Rochdale AFC relegated after defeat at Stockport County

Rochdale AFC have been relegated from the football league after a 1-0 defeat to Stockport County at the weekend, bringing an end to 102 years in the league.

As a result, Dale will be playing non-league football next season, in the National League, just two years after being relegated from League One.

Rochdale enjoyed a seven-year stay in League One, which came to an end with a 2-1 home defeat to Doncaster in May 2021.

Now after a sub-par season in which the team has lost 26 of the 44 games played so far and won only eight times with four of those coming at home against Walsall, Stevenage, Salford City and Barrow.

Dale didn’t win their first game of the season until 15 October, in the home game against Barrow, and also went two whole months without a win from 8 November (Salford City) to 10 January (Bradford).

The 2022/23 season has seen two managers depart from Rochdale. Robbie Stockdale, who became first team manager in July 2021, left just five games into the new season, whilst his successor Jim Bentley was sacked in March, after seven months in charge.

Under Bentley’s leadership, the team won just six out of 32 league games.

There are two matches of the season remaining; a home fixture against Sutton United this Saturday (19 April) and an away fixture at Harrogate Town (8 May).

In a statement, the club said: “It has been an extremely disappointing season for everybody connected with the club and we must now prepare ourselves for life outside of the football league, both on and off the pitch.

“The search for investment partners continues and the club remains open to discussion with interested parties.

“In the meantime, the board of directors and club staff, in consultation with the Dale Supporters Trust, will be working tirelessly towards reinvigorating the club and re-engaging our fantastic supporters.

“This summer has the potential to be one of the most important in the club’s 116-year history, something we are all incredibly aware of, and we must make sure it is one that begins to reverse the trajectory of recent seasons.

“We feel it is important to confirm at this stage that the club’s academy will continue to run at full category three level for the 2023/24 season.

“The supporters will, of course, be vital in the planning of the club’s future, as without you, we are nothing.

“We thank each and every one of you for your support in what has been a difficult season for all of us. Your dedication has been unwavering, and it is only with your continued backing that we will bounce back.”