Uphill, down Dale: The relegation of Rochdale AFC

Words: John McDonough

Images: Ed Stanley

Chelsea invest £600million on a squad which produces mediocrity, sack a couple of managers, and life goes on.

A club in League Two drain a transfer budget less than a Premier League player’s bar tab on a handful of duds and they’re relegated to non-League.

That’s what’s happened at Rochdale.

To be fair, It’s not just poor judgement in player acquisition that’s seen the Greater Manchester club lose its Football League status after 102 years.

Injudicious signings were the final straw.

©Ed Stanley/ Terrace Edition. Rochdale AFC.

Many of the 2,000 or so hardcore fans argue the rot set in when Dale’s most successful manager, Keith Hill, left for the second time in 2019.

Hill was the architect of two promotions from League Two. His ability to spot young talent, revive faltering careers and blend winning teams playing progressive, attacking football was close to a miracle for supporters forever looking over their shoulder at the relegation trapdoor to non-League.

It was a pleasure to watch a Hill team in full flow.

Of course, high points are fleeting for the likes of Rochdale.

After struggling to compete in League One against bigger, better financed clubs, sections of supporters turned against Hill. He’d lost his magic touch. A parting of the ways was inevitable.

However, Rochdale were still in Division One. Just.

Brian Barry-Murphy was appointed manager. Like Hill, he was a former Rochdale player and coach. So far, so familiar.

But fortunes didn’t improve. Dale were hovering in or just above the relegation places. Barry-Murphy’s possession based style frustrated fans. Opponents were quick to pounce on slow build-ups from the back.

Cries from the stands of “gerrit forward” fell on deaf ears.

A couple of decent Cup runs bolstered spirits. As with most clubs, better player were sold. Their replacements were nowhere near as good.

The juggernaut of terminal decline was picking up speed. Not that we knew it at the time.

Fan-manager relations took another hit when Barry-Murphy emphasised the long term development of young players despite weak results.

Dale dropped out of League One in the Covid-hit season of 2020-21. It was no surprise to anyone who had seen their dispiriting performances over the previous four campaigns.

And when it rains …

Barry-Murphy jumped ship on the eve of a new season for a coaching role at Manchester City.

Supporters were livid.

Rochdale were in dire financial straits following the pandemic and the strain of fighting (successfully, as it turned out) an aggressive takeover of the club.

A new, inexperienced board arrived, recruiting Robbie Stockdale to his first managerial role. Now back in League Two – once their permanent home for 34 dark years - a steady season was needed to halt the slide.

Instead, turmoil was everywhere.

Legal action and EFL intervention on the takeover drew attention away from the pitch. At least the action in the boardroom was more exciting than the uninspiring football served up by Stockdale.

A dreadful season saw Dale finish 18th .

Would a handful of summer signings see an upturn in fortunes?

The current campaign started with five straight defeats. Stockdale out. No one was rushing to manage a team who looked destined for the drop.

The squad inherited by Jim Bentley – not the club’s first choice – was the worst any fan could remember.

Calamity followed. Dale remained rooted to the bottom of the League.

It was obvious the players weren’t good enough.

There wasn’t a spark anywhere on the pitch. They were soft touches, outplayed by average sides. Bentley tried to freshen up the roster with January recruits, but the writing was on the wall.

Showing Bentley the door with just weeks of the season remaining, in favour of long-time servant Jim McNulty, was too little too late.

Most Rochdale fans have never expected much. Reared on decades of simply surviving, many were grateful to be watching League football at any level. So, when Stockport drilled the final nail in the coffin, consigning their opponents to the National League, there was almost a collective shrug, an acceptance that it was bound to happen sooner or later.

So, what now for a financially prudent fan-owned club seeking investment?