August Newsletter 2024

This will be the start of our monthly (give or take a few days) newsletter which all subscribing members will receive. The format of our newsletters stays roughly the same but the information we impart is usually ahead of the game and bang up to date, transparency is the key mantra of the Trust and its directors. With additional headings added when required. Our basic format will encompass a message from our chair, George Brigham and updates from the boardroom by Trust Director Murray Knight. Our remaining board members will cover all topics various, including Exiles and exile-based information, the Former Player Association under Keith Hicks, a former Dale defender back in the day will be featuring articles on past and not-so-past players who join us for social events and who we provide for the club conversation and reminiscences before match day hospitality. Our welfare, web officers, membership secretary and youth ambassadors all will be contributing to our correspondence as will we hope YOU! will to. Our fantasy football leagues will feature regular updates on who’s winning (keep your eye open for Exile coordinator Ian Goodwin, he seems to have a sixth sense when making his predictions!  And all social events, fixture updates and anything else will be covered by the team.
GDPR. We are all aware that our email inboxes get full of unwelcome spam, and trivia which is of no importance. The Trust besides its newsletters also corresponds by its email system for voting on the monthly player of the month, other issues that require member input and possible voting and general notices which have a bearing directly on members and the fan base alike. We appreciate that not all of our mailings will be relevant to all but ask for your understanding should this happen.
Finally, our website covers most things and is updated almost daily, we ask, if possible, for you to check in regularly to our website (www.daletrust.co.uk)  especially as we will be featuring Coach Travel now. Our Facebook and other social media outlets are always active and should be read in conjunction with this newsletter.

So, UTD, and here we go…

Trust news from the Trust Chair
August 2024 newsletter

• Hoping all members and supporters have had a good and relaxing summer break, although those who chose to watch England may have felt anxiety levels that many thought had gone away.
• In preparation for our second season in the National League, the club has certainly been very busy both on and off the field.

We have welcomed Andy Duff as Director of Commercial operations and he is certainly a very approachable and positive person. His role is crucial in laying the cornerstone of the sustainability in 5 years plan. The Trust will do all it can this coming season to support commercial activities.
It was great to hear that the superb Rochdale AFC Community Trust won a national award in recognition of some of the outstanding work that they do, You can read more about that HERE
It is worth checking out just how much good this organisation continues to do over many years, and very much under the radar.

I may get lynched for this, but the Dale Trust had a very positive meeting with the  Hornets Supporters Association, and it is great to see Hornets flying high in the table. Chairman Andy Mazey will be providing some sponsorship again this season at a Dale game, and I know Dale Directors have done the same for Hornets this summer. I attended the opening of the impressive community hub at Balderstone, which is a credit to all involved in this project. Highly noticeable was the excellent relationship Hornets have built with local politicians.
Having watched the 2 home friendlies against EFL opposition, it has been such a refreshing viewing. A starting team full of attacking intent and when replacements have been utilised, more of the same. The positivity on the ground during and after both games has not been experienced at any game for a good number of years and it has been great to see supporters enjoying Dale’s performances again. I know these are friendlies, with no points at stake, nevertheless, the quality of the show bodes very well for the coming season. I want to mention those free kicks by Aaron Henry. Wow!
The plan is to get back to the EFL in 3 years. I think we may make a good start.

During the fans forum when supporters were introduced to Cameron, Jamie & Adam – our new Directors – a question was asked regarding the provision of coaches for away travel. Subsequently, Jamie emailed the Trust on behalf of the Ogden family and suggested the Trust look at running away travel and the Ogden family would subsidise it. We have jumped at this incredible gesture and have partnered with Swans Travel, who also provide first-team travel. We have settled on the following pricing structure for all fans (PLEASE NOTE there is no need to be a Trust member to enjoy this travel opportunity.

