2015–16 Rochdale A.F.C. season

Rochdale

2015–16 season
Chairman	Chris Dunphy
Manager	Keith Hill
Stadium	Spotland
League Cup	Second Round
Lancashire Senior Cup	First Round
← 2014–15 2016–17 →

The 2015–16 season is Rochdale's 109th year in existence and their second consecutive season in League One.^[1] Along with competing in League One, the club will also participate in the FA Cup, League Cup and JP Trophy. The season covers the period from 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016.

Transfers

Transfers in

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
1 July 2015	RW		Lewis Alessandra	Plymouth Argyle	Free transfer	[2]
1 July 2015	LW		Donal McDermott	Ramsbottom United	Free transfer	[3]
1 July 2015	CB		James McNulty	Bury	Free transfer	[4]
27 August 2015	RW		Nathaniel Mendez-Laing	Peterborough United	Free transfer	[5]

Transfers out

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
1 July 2015	CF		Febian Brandy	Free Agent	Released	[6]
1 July 2015	CM		Stephen Dawson	Scunthorpe United	Free transfer	[7]
1 July 2015	DM		Bastien Héry	Carlisle United	Free transfer	[8]
1 July 2015	CB		Sean McGinty	Aldershot Town [lower-alpha 1]	Free transfer	[6]
1 July 2015	CF		Jack Muldoon	Lincoln City [lower-alpha 2]	Free transfer	[6]
3 August 2015	GK		Rhys Lovett	Cheltenham Town	Free transfer	[11]

1. Following McGinty's release on 5 May 2015, he later signed for Aldershot Town on 3 June 2015.^[9]
2. Following Muldoon's release on 5 May 2015, he later signed for Lincoln City on 28 May 2015.^[10]

Loans out

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Date until	Ref.
1 August 2015	CF		Joel Logan	Wrexham	10 January 2016	[12][lower-alpha 1]
18 September 2015	ST		Nyal Bell	Droylsden	16 October 2015	[14]
18 September 2015	ST		Billy Hasler-Cregg	Droylsden	16 October 2015	[14]

1. Logan's Wrexham loan was extended on 27 August 2015, until 10 January 2016.^[13]

Competitions

Pre-season friendlies

On 8 May 2015, Rochdale confirmed their first pre-season friendly against Macclesfield Town on 18 July 2015.^[15] On 11 May 2015, the second confirmed pre-season friendly was announced against Chester on 14 July 2015.^[16] On 14 May 2015, a friendly against AFC Fylde was announced.^[17] A day later the club confirmed their fourth friendly, against Blackburn Rovers.^[18] On 21 May 2015, a fifth friendly was announced against Huddersfield Town.^[19] On 29 May 2015, Rochdale announced they will face Accrington Stanley on 28 July 2015.^[20] On 21 July 2015, Dale announced a third pre-season friendly.^[21]

AFC Fylde v Rochdale

12 July 2015 Friendly	AFC Fylde	1–0	Rochdale	Warton
14:00 BST	Allen  68' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Kellamergh Park

Chester v Rochdale

14 July 2015 Friendly	Chester	0–1	Rochdale	Chester
19:45 BST		Report	Henderson  84'	Stadium: Deva Stadium

Macclesfield Town v Rochdale

18 July 2015 Friendly	Macclesfield Town	0–0	Rochdale	Macclesfield
15:00 BST		Report		Stadium: Moss Rose

Rochdale v Blackburn Rovers

21 July 2015 Friendly	Rochdale	2–1	Blackburn Rovers	Rochdale
19:45 BST	Henderson  32', 83'	Report	Williamson  19'	Stadium: Spotland

Rochdale v Huddersfield Town

25 July 2015 Friendly	Rochdale	4–3	Huddersfield Town	Rochdale
15:00 BST	Andrew  7' Alessandra  ?' Camps  ?', 38'	Report	Wells  ?', 48' Scannell  ?'	Stadium: Spotland Attendance: 1,165

