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Reply | TVOS Preview - Rochdale v Yeovil Town
at 15:07 19 Oct 2025
I think your comment about the pace of passing is the critical element, in the past we have spent vital seconds dwelling on the ball before moving it, now the movement is much quicker and the rapid progress up the pitch is creating better opportunities... it also leaves other teams short handed because the ball is travelling faster then their legs!
Even Hogan, whilst still very defensively- minded was certainly shifting the ball quicker than in his last appearance, good coaching or a penny dropping, either way an excellent performance.
Having a player with more pace up front (Smith) coming on in the later stages will be a way to capitalise on tired legs in the opponent's defence, he just needs to integrate a little more with the other players i.e. reading his movements and he, reading theirs, and the goals will come for him...
I see Mancini is injured again, the gamble on his fitness looks like going south if we can't come up with a solution, which is a pity as there have been brief cameos of his abilities that I have enjoyed. It seems some people are genetically disposed to muscle injuries and require careful treatment and training. Hopefully, the physios have figured out why it keeps happening, but if we could get him fit for the second half of the season he would be an excellent addition |
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Reply | FA Cup 4th Q- York City (H) 11th Oct -Match Thread
at 17:59 11 Oct 2025
If that's what York do regularly, good luck to them but I wouldnt pay to watch. Aided and abetted by a very poor referee and linesmen, the play-acting as though shot was pathetic... having said that Rochdale were utterly clueless for 45 minutes not knowing when to press and when to stand off them and then having had a half time to regroup, allowing Newby space to do what he is relatively good at .. shooting from 20 yards.. twice! You might have thought they would have learned a lesson after the first one.... but alas no..
The changes after the regulation 70 minutes were too little too late. I'm not sure what " moments" Jim will pick out, unless he won the half time draw, it was at times ponderous, occasionally it was comical and generally reminded me of the joke about the bloke who worked at the sewage farm but didnt really enjoy his job and was just going through the motions...I dont think anyone had a bad game but too many were not at their best and it felt like they didnt fancy a cup run...so job done....there will need to be a serious improvement if we are to remain contenders for the main prize |
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Reply | FA Cup 4th Q- York City (H) 11th Oct -Match Thread
at 14:35 7 Oct 2025
The cup v promotion situation is simple..
1. We will not win the FA cup the best outcome is a 3rd round draw v a prem club at home with a 10,000 crowd and TV coverage. Worth maybe £250k all in (thats a guess)
2. We win the League Trophy.. best outcome about £50k and another trip to Wembly (been there done that, not impressed)
3. We go 100% for promotion to the exclusion of everything else.. outcome £2m+ next season, pride restored, old rivalry's resumed, bigger crowds, better coverage... cup victories are meaningless, play the 2nd choices, do not weaken the promotion effort at any price..... |
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Reply | Blackpool sack Steve Bruce
at 16:41 5 Oct 2025
We are at the start of a virtuous cycle, the Ogdens have primed the pump and the water is starting to flow, the fanbase is growing albeit slowly, the general management of the club has improved dramatically, the infrastucture is developing with the investment both at the Crown Oil and at Bowlee (if the Council play nicely).
Revenues will increase and the extra money will improve the team. Meanwhile, the Ogdens are also busy developing the club's standing in the town via the Dale Community Trust and Dale Futures. The whole town will begin to feel the benefit and the football club will thrive.
We are witnessing something that will grow over the next few years into an enviable model of sustainability with the potential to play much higher up the pyramid. Our job is to support the planned activities and spread the word throughout the Borough and beyond. There is a long way to go but we are really only months into the project and so far, looking back a couple of years, we have moved a long way forwards. |
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Reply | Midweek attendances
at 15:21 2 Oct 2025
You would hope that the new ticketing system is now talking to a CRM of some sort to at least enable the club to identify any new fans last night and send them a follow up email hoping they at least enjoyed the evening despite the result, it would also be interesting to know if Wednesday is a better night for them than Tuesday. I also wonder if an earlier kick off time would help more people with younger kids?
I would also advocate a discount voucher for new local visitors..a cash discount for adults or maybe a " kids go free" offer......its really all about establishing the habit.... |
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Reply | Refwatch - Rochdale v FC Halifax Town
at 13:03 2 Oct 2025
I think Hogan is decent as a backs to the wall defender, but EEL moves the ball forwards much quicker and give the forwards a chance to lose their marker for a second or two. If we had scored first with the same team which started at Carlisle the opportunity to rest a couple of players might have presented itself soon enough. But without the EEL to Rodney outlet, and Mani left wondering where his partner was, the cutting edge wasnt there...Lessons learned hopefully ..1. Start with your best available side, 2. Score first , 3. Dont break up on-field partnerships it upsets at least 2 players... 4. Make your subs from a position of strength. 5. Its imperative to score 2 goals per game....set up accordingly.... |
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Reply | F.A. Cup 4th Q round.
at 14:10 1 Oct 2025
They are probably doing the same mental gymnastics ... I think you just have to play your best team available on the day with a judicious use of substitutes, we have a squad that has enough cover and quality to rest a couple of key players at the start and add substitutes as and when, if the manager feels the need without significantly compromising the chance to progress |
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Reply | Midweek attendances
at 14:55 27 Sep 2025
Thanks for the data, It felt as if there were more there last week and the " singing section" looked visibly larger and not because of migration from the Sandy which seemed reasonably well populated, so a small but noticable increase...even so, the attendance on Tuesday was below ST sales when you would hope for an increase on that number... maybe school nights are problematic for some people with younger kids? |
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Thread | Midweek attendances
at 10:39 26 Sep 2025
Are we doing enough to improve our attendances give the form we are in?
