I Somehow Doubt That Luton Will Be ‘Doing A Leeds’

The third home game of a cracking week was against trapdoor team, Luton.  Many people will know Luton as the team who had 30 points deducted and they played like it too.  To be honest, this victory was so easy, the only difficult thing was remembering that it was a competitive league match.  Needless to say, Rochdale triumphed with a 2-0 scoreline and, with the winter fixture rush starting to get into swing, left the Dale in 3rd place (the final automatic promotion place).  Luton are, unsurprisingly, propping up the table, having made a comparatively small 19-point inroad into their deduction, a haul that would see them lie, hypothetically, just below mid-table.

Dale were dominate throughout the bitter afternoon and it took them just 94 seconds to register their opening strike.  A quick free-kick exposed a torrid Luton defence, leaving Scott Wiseman clean through.  The right-back then sent an inviting cross into the near-post that was ruthlessly dispatched by Lee Thorpe, who dived to head home.  It was already looking desperate for Mick Harford’s Hatters side whose morale seemed to be on the floor.  Throughout the match Rochdale could have had a ‘hatful’, but some wasteful finishing and a couple of good saves from Logan in the Luton goal managed to somehow keep the scoreline respectable.  In fact, it took until the hour mark for the second to go in.  Ian Roper, a behemoth of a man if ever I saw one, was adjusted to have pushed Rory McArdle in the box and the referee pointed to the spot.  It is hard for me to give an accurate opinion due to the foul being at the other end of the ground, though Roper seemed to dive to push McArdle.  Alfie made no mistake from the 12 yards, firing down the middle and the points were safe.

Luton rarely threatened Sam Russell’s goal though he was forced to pull of an exceptional save with 10 minutes remaining.  Drew Talbot had the seemingly simple task of converting with his head from around 5 yards out, though his downward header was straight at Russell’s outstretched leg and Dale got the ball away.  Talbot should have scored to create a roller coaster end to the game, though, apparently, one whole side of the goal is not a big enough target to hit.  This really could have made the climax of the match an exciting proposition.  As it was, the rest of the game consisted of the referee giving a foul every time someone rose to a challenge for a header, letting the game end with a whimper.

So 2-0 it stayed and Dale made it 7 wins from 8 in the league, but, more importantly, their first clean sheet since the opening day of the season!  Happy days!  This rare occurence will hopefully become more and more popular in the coming weeks, starting with the trek to Kent to face an inconsistent Gillingham side.

Magic Of The FA Cup (and all that cr*p)

Oh how I hate that phrase.  Motty’s stock one-liner is infuriating but I may grudgingly have to accept that he is on to something.  The tradition, the knockout formula and the upsets make the tournament the best in the world and a great advert for it occurred at Rochdale on Tuesday night.  I know, I know that Rochdale vs Barnet in a 1st round replay is hardly the stuff of dreams, but it had just about everything that makes a cracking FA Cup tie.

Both teams were eager to win this game as the reward, an away tie at Forest Green Rovers of the Conference, represented an excellent opportunity to get into the potential money-spinner that is round three.  It was fair to say that Dale fans were optimistic as Barnet aren’t the greatest side in the world (exemplified by the 3-1 victory in the league game), but this proved to be the players downfall early on.  Barnet raced into a two goal lead courtesy of some very easy goals that suggest that the Dale players considered this a cakewalk.  John O’Flynn scored Barnet’s first as the whole Dale defence was beaten by a long ball on the break, leaving the Barnet striker to ease the ball past Russell.  The second came on 20 minutes when Gary Jones sent a disastrous back-pass straight into the path of Albert Adomah, who coolly rounded Russell and tapped into the empty net.  Proceedings didn’t improve before half-time and there was a desolate mood at the break.  The poor performance was disappointing to say the least and many fans were already resigned to the fact that the FA Cup dream was over for another year.  The much-altered Dale had been abysmal, especially home-debutant Mark Jones who looked desperately unfit and a shell of the player that was so highly rated not long ago.  To add to the depression, the referee had been truly awful.  It’s easy to blame the officials when your 2-0 down, but the portly man-in-black had given foul after foul at corners and also missed the rough tactics of Barnet captain, Ismael Yakubu.  Yakubu had been raising the ire of the home supporters with his constant pushing and holding at set-plays while the referee was totally oblivious to any foul play.  Changes were needed.

