“I’d love a team of 11 Danny Lloyds”
Rochdale fan Charlotte Cromarty is a big fan of the former Hatter, but as she tells The Scarf My Father Wore, a few more players need to pull their finger out if the Spotland club are to stay up
Tuesday 21 February 2023
Good afternoon you bunch of tossers!* Welcome to your Tuesday edition of The Scarf My Father Wore.
Rochdale have got FIVE Hatters in their ranks. Alright, Quigley isn’t allowed to play, but even so, on any other night I’d still be shitting bricks given our propensity for allowing former players to score past us with frightening ease. We’ve won our last four; they haven’t won in seven. We’re top of the form table; they’re bottom. We’ll have over half the crowd; they won’t. You all know just how ‘County’ it would be to go and lose at Spotland tonight.
However, I’m genuinely not worried one bit. After a run of seven games without a win, including demoralising defeats to relegation rivals Colchester, Hartlepool and Gillingham, it seems the players, supporters and even manager Jim Bentley have almost accepted their fate, which Rochdale fan Charlotte Cromarty touches on herself in the following interview. It might not be completely pretty tonight (it is a local derby after all, and even though they’re losing every week, Rochdale aren’t getting hammered - they haven’t conceded more than two goals in a game since the turn of the year) but we’ll get the job done, I’m certain. (If it does go tits up tonight and you want me hung, drawn and quartered tomorrow, I want Ian Brown and Nick Lee alongside me, after making those score predictions…)
If I am still alive after Rochdale away, I’ll be hosting ‘The County Comedy Quiz’ at Bask on Thursday night. A huge thank you to everyone who’s bought tickets so far. If anyone else is free, come down and join me and Benji for a top night out. We’ve got a cracking quiz. We’ve got great prizes. We’ve got Paul Jones joining us for the evening. We’ve even got a little bit of stand-up comedy as well. All that for a fiver. Click here to join us.
Finally, a big thank you to Andrew at TMC Design & Build for sponsoring today’s edition.
Des Junior
*Check your calendar.
Six points from safety. One point from your last seven games. Is this the end of Rochdale’s 102-year stay in the Football League?
As much as I’m an extremely positive and optimistic person usually, it’s not looking good is it? Unfortunately, I just don’t see us picking up form anytime soon or where the next win will come from. I’m really hoping they prove me wrong but we just look defeated, whether that’s the fans, players or Jim Bentley. It’s not good at all.
I watched Jim Bentley’s post-match interview after you lost 2-0 at home to relegation rivals Gillingham at the weekend. He looked like he’d just watched the end of Marley & Me.
It’s very sad to see and quite overwhelming as a fan seeing him look so defeated already. Surely that’s not going to help motivate any of us? But I also get it because it’s extremely frustrating from all angles. I sympathised with him at first because the team was Stockdale’s and he inherited those players and couldn’t make changes until January; he only brought in Scott Quigley and free agent Danny Lloyd before Christmas. Since January though, he’s brought in another six players, making it eight players of his own in total, but we’re still looking very bleak and don’t have much about us. It’s basic errors - not marking a man, not being able to defend set pieces, players strolling back and not putting in much effort to try and put a challenge in. It’s just so negative unfortunately and that tone is all around the ground. We’re seeing it in Jim Bentley’s interviews and reading it online from fans who are getting tired of the same thing week in, week out.
You were actually unbeaten in your first three games of 2023, including a decent win at Bradford. What’s gone wrong since then?
To be honest it’s just so frustrating: players are out of form (Richard O’Donnell was dropped from that winning side at Bradford before Jake Eastwood, on loan from Sheffield United, unfortunately made a couple of mistakes in games); basic errors are costing us games; there’s strange tactics and late substitutions; it’s just a lot of things to be honest. We haven’t seemed to get any luck either, which is often the case when you’re at the bottom of the league - chances hitting posts, balls not falling for us, just everything that could go wrong.
Are you not too confident going into tonight then?
