1979–80 Rochdale A.F.C. season

Rochdale

1979–80 season
Manager	Doug Collins Bob Stokoe
League Division Four	24th
FA Cup	3rd Round
League Cup	1st Round
Top goalscorer	League: Chris Jones All: Chris Jones

The 1979–80 season saw Rochdale compete in their 6th consecutive season in the Football League Fourth Division. They finished in 24th and last position, and were re-elected to the league for the following season.

Statistics

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Division 4		F.A. Cup		League Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
	GK	ENG	Ian Watson	40	0	33+0	0	5+0	0	2+0	0
	DF	ENG	Paul Hallows	8	0	5+0	0	1+0	0	2+0	0
	DF	ENG	Eric Snookes	37	0	30+0	0	5+0	0	2+0	0
	DF	ENG	Alan Weir	44	3	38+1	3	3+0	0	2+0	0
	DF	ENG	Ian Bannon	43	0	32+4	0	5+0	0	2+0	0
	DF	ENG	Brian Taylor	41	3	35+1	3	3+0	0	2+0	0
	MF	ENG	Bobby Hoy	14	1	10+2	1	0+0	0	2+0	0
	MF	ENG	Dennis Wann	35	1	28+0	1	5+0	0	2+0	0
	FW	ENG	Mark Hilditch	51	6	43+1	3	5+0	3	2+0	0
	MF	ENG	Nigel O'Loughlin	41	2	36+0	1	3+0	1	2+0	0
	FW	ENG	Chris Jones	40	11	30+5	9	1+2	1	2+0	1
	MF	ENG	Bobby Scaife	34	3	27+3	1	2+0	2	0+2	0
	MF	ENG	Dave Esser	43	5	38+1	5	4+0	0	0+0	0
	DF	ENG	Brian Hart	36	2	26+5	0	5+0	2	0+0	0
	MF	ENG	Ted Oliver	2	0	2+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	DF	ENG	Eddie Cliff	21	0	20+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	MF	ENG	John McDermott	8	1	5+3	1	0+0	0	0+0	0
	DF	ENG	Laurie Milligan	9	0	8+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	DF	ENG	Colin Waldron	22	0	19+0	0	3+0	0	0+0	0
	FW	ENG	Jimmy Seal	35	4	28+2	4	5+0	0	0+0	0
	GK	WAL	David Felgate	12	0	12+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	GK	ENG	Neil Colbourne	1	0	1+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0

Final League Table

Main article: 1979–80 Football League Fourth Division

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	HW	HD	HL	HGF	HGA	AW	AD	AL	AGF	AGA	GD	Pts	Promotion
20	Port Vale	46	8	6	9	34	24	4	6	13	22	46	−14	36
21	Hereford United	46	8	7	8	22	21	3	7	13	16	31	−14	36	Re-elected
22	Darlington	46	7	11	5	33	26	2	6	15	17	48	−24	35
23	Crewe Alexandra	46	10	6	7	25	27	1	7	15	10	41	−33	35
24	Rochdale	46	6	7	10	20	28	1	6	16	13	51	−46	27

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Competitions

Football League Fourth Division

Main article: 1979–80 Football League

Rochdale v Bournemouth

18 August  1979 (1979 -08-18) 1	Rochdale	0–2	Bournemouth	Rochdale
		Report	Cunningham 44' Chambers 66' (pen.)	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 2310

Stockport County v Rochdale

20 August  1979 (1979 -08-20) 2	Stockport County	1–1	Rochdale	Stockport
	Henson 15'	Report	Esser 58'	Stadium: Edgeley Park Attendance: 3554 Referee: B. Martin

Rochdale v Hartlepool United

24 August  1979 (1979 -08-24) 3	Rochdale	1–0	Hartlepool United	Rochdale
	Jones 60'	Report		Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 2180

Darlington v Rochdale

31 August  1979 (1979 -08-31) 4	Darlington	3–1	Rochdale	Darlington
	Walsh 8' Taylor 61' (o.g.) Seal 89'	Report	Weir 15' (pen.)	Stadium: Feethams Attendance: 1655

Rochdale v Walsall

8 September  1979 (1979 -09-08) 5	Rochdale	1–1	Walsall	Rochdale
	Weir 43'	Report	Caswell 65'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 2174 Referee: J Lovatt

Torquay United v Rochdale

15 September  1979 (1979 -09-15) 6	Torquay United	3–0	Rochdale	Torquay
	Davies 34' Murphy 57' Sermanni 88'	Report		Stadium: Plainmoor Attendance: 2551

Halifax Town v Rochdale

18 September  1979 (1979 -09-18) 7	Halifax Town	1–0	Rochdale	Halifax
	Stafford 65'	Report		Stadium: The Shay Attendance: 2390

Rochdale v Portsmouth

22 September  1979 (1979 -09-22) 8	Rochdale	1–2	Portsmouth	Rochdale
	Weir 85'	Report	Rogers 65' Garwood 73'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 2423

Port Vale v Rochdale

29 September  1979 (1979 -09-29) 9	Port Vale	5–1	Rochdale	Stoke-on-Trent
	Wright 9', 60' Owen 54' Farrell 83', 85'	Report	Esser 37'	Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 2835

Rochdale v Halifax Town

2 October  1979 (1979 -10-02) 10	Rochdale	2–2	Halifax Town	Rochdale
	Scaife 27' Hoy 44' (pen.)	Report	Hendrie 22' Burke 23'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 2351

York City v Rochdale

6 October  1979 (1979 -10-06) 11	York City	3–2	Rochdale	York
	Eccles 21' Byrne 55' Wellings 86'	Report	McDermott 10' Jones 14'	Stadium: Bootham Crescent Attendance: 2462

Rochdale v Stockport County

9 October  1979 (1979 -10-09) 12	Rochdale	0–1	Stockport County	Rochdale
		Report	Czuczman 57'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 2300

Rochdale v Peterborough United

12 October  1979 (1979 -10-12) 13	Rochdale	0–0	Peterborough United	Rochdale
		Report		Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1692

Crewe Alexandra v Rochdale

20 October  1979 (1979 -10-20) 14	Crewe Alexandra	2–1	Rochdale	Crewe
	Guy 12' Chesters 73'	Report	Wann 65'	Stadium: Gresty Road Attendance: 2129

Wigan Athletic v Rochdale

24 October  1979 (1979 -10-24) 15	Wigan Athletic	1–1	Rochdale	Wigan
	Quinn 60'	Report	Jones 38'	Stadium: Springfield Park Attendance: 5036 Referee: VG Callow

Rochdale v Northampton Town

26 October  1979 (1979 -10-26) 16	Rochdale	3–2	Northampton Town	Rochdale
	Jones 44', 72', 89'	Report	Farmer 1' Byatt 62'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1468

Bournemouth v Rochdale

3 November  1979 (1979 -11-03) 17	Bournemouth	4–0	Rochdale	Bournemouth
	Holder 17' Chambers 28' Butler 47' MacDougall 51'	Report		Stadium: Dean Court Attendance: 3188

Rochdale v Wigan Athletic

6 November  1979 (1979 -11-06) 18	Rochdale	0–2	Wigan Athletic	Rochdale
		Report	Quinn 5' Houghton 75'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 2929 Referee: R Bridges

Hereford United v Rochdale

17 November  1979 (1979 -11-17) 19	Hereford United	1–1	Rochdale	Hereford
	Feeley 28'	Report	Marshall 5' (o.g.)	Stadium: Edgar Street Attendance: 2767

Scunthorpe United v Rochdale

30 November  1979 (1979 -11-30) 20	Scunthorpe United	2–0	Rochdale	Scunthorpe
	Oates 13', 44'	Report		Stadium: Old Show Ground Attendance: 1887

Rochdale v Aldershot

4 December  1979 (1979 -12-04) 21	Rochdale	2–1	Aldershot	Rochdale
	Hilditch 74' Taylor 84'	Report	Needham 70'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1230

Huddersfield Town v Rochdale

21 December  1979 (1979 -12-21) 22	Huddersfield Town	5–1	Rochdale	Huddersfield
	Sutton 1' Cowling 7' Fletcher 23' Brown 73' Robins 79'	Report	Seal 42'	Stadium: Leeds Road Attendance: 4550

Hartlepool United v Rochdale

29 December  1979 (1979 -12-29) 23	Hartlepool United	1–1	Rochdale	Hartlepool
	Houchen 62'	Report	Seal 82'	Stadium: Victoria Park Attendance: 3151

Bradford City v Rochdale

1 January  1980 (1980 -01-01) 24	Bradford City	1–2	Rochdale	Bradford
	Baines 49'	Report	Esser 6' Seal 6'	Stadium: Valley Parade Attendance: 5433

Rochdale v Darlington

11 January  1980 (1980 -01-11) 25	Rochdale	2–2	Darlington	Rochdale
	Taylor 8' Hilditch 23'	Report	Walsh 54' Ball 89'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1693

Tranmere Rovers v Rochdale

25 January  1980 (1980 -01-25) 26	Tranmere Rovers	5–1	Rochdale	Birkenhead
	Kelly 24', 59' Evans 41', 80' Beamish 48'	Report	Esser 50' (pen.)	Stadium: Prenton Park Attendance: 1890

Portsmouth v Rochdale

9 February  1980 (1980 -02-09) 27	Portsmouth	3–0	Rochdale	Portsmouth
	Hemmerman 50' Laidlaw 73', 79'	Report		Stadium: Fratton Park Attendance: 12207

Rochdale v Doncaster Rovers

12 February  1980 (1980 -02-12) 28	Rochdale	3–2	Doncaster Rovers	Rochdale
	Taylor 38' Jones 39', 43'	Report	Lister 30' Little 51'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1512

Rochdale v Port Vale

15 February  1980 (1980 -02-15) 29	Rochdale	0–2	Port Vale	Rochdale
		Report	Sealy 48' Beech 86'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1784

Walsall v Rochdale

19 February  1980 (1980 -02-19) 30	Walsall	2–0	Rochdale	Walsall
	Paul 29' Waddington 83'	Report		Stadium: Fellows Park Attendance: 6007 Referee: NJ Ashley

