The Real Dale Stand Up, The Real Bury Fall Flat On Their Mushes

It’s been a while.  Not my fault, I was waiting on information from my source- which never came.  To be fair, he’s been doing a lot of commentating and stuff recently, so I’ll cut him some slack.  This does leave me with a five-game void to fill (cracks knuckles), of which I attended one game (I have reasons!!).

If you can’t be arsed reading my previous post (don’t worry, I don’t blame you), here’s the situation.  Dale had just put in a shameful home performance against Dagenham & Redbridge and were in desperate need of a good result, which they got with the penalty scalp of Carlisle United in the Johnstones’ Paints (why bother) Trophy.  The league form was still not there though; with often decent performances yielding no reward.  This left Dale about 9 points behind Bury (oh, the shame!) going into the Friday night game away at Lincoln.

Why, oh why, Dale have to play on a Friday after playing on the Tuesday, I really don’t know.  Surely this would stretch a small squad to the limit?  Two fingers to the FA and Football League and now on with the game.  I was ‘watching’ this game on Sky Sports News because there was no way I was getting to Lincoln on a Friday.  I DON’T finish THAT early at college.  It was pleasing to see Dale take the lead even from my less-than ideal vantage point.  The ball came out of the Lincoln defence and was cracked in by Adam Rundle from 25 yards.  What a Beaut!  Made evermore sweeter by the fact that Rundle had been sub-par this season when compared to his form last season.  All that remained was to see if Dale could hold on for the next 64 minutes.  They didn’t.  Yet again.  I doubt there are more infuriating things about a team than a total inability to hold a lead.  It was with very little surprise that I heard Dany Hone had equalised with just four minutes remaining.  Dale had lost 2 more vital points and, with Bury and the summit still way ahead, they are starting to feel like losses.  However, Bury are worse at holding leads as they somehow managed to blow a three goal advantage against Aldershot.  I had earlier predicted that the ‘wheels would soon fall off’, would I be right?

Next up, Morecambe away (a game I desperately tried to get to with no success).  The previous week, Morecambe had been comprehensively destroyed 5-0 away at Gillingham.  This caused Hilly to become the voice of caution as he anticipated a backlash from Morecambe, who counted former Dale loanee Rene “very lazy, but wants first-team football with Posh” Howe amongst their charges.  The backlash didn’t materialise in the first half.  Dale battered them and deserved their lead through a resurgent Chris Dagnall’s tap-in.  How important his goals are!  Obviously, Sammy McIlroy b*ll*ck*d them at half-time and they hit back just 3 minutes into the second period.  Rene Howe sent in a cross (who knew he could do that?) and teenager Aaron Taylor was only too delighted to head home a debut goal.  Bugger.  An additional annoyance was Dale’s inept performance in the closing stages.  They were awful, probably costing them yet more points.  To complete the misery, Bury had an impressive 3-1 triumph away at D & R.  They’ll still drop like a stone, you’ll see…

Dale found themselves with the home fixture against Chester the following Tuesday.  The game at the imposing fortress of Spotland Stadium would be the first home game I have missed in way over a season.  This was because I had tickets to see the excellent rock band, Feeder, so would have to miss the game.  The last time I missed a match it was a corker and Dale won 4-3.  I should have known.  You see, Chester play a 4-3-3 formation.  Many experts will tell you that this is an brilliant tactic when your doing well, but ultimately leads to inconsistency.  Chester were living proof and started the season on the wrong end of hidings from Dagenham and Redbridge and Leeds (Booooooo!) in the Carling Cup.  They would get another one here.  To mixed feelings for me (that fiver that I sold my ticket for was looking like a steal), Dale went on to win 6-1, courtesy of a hat-trick from Dagnall, who had found his scoring boots again to everyone’s relief.  Other contributions from Thorpe and Alfie meant a field day for the strikers, while a consolation from McArdle’s own goal (he has three this season!) and a sending-off for Chester’s Danny Rule meant one supremely entertaining football match.  AND I BLOODY MISSED IT!!!  If Feeder hadn’t have been spectacular I’d have gone berserk.  So Dale were now three games unbeaten, confidence was on a high and they had just routed someone.  Dale had definitely turned the corner, finally making results out of dominated games.  Happy days! As for Bury?  A home defeat to Rotherham meant that Dale moved even closer.  Bury were proving me right and smugness seeped out of every pore!

