Rochdale relegated from Football League after 102-year stay

Rochdale’s 102-year stay in the Football League finally came to an end this weekend as they lost 1-0 to Stockport County.

The club have endured a disastrous season, having lost 26 of their 44 league games.

They needed to win to keep their hopes alive of staying up in League Two but their torrid season continued when Tanto Olaofe scored the game’s only goal in first-half stoppage time.

Rochdale failed to garner a shot on target for the entire 90 minutes.

Manager change could not save The Dale

Dale sacked their manager Jim Bentley in March after a series of disappointing results winning just six in 32 games. This season the club have managed to win only 8 games in the league.

It has been a miserable last few years for the club. Gone are their glory years in the last decade when they were an established side in League One but they returned to the third tier in 2011-12.

Rochdale will play in the National League

The club will now prepare for life in the National League.

Rochdale’s interim boss Jim McNulty said after the game, “First and foremost, I’m absolutely devastated. I just feel so sorry for the fans because I know all about the long history of this club and to be going out of the league after more than 100 years is devastating.”

“It’s been a long, horrible season and at this moment I’m just really hurting, as we all are. I can totally understand the fans’ anger and frustration but it’s been on the cards.

“To be honest the fans were amazing, even though we showed very little as a team, particularly in the first half. I was fuming at half-time and I told the players. It just wasn’t acceptable. From a confidence and a courage perspective, it just wasn’t there. We rallied a bit in the second half but it was just a rally of confidence. We didn’t threaten or hurt Stockport.

The football club as a whole needs to be accountable for this. Too many things have gone wrong this season, and this is the result.”

Photo Credit: IMAGO / NurPhoto