 |
| Emmanuel Dieseruvwe found the net again against Gateshead. |
Football’s capacity for mood swings has rarely been more
vividly demonstrated than it was in the space of four days this month. On a Wednesday
night, Rochdale dismantled Gateshead with a performance brimming with
authority, fluency and belief − the kind of display that suggested a
team not just finding its feet but striding into the new season with purpose.
By the Saturday evening, at Brackley, the mood could scarcely have been more
different. A radical reshaping of the side, justified in the name of fixture
congestion, left Dale disjointed and beaten, supporters bewildered by the speed
with which momentum had been surrendered.
The difference between the two games was stark. Against
Gateshead, the team looked comfortable in a system starting to click into
place; against Brackley, that rhythm was missing, as if the pieces of the
puzzle had been scattered again. Taken together, the fixtures gave a glimpse of
life under Jim McNulty − the potential highs this side can reach, and the pitfalls
that could just as easily pull them back down.
If the earlier wins in August had hinted at progress, the
home fixture against Gateshead underlined it. Rochdale produced their most
complete performance of the season so far − a display built on authority
in midfield and a ruthlessness in the final third.
The most gratifying aspect was the control exerted by the
central pairing of Harvey Gilmour and Ryan East. Where in the previous two league fixtures, the midfield
had too often looked short on contrast, here it clicked: fluid, balanced and
authoritative from the first whistle. From the outset, the tempo was set
in the middle of the park, even in those moments when passes were funnelled
into them from defence − situations that last season would have frayed nerves in
the stands. This time, it was composure, not panic, that defined the response.
McNulty’s 3-4-2-1 was beginning to reap rewards from the upgraded quality within the squad. Familiar patterns were executed with a sharpness and precision that made them more effective. The patient build-up play − sideways, backwards, probing − was still there, but now carried intent. It was notable that almost every goal kick in the second half was played short, a signal of confidence in both structure and personnel. Players being able to switch positions added to those options: the wing backs swapped sides after half time, as did Devante Rodney and Aidan Barlow, a flexibility that kept Gateshead unsettled and under pressure.
That confidence paid dividends. Emmanuel Dieseruvwe, making
it three goals in three games, continued to give Rochdale the kind of focal
point they had lacked last season, while Rodney’s commanding shift in the No.10
role brought its reward with a goal of his own. Captain Ethan Ebanks-Landell
underlined once more the threat Rochdale carried from set pieces with a bullet
header, and the return of Connor McBride added an extra layer of satisfaction − his
thunderous strike a reminder that depth was not just a matter of numbers but of
genuine quality waiting in the wings. Oliver Whatmuff, too, was excellent in
goal: alert, always available and a constant presence, even though this was a
game where his opposite number rightly received all the plaudits for keeping
Dale to just four.
And those four goals, spread across the side, told their own
story: this was not just a win, but a performance that hinted at the collective
growth of a squad starting to believe in both its system and itself.
Therefore, McNulty’s decision to then field an entirely
different XI at Brackley Town was as startling as it was divisive. From the
high of Gateshead, where every facet of Rochdale’s game had looked finely
tuned, came a side that bore almost no resemblance to it. The manager defended
the choice by pointing to the punishing schedule − Gateshead on Wednesday,
Brackley on Saturday, Sutton to follow on Monday − yet the logic of rotation
could not mask the shock of such sweeping change. The gamble ended in a 2-1
defeat, but the repercussions may stretch far beyond a single scoreline.
No one would have begrudged McNulty five or six alterations,
perhaps even more, had the spine remained intact − the reassurance of a Kyron Gordon,
a Gilmour or a Dieseruvwe anchoring the unfamiliar. Instead, the wholesale
reshuffle stripped the team of its core. What followed was not calamity, but a
side shorn of rhythm and chemistry, players looking sideways in search of an
anchor who was not there. Dan Moss and Casey Pettit, handed rare opportunities,
might now wonder whether their auditions have been complicated rather than
advanced; even Ian Henderson, a talisman in so many guises, was left to
question where his contribution fits next.
 |
| Anthony Gomez-Mancini injected some life against Brackley. |
Rochdale were not humiliated. They saw plenty of the ball,
kept possession tidily, but to little consequence. Their play had the feel of a
team still learning each other’s accents, fluent only in hesitation. Only Anthony
Gomez-Mancini, introduced from the bench, injected any real sense of clarity, a
footballer determined to seize his moment while others seemed caught in the fog
of uncertainty.
