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.