Rochdale Football Club - The Dale

Rochdale FC History

2006-07 Season

9th in League Two
League Cup: 1st round; Doncaster Rovers a. 2-3
FA Cup: 1st round replay; Hartlepool United a. lost 4-2 on penalties.
JP Trophy: 2nd round; Crewe Alexandra h. lost 2-0 on penalties.

Highlight:
7-2 trouncing, away from home, of Stockport County, 24/3/07

Low Spot:
7-1 mauling at Lincoln City, 21/10/06

Good:
Glenn Murray
Scored 16 goals in 31 appearances but impressed with more than just finding the net. Intelligent front runner who can create chances for others, particularly with his head work, and also holds the ball up well.
A fine signing for the club.
Matthew Gilks
Big, imposing keeper who has now matured into an outstanding talent. Has all the attributes to go places and will have the chance having been snapped up on a free by Norwich.

In Brief:
This was a truly remarkable season at Spotland with form yo-yoing wildly.
Dale lost their first four games then drew the next three to leave themselves with a mountain to climb. Then they rallied to take 13 points from 6 games before a 7-1 thrashing at Lincoln saw them slump again with just 3 points being taken from 9 games.
This meant that at the halfway stage the club were only above the relegation places on goal difference but they then proceeded to put together an excellent second half to the season which saw them rise steadily to a finishing position of 9th.
Not only did Rocky win more games than is their norm they dealt out some real hidings. The pick was a remarkable 7-2 triumph at Stockport but they also won 5-0 at Darlington and 4-0 at Grimsby as well as racking up 5-0 home wins over Macclesfield and the MK Dons.
Whether this notoriously hard up club can continue to push forward is anyones guess but let's hope for the best. The club have been in the same division almost for ever and it would be great to see them enjoy a promotion.

Rochdale Football Club was formed in 1907 after another club, Rochdale Town, folded. The new club joined the Manchester League before moving into the Lancashire Combination in 1908.

Rochdale were elected into Division Three North in 1921 and their major achievemnet since joining the Football League has probably been maintaining their place.

The club finished runners up in Division Three North in 1927 behind Stoke City but were actually a little closer to promotion in 1950 when finishing 3rd behind Doncaster Rovers and Gateshead.

When the north and south divisions were merged in 1958 the Dale took their place in Division Three but suffered immediate relegation after finishing bottom of the division.

Despite making little impression in Division Four Rochdale did extremely well in the newly created League Cup competition.

In winning two ties against Scunthorpe and Southend United in the first ever League Cup in 1960-61 Rochdale could consider themselves to have enjoyed a cup run. They showed up well in the 3rd round also before going down 2-1 away from home at first division Blackburn Rovers.

In 1961-62, however, Rochdale surpassed themselves by reaching the final of the competition.

The Dale managed a draw at Southampton in the 1st round before beating the Saints 2-1 at Spotland. After thrashing Doncaster Rovers they then edged out Charlton Athletic 1-0 before receiving a bye in round four.

A 2-1 win over York City in round five took them into the semi finals and another meeting with Blackburn Rovers. Rochdale enjoyed a fine 3-1 win at Spotland in the first leg before going through on aggregate after a 2-1 defeat at Ewood Park.

Unfortunately the final was an anti-climax as Norwich City left Spotland with a 3-0 lead after the first leg and comfortably took the trophy with a 1-0 win at Carrow Road. A magnificent effort, nonetheless.

Rochdale gained their only ever promotion in 1969 after finishing 3rd in Division Four. The unfashionable club made a solid start to life in the third division finishing 9th in 1970 and then knocked Coventry City out of the FA Cup in 1971 before suffering a comprehensive replay defeat against Colchester United in the 4th round.

After five seasons in Division Three the club were relegated back to Division Four in 1974 after winning only 2 of their 46 games and have remained wedged in the fourth tier of English football ever since.

During the early years of that spell Rochdale twice finished bottom of the league but that was before automatic relegation was introduced in England's lowest division and they have mainly managed to stay safely out of trouble since it was brought in.

In both 1992 and 2001 Rochdale finished only one win away from claiming a play off position before ending up just one win shy of automatic promotion in 2002. Their first experience of the play offs ended at the semi final stage after a 5-4 aggregate defeat to Rushden & Diamonds.

The furthest the club has travelled in the FA Cup is the 5th round which they reached in both 1990 and 2003.

In 1990 Rochdale defeated Marine, Lincoln City, Whitley Bay and Northampton Town before going down to a 1-0 defeat at Crystal Palace.

The 2003 competition saw them defeat Peterborough United, Bristol Rovers, Preston North End and Coventry City before losing 3-1 at Wolverhampton Wanderers.

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