The deeper issue is one McNulty cannot ignore. Supporters
will forgive defeats; what unsettles them is the sense of needless risk, of
momentum squandered at the very point it was gathering force. The victory over
Gateshead had sent optimism surging through the stands, the first genuine swell
of unified belief in years. To so quickly puncture that with an experiment of
this scale leaves the manager with trust to rebuild. The remedy may be as
simple as acknowledgement: to admit that the calculation was wrong, that the
intention was sound, but the execution flawed.
That it even required saying, so soon after such a
comprehensive and uplifting win, is the measure of the situation. Success for
Rochdale will rest not only on tactics or talent, but on preserving the fragile
bond of unity and belief. Recognising when not to endanger that may prove the
most important decision McNulty makes all season.
So, if the trip to Brackley had thrown McNulty’s judgement
into the spotlight, the visit of Sutton on the Bank Holiday Monday felt like a
test of how quickly both manager and team could restore calm. The response was
measured rather than emphatic, but no less important for that. Rochdale
reverted to the side that had swept past Gateshead, and while this 1-0 victory
lacked the same sparkle, it carried the weight of reassurance.
It might have been far more comfortable had chances in the
first half been converted. Joe Pritchard and Rodney were the most culpable,
each passing up opportunities that would have put the contest beyond doubt
before it had chance to tighten. Still, Pritchard impressed with his sharpness,
though the knock he picked up after the break − his second in five days − was
a cause for unease.
The rhythm of substitutions hinted at a plan to continue
managing minutes in the wake of the Brackley experiment, though I personally
felt changes could have been made earlier. In the end, Dale were indebted once
again to the defence and, especially, Whatmuff, who brought authority and calm
to the closing stages, ensuring that Emmanuel Dieseruvwe’s predatory strike,
the product of a neat spell of possession, proved enough.
It was not an afternoon for fireworks, but it was an
afternoon for stability − a reminder that control, concentration and a reliable
spine can carry this team a long way.
 |
| Sam Beckwith helped protect Dale's lead against Sutton. |
The month closed with a trip to Wealdstone, a ground that
has offered Rochdale little cheer in either of their previous National League
campaigns. This time, though, they arrived in Ruislip in far brighter
circumstances: buoyed by a sense that early-season optimism was beginning to harden into
something more substantial. Their hosts, by contrast, had seen form stutter
after a lively start.
And so it transpired that Rochdale broke that hoodoo with a convincing 3-1 victory. Once again, Emmanuel Dieseruvwe was on the scoresheet, his run of form continuing to provide Dale with a reliable focal. Just as encouraging was the spread of goals across the front three (Barlow and Rodney grabbing the other two), a reminder that this side possesses enough attacking variety to match most in the division.
There was a spell when Wealdstone rallied, threatening to
turn the contest into something more uncomfortable, but Rochdale’s defence
stood firm and handled the revival with composure. Perhaps fresher legs earlier
from the bench might have eased the strain, yet it would be harsh to dwell on
that after such a strong away win.
It was, in all, a result that carried extra weight: a
difficult venue conquered at last, momentum regained and further proof that
McNulty’s side can combine resilience with goalscoring edge.
Taken as a whole, August provided a solid launch to the 2025/26 campaign with Rochdale finishing the month top of the pile. Yet the truer measure of progress will arrive in the coming weeks. It is against clubs of similar resource and ambition − Carlisle United, York City, Southend United, Forest Green Rovers, Hartlepool United − that Rochdale’s trajectory will become clearer. Two of those challenges await in September.
Photos courtesy of The Voice of Spotland/Dan Youngs/Rochdale AFC
No comments:
Post a Comment