Football Season Review

Rochdale are coming from a season that will live long in the memory of their fans, as the Dale managed to defy all odds to escape the drop and secured their survival in the final round in a fairytale-like manner. It took the Dale seven games to record their first win but, with Keith Hill's men notoriously slow starters, their fans probably thought little of their poor start. However, Rochdale never really reached the heights of their previous campaigns despite showing signs of progress and looked as good as relegated early in 2018, as they were eleven points adrift of safety after losing at Wigan in late February. The silver lining at the time was that the Dale had several games in hand over the sides above them, having had several league games postponed due to enjoying a decent FA Cup run that saw them eliminate Doncaster and Millwall and hold Tottenham to a draw at home before being crushed in the return leg. With the cup out of their way, Keith Hill's men were able to focus on the league in the late stages of the season and, despite stuttering at home, performed well overall and secured their survival after losing only three of their final sixteen games. Their 2:1 defeat at Oxford in the penultimate round meant that they did not hold their destiny in their own hands going into the final game of the season. However, Northampton held their rivals Oldham to a 2:2 draw and they went on to beat Charlton to stay up, with their story being made even more remarkable by the fact that the scorer of the sole goal against Charlton was Joe Thompson, who returned to the side after beating cancer for a second time earlier last year. It has been the worst league campaign that the Dale have had in a while, but their fans and players alike will be feeling very good after seeing the side escape the drop in such a manner and Hill will be confident of his side returning to their usual level and staying clear of the drop next time around.

Player of the Season: Ian Henderson