The call for change was answered by Hill, who swiftly implemented ‘Plan B’.  Off was Mark Jones and on was target man, Lee Thorpe.  4-3-3 was a formation seldom used at Spotland, but desperate times called for desperate measures so a more direct approach was required as opposed to the (usual) slick passing game.  This was a bold move from Keith Hill that would soon show his tactical nous and willingness to take risks.  Take that Arsene Wenger!  The onslaught, that lasted the whole of the second period, took hold ten minutes after half-time when Adam Le Fondre triggered a fightback.  Tom Kennedy’s cross was whipped in from the left, reaching the waiting Alfie who poked home at the backpost.  In this situation, it is usually the chasing team with the momentum and this was the case as Dale drew level 15 minutes later.  Le Fondre again Rochdale’s saviour when he converted a pass from Gary Jones, who was eager to atone for his earlier error.  In the meantime, Dale had been forcing a Barnet side, that had no answer to Dale’s attack, ever deeper and many desperate attempts to keep the ball out had been successful, including two goal line clearances.  Unfortunately, Barnet were able to repel the Dale offensive to the final whistle.  The match was going to extra-time.  Could Dale get the win they now richly deserved?  Or could Barnet nick a victory with the same sucker-punch that brought them a two-goal lead?

It took the whole first half of extra-time to get the answer.  Picking the ball up just outside the 18-yard box way out on the right, Le Fondre completed his hat-trick in stunning fashion; sending a sumptuous chip way beyond the reaches of beanpole Lee Harrison in the Barnet goal.  It was no more than Dale deserved as the onslaught on the Barnet goal had continued into the extra period with Will Buckley earlier striking the post with a 20-yard effort.  Upon scoring, Le Fondre was subbed off for Adam Rundle as he had suffered a knock a few moments before sealing his triple haul.  Naturally, Alfie was less than pleased at being subbed, but that was to be expected and encouraged.

There was no repeat of Dale’s tendency to concede stupid goals in the second half of extra-time as they subjected Barnet to a masterclass in keeping a lead.  Rochdale reverted to their tried-and-tested approach of passing the ball and kept the ball sublimely throughout the half, securing their place in the second round.  With Forest Green to come, it is certainly time to dream of a big clash in the 3rd round against “(Manchester) United or City” with Le Fondre leading the way in stating the ambitions.  Dale mustn’t get ahead of themselves though, a game against Luton on Saturday is sure to bring a more sobering effect and, hopefully, three points.

Macc Salvage A Draw

Damn!  This game was most definitely two dropped points.  Very frustrating.  Apparently, Dale have gone 15 matches without a clean sheet and it’s in games like this that a statistic like that starts to hurt you.

This game was a real clash of football styles with Keith Hill’s flowing passing moves going up against Keith Alexanders ‘blood and thunder’, ‘hoof’ tactics.  Keith Alexander has used this style wherever he has been (including Bury) and there is no doubting it’s success as he took Lincoln into the play-offs for three consecutive seasons, a place they’ve been nowhere near since.  It is a really frustrating tactic to watch as it is incredibly difficult to play against.  The long ball up to the strikers and the shooting on sight is almost impossible to totally nullify, especially when your a team of Dale’s short stature.  This even got a team as poor as Macclesfield seem to be a point that I believe was somewhat undeserved.

The first-half was a dull of affair with Dale mostly dominating possession, but Macclesfield battled well and made it very difficult for the home side.  There were no proper chances of note, though Dale had more decent opportunities as they were a lot more patient than a Macc and their ’shoot on sight’ policy.  In fact, the biggest cheer of the whole half came once Bury’s half-time score came through.  I really could not believe that they lost to Grimsby, who were yet to win this season.  The trouble down the road was arguably more engrossing than the match that I attended, not sure my friend will agree…

The second half was immediately more open with Lee Thorpe going find himself in a great position to score in the opening moments.  As is so often the case with Thorpedo, his anticipation and timing let him down slightly and he misjudged just how long he had to pick his spot.  Dale continued to press for the opener with Adam Rundle and Kennedy (via set-pieces) both regularly testing the wonderfully-named Jonathon Brain in the Macc goal.  It was Rundle who opened the scoring just beyond the hour mark.  After a glorious goalmouth scramble (you really have to love the lower leagues, you just don’t see them as much in the Premiership), Rundle somehow managed to force the ball over the line.  I could describe in fine detail just how he did it, but, eventhough it was right in front of me, I had no idea what occurred.  Needless to say, I celebrated like a madman regardless.  As Dale pushed for the killer second goal, it seemed they were shoe-ins for a fifth-straight league victory, but they were denied 9 minutes from time.  A long ball found Izak Reid on Macc’s right-wing and he delivered a beaut of a cross right on to the forehead of Nat Brown, who fizzed an unstoppable bullet header way beyond a motionless Russell.  It was their only real chance of the game (their only others coming from desperate shots at goal).

