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Reply | Refwatch - Port Vale v Rochdale
at 14:15 31 Oct 2026
3-1 the š gets one back - header from a free kick. Feels like we needed this 10 mins into the second half, rather than with 10 mins to go. |
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Reply | Refwatch - Port Vale v Rochdale
at 13:46 31 Oct 2026
Whilst Iām not sure yet whether Iām back to being Watson Out - the perceived wisdom from earlier in the season was that he needed to be given time with the squad. Well heās had some more of that and weāve gone from some decent results to totally capitulating, again, against teams who arenāt all that good. Is that all on the injuries when weāve had loads of them all season? I think thats much more a criticism of the coaching. Itās also the manner we are playing and the goals we are conceding This again points to an issue with the manager. You could imagine that with key players out we might not play quite as well but could still do the basics. Right now weāre not even doing that. In other words I do think Watson might be more the problem than just blaming injuries. Heās certainly under pressure now and I think rightly so. |
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Reply | Refwatch - Port Vale v Rochdale
at 12:54 31 Oct 2026
3-0. Canāt see any way back from here, the only question will be if it turns into a truly embarrassing result. |
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Reply | Refwatch - Port Vale v Rochdale
at 12:39 31 Oct 2026
Wilson could and should have got closer to the Vale man for the goal. Just seemed to watch him control it and take a shot rather than try to close him down or god forbid get a foot in. Weāre never good coming from behind so this could be a tough day. |
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Reply | Refwatch - Crewe Alexandra v Rochdale
at 18:39 17 Oct 2026
I think that game shows us where we are at the moment. We can play some good football and go toe to toe with the better teams BUT we are prone to making silly unforced errors and donāt really create enough in the final third to make the most of all our possession. Weāll certainly beat plenty of teams playing that way but those mistakes and a lack of goals will probably ensure we stay mid table. Given how we started the season - thatās nothing to be sniffed at and I actually thought we probably should have come away with something today against a team who seem likely to be challenging for automatic. (Side note I didnāt think they were much cop, just better at finishing their chances). Despite the result Iām much more optimistic than I was that weāll be alright this season. |
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Reply | Refwatch - Crewe Alexandra v Rochdale
at 15:53 17 Oct 2026
Absolutely not a half we should be going in 2 down. We were the better team for most of it with Hayes especially tearing them apart, again, down the right.
However as the half went on you felt like we might start to rue the fact we didnāt make all of the possession and domination count.
Sure enough they scored from what I think was their first shot on goal(?). The second goal was Wilson fannying around with it on the left when it was easier just to kick it out. He gets dispossessed leaving a Crewe man wide open in the box to tap in the cross.
We need to be doing better getting the ball into the box and getting someone on the end of it. For all our possession Iām not sure their keeper has made many saves.
Iād like to think we can still get something out of this game but another goal from them would surely kill us off. |
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Reply | Refwatch - Fleetwood Town v Rochdale
at 18:52 26 Sep 2026
A hard fought win in the end and you have to admire the resilience when down to 10 men.
Far from a lucky win though, which you could probably say of the Oldham game - Fleetwood never really created too many chances instead opting for speculative long range efforts which did well to stay within the ground. Even their goal came from nothing - disappointed that their player wasnāt closed down more and not sure if the keeper shouldnāt have got something on it.
First 20 mins was really enjoyable - probably the best Iāve seen us play under Watson so far. Browns goal really well taken and came from us utilising the wingers - both did really well today. Sometimes tho it felt like they were getting to the byline but there was no one there to get on the end of it. The sort of position Mani D might find himself in.
TAR got two soft yellows - the second could easily have been a talking to from a more sensible ref, but he gave a whole lot of soft free kicks all game so TAR should have known not to give him a reason.
Flint was immense again at the back. First half I wasnāt impressed with Tasker who I thought was too slow on the ball and got us into trouble on more than once occasion. He was better second half moving further up the pitch.
Pleaser we managed to see it out and thatās now 3 games unbeaten. |
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Reply | Refwatch - Rochdale v Liverpool U21 (EFL Trophy)
at 10:18 23 Sep 2026
disappointing to not see the game out and I hope that doesn't create any sort of hangover for Saturday.
However - the big positive for me was Henderson, who has shown why he is not just there to make up the numbers. I really don't see how Watson isn't putting him in every match day squad. His movement, vision, passing and touch puts him head and shoulders above the other forwards and more than makes up for any shortcomings he might have due to his age. Put another way - do you think any of the other forwards would have scored the two goals he did?
He creates things from nothing, which means he can score goals which change games. He moves off the ball putting himself in great positions to receive it and/or pulling other defenders out of position. A couple of times he got the ball around the edge of the box and put great balls into dangerous areas. He's in the right place at the right time for his first goal (has anyone else been for any of the other goals we've scored this season?) and the second one was classic Hendo. No-one else offers that. There is absolutely no reason not to play him more often. |
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Reply | Refwatch - Rochdale v Oldham Athletic
at 14:32 19 Sep 2026
Massive three points which you have to say owed an awful lot to Oldhamās poor finishing. We dug in though and I think the subs worked well to strengthen things up at the back. Good goal from Brown. Didnāt go into the game feeling optimistic but that is clearly a step in the right direction. |
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Reply | Refwatch - Rochdale v Oldham Athletic
at 13:22 19 Sep 2026
Good start with the goal. Lively move, quick first time cross, little flick and Mossy did well to control it and bang it in. Player of the season so far is Moss.
