FL2 Torquay United v. Rochdale 11th April 2010

Stevens on the bench please. Came off the bench on Saturday and the few things he had to do he did wrong. Like losing possession a few times.

Maybe swap Zebroski for Benyon up front with Carlisle on the right. he might be back for this game or the Aldershot game next tuesday.

If the lads can keep up the workrate anything is possible!

Every June there is great excitement and anticipation when the fixtures for the forthcoming season are announced. Whatever happened last season is forgotten, and no matter what level we are at we always know that next season will be special, the one we will tell our children and grandchildren about.

Most people adopt the same style when getting hold of the fixtures. A scan of who we play in the first game, then the local derby dates, the Christmas and Easter fixtures, and who we play in the last game (often highly significant if you are a Torquay United supporter!).

Whilst that is the tried and trusted way for most supporters to scan and assimilate the new season fixtures that is not what I go for. Local derbies and festive games will arrive when they arrive.

I always look for Rochdale ... at Home.

My first Football League fixture way back in 1963, one we won and then in subsequent seasons a game we always won. Rochdale ... at Home.

So a fair bit of nostalgia wrapped up in my odd behaviour when receiving the new fixtures, as well I suspect as a flawed memory which still recalls those never ending sunny summers when it never rained and those winters when it always snowed.

Saturday 7 September 1963. Football League Division Four. Torquay United versus Rochdale.

The date had been etched into my mind since the announcement of the fixture list three months before. I had decided that 1963/64 was to be my debut season for supporting Torquay United, but our first home game of the season on the opening day (Tranmere Rovers 1-1 draw) coincided with our summer family holiday in a caravan at Westward Ho! The Spanish Costas still consisted of small fishing villages in those days so no ambitions in that direction, and anyway the only people that ventured abroad were the Royal family, film stars, and Alan Whicker.

So it was on to the second home game as the first I would be able to see. Rochdale ... at Home.

It was with great excitement that I boarded the number 12 bus outside of Bearnes Primary School in Queen Street, Newton Abbot, for the journey to Castle Circus. I had no idea at that point that Devon General ran Football Specials direct to Plainmoor.

Arriving in Torquay I ignored the number 30 service and decided to walk up over St Marychurch Road to the ground. As I headed up the hill at every junction more people came out of adjoining streets and lanes and all were heading in the same direction.

Turning off Bronshill Road and catching my first glimpse of the ground with those towering floodlights was like walking down Wembley Way on Cup Final day for me.

Outside of the ground fans milled around in anticipation as I soaked up the atmosphere. Virtually all male, and seeming to range in age from six to ninety-six. The faces of the six year olds beamed with excitement and expectation, although I did notice that the ninety six year olds bore a well worn knowing look of the long term Torquay fan (a look I now see in my mirror on match days and I am sure Chelston does every day!).

A great atmosphere in those days but not as much colour, unless my recall is warped because our tv programmes were in black and white so my memory produces all images of that time in black and white.

No replica shirts of course. The colours consisted of blue and yellow scarves and hats of various shades as they were not shop produced but normally knitted at home by wives, girlfriends, and mothers. Then there were the rattles. Swung manically above the head like a demented cowboy trying to lasso a steer, the sound of two thousand rattles in unison when a goal was scored was awesome.

I am not too sure when the football rattle faded out of my life, it just did much like school shorts and permanent plasters on my knees.

So into the ground and I was spoilt for choice in those days before segregation, eventually opting for a place on the Popular Side exactly on the half way line and leaning on the fence (strictly forbidden now!).

The kick off, and after only four or five touches I was hooked. For the previous two or three years I had been watching Newton Abbot Spurs at the old Newton Recreation Ground, but found that my age made it difficult to concentrate on a full 90 minutes and more often than not ended up behind the goal at the Cricket Field end kicking a ball around with the other kids. But Plainmoor was different. I was captivated and just could not take my eyes off the action.

A goal from Dave Hancock mid-way through the first half sealed a 1-0 win and a perfect day.

Actually only scoring one goal at home was most unusual in that season. In the next twelve home games, ten league and two cup, we rattled in forty eight goals, an incredible average of four a game.

Rochdale and the towns listed in our other fixtures like Workington, Hartlepool, Darlington, Tranmere, Bradford, and Carlisle, sounded full of mystery to me, and my Atlas of Great Britain became well thumbed by the end of the season as when a fixture came up the first thing I did was locate the town on my map (never could find Tranmere though!).

