Rochdale AFC

THE BEGINNING

Rochdale Association Football Club was former on 14th May 1907, following a public meeting held in the Central Schools Council, Fleece Street.

The Rochdale Observer reported the following day: “At a meeting convened by Mr. Harvey Rigg in Central Council Schools, Fleece Street, Rochdale, last evening, with Mr. H. [Herbert] Hopkinson in the chair, it was decided to form a club to be called The Rochdale Association Football Club.”

Two previous attempts had been made to launch an Association Football Club in the town, but Rochdale AFC as we know it was officially launched in 1907.

Dale’s first game was a friendly against second division Oldham Athletic on 3rd September 1907, which the opposition won 4-1.

The club was accepted into the Manchester League a fortnight after its formation and played its first league game on 7th September against Tongue. The game attracted 2,000 spectators to Spotland (then known as St. Clement’s Playing Fields) and ended in a 2-2 draw.

Rochdale ended the 1907/08 season in tenth place, having played 30, won ten, drawn eight and lost 12 for a total of 28 points. 49 goals were scored and 63 conceded.

THE EARLY YEARS

In 1908, the club joined the Lancashire Combination, winning the competition in 1911.

This success led to an application being lodged with The Football League. After receiving the support of just one club, Herbert Hopkinson called for the powers that be to expand their numbers and create a Third Division. However, his proposal was scuppered by countless objections.

The failure to gain League status led to the club to apply for a place in the Central League. The request was initially granted but was then reversed by the FA due to objections from the Lancashire Combination, who claimed Dale’s attempt to progress up the ladder should have been made earlier. It is thought their protests derived from the fact that most of their members had successfully applied for memberships of other divisions.

Dale’s next application to join the game’s elite came in March 1919, when the League expanded following World War One, with six places available. The club gathered more votes – seven in total – than they had attracted on their previous effort, but they were still some distance behind those chosen. This is despite Rochdale having a better League record than those clubs chosen. This latest rebuff led to calls for the winding up of the club, but the motion was rejected.

Herbert Hopkinson’s brainchild of a Third Division was finally adopted in 1920, but as it was pushed through by clubs in the Southern League, they took all the places made available. The notion of allowing Northern and Midlands clubs to form an equivalent division took place a year later. Dale were on of 14 clubs recommended by the Football League Management Committee for acceptance into Division Three North without a vote, which was approved.

THE FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Our first ever Football League opposition came in the shape of Accrington Stanley, on 27th August 1921, which Dale won 6-3.

Despite that good start, Dale finished bottom of the league and had to reapply for membership. Survival was granted and Dale did finish runners-up in Division Three North twice, in 1924 and 1927.

However, for the next 30 years Dale struggled in the lower reaches of the division. In 1958, the Football League decided to scrap the regional structure and create four national divisions. A tenth-place finish, on goal difference, in the 1957/58 campaign meant Dale stayed in Division Three for the following campaign, but a bottom placed finish meant relegation to Division Four, where they would stay for a decade.

LEAGUE CUP FINALISTS AND PROMOTION

The 1960s turned into the club’s most successful period to date, beginning with a historic run to the League Cup final in 1962, under the guidance of manager Tony Collins, who was the first black manager in the Football League. In reaching the final, Rochdale became the first – and, until 2013, only – club to reach the League Cup final as a bottom division side. Wins over Southampton, Doncaster Rovers, Charlton Athletic, York City and Blackburn Rovers set up a two-legged affair with Norwich City, which the Division Two side won 4-0 on aggregate.

In the 1968/69 season, Dale fans tasted success once again, as the club achieved promotion for the first time in its history. Manager Bob Stokoe had overseen a large player turnover the previous season, but Dale started well, not losing any of the opening seven league games. Stokoe departed for Carlisle United in early-October, with Dick Conner taking the reins, but Dale struggled to turn draws into wins before the turn of the year. However, in the new year, legendary striker Reg Jenkins started to find the net with regularity and the points soon came flooding Dale’s way. Promotion was secured with a final day 3-0 victory over Southend United at Spotland.

70s & 80s

Dale achieved a ninth-place finish in the 1969/70 season, which was the club’s highest league finish for a long time, until 2015 in fact. However, in the 1973/74 campaign, the club were relegated back to Division Four, after winning just twice all season.

An unsuccessful period was to follow, as Dale failed to record a top half finish for the next 14 seasons, followed by ownership turmoil in the mid-80s. Comedian Tommy Cannon (of Cannon & Ball fame) headed up a new-look Board of Directors which made a series of decisions that were deemed not in the best interest of the club. After much financial wrangling, they were replaced by the previous Board, who embarked on a crusade to get the good ship Rochdale back in financial safety. After much hardship, Messrs Kilpatrick, Morris, Lord, Brierley, Hilton and Walkden saved the club from meltdown.

