1982–83 Rochdale A.F.C. season

Rochdale 1982–83 football season

Rochdale
1982–83 season
Manager	Peter Madden Jimmy Greenhoff
League Division Four	20th
FA Cup	1st Round
League Cup	2nd Round
Top goalscorer	League: Micky French All: Micky French
← 1981–82 1983–84 →

The 1982–83 season saw Rochdale compete in their 9th consecutive season in the Football League Fourth Division.

Statistics

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Division 4		F.A. Cup		League Cup		Lancashire Cup
No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
	GK	WAL	Chris Pearce	43	0	36+0	0	1+0	0	4+0	0	2+0	0
	DF	ENG	Steve Warriner	9	0	4+0	0	0+0	0	2+0	0	3+0	0
	DF	ENG	Eric Snookes	40	0	33+0	0	1+0	0	3+0	0	3+0	0
	MF	NIR	Ronnie Blair	8	0	3+0	0	0+0	0	2+0	0	3+0	0
	DF	SCO	Jack Trainer	12	0	7+0	0	0+0	0	2+0	0	3+0	0
	DF	ENG	Alan Weir	14	0	7+1	0	1+0	0	2+0	0	3+0	0
	MF	ENG	David Thompson	53	6	43+3	5	1+0	0	3+0	0	3+0	1
	MF	ENG	Neville Hamilton	19	3	11+0	3	0+1	0	3+1	0	3+0	0
	FW	ENG	Micky French	43	12	35+1	11	1+0	0	3+0	0	3+0	1
	FW	ENG	Barry Wellings	32	10	20+4	6	1+0	1	4+0	2	3+0	1
	MF	ENG	Peter Farrell	47	8	43+0	8	0+0	0	3+0	0	1+0	0
	MF	ENG	Eugene Martinez	34	3	24+5	3	1+0	0	1+1	0	0+2	0
	DF	ENG	Bill Williams	42	0	34+3	0	0+0	0	4+0	0	0+1	0
	FW	ENG	Mark Hilditch	42	7	38+1	7	1+0	0	2+0	0	0+0	0
	MF	ENG	Andy Stafford	3	1	1+0	1	0+0	0	0+0	0	2+0	0
	DF	ENG	Gerry Keenan	33	1	30+0	1	1+0	0	2+0	0	0+0	0
	MF	ENG	Paul Comstive	10	2	9+0	2	0+0	0	1+0	0	0+0	0
	DF	SCO	Willie Garner	5	0	4+0	0	0+0	0	1+0	0	0+0	0
	DF	ENG	Brian Taylor	15	0	13+1	0	0+0	0	1+0	0	0+0	0
	MF	ENG	Geoff Thomas	1	0	0+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	DF	ENG	Carl Swan	4	0	3+0	0	1+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	FW	ENG	Roy Greaves	22	0	19+2	0	1+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	DF	NIR	Gerry McElhinney	20	1	20+0	1	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	FW	ENG	Peter Nicholson	7	0	7+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	FW	ENG	Stewart Thompson	12	3	10+2	3	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	FW	ENG	Jimmy Greenhoff	12	0	12+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	DF	ENG	Brian Greenhoff	7	0	7+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	DF	ATG	Everton Carr	9	0	9+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	DF	ENG	Andy Higgins	11	2	11+0	2	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	GK	SCO	Graeme Crawford	11	0	10+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	1+0	0
	FW	ENG	Malcolm O'Connor	1	0	0+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0

Final League Table

Main article: 1982–83 Football League Fourth Division

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	HW	HD	HL	HGF	HGA	AW	AD	AL	AGF	AGA	GD	Pts	Promotion
18	Aldershot	46	11	5	7	40	35	1	10	12	21	47	−21	51
19	Tranmere Rovers	46	8	8	7	30	29	5	3	15	19	42	−22	50
20	Rochdale	46	11	8	4	38	25	0	8	15	17	48	−18	49
21	Blackpool	46	10	8	5	32	23	3	4	16	23	51	−19	49	Re-elected
22	Hartlepool United	46	11	5	7	30	24	2	4	17	16	52	−30	48	Re-elected

Source:
Notes:

Blackpool had two points deducted.

