Kind of a funny club, Rochdale. They’ve been in the Football League since 1921, and in all that time they have never reached the second tier. In fact, they have only been promoted three times and relegated four times! They hold two records of dubious desirability: most seasons in the Football League (94) without ever making the second tier, and…

Mainly it’s about nearby Oldham Athletic, and both clubs are in the National League this year. Even sadder is the story of rivals Bury, who went completely out of business in 2019; a fan-owned phoenix club there is currently in the 8th

Rochdale Ladies play in the Greater Manchester Women’s Football League at tier 7. Contact the club for fixture

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The Dale has played at Spotland since they joined the league in 1920, and for the 13 years before that; its history as an athletics ground goes back to a church cricket club in the 1870s. Today it’s a modern, basic stadium of about 10,000 capacity, with three of four stands all-seaters. It’s officially known as the Crown Oil Arena, which sounds…

GETTING THERE: Assuming you come up from Manchester by MetroLink, you’ll arrive at Rochdale Interchange, which is about a mile and a half from the ground. You can walk 30 minutes; take bus #468 to Mons Avenue and walk a few minutes from there; or look for the taxi rank and pay about £5 for that trip. Rochdale Railway Station is not as centrally…