Rochdale celebrate league and lowest arrests success – to prove ‘when the going gets good, the tough get going’

Rochdale’s scintillating home form this season has coincided with a sharp decrease in the number of arrests at Spotland stadium, MM can reveal.

Dale have won 14 home matches in the league this season compared to eight last campaign and also have the best home record in League Two.

The statistics from Greater Manchester Police show the fans have also cleaned up their act from last season as just nine matchday arrests have been made at Spotland this campaign: less than half of last year’s tally of 23.

There is something of a correlation between results on the pitch and matchday arrests as in season 2011/12, when Dale were relegated from League One, arrests more than quadrupled from seven in the previous campaign to 29.

Season 2010/11 yielded the lowest number of matchday arrests over the last four seasons, which again coincided with a successful campaign on the pitch as Dale secured their highest league finish for 41 years.

The police declined to comment on whether Dale’s form was the reason behind the fall in matchday arrests but Jamie Williamson, 27, a Rochdale fan from Middleton, was in no doubt.

“I don’t think it is a coincidence,” he said. “When the team is winning the fans are happy and with Keith Hill in charge, we generally win more games than we lose.

“Spotland is always a friendly ground to go to and the fans are there for one reason, to get behind the team. We don’t want to cause trouble and clearly that is the case.”

Dale, currently second in the league and chasing promotion, will look to maintain their impressive record on the field at Spotland today when they face Southend United.

Manager Keith Hill admitted his team were deflated after suffering a 3-0 defeat at Mansfield Town last week – their first loss in six matches – but backed them to put that disappointment behind them.

“Mansfield celebrated last week like they had won the World Cup and it hurt,” Hill told the Dale Player.

“It hurts when you can hear the opposition changing room celebrating like they have won the World Cup or the Copa del Rey.

“But Saturday’s result has probably helped us refocus, you can get carried away with the background noise and the side shows when really all we’ve got to do is remain focused on our job.

“It’s been an unbelievable season so far and I trust the players to continue that season.”

Southend, like Dale, are also pursuing promotion, presently occupying sixth position and Hill believes the clash is a massive game for both sides.

“It’s a pressure game,” he added. “There’s an enormous amount of pressure on both teams and it’s about who deals with that pressure and performs best on the day.”    

Main image courtesy of ASKY1960 via YouTube, with thanks.