Competitions

Football League Fourth Division

Main article: 1982–83 Football League Darlington v Rochdale

28 August 1982 (1982 -08-28) 1	Darlington	3–0	Rochdale	Darlington
	Walsh 17', 30' Dunn 80'	Report		Stadium: Feethams Attendance: 1672

Rochdale v Chester

4 September 1982 (1982 -09-04) 2	Rochdale	0–1	Chester	Rochdale
		Report	Thomas 25'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1490

Rochdale v Hartlepool United

7 September 1982 (1982 -09-07) 3	Rochdale	2–0	Hartlepool United	Rochdale
	Stafford 47' Wellings }75'	Report		Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 987

Colchester United v Rochdale

10 September 1982 (1982 -09-10) 4	Colchester United	4–1	Rochdale	Colchester
	Allinson 43' (pen.) Wignall 45' Lyons 49', 90'	Report	Wellings 17' (pen.)	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 2638

Rochdale v Swindon Town

18 September 1982 (1982 -09-18) 5	Rochdale	1–1	Swindon Town	Rochdale
	Hilditch 32'	Report	Emmanuel 5'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1407

Mansfield Town v Rochdale

25 September 1982 (1982 -09-25) 6	Mansfield Town	2–1	Rochdale	Mansfield
	Waddle 3', 24'	Report	Comstive 14'	Stadium: Field Mill Attendance: 2002

Stockport County v Rochdale

27 September 1982 (1982 -09-27) 7	Stockport County	2–2	Rochdale	Stockport
	Williams 32' Power 86'	Report	Hamilton 59' Wellings 60'	Stadium: Edgeley Park Attendance: 1873

Rochdale v Bury

2 October 1982 (1982 -10-02) 8	Rochdale	0–0	Bury	Rochdale
		Report		Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 3236

Crewe Alexandra v Rochdale

8 October 1982 (1982 -10-08) 9	Crewe Alexandra	1–1	Rochdale	Crewe
	Waller 31'	Report	French 48'	Stadium: Gresty Road Attendance: 2168

Rochdale v Blackpool

16 October 1982 (1982 -10-16) 10	Rochdale	3–1	Blackpool	Rochdale
	Hilditch 8' Wellings 54' (pen.) Comstive 59'	Report	Bamber 5'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 2001

Wimbledon v Rochdale

19 October 1982 (1982 -10-19) 11	Wimbledon	3–0	Rochdale	Wimbledon
	Peters 6', 64' Leslie 90'	Report		Stadium: Plough Lane Attendance: 2294

Rochdale v Halifax Town

23 October 1982 (1982 -10-23) 12	Rochdale	2–2	Halifax Town	Rochdale
	Hilditch 60' D. Thompson 84'	Report	Spooner 31' Keenan 32' (o.g.)	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1733

Hereford United v Rochdale

30 October 1982 (1982 -10-30) 13	Hereford United	1–0	Rochdale	Hereford
	White 47'	Report		Stadium: Edgar Street Attendance: 2402

Rochdale v Northampton Town

2 November 1982 (1982 -11-02) 14	Rochdale	2–0	Northampton Town	Rochdale
	Keenan 42' Hamilton 63' Williams 87'	Report	Syrett 87'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1019

Rochdale v Port Vale

6 November 1982 (1982 -11-06) 15	Rochdale	3–3	Port Vale	Rochdale
	French 42' Wellings 52' (61)	Report	Hunter 66' Moss 85' Greenhoff 87'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 2220

Peterborough United v Rochdale

13 November 1982 (1982 -11-13) 16	Peterborough United	1–0	Rochdale	Peterborough
	Cooke 22'	Report		Stadium: London Road Stadium Attendance: 2245