Despite a period of poor results, there was a bright spot in 1986, when Steve Taylor won the Adidas Golden Boot award, having scored 25 goals in 45 matches.

90s & EARLY-00s

Some green shoots of recovery began to appear in early 1990 when Dale reached the fifth round of the FA Cup for the first time, a run which helped to pay off a large amount of the club’s debts. The redevelopment of Spotland also began early in the decade, with the rebuilding of the Main Stand to its current form.

Dale played some exciting, attacking football under manager Dave Sutton, who also persuaded the Board to pay a then club record fee of £80,000 for striker Andy Flounders. However, Sutton’s men always fell short in their quest for promotion, before Dale found themselves back in the bottom half for a number of seasons under Mick Docherty and Graham Barrow.

The summer of 1999 proved to be something of a turning point in Rochdale’s history, with the appointment of Steve Parkin, who was then the Football League’s youngest manager at 33. Tenth and eighth placed finished followed in his first two seasons, narrowly missing out on a play-off spot in 2001 on the final day of the season. The club also broke its transfer record twice in that time, spending £100,000 on Clive Platt and £150,000 on Paul Connor, both strikers.

Dale began the 2001/02 season superbly, but in November 2001, Parkin was poached by First Division Barnsley. Former Chelsea and Arsenal star John Hollins took charge and reached the play-offs for the first time in the club’s history, losing 4-3 on aggregate to Rushden & Diamonds in the semi-final.

Hollins left the club that summer, with Paul Simpson taking the role of Player-Manager. In his one season in charge, he did lead Dale to the fifth round of the FA Cup, but was dismissed at the end of a poor league campaign. Alan Buckley lasted just six months as his replacement, before Parkin returned to the club on New Year’s Eve 2003.

He was in charge for another three years, initially steering Dale away from the drop out of the Football League before finishing ninth the following season. However, following the sales of prolific frontmen Grant Holt and Rickie Lambert, Dale hovered around the foot of the table, before Parkin left by mutual consent in December 2006.

THE GOOD TIMES

When Youth Team manager Keith Hill took over in a caretaker capacity, not many would have foreseen the turnaround in club’s fortunes that was to come. Hill and assistant Dave Flitcroft lifted Dale from 22nd on Boxing Day to a ninth-place finish in the 2006/07 campaign, which gave the supporters great optimism for the club’s Centenary Year in 2007/08.

Dale reached the now rebranded League Two play-off final that season, and as such made their first appearance at Wembley Stadium. However, despite taking the lead, Dale were beaten 3-2 by Stockport County. 12 months later, Hill guided the club to the play-offs again, but were beaten in the semi-finals by Gillingham, 2-1 on aggregate.

The following campaign proved to be one of the most memorable in the club’s history, as promotion was achieved for the first time in 41 years. Some scintillating football saw Dale lead the table from December to early-April, and although they didn’t secure the League Two title, the ultimate aim of promotion was achieved with a 1-0 win over Northampton Town on 17th April 2010. A joint-best ever ninth-place finish in League One the following season had Dale fans dreaming of a push for the Championship, but Hill and Flitcroft left for Barnsley in the summer of 2011.

Steve Eyre took charge but was dismissed in December with Dale in the relegation zone. Accrington Stanley boss John Coleman replaced him but couldn’t prevent Dale from falling back into the basement division.

He was sacked in January 2013 and that cleared the way for Hill to return, with the former Dale defender steering the club away from relegation out of the Football League.

Despite almost a complete reshape of the squad in the summer of 2013, Hill guided Dale to another promotion out of League Two and to the fourth round of the FA Cup after a memorable 2-0 win over Leeds United at the Crown Oil Arena.

Three of the most successful seasons in the Club’s history followed, with the League One play-offs in sight. In 2014/15, Dale finished in their highest ever league position of eighth in the third tier.

The 2017/18 season proved to be one of the most memorable in Dale’s history. Hill’s men were 11 points from safety with 17 games remaining, but a fine run of form, losing just three times before the end of the campaign, led to a shot at survival on the final day. Joe Thompson, who had returned to action after cancer treatment earlier that season, scored the goal that kept Dale in the division.

This was all after a campaign which saw Dale reach the fifth round of the FA Cup for just third time in our history, taking Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur to a replay at Wembley, following a 2-2 draw at the Crown Oil Arena.