Smith looking lively but not convinced by him on the right. He got into a great position in the box and seemed twice to choose the wrong option which was heavily influenced by him being unable to go onto his right foot and whip it across. Switch him to the left and see what happens there.
I think Flint is solid - heās one of those defenders who will track the ball over the top and make sure he gets in the way. Would trust him to get his head on things when thereās a free kick or corner. Not convinced at all he has the ability to distribute it out the back in the way EEL has always looked comfortable. Wilson also seems less than convincing.
But the real liability is Ramming. What the hell he was doing to lose the ball in his own box - only helped out by an atrocious non finish by Fondop.
We have been shooting ourselves in the foot and playing ourselves into trouble. Noticing that quite often weāll get the ball into midfield and there is no player in space showing as available so the man in possession has no choice but to keep the ball and try to look around and then they get dispossessed. Theyāve got to move about more and find some space.
No idea how the second half will go but Oldham will have to fancy getting something. We did at least start well which at least felt like something of an improvement, despite all the other issues. Maybe dropping Mani D is the right move for now. Would be enormous if we can hold on. |
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Reply | Watson.....
at 19:14 9 Sep 2026
Iāll rephrase it then - I really hope Iām wrong but I donāt think I will be. |
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Reply | Watson.....
at 18:38 9 Sep 2026
Iād have got rid of him on Monday after the Gillingham debacle and started the search for someone with more experience.
I imagine the Board are going to give this at least another 5 games, given their resounding vote of confidence today.
Those games are against: Walsall (5th) Oldham (10th) Fleetwood (6th) Swindon (2nd) and Tranmere (4th).
We maybe eek out a draw against Oldham if it turns into one of those horrible niggly derby games, but I can see it more likely a humiliating drubbing, same as the other 4 fixtures.
That would undoubtedly see us in 24th place in the league and already a few points adrift.
The atmosphere in the stands is hardly likely to have improved meaning even more bad vibes and toxicity.
At that point weāre looking at needing at least 41 more points from the remaining 36 games (with the average over the last 10 years to avoid the drop being about 44 points) - thats having to win a third of all remaining games.
Even if we change managers at that stage - weāre now looking at someone not addressing a poor start but needing immediate turnaround and pretty great form just to avoid relegation, when the bond between fans and players will be badly damaged and the team will be demoralised and devoid of confidence after achieving just 1 win in 10.
None of this seems far fetched but going off the performances so far, pretty inevitable.
I think the writing is already on the wall and delaying the decision will only cost us. Would love to be proven wrong. |
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Reply | Watson.....
at 16:19 9 Sep 2026
He doesnāt appear to have a Plan B or C at Rochdale.
Heās been criticised after several games for leaving substitutions until far too late. Can anyone think of any game where heās made a sub that has changed things around?
If he can do all this elsewhere then it only confirms that heās totally out of his depth here.
Can we afford to wait for him to find his feet? |
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Reply | Unacceptable
at 14:24 7 Sep 2026
Iām not sure we can rely on Simon Gauge to make any sensible decisions here.
It was him in charge for the Robbie Stockdale appointment. You might have thought that debacle would have put him off appointing a young inexperienced manager again, but here we are.
Iām actually surprised the Ogdens have kept him around as he had no football experience to begin with and doesnāt seem to have learnt too much in the past few years either. |
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Reply | Watson.....
at 12:49 6 Sep 2026
I agree we need 2 or 3 points from the next two games but I also think thats absolutely never going to happen. Walsall sit 5th and havenāt lost a game yet. Oldham have started decently and will be well up for the derby game. Will our players? Not on the showings so far.
If the test is how things will be in another 2 games then we are simply delaying the inevitable. |
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Reply | Refwatch - Rochdale v Shrewsbury Town
at 22:43 1 Sep 2026
Much improved performance although difficult to know how much it means against a Shrews team who didnāt look great, but with better finishing could easily have had a couple themselves. Itās crucial we keep the momentum going and pick up another win on Saturday against another team that have started off the season poor. If we do that, we give ourselves a much better chance when we start to face the tougher opposition.
Even if EEL is fully fit Iād want Watson to be brave and keep him on the bench. Would like to see that first half 11 once EEL left as the team to start on Saturday.
Well done to Watson who has faced plenty of criticism from me this week - now weāve seen what his teams can do. But that brings its own pressure as the fans might expect to see performances like that every game. If we do, then weāll be more than fine this season. For the first time this season I have some hope, and a reason to believe Watson might be the man for us. Keep it going. |
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Reply | Refwatch - Colchester United v Rochdale
at 10:16 30 Aug 2026
Itās a fact that Watson had exactly the same amount of first team managerial experience in the EFL as Hill, BBM and McNulty - none.
The big difference with those appointments though was that Hill, BBM and McNulty had spent most of their careers in the EFL as players with hundreds and hundreds of games of experience. Watson as a player never played above the 6th tier. He has never played a single game in the EFL.
Hill, BBM and McNulty also had years of experience at Rochdale - they knew the club and the squad inside out when taking over. Watson obviously had no connection with the team at all.
Itās also a fact that Rochdale has never been in this position before of being newly promoted from the National League. What might have been acceptable for previous appointments is irrelevant to the unique position we found ourselves in. Appointing a manager with no playing experience in the EFL, no managerial experience in the EFL and only one season as a first team manager of any sort is so self evidently a massive risk that I canāt believe anyone is out there still defending it. |
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