Accrington Stanley v Rochdale

28 July 2015 Friendly	Accrington Stanley	1–0	Rochdale	Accrington
19:45 BST	McCartan  65'	Report		Stadium: Crown Ground

Rochdale v Milton Keynes Dons

1 August 2015 Friendly	Rochdale	2–1	Milton Keynes Dons	Rochdale
15:00 BST	Noble-Lazarus  62' McDermott  83'	Report	Bowditch  38'	Stadium: Spotland

League One

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
7	Barnsley	39	19	5	15	60	48	+12	62
8	Southend United	39	16	10	13	53	50	+3	58
9	Rochdale	39	16	9	14	55	50	+5	57
10	Coventry City	39	15	11	13	59	44	+15	56
11	Scunthorpe United	39	15	11	13	49	43	+6	56

Updated to match(es) played on 30 March 2016. Source: BBC Sport
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored

Matches

On 17 June 2015, the fixtures for the forthcoming season were announced.^[22]

Rochdale v Peterborough United

8 August 2015 1	Rochdale	2–0	Peterborough United	Rochdale
15:00 BST	Camps  18' Noble-Lazarus  69'	Report		Stadium: Spotland Attendance: 3,319 Referee: Andy Haines

Blackpool v Rochdale

15 August 2015 2	Blackpool	0–2	Rochdale	Blackpool
15:00 BST		Report	McDermott  58' Henderson  87'	Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 7,076 Referee: Darren Drysdale

Rochdale v Walsall

18 August 2015 3	Rochdale	1–2	Walsall	Rochdale
19:45 BST	Andrew  80'	Report	Taylor  65' Mantom  71'	Stadium: Spotland Attendance: 2,381 Referee: David Webb

Chesterfield v Rochdale

22 August 2015 4	Chesterfield	0–0	Rochdale	Chesterfield
15:00 BST		Report		Stadium: Proact Stadium Attendance: 6,254 Referee: Keith Hill

Rochdale v Barnsley

29 August 2015 5	Rochdale	3–0	Barnsley	Rochdale
15:00 BST	Andrew  8' Vincenti  36' Henderson  63'	Report		Stadium: Spotland Attendance: 3,618 Referee: Gary Sutton

Fleetwood Town v Rochdale

5 September 2015 6	Fleetwood Town	1–1	Rochdale	Fleetwood
15:00 BST	Matt  87'	Report	Vincenti  55'	Stadium: Highbury Stadium Referee: Geoff Eltringham

Burton Albion v Rochdale

12 September 2015 7	Burton Albion	1–0	Rochdale	Burton upon Trent
15:00 BST	Beavon  34'	Report		Stadium: Pirelli Stadium Attendance: 2,787 Referee: Carl Boyeson

Rochdale v Scunthorpe United

19 September 2015 8	Rochdale	2–1	Scunthorpe United	Rochdale
15:00 BST	Bunney  67' Vincenti  85'	Report	Wallace  76'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 2,958 Referee: Peter Bankes

Millwall v Rochdale

26 September 2015 9	Millwall	3–1	Rochdale	Bermondsey
15:00 BST	Abdou  4' Williams  45' Morison  60'	Report	Vincenti  43'	Stadium: New Den Attendance: 8,023 Referee: James Adcock

Rochdale v Shrewsbury

29 September 2015 10	Rochdale	3–2	Shrewsbury	Rochdale
19:45 BST	Vincenti  4' Henderson  12' (pen.) Allen  15'	Report	Knight-Percival  35' Collins  41' (pen.)	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 2,190 Referee: Seb Stockbridge

Rochdale v Bradford

3 October 2015 11	Rochdale	1–3	Bradford	Rochdale
15:00 BST	Vincenti  41'	Report	Evans  34' Cole  59' Lancashire  61' (o.g.)	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 4,534 Referee: Richard Harrington