300+ miles round trips – £35.00 per head (13 games)
200+ miles round trip – £25.00 per head (5 games)
100+ miles round trip – £15.00 per head  (2 games)
Locals – £10.00 (2 games) & £5.00 (1 game)
Subject to review as the season progresses. The pricing is structured to make the southern-based fixtures more affordable for supporters and we do hope that you will be able to support this. The minimum specification for the coach is 49-seater with toilet facilities and pick up/drop off will be at the club and on Newgate in the town centre. Any enquiries can be emailed to travel@daletrust.co.uk, or in person at the Trust desk at any home game in the Dale Bar.
The club has kindly allowed payments to be made at the club shop preferably in cash, which aids in accounting for it, or you can pay by bank transfer, or by card/cash at the Trust Desk.
We have held several discussions with the club with regards Squad Builder funds and will provide an update when a decision has been made on their use. I do know that the BOGS group intend to continue to want to raise funds and we will meet with them soon and work out a plan for future fundraising.
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For the coming season, we are hoping to engage a Junior fans representative and ambassador who will be a full Trust board member, we hope to grow youth membership and and see this progression as a way to obtain feedback on how this generation of future adult supporters see how things can improve to help attract more of their age group to games.

Last season we held a series of fan meetings, from which a large number of suggestions were collated into several documents. These suggestions have been taken away by the new board and over the season we will pursue their thoughts on how we can improve attendance and revenues.

We would also hope early this season that we can see recognition for retired Directors Chris Dunphy and Bill Goodwin for their lengthy service to the club, and Jamie Sarsfield and Jan Wormald for the significant financial sacrifices they have made in ensuring the club stayed out of the grubby clutches of wrong uns.
This new era enabled by the very welcome involvement of the Ogden family is one of community inclusion. I have never been so optimistic as a Dale fan for our survival as I am now, but am under no illusions that all our worries are behind us. We have been given a leg up in surviving the fiscal horrors of last season and need to find our way to build on this and become a sustainable club. There are great hopes ahead of building a training facility in the borough and getting the players at all levels to train locally. I am hoping that this new era can see the many bridges between fans, directors, suppliers and others, damaged in the maelstrom of frightening financial uncertainty, repaired, whilst continuing to be grateful to Simon, Richard, Tony & Guy, as well as other Directors mentioned earlier, in keeping us going.
George
Up the Dale.

Trust on the Board

Well – the start of yet another season, but certainly no ordinary one. It’s not so much a season but a new era commencing with the developments having taken place in the structure of the Club, with the introduction of the Ogden Family, providing the sustainability to enable us to work towards achieving our key aspirations :

1. To gain promotion to the EFL within 3 years
2. To achieve sustainability within five years, with or without success on the field
3. To significantly increase the social value to the local community, via the Club and Community Trust.

As far as on-the-pitch matters are concerned, to coincide with the 3-year plan for achieving promotion to the EFL, Jim McNulty has been confirmed to lead us in that ambition, with his contract extension, with his efforts on assembling the squad to achieve this resulting in numerous additions to the squad, and contract extensions to players considered essential in assisting us towards achieving that objective.

Saturday sees us take on Boston United away as the first league game of the season, and, as usual, the team will be well supported, assisted by those travelling on the first away coach of the season, organised by the Supporters Trust, sponsored by the Ogden Family. Continuation of this facility will be solely reflective of the level of support by the fanbase in utilising the attractive pricing available,  details of which for the games involved for the rest of the season will be provided soon.

An additional important ambition by the Club will be the establishment of a Community Sports Hub to serve not only a training facility for all Club requirements, but also to satisfy the community with a facility for so many aspects of community involvement. Several possible locations have been investigated, but no progress is yet able to be reported.

Season Cards are now available for collection, and, although having experienced the first price increase for several seasons, they still represent attractive value for money, and most competitive compared to others in the League.

Please remember, as always, as the Trust representative on the Club Board, I am there to act on your behalf, but only possible if you allow me by contacting me on murray@daletrust.co.uk with your suggestions, views, questions for me to take up with the Club, and report back to you.

In the meantime, as I said in my report in the previous Newsletter –  after all the negative, threateningchallenges we have faced for so long, how much better is it to look forward, support and enjoy facing the positive challenges this new era presents.

