015 |
| 27 October 2015 | CF | Jerry Yates | Harrogate Town | 27 November 2015 |
| 17 November 2015 | LW | Aidan White | Barnsley | 3 January 2016 |
| 20 November 2015 | CF | Jordan Bowery | Bradford City | 2 January 2016 |
| 26 November 2015 | UT | Greg Halford | Birmingham City | 2 January 2016 |
| 26 November 2015 | CF | Chris Maguire | Oxford United | 18 January 2016 |
| 27 November 2015 | LB | Mason Warren | Sheffield F.C. | 7 January 2016 |
| 18 December 2015 | CF | Jerry Yates | Harrogate Town | 18 January 2016 |
| 15 January 2016 | GK | Adam Collin | Aberdeen | 15 May 2016 |
| 5 February 2016 | LB | Mason Warren | Harrogate Town | 3 April 2016 |
| 21 March 2016 | CB | Tom Thorpe | Bradford City | 20 May 2016 |