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Refwatch - Yeovil Town v Rochdale 11:10 - Feb 12 with 12743 views

Refwatch - Yeovil Town v Rochdale 12th Feb 2026 11:06
Dale’s trip to Yeovil Town on Saturday will be refereed by NIALL SMITH.

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Refwatch - Yeovil Town v Rochdale on 00:24 - Feb 15 with 3295 views

griff

We’re trying to cement third. Just don’t blink.

Refwatch - Yeovil Town v Rochdale on 06:43 - Feb 15 with 3098 views

richfoad32

Refwatch - Yeovil Town v Rochdale on 18:40 - Feb 14 by dawlishdale

Just finished watching the replay on Dazn.
We huffed and puffed but quality of crosses in the second half was very poor.

If I was asked to name the best two players this season, I'd say EEL and Gilmour. Very strange decision to rest both together. Momentum is crucial and we have been full of it recently. Mani being subbed and Alarakia staying on so long when Moss has been playing so well are also strange decisions.

On to Tuesday now against a Scunthorpe team who will be hurting after their result today.

Up the Dale

It's generally accepted that Allarakhia offers more from an attacking standpoint than Moss but the latter had contributed a goal and an assist over the previous two games. For me Allarakhia flatters to deceive and his final product is often woeful. I wouldn't be offering him a new contract after this season regardless of which division we find ourselves.

As bad as Amantchi was it might have been useful to have him or somebody of his ilk coming off the bench yesterday to cause a bit of chaos in their box. EEL did his best as an emergency striker but I'm not sure if Hendo touched the ball.

I haven't seen a replay or any highlights yet but was it a red card offence? Honestly looked pretty innocuous at the time and just a coming together although admittedly I didn't have the greatest view.

Refwatch - Yeovil Town v Rochdale on 08:48 - Feb 15 with 2859 views

442Dale

Refwatch - Yeovil Town v Rochdale on 06:43 - Feb 15 by richfoad32

If we ended Amantchi’s loan to bring in Duku, you’d expect the latter to be contributing much more than he has. Unless there’s a reason to not overuse Dieseruvwe after his return from injury, then he shouldn’t be being subbed if we aren’t winning.

Poll:

Greatest Ever Dale Game

Refwatch - Yeovil Town v Rochdale on 08:54 - Feb 15 with 2842 views

SaxonDale

Off the top of my head when we’ve played our best team this season we’ve won- the 2 exceptions being York (where I thought we edged it until EEL had a nightmare few minutes) and Woking (their keeper was MOTM). As good as our squad is, I think we look noticeably weaker, even if we’ve still got results, without the spine of Whatmuff, EEL, Gilmour and Mani. The difficulty is that 2 are the wrong side of 30 and Gilmour generally plays every minute of the games he starts. Given the schedule, the outfield players will need resting- I don’t think we can afford an injury to any of them for a prolonged period of time.The hope for me is that players like Francis can step up and help to take some of the load off them.

We really could do with Rodney getting back to form too. Given Smith’s injury, he offers us something that no one else does from the 10 role. As the end of last season showed, Dev inform can win games on his own.

Refwatch - Yeovil Town v Rochdale on 09:47 - Feb 15 with 2689 views

wozzrafc

Refwatch - Yeovil Town v Rochdale on 08:54 - Feb 15 by SaxonDale

For me Rodney is to inconsistent, when he is on form he is an impact player but that’s only when he turns up. All too often he goes missing in games.

For me our one Achilles heel is our attacking prowess, we still miss the firepower power that York has. Al season we have got through by being clinical rather than ruthless. But yesterday some recent performances have shown we might need more, Solihull springs to mind.

Mani D was subbed before the sending off I think, I’m sure that wouldn’t have happened if he was s still on the pitch. Instead though we were left with ELB up front. One point that concerns mean about yesterday was where was Duku in the squad? It seemed like that last 15 mins was the sort of situation we signed an additional striker for?

Is he not up to it? If there are doubts with the signing then there is still time to bring a striker of quality in.