Up the Dale
Murray

Up the Dale
Murray

As seen on our website over the last few weeks we initially asked for expressions of interest from fans to the possibility of an away coach service (see HERE) A huge amount of work has been put into this venture by our chair, George Brigham and Trust Club director Murray Knight who have diligently negotiated and assessed coach companies, costs and secondary issues which other club Trusts and coach organisers have raised and identified.
The culmination of this will see our first coach venture to Boston, the season’s opening fixture taking place on Saturday 10^th August.

There is much we need to do to hone the service and make it a more streamlined process which will work on a first-come first-served basis. We will be tweaking the method of payment and booking which we hope will make using the service simpler. Our initial postings identified the three price bands we will be charging and these, along with the coach dates will eventually be posted on our website, but for information, these are the prices which will be in force.

Boston – £25.00 per person
York – £15.00 per person
Yeovil – £35.00 per person
More on the York and Yeovil games on our web site next week.

To go along with our service, we have published a “Code Of Conduct” for all patrons who wish to travel, it’s a common sense guide to help all enjoy the experience but it does have restrictions which we will rigorously apply so please familiar yourself with it, this can be downloaded in word format from our website HERE, we have also included it at the end of this newsletter.

During recent forums and Trust meetings we got to know Ruby very well, especially her ideas regarding youth initiatives, something that Dave and Bob, board directors are already working on, but her understanding of what is needed brought a new dynamic to our thinking, though 18 it has become obvious that her skill set, enthusiasm and dedication as a Dale Fan would greatly benefit the Trust in general, we asked Ruby to put a few things together to introduce herself to our members, and here she is.

Hello, my name Is Ruby.

I have recently joined the Dale Supporters Trust board as a youth ambassador and hopefully will become a full-voted member at the next AGM. I would like to bring a young person’s perspective to the overall growth of both the trust and the relationships with the club. By doing this, I would love to become a familiar face that your people feel comfortable speaking to regarding the trust and/or the club.
Following the fans forum in July, I was introduced to our head coach, Big Jim. I had explained to Jim my role within the trust, and he was very pleased about this. Jim has said he would love to stay in regular contact and be involved in as many ways as possible, something I will be taking him up on.

Please don’t hesitate to talk to me at any time. I’ve volunteered in the club shop before home games and also can be found at the trust desk when its my turn to be on duty.

Looking forward to seeing and meeting you all!

Ruby

I can be contacted at the trust at any time on info@daletrust.co.uk 

Former Players Association

Dale’s Former Players Association will be taking part in the Club’s Match Day Hospitality packages at home matches this season with ex-players discussing their achievements at Rochdale AFC for diners before kick-off plus pulling the winning numbers at the halftime 50/50 draw.

Lined up at the moment are:
August
17th     Saturday          Dagenham & Redbridge         Keith Hicks
24th     Saturday          Forest Green Rovers             Steve Taylor
31st     Saturday          Woking                                   Shaun Reid
September
10th     Tuesday          Maidenhead United                Mark Hilditch
14th     Saturday          Solihull Moors                        Scott Warner

Keith and Steve will no doubt, discuss their FA Cup encounter against Manchester United and times during the Club’s struggles in the 1980’s.

Shaun has many stories from his illustrious career covering two spells at Dale including kicking lumps out of his brother, Peter, in a Bury v Rochdale encounter plus being sent off on a stretcher against Scunthorpe United having clattered into an opponent and receiving a second yellow card, the referee showing no sympathy!!
Scott, a local lad, will have recollections of coming through the ranks to play for his hometown club establishing himself fully as a member of the first-team squad and scoring a 30-yard stunner at Torquay United that was voted “Goal of the Season” You can see more on Scott HERE in a short interview he gave during last seasons curry on up the Dale event
Mark, again had two spells at Rochdale covering the 70’s/80’s/90’s so should have some really interesting stories.

From the Desk of Dave Earnshaw our Youth Officer

Although we are now coming to the end of the pre-season, I would just like to update you on things that have been going on over the summer regarding youth engagement.