Torquay United v Rochdale

27 November 1982 (1982 -11-27) 17	Torquay United	3–2	Rochdale	Torquay
	Cooper 5', 70' Wilson 90'	Report	Hilditch 44' Hamilton 50'	Stadium: Plainmoor Attendance: 2522

Rochdale v Bristol City

4 December 1982 (1982 -12-04) 18	Rochdale	1–0	Bristol City	Rochdale
	Farrell 75'	Report		Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1307

Rochdale v Wimbledon

11 December 1982 (1982 -12-11) 19	Rochdale	0–2	Wimbledon	Rochdale
		Report	Evans 11' Entwistle 75'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1096

Rochdale v Aldershot

18 December 1982 (1982 -12-18) 20	Rochdale	3–1	Aldershot	Rochdale
	D. Thompson 42' Martinez 43' French 75' (pen.)	Report	Banton 81'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 888

Scunthorpe United v Rochdale

27 December 1982 (1982 -12-27) 21	Scunthorpe United	1–1	Rochdale	Scunthorpe
	Cammack 89'	Report	French 32' (pen.)	Stadium: Old Show Ground Attendance: 4989

Rochdale v York City

28 December 1982 (1982 -12-28) 22	Rochdale	1–0	York City	Rochdale
	Farrell 89'	Report		Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 2127

Hull City v Rochdale

1 January 1983 (1983 -01-01) 23	Hull City	2–1	Rochdale	Hull
	Roberts 18' Marwood 89' (pen.)	Report	D. Thompson 85'	Stadium: Boothferry Park Attendance: 9059

Rochdale v Tranmere Rovers

3 January 1983 (1983 -01-03) 24	Rochdale	4–2	Tranmere Rovers	Rochdale
	Mooney 1' (o.g.) Hilditch 12' McElhinney 21' Martinez 70'	Report	Ferguson 15' Kerr 82'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1758

Chester v Rochdale

8 January 1983 (1983 -01-08) 25	Chester	5–2	Rochdale	Chester
	Thomas 2', 50', 85' Zelem 80' Wilson 86' (pen.)	Report	French 17' Zelem 89' (o.g.)	Stadium: Sealand Road Attendance: 1729

Rochdale v Darlington

15 January 1983 (1983 -01-15) 26	Rochdale	1–1	Darlington	Rochdale
	Farrell 20'	Report	McLean 90'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1233

Swindon Town v Rochdale

22 January 1983 (1983 -01-22) 27	Swindon Town	4–1	Rochdale	Swindon
	Rideout 9', 50' (pen.), 55' Pritchard 82'	Report	Hilditch 15'	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 5442

Rochdale v Mansfield Town

5 February 1983 (1983 -02-05) 28	Rochdale	2–2	Mansfield Town	Rochdale
	D. Thompson 25' Farrell 80'	Report	Dungworth 25' Matthews 51'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1031

Bury v Rochdale

12 February 1983 (1983 -02-12) 29	Bury	0–0	Rochdale	Bury
		Report		Stadium: Gigg Lane Attendance: 4376

Blackpool v Rochdale

26 February 1983 (1983 -02-26) 30	Blackpool	1–0	Rochdale	Blackpool
	McNiven 41'	Report		Stadium: Bloomfield Road Attendance: 2373

Halifax Town v Rochdale

4 March 1983 (1983 -03-04) 31	Halifax Town	0–0	Rochdale	Halifax
		Report		Stadium: The Shay Attendance: 2128

Rochdale v Hereford United

12 March 1983 (1983 -03-12) 32	Rochdale	4–1	Hereford United	Rochdale
	French 44', 56', 84' S. Thompson 63'	Report	Maddy 82'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 2000

