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One of the ideas for a podcast topic that we've had is to talk about players we'd have loved to have seen in a Dale shirt, so for some inspiration I thought I'd ask - if you could have signed one player from an opposition team, who would it be? (Trying to keep it as realistic as possible, I don't think Harry Kane was about to jump ship from Spurs).
Kevin Ellison has to be up there for me. I remember when he signed for Morecambe my Dad said we should have gone for him but I told him he was too old. 9 years, 340 appearances and 81 goals later I think I've been proven wrong. Always got under the skin of opposition players and fans, could play in a few different positions and seemed to carry a constant threat, even in his advancing years.
On the other end of the scale - which players are you glad we never signed? I remember being quite heavily linked with both Tes Bramble and Shaun Harrad in the past only for both to sign for different local sides and neither quite lived up to expectations. Expensive bullets dodged on both occasions I think.
Tangled up in blue.
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If you could have signed one player on 08:57 - Apr 28 with 2502 views
If you could have signed one player on 08:41 - Apr 28 by isitme
I'm pretty sure it was Gboly Ariyibi who now plays in Greece. Supposedly that was by far and away his best every game and shocked his own supporters as much as ours! He did absolutely destroy what ever player we put against him.
One of the finest individual displays I've seen at Spotland was that. He ruined it by getting himself sent off.
He was at Motherwell last season, so I had the good fortune of seeing him a couple of times (my son is in their Academy and we get comp tickets as a result).
It's fair to say Ariyibi didn't reproduce the heights of that performance against us up here, but he still looked decent.
If you could have signed one player on 08:57 - Apr 28 by fitzochris
One of the finest individual displays I've seen at Spotland was that. He ruined it by getting himself sent off.
He was at Motherwell last season, so I had the good fortune of seeing him a couple of times (my son is in their Academy and we get comp tickets as a result).
It's fair to say Ariyibi didn't reproduce the heights of that performance against us up here, but he still looked decent.
He was stunning that day. Another player who I'd slot into that category of enjoying incredible individual performance against us but not hearing much about later is Sherjil MacDonald who scored at hat-trick against us for Hereford in the 07/08 season. A quick google tells me he spent the majority of his career in Belgium which is probably why I never heard much about him again.
Tangled up in blue.
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If you could have signed one player on 10:58 - Apr 28 with 2410 views
Clayton Donaldson at Crewe was always a player I wished that we had been able to get. In more recent years- and one which I still would like to happen- I'm amazed Jamie Proctor has had to drop into Non-league. Always seemed a handful when he played against us.
Pitman would be bucket list material.
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If you could have signed one player on 12:41 - Apr 28 with 2325 views
One of the best displays from an opposition playerthat i have seen was Dean Windass playing against Dale for Bradford City in league cup game.he beat us on his own that night and came off to a standing ovation.
Martin Carruthers (ex Southend striker) always impressed me, but my bucket list signing in his pomp would have been (ironically) Chris Beech. Seem to recall an absolute masterclass from him in a game at Spotland in the Barrow era. I think we lost 0-3 and lost our next home game by the same margin too. Grim times.
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If you could have signed one player on 15:51 - Apr 28 with 2194 views
If you could have signed one player on 13:57 - Apr 28 by krafty80
Martin Carruthers (ex Southend striker) always impressed me, but my bucket list signing in his pomp would have been (ironically) Chris Beech. Seem to recall an absolute masterclass from him in a game at Spotland in the Barrow era. I think we lost 0-3 and lost our next home game by the same margin too. Grim times.
Chris Beech scored one of the best headers I’ve ever seen. It was at Maine Road v Man City when he was playing for Huddersfield. I spoke to him about it at the promotion party thing at the Town Hall and he was well chuffed someone could verify it. He said he was forever telling people at the club that he once scored a header from just inside the 18 yard box but no one would believe him. He had me confirming to BBM and Michael Rose that it did happen. It wasn’t on YouTube for ages but managed to find it now.