We have a young volunteer called James Devine who has been helping with all things Instagram and YouTube and I hope you are liking the updates you are all now getting for our Instagram followers. James is completing his higher education at Leeds but as an interim until he can accept a full board possition he is our co-opted Technical Media Expert. We have been having a few technical problems with our YouTube channel which James has been working on for a few weeks now and he is hopeful this is concluding – watch this space!
During the Euros games we have also met a young person at the football club who is looking to join us and could well be the next youth representative along with being a full Trust Board member.. They are attending the next Trust meeting on the 7th of August and if all goes well we hope be able to introduce them to members and fans alike through all of our various media channels which are now finally in place.

Finally from me, we are looking to introduce a local drug and alcohol service to the club to help in various education programs at match days or any other community work being undertaken by the club. The service is recruiting to help with this project and we will be looking to introduce them to the football club via the various meetings currently in place.
Further information can be obtained by contacting the Trust at info@daletrust.co.uk and marking your email for my attention.

Dave Earnshaw.
Trust Board member with responsibilities for youth and matchday matters..

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As we write our membership Officer Scott Goulding has taken a short sabbatical but before he went, he released some stats which make good reading, especially as the season has not started and membership renewal has only really established itself

Scott wrote” Here’s my latest membership update for the forthcoming 2024-25 season, before next week’s Trust board meeting (7/8) – which I’m unable to attend.” (Going to Bali on holiday Scott is no excuse!!”

Scott said “There has been a heck of a lot of m/ship activity over the last month.  A reminder last season we were just 320 from smashing our membership record & it was disappointing because it was our lowest membership in the past three seasons.
Well, moving forward focusing on the new season, which we’ve already had a very positive interest/response so far- even before our official membership window opened this month (1st July – parallel with our financial year 1/7 to 30/6).

So, I am happy to confirm we are already up to an
Impressive 567 members (21% of Dale’s average home league crowd last season), however, fingers crossed we will hopefully see an even larger membership increase once the season kicks off (ie. Trust desks etc..). For more info click on the Trust website www.daletrust.co.uk where a further analysis will be found”.

Here’s the full breakdown, for your reference:
Member Summary – 2024/25 Totals
Adult: 227
Exiles: 160 (England 125; Overseas 55)
Junior: 180 (12’s & under – 95; 13’s to 16’s – 85)
Total: 567

Renewing: 532
New: 35
Total: 567

Donations: £662.50
A reminder to all adults with grandchildren/children and any relation with children 16 and under that their membership is free.

Membership renewals can be found HERE

Hi from our Membership Secretary and Super Six Admin.

I’ve now set up another Super 6 Prediction League 24/25 for our trust members, from the back of the success of our Euro FF  league.

So, for the 2024/25 Super 6 why don’t you join our FREE to enter Dale Trust members mini-league “Dale Trust Prediction League 24/25″?

Last Season we had over 60 members competing for the converted title of “Super Predictor 2024-25” and you will win an engraved cup for your mantlepiece.

Joining the league couldn’t be easier. Simply use the link below, and you’ll be automatically added after entering the game.
https://super6.skysports.com/play

You will need a league code for the Trust which is
League Code: MYAVBT

For more rules info (incl. scoring), then please click here >>>
https://super6.skysports.com/

It is easy, our exile officer made it look so last season!! So follow his tips!

Looking forward to playing against you all this season!

Sott Goulding
DALE TRUST

and Trust Board member Charlie Stansfield obliged!

As members will have seen, the Trust has bought two plaques for the “Dale Wall” project organised by Tony Pockney, they feature Gary Jones and Ian Henderson. Since then we have seen more members subscribe to the project and get a plaque organised for themselves, so, we thought it would be a great opportunity to get a photo montage of fans/Members with their plaque and to give us a few words explaining what it meant to them. We will in March/April when more panels are completed feature these pictures and just what it means to people having a plaque in a big news story which we hope will be a celebration of Dale fans in the present, maybe remembering some from the past and leave a bit of today for the fans of the future to read.

