Ground Spotland Stadium, Willbutts Lane, Rochdale, Lancashire OL11 5DR

Telephone 0870822 1907

Club Colours Blue and White
Nickname Dale

Official Club Website www.rochdaleafc.premiumtv.co.uk
Key Personnel Manager Keith Hill

Brief Directions By Road The most straight-forward way to find Rochdale FC is via the M62. Whether you approach it from the A1, M1 or M6, exit the M62 at its junction 20. Follow signs for Rochdale A627(M). After about a mile on the dual carriageway you will reach a set of traffic lights where you turn left into Edinburgh Way signposted Bury A644 (A58). At the next roundabout take the second exit, effectively straight on, into Roch Valley Way (signposted Blackburn B6452) where you will begin to clearly see signs for the stadium. At the crossroads with the Cemetery pub (see below) continue straight on into Sandy Lane. You will find the ground a further 1/2 mile down this road on your right.

Car Parking The club has a very small car park and this is normally offered to officials and corporate hospitality on match days although you might be lucky! Street parking close to the ground is fairly easy and mostly unrestricted.

Directions By Train Rochdale station is around 3 miles from Spotland and a bit of a trek so a taxi is probably your best option and should cost around £6.00. The 436 bus is available every 1/2 hour from the station and passes the ground. Getting back home on the night after the game by train however will prove impossible.

Supporters Coaches Coach travel to away fixtures this season is being organised by the Barnet Football Club Supporters Association. For further details about Supporters coach travel and how to book check out the BFCSA website at www.bfcsa.co.uk.

Eating And Drinking Locally The Radcliffe Arms is a pub situated in the club car park behind the main stand and Sandy Lane terrace. Further from the ground and dead on the corner of Sandy Road and Bury Road you will find the Cemetery Hotel a popular away fan haunt which offers a great range of real ales and spirits!

Directly opposite the away turnstiles is the very welcoming Willbutts Lane Chippy whose Curry Sauce is legendary according to a supporters website - personally I think contaminating chips with curry sauce is not very appealing but all to their own - while the Tuck In sandwich bar or butty bar as it is known locally can be found in nearby Edenfield Road five minutes walk north of the ground. I have also been asked to mention the Sudden Social Club www.suddensocialclub.zoomshare.com which is only a short 10-minute walk from the ground. Visiting supporters are welcome and the club offers snooker and very reasonably priced beers.

The Social Club Studds bar can be found under the WNG stand and is accessible from outside the ground too. The pies and pasties are worth a sample believe me. A more cheerful welcome you will not find.

The Ground Description Spotland has always been a pleasure to visit mainly because the people are so nice. It is the Football League equivalent of Leigh RMI as far as hospitality is concerned although a few stories have came back for previous visits regarding some over zealous stewarding. These days the club now have a smart and friendly ground to go with their cheerful disposition although the old arena was very quaint with its ramshackle roofs aplenty.

We start with the Thwaits Brewery stand or Sandy Lane end which is the only standing area remaining at Spotland. It is a fairly shallow terrace with a recently refurbished roof and has room for around 2,000. At the other end of the pitch is the very popular WMG or Pearl Street Stand. It has 2,500 seats, which includes a Family Area. It was constructed in 1997 to replace the old cinders and railway sleepers terracing which was probably the last of its kind in the Football League. The main stand or Horners Stand stretches the length of the touchline and has 1,700 seats plus twelve executive boxes and was built in 1990. Finally our home for the afternoon will be the very impressive Westrose Leisure Stand, formally the Willbutts Lane terrace. It was constructed in 2001 and has room for some 3,500 and reputedly offers the best catering facilities in the league. Whether you prefer standing to seating at matches, and that includes me, there is no doubt the view from this stand is superb. It is a far cry from our visit in May 1998, only some nine years ago, when the visiting fans gents toilets were positioned high on the uncovered Kop section of the Willbutts Lane terrace and one could quite clearly view the game over a wall while doing what was necessary. You try and tell kids that today and wouldn't believe you!

Rivals Bury, Burnley and Oldham

Admission Prices Adults £17.00 Concessions £10.00

Our Last Meetings& Memories We last met Dale at Spotland in April 2007 when goals from Dean Sinclair and Barry Cogan bought home the spoils. In season 2000/1 we witnessed a comprehensive 3-0 win at Underhill in April - and it was the defenders day as the goals came from Greg Heald (2) and Mark Arber. April 1996 featured a stunning Bees 4-0 away win, made extra special as Lee Hodges bagged all four goals. The previous season Barnet crushed a Rochdale side 6-2 at Underhill and that game featured another four-goal haul this time from Dougie Freedman who was simply unstoppable on the day.

Celebrity Watch Roly poly MP Cyril Smith and legendary old time music hall entertainer Gracie Fields may well have stood on the Pearl Street End at some time and singer Lisa Stansfield allegedly applied for the physio's job before jetting off Around The World. Bird watching ex Goodie Bill Oddie was born here, as was Don Estelle, the little geezer with the silly hat in TV sit-com It Ain't Half Hot Mum.

Interesting And Not So Interesting Information One of my all time favourite football stories where David beat Goliath involved t'Dale. In 1970 Rochdale, then in Division 3, were to play hosts to Division 1 Coventry City in the FA Cup third round. The then manager of the Sky Blues Noel Cantwell refused to play a postponed game under Rochdale's basically outdated floodlights. He compounded the insult by asking in the press "Where is Rochdale anyway?". He found out when the FA rearranged the game for a Monday afternoon and 13,000 (twice the average gate) turned out to see Dale win 2-1, marvellous.