As much as I’m frustrated with the season so far, and the fact we haven’t done much on the pitch, I can never go against my team. I still hold on to the tiniest bit of hope before a game so I’m going to go for a 2-2 draw. Goals from Mullarkey and Henderson.
There’s a load of familiar faces at Spotland at the moment: Danny Lloyd, Scott Quigley, James Ball, Jimmy McNulty (I think that’s everyone*). How are they all getting on?
Danny Lloyd has been brilliant for us, I’d love a team with 11 of him. Tries so hard, energetic, runs constantly, and a real role model and leader who isn’t scared of coming out after a game on social media to engage with fans and also air his frustration.
Quigley started very well for us when he came on loan but after being out injured he looks a completely different player. Struggling to score and it’s definitely not ideal when we need a constant goalscorer to help win us games.
Unfortunately it’s been a very frustrating season for James Ball. Last season he was a real fan favourite when he arrived from Solihull Moors, scoring goals and getting stuck in, but he then got injured and it hasn’t really worked out for him after that. Frustrating times for him but also the fans, who haven’t been shy in airing their thoughts about him both in the ground and on social media.
McNulty has had a bit of a whirlwind season to be honest. He went from not playing much, to caretaker manager when Stockdale departed, then recently played some games before we brought in Mullarkey during the January transfer window. McNulty is vital for us in the dressing room, however, as we need a leader, role model and somebody who has experience, especially in this relegation battle. He’s also been doing his coaching badges at the club so one day we could maybe see him on the sidelines.
What’s the situation with the ownership at Rochdale at the moment?
Fortunately, we fought off a hostile takeover to remain fan-owned. We have the current board, the Dale Trust and several Rochdale fans to thank, who worked day and night to stop it from happening. We owe so much to each and every one of them. Unfortunately, in this day and age and especially with the cost of living crisis at the moment, as a fan-owned club we can’t substantially compete with the other teams in the league. We have to rely on selling players and cup runs, which we’ve not managed to do recently. We’re currently looking for outside investment to help us.
Rochdale’s last 10 seasons
2012-13: League Two, 12th
2013-14: League Two, 3rd (P)
2014-15: League One, 8th
2015-16: League One, 10th
2016-17: League One, 9th
2017-18: League One, 20th
2018-19: League One, 16th
2019-20: League One, 18th
2020-21: League One, 21st (R)
2021-22: League Two, 18th
What are your thoughts on Stockport County?
To be honest I’ve always liked County. You’re a local team with fantastic fans who support the club through thick and thin. It was really sad to see the downfall of the club, especially when it wasn’t that long ago we played you in the play-off final at Wembley. Now you’re in a position where you can hopefully get back to where you were, and I wish each and every one of you the best of luck for the rest of the season, and seasons to come. Just not tonight!
Best and worst memories following Rochdale?
Aside from our couple of recent promotions, my best memory would probably be our first season in League One. It was such a fantastic season filled with great memories, and the football we played under Keith Hill at the time was unbelievable. Beating Southampton home and away, just missing out on the play-offs too, it was brilliant!
Worst would have to be the last few seasons. This one has been awful because it’s just so sad to see us in this position. Relegation during the Covid season and having to watch on iFollow, not being able to encourage the players and support them, was also frustrating. But as much as it’s not looking good now, we have to support them through thick and thin, hoping our time will come again.
It’s nearly two years since the Her Game Too movement was founded. You’re an ambassador for Rochdale. How’s it all going?
Thank you so much for asking! It’s going absolutely brilliant. We were proud winners at the 2022 Football Content Awards in the 'Best in Women's Football' category, which is absolutely fantastic, especially knowing people have voted for us to win this award, so thank you to each and every person that did! The campaign now raises awareness not just in football but rugby and cricket too, it’s constantly growing bigger by the day.