Aldershot at home and a game I actually managed to attend (YAY!).  The Football League newboys had made a great start- at home.  Away was a different story as they had lost their last 5 games on the road.  Not the best time to visit Spotland, then.  It would definitely appear that the first half concurred with this admission.  To quote Keith Hill, Aldershot were “footballed” to death in the first 45 minutes.  Dale created umpteen (i.e. a lot of) chances in the first-half, consistently stinging Nikki Bull’s gloved digits.  All they had to show for their endeavours was a measly one-goal advantage from Adam Rundle’s deflected shot in the 27th minute.  I was bewildered at the scoreline at the break and knew that a second would be needed to stave off the dark shadow that was an equaliser.  The second half continued in the same way initially- with Chris Dagnall hitting just about everything but the back of the net.  Fresh from his hat-trick, Dagnall now oozed confidence and hit the bar, post, defenders and the keeper, but couldn’t stick away the elusive second.  This caused the game to inevitably turn with the introduction of Marvin Morgan.  Morgan is, to be quite honest, sh*t, but, as he is tall, he is an irritating nuisance.  The signs were there when Stanton (who later had to be substitued with cut on his head that would make Humpty Dumpty proud) couldn’t resist stepping on his arse while he was prone on the floor, to his disgust.  He then scored a dodgy-looking equaliser, heading home after an excellent stop from Russell.  ‘F*ck*n’ hell’, was the cry that echoed around the WMG stand as many fans were resigned to more lost points and an anti-climax compared to the heroics on Tuesday.  A goal from Joe “He used to be sh*t*, but now he’s alright” Thompson, who fired a low shot through a tangle of legs and beyond Bull, regained Dale’s lead.  Joy!  Joel Grant then looked to have put Aldershot back in the hunt with a close range header.  Despair!  Thankfully, the assistant referee saw ’sense’ and disallowed the goal for offside (ahem*rightly so*ahem).  All that remained was the best goal of the game from WIll Buckley in injury time.  Having earlier been denied what looked a stonewall penalty, Buckley seemed destined to get in on the act.  With a pass out to Kennedy on the left wing, Buckley ran through the defence and motioned for the ball that would put him in behind.  Kennedy swiftly obliged with a peach-of-a-ball that left the youngster one-on-one.  Showing ice-cool composure, Buckley then proceeded to chip the onrushing Bull, leaving the ball to rustle into an empty net.  He made it look so simple, possibly contributing to the quality of the finish that sewed up the victory.  Dale were definitely in-form, whereas Bury’s second 2-1 home reverse (this time to Luton) in a week meant that only two points seperated the teams.  “Can you hear the Bury sing?  No, No……”

This leads to yesterday’s match away at Notts County- the oldest club in the world, apparently.  I had planned to attend this game by getting on the coach, but a job interview put paid to that.  Damn.  Hopefully, a third straight win would lift my disappointment at missing out.  Dale dominated the first-half and gave former West Bromwich Albion stopper Russell Hoult a very busy evening.  To be fair to him, he responded and managed to keep Dale out for the first 45 minutes, leaving a half-time goalless scoreline.  The second half was more of the same as Dale dominated, although Notts County did take the lead 3 minutes after the break.  A dubious penalty was given for a ‘foul’ on Myles Weston, though no-one seems to be much clearer on the circumstances than that.  Up stepped Jamie Forrester and, as he does everytime he plays against Dale, he slotted home from 12 yards.  Once again, Dale stood to get nothing from a game they should have in their pockets.  Thorpe’s equaliser 15 minutes later went a long way to redressing this injustice.  Picking up the ball outside of the box, Thorpedo drove the ball into the bottom corner from 20 yards, giving Hoult no chance.  Thorpe then continued his one-man mission to get Dale a victory by rounding Hoult and tapping into an empty net after a superb Buckley pass.  Game Over.  This sent Dale up into 8th place, one below the play-offs and also one above Bury.  Dale’s arch-rivals succumbed to yet another defeat, this time a 1-0 loss against Bradford, thus allowing Dale to move ahead for the first time this season.  I have a sneaking suspicion that it might stay that way.

With the slow start, it’s been hard to keep in mind that Rochdale are already way ahead of their position and points tally of last season at the same point.  All things are looking promising with the added bonus of Bury going in to freefall.  Hopefully, Dale can make it 4 from 4 away at 4th place Brentford on Saturday.  UP THE DALE!