RECENT TIMES

However, in March of the following season, with Dale again in the relegation zone, Hill was dismissed, with First Team Coach Brian Barry-Murphy taking charge. He turned Dale’s fortunes around, escaping the bottom four with a game to spare.

The following season was cut short due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with the 2020/21 campaign then being played behind closed doors. Despite a late surge of form, Dale couldn’t stave off relegation to League Two, and just two days into the following pre-season, Barry-Murphy resigned.

Former Middlesborough defender Robbie Stockdale took charge, overseeing a huge turnover of playing staff, both before the season and during, as Dale finished 18th.

After four straight league losses to begin the 2022/23 campaign, Stockdale was sacked, with former Morecambe manager Jim Bentley his successor. Despite an initial bounce, Bentley couldn’t turn Dale’s fortunes around, and with the Club bottom of the EFL in March, he was dismissed.

Jimmy McNulty, who made 237 Dale appearances as a player, took interim charge and despite an upturn in results, there was too much to do to avoid the drop into non-league.

In the close season, McNulty was appointed as Dale’s first ever Head Coach on a permanent basis, taking charge of the Club in their first foray into non-league football.

HIGHEST LEAGUE FINISHES
Pre-war | 1923/24 & 1926/27 – Division Three North Runners-Up
Post-war | 2014/15 – 8th in League One

BEST FA CUP RUN
Fifth round in 1989/90, 2002/03, 2017/18

BEST EFL CUP RUN
Runners-up in 1961/62

BEST EFL TROPHY RUN
Northern finalists in 1994/95 and 1999/00

TRANSFER FEE PAID
£150,000 to Stoke City for Paul Connor in March 2001

TRANSFER FEE RECEIVED
£1,000,000 (estimated) from Wolverhampton Wanderers for Luke Matheson in January 2020

RECORD ATTENDANCE
24,231 vs Notts County, FA Cup Second Round, 10th December 1949

RECORD WIN
8-1 vs Chesterfield, Division Three North, 18th December 1926

RECORD DEFEAT
1-9 vs Tranmere Rovers, Division Three North, 25th December 1931

MOST LEAGUE POINTS
62, Division Three North, 1923/24 (two points for a win)
82, League Two, 2009/10 (three points for a win)

MOST LEAGUE GOALS
105, Division Three North, 1926/27

MOST APPEARANCES
531, Gary Jones (470 league, 61 other), 1998-2001 and 2003-2012

MOST GOALS
147, Ian Henderson (131 league, 16 other), 2013-2020 and 2022-date

YOUNGEST PLAYER
15 years and 22 days, Peter Thomas vs Manchester City Under-21s, EFL Trophy, 11th September 2019

OLDEST PLAYER
42 years and 173 days, Tony Ford vs Torquay United, 3rd November 2001

*  The 2019-20 season was cut short due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Final league positions were decided on a points per game basis.

** The 2020-21 season was played behind-closed-doors, with no fans in attendance at any home matches.

* Ties played in the 1945-45 FA Cup were played over two legs.

Spotland Stadium, currently known as the Crown Oil Arena due to sponsorship rights, is, and has always been, the home of Rochdale Football Club.

Originally known as St Clement’s Playing Fields, after the nearby St Clement’s Church, Dale moved into the ground upon formation in 1907.

In 1920, the original Main Stand was built, and in 1925, partial cover was added to the Pearl Street end of the ground, which was a banked standing area. Partial cover was added to the Willbutts Lane side two years later.

Work on the terracing at the Sandy Lane end was carried out by the Supporters Club in 1937, before more modern concrete terracing was installed around the ground in the 1950s and 60s.

The stadium remained largely untouched for a number of years, although a new Willbutts Lane Stand was erected in the mid-80s, which provided more cover for visiting supporters.

The banking in the Sandy Lane was also altered, to give it more depth and allow for a better view of the playing surface. That stand can currently house just over 1,300 spectators, a capcity which has been reduced over the years to comply with health and safety regulations.

The Main Stand was rebuilt in 1992 and remains largely the same to this day. It can hold over 1,700 spectators and has 12 executive boxes, as well as a large function room, all of which can cater for over a further 200 spectators.

In October 1997, former Bolton Wanderers and England player Nat Lofthouse opened a new stand at the Pearl Street end of the ground. This stand has a capacity of over 2,500 spectators and has a large function room, currently named Our Spot Community Hub, underneath.

Running opposite the Main Stand is the Willbutts Lane Stand. Opened in October 2000, this stand has a capacity of over 3,500 and houses away supporters, but can be segregated for use by home and away fans.