Rochdale #HerGameToo have also achieved so much recently. Our first ever professional male player advocate, Richard O’Donnell, joined our team, which is such a fantastic message. He’s a role model and leader both on and off the pitch, and such a humble guy, so having him on board will hopefully send out the message to both men and women that football is a sport for everybody. We’ve been working with the club and Rochdale in the Community, helping girls build confidence and express themselves. We also offer free sanitary products to people in need, whether it be at football or people in the community who are struggling, as well as raising awareness for schools and collecting for food banks. Plus, we’re currently working on ideas and events for International Women’s Day. There’s just so much to do and I’ve not even been ambassador for a year yet!
*Soz, Devante Rodney. I forgot about your 3 goals in 14 appearances in 2019-20.
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Rochdale v County
Des Junior loves writing about County. But he can never be arsed doing match previews. They’re a bit dull, aren’t they? Paddy Madden’s out for two games with an ingrown toenail…blah blah blah…tomorrow’s referee has handed out more cards than Moonpig…blah blah blah…County haven’t won at Birmingham since 1672.
Thankfully, Des has got Ian Brown and Nick Lee on hand for today’s preview. Although they’ve both predicted a 5-0 away win. Oh God…
Ian Brown, hedgegrower
Rochdale 0 County 5
What are your best and worst memories from past games against Rochdale?
Best by a country mile, for me and probably many other County supporters, is the play-off final in 2008.
Wembley has never been a favourite ground of mine. The old stadium was just an oversized and overpriced slum with bog standard facilities and the new one is the product of a very lazy architect’s bad afternoon at the office. And the prices were still eye-watering in 2008.
But the essential difference from all four previous Wembley visits was that this time County’s excellent football was rewarded with a win, as Jim Gannon’s side showed us what might have been had off-the-field issues not scuppered them some time after. County looked destined for higher things on that afternoon, none more so than Paul Turnbull, who had his best game in a County shirt that day. The 3-2 scoreline didn’t flatter us but probably reflected accurately a competitive match.
The worst experience came just one season before the Wembley win.
County had established a Football League record of nine consecutive wins with clean sheets (a record that still exists) just a couple of weeks before Rochdale came to Edgeley Park. We had a good side that was constantly improving but nonetheless I had huge misgivings on the morning of the match. The source of my angst was that Glenn Murray was likely to be in Rochdale’s team, a player who had been on loan at County, and massively underused and underrated before joining Dale. No doubt he would make us pay.
We had Hennessey in goal and a decent line-up but somehow we opened as if our thoughts were elsewhere and sure enough Murray scored four minutes in, before Dale went 4-0 up inside 17 minutes. We pulled a couple back before half-time but the whole sorry performance was rounded off with us losing 7-2 – the first time we had conceded 7 in a league match!
Thankfully we put everything right the following season, but this March afternoon stung for a while after!
I’m seeing a 5-0 scoreline tonight, in County’s favour.
Nick Lee, The Scarf Bergara Wore
Rochdale 0 County 5
I think the only criticism I’ve ever heard from County fans towards Dave Challinor is based around his substitutions during a game. But on Saturday, with Ryan Johnson and Ryan Rydel, he got that absolutely spot on didn’t he?
I thought Rydel could have felt hard done by to be left out in the first place, but what an impact! As for Johnson, it feels like he’s been getting some unfair stick so it was great to see him so pivotal in helping us hold out for the win. I know it’s a cliche but it’s a nice problem for Chally to have with plenty of options for changing the game.
I’m feeling another Hartlepool away tonight. 5-0 County.
Here’s something you should definitely do in February
Buy tickets for The County Comedy Quiz at Bask!
The Scarf My Father Wore editor, Des Junior, absolutely loves a County quiz. He’s alright at compiling County quizzes as well. Rightly or wrongly, he also fancies himself as a bit of a comedian. On that note, The Scarf My Father Wore are delighted to team up with Bask to bring you The Comedy County Quiz. It’s a proper County quiz, with some fantastic prizes on offer, but our aim is to crack you up with some of the questions along the way.
We’ve also got special guest Paul Jones joining us. The former County defender, and Bolton Wanderers legend, will be speaking on the night, as well as handing out the prizes to the winners!
Click here for our full list of things you should definitely do in February!