The 'Dale Way

'Who won the National League Cup in 2024/25?' One of the more niche football questions for a competition that has attracted a fair bit of negativity and is likely to pass by largely unnoticed again in the new season.

Not all National League clubs have opted to participate in 2025/26 but Rochdale are in and offer a really clear explanation on their website as to why they are doing so.

Their four matches at Spotland will all be free admission, including the opening fixture against Burnley on August 12 which the club are looking at making a daytime kick-off as a good summer holiday activity.

A Deal At 'Dale

Proud members of the Football League since 1921, when many others have had spells out of the league (with some never making it back), Rochdale AFC continue to be a focal point for the local community and also the inspiration for some fantastic books, such as 'Kicking in the Wind' by Derick Allsop and 'The Overcoat Men' by Mark Hodkinson who has also a new book out now, called 'The Longest Winter' which details the 1973/74 season at Spotland against the backdrop of inflation, industrial unrest and more (so very timely).

With many of their near neighbours in the Premier League and Championship set for a winter break once the World Cup begins, 'Dale are offering four games for the price of three between the visit of Mansfield Town on Saturday 12th November and the Boxing Day game against Hartlepool.

Harrogate Town also have a ticket offer for upcoming matches against Leyton Orient on the 12th and Mansfield on the 19th of November and Northampton Town on 10th December.

The 'Festive Football 3 for 2' deal does exactly what it says on the tin and lets supporters watch the third game for free.

Tottenham Price It Right With Rochdale Next To Feel The Benefit

A genuinely exciting FA Cup tie at Spotland on Sunday afternoon ended up with the right result as Rochdale scored in stoppage time to earn a 2-2 draw against Tottenham Hotspur minutes after Harry Kane’s late penalty looked to have secured Spurs a spot in the quarter-finals.

It means another game for Spurs that they probably would rather not have but the unique circumstances of their season-long tenancy at Wembley make it a different scenario than if they were playing at White Hart Lane.

As they did for their replay against Newport County in the previous round, Tottenham have priced tickets for the game, scheduled for Wednesday 28th at 7.45pm, at just £10 for Adults and £5 for Under 18's and Over 65's in Wembley Level 1 and have a family ticket available at just £20 for Two Adults and Two Juniors.

That allows for plenty of people to take in a game (just under 39,000 were at the Newport replay), the chance to watch some big-name players and say they have been to Wembley for a very affordable price.

It suits Spurs to do so, of course, as they have an eye on next season and an enlarged capacity White Hart Lane which they will want to fill on as many occasions as possible, so reaching out to a wider community is the sensible thing to do.

But the club have shown a positive attitude to pricing cup-ties throughout both the current campaign and in last season’s Europa League when they played at Wembley as well and, as with Newport recently, it has a great knock-on effect for Rochdale.

There has been some (presumably manufactured) controversy about the potential for Spurs to have an FA Cup semi-final at their 'home' ground  but I think there's something satisfying about the national stadium providing a financial boost to one of the game's most resilient clubs.

Season Tickets: Bradford City & Rochdale

The weekend deadline for snapping up a 2017/18 Bradford City season ticket at an Adult price of £149 ended with a total of 16,500 briefs sold, a phenomenal return.

With the Bantams offer, however, it’s not the case that if you miss out on the original price that you face a steep increase.

An Adult season ticket is now priced at £169 until 16th April with Junior tickets £99 and Under-11's £5.

Over at Rochdale, where season ticket prices could be as low as £110 if 4,000 are sold, the first week of business has seen a healthy 500 supporters sign up for what could yet be Championship football next season.

Tuesday evening's home game against Port Vale is crucial in that regard and admission to Spotland will be just £1 for this re-arranged fixture.

£110 (Hopefully) To Celebrate Rochdale's 110 Years

I wrote recently about Rochdale, looking ahead to a League One fixture against Port Vale where admission for all was £1 (the match was postponed and will be played on Tuesday 4th April with the same prices applying), that these are 'good times at Spotland, or the Crown Oil Arena as it is currently known, with Rochdale pushing for promotion from League One and in a healthy financial position that was boosted recently by a sell-on fee received from the sale of Scott Hogan by Brentford to Aston Villa.'

Competition remains fierce in the local area, from the big boys of Manchester (and the never-ending diet of live, televised action) to the thriving Non-League scene but, from a distance, Rochdale seem to be in a good place to survive and thrive whatever division they may be in.

