Team of the Decade - No. 7 Wednesday, 13th Jan 2010 16:51
After a few days absence, our Team of the Decade continues with the best right winger of the past ten years.
Team of the Decade |
1) Goalkeeper - Neil
Edwards |
Had
it not been for a succession of injuries in his final few seasons at
Spotland, then we may well have been talking about Neil Edwards as being
the man who broke Graham Smith's appearances record for the club and not
Gary Jones. However, those injuries were not enough to prevent Taffy
making over 250 appearances for the club from when he joined back in
1997 to his eventual departure in 2005. Edwards was an outstanding
keeper for Dale and time after time, he managed to pull off the sort of
save that you'd have written off as being unsaveable. His most acclaimed
Dale performance came at Hartlepool back in 1997, but it certainly
wasn't a case of his best days being behind him as we entered the 21st
Century. Edwards is currently involved on the coaching side of the game,
as an assistant to Fred Barber at Premiership Bolton Wanderers. Almost
two thirds of everyone who voted opted for Edwards which tells its own
story. |
2) Right Back - Wayne
Evans |
Wayne
Evans becomes the second man to be voted into our Best Team of the
Decade, the second Welshman to put into the side and the second member
of that Steve Parkin side to be voted in. The position of right back had
long been a problem position for Dale for many, many years, so it was
perhaps no surprise when Evans made such an immediate impact after
joining Dale. But there was far more to Evans than just being better
than the likes of Copeland, Sparrow, Fensome et al. He showed what an
outstanding defender he was, and was rewarded with a string of Player of
the Season awards in his opening season at the club - something unheard
of for a player in his position. He became something of a Dale stalwart
over the years, making not far off three hundred appearances in Dale
colours before his departure at the end of the 2004-5 season. Thoroughly
reliable at full back, but also possessing a wonderful ability to appear
as the last line of defence. Goalscoring was never his forté, but he
managed four goals during his time, each of which seemed to have some
sort of story attached to it. Evans has recently been appointed as
Head of the Centre of Excellence at Shrewsbury Town by his old colleague
Paul Simpson. |
3) Left Back - Tom Kennedy |
When
we signed Tom Kennedy from neighbours Bury, you can't say we weren't
warned by our nearest and dearest from down the road. Oh how they
laughed, telling us how he hadn't been good enough to get into Chris
Casper's side, how he'd been cast aside for being Bury's answer to
Oliver Reed and how we'd signed a joke of a footballer. How wrong they
were. From his League debut, it was clear that we'd signed a cracker.
Now into his third season at the club, TK has established himself as not
only as a popular player at Spotland, but also as the best player in his
position in the Division, something recognised by his fellow
professionals last season as he made it into the PFA League Two side.
His form has consistently made a mockery of the petty jealousies that
accompanied his move to the club. He's missed just a handful of games
for the club since arriving, and has weighed in with some important
goals to boot and proved himself to be inch perfect from the penalty
spot. Kennedy was up against stiff competition for the left back berth
in this side, against the likes of Lee Todd and Alan Goodall, but it
tells you something that Kennedy attracted almost 93% of all the votes.
|
4) Central Midfielder -
David Perkins |
For
years, we'd been told that you can't get decent players from non league.