Refwatch - Yeovil Town v Rochdale on 10:18 - Feb 15 with 2598 views

Dale_4_Life

It’s still very much in Dales hands..

Two big consecutive home games on Tuesday and Saturday.

Need to ramp up the ruthless streak in front of goal.. 57 goals in 30 games for Dale.. an average of less than 2 goals a game makes the promotion task much more difficult.

Still unbeaten in 2026… the table could look a lot different again this time next week.

Refwatch - Yeovil Town v Rochdale on 10:19 - Feb 15 with 2597 views

dannyuk

Refwatch - Yeovil Town v Rochdale on 06:43 - Feb 15 by richfoad32

Yes it was a red, not looking at the ball only player and arm up across his face/neck area. Daft really.

Refwatch - Yeovil Town v Rochdale on 10:33 - Feb 15 with 2578 views

wozzrafc

Absolutely no reason not to be positive. We don’t look like losing these games. We created chances, albeit with a lack of quality finish. The wins will come.

A point yesterday was by no means a disaster.

I just think if there ever was a time to add a striker to the squad it would be now, while we still have the advantage

Refwatch - Yeovil Town v Rochdale on 10:51 - Feb 15 with 2518 views

Delboy

Refwatch - Yeovil Town v Rochdale on 21:48 - Feb 14 by beat_the_bishop

The ‘meltdown’ is a consequence of our own succcess and ability I guess. I think people know this team has what it takes. It’s easy to say play your best 11 but on the other hand, we have blustered the squad for a reason so I fully expect rotation. As you say, great when it goes to plan. Exaggerated when it doesn’t.

Jim said a little while back there’s a plan in place for each man and the minutes they get. He’s just sticking to it. In some respects, I applaud that. There’s a plan, with science and strong leaders stick to their plan and believe it will work. We nick that game today and we all move on and it was a good rest and credit where it’s due to Jim. It’s the fine margins that are making every decision or marginal ‘error’ more amplified because of the 1 up saga. As fans we are going through a whirlwind of emotion by the week. I am sure the players, their families and the staff at the club are all feeling it too. I can’t really say I am enjoying it either, I find it quite stressful but that’s just because I am desperate to see us back in the football league where we belong. But what I have enjoyed is the team just churning the cogs week in week out. It takes some doing over 8 or 9 months, it’s relentless.

The pressure is on York. They are handling it well but they have some PTSD from last year and the Uggla chap glaring at them. I think if they lose a game they have the ability to crumble more than we do. They have 7 thousand expectant fans, a section of which seem quite obnoxious, and a very expectant set of owners. Meanwhile, we have a set of fans that are uncomfortable without our underdog title and 2 years ago on the cusp of watching St Clements on our Saturday afternoon while the Spotland corrodes away. We are lucky to be where we are, I just hope we have what it takes to keep the heat on the top spot, even if it goes to the last kick of the game on 25th April, that is some achievement across 46 games.

Well said. A rational calm well thought out assesment of where we are at. Welcome back to the board Bishop.

Refwatch - Yeovil Town v Rochdale on 11:37 - Feb 15 with 2409 views

dannyuk

Refwatch - Yeovil Town v Rochdale on 09:47 - Feb 15 by wozzrafc

Agree on Rodney. When he is on it he's unplayable though, so he's hard to leave out when fit.

Henderson has had some very good performances since Duku came in and deserved to keep that place backup to Mani.

Very interested to see where Francis sits in Jim's plans. If he can find the form from his Gateshead days and is at match fitness then he's a serious player at this level.

Refwatch - Yeovil Town v Rochdale on 11:56 - Feb 15 with 2359 views

samueloneils

Refwatch - Yeovil Town v Rochdale on 21:07 - Feb 14 by 442Dale

Good post. The 10s position has been a conundrum all season, which makes me seem a bit entitled because one look at our record shows that whatever might need improving, we’re still well ahead points wise than anyone would have dared to dream back in August.

