Can someone pick up Rochdale's rattle?

By Nathan Jackson
October 30 2005

I'd thought I'd heard it all from teams after they had just lost to Lincoln, but then along came Rochdale. In a game where there team resembled people from WWE or ECW, the Imps came away 2-1 winners and the crap Rochdale fans have been spouting ever since shows that most of them are very sore losers

The controversy started yesterday when Keates and a Rochdale defender went down together before Ernie Cooksey came around the back and started kicking Keates in the head and attacking several City players. He recieved an extremely lenient yellow card but a lot of Rochdale fans conveniently didn't spot the Jonny Wilkinson impression.

Then, when City were 1-0 up, Rochdale had a corner but then, Gareth Griffiths' elbowed Brown in the face before the linesman spotted it. He was sent off and most Rochdale fans have been saying how the referee was obviously on Lincoln's side because of this incident that apparantly never happened. That's odd considering all the Lincoln fans and my Rochdale supporting friend, stood 100 yards away, managed to see the elbow.

There have been comments from several fans saying that Lincoln were a team of dirty, fouling giants. That's funny considering the average height was our players yesterday was 5'10 compared to your 6'2 average and if we're a dirty team, then what the hell are you? You were lucky to only have one player sent off, you've got a team full of trained boxers and wrestlers running around and beating everyone up and then crying about it when you don't get it your way.

Below are some of the comical Rochdale fans' comments regarding the incidents and our responce to them

"Now that Lincoln have escaped with the points, and the day has come to an end,
maybe the Lincoln defender can admit that the ref got it wrong, and aid a fellow professional!
In a era of too much player greed and cheating, it would be refreshing to see some honesty,
Then maybe the referee/lino can get a 3 match ban instead for making an absolute howler...
AS WE ALL KNOW THERE WAS NO FACKIN ELBOW!"

Well if you didn't see it but someone who was 100 yards away saw it, then you obviously need glasses. Why should our player try and help out a boxer in a football strip? The elbow was about as subtle as a David Beckham mohawk. And incase you didn't notice, the linesman had his flag up a long time before all the Lincoln fans were shouting to the ref.

"I was puzzled why their deliberate handball didn't see a yellow card brandished"

Maybe because it was our player was stood about a foot away from the ball when it was hit???

"If your going to buy a referee for a game dont make it obvious. Lincoln City are a disgrace ive never seen anything like it. So the ref gives you everything your players and management dont have to hug and congratulate him at the end. "

"Rubbed it in at the end, the way the Lincoln players were shaking the ref's hand, christ they may aswell have jumped all over him."

Shaking someone's hand is hardly hugging and congratulating him is it? I saw your players shaking his hand as well, does that mean that they wanted to take him to bed? No, didn't think so. As for the rest of it, kettle, pot, black, think about it.

Here's an idea Rochdale, in future, maybe you should concentrate on disiplining your collection of thugs and then maybe they wouldn't get sent off, but then again, just like Arsene Wenger, you'd never see the incident.