Rochdale 4-0 Aldershot Town - Saturday 29th March 2025 (Match Day Thread)

[supershots]

Very often players have bad games just before a big event and for their level it does not get bigger than a chance to play at wembley!
The defeat did not surprise me and anybody who says that they would throw themselves into a tackle just a week before the biggest game of their career is delusional.
Don't expect fireworks Tuesday either and to be honest I would advise resting players to protect them.

[Steve Melledew]

Coincidentally, on the corresponding Saturday last year we also got hammered 4-0 (the horror show at Maidenhead).

And how did we fare after that game till the end of the season?

W1 D2 L2

I reckon 5pts would be enough to keep us up for sure.
By the sound of it today was a match where we were beaten by a team who wanted it more than us, can’t complain the schedule of fixtures we’ve had would be difficult even with a fully fit squad let alone with 10 players out injured it’s no surprise really. I do hope Tommy stops the experiment with Laing at the back he’s just not ready from what I’ve seen causing the players around him to be indecisive put Ellison back in.

Tuesday will be difficult against a side who must win we have to match there work rate, wish we had a clear week but that’s what happens when you play your first team in the Hants cup and National Cup, at the time we needed to build confidence which got us into a semi and quarter final where we had to basically give both games away to concentrate on the league and FA trophy. Lets hope the players can get enough energy Tuesday and especially Saturday to get us safe and a final at Wembley.

[Alex]

to be honest I would advise resting players to protect them.

Absolutely stupid thing to do!!

[Josh]

I'd very much advise picking the best available 11 and going all out for 3 points then we can think about Woking.

[SteveyAsp]

to be honest I would advise resting players to protect them.

Absolutely stupid thing to do!!

I'm with Supershots....I'd be resting as many as possible for Tuesday.
I'm confident we're safe and next Saturday is one of the biggest games in the club's history.

[Peter macdonald]

to be honest I would advise resting players to protect them.

Absolutely stupid thing to do!!

Indeed, another one who’s keen on the drinks cabinet, we’re not safe yet FFS

[Adzy]

Resting players doesn’t always work the way people think it does. Playing 2 different squads with some players playing in each can massively disrupt cohesion, especially when both games are in the same week. Continuity is key here.

[supershots]

to be honest I would advise resting players to protect them.

Absolutely stupid thing to do!!

So you would be happy to lose a couple of your best players through injury, if we were in danger I would agree with you but we could lose every game ( highly unlikely) and still probably not go down

[supershots]

to be honest I would advise resting players to protect them.

Absolutely stupid thing to do!!

Indeed, another one who’s keen on the drinks cabinet, we’re not safe yet FFS

You clearly do not know me

[Gone West]

to be honest I would advise resting players to protect them.

Absolutely stupid thing to do!!

Indeed, another one who’s keen on the drinks cabinet, we’re not safe yet FFS

Agree. The Wood went down on 52 points just last season. History suggests that one more win should be enough though.

[Silasgoldeen]

to be honest I would advise resting players to protect them.

Absolutely stupid thing to do!!

I'm with Supershots....I'd be resting as many as possible for Tuesday.
I'm confident we're safe and next Saturday is one of the biggest games in the club's history.

Yeah same. Also, let's not panic if Tuesday doesn't go well. Fylde are a weird team and well capable of beating us, and losing two on the bounce can happen to anyone. Won't mean anything. We're safe. Just need to keep our heads.

[Silasgoldeen]

Resting players doesn’t always work the way people think it does. Playing 2 different squads with some players playing in each can massively disrupt cohesion, especially when both games are in the same week. Continuity is key here.

Can go both ways though. If they're running on empty then a rest before Saturday would do the world of good. And as for cohesion, we just lost 4-0. The team has been doing well and knows what it has to do. If a couple of players need a breather then let them do that.

[Peter macdonald]

Absolutely stupid thing to do!!

Indeed, another one who’s keen on the drinks cabinet, we’re not safe yet FFS

You clearly do not know me

We’re not safe yet Tony, beat fylde then we can look forward to the Woking game

[Silasgoldeen]

That was pretty horrible. Our recently solid back three of loanees (not Laing, we won't see him again after today) were horribly exposed by a bit of guile and pace. We dropped loads of clangers and were punished every time. Aaron Jones is a shadow of the player that joined us two years ago. No complaints, 4-0 flattered us.

We didn't win a header, a bouncing ball or a tackle all game, but didn't get close enough to even attempt it. If our pass completion rate was 50% I'd be amazed. When Barrett & Henry played together between September and Christmas we were pretty *****. Back together in there today and we were worse than *****. Planets circle the sun quicker.

But never mind. Great chippy outside the ground, Aldershot have brilliant supporters, great turnout today and this might just wake us up for Woking next week. Buts that's about it I'm afraid.

Yeah this is my little worry as well. Henry and Barrett is a big ask in these days of defending as a team. I'm happy with Henry as a game changer on the hour at this point. He can still massively impact games.

[supershots]

Indeed, another one who’s keen on the drinks cabinet, we’re not safe yet FFS

You clearly do not know me

We’re not safe yet Tony, beat fylde then we can look forward to the Woking game

Who is Tony?