Your point about naming the best XI is one I’d agree with, with the caveat that so many say that yet we don’t actually know what that is, myself included. Would maintain that changing the back 3 should be avoided, or at least explained, but the Gilmour change I can understand. He looked slightly below his best the other night, and said as much then. He should have been on the bench though. Again, it’s frustrating the manager isn’t asked about changes in interviews. It would clear up so much uncertainty.

Have seen a few “why change a winning team?” thoughts this evening in various places, but we’ve been changing it for weeks. Exaggeration does not make an opinion any more valid. Quite the opposite (not aimed at you BtB btw, your thoughts mirror a lot of mine).

Of course, having not seen the game I’m speaking from a position of little actual evidence. But would like to think that the point about individuals in attacking positions being more ruthless is the biggest reason why we haven’t won today. And despite our magnificent record, it’s been something we’ve seen signs of all season.

The "number 10" conundrum continues.

Yesterday we played on paper a very attacking starting line-up with Barlow East Pettit and Burger in midfield. In the 10th minute we scored a beautiful through ball goal from Mani to Barlow. I never saw another attempt at a through ball during the whole match. Instead the wings were heavily used. This has been very productive especially on the right with Tobi and Kyron, but they were double marked every time they got the ball, particularly in the 2nd half. Word gets round. They ignored our left side which produced virtually nothing throughout.

It was unlucky the sending off happened after Mani was substituted as said on here, and particularly as Rodney had one of his off days.

Jim said on interview we had "loads of shots from our midfielders". Too true, and they were mostly awful except for a decent attempt by Pettit late on, but I think we are now suffering from our non-scoring midfielders. If Mani and Rodney don`t score we will always struggle to find goals.

Watching the line from the stand right in front in the second half, you could see Hendo doing what Hendo does which is to constantly juggle his position and demand the ball. Nobody obliged yesterday. Instead they chose the easy route down the right wing. Surely Mani is not the only one who can play a through ball.

Not sure Barlow Burger and Pettit is a good combination in midfield.

Refwatch - Yeovil Town v Rochdale on 12:22 - Feb 15 with 2285 views

NorthernDale

As anyone any knowledge or rumours on Smith's injury and his return. I agree if we win on Tuesday, then we have an edge on York, but Scunthorpe are a good team, but if we don't win, it could have a negative impact on the squad and fans. McNulty's naivety in making unnecessary changes to a winning team, as cost us this season and yet he repeats then, yes I want McNulty to succeed, because if he succeeds then the club would have achieved promotion.

So hopefully McNulty and the team will get a win on Tuesday, and send a message to York that Yeovil was a unfortunate performance.

-1

Refwatch - Yeovil Town v Rochdale on 13:03 - Feb 15 with 2193 views

jonahwhereru

Refwatch - Yeovil Town v Rochdale on 12:22 - Feb 15 by NorthernDale

One man’s naivety is another man’s very good squad management. Since the turn of the year we have seemed to do quite well. Although some may say that’s a naive view.

[Post edited 15 Feb 13:03]

Refwatch - Yeovil Town v Rochdale on 13:23 - Feb 15 with 2127 views

442Dale

Refwatch - Yeovil Town v Rochdale on 13:03 - Feb 15 by jonahwhereru
One man’s naivety is another man’s very good squad management. Since the turn of the year we have seemed to do quite well. Although some may say that’s a naive view. [Post edited 15 Feb 13:03]

Indeed. There’s a difference to making mistakes and naivety. Name one manager who doesn’t make the odd mistake. In fact name one manager who doesn’t rotate their squad these days. If someone was to refer to McNulty and his coaching team as naive when they’ve garnered more points after 30 games than any other Dale team in history is, being kind, slightly disrespectful.

The “change a winning team” argument is nonsense because we have been doing for weeks. And plenty expected changes this weekend, including mentions of Hogan returning. It didn’t work this time, it has for weeks.