If you could have signed one player on 08:36 - Apr 28 by BigDaveMyCock
I remember Juryeff at Halifax. He was their best player by a country mile and I did wonder at the time how he ended up there.
One of the best performances I’ve ever seen against Dale was Elliott Benyon for Torquay in the 5-0 promotion spoiler. His pace and movement that day were as good as I have seen from a player in the bottom two divisions. I would have liked to have seen him here. Who was that American winger who tore Joe Bunney, then his replacement Tom Kennedy and then his replacement Scott Tanser new uns in one game? It was like a Bruce Lee film where they all line up to get thumped by Bruce. All these left backs lining up to get turned inside out. Ding, next left back to utterly humiliate please.
[Post edited 28 Apr 2020 8:40]
Yep, if you were watching the same game I am thinking of he was excellent, but think he got 2, one of which was a ball from deep left side and he absolutely rinsed our defence before cool finish. Got a feeling we lost 3 2.
Was surprised he ended up there as think he was at Chesterfield with a guy called Norris and they scored shed loads, think Norris may even have been top scorer that season.
Still, Sutton would probably have played him left back!
Every Team Needs A John Ryan - The Winger Who's a Ringer!!!!!
If you could have signed one player on 12:41 - Apr 28 by since58
One of the best displays from an opposition playerthat i have seen was Dean Windass playing against Dale for Bradford City in league cup game.he beat us on his own that night and came off to a standing ovation.
Yes, remember that game and agree...he was outstanding that night.
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If you could have signed one player on 20:22 - Apr 28 with 1978 views
Always thought we should have gone after Adebayo Akinfenwa when he was released from AFC Wimbledon in 2016. Would have been an ideal frontman and at the age he was, would have been the sort of senior squad member that we bring in that younger players could learn from. Look what he's done at Wycombe for the last three years.
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If you could have signed one player on 22:50 - Apr 28 with 1889 views
First noticed him when he played against us for Barnsley. He was on loan from Man City, quick as fook and knew where the goal was. Just what we needed at the time. I always hoped that we would have signed him when he was released from City but suspect he was well out of our budget.
If you could have signed one player on 11:06 - Apr 28 by James1980
Is that an example of nomanative determinism
Fook off James. I left school in 1958 with no qualifications. Had to use chalk on slates. Was ok until it rained when we would slide off the roof. (Les Dawson 1970).
Certainly one player who on the strength of performances at Spotland that tore us apart on the night was Junior Bent playing for Huddersfield in a F.A cup replay if my memory serves me well. Another young player who impressed me was Jason Puncheon when playing for Barnet ,no surprise that he went on to have a pretty reasonable career.Ironically now plying his trade at Paphos in Cyprus just a stones throw down the road from where I spend much of my retirement
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If you could have signed one player on 15:30 - Apr 29 with 1608 views
If you could have signed one player on 14:57 - Apr 29 by davidab2202
Certainly one player who on the strength of performances at Spotland that tore us apart on the night was Junior Bent playing for Huddersfield in a F.A cup replay if my memory serves me well. Another young player who impressed me was Jason Puncheon when playing for Barnet ,no surprise that he went on to have a pretty reasonable career.Ironically now plying his trade at Paphos in Cyprus just a stones throw down the road from where I spend much of my retirement
Puncheon served us well that nevertobeforgotten day in Southampton, when we won 0-2 but he obliged by missing a stream of chances including a couple of absolute sitters
If you could have signed one player on 15:51 - Apr 28 by BigDaveMyCock
Chris Beech scored one of the best headers I’ve ever seen. It was at Maine Road v Man City when he was playing for Huddersfield. I spoke to him about it at the promotion party thing at the Town Hall and he was well chuffed someone could verify it. He said he was forever telling people at the club that he once scored a header from just inside the 18 yard box but no one would believe him. He had me confirming to BBM and Michael Rose that it did happen. It wasn’t on YouTube for ages but managed to find it now.
Full disclosure, I had totally forgