Le Fondre is another
exciting young talent on the Rochdale striker production
line, having transferred in from Stockport for a fee of
£35,000. He originally made it to Spotland on a loan
deal in 2006-7 having reportedly fallen out of favour at
Stockport.
His loan spell was a massive success, scoring four goals
in seven games. He could even have scored a hat trick in
his opening five minutes with the club, as he helped
Dale run riot against promotion chasing MK Dons in a 5-0
rout of the Southern side.
Therefore it was
hardly surprising when Keith Hill made him his main
transfer target that Summer, and he was delighted when
he secured his services from Stockport on a three year
contract.
It was without doubt
a very good first season at Spotland for Le Fondre. He
was used a lot of times from the bench over the course
of the season, but managed to finish the season as the
club's only ever present, with seventeen goals in the
process.
Surprisingly for a
player who scored as many goals as he did last season,
he didn't always get the credit that he deserved in my
opinion. Whether people felt that he hadn't done as well
as he had done in his seven game loan spell with the
club or whether was simply down to preferring Chris
Dagnall to him, but it was certainly a great achievement
for a young twenty one year old striker to get no far
off twenty goals, despite only playing thirteen full
games.
If there was any
difference to his performances from his loan spell to
his first full season after transferring from County,
it's arguable that we played a little less to his
strengths as he is at his best when we attack
oppositions sides with out and out pace that we perhaps
did less of in 2007-8. But the odd comment here and
there should not deflect from the fact that Le Fondre is
an outstanding young talent with a big future in the
game ahead of him.
Alfie, as he is
affectionately known as by everyone, is certainly at his
best when Dale go hell for leather at sides. He has bags
of pace himself, and he's produced some great goals for
the club as a result of this. Arguably, he does better
when he has less time to think about things as he has
outstanding reactions.
As an aside, Le
Fondre reputedly has the hardest working agent of any of
the players at the club.
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