Poll:

Greatest Ever Dale Game

Refwatch - Yeovil Town v Rochdale on 13:41 - Feb 15 with 2083 views

wozzrafc

And just to put into perspective yesterday’s result.

Yorks form over last 14 games :
12 wins and 2 draws. That would give them 112.

Rochdale form over last 16 games :
13 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses
That would get us 114

As it stands we need 43pts from 16 game. In reality it will probably be lower than that. And if it isn’t and we miss out to York, well hats off to them.

Refwatch - Yeovil Town v Rochdale on 14:13 - Feb 15 with 2002 views

442Dale

Refwatch - Yeovil Town v Rochdale on 13:41 - Feb 15 by wozzrafc
And just to put into perspective yesterday’s result. Yorks form over last 14 games : 12 wins and 2 draws. That would give them 112. Rochdale form over last 16 games : 13 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses That would get us 114 As it stands we need 43pts from 16 game. In reality it will probably be lower than that. And if it isn’t and we miss out to York, well hats off to them.

The numbers are interesting and quite scary at the same time. There have been changes, but still think we need to aim to get to 109 and if that’s not four points clear of York by the last day it’ll be because they haven’t had the slight drop in form I think needs to happen.

Having had discussions with other fans and thinking about it more, yesterday’s result has clarified a few issues.

Could be wrong but sensed some frustration in McNulty’s interview after the game. For weeks there’s been agreement across the board with fans that while we’ve been relentless with our pursuit of three points, there’s also been some concerns about how ruthless we are in the final third.

This isn’t a “we’re not creating enough/not going forward enough/too negative” concern, more that when we do get into good areas the final pass/cross/finish has been lacking at times. Thinking back to the other night against FGR, there was that scramble at the Pearl St end at 2-1 when it looked inevitable we’d score and put the game to bed. Yet we didn’t.

Yesterday was probably the culmination of that, borne out in the highlights when we really should be affecting the scoreline when in good positions around the opponent’s goal. So, what are the solutions?

We firstly should be looking at ensuring those not getting game time, or likely to get it, are offered out on loan. For their own benefit as well as ours. It’s not definitive but Mancini, Tutonda or Hosannah, possibly even McBride could go out on loan for a month. That frees up not only some money in the wage budget, but space in the squad. From there we can consider where a final piece in the jigsaw can be sought.

As said previously, if Rodney was firing on April ‘25 cylinders, this wouldn’t be an issue and the other 10s are all contributing as a collective rather than as stand outs. It would then need establishing if there’s a Rodney/Bird/NML type player out there who can come in and add pace, explosiveness and goals to that role. Bird’s injury has probably indirectly held us back, because he was a bit part player at Salford and they’ve continued to add forwards. His ability to be as equally effective wider (as at Oldham) or centrally would have negated the need to bring in Duku as he’d covered both roles.

Aside from that, and it might just be a temporary thing, the Duku and Bilongo signings are currently not working out. Their lack of regular selection on the bench is proof of that so far.

Poll:

Greatest Ever Dale Game

Refwatch - Yeovil Town v Rochdale on 14:27 - Feb 15 with 1966 views

TVOS1907

Refwatch - Yeovil Town v Rochdale on 12:22 - Feb 15 by NorthernDale

What naivety? Have you been watching us recently?

We've made changes to every team since the turn of the year. We've won 7, drawn 1 and lost 0.

The reason we didn't win yesterday had nothing to do with the changes, but was mainly because two players with 16 assists between them this season couldn't pick out any men in the middle when we were dominating the game, despite probably having around 16 chances to do so.

Also, when the ball did get into the middle or into the penalty area in general, it either just didn't fall right for the players in there, or their shots were all wayward and off target. In other recent fixtures, it's been the complete opposite for us - see the late winners v Solihull and Southend, for example.

It's football, sometimes these things happen.

It really was that simple; mentioning team changes at a time when we have so many fixtures, which means the full squad has to be utilised, just because we didn't win for the first time in 8 games, is jumping on a bandwagon.

