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Reply | Potential threat from the weather to Saturday's match
at 13:04 23 Nov 2024
It’s a perennial of a problem, Rochdale being the wettest large town in England. This weeks double whammy of cold then very wet is going to be problematic for all but Premier league pitches. Scotland has embraced plastic pitches, which given our weather would be sensible, but would preclude us being a league club again. The alternative would be to install a modern hybrid pitch with advanced drainage and under soil heating, cost would be £1.5 - £3m. I’d suggest we are going to have to continue to put up with the occasional postponement. |
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Reply | Game off...
at 12:46 23 Nov 2024
The joys and frustrations of being a Dale fan. |
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Reply | Potential threat from the weather to Saturday's match
at 12:28 22 Nov 2024
Should the game go ahead, the conditions are likely to be difficult with a sodden pitch and high winds, but big Jim will have prepared for this and will adapt our style accordingly. 👍 |
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Reply | Potential threat from the weather to Saturday's match
at 07:29 22 Nov 2024
Forecast seems to be saying once the sun comes up today temperature will hover around 2-5°C, from now until kick off. Dryish today, so time to get the covers off and work on the pitch to clear the drains. Depends how much the frost has penetrated. Problem will be the forecasted deluge tomorrow morning, which follows initially heavy snow, which if it gets on the unprotected pitch will be a nightmare to clear. Absolute sickner for the club given the preparation that goes into preparing for a derby game. Good luck everyone. |
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Reply | FA Trophy draw
at 21:50 18 Nov 2024
Now that sounds like a belting afternoon out!! |
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Reply | FA Trophy draw
at 16:30 18 Nov 2024
Is the club intending to progress in this one this season? I’d understood it’s a money loser unless you get to Wembley. I like to see us go for it personally. |
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Reply | The Bigger Picture
at 13:38 17 Nov 2024
8 mins in CO interview with Radio Manchester, CO “We are achieving better than what our budget is at the moment, and I thank Jim for that” |
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Thread | The Bigger Picture
at 08:30 17 Nov 2024
For me, McNulty is just a symptom of the problem. On the pitch, he’s doing alright, not bad but not great, and the jury is out, as anyone who attends games at the COA knows. Is he getting the best out of what appears to be a decent group of players? Not sure. After yesterdays poor performance and defeat at third from bottom of the table Wealdstone, he blamed the pitch and the referee for a ‘low level’ ’rubbish game’ - well I don’t want to come across all Roy Keane, but isn’t it his job to plan for the park pitch, select a team from a fairly large squad to cope with the erm, non league pitch, with a non league referee? (Who aside from the thrice taken corner incident, did a good job of letting the game flow) Surely a manager with aspirations to be a League One manager would have? But I think, for the board, McNulty is doing ok, punching above his budget, and they’re turning a blind eye to growing fan discontent at fluctuating levels of performance and his often nonsensical post match interviews.
In my view the real problem is we have a dysfunctional leadership structure at the club. With the Ogden family, driving forward a new agenda, a push to regain our league status, rebuild the clubs off the field activities to become a community asset which is financially viable. Then the old Board in Rochdale, dominated by Simon Gauge, ostensibly running the day to day operations while the long term plan is being put together.
The Ogden part of the operation is clearly articulated; a visionary statement early in the season, followed by last weeks Radio Manchester interview. Feedback from those who have met the family report they are a personable bunch, wanting to engage with fans.
Meanwhile, back at the Crown Oil, little has changed since the dark days of last season. Season tickets were put on sale, with little promotion, despite a stated desire to grow attendances at the COA. Merchandise wasn’t available until the season had started. There was the stickers on seats debacle, resolved by intervention of the trust and posters on this messageboard volunteering to assist. Despite the sterling efforts of Anthony and his hospitality team, the Matchday experience remains limited, with ageing facilities hampering improvements and an air of ‘well it’s all going to take some time’. Anthony continues to perform miracles, but it feels to be despite the club hierarchy. Then there was the away travel episode, with the trust having to step in, at the time I was told “There is a propensity for the existing leadership to make things difficult for supporters - away travel being a case in point, such that the Ogdens have asked the Trust to run it with subsidy direct from their Trust funds.” Then the match day ticketing system which is by many accounts semi functional.