I just clicked ‘manage’, anyone?

I’ll keep this brief as failiure to do so may result in internal hardship. Or at least a tear. We lost away to Bradford tonight. We lost 1-0. We lost to a goal scored in the 85th minute. We lost to a goal scoed by Barry Conlon. We lost to a goal scored by Barry Conlon who we tried to sign last season. We Lost. We’ve lost three in a row now. We play Notts County at their ground, Meadow Lane, next Saturday. We usually win at Meadow Lane. We are due a loss at Meadow Lane. My co-writer’s team won tonight. My co-writer’s team are now above my team in the league. My co-writer text me after the game to gloat. My co-writer is a git. I feel fed up. Bugger.

It’s swinging in Denver, but we’re just freefalling

We won away, at Dagenham, 3-1, that’s good. What was also good was that three players who had to that point not found the back of the net (Dawson, Jones, Bennett) scored our goals. Any team looking at promotion need goals from all over the pitch. In fairness our defence has done their bit with goals from Futcher and Sodje already. The midfield though had never come to the party.

So this week started off pretty well. Then it got to Tuesday. At home to Rotherham, hammered the week before and on the worng end of pre-season points deductions (discussed better by the Dalian), they’re disliked by our Manager for the way the two parties ‘parted company’ and they hate our new loan signed striker (Chris O’Grady) over a pay dispute that occurred during his time with them. It was very, very cold. We lost 2-1. We were excellent for 80 minutes but unfortunately in the first ten minutes that it took us to start the game we fell 2-0 behind. True that after that we pushed forward and caused all sorts of problems for the less than solid Rotherham defence and brought ourselves back into the game through a Paul Scott header, but when Andy Bishop missed a penalty ten minutes from time you sort of knew it wasn’t our night. The Shakers had slipped to two consecutive home defeats.

Then to yesterday. Gaffer Alan Knill lives by the motto that ‘good teams don’t lose twice in a row’. We lost. In contrast to the Rotherham game, we were very, very bad. The first half disply was the worst I have ever seen since the arrival of the previously mentioned Knill and he did not help his personal case with some frankly odd substitutions. It’s now three home defeats on the bounce for the Shakers, a record which in reality is relegation form. On the brighter side, we still lie seventh in nthe league and have two away games coming up. We travel to Bradford on Tuesday night (although I don’t as I flat out refuse to pay £20 unless it’s at Dale and I get to laugh at Dalians into the bargain) and then we travel to Notts County, Meadow Lane has been a fertile pasture for us in recent years and a return to winning ways would be much appreciated. In Knill We Trust.

Dale Bite Back and Scalp Carlisle

“It is the worst performance in the 79 league games that we have been in charge”- Keith Hill on Rochdale vs Dagenham & Redbridge

After an honest admission like the above, what you want, as a manager, is a reaction from the players who let you down.  The Johnstone’s Paints Trophy tie against Carlisle United of League One offered the first opportunity for Dale to redeem themselves.  They took the opportunity with both hands.  A side that was devoid of any and all confidence on Saturday, seemed to be transformed as they played some stunning football at times.  One man who typified the general display was Chris Dagnall.  Daggers is, arguably, Dale’s best player and has scored a hatful of goals in recent seasons when he has been fit.  This season hasn’t quite followed the same pattern as he has lost his place and looked to have lost all confidence in his exceptional ability.  The Carlisle game continued in the same vein as an early chance saw him take too many touches, allowing a defender to get a block in.  Would it get any better for Daggers?  Yep.  Here’s how…

After Daggers’ wasted opportunity, Carlisle went into the lead in the fourth minute.  Jennison Myrie-Williams, who endured a poor evening otherwise, crossed for Michael Bridges to fire home.  Yes, THE Michael Bridges of Leeds-fame.  He was never going to miss.  The goal sent shockwaves throughout the dark WMG stand where I was seated (they didn’t even bother turning the lights on) as “Here we go again…” echoed around the stand.  But no!  Saturday’s travesty would not be repeated as Dale struck back soon after.  Adam Rundle- who, like many, had underperformed in recent weeks -found himself in the strange and frightening territory of the right-wing.  Appearing to cross with his left foot, he cut back on to his weaker right and put in a delicious ball.  In the centre, Thorpe was there to lap it up and scored with an excellent header that had Ben Williams in the Carlisle net beaten all-ends-up.  This was only the shape of things to come as Dale ended the half ahead, courtesy of a much-needed goal from Chris Dagnall.  Picking up a poor backpass from Evan Horwood, Daggers was a picture of composure as he rounded the goalkeeper, turned inside a defender and stroked the ball into the back of the net.  It was a brilliant goal from a player who looked totally bereft of confidence.  To be honest, Thorpe, the eventual man-of-the-match, and Dagnall were excellent throughout the night.  So a 2-1 lead at half-time.  I have to say that I would have taken that earlier on in the evening.

