Here is your latest Exiles newsletter to whet appetites for today’s match on the south coast. I also plan to watch a replay of Thursday’s Fans Forum and hope the pertinent questions asked by Exiles were addressed. Here’s a link for ease of reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HW_jYEn6ZCU
Up (down south) for the Cup
When the Dale went 3-1 down in the penalty shoot out on Teesside, Exile Stuart Clarke based in Worthing had his head in his hands. His dream tie of Rochdale, his home town, against Worthing, his place of residence, was in serious doubt. The hardy souls braving the cold night in Stockton probably heard Stuart’s cry of delight when Jili Buyabu’s decisive penalty completed a remarkable turnaround.
Stuart’s piece below gives us an ideal preview of Saturday’s tie and he begins by remembering his early trips to Spotland. “I was born in Rochdale in 1961, my grandad took me to my first game at Spotland in 1968, it’s been love ever since. My parents moved to Worthing in 1971, we came back regularly to visit family, but that got less and less over time. My last time in Rochdale was for the centenary dinner at the Town Hall but I do attend away games around the London area. For me, Saturday’s match is the stuff of dreams. Loving football, I used to go to the Goldstone to watch Brighton, but when the ground was sold they played for two seasons at Priestfield, ground sharing with Gillingham. Worthing isn’t a big place, so I drifted into watching Worthing when the club wasn’t very successful, sometimes the crowd was in double figures and goals against in one season was in three figures! Interest waned. Then came George…
George Dowell’s story is one of triumph over adversity and you can read the inspiring story by clicking on the link to the Worthing site at the end of the article. He took over the club in 2015 when there was a very real threat of it going out of business. What a difference those 10 years have made. Worthing finished last season in the Play-off final for promotion to the National League with a reported 30,000 trying to buy 3000 tickets.
Crowds now usually exceed 1,500 and for bigger games, or against local teams, exceed 2000. The ground has also had extensive development. Two new stands have opened, with the biggest opening this season.
When Worthing made the play-off final last season, the team then was managed by Adam Hinshelwood, who then moved to York City. He took several players with him, including Ollie Pearce who scored 43 goals in 46 appearances.
So Worthing started this season with a new manager, Chris Agutter, and several new players. It’s been an interesting season so far. There were no home games until mid-October due to the development work taking place. Since then, there have been home games galore (no pitch inspections necessary!) and Worthing currently occupy top spot in the National League South.
As to the team, ex-Rochdale player Danny Cashman is probably Worthing’s best player, and could be a thorn in Dale’s side. However, since losing Pearce as his foil, he hasn’t shown the consistency of last season. He has, however, scored 14 goals this season, so he’s always a threat.
The two new strikers, Mo Faal and Temi Babalola, seem to struggle at times with form. This seems to frustrate Cashman, who, I think, expects a better level from them. Having said that, Faal scored a hattrick against Torquay United in the last round of the Trophy, including a wonder goal a la Van Basten. Worthing beat Torquay 5-1, being 4-0 up at half time.
Worthing like to play out from the back, which can often means losing the ball in dangerous areas. There are decent players like the captain, Joel Colbran, who can rustle up a goal. On the left wing, Nicky Wheeler, can be dangerous if given space and has scored 3 decent goals, one from around 40 yards. Jack Spong is also getting a name for himself in the midfield, scoring 7 goals this season.
Worthing will be dangerous if Rochdale sit back and let them play, which is how Torquay approached the game. They seem to struggle against teams that come to shut them down and control the ball and the play. There’s also been a worrying tendency to be weaker in the second half. Ambitions are high at Worthing these days. The club’s management plan is to push for League status, the ground’s transformation is testament to that aspiration. It will be a very interesting encounter. For me, as a Rochdale supporter and a Worthing season ticket holder, this is a game I’ve long wished to see. I will be in the away end though, I can’t cheat on my first love!
Finally, if you want a beer before the game, I can recommend the Hare & Hounds, one of Worthing’s best locals. It’s about a 20 minute walk from there to the ground.”
https://worthingfc.com/club/history/the-george-dowell-era/
Exiles Day 29 March v Aldershot: book your places
Bookings are now open for the annual Exiles home match at the Crown Oil Arena for the match against Aldershot on 29 March 2025 and several of you have signed up already. Willie Burns, who played for the Dale between 1989-91 and a popular previous guest, will be joining us again. The Club and Trust have worked hard to set up the event. Andy Duff, Dale’s Commercial Director, has made box 12 available for us at no extra cost to Exiles and the Trust has agreed to subside every ticket purchased. This means that prices have risen by just £5.00 in each category from last season.
