Rochdale

Rochdale AFC, formed in 1907, is a professional football club from the Lancashire town of the same name. ‘The Dale’ started off life playing in the Lancashire Leagues at their base of St Clement's Playing Fields, the previous site of Spotland.

The club joined Division Two of the Lancashire Combination in 1908, winning promotion to Division One in 1909-10. The Combination championship was won in 1910-11 and 1911-12 before the Dale became members of the Central League.

Rochdale became founder members of Division Three North of the Football League in 1921-22, with Spotland adopted as the name of their improved venue. After a bottom finish in their debut season, the first of many successful applications for re-election, Jack Peart led the side to runners-up positions in 1923-24 and 1926-27.

Ted Goodier was appointed as manager shortly before the outbreak of World War Two, remaining at the helm, as Rochdale reached the third round of the FA Cup for the first time in 1951-52 on the back of a third place league finish in 1949-50.

Harry Catterick put out a message of his future managerial skills as the side improved under his tutelage to secure a place in Division Three when the league was reorganised in 1958 prior to him moving on to be replaced by Jack Marshall who could not save the side from relegation in 1958-59.

Tony Collins was appointed as manager in June 1960, becoming the first black manager in the Football League. He took the side on a tremendous run to reach the League Cup final in 1961-62 where Dale lost 4-0 on aggregate to Norwich City.

Collins was replaced briefly by Bob Stokoe and then Len Richley who led the side to promotion in 1968-69 with prolific scorer Reg Jenkins helping along the way. His tenure was followed by the arrival of Dick Connor. Walter Joyce had taken over when Rochdale were relegated in 1973-74.

The managerial position changed generally by the year as the club struggled on the pitch as well as financially. In 1977-78, Southport who finished one spot above Dale failed in their bid to maintain their status and were replaced by Wigan Athletic.

In 1979-80 Altrincham failed by just one vote to displace Dale who were bottom once again. A three year spell under team boss Peter Madden failed stabilised to improve things massively as the club had to re-apply for their status twice more.

There were further lowly finishes under Vic Halom and then Eddie Gray. The introduction of one place for automatic promotion and relegation between the League and Conference offered an easing of the pressure.

Off the pitch celebrity fan Tommy Cannon joined the board while the managerial appointments of Danny Begara, Terry Dolan and then Dave Sutton saw marked improvements on the pitch, while the redevelopment of Spotland began.

 

Rochdale Hornets RLFC moved in to share the ground in 1988 after selling their Athletic Grounds home. Spotland’s ownership was split three ways between Dale, Hornets and Rochdale Council which helped the financial situation.

The era saw the club reached the fifth round of the FA Cup for the first time in 1989-90 under Dolan where they lost 1–0 to Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. Graham Barrow’s spell in charge of the side from August 1996 to May 1999 saw further improvements.

Steve Parkin took over the reins as players such as Gary Jones, Clive Platt, Grant Holt and Kevin Townson thrilled the increasing supporter base. Parkin departed in November 2001 with John Hollins replacing him.

Dale reached the play-offs of the retitled fourth tier Division Three in 2001-02 where they lost in the semi-finals to Rushden & Diamonds. Wolverhampton Wanderers proved too strong the following season to knock out Dale in the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Paul Simpson and then Alan Buckley both had short terms as manager before Parkin returned for a second spell. He was replaced by former club centre-back Keith Hill who produced a fine side.

In 2007-08 Darlington were defeated in the play-offs as Rochdale reached Wembley for the first time in their history. The final was lost 3-2 to Stockport County. The following 2008-09 campaign ended in play-off disappointment with a semi-final defeat to Gillingham.

Hill continued to manage to bring through players from the club youth system to mix with more experienced signings. A forty-one year wait for promotion was ended in 2009-10 as a third place finish saw Dale go up to the third tier League One.

Hill led his side to a steady finish in the 2010-11 season, before being lured to Barnsley to take over as manager. Highly respected coach Steve Eyre was promoted from his role to take over, but the move failed to pay off.

Accrington Stanley boss John Coleman was appointed as his successor in January 2012 but failed to save the side from relegation at the end of the 2012-13 season. He lasted in the position for another six months before being replaced by the returning Hill.

Again, the side responded to Hill as Rochdale were promoted in 2013-14 before establishing themselves in League One. An eighth place in 2014-15 was the highest in the clubs’ history. This was backed up by ninth and tenth finishes over the next two seasons.

After a narrow squeak with relegation in 2017-18, Rochdale sacked Hill in March 2019 with another former Dale player, Brian Barry-Murphy taking over and leading the team to safety. His side finished eighteenth in 2019-20 on the points per game method after the regular season ended early owing to the outbreak of Coronavirus.

Rochdale went down to League Two at the end of the 2020-21 season with Robbie Stockdale taking over as manager. Jim Bentley was appointed as manager in September 2022 before Jimmy McNulty was put in interim charge the following March before being given the job permanently.

Ian Henderson became the club all-time leading goalscorer but it couldn’t help Dale avoid relegation to the National League. The side finished midtable in 2023-24, while shareholders were advised to accept a proposal from potential new owners, the American group World Soccer Holdings.

Rochdale AFC will play in the National League in the 2024-25 season.

My visits

Rochdale 0 Cardiff City 0 (Tuesday 10th March 1987) Division Four (att: 1,386)

I was between jobs and at a loose end back in Scarborough, when my City supporting mate Gary Griffiths talked me into going to another away game with him. I’d never been to Rochdale so I jumped at the opportunity.

