Rochdale A.F.C.

Rochdale Association Football Club are an English football club based in Rochdale, Greater Manchester. They play their home matches at Spotland Stadium and are managed by Steve Parkin. They have an average attendance of around 2,500.

Related Topics:
English - Football - Rochdale - Greater Manchester

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Nicknamed 'The Dale', the team struggles to compete with more established football clubs such as Manchester United, Manchester City, Oldham Athletic, Blackburn Rovers and Bolton Wanderers. This is reflected by the fact that the club have spent the last 31 seasons in the Football League's bottom division, currently entitled League Two. They reached the League Cup final in 1962 (the only time a club from the bottom league division has reached the final of a major competition), where they lost to Norwich City. The club barely avoided relegation in the 2003/2004 season after two good seasons where they ended up one point outside the play-offs (8th place) and two places inside (5th place). However, they lost their play-off semi-final to Rushden & Diamonds.

Related Topics:
Manchester United - Manchester City - Oldham Athletic - Blackburn Rovers - Bolton Wanderers - The Football League - League Two

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The season after this they reached the Fifth Round of the FA Cup, beating clubs such as Preston and Coventry, but losing eventually to Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-1. In the 2004/2005 season the club improved on previous seasons by finishing in a respectable 9th place. They hope to go one better in 2005/2006 by finishing at least in the play-offs, however, many supporters want them to achieve automatic promotion.

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