Rochdale v Crewe Alexandra

15 March 1983 (1983 -03-15) 33	Rochdale	2–0	Crewe Alexandra	Rochdale
	S. Thompson 8' Farrell 86'	Report		Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 2497

Port Vale v Rochdale

19 March 1983 (1983 -03-19) 34	Port Vale	4–0	Rochdale	Stoke-on-Trent
	Bromage 23' Newton 72', 75', 83'	Report		Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 5129

Rochdale v Peterborough United

26 March 1983 (1983 -03-26) 35	Rochdale	1–1	Peterborough United	Rochdale
	Higgins 48'	Report	Chard 83'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1560

York City v Rochdale

2 April 1983 (1983 -04-02) 36	York City	1–0	Rochdale	York
	Walwyn 32'	Report		Stadium: Bootham Crescent Attendance: 3357

Rochdale v Scunthorpe United

4 April 1983 (1983 -04-04) 37	Rochdale	0–1	Scunthorpe United	Rochdale
		Report	Graham 85'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 2056

Bristol City v Rochdale

9 April 1983 (1983 -04-09) 38	Bristol City	0–0	Rochdale	Bristol
		Report		Stadium: Ashton Gate Stadium Attendance: 4780

Rochdale v Stockport County

16 April 1983 (1983 -04-16) 39	Rochdale	1–0	Stockport County	Rochdale
	French 26' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1829

Northampton Town v Rochdale

19 April 1983 (1983 -04-19) 40	Northampton Town	1–1	Rochdale	Northampton
	Tucker 90' (pen.)	Report	French 27'	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 1728

Aldershot v Rochdale

23 April 1983 (1983 -04-23) 41	Aldershot	6–4	Rochdale	Aldershot
	Senior 35', 40', 65' Banton 44', 73', 81'	Report	Farrell 25', 55' Hilditch 50' D. Thompson 90'	Stadium: Recreation Ground Attendance: 1651

Rochdale v Colchester United

26 April 1983 (1983 -04-26) 42	Rochdale	2–1	Colchester United	Rochdale
	Higgins 21' French 33'	Report	Allinson 81'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1270

Rochdale v Torquay United

30 April 1983 (1983 -04-30) 43	Rochdale	2–2	Torquay United	Rochdale
	Farrell 30' S. Thompson 75'	Report	Carter 32' James 44'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1359

Hartlepool United v Rochdale

7 May 1983 (1983 -05-07) 44	Hartlepool United	3–0	Rochdale	Hartlepool
	Hogan 53' (pen.) Staff 64' Dobson 88'	Report		Stadium: Victoria Park Attendance: 1015

Rochdale v Hull City

14 May 1983 (1983 -05-14) 45	Rochdale	1–3	Hull City	Rochdale
	Martinez 2'	Report	Mutrie 2' Roberts 44' Marwood 75'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 2730

Tranmere Rovers v Rochdale

16 May 1983 (1983 -05-16) 46	Tranmere Rovers	0–0	Rochdale	Birkenhead
		Report		Stadium: Prenton Park Attendance: 1985

F.A. Cup

Main article: 1982–83 FA Cup Altrincham v Rochdale

20 November 1982 (1982 -11-20) 1	Altrincham	2–1	Rochdale	Altrincham
	Davison 26' Anderson 61' Kenyon 77' Howard 82'	Report	Martinez 61' French 77' Wellings 84' (pen.)	Stadium: Moss Lane Attendance: 3053

League Cup (Milk Cup)

Main article: 1982–83 Football League Cup Port Vale v Rochdale

30 August 1982 (1982 -08-30) 1	Port Vale	1–0	Rochdale	Stoke-on-Trent
	Moss 84'	Report		Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 2565

Rochdale v Port Vale

14 September 1982 (1982 -09-14) 1	Rochdale	2–0 (2–1 agg.)	Port Vale	Rochdale
	Wellings 55', 72' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1536

Rochdale v Bradford City

5 October 1982 (1982 -10-05) 2	Rochdale	0–1	Bradford City	Rochdale
		Report	Gallagher 41'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 2196