Peterborough United v Rochdale

23 February  1980 (1980 -02-23) 31	Peterborough United	2–0	Rochdale	Peterborough
	Kellock 74' Phillips 80'	Report		Stadium: London Road Stadium Attendance: 3796

Rochdale v Crewe Alexandra

1 March  1980 (1980 -03-01) 32	Rochdale	0–0	Crewe Alexandra	Rochdale
		Report		Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1807

Northampton Town v Rochdale

8 March  1980 (1980 -03-08) 33	Northampton Town	0–0	Rochdale	Northampton
		Report		Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2370

Rochdale v Lincoln City

11 March  1980 (1980 -03-11) 34	Rochdale	1–1	Lincoln City	Rochdale
	Esser 77'	Report	Keeley 83'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1108

Rochdale v York City

14 March  1980 (1980 -03-14) 35	Rochdale	0–2	York City	Rochdale
		Report	Wellings 70' McDonald 81'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1142

Aldershot v Rochdale

22 March  1980 (1980 -03-22) 36	Aldershot	3–0	Rochdale	Aldershot
	Cliff 14' (o.g.) Garwood 35' French 89'	Report		Stadium: Recreation Ground Attendance: 2798

Rochdale v Huddersfield Town

1 April  1980 (1980 -04-01) 37	Rochdale	0–2	Huddersfield Town	Rochdale
		Report	Kindon 22', 52'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 4979

Lincoln City v Rochdale

5 April  1980 (1980 -04-05) 38	Lincoln City	0–0	Rochdale	Lincoln
		Report		Stadium: Sincil Bank Attendance: 3635

Rochdale v Bradford City

7 April  1980 (1980 -04-07) 39	Rochdale	0–1	Bradford City	Rochdale
		Report	McNiven 43'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 3201

Newport County v Rochdale

12 April  1980 (1980 -04-12) 40	Newport County	1–0	Rochdale	Newport
	Moore 44'	Report		Stadium: Somerton Park Attendance: 8127

Rochdale v Torquay United

15 April  1980 (1980 -04-15) 41	Rochdale	0–0	Torquay United	Rochdale
		Report		Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 958

Rochdale v Scunthorpe United

18 April  1980 (1980 -04-18) 42	Rochdale	0–1	Scunthorpe United	Rochdale
		Report	Partridge 81'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 993

Doncaster Rovers v Rochdale

26 April  1980 (1980 -04-26) 43	Doncaster Rovers	2–0	Rochdale	Doncaster
	Bannon 42' (o.g.) Nimmo 83'	Report		Stadium: Belle Vue Attendance: 2493

Rochdale v Newport County

29 April  1980 (1980 -04-29) 44	Rochdale	2–0	Newport County	Rochdale
	Seal 52' O'Loughlin 58'	Report		Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1671

Rochdale v Tranmere Rovers

2 May  1980 (1980 -05-02) 45	Rochdale	2–0	Tranmere Rovers	Rochdale
	Hilditch 67' Jones 85'	Report		Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1082

Rochdale v Hereford United

6 May  1980 (1980 -05-06) 46	Rochdale	0–2	Hereford United	Rochdale
		Report	Hunt 8' Gilchrist 32'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1318

F.A. Cup

Main article: 1979–80 FA Cup

Rochdale v Scunthorpe United

24 November  1979 (1979 -11-24) 1	Rochdale	2–1	Scunthorpe United	Rochdale
	Hart 4' Jones 40'	Report	Pilling	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1985

Tranmere Rovers v Rochdale

15 December  1979 (1979 -12-15) 2	Tranmere Rovers	2–2	Rochdale	Birkenhead
	Evans 86' Peplow 88'	Report	Hilditch 17', 65'	Stadium: Prenton Park Attendance: 2529

Rochdale v Tranmere Rovers

18 December  1979 (1979 -12-18) 2	Rochdale	2–1	Tranmere Rovers	Rochdale
	Hilditch 49' Hart 59'	Report	Beamish 69'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 2707

Rochdale v Bury

8 January  1980 (1980 -01-08) 3	Rochdale	1–1	Bury	Rochdale
	O'Loughlin 28'	Report	Whitehead 44'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 10739

Bury v Rochdale

21 January  1980 (1980 -01-21) 3	Bury	3–2	Rochdale	Bury
	Johnson 25', 55' Wilson 72'	Report	Scaife 5', 42'	Stadium: Gigg Lane Attendance: 8082

League Cup

Main article: 1979–80 Football League Cup

Blackpool v Rochdale

11 August  1979 (1979 -08-11) 1	Blackpool	1–1	Rochdale	Blackpool
	McEwan	Report	Jones Wann  51'	Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 5342

Rochdale v Blackpool

14 August  1979 (1979 -08-14) 1	Rochdale	0–1 (1–2 agg.)	Blackpool	Rochdale
		Report	Spence 57'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 4500

^{[1] [2]}

References

1. Rochdale AFC: The Official History 1907–2001 by Steven Phillipps. ISBN 1874427097
2. "The English National Football Archive". Enfa.co.uk. Retrieved 27 April 2022. ^{[not specific enough to verify]}