[Post edited 15 Feb 14:45]

I'm not a maestro, far from it, but I just engage my brain before posting.

Refwatch - Yeovil Town v Rochdale on 16:52 - Feb 15 with 1730 views

dawlishdale

Refwatch - Yeovil Town v Rochdale on 08:54 - Feb 15 by SaxonDale

Well said Saxon. Exactly what I've concluded. we have a very good squad, but the four players you mention are almost essential to our success. If at all possible, we should be playing as much of Whatmuff, EEL, Gilmour and Mani as possible. The other players should fit in around them and usually compliment this excellent spine of the team.

Refwatch - Yeovil Town v Rochdale on 16:57 - Feb 15 with 1723 views

samueloneils

Refwatch - Yeovil Town v Rochdale on 12:22 - Feb 15 by NorthernDale

I don`t know whether you saw Mark Hughes`s comments after the previous match, but he was saying the top position was a 2 horse race now and they could concentrate on playoffs. Hughes is quite a complex character so could have been playing games, but I don`t think so.

Possibly he can`t see them catching York.

But after the latest game they are back more in touch with us, so as everyone says, wins are all essential.

Refwatch - Yeovil Town v Rochdale on 17:16 - Feb 15 with 1673 views

wozzrafc

Back more in touch with us than York? How does that work

York pls 32 - 74
Dale pld 30 - 74
Carl pld 32. - 65

Refwatch - Yeovil Town v Rochdale on 18:18 - Feb 15 with 1571 views

_Windydale

I do think the midfield could have served Dev better when the ball was moved around central of the pitch. Many times he wasnt marked closely, and he was asking with his arms for the ball. Instead it went to the right.

Refwatch - Yeovil Town v Rochdale on 07:45 - Feb 16 with 1123 views

griff

Refwatch - Yeovil Town v Rochdale on 17:16 - Feb 15 by wozzrafc
Back more in touch with us than York? How does that work York pls 32 - 74 Dale pld 30 - 74 Carl pld 32. - 65

It is extremely unlikely that we (Carlisle) can catch the pair of you. The supporter base, and now Hughes, have accepted that and are voicing that belief and it’s therefore important to finish as high up the table as possible. However, as I said above, don’t blink. As I’ve said elsewhere we have the easiest (on paper, yeah I know) run-in of all the top 7 sides. Any team can have a blip so it would be foolish to rule out a possibility, however remote, with 14 or 16 games to go. It’s called hope, and it’s what keep us supporters going, right?

https://bluesviews.freeforums.

Refwatch - Yeovil Town v Rochdale on 09:48 - Feb 16 with 1003 views

Delboy

With Dev still not firing on all cylinders and Smith not available I would like to see Pritchard start in the No 10 roll. He is adaptable, has an eye for goal and can thread a pass. It would be worth try and we do need to find a way of adding some fire power.

Refwatch - Yeovil Town v Rochdale on 15:23 - Feb 16 with 745 views

richfoad32

Refwatch - Yeovil Town v Rochdale on 09:48 - Feb 16 by Delboy
With Dev still not firing on all cylinders and Smith not available I would like to see Pritchard start in the No 10 roll. He is adaptable, has an eye for goal and can thread a pass. It would be worth try and we do need to find a way of adding some fire power.

I don't know much about Francis, where's his best position? Could he have been signed with a view to playing there? There seems to be an awful lot of players in the mix with McBride making way and Burger back in favour currently, personally I prefer the former.

Refwatch - Yeovil Town v Rochdale on 15:48 - Feb 16 with 695 views

dannyuk

Refwatch - Yeovil Town v Rochdale on 15:23 - Feb 16 by richfoad32
I don't know much about Francis, where's his best position? Could he have been signed with a view to playing there? There seems to be an awful lot of players in the mix with McBride making way and Burger back in favour currently, personally I prefer the former.

He's mostly been an 8. Seems versatile so could go 10, but I think East could also be a good 10. Maybe them 2 could play swapsies all match to baffle the opposition

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