As well as locating the towns on the map, I also wanted to know more about the places, no easy task before the advent of Google. Many a visit was made to Newton Abbot library, where stern looking adults (I knew they weren't football fans because they were female) supervised and enforced strict silence, something that must have been easier then before mobile phones. The concept of a mobile phone at that time was about as likely as landing a man on the moon!

Gradually images formed of our Northern heritage. The cotton and wool mills, mining of coal, iron, and minerals, leather and pottery production, and the transport systems of the canals and railways.

I am sure that everything I ever gleaned about the Industrial Revolution emanated from being a Torquay United supporter and not from school!

One of my heroes during that 1963/64 season was Reg Jenkins, a burly inside forward who scored seven goals in thirty seven league appearances, but laid on many more for Robin Stubbs and Tommy Northcott who between them scored half of our eighty league goals.

Reg was surprisingly released at the end of that season and went to Rochdale where he became a local hero, scoring 119 goals in 305 appearances. He was voted Rochdale's best ever player in a recent poll similar to the one we did where we selected Don Mills.

I bumped into Reg in 1992 after a game at Millbrook Football Club when I was secretary of a South western League team and we had just beaten Torpoint Athletic 5-2 in the semi-final of the SWL Cup. I had been talking to Reg, who had introduced himself as the groundsman, for a good fifteen minutes before I realised who he was. When I realised I was immediately transported back to the age of eleven again, my hero Reg Jenkins, all those memories, and Rochdale ... at Home.

So Rochdale ... at Home, always became the first fixture I look for.

1964/65 was quite a mediocre league season brightened up only by that 3-3 FA Cup draw with Tottenham Hotspur, but Rochdale turned up at Plainmoor and we did as expected, a 2-1 win.

The next season 1965/66 was our promotion season to Division Three. We were going well running into February and I always felt the barometer as to whether we could continue our push would be our game against Rochdale ... at Home.

So it proved. 4-0 and a Robin Stubbs hat-trick and we were heading for Division Three.

My euphoria at gaining promotion was tempered by the knowledge that when the new season fixtures came out, whilst there would be new and exciting clubs on it, QPR, Middlesbrough, Watford, Reading, one fixture would be missing. Rochdale ... at Home.

In fact I never expected to see them again. Rochdale were after all always going to be in the bottom division, while we had a young and talented manager who would surely take us onwards and upwards.

We did then have three very good seasons almost gaining promotion to the Second Division, and then surprise surprise, who appeared on our fixture list for 1969/70. Yes they had only gone and got themselves promoted. Rochdale ... at Home.

3-0 that season and 3-0 the following season only enhanced my love of that fixture. Rochdale ... at Home.

Starting 1971/72 with only one defeat in our first nine games may sound good, but there was one pointer in that sequence that this could be a season of struggle. A 1-1 draw against Rochdale ... at Home. The omens proved correct and we finished next to bottom and went back to Division Four.

Rochdale didn't come down to join us until 1974/75 although when they did we went back to normal with a 3-0 win, at Home.

The following three seasons saw wins of 1-0, 2-0, and 3-0, so it continued to be my favourite fixture, Rochdale ... at Home.

Fast forward a few seasons to our 'Great Escape' year of 1986/87 when the newly installed trapdoor to the Conference beckoned. We looked doomed but I knew we had a chance when I saw on our fixtures only one week from the end Rochdale ... at Home. Sure enough a 2-1 win resulted with goals from Jim McNichol and Paul Dobson.

Forget everything you have heard about the Crewe game a week later, fifteen minutes injury time, and the involvement of a police dog. What kept us up was the week before. Rochdale ... at Home.

So here they are again the team from the foothills of the Pennines and sitting on the River Roch. Right on cue and just when we need the points. Rochdale ... at Home! ;D

This is an excellent reflection, Stefano, on a series of games which obviously mean a great deal to you, and I can easily see why.

I hadn't realised, to be honest, the extent of the Indian Sign which we had over Rochdale for so long, so decided to research all the results between the two clubs in games played at Plainmoor. I was startled to find this:

From 1959 to 1992, our record was:

P 25 W 21 D 3 L 1 F 55 A 14

Since then:

P 15 W 8 D 2 L 5 F 20 A 14

In recent years, then, the two teams have come much closer together but, like Stefano, my greatest memories are of those games in the 60s, when mostly it seemed that we only had to turn up to win.