Adult: £45.00
Adult with Season Card: £30.00
Concessions i.e. Adults 65 years of age and over and Young People under the age of 22: £35.00 Concessions with Season Card: £25.00
The programme is being developed but rest assured it will contain familiar features that make the event so special for Exiles. We need you there to sprinkle the Exiles magic dust as we attempt to preserve that incredible unbeaten home record for Exiles Day. Speaking of which, any help on completing the record please see article below. And of course book your places by following the link
https://www.daletrust.co.uk/2025/01/exiles-day-2024-25/
That unbeaten run – help us complete the record
I am in the process of updating our Exiles Day record. Here’s the story of the last decade: 5 wins and 5 draws. Grateful for any assistance from anoraks out there who can remember the previous decade!
| April 2014 | York City | 0-0 | D | |
| 28 March 2015 | Yeovil Town | 2-1 | W | Rhys Bennett, Jack O’Connell |
| 16 April 2016 | Blackpool | 3-0 | W | Ashley Eastham, Joe Bunney, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing |
| 4 March 2017 | Sheffield Utd | 3-3 | D | Steve Davies, Matthew Lund, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing |
| 7 April 2018 | Portsmouth | 3-3 | D | Brad Inman, Stephen Humphrys, Ian Henderson |
| 27 April 2019 | Southend United | 1-0 | W | Ian Henderson |
| Fixture cancelled because of Covid and league stopped. | ||||
| 5 April 2021 | Ipswich Town (behind closed doors but an Exiles watch-along virtually) | 0-0 | D | |
| 12 March 2022 | Barrow | 0-0 | D | |
| 4 March 2023 | Stevenage | 2-0 | W | Devante Rodney, Danny Lloyd |
| 23 March 2024 | Maidenhead | 1-0 | W | Devante Rodney |
| 29 March 2025 | Aldershot |
Malta News
The late postponement of the match against Boston on Tuesday must have left Noel Micallef wondering whether his rearranged trip for see the Oldham match next week might also be in jeopardy. Exiles everywhere have their fingers crossed on behalf of our intrepid Maltese supporters
Dale Trust Super 6
The Trust’s Super6 competition sees Exile Chris Commins continuing to head up the table but a number of others are in hot pursuit including Sean Hyland, Dave Coupe, Shaun Mellish, Matthew Laurel and me! Time for my predictions as part of my Saturday routine.
What’sApp for Exiles
The WhatsApp group is a lively, safe place for Exiles to share the ups and downs of being a Dale supporter. It reminds me of the Saturday sports programme I used to listen to on Radio Sheffield in pre internet days. Praise or Grumble featured callers, mostly Owls or Blades fans, venting their feelings and that’s exactly what we see in our group. When I compare it to some other Dale forums, I am delighted by the way participants engage. Inevitably there is some disagreement but mutual respect is the order of the day and there is none of that unpleasantness I see elsewhere on the internet. Comments and photos from pitchside (and armchairs) mean we have all got to know each other a little better during the season. Here’s the link if you would like to join our happy band.
https://chat.whatsapp.com/HHhzjSjR041CD4TJeFdqnW
Below is one of the many photos from our group. My two brothers Michael and Neil meeting up at FGR with Rob Marchant and, as Mike commented, “the world famous Freddie”.
RIP Mike Commins 1944-2025
I was very sorry to hear about the death earlier this month of Dale stalwart, Mike Commins, one of our senior Exiles. MIke was the son of Walter Commins, the club secretary appointed in 1946 and Mike himself was a programme seller at the ground. “You really should have put aside that 1962 League Cup Final programme v Norwich, Dad.” said son Chris on numerous occasions! Chris and his own son, Oli, tell me that Mike will be with them in spirit on Exile Day. Condolences to all the Commins family from Dale Exiles everywhere.
Until next time and as always, Up the Dale!
Ian Goodwin
exiles@daletrust.co.uk or info@daletrust.co.uk