I had this image of the ground being a poor venue and the club one of perennial struggle. I was put at ease by my travelling companion, and on arrival I soon saw what he meant. Everyone at Spotland seemed extremely friendly. TV commentator John Helm was just entering the boardroom when we arrived.

We were at the Pearl Street End of the ground in with the couple of hundred or so travelling Welshmen. This end had a roof over the centre, but it was stood back, so there was plenty of open terracing which continued round either corner. The Willbutts Lane side was a similar layout to where we were with a mixture of terracing, but open and covered. 

The far Sandy Lane End had a roof all the way along to provide shelter for standing spectators. The Main Stand stood behind and alongside open terracing on the fourth side. The ground was nothing spectacular, but it was neat enough and offered covered accommodation on all four sides.

It was an extremely cold night. I should have guessed it would be before we set off as Rochdale is high on the edge of The Pennines I’d been to a match nearby Mossley during the afternoon and froze. We tried to keep warm by having a tea and a cigarette. Sadly the game did very little to help us keep warm in terms of excitement as it ended in a dull scoreless draw.

Rochdale 1 Scarborough 1 (Saturday 28th November 1987) Division Four (att: 1,838)

I hadn’t anticipated Boro’s promotion into the Football League and I was back at Spotland sooner than I ever thought. I travelled by mini bus with the Post Office and Gas Club crew, which was growing ever popular. We found a friendly local pub to park up for pre match beers before we made our way up to the ground.

Dale were having a tough time off the pitch financially, with comedian Tommy Cannon on the board of directors at the time. Boro had Tommy Graham sent off and were behind. Former Leeds winger Mark Gavin was creating chaos. 

We equalised through loan signing Simon Lowe to send the good turnout of away fans very happy. There had been a little bit of bother as some fans decided to travel by train before finding not such a hospitable welcome in some town centre pubs.

A feature of Spotland was the wonderful way that you never missed a minutes action. The snack bar queue was on the terraces and even when visiting the latrines, the wall was sufficiently low enough for you to peer over and not miss a kick!

Rochdale 2 Scarborough 1 (Saturday 18th March 1989) Division Four (att: 1,636)

I went with a similar set of lads in the minibus and we even stopped off at the same pub. This was an important game for Boro as they chased automatic promotion. We were handily placed in the league but form had slipped a little since the God like Neil Warnock had left to be replaced by Colin Morris. 

Chairman Geoffrey Richmond was still taking plenty of stick under the circumstances of the change of managers as it was widely felt that rumours that he interfered with signing behind Warnock’s back had assisted in his departure.

A Paul Dobson goal wasn’t enough to rescue anything from the game despite mounted pressure. Spotland was well renowned for its pie and mushy peas at the catering stands. As Boro had wave of attacks on the home goal, a Seadog near to me and Steve got more and more animated. 

We were ready for him to explode and figured that someone had drugged his peas. As things turned out, this game along with some other lamentable performances cost the club promotion, landing a play-off place instead.

Rochdale 3 Scarborough 0 (Saturday 29th August 1992) Division Three (att: 1,585)

The game was in the bottom tier, but the league divisions had changed names after the onset of the FA Premier League. I went with older lads on a mini bus driven by Badger, with the likes of Pete Wilson, Bunner, John Kellett and Paul Dove on board.

We got there nice and early on a lovely day and went behind the away end, down Sandy Lane and into the wonderful Cemetery Hotel. This pub had an excellent selection of real ales and still had many separate rooms. 

It was the local pub of world famous singer of the day, Lisa Stansfield, though she chose not to indulge in a session with the lads that day! I raised much mirth by taking a pint of obscure ale back and saying I thought it was off, only to be told by the landlord that it was fine, and that’s how it was meant to taste.

I managed to get a quick pint in The Church Inn, just behind the away end before I went inside to be tortured by an absolutely abject display in defending set pieces from the Seadogs who soon found themselves 3-0 down. They improved marginally as the game progressed, no doubt assisted by Rochdale taking their foot off the pedal.

The teams got changed for this game in portakabins alongside the away end as a new Main Stand was in the process of being completed.

Tuesday 20th July 2010

I was in Greater Manchester on the second of three days sightseeing, groundhopping and socialising. The weather may have been grey, but everywhere the welcome had been warm. I had visited Rochdale Town before taking a bus into the centre of town. Another bus took me past the surprisingly pleasant main area and up into the hills towards Spotland, when I got off in Edenfield Road.

The scene from Willbutts Lane was very different to the last time I was there. Two large stands backed onto the street. I walked round behind what was the old away end and round behind the impressive Main Stand with the Ratcliffe Arms built into it. 

It didn’t look like I was going to see inside, until I spotted an unlocked exit gate. Some contractors were working away, so I went pitch side to take my photos. The near Sandy Lane End hadn’t changed much apart from the roof being re-clad. The rest of the ground was all seated, which was gave the stadium a look I’d never imagined before. 

The far Willbutts Lane Stand filled the whole side. The Pearl Street Stand was a tall single tier of seats behind the far goal. The Main Stand was a smaller construction filling the touchline with corporate boxes at the rear.

I shut the gate on my departure and walked down to Spotland Bridge, ready to take another bus back into town and then onto Oldham to relive some more golden memories.