Rochdale A.F.C.



Rochdale Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier in the English football league system. The club's colours are black and blue and they play their home games at Spotland Stadium, which has a capacity of 10,249. Formed in 1907 and nicknamed the Dale, they were accepted into the Football League in 1921. Since then, the club has remained in the bottom two professional divisions of English Football.

The team has achieved promotion three times – in 1969, 2010 and 2014. Although the club has never won a competition since joining the League, they have the distinction of playing in the final of the League Cup in 1962, the first of only two teams from the lowest tier to have done so.

History
Rochdale played 36 consecutive seasons in the Football League's bottom division from 1974 to 2010, the longest time any team has been in the bottom division of the League, with some even derisively calling it "the Rochdale Division". The club has the lowest average position of all the clubs which have existed continuously in the Football League since its expansion to four divisions in 1921–22 (76th) and since its expansion to 92 clubs in 1950–51 (79th). Additionally, the club shares with Hartlepool United the distinction of having played the most seasons in the Football League without either reaching the top two tiers (82 seasons through 2009–10) or being relegated to the National League.

The club reached the League Cup final in 1962. This was the first time a club from the bottom league division had reached the final of a major competition – where they lost to Norwich City.

During its history, the club has had three promotions and three relegations, with promotion coming in 1969 and 2010 and 2014 and relegation in 1959, 1974 and 2012. The 1959 relegation followed the 1958 restructuring which saw the combination of the two Third Division sections into the Third Division and Fourth Division. In the restructuring, Rochdale managed to secure a spot in the Third Division, but was relegated at the end of the season to the now lowest Fourth Division.

1907–1999
Rochdale A.F.C. was formed in 1907. After World War I the Football League was expanded and the club unsuccessfully applied to join. In 1921 Rochdale was recommended to be included in the new Third Division North, and played their first League game at home against Accrington Stanley on 27 August 1921, winning 6–3. However, this first season ended with the club at the bottom of the League, having to reapply for membership.

The club's first promotion came in 1969, earned by a team largely assembled by manager Bob Stokoe, though it was Stokoe's assistant, Len Richley who steered Rochdale to promotion after Stokoe moved to Carlisle United. In the early stages of the 1969–70 season, Rochdale topped the Division Three table, sparking hopes of a second successive promotion. The team's form significantly declined around Christmas 1969, however, and a failure to halt the team's decline led to the dismissal of Richley. He was succeeded by Dick Conner, who stabilised the club's form and steered them to a 9th-place finish. The following three seasons saw the club finish in the lower reaches of the Division Three table, narrowly avoiding relegation each time. The board viewed merely surviving in Division Three as unacceptable and replaced Conner with Walter Joyce for the 1973–74 season. This move failed to pay off, and Rochdale was relegated after a campaign in which they won only 2 of 46 league games.

The club finished bottom of the league in 1977–78, but was successful in their bid for re-election. Southport, which had finished one place above Rochdale, was demoted instead and replaced by Wigan Athletic. Rochdale finished bottom for a second time in 1979–80, but was again re-elected – by one vote over Altrincham. In 1989–90 the club reached the fifth round of the FA Cup for the first time, but lost 1–0 to Crystal Palace.

Steve Parkin was appointed as manager in 1998, a period in which the success of the club improved significantly with the emergence of talented players such as Gary Jones, Clive Platt, Grant Holt and Kevin Townson.

2000–2010
Parkin left to take over at Barnsley in November 2001 with Rochdale second in Division Three. This gained him little popularity with the fans, especially when he took Gary Jones with him. John Hollins was appointed as his successor and the club finished the season in fifth place, entering the promotion play-offs where they lost to Rushden & Diamonds in the semi-finals.

The club reached the fifth round of the FA Cup again the following season, but lost 3–1 at Wolves. Hollins was replaced by Paul Simpson in 2002, and Alan Buckley, appointed and sacked as manager in 2003. Parkin then returned to the club as manager, until being sacked in December 2006.

Parkin's replacement, Keith Hill, who was initially appointed as caretaker-manager, became arguably the club's most successful manager to date. Hill and his assistant manager David Flitcroft led Rochdale to a 5th-placed finish in 2007–08, securing a play-off place. After beating Darlington 5–4 on penalties in the semi-finals, Rochdale reached Wembley for the first time in their history. Despite taking the lead in the match, they lost the final 3–2 to Stockport County.

In the 2008–09 season, Rochdale reached the League Two play-offs for the second consecutive season, finishing 6th in the table on 70 points. Season 2009–10 ended a 41-year wait for promotion with a win over Northampton Town as Rochdale secured the third automatic promotion spot. Rochdale continued their progression under Keith Hill, now with the club for 3 years, with a secured spot in League One in 2010–11. In 2010–11 Rochdale finished 9th in league one with 68 points, equaling their highest league finish since 1969–70.