Manager after manager had explained that it was far more complicated
than just picking players from beneath the Football League and assuming
they could do a job amongst the 92. Within a month of getting the job,
Keith Hill had made David Perkins his first signing for a pittance. He
came described by Morecambe supporters as a left back / midfielder, but
wouldn't cut it at league level. In fact, when he signed for Dale, he'd
been in and out of the Shrimps side at a Conference level. But nobody
could have predicted what we were going to get from Perkins. Within a
game or two, he'd been given a run out in central midfield mainly thanks
to Gary Jones' injury and he never looked back. It wasn't too long
before we'd taken him to our hearts as the lynchpin of our side. He had
an engine like we'd not seen in years. He was absolutely everywhere and
he must have been an absolute pain in the backside to play against as
you wouldn't get a single second to yourself. Perks will always be
remembered for his final Dale game in Dale colours that being the 2nd
Leg of the Play Offs against Darlington. Minutes after sealing the
victory with a wonder goal, he was red carded following Darlington
protestations at what was nothing more than a yellow card. His tears on
leaving the pitch still bring goosebumps to this day. |
5) Central Defender -
Craig Dawson |
This
one came from absolutely out of nowhere. Twelve months ago, no one had
heard of him. Six months ago, we were panicking that he was our only
defensive cover that we were going to have to rely on with McArdle ruled
out for months. Now? He's the best prospect we've had at the club in
years. It took until about 3:07pm on the opening day of the season for
us to forget that we were starting the season with an 18 year old lad
plucked from part time football in the Unibond League. Since then, we've
never looked back and the young Rochdalian has gone on to prove himself
to be not just a fantastic prospect, but a fantastic defender
irrespective of age or experience. He's settled into the side like he's
been playing it all his life, and the fact he's a proper Rochdale lad is
just the icing on the cake. It hasn't made any difference whether he's
been alongside Stanton, McArdle or Holness, he's still been outstanding
at the back. And if all of that wasn't enough, he's got this ability to
be the invisible man at corners. We know he's going to score, they know
he's going to score, but there's nothing they can do about it, as nine
goals to his name will testify to. Six months it was unthinkable that
we'd be considering Dawson one of our best. Now it's unthinkable not to.
|
6) Central Defender -
Gareth Griffiths |
From
around 2001 onwards for five seasons, our central defence was always
Gareth Griffiths plus one. That plus one changed about 25,000 times
during his time at Rochdale in a spell which saw him chalk up over 200
appearances for the club, but Griff was a constant throughout. Noted for
both his performances on the pitch and his strong dressing room
influence, he was a dominant force at the back. It would be wrong to say
that things were always perfect, but the good days with Griff certainly
outweighed the bad days, and it was no surprise to see Griff voted into
this side. Griff was also a bit of a threat from set pieces and could be
relied upon for a few goals per season. His header in front of a packed
Sandy Lane terrace against Coventry will be long remembered and I had
the pleasure of sitting next to Griff's biggest critic that night that
he scored a hat trick against Scarborough in the LDJPTV thing. And if
you wanted further reasons for Griff's inclusion within this side, then
his role at the beginning of the Hillcroft era should never be ignored.
Sidelined from Northwich with a broken jar, it was Griff who came to the
club to assist the man he replaced as a player at Spotland - something
never forgotten by the management. Here you go Griff, team of the decade
and very deserving of it. |
7) Right Winger - Will
Buckley |
If
there's one thing that sums up the Hillcroft era, it is the ability to
bring players through the ranks and into the first team. Not just as
fringe players, but proper players that are vital to the first team. And
our right winger in our team of the decade is the second player featured
to have gone from the a decent prospect to someone the scouts are
flocking to see week in, week out. After arriving at the club in the
Summer of 2007 to comments of "that's not Kyle Buckley" from those in
attendance of the pre-season friendlies, Buckley has gone on to
establish himself as the stand out winger. Not just at Spotland, but
across the division. It is honesty rather than hyperbole to describe
Buckley as the best player in his position in League Two. The only
controversy would be whether he is the best right winger in League Two
or the best left winger, though in reality he's probably both. Ten goals
in his first full season of football, and a further three in an injury
hit second season, it is proof that he cannot be accused of having no
end product like most fancy wingers you get in League Two. But it is
that fancy play which has seen us take him to our hearts, as he leaves
many an opposition player in a heap on the floor as he's left him
bamboozled on his way to goal. Beating a player is made to look the
easiest thing the world has ever seen, and at times I swear he's gone
back to beat the same player again. Just because he can. It's
questionable how long we'll have to enjoy his talents at Rochdale before
he is poached by by a passing Premiership vulture, but that roar that
follows him as he accelerates away having beaten his man will live long
in the memory. As a trail of yellow cards from Bradford will testify to. |
8) Central Midfielder |
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9) Striker |
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10) Striker |
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11) Left Winger |
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Photo: Action Images
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