I’ll be very sorry to see the back of Rochdale, it’s not the most attractive of stadiums but it has its own personal charm, but as a fan I always look forward to making the trip. It’s easy to park, in fact I’ve parked in the same square now for the last three or four visits. From a fans point of view with a very low roof you can always generate plenty of noise here, and of course we can’t forget the pre match chippy dinner. We’ve had some memorable days at Spotland, with probably the 3-2 victory in the 2014 /15 season standing out as about the best. Hopefully they will bounce straight back, but it’s going to be a tall order alongside the newly relegated Swindon and Northampton and that’s without considering the other potential contenders.
THE SEASON SO FAR – Rochdale are sitting in 21st place in the League 1 table and were confirmed as relegated with a record of PLAYED 45, WON 10, DRAWN 14, LOST 21, GF 58 & GA 78 and that gives them 44 POINTS.
FORM AT A GLANCE – WWWDDL
HOME LEAGUE RESULTS 2020/21
AFCW 3 Rochdale 3
Crewe 1 Rochdale 1
Fleetwood 1 Rochdale 0
Portsmouth 2 Rochdale 1
Lincoln 1 Rochdale 2
Sunderland 2 Rochdale 0
Hull 2 Rochdale 0
Northampton 0 Rochdale 0
Blackpool 1 Rochdale 0
Bristol Rovers 1 Rochdale 2
Gillingham 2 Rochdale 2
Doncaster 1 Rochdale 0
Charlton 4 Rochdale 4
Wigan 0 Rochdale 5
Peterborough 4 Rochdale 1
Plymouth 0 Rochdale 4
Oxford 3 Rochdale 1
Shrewsbury 1 Rochdale 2
Burton 0 Rochdale 1
Accrington 2 Rochdale 1
Ipswich 2 Rochdale 0
Swindon 3 Rochdale 1
Arecord of PLAYED 22, WON 6, DRAWN 5, LOST 11, GF 31 & GA 36.
YEAR OF FORMATION – 1907
CLUB NICKNAME – The Dale
HOME GROUND – Spotland Stadium (10,249)
THE MANAGER – Brian Barry-Murphy born in Cork; Ireland aged 42.
As a defensive midfielder his playing career started with hometown Cork City, with spells also at Preston North End, Southend United, Hartlepool United, Sheffield Wed, Bury and finally Rochdale in 2018. He played a total of 433 games scoring 17 goals and represented the Republic of Ireland at U21 level on two occasions.
Following the sacking of former Rochdale Manager Keith Hill at the tail end of the2018/19 season he was made the Caretaker Manager with the role being made permanent in the last week of April, giving him a two-year contract. This is his first managerial role, and he currently sits with a record of GAMES 108, WON 33, DRAWN 28, LOST 47, giving him a slightly below average WIN RATIO of 30%.
FORMER MANAGERS – Rochdale have had 43 managers in their 113-year history, most notable previous incumbents include Harry Catterick, Bob Stokoe, Jimmy Greenhoff, Eddie Gray and John Hollins.
FORMER PLAYERS – Lee Duxbury, George Eastham, David Fairclough, Adam le Fondre, Brett Ormerod, Jordan Rhodes to name just a few.
PLAYED FOR BOTH – Clive Platt, Aaron Wilbraham, Ethan Ebanks-Landell, Paul Butler, Kevin Long, Donal McDermott, Sanmi Odelusi and Scott Taylor.
FAMOUS FANS – Tommy Cannon (Comedian) and Lisa Stansfield (Singer). In a survey from a few years back published in the Daily Mirror, Rochdale are said to have the longest suffering fans in English Football since the formation of the Football League back in 1888.
MATCH DAY MASCOT – Who knows why, but its Desmond the Dragon.
SHOOTERS BOOTS – Matty Lund with 11 goals.
CURRENT MATCH ODDS – MK Dons 3/4 Draw 3/1 Rochdale 4/1
LAST TIME ROUND – Rochdale 1 MK Dons 4
Date – Tuesday 9th of February
Team – Fisher, O’Hora, Darling, Lewington, Laird (Harvie), O’Riley’, Surman (Sorenson), Jules (Sorinola), Fraser, Grigg (Brown), Jerome (Mason).
Unused Subs – Nicholls, Johnson.
Goals – O’Riley 5’, Lund 39’, Jules 55’, Fraser 58’, Jerome 62’.
Referee – Carl Boyeson (2 Yellows)
Attendance – Behind Closed Doors
HEAD 2 HEAD
2020/21 – Rochdale 1 MK Dons 4 (O’Riley, Jules, Fraser, Jerome)
2019/20 – MK Dons 2 Rochdale 1 (Morris, Healey)
2019/20 – Rochdale 2 MK Dons 0
2017/18 – Rochdale 0 MK Dons 0
2017/18 – MK Dons 3 Rochdale 2 (Ariyibi 2, Seager)
2016/17 – MK Dons 2 Rochdale 2 (Agard, Reeves)
2016/17 – Rochdale 0 MK Dons 1 (Wootton)
2014/15 – Rochdale 2 MK Dons 3 (Carruthers, Bowditch, Powell)
2014/15 – MK Dons 2 Rochdale 2 (Grigg, Green)
2011/12 – Rochdale 1 MK Dons 2 (O’Shea, Bowditch)
2011/12 – MK Dons 3 Rochdale 1 (Adam Smith, MacDonald, Beevers)
2010/11 – Rochdale 1 MK Dons 4 (Vine, Powell, S Baldock, Gleeson)
2010/11 – MK Dons 1 Rochdale 1 (Doumbe)
2007/08 – MK Dons 0 Rochdale 1
2007/08 – Rochdale 3 MK Dons 2 (Gallen 2)
2006/07 – Rochdale 5 MK Dons 0
2006/07 – MK Dons 2 Rochdale 1 (McLeod, Own Goal)