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Reply | Refwatch - Rochdale v Solihull Moors
at 15:17 24 Sep 2025
It was an impressive evening, I dont think we have moved the ball as quickly as that for a long time, it speaks to a confidence and belief that has been building as the season progresses, McBride was part of the secret sauce, he finds space than many miss and his passes are being capitalised upon.... Amantchi looked a little ring rusty but occupied defenders and made room for East and Rodney to finish...
White shorts and socks for night matches seems like a good idea even if they were the result of a colour clash rather than a choice, especially when the team is pinging the ball around like pinball wizards..if Jim is still looking for his 1 percent advantages its something to consider, at least under floodlights.
So, no reason to fear saturdays encounter, taking points away from top- end clubs and beating everyone else is a decent recipe for success thats hard to beat.. 2+ goals a game and 2.6+ points per game average sets a standard that only a very, very good team will beat..... |
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Reply | TVOS Preview - Rochdale v Southend United
at 11:56 21 Sep 2025
But the water still has to go somewhere, the pitch is in the middle of a concrete bath, even if you keep it off the playing surface, it still has to get away to somewhere.. we need a whole new drainage system that takes the water out of the ground . The runoff from the covers is only going onto the perimeter track and my guess is its just adding to the total volume of water already under the pitch which in turn is simply not escaping into a main drain. |
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Reply | TVOS Preview - Rochdale v Southend United
at 01:01 21 Sep 2025
I cant see where there is any reference to the pitch being raised, indeed it reads as though they put a slight tilt on it from the main stand towards the Willbuts. There is also reference to hundreds of drains being found and there being no apparent reason why its not draining other than a layer of stones (referred to as mixto) !
Essentially I suspect thst everyone simply underestimates the weather here and builds the drains accordingly when in reality a much more aggressivly draining system needs to be in place......
https://hornetsrugbyleague.co.uk/article/654/crown-oil-arena-pitch-update#:~:tex |
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Reply | TVOS Preview - Rochdale v Southend United
at 22:42 20 Sep 2025
On the basis that 1mm of water on 1sqm = 1 litre
Given the pitch is 7140 sq meters, 5mm of rain = 35,700 litres of rainwater that has to go somewhere thats nearly 8000 gallons ....my guess is that the rainfall today has been much more than 5mm possibly nearer to an inch or 25.4 mm so possibly up to 40,000 gallons or more........if it has rained more than 100mm this month , then 160,000 gallons of water has had to go somewhere....and thats just off the area of the pitch, throw in the surrounding track and what runs off the stands towards the pitch and the quantity of water that needs to escape is huge......
I have said this before but the water has to go somewhere , usually into the main drains but does it? Or is Spotland basically an outdoor swimming pool? The ultimate answer may be not to dig down but to build up the height of the pitch and dig deep drains round all 4 sides culminating in a huge outlet to the main drains under Sandy Lane outside the ground |
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Reply | TVOS Preview - Rochdale v Southend United
at 16:51 20 Sep 2025
Unfortunately everyone who doesn't live here underestimates the amount of rain that can falls in relatively short amounts of time here, right now with an hour to what would have been kick off its absolutely pelting down again and the covers would have been off to allow the warm- ups to start.... The forecast for next week is much better and the surface has not been ruined... Postponements are not without cost but better to miss out today than have to attempt to play decent football on a slutchy midden for the rest of the season...We might also have learned some lessons today about getting the covers on and off and whereabouts the worst of the problems are situated and hopefully how to overcome them or at least mitigate them.... |
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Reply | Rochdale v Southend United - Game Off!
at 16:20 20 Sep 2025
The pitch wasn't dug out and completely re-done because it would have cost £1.3m.
The rainfall today has been exceptional even by Rochdale standards and the club had rain covers deployed. Sometimes you just have to accept that there are some weather conditions that simply defeat efforts to overcome them . Unfortunate, yes, disappointing, yes, but hardly embarrassing. We live in one of the wettest areas of the country these things happen here.. There is noone at fault, the club did its best, the weather won......On to Tuesday.......! |
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Reply | NL Cup v Blackburn u21s
at 13:24 18 Sep 2025
I thought Humbles had a good game the other night, neat and tidy, available to receive the ball and capable of making a telling pass, somewhat like East. He stitched the lines together nicely. Burger always gives the impression of being a man on a mission, involved, taking up decent positions and clearly wanting to impress, perhaps a bit frustrated by those around him who are maybe not seeing what he sees instinctivly.
We have talent in depth, perhaps a bit too much to keep everyone happy, but a prefered position to be in than no depth and not much talent. Keeping everyone motivated is problematic from Manchester City to Truro City, these youngsters are here to advance their careers by being in the shop window not to make up numbers I guess games like Burnley and Blackburn represent opportunities, but starting first team games is where the real action is....its a managerial problem, no question, there was a time when teams would give their best youngster an extended run in the hope that they could sell them on, but they have to perform when opportunity knocks and give the management team a headache...the problems arise when you have a team at the top of the division with a realistic chance of promotion and need to keep the winners winning.... |
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