Football Season Guide

Robbie Stockdale has certainly made a brave decision in taking on his first managerial role at Rochdale. It might prove to be foolhardy too with the Club in something of a mess following relegation from League One. Boardroom upheaval proved too much for Brian Barry-Murphy in the end and was reluctantly released from his contract at his own request. Stockdale’s appointment comes after six-months coaching at West Bromwich Albion and he has a lot of work to do to sort things out at Spotland. At the time of writing he hasn’t made a single new signing and has just 13 senior first-team players in his squad. Several loan players have returned to their parent clubs whilst midfielder Jimmy Ryan was surprisingly released. Less surprisingly was striker Kwadwo Baah’s move to Watford, which will hopefully give Stockdale a little more wriggle room in what’s likely to be a modest player budget. The departures of midfielder Matt Lund and striker Stephen Humphrys, to Salford City and Wigan Athletic respectively, are significant blows and they will take some replacing. It’s tricky to find some positives in the circumstances but it can be done. Jay Lynch established himself as first-choice goalkeeper last season whilst Eoghan O’Connell, Jimmy Keohane, Matt Done and Stephen Dooley have all signed new deals. Stockdale will need to be given time and, should they make a poor start, the returning fans are far more likely to direct their ire at the boardroom rather than dugout.