Dale take on Hull City this week after an awful set of results that have piled the pressure on manager Brian Barry-Murphy as Dale head closer and closer to the drop zone.

Date: Tuesday 2nd March
Kick-off: 7:00pm
Venue: The KCOM Stadium
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THE DALE:
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AtThePeake said in the Burton preview that it was an opportunity that we couldn’t afford to miss, and that defeat would be disastrous. Well, we did miss the opportunity and we did suffer defeat. Not only did we suffer defeat, we had our vice-captain Ollie Rathbone sent off for a headbutt. A lack of form, a lack of goals, a lack of points, a lack of hope and now a lack of discipline to go with it.

That result means we’ve had just one single win in twenty (20) games at home in all competitions if you include the Pizza Paintpot Windscreens Trophy as well. We harp on about the home form because it’s a huge issue. We go into home games never thinking we can win, well I do anyway. It’s not like we’re creating chance after chance and are unlucky in games because that simply isn’t true. We didn’t force the goalkeeper to make a save against Burton Albion.

And now we take on a Hull side that are currently occupying third place in the league and very much challenging for promotion back to the Championship. Our record against the teams in the top half of the league is appalling. We’ve managed to get 8 points from the 15 games (45 possible points) and that includes 4 points against Plymouth who were awful earlier in the season. Add to that the fact Hull battered us 3-0 at home in a superb performance. I’m not sure I’ve ever felt less like we can win a league game before than this.

Not only are we suffering from injuries but now we have to contend with Ollie Rathbone being out for the next three games. That’s Jimmy Ryan, Matt Lund, Stephen Dooley and now Rathbone missing from the middle of the pitch. We also have no Beesley and potentially no Keohane. Can McShane play another game in such a short space of time? Rathbone’s lack of self-control and discipline will hurt us in these next three games. Who do we bring into the side? Conor Grant? I’ve seen nothing from him so far in a Dale shirt to make me thinking starting him is an option. I’d even have the likes of Hopper in ahead of him. Do we bring Roberts in to either play defensive midfield or in defence, so O’Connell moves forward? Shaughnessy was playing almost up front against Burton which evidently worked well.

Predicting the team has become difficult like it did under Hill. Square pegs and round holes. Yes, injuries have forced our hand a lot but the insistence on sticking to the formation and the system which doesn’t suit the players means we stop ourselves adapting to such problems.

Off the field, the club is beginning to look like a bit of a circus. Last week, our American friends Dan Altman and Emre Marcelli were announced as board members, by Sunday night, they’d changed their minds and said it’s not the right time! Your guess is as good as mine as to what the hell is going on.

What I do know is that I don’t like this. I don’t like it at all.

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THE OPPOSITION:
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Hull have done well all season which isn’t a surprise given how they played against us at Spotland earlier in the season. They currently sit in third place on 56 points, just a point behind Lincoln City but having played two more games. Hull have also scored the most goals in the division this season.

That said, they come into this game having only won 2 out of their last 8 games and those were against fellow relegation battlers Wigan and Wimbledon so they aren’t in great form in all honesty but that has no impact on our chances I don’t think.

You only have to take a look through their squad to see the huge difference between us and them. The likes of George Honeyman, Malik Wilks, Josh Magennis, Tom Eaves etc. It’s a very good squad, to the point Eaves has only started 4 games for them! Malik Wilks and Josh Magennis get the goals for the Tigers. Wilks has 18 goals in all competitions this season while Magennis has 12 and they’ve been well supported by Keane Lewis-Potter as well. One downside for Hull is that captain Richie Smallwood was recently ruled out for the rest of the season so it will be interesting to see how they can cope in his absence.

At the other end Hull have a solid goalkeeper in Matt Ingram and a decent looking back line including the likes of Callum Elder and the superb Josh Emmanuel and they’ve conceded less than half the goals we have which in itself is a frightening sentence.

Grant McCann is the man in charge at the KCOM Stadium and has been for nearly two years so will have seen plenty of low times there as well like relegation last year. Bouncing straight back will be a massive achievement for McCann and Hull City if they can manage it.

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FORM BOOK:
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Rochdale:
Burton Albion (h) - LOSS
Northampton Town (a) - DRAW
Plymouth Argyle (h) - DRAW
Blackpool (a) - LOSS
Milton Keynes (h) - LOSS

Hull City:
AFC Wimbledon (a) - WON
Ipswich Town (h) - LOSS
Doncaster Rovers (a) - DRAW
Wigan Athletic (a) - WON
Milton Keynes (h) - LOSS

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HEAD TO HEAD:
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ROCHDALE: 15
DRAW: 12
HULL CITY: 23

29 Apr 2003 — Rochdale 2-1 Hull City - League Two
20 Sept 2003 — Rochdale 0-2 Hull City - League Two
27 Mar 2004 — Hull City 1-0 Rochdale - League Two
25 Aug 2015 — Hull City 3-1 Rochdale — League Cup
17 Oct 2020 — Rochdale 0-3 Hull City - League One

Photo: Action Images

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