Rochdale return to League 1 action when they take on struggling Gillingham at Spotland this Saturday… fresh from being named as the club offering the best value match day experience in League 1.
The fixture against misfiring Gillingham gives Keith Hill’s men an opportunity to kick-start their season again, coming at the end of a positive week for Rochdale with the BBC’s Price of Football study reporting they offer the least-expensive day out in the bottom two football league divisions.
Speaking to the club’s official website, Rochdale chief executive Colin Garlick was enthusiastic concerning the findings of the BBC report.
“You’ve got to have a product to sell in the first place and we’ve got a fantastic product,” he said.
“We’ve got the lowest prices in the bottom two divisions when you look what they [the BBC] are assessing, so to come out on top is really good.
“The word cheap doesn’t do anything for me, I’m afraid. I like to look at it as though we’re bringing the better value. We’ve made a conscious effort to keep our prices down.
“When we set our prices we’re always mindful that people have got a choice and what we want to do is try to attract them – we’ve actually frozen prices for the last four years.”
Rochdale fans can buy a match ticket, a programme, a pie and a cup of tea for a total of £21.50, providing a better price than every other club in Leagues 1 and 2.
The Greater Manchester club’s cheapest match day ticket is only £15, £2 less expensive than Fleetwood Town who provide the next-best value ticket in the division.
Garlick added: “It’s also worth pointing out that the actual style and brand of football that we play is really attractive.
“We get a lot of plaudits for how we go about playing the game and that’s down to Keith, the players and the backroom staff.”
The Dale have slipped to 11th in the division, having had a break from league action last weekend when their fixture against MK Dons was postponed due to the international commitments of several visiting players.
Regarding the upcoming fixture, manager Keith Hill stressed the importance of setting achievable targets for the next stage of the season, starting by tackling a tough Gillingham side at the weekend.
“It’s going to be a difficult, difficult fixture,” he told the club’s official website.
“The next 12 games will give us an indication of where we’re actually at, but at this moment we’re in good shape with the squad of players that we’ve got.
“What we have done is suggested a mini target after 23 games and then we’ll try and build again.”
Jack Muldoon could feature for Rochdale after making his first appearance of the season in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy against Walsall on Tuesday.
Saturday’s opponents Gillingham sit 20th in League 1 having lost three games on the bounce, and are coming off the back of a 3-0 defeat by Scunthorpe last time out.
They will potentially be bolstered by the return of striker Danny Kedwell, who has been out for six weeks with a knee injury.
Main image courtesy of OfficialRochdaleAFC via YouTube, with thanks.