So, next time your at the Dale, be it matchday, social visit or just passing by, go and get your selfie with your plaque and send it with a sentence or two to,
infor@daletrust.co.uk

For those that want to get on the action, and most of the Trust board have, then use the links below and purchase yours and then get your selfie pics into us.

To purchase or find out more on the plaques and the wall go HERE

To read more on Charlie and the “Selfie” project go to, We want your “Wall Selfies”

Current Trust Projects

Signage has now go up at key areas of the ground, we are still discussing some of the locations but a start has been made.
In the mean time work continues with one of the Trust focus points, that of working with our younger fans, engaging in dialogue, appreciating their concerns and  offering support and advice if needed, whilst our work regarding the family family stand continues.

Through all of our prior meetings with the club we have had fruitful and meaningful dialogue with club COO George Delves and Ryan Bradly but due to illness and some personal time constraints we have not been able to convene a follow up meeting with the club, but, we did submit to the club, our agenda for for discussion to which we enclose below the clubs response, we will be discussing ways forward regarding some of these items at a future meeting.1) review sign for safety and awareness plus locations only a couple of entrances set up
Ryan will work with Stadium Management staff to ensure the remainder of the signs are installed

2) family stand sign update

As communicated in all meetings with yourselves, we have absolutely zero funds for any discretionary spend whatsoever at the moment.
3) family steward update 

No update. We were under the impression that you were seeking a volunteer from within DT. More broadly, all uptake for any voluntary positions remains extremely low.

4) engaging and educating youth around drug use 

Open to more information on this from DT – community trust could potentially deliver/source funding in this area, club has zero bandwidth to assist at the present time.5) update on smoking areas 

No update. The ground is a no smoking stadium, and it will be difficult to ever fundamentally alter this. We wouldn’t be prepared to bare the costs of additional staff and/or stewards to man exits if individuals are wanting to exit and then re-enter to smoke.

6) update on stewarding consistency target set what is the current retention rate

No update. Not in our control due to all provision being outsourced.

The Trust is anxious to move forward on some of these areas, appreciating as we do that club financial resources are stretched to the limit we as a Trust will investigate if we can assist in any way.

Questions – Fan Liaison

Since the last newsletter, we have had several questions sent to us at the Trust and some given directly at the Trust desk in the Dale Bar before recent home games. All email correspondence has been answered and where necessary followed up. Desk questions were answered on the day.
Our reports above cover most of what has been asked and we publish all meeting minutes along with any liaison work with the club on the website www.daletrust.co.uk
To emphasise again, transparency is key to what we do, please at any time feel free to contact us on our email or in person
info@daletrust.co.uk
fanliaison@daletrust.co.uk 

Minutes

1. Agreement on release of Squad builder funds for specific players

An outline was provided on the system employed in deciding on potential targets for recruitment and George D went into great detail about what every potential target player goes through utilising full visibility, including being financially achievable within budget, full stats, three character references. A considerable number of players in all positions are considered and either rejected, short-listed, and then followed up for further consideration. As far as the use of the Squad Builder fund is concerned, in addition to securing new players, there is also the potential for important squad players, considered worthy of a contract extension, for the fund, or part of it, to be utilised in supporting it. The playing budget is reaching it’s limit so the Squad Fund is able to be used in a variety of ways at our discretion, whilst regarded by those contributing, to be the most effective method/s of providing additional resource.

2. Implementation of MOU & code of conduct for Trust board Director

Discussion on both items was agreed to be best served at a future meeting devoted to the time required. An MOU exists at present but not implemented – the Trust Board Director code of conduct is also vital in being clarified.