It is a far cry from the hand-to-mouth existence of the mid-1990’s as the club board and staff toiled endlessly to keep football alive in the town, a period chronicled superbly in the book ‘Kicking In The Wind’ by Derick Allsop, which went behind the scenes at Spotland for the 1995/96 season.

So it also seems like a good time to launch a season ticket offer that could see the 110th anniversary of the club being celebrated with prices that could reach as low as £110.

From tomorrow (Monday 27th March), supporters will be invited to put down a £50 deposit on a 2017/18 season ticket, the final cost of which will be staged as follows.

Over 2,000 season ticket sales - £250
Over 2,500 season ticket sales - £200

Over 3,000 season ticket sales - £150

Over 4,000 season ticket sales - £110

There's some more devil in the detail, which can be seen on the official Dale website but at first viewing it is an innovative offer.

When I see something like this, I like to dip into a fans forum and get more of a gauge of feeling.

Fan Network has a detailed thread on the subject which is extremely positive about the very fact that the club is making the effort and broadly supportive about the offer itself, albeit with some reservations about the details being both well-argued and well-meaning.

League One Football For £1 At Rochdale

Good times at Spotland, or the Crown Oil Arena as it is currently known, with Rochdale pushing for promotion from League One and in a healthy financial position that was boosted recently by a sell-on fee received from the sale of Scott Hogan by Brentford to Aston Villa.

Competition remains fierce in the local area, from the big boys of Manchester (and the never-ending diet of live, televised action) to the thriving Non-League scene but, from a distance, Rochdale seem to be in a good place to survive and thrive whatever division they may be in.

It is a far cry from the hand-to-mouth existence of the mid-1990’s as the club board and staff toiled endlessly to keep football alive in the town, a period chronicled superbly in the book ‘Kicking In The Wind’ by Derick Allsop, which went behind the scenes at Spotland for the 1995/96 season.

To gauge interest in a special season ticket offer for next season, Rochdale are offering admission to all, home and away supporters, for just £1 when Port Vale visit on Tuesday (28th February) for a League One fixture of importance at both ends of the table.

Reminder - Greater Manchester Football

I wrote prior to the start of the season about an agreement between Oldham Athletic, Rochdale and Bury which allowed season ticket holders at the respective clubs to watch one of the other teams in action for just £5 when their own side was either away from home or not playing.

Tomorrow represents a decent opportuity for fans of Oldham (away to Gillingham) or Rochdale (playing Stoke in the cup on Monday night) to get down to Gigg Lane for Bury's home game against Carlisle United with their season ticket book to gain reduced price admission.

A Great(er) Manchester Initiative for Affordable Football

Games between Oldham Athletic, Bury and Rochdale will routinely be described as Lancashire derbies and no doubt when any of these sides meet it it is pleasing for fans to get one over on the opposition.

But off the field the three clubs have again teamed up for an initiative that allows for season ticket holders to watch an additional five matches per season for just £5 each when their own team are playing away.

10 fixtures have been earmarked for Oldham fans to watch at either Bury or Rochdale with 5 Latics' games each available to Shakers and 'Dale supporters (Bury and Rochdale currently have home games scheduled for the same dates although these may change due to postponement or re-arrangement and the offer will then be extended).

Full details on the official websites of the various clubs.

Affordable Football & Rugby (Or Vice Versa)

Some interesting deals have cropped up over the past few weeks that have combined football and rugby (both codes) either where the sports take place at the same stadium or they are planned to do so shortly.

With the London Broncos having moved into Barnet FC's The Hive for the new Super League season, the Bees (who are always very active when it comes to ticket promotions) have already run a couple offers. With both sides at home on the weekend just gone, members from either club were able to watch the other match for free.

Something similar is happening at Rochdale this coming weekend under the hashtag #TeamRochdale. The promotion-chasing footballers host Accrington Stanley on Saturday and anyone who purchases a ticket for that game (from £15) can return to Spotland the following day to watch Rochdale Hornets in Challenge Cup action for just £5.

Bristol City season ticket holders, meanwhile, are able to watch Bristol Rugby's game against Ealing Trailfinders on Sunday 30 March for free with season ticket holders at the Rugby club able to do the same when City host Preston North End on Saturday 5 April.

This comes ahead of a move to Ashton Gate next season for the Rugby club, one that has seen plans for rail seats to be installed at the ground, for use at rugby matches only to begin with ahead of possible changes to legislation that allow them to be used for football.