When David Flitcroft joined Dale back in the Summer of 1999, most Dale fans were already well aware of him. He had been a regular on the lower Division circuit for a number of years, escaping the Terry Smith circus sideshow at Chester City for the safer (and paid) environment at Spotland. And of course, any Dale fans not aware of him through Chester City were fully aware of his older brother and tabloid favourite Garry.
He was an immediate hit with Dale supporters. He was a tough tackling midfielder who provided Dale with that bite in midfield that had been missing since the days of Jon Bowden and Shaun Reid, and his performances in pre-season were very encouraging.
His debut saw him boss the midfield in the opening game of the 1999-2000 season at Cheltenham, and rugby tackle their mascot in the warm up. However, he was sent off in his second game for Dale early in the second half of a game against Southend, though in all honesty he should have been sent off much earlier than that.
That sending off seemed to affect his game greatly, as he appeared to hold back from his natural game of tough tackling, and his form suffered. There were also murmurings of a health scare which didn't help.
Despite all of that, he still managed to be a regular in the first team, chalking up forty appearances in the League for Dale, with a couple of goals to his tally, and a centrefold appearance in the Sunday Sport wearing the sort of clobber which will make him very popular in Macclesfield.
He was a regular again in the side throughout 2000-01, starting the vast majority of the games. Form tended to dip when he was played on the right hand side of midfield rather than his preferred central position, but he did enough to warrant Dale manager Steve Parkin offering him a two year contract extension at the end of the sseason.
His third season at Dale had him frozen out to an extent. The midfield pairing of Gary Jones and Michael Oliver was instrumental in taking Dale to the top of the league, and this restricted Flitcroft's involvement. He nearly left the club to join Shrewsbury in November of 2001, with a move agreed by all parties, but a last minute change of heart (perhaps helped by the then imminent departure of Gary Jones) saw Flicker stay at Spotland.
His final season was by far his best at the club, and he was deservedly voted as Player of the Season in the numerous awards that are on offer at the end of the season. Critics said that this said more about the other players than it did about Flicker, but that would be most unfair on the Bolton born midfielder.
Flicker has some outstanding display's during 2002-3, with the performance at Preston standing out. When on form, he was more than just the tough tackling midfielder, but quite a cultured one. He showed vision, determination and above all leadership in a season when it was sadly lacking.
His departure from the club was quite a controversial one, with Flicker finding himself a victim of the change in management. Any decision on whether he would be awarded a new contract was delayed and delayed, until the only offer he had from Dale was a chance to train with the club for pre-season in the hope to impress the new manager into giving him a contract.
With hundreds of footballers out of work, that was a chance he could ill afford to take, and with a number of clubs sniffing around, he opted to sign for Macclesfield Town so he could remain within the North West - no doubt so he could still pop round to his mum's for her World famous Finger Buffets!
Opinions will always be divided on Flicker's time at Dale. It is true that he did not have the talents that some of the other players at Spotland had, but he would more than match everyone of them in effort and determination. He was often criticised during his time at Dale, but his managers always spoke very highly of him, with his presence within the dressing room a crucial factor.
He was very much an old fashioned player. Solid, honest, dependable, though with the way yellow cards are issued for any sort of contact these days, you could say that players like Flitcroft are being left behind in the modern game. Certainly three yellow card based suspensions and a summons to the FA in his final season do not make good reading.
But Flitcroft will be remembered fondly by the majority of Dale supporters. He might not be remembered as an outstanding passer of the ball, for his goals or for his technical ability. He'll be remembered as someone who tried his best. Following leaving Spotland, Flitcroft had spells at Macclesfield and Bury, the latter of which saw him win the Player of the Season trophy in his final season with the Shakers, but he left the club not long after, after a rumoured fall from favour.
He headed to non league where he played for Hyde United, before returning to Spotland to become assistant manager to Keith Hill. He maintained his player registration and made the bench on a couple of occasions, but that was a case of needs must due to injuries rather than life in the old dog just yet.
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