However, it wasn't always like that. There was a very hard fought game in 1962/63, when Tom Northcott nicked a goal right at the death to secure a 2-1 win. At the end of that season, it became a three-way sprint for the line for many weeks between Mansfield, Gillingham and ourselves for the fourth place, with Rochdale on our heels. In the end, despite winning four of the last five, we lost out by a single point.

For Stefano's first game, in 1963/64, I made the mistake of taking with me a friend who originated from Rochdale but appeared to have little or no interest in football. We stood in the old cowshed and, to my amazement, right from the kick-off he began to shout, at the top of his voice "C'mon the 'Dale !!", and kept this up every few seconds throughout the entire match.

He fell silent only briefly after David Hancock's cracking goal, but such was the attention he drew, not only from those around him but also from some of Rochdale's players, that Ronnie Cairns and one or two others came to the back of the goal at one point and stared at him as though he were insane.

Rochdale had some really good players in those days: goalkeeper Ted Burgin (ex Sheffield United), Stan Milburn (ex Leicester City), Ray Aspden, Ronnie Cairns and a flying left winger David Storf, and it surprised me somewhat that they always seemed to come to us and lose.

Shortly afterwards, we handed them on a plate their fans' choice as greatest ever player for the club, the wonderful Reg Jenkins. Who knows what we would have achieved if his partnership with Robin Stubbs had remained intact ?

These days, Rochdale have the mercurial George Jones, the club's leading appearance record holder, driving them on from midfield, and two excellent forwards in Dagnall and O'Grady. I can't wait to see them in action, and if we can get an early grip on the game and subdue these two, then we may have a chance, but it's going to be one hell of a difficult game.

Really enjoyed that piece Stefano Just a couple of years behind you unfortunately I never saw Reg Jenkins play but witnessed the wonderful footballing sides of the mid sixties.
Still surviving on the "fumes"....

So Paul Buckle is asking for the fans to get behind the team and turn up at Plainmoor in numbers and with over 1000 Rochdale fans expected to travel down, we should see any even bigger gate than the last home game.

Rochdale are going to do all they can to win this match and hope that Rotherham United lose as that would mean Rochdale would be guaranteed promotion for the first time in 41 years.

Rochdale are the top scorers in the division, with 79 goals so far.Forty-three of those goals have come from the regular strike partnership of Chris O'Grady and Chris Dagnall, so both Ellis and Branston need to be very strong at the back and make sure O'Grady and Dagnall know they are there.

For me the key to get anything out of this match is going to be hard work, closing Rochdale down all over the pitch and try and stop them playing their game. Its not going to be easy and it may not end up very pretty, but we kepted a clean sheet up at Northampton and that’s what we must try to do against Rochdale.

We also need to take any chances that do come our way, there may not be many and we won’t be able to afford to waste them when they do come along and while we may be under lots of pressure during the game , we will still get chances of our own.

I go to every game believing we have a good chance to win it and that’s what I shall do tomorrow, should we get nothing out of the game as long as Grimsby also lose, then its another game gone and wasted as far as they will be concerned to close the gap on us.

Hi dirtydogdevon1, I do agree but think the best we can hope from our midfield in this game is they get stuck in and break up as many attacks as possible.

Wroe has lacked the quality we expected all season, so I can't see much changing tomorrow. I do feel as I said we might have to defend for long periods and hope we get a few chances that we will need to take.

It’s a beautiful day in Torbay and the sun is shining brightly and there is just a light breeze judging by Carols washing on the line I can see as I type this. It’s the same every match day morning sitting here and wondering how I will feel and what the mood will be on the forum come 5pm.

A win or a draw and a defeat for Grimsby and we will all be happy, or we could be a bit more concerned if we were to lose and Grimsby did get a win, if only I had a crystal ball. Still what ever the result it will be the same routine for me, get home and do a match report while trying to eat my tea, do the programme pages and get them up for our exiles to see and read.

I’m waiting to make next seasons matchday room banner, so the sooner we are safe the better and I can get it made and ready to put up once the season is over, then I will make a new sub board and move all this seasons match threads into it, set up this seasons banner on it and re do the code so the new banner will display on the main match room.

I’m very positive we will stay up but will not temp our fate by making the banner until I know what league we will be playing in next season, to prevent in time ending up with too many sub boards in our match room, I plan to create an archives room for all the seasons that we have covered on the TFF, but that won’t be for a season or two more.

If you’re going to today’s game then I hope you enjoy the game and I look forward to reading others match reports later this evening and let’s hope we will all be feeling in a party mood and not down in the dumps.

All the best Dave