The game ended 1-1, representing two dropped points for Dale.  This is, perhaps, a measure of just how far Dale have come under Hill, who wonderfully commented on the lack of clean sheets with:

“If you draw it to my attention that we haven’t had a clean sheet in 15 games, I’ll draw it to your attention that we are fourth in the league and we are unbeaten in something like seven or eight games.”

With an attitude like that, I think we’ll be OK!  They’ll have the chance to make it ‘eight or nine’ next week at home to basement boys, Luton, but first, there is the small matter of an FA Cup replay against Barnet.  I’m betting on a clean sheet…

Costly Cress Costs…Oh Stuff it We lost Again

We lost 2-0 to Grimsby, it’s the first time they’ve won this season. We were very, very bad. I’m not usually one for picking out certain players but a certain centre half who’s name rhymes with Bryan Nesswell needs to take a large burden of blame for his poor performance on Saturday.

Alan Knill insists that his slightly odd recent team selections have all been enforced and that there is no problem with regards to in-camp morale. Things though do not appear rosey. Faith in Knilly remains, yet some points at home wouldn’t go a miss. Gillingham return to Gigg Lane for the second time in two weeks on Saturday, another home game, just another heartbreak?

Boring Barnet Stifle Dale

Unlike my friend, I am still very much in the ‘football phase’.  Almost 18 years in and my love for the game grows almost as much as I did in my early teens when on a ’spurt’.  You see, I love football (it’s possibly the only thing that beats the girlfriend.  Not literally, I’m not into that) and every day as my understanding grows I find myself more captivated by the game.  It dominates my thoughts pretty much constantly and I can rattle on about anything from Iain Hume’s skull (get well soon) to Maradona’s H**d of G*d.  On that note, I would like to thank my friend for starting this blog and inviting me to join him.  I hope he can continue to show the same commitment he has done in the last few months.

Pleasantries out of the way, it’s FA Cup time!  I could rattle on about the famous competition for centuries, but I’m guessing you know the story.  The main point is it is absolutely brilliant.  However, Rochdale’s 1st round opponents, Barnet, did their best to spoil the show.  To my dismay, Rochdale faced a long trip down to London to face the fellow League Two team.  This ended my hopes of the seeing the game so I settled for the pub and United vs Arsenal (cracking game, though not as good as the Keane and Vieira days).  Did I regret it?  Suffice to say, no.

Barnet were obviously aware that Rochdale were a much better side than them and that the FA Cup was a knockout tournament as they set their side out in a manner that can only be described as ‘Ultra-Defensive’.  Playing a 4-5-1 formation and barely venturing outside of their own half, Barnet essentially destroyed the first-half and the spectacle.  This really riles me.  In my eyes, there is very little excuse for playing 4-5-1 at home (except against the elite clubs) and I hate the fact that Barnet turned the game into a non-event.  Just think of the fans.  (said in a Simpsons-esque voice) Will someone think about the fans?!  Rochdale had most of the play, unsurprisingly, and, to even less of a surprise, found no way through.  0-0 at half-time.  Yawn.

Th second-half saw Dale take the lead which probably made a bit of a game out of it by forcing Barnet forward.  Gary Jones crossed the ball into the box and Chris Dagnall was there to head home/fall over from 2 yards.  This should have seen them through, though fortune shined on Barnet at Underhill as they pegged Dale back soon after.  Nicky Deverdics ambitious long range free-kick somehow managed to deflect itself into the path of who had no option other than to fire past Russell.  Fortunate doesn’t even begin to describe it.  Nor does it cover Barnet’s ability to get a replay at Spotland on the 18th November.  Am I expecting them to attack Dale in the replay?  Pretty much answers itself.  Am I expecting Dale to give them their just desserts?  Very much so.  Either way, a trip to Forest Green Rovers is the reward for the victors.  Maybe a cup run could be on the cards this season.  I, as will many other (non-Bury) fans, will certainly hope so.  As for now, Macclesfield on Saturday, and the chance of making it five league wins on the bounce, will be where my focus lies.  Up The Dale!!

Two Cups Bottled

I don’t want to think about football. I’m entering this because I have made a committment to do so. I’ve become aware that as I get older (grow up) and more things become issues for me and more is asked of me, I think about football less. Like all football liking boys I went through the ‘football mad’ phase. It is true that through this phase, football occupied a large percentage of my thoughts. Football also seemed to be more or less the most important thing in my life.