Sheffield United v Rochdale

10 October 2015 12	Sheffield United	3–2	Rochdale	Sheffield
15:00 BST	Adams  29', 40' Collins  74'	Report	Vincenti  37' (pen.) Alessandra  72'	Stadium: Bramall Lane Attendance: 19,039 Referee: Oliver Langford

Bury v Rochdale

17 October 2015 13	Bury	0–0	Rochdale	Bury
15:00 BST		Report		Stadium: Gigg Lane Attendance: 6,470 Referee: Andy Woolmer

Rochdale v Coventry City

20 October 2015 14	Rochdale	0–0	Coventry City	Rochdale
15:00 BST		Report		Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 2,495 Referee: Mark Haywood

Rochdale v Oldham Athletic

24 October 2015 15	Rochdale	0–0	Oldham Athletic	Rochdale
15:00 BST		Report		Stadium: Spotland Attendance: 5,690 Referee: Andy Madley

Southend United v Rochdale

31 October 2015 16	Southend United	2–2	Rochdale	Southend-on-Sea
19:45 GMT	Mooney  39' (pen.) Leonard  41'	Report	Bunney  63' Rose  79'	Stadium: Roots Hall Attendance: 6,111 Referee: Steve Martin

Rochdale v Wigan Athletic

14 November 2015 17	Rochdale	0–2	Wigan Athletic	Rochdale
12:30 GMT		Report	Pearce  16' Jacobs  61'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 3,835 Referee: Neil Swarbrick

Doncaster v Rochdale

21 November 2015 18	Doncaster	0–2	Rochdale	Doncaster
15:00 GMT		Report	Henderson  84', 90+6'	Stadium: Keepmoat Stadium Attendance: 5,521 Referee: Kevin Friend

Gillingham v Rochdale

24 November 2015 19	Gillingham	2–0	Rochdale	Gillingham
19:45 GMT	Dack  7' Oshilaja  80'	Report		Stadium: Priestfield Stadium Attendance: 5,088 Referee: Stuart Attwell

Rochdale v Port Vale

28 November 2015 20	Rochdale	2–1	Port Vale	Rochdale
15:00 GMT	Henderson  40' (pen.) Mendez-Laing  78'	Report	Birchall  13'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 2,510 Referee: Darren England

Swindon Town v Rochdale

12 December 2015 21	Swindon Town	2–1	Rochdale	Swindon
15:00 GMT	Robert  33' Gladwin  34'	Report	Lancashire  60'	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 7,149 Referee: David Webb

Rochdale v Colchester United

19 December 2015 22	Rochdale	3–1	Colchester United	Rochdale
15:00 GMT	Henderson  30' (pen.) McDermott  34' Lancashire  64'	Report	Porter  21'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 2,205 Referee: Trevor Kettle

Rochdale v Crewe Alexandra

26 December 2015 Postponed	Rochdale	P–P	Crewe Alexandra	Rochdale
15:00 GMT		Report		Stadium: Spotland Stadium

FA Cup

On 26 October 2015, the first round draw was made. Rochdale were drawn at home against Swindon Town.^[23] Rochdale were at home to Bury in the second round.^[24]

Rochdale v Swindon

7 November 2015 First round	Rochdale	3–1	Swindon	Rochdale
15:00 BST	Mendez-Laing  24', 46', 69' (pen.)	Report	Ajose  71' (pen.)	Stadium: Spotland Attendance: 2,060 Referee: Chris Sarginson

Rochdale v Bury

6 December 2015 Second round	Rochdale	0–1	Bury	Rochdale
12:00		Report	Rose  8'	Stadium: Spotland Attendance: 4,887 Referee: Darren Drysdale

League Cup

On 16 June 2015, the first round draw was made, Rochdale were drawn at home against Coventry City.^[25] Rochdale were drawn away to Hull City in the second round.^[26]