2010–present
On 1 June 2011 manager Keith Hill joined Championship side Barnsley. Former Manchester City apprentice and youth coach Steve Eyre was confirmed as Hill's replacement on 12 June 2011. Eyre's spell at Spotland did not last long, as he was sacked after 27 competitive games in charge, the team having recorded just 4 league wins in this time. Eyre's last game was a 0–0 draw against Yeovil, in which Yeovil's keeper Rene Gilmartin played the second half with a dislocated finger. Director of Youth Chris Beech was then appointed as caretaker manager. Under Beech's first game in charge, the team drew 1–1 with Preston North End with an equaliser from Daniel Bogdanović who scored on his debut. Beech's 5 games in charge ended with a 5–1 defeat by Stevenage and a 3–0 defeat to bottom of league Wycombe Wanderers.

On 24 January 2012, Accrington Stanley's John Coleman was confirmed manager as the successor to Steve Eyre and left his club where he had been for more than a decade. John Coleman's first match in charge was a 3–0 win at home over Bury in the local derby. However, on 21 April, Rochdale lost 2–1 to Chesterfield resulting in relegation from League One after two years in the league. John Coleman's and Jimmy Bell's contracts were terminated by Rochdale on 21 January 2013 following a poor run in form. In January 2013, Keith Hill, previously in charge of Rochdale from 2007 to 2011, was appointed as the new manager.

Rochdale were promoted to League One on 26 April 2014, after beating Cheltenham Town 2–0. Playing at the club's highest level the 2014–15 season was the club's most successful yet. Apart from a couple of games, they remained in the top half of the league all season, eventually finishing in eighth place, their highest league placing. Notable results were a 2–1 win away to Bradford City and home wins against Preston North End and Chesterfield. The club reached the fourth round of the FA Cup, and despite being eliminated by Premier League opposition, remained in contention for promotion to the Championship.

Play-offs
Rochdale has participated in the Football League playoffs on three occasions. In 2002, they lost 4–3 on aggregate to Rushden & Diamonds. In 2008, they went through to Wembley Stadium, defeating Darlington in the semi-final 5–4 on penalties after a 3–3 draw after extra time over two legs. Ben Muirhead scored the crucial penalty for Rochdale. However, despite scoring the first goal at the Wembley final, Rochdale suffered a 3–2 loss to Stockport County. In 2009, Rochdale lost 2–1 on aggregate to Gillingham in the playoff semi-finals.

Colours and strip
Rochdale's current home colours are black and blue shirts, white shorts and blue and black hooped socks. Previously, Rochdale's usual colours were blue and white, introduced in 1949. Prior to this, Rochdale wore black and white stripes, which was influenced by the strong Newcastle United side of 1907 (the year Rochdale was formed), the stripe which they adopted for their centenary season in 2007.

This black and white kit was re-introduced in the 2007–08 season as the one-off centenary kit; the new Internazionale-influenced design which succeeded it was an amalgamation of the striped kit and the blue kit to herald the second century of Rochdale's existence. Between 2010 and 2012 Rochdale's shirts were predominantly blue with black pinstripes on the body and black sleeves.

Rochdale's away kit comprises white shirts with a purple stripe, purple shorts and purple and white hooped socks. Other historical away kits have included yellow, teal, green and red. Other kits have included white shirts with black shorts, white shirts with blue shorts and a blue shirt with white sleeves.

Rochdale has had sponsored shirts since 1983. Former sponsors include Carcraft, MMC Estates, All-in-One Garden Centre, Smith Metals, Keytech, Freebets.co.uk, Cabrini and the Co-operative. On 28 May 2013, Crown Oil Ltd was unveiled as the club's new principal sponsor.

It was announced in June 2009 that the kit supplier for the next three seasons would be Carbrini.

From 2012–2015 Rochdale's kit was supplied by Fila.

On 25 April 2015, Rochdale revealed Erreà as their new supplier.

Club badge
The club crest / logo used by Rochdale A.F.C. focuses on a variant of the arms of the former County Borough of Rochdale.

The coat of arms, based on those of the local and reputed Rochdale family with certain additions, was granted to the Borough by Herald's College in 1857. At its centre, a shield shows a sack of wool and a cotton plant, representing the local wool and cotton industries. Around the edge of the shield sit eight martlets (birds). These are taken from the Rochdale family coat of arms (mentioned above) and are widely used on heraldic devices. Above the shield and helm (in the position technically known as the "crest" in heraldry) more local industry representations are made by the inclusion of a fleece of wool (suspended by a band) and the iron centre of an old mill-stone (known as a mill-rind).

A motto below the shield reads "Crede Signo". Roughly translated, this means "Believe in the sign". The blazon (official heraldic description) for the arms reads as follows:

"Argent a woolpack encircled by two branches of the cotton tree flowered and conjoint proper; a bordure sable charged with eight martlets of the field; and for a crest on a wreath of the colours a mill-rind sable and above a fleece argent banded or."

When Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council was formed in 1974 (taking over from Rochdale County Borough Council and five other borough/urban district councils), a new coat of arms was created and awarded for council use. Rochdale A.F.C., however, continued (and continues today) to adopt the old Rochdale County Borough arms.

Managerial history

 * 1) Billy Bradshaw
 * 2) Tom Wilson
 * 3) Jack Peart
 * 4) Will Cameron
 * 5) Herbert Hopkinson
 * 6) Billy Smith
 * 7) Ernest Nixon
 * 8) Sam Jennings
 * 9) Ted Goodier
 * 10) Jack Warner
 * 11) Harry Catterick
 * 12) Jack Marshall
 * 13) Tony Collins
 * 14) Bob Stokoe
 * 15) Len Richley
 * 16) Dick Conner
 * 17) Walter Joyce
 * 18) Brian Green
 * 19) Mike Ferguson
 * 20) Doug Collins
 * 21) Bob Stokoe
 * 22) Peter Madden
 * 23) Jimmy Greenhoff
 * 24) Vic Halom
 * 25) Eddie Gray
 * 26) Danny Bergara
 * 27) Terry Dolan
 * 28) Dave Sutton
 * 29) Mick Docherty
 * 30) Graham Barrow
 * 31) David Hamilton
 * 32) Steve Parkin
 * 33) David Hamilton
 * 34) John Hollins
 * 35) Paul Simpson
 * 36) Alan Buckley
 * 37) Steve Parkin
 * 38) Keith Hill
 * 39) Steve Eyre
 * 40) Chris Beech
 * 41) John Coleman
 * 42) Keith Hill

Stadium
Rochdale plays their home matches at Crown Oil Arena (formerly Spotland Stadium and known locally as just Spotland), which has a capacity of 10,249. The stadium was officially opened in 1920, and for the first 68 years of its existence it was used exclusively by Rochdale. Since 1988 the ground has been jointly owned by the football club, Rochdale Council and Rochdale Hornets rugby league club.

The ground has four stands: the Co-Operative Stand (or Main Stand), the Thwaites Beer Stand (the Sandy Lane End), the T.D.S Stand (Pearl Street end) and the Westrose Leisure Stand (the Willbutts Lane Stand). All are fully seated, apart from the Sandy Lane End, which is a small terrace behind one of the goals.

Apart from local football and rugby league, Spotland has in the past been used to host minor nations' rugby league matches, such as British Amateur Rugby League Association (British Amateur Rugby League Association) matches, and also the National League Cup finals of 2003 and 2004.

Spotland Stadium was selected as a venue for the 2013 Rugby League World Cup, hosting a match between Fiji and Ireland. This was the first time that Rochdale had staged an event in a World Cup in any sport. The event was sold out with almost 9,000 people attending, setting what was incorrectly claimed to be a new stadium record. Rochdale had 24,231 for an FA Cup tie vs Notts County in December 1949 and three higher crowds for FA Cup and play-off games between 1990 and 2008 against Northampton Town, Coventry City and Darlington.

In August 2016, Rochdale A.F.C. renamed Spotland Stadium the Crown Oil Arena as part of a sponsorship deal by the Bury-based fuel company Crown Oil.

Rivalries
Rochdale have a number of rivalries with local and non-local clubs. The club's current main competition is with Bury also known as the M66 Derby. Bury have largely been in the same league as Rochdale in recent times and, after Oldham Athletic, are the closest Football League club to Rochdale.

Rochdale's other main rivalries have been with Burnley, Oldham Athletic, Halifax Town, Stockport County, Bradford City, Wigan Athletic and Accrington Stanley.

Notable players
For a list of notable players in sortable-list format see List of Rochdale A.F.C. players; for all Rochdale players with a Wikipedia article see Category:Rochdale A.F.C. players.

Leagues

 * Football League Third Division North:
 * Runners up (2): 1923–24, 1926–27
 * Lancashire Combination:
 * Winners (2): 1910–11, 1911–12

Cups

 * Football League Cup:
 * Runners up: 1961–62
 * Lancashire Cup:
 * Winners (3) 1970–71, 1948–49, 2004–05:

Club records

 * Record League victory – 8–1 v. Chesterfield (18 December 1926)
 * Fewest league wins in a season – 2 1973–74
 * Most points gained in a season – 82 2009–10 Football League Two
 * Highest home attendance – 24,231 v Notts County in 1949–50
 * Record League appearances – Gary Jones (464 – as at 15 March 2012)
 * Record League goalscorer – Reg Jenkins (119)
 * Most League goals in one season – Albert Whitehurst (44 in 1926–27)
 * Highest transfer fee paid – £150,000 to Stoke City for Paul Connor, 2001
 * Highest transfer fee received – £900,000 from Blackpool for Bobby Grant, 2013