Things have changed with time though. Now football has it’s place in my thoughts. Sure it’s still a fairly prominent thought and it isn’t something I could forget about but it now lays in a line of topics which pass through my head in a fairly random order until something appears that needs my full conscious attention and all other thoughts are shelved. It is also true, and maybe obvious, that I do most of my thinking about football on a saturday afternoon. I do though find myself at games while thinking about something else. Thoughts such as work, college, love (in my life partly entwined in football itself) and aspirations all pass through and drift away. Sometimes interrupted by a shot on goal or a poor pass, they are still there.

Football use to be my escapism. A nievety of youth meant that I saw nothing beyong the 90 minutes of actual football. But now I do see more. I see a manager I want to see succeed very much, I see players who I know can do better. The more football becomes a sideline to life, the more it seems to want to become life. At times it seems also to immitate life (a friend of mine had a nightmare week capped off by our FA Cup exit on Saturday) and at times, like life, it seems unfair (three disallowed goals in three games now).

Basically, we lost last Tuesday 1-0 away at Darlington in the JPT Trophy and we lost 1-0 at home on Saturday to Gillingham in the FA Cup. Saturday was dire, it truly was. I don’t want to think about it yet I am compelled to do so. This is the real life of a football fan, this is Bury Fc.

Four In A Row!

Dale have made it a glorious run of four wins on the trot.  Suffice to say, I’m delighted with the form that has transformed an average start into an ideal one.  Dale stand in 5th in the League Two which is two places inside the play-offs (I say that like it matters) and worlds away from the start last season; where Dale were probably in the bottom two or three at this stage.  This season, after last year’s play-off bid, Rochdale are considered a force to be reckoned with in this division and, you know what, they are starting to look like it.  Shabba!

Their fourth, and most recent, consecutive victory came away at Griffin Park, the home of Brentford.  Brentford had a great start to the season and were in 2nd place up until the away game at Chester on Tuesday and the Dale game.  A 3-0 defeat at the hands of an inconsistent Chester side and 1-2 reverse here led to them ending the day in 7th, emphasising just how close this league is.  Anyway, I wasn’t at the game as I had a prior engagement that I could not get back in time for, so I’m going to do my best to describe a match that had me very nervously waiting for the result to come through.

Dale drew first blood through Rory McArdle.  ‘The Wall’ has played well this season, though he has been plagued by numerous own goals (three at the last count), this made his first goal since Wembley in May all the more sweeter.  Like at Wembley, McArdle was all too happy to head home as he rose highest to nod home Tom Kennedy’s corner.  This was satisfying as the Bees had enjoyed a bright start until they went behind just past the half-hour.  This goal was also to be enjoyed for Dale finally carrying a threat from a corner, an area of the game that has frustrated me time and again all season long- both in an offensive and defensive capacity.  Dale then added a second just before half-time.  After a defender had gifted him the ball when he lost his footing, Will Buckley calmly stroked the ball into the far corner of the net, giving Hamer in the Brentford goal very little opportunity to palm it away.  2-0 at half-time was a scoreline that was surprising and, more importantly, defendable.  There is no way that, just a month ago, this would have been possible as Dale were out-of-form and Brentford were flying.  In that time, Dale had struggled to hang on to advantages (Rotherham), so, hopefully, this time would be different against a team that are likely to be high up the table throughout the campaign.

It took 5 minutes for Brentford to get back in the game.  Former Rochdale player Glenn Poole provided the cross for debutant loanee Dean Bowditch to head home and mark the beginning of ’squeaky-bum’ time for the Rochdale fans.  Well, I can only imagine what it was like in the ground, it was certainly getting like that for me as I watched Score and waited for the result to come in (it’s no Soccer Saturday but it did the job).  Fully aware of Dale’s track record, it was easy to picture the scene in Brentford; wave after wave of attacks, balls flying into the area and bodies being thrown in front of desperate shots.  Maybe I’m just being pessimistic?  Anyway, the fact of the matter is that Dale held on (as did my heart).

Dale’s next league fixture isn’t until the 22nd November against the might of Macclesfield Town.  Passing the time between them are two cup fixtures; the FA Cup game away (Grr!) to Barnet and , prior to that, the Johnstone’s Paints Trophy clash with Scunthorpe United.  Some favourable results would be nice, especially in the FA Cup, but I would sacrifice both for a continuation of the league form.  Five-in-a-row?  That would be crazy…