Bradford City v Rochdale

27 October 1982 (1982 -10-27) 2	Bradford City	4–0 (5–0 agg.)	Rochdale	Bradford
	Mellor 8' Cooke 42', 76' Gallagher 85'	Report		Stadium: Valley Parade Attendance: 3206

Lancashire Cup

Bury v Rochdale

14 August 1982 (1982 -08-14)	Bury	2–1	Rochdale	Bury
			French	Stadium: Gigg Lane

Rochdale v Burnley

17 August 1982 (1982 -08-17)	Rochdale	0–0	Burnley	Rochdale
				Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 2591

Oldham Athletic v Rochdale

21 August 1982 (1982 -08-21)	Oldham Athletic	2–2	Rochdale	Oldham
			D. Thompson Wellings	Stadium: Boundary Park
Note: Also a Rose Bowl match

References

Rochdale AFC: The Official History 1907–2001 by Steven Phillipps. ISBN 1874427097
"The English National Football Archive". Enfa.co.uk. Retrieved 27 April 2022.

v t e Rochdale A.F.C. seasons
1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10
1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20
1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30
1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40
1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50
1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60
1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70
1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80
1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90
1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000
2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10
2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20
2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25

1982–83 in English football

« 1981–82 1983–84 »

National teams

League competitions

Levels 1–4	Football League (First Division, Second Division, Third Division, Fourth Division)
Level 5	Alliance Premier League
Levels 6–7	Isthmian League (Premier, One) Northern Premier League (level 6 only) Southern League (Premier, Midland, Southern)
Levels 8–9	Isthmian League (Two) Athenian League (level 8 only) Combined Counties League (level 8 only) Eastern Counties League (level 8 only) Essex Senior League (level 8 only) Hellenic League (Premier, One) Kent League (level 8 only) London Spartan League (Premier, Senior) Midland Football Combination (level 8 only) North West Counties League (One, Two) Northern Counties East League (Premier, One North, One South)

Northern League (One, Two)
South Midlands League (Premier, One)
Sussex County League (One, Two)
United Counties League (Premier, One)
West Midlands (Regional) League (level 8 only)
Western League (Premier, One)

Cup competitions

FA cups	FA Cup (Qualifying rounds, Final) Charity Shield FA Trophy (Final)
Football League cups	League Cup (Final) Football League Trophy (Final)

European competitions

Club seasons
First Division	Arsenal Aston Villa Birmingham City Brighton & Hove Albion Coventry City Everton Ipswich Town Liverpool Luton Town Manchester City Manchester United Norwich City Nottingham Forest Notts County Southampton Stoke City Sunderland Swansea City Tottenham Hotspur Watford West Bromwich Albion West Ham United
Second Division	Barnsley Blackburn Rovers Bolton Wanderers Burnley Cambridge United Carlisle United Charlton Athletic Chelsea Crystal Palace Derby County Fulham Grimsby Town Leeds United Leicester City Middlesbrough Newcastle United Oldham Athletic Queens Park Rangers Rotherham United Sheffield Wednesday Shrewsbury Town Wolverhampton Wanderers
Third Division	Bournemouth Bradford City Brentford Bristol Rovers Cardiff City Chesterfield Doncaster Rovers Exeter City Gillingham Huddersfield Town Lincoln City Millwall Newport County Orient Oxford United Plymouth Argyle Portsmouth Preston North End Reading Sheffield United Southend United Walsall Wigan Athletic Wrexham
Fourth Division	Aldershot Blackpool Bristol City Bury Chester Colchester United Crewe Alexandra Darlington Halifax Town Hartlepool United Hereford United Hull City Mansfield Town Northampton Town Peterborough United Port Vale Rochdale Scunthorpe United Southport Stockport County Swindon Town Torquay United Tranmere Rovers Wimbledon York City

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