Previously to joining up with Dale, he has spent his entire footballing career with Morecambe. He came through their youth ranks, playing much of his early football on the left hand side, both in defence and in midfield. It was at this time, he would first come into contact with Keith Hill who was with the Shrimpers as a player.

As time went on, he became more and more integral to the Morecambe side, and was already starting to attract attention. He was switched to the centre of midfield, and did enough to be called up for the English National side. He became a regular for the England non league side, and captained them on many occasions.

His career took a bit of a dip in the Summer of 2006, when he handed in a transfer request. This was turned down by the Morecambe board, before being eventually transfer listed once the season had started. This saw him out of the Morecambe side for a while, but he soon regained his place.

However, in January 2007, Dale boss Keith Hill made Perkins his first proper signing when he drafted him in from Morecambe. The fee was a nominal fee but reports suggested it was less than £10,000 making him one of the best transfers the club has made in years.

His first couple of games saw him pushed out wide on the left, both in midfield and in defence, as he did in his early Morecambe days. He won big praise for one surging run which led to a goal on his debut. Le Fondre may have got the goal, but it was Perkins who won all the praise for it.

An injury to club captain Gary Jones saw Perkins switched to the centre of midfield, and he never really looked back from there. He won a succession of man of the match awards for his box to box style. His engine and work rate were second to none, and the local rumour mill even had talk of big bids coming in from Championship sides. It's not often you have Dale fans worrying about how long we keep hold of a player within weeks of him signing for the club.

Goalscoring is certainly not his best attribute as a player, and to date he has scored just one goal in his entire career. That solitary goal saw him pick up a booking for over celebrating. Next time he scores, I'm sure the referee will be more understanding.