The second half followed the particularly familiar pattern of: Carlisle attack and Dale defend.  This was something that Dale did very resolutely- a fact I pointed out in the 71st minute when Gary Madine picked up the ball in the Dale half.  Seemingly all out of options, Madine went for a long-range effort that struck Rory McArdle and deflected beyond Russell and into the top corner.  B*gg*r!  As is usually the way with these things, penalties were inevitable.  For some reason, there is always at least one penalty shootout-per-season with Dale.  Let’s hope this one is more Darlington than Oldham in terms of success.

As the rain had finally stopped, a good number of us filed down to the front of the stand to get a better view.  The penalties were in the other net.  Grand.  This meant I had the dubious honour to listening to the woman behind me and her outrageous comments.  The most outrageous being; “Dagnall? He’ll miss” (It was Le Fondre, Dagnall had been subbed earlier) and “I don’t like the angle of his run up” when Toner stepped up.  People with these opinions should really keep them quiet.  Ah well, back to the penalties.  Dale converted all four that they took with considerable aplomb while Gary Madine and Simon Hackney both hit the inside of the post for Carlisle.  An upset and a much needed win for the Dale!  Thank Keith.

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

What a week, what a pigging week! Three geams this week and no real excuse for not writing. College work is getting a bit heavy but the truth is, Bury FC hasn’t been oin my mind much. There is something about watching a successful team that means that they don’t occupy nearly as much of your time as they do when they’re falling apart at the seams.

So last saturday, Aldershot away and we’re 3-0 up at half-time. I’ll be careful how I describe the following events as this site does request moderated language. In the space of 10 minutes we gave away a 3 goal lead. We drew 3-3. I have to admit that a university open day in York took my attention from this game.

Simiarly, work committments meant that I missed the midweek game against Stockport in the JPT. YOu know Stockport, they beat Rochdale in the 2007/2008 Playoff Final . We we managed to do what Dale couldn’t (again), beating Stockport 1-0 in what has been described to me as a stong and positive display.

Then we come to today. I have just witnessed possibly the most frustrating football match of my life. The visitors Exeter City took the lead aftern 7 minutes after some more than generous defending. Bury in general lacked the bite and determination that has characterised our recent success. We did, in truth, have a multitude of chances from a variety of players but the solid Grecian defence aswell as some simple luck managed to keep us under wraps. It really wasn’t our day, a fact that was obviosu fairly early in the game.

Next we go away to Dagenham, a tough clash but with the burden of the unbeaten run now shaken, we can only hope that free flowing, winning football returns to the Mighty Shakers.

Dagenham & Redbridge? It’s hard playing two teams….

…..and Rochdale made it look that way.  In a shorter post than usual, I will now describe both teams contribution to the game at a rain-soaked Spotland.

Dagenham & Redbridge

Two decisive goals.  The first came from the prolific source of Paul Benson, who was there to poke the ball home from a left-wing cross.  Sounds easy? It was.  Benson even had the opportunity to head against the bar from a free-kick (he was unchallenged, of course) before the Daggers doubled their advantage.  This goal was possibly even easier.  Benson struck Saunders’ cross straight at Russell, only to find an orderly queue of his teammates waiting to dispatch the ball.  Matt Ritchie had the inevitable honour of heading past the beleagured, prone figure of Sammy Russell and the Daggers into an unnassaiable lead.  Apart from this, Dagenham also had the ball cleared off-the-line on a couple of occasions, as well as numerous chances, and played some impressive football.

Rochdale

 

 

 

Dale’s next game will be against League One side, Carlisle United, in the Johnstone’s Paints Trophy.  Hopefully, they will offer some resistance in a competition that is so unworthy, even Rochdale don’t particularly care about it.  See you on Wednesday.