3. Update on Golden share

The full details and implementation of the “Golden Share” will be subject to an addition to the review of the Articles of Association, which are being reviewed at present and will be an agenda item for the AGM to be held later this year

4. Away coach travel update from Trust

Discussions with the Trust taking over the coach travel are on-going, with the logistics involved to make it work to be finalised. The objective is to be ready to run the first coach to Boston, and talks continue with two preferred coach companies. The welcome suggestion of assistance by the Club with regard to the booking/payment by potential passengers may help to provide an answer to the administration aspect we are trying to resolve and will be followed up

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Trust Diary

1)  Fixtures: For August 2024  onwards  and all results click HERE

2) Trust Board Meeting: 7th August 2024 (I date passed by the time of publication meeting minutes will be posted on our website

3) Quiz Night and Race Night to be announced for later in the year

Fans Meeting and Focus Group Dates

To date, we have published our schedule of dates allocated for our meetings with the club..
They are subject to change should it be required but any changes will be announced on the Trust Website.
Dates so far.2024 – 25 Trust/Club meetings

• Thursday 25^th July 2024 Club Board Staff Reps & Dale Trust – meeting one
• Thursday 1st August 2024 Fans Forum
• Thursday 29^th August 2024 Club Board Staff Reps & Dale Trust – meeting two
• Thursday 26^th September 2024 Focus Group – Volunteers
• Thursday 24thOctober 2024 Club Board Staff Reps & Dale Trust – meeting three
• Thursday 28^th November 2024 Focus Group – 25/26 Playing Kit, Merchandise, etc
• Thursday 19^th December 2024 Club Board Staff Reps & Dale Trust – meeting four
• Thursday 30^th January 2025 Fans Forum
• Thursday 27^th February 2025 Club Board Staff Reps & Dale Trust – meeting five
• Thursday 27^th March 2025 Focus Group – Season Cards
• Thursday          24^th April 2025 Club Board Staff Reps & Dale Trust – meeting six
• Thursday 29^th May 2025 Focus Group – 25/26 Matchday experience

These meetings, all starting at 7 pm, will be available to attend on Microsoft Teams. To register, please email office@rochdaleafc.co.uk.

Trust Board Meeting

Next meeting date:  4th September 2024
Agenda: To be announced.

Coach Travel Code of Conduct – August 2024
To assist with the running of coach travel and for the enjoyment of all using this service, it is important to implement this code of practice.

Please assist the Dale Supporters Trust to continue to provide the service by adhering to these requirements.

This coach travel code of conduct is operated on behalf of the Dale Supporters Trust by all officers and volunteers involved in providing the service.

Under 16’s MUST be accompanied by a parent or responsible adult named when booking.
The organiser/s on the coach are authorised by the Dale Supporters Trust and may request ID to corroborate the date of birth before departure

Passengers should arrive at the point of departure at least 10 minutes before the departure time advertised.

Passengers should NOT board the coach until checked in by the organiser/s at the initial departure point

Coaches will depart at the advertised time. During stoppages, departure times will be advised. Departure time from the ground will also be advised. Make sure you have left contact details with the organiser/s on board in case of any issues that may delay your return to the coach.

Consumption of alcohol is illegal on coach journeys to designated sports events, and therefore not permitted during the journey. Alcohol will be removed from the coach and stored underneath.

No smoking or vaping on board is allowed.

Stay seated when the coach is moving for the safety of yourself and others and be aware when travelling to and using the on-board toilet.

Please respect your organiser/s, coach driver/s and fellow passengers

All rubbish should be placed in the litter bags provided and please ensure all your belongings are removed at the end of the journey. Liability for any damage lies with the coach hirer, and consequently the passenger(s) responsible

There may be a need to contribute small amounts to a collection to pay for coach parking. This is not something we have cost in your price. We will give as much notice as possible.

Anyone with a football banning order should make themselves known to the organiser/s

The following issues will be recorded by the organiser/s, all of which are unacceptable:

• Abusive/racist/sexist/homophobic behaviour
• Disruptive behaviour
• Being unfit through drink and/or substance abuse

Any reported misbehaviour including but not limited to the above, will be subject to sanction

Such sanction will be decided by the Dale Supporters Trust Board, which may include:

• A written warning
• A Travel Ban for a duration deemed necessary, up to and including a Life Ban.
• Involvement of the police

By utilising coach travel organised by the Dale Supporters Trust, you accept this code of conduct and agree to abide by its conditions, and those of the coach company (copy available by request by emailing info@daletrust.co.uk)

Trust on Social Media

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