Deane Smalley arrived on loan at Dale from local rivals Oldham in September 2010 with a handy reputation.
Position: Winger
Arrived from: Oldham (loan)
Played : 2011
Appearances : 3
Goals : 0
Left for: Oldham (end of loan)
Having been a regular starter for the Latics over the previous three seasons, he was brought in to add some experience at League One level that was perhaps lacking in the squad and to provide some cover in the injury-hit attacking areas.
I remember being excited by his arrival at the time as his cousin played in goal for my U18s Saturday morning side and I thought I might be able to get a signed shirt or something out of him, but no dice!
The attacker made three substitute appearances for the club during his short-term loan deal, including a cameo in the 3-0 win over Huddersfield Town that was sealed in the final few minutes.
He featured on the left side of the front three if memory serves me correctly and looked threatening without ever actually delivering much in the way of end product.
Smalley spent the majority of that 2010/2011 campaign on loan at Chesterfield and scored 12 times in 28 games as the Spireites won the League Two title, prompting Oldham to offer him another contract which he rejected in favour of signing for Oxford United.
After over 80 games with the U's in three years that included a loan at Bradford City, the Chadderton-born man made the switch to Plymouth Argyle but failed to nail down a first-team place and was sent out on loan again, this time to Newport County.
He then disappeared from football for a while, before joining Chester in 2018, followed by local non-league outfits Hyde United and Abbey Hey.