More concerning, the recent ‘minor’ changes to the AGM with the removal of the shareholders forum. Put together with the removal of the requirement for audited accounts, transparency it seems is something the Board aren’t keen on. This brings into focus the role and function of the Trust, whose influence feels to have been seriously depleted by the standing down of the Chair, who was instrumental in the process leading to the Ogdens introduction to the club. The Trust member on the board, frankly isn’t working, in the current Board. If it was effective, then the issues I mention wouldn’t be happening. A strong fan voice organisation is critical for any club with intentions to become more relevant in its community; likewise if attendances are to grow. In other sectors, businesses actively support and build capacity in their customer voice, which seen as a resource (not a hindrance) this includes funding for training and paid roles. Something, if the Ogdens are to succeed, we will need to adopt here. Asking fans to step up taking time out of their lives without support, isn’t going to move us forward, we can carry on as we are, burning out passionate individuals- Col - George, but long term, to grow a Trust which advises the Board on the paying customers perspective- it will need the club to invest in it. We grow together.
So my conclusion is we have a lack of cohesion at the top of our club, one going fast, focussed on the future; the other going slow, stuck in the past, holding onto their historic status. The sense is we are paying a heavy price for saving faces, and in my experience those arrangements are time limited anyway; and in healthy businesses, difficult decisions are taken early, otherwise progress is stifled.
To my mind, we need to completely overhaul the leadership and management of the club. With a clear single message from Cameron Ogden as sole chairman, supported by a CEO who works closely and crucially locally, answerable to a revamped board and a properly resourced management team responsible for delivery of the business plan and including a Director of Football type role to assist the Head coach. Alignment of purpose is critical to our success on and off the pitch and we don’t have that at the moment.
We have neighbours from down the 627 visiting on Saturday, a fixture where last season there were some fairly unpleasant scenes in the away end, resulting in part, from downright bad behaviour, but handled poorly by weak stewarding, who as is often the case, when larger away followings arrive at the COA, fans were allowed to congregate on concourses close to the pitch. I understand the Ogden family will be attending the game on Saturday, wouldn’t it be a shame if poor stewarding marred their experience with a repeat of last seasons scenes. I hope that the board are all over this, and measures put in place to prevent a repeat, but, well I think you know where I’m going with this…..
Up the Dale
[Post edited 17 Nov 8:43]
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Reply | Mcnulty
at 20:05 16 Nov 2024
The interview? After he’d blamed the pitch and the referee for allowing time wasting, when in actual fact our own lack of urgency wasted as much time as Wealdstone, for example at about 58 mins, we took about a minute to take a throw in. The referee was in fact excellent and the pitch, well it’s the same for both teams isn’t it. After that at the end of the interview, he was asked whether he had anything to add to what CO said on Radio Bolton. His response was a bit odd, “One of the best statements, from someone senior in the club, for a long time”. The non Ogden Co chair must have winced at that one! |
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Reply | Mcnulty
at 18:02 16 Nov 2024
Jims pre match performance today was just trying too hard to show how committed he is, urging fans to sing up, fans who pay his wages, travel long distances for often misfiring performances, he clearly thinks we’re that gullible. He’d have been better saving his energy for on the touch line during the game, and in the dressing room. I think Jim actually thought today was about him. It wasn’t, and never will be, the team and result are what matters. It looked like the team were disrupted by this weeks shenanigans. Yet again outplayed by a better organised team in the lower reaches of the division. Get on with your job Jim, you will only be measured by results. |
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Reply | Wealdstone match thread
at 16:57 16 Nov 2024
Continued inconsistency, it doesn’t matter what league position the opposing team are, all results are equally likely. |
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Reply | Wealdstone match thread
at 16:29 16 Nov 2024
Wealdstone Manager taking the opportunity of a prolonged stoppage to coach the team. McNulty doesn’t…. |
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Reply | Wealdstone match thread
at 16:22 16 Nov 2024
McBride and Allarakia aside a lethargic performance from Dale. 2-0 ‘Stones. |
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Reply | Cameron on radio
at 20:13 15 Nov 2024
As regular readers, you both know the topics discussed by fans, style of play being a significant one; how does CO think the Co-Chair role is working in practice? Would be another one. But he was introduced as Chairman so they probably didn’t know he was Co-Chair. Not a big deal, I just think that the club, managers and directors aren’t subject to any insightful questioning. See the AGM thread, there’s more concerning issues under the surface, where other posters are asking the right questions. Seems some are keen to avoid them being asked in formal meetings. |
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Reply | Cameron on radio
at 15:38 15 Nov 2024
Your question indicates you understand exactly what light touch means. |
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Reply | Cameron on radio
at 13:01 15 Nov 2024
Ah, it’s on the RAFC site. Light touch interview, with Cameron - introduced as Chairman. Doesn’t want approaches for Jim, as far as he’s concerned Burton have gone away, he’s spoken to Tony [Kleanthous] at Barnet who’s basically said managers come and go. CO believes a three year contract is a three year contract, McNulty is the man for the job, great set of players. We’re performing better on the pitch than our budget says we should. He’s enjoying the job, takes up a lot of time, sounds like he enjoys working with the council and politician less so. |
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