Rich Man/Poor Man

Rola Cola Sponsored English League Two

Rochdale AFC 2 - 1 Notts County FC

Journey

It's funny how the the fixture calendar works out.  Last year the Notts County home fixture followed on from the Dagenham away game as well.  Curiously also on a Tuesday night. 

There the similarities end.  Last season Dale went into the Notts County game off the back of an unlikely defeat - this time they go into the game on the back of a very unlikely win.  Last year Notts County were bumping along in the lower reaches of League Two - this year, flushed with cash from a publicity shy consortium of investors, the Magpie's have assembled League Two's answer to El Galacticos.  At the Meadow Lane helm is sometime British tabloid darling and fan of la dolce vita, Sven Goran Eriksson - and since Ian McParland was bundled to the exit, Sven's long time pal Hans Backe has been installed to do his masters sinister bidding.

Having proved to be a decent source of precious points in recent seasons, the Magpies had become a very different prospect this term.  Bouyed by a seemingly bottomless wallet, County are the league's top scorers.

Having made the tortuously slow trudge from Manchester in a torrential rain storm I finally arrived at Spotland with just minutes to spare.

Weather 

It has been a bit rainy up north recently.   Much of Cumbria is suffering the terrible effects of violent flooding and Carlisle's ground is under water.  Probably due to being perched on the Pennine's Rochdale has avoided being submerged - but it has seen it's fair share of the rain.  The Spotland ground staff once again worked wonders to ensure the game would go ahead - but the rain barely let up throughout the game.  Under the floodlights, supported by a swirling gale - it looked like someone was running a smoke machine.

Food

None - I was too busy gawping at Sven - he's looking a little pasty these days.  From the press box I could also see that there was a goodly selection of scouts out tonight.  Spurs and Blackburn had men there as did Hull - I was shoulder charged out of the way by Hull Manager Phil Brown whilst trying to pick up my press pass.  Incidentally, Phil Brown is the orangest thing I have seen since Tango stopped their award winning advertising campaign.

Away Support

Where were you when you were poor?  300 or so.

News 

Over and out?  The reason for Adam Rundle's absence at the weekend became clear yesterday.  He took advantage of the shuttle service to the Don Valley Stadium, he's out on loan for a month.

Action

Your team for tonight:

GK: Heaton

Def: Flynn, Stanton, Dawson, Wiseman

Mid: Buckley, Kennedy(J), Taylor, Atkinson

For: Dagnall, O'Grady

Bench: Taberner, McArdle, Toner, Brown, Spencer, Higginbotham

Holness had picked up a knock at the weekend meaning Stanton would return to the starting eleven after his four game ban.  Having collected his fifth yellow card of the season on Saturday, Tom Kennedy would sit tonight out - Wiseman would switch to left back, Flynn coming in at right back.  Buckley starts in the Dale midfield after his telling introduction on Saturday.

Mr. Miller indicated the start and in increasingly murky conditions both sides rolled forward.  The weather made for tough going, but Dale settled first and began to probe the Magpies defences.  Young Atkinson producing a Ronaldinho-esque sequence of drag backs to carve an opening.  Million pound man Kasper Schmeichel produced an excellent block from the resulting shot.

County were disappointingly static but could point to a header off the bar from Bishop and a curling shot from Westcarr which inched wide of the post, however Dale had more and better chances through both O'Grady and Dagnall.  Dagnall rapping the underside of the bar from 30 yards before the ball hammered into the ground - without the benefit of a Russian linesman on duty, it was adjudged not to have crossed the line.  

On the half hour County had a shot cleared off the line by Taylor and five minutes later they grabbed a slightly unlikely lead.  Atkinson lost the ball in the left back position and after a neat period of interplay the ball fell to Westcarr who drilled in a deep cross.  As Flynn tried to get between the ball and the advancing Davies, he misjudged and headed it past a flummoxed Heaton and into the back of his own net.  1-0 County.

However, just five minutes later - Dale were back on level terms.  Dagnall surged into the box and weaved around two players before Clapham stuck out a leg and brought him down.  The linesman may not have been Russian - but he had no doubt about indicating a penalty.  The next few minutes were slightly embarrasing.  Sven went uncharacteristically berserk.  The Notts County players followed suit - remonstrating with Mr. Miller for what seemed an age.  Unsurprisingly, Mr. Miller didn't change his mind.  Dagnall placed the ball on the spot.  Schmeichel picked it up and re-spoted it.  Dagnall re-seated it.  Schmeichel re-spotted it.  Mr. Miller intervened.  Dagnall put the ball down again.  The linesman cleared up Schneichel's confusion over the exact location of his line.  Dagnall advanced.  1-1!

Five minutes later embarrasment turned into pure comedy.  Stanton pumped the ball up field.  Lee and Hunt charged in to clear the danger, collided with one another and collapsed to the turf.  O'Grady was alert to the opportunity, rounded the cuddling couple, rounded a despairing lunge from Schmeichel and slotted the ball into the vacant net.  2-1 Dale!

Notts County kicked off.  Mr. Miller blew for half time.

My half time discussion with Mr. Culshaw was an odd one.  In spite of the financial inequalities - Dale were ahead.  The concern was - it simply couldn't last.  County had quality to burn and more to call on from the bench.  Dale couldn't even fill theirs and two of the six man bench were trainees.  It was just a matter of time before the Magpies struck.

They didn't disappoint.  The second half was pretty much all County.  Dale occasionally raided forward - but County had the majority of posession and with a howling wind at their backs they pushed Rochdale back again and again.  The thing was that as terrorised as Dale were at times, their resolve never cracked - Stanton and Dawson ensuring that Akinbiyi, Rodgers and later Ritchie were left with little room for manoeuvuer.  The majority of County's efforts were from range and were either wide of goal or comfortably dealt with by Heaton.  With minutes to go Dale survived a furious appeal for handball in the area and then to the collective surprise and relief of the Spotland faithful, Mr. Miller blew for full time.

The waggish elements inside Spotland offered some creative suggestions on where County might keep their wallets in future.  Personally I doubt that it would be possible - let alone practical.

Speak Your Brains

Your cast for tonight: Me

On my summer holiday I met a group of Notts County fans.  It was the day the news of Sven's appointment was announced.  They informed me that County were the biggest club in League 2 and furthermore that they were too big for this league anyway - they went on to point out that with their newly endowed millions they would win the league at a canter.  This one's for you boys.

This game was settled by mistakes.  Atkinson and Flynn combined to provide County's opener.  Clapham's lunge got Dale back on terms.  Hunt and Lee's misunderstanding sealed the deal.

Dale stay second and move to within a point of table toppers Bournemouth.