Rochdale v Coventry City

11 August 2015 First round	Rochdale	1–1 (5–3 p)	Coventry City	Rochdale
19:45 BST	McDermott  45'	Report	Tudgay  84'	Stadium: Spotland Attendance: 1,986 Referee: Eddie Ilderton
		Penalties
	Rose Henderson Kennedy Rafferty Andrew		Tudgay Morris Maddison Lameiras

Hull City v Rochdale

25 August 2015 Second round	Hull City	1–0	Rochdale	Kingston upon Hull
19:45 BST	Luer  9'	Report[27]		Stadium: KC Stadium Attendance: 10,430 Referee: Mark Haywood

Football League Trophy

On 5 September 2015, the second round draw was shown live on Soccer AM and drawn by Charlie Austin and Ed Skrein. Rochdale will host Chesterfield.^[28]

Rochdale v Chesterfield

6 October 2015 Second round	Rochdale	v	Chesterfield	Rochdale
19:45 BST				Stadium: Spotland

Lancashire Senior Cup

On the Lancashire FA website the first round details were announced, Rochdale will face Manchester United.^[29]

Rochdale v Manchester United

9 September 2015 First round	Rochdale	2–3	Manchester United	Rochdale
19:45 BST	Alessandra  45' Rose  62' (pen.)	Report	Fletcher  10', 18', 47' (pen.)	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Referee: Paul Marsden

References

1. "History". Statto.
2. "Lewis Set To Join". Rochdale AFC. 8 June 2015.
3. "Donal McDermott Is Dale's First Close Season Signing". Rochdale AFC. 7 May 2015.
4. "Jim McNulty Signs". Rochdale AFC. 2 June 2015.
5. "Nathaniel Mendez-Laing Signs For Rochdale". Rochdale AFC. 27 August 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
6. "Trio leaving Rochdale". Rochdale AFC. 5 May 2015.
7. "Stephen Dawson Agrees To Join Scunthorpe United". Rochdale AFC. 20 May 2015.
8. "Bastien Hery Departs". Rochdale AFC. 24 June 2015.
9. "Barry Makes First Two Signings". Aldershot Town FC. 3 June 2015.
10. "Muldoon Puts Pen To Paper". Lincoln City FC. 28 May 2015.
11. "Rhys Lovett: Cheltenham Town announce 14th new signing". BBC Sport. 4 August 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
12. "Joel Logan Heads Out On Loan". Rochdale AFC. 1 August 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
13. "Joel Logan To Extend Wrexham Stay". Rochdale AFC. 27 August 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
14. "Nyal Bell and Billy Hasler-Cregg Head Out On Loan". Rochdale AFC. 18 September 2015. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
15. "First Pre-Season Friendly Confirmed". Rochdale AFC. 8 May 2015.
16. "Chester Friendly Confirmed". Rochdale AFC. 11 May 2015.
17. "AFC Fylde Friendly Confirmed". Rochdale AFC. 14 May 2015.
18. "Home Friendly Confirmed". Rochdale AFC. 15 May 2015.
19. "Dale To Face Huddersfield Town In Pre-Season". Rochdale AFC. 21 May 2015.
20. "Dale To Face Accrington Stanley In Pre-Season". Rochdale AFC. 29 May 2015.
21. "Third Home Friendly Added To The Calendar". Rochdale AFC. 21 July 2015.
22. "Dale's 2015-16 Fixtures Confirmed". Rochdale AFC. 17 June 2015.
23. "The Emirates FA Cup first round proper draw completed". The FA. 26 October 2015.
24. "Emirates FA Cup second round draw made at Civil Service FC". The FA. 9 November 2015.
25. "Capital One Cup 2015/16 Round 1 Draw". Capital One Cup. 16 June 2015.
26. "Capital One Cup Round 2 draw". Capital One Cup. 14 August 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
27. "Hull 1 – 0 Rochdale". BBC Sport (BBC). 25 August 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
28. "Johnstone’s Paint Trophy Round 2 draw". Football League. 5 September 2015. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
29. "LFA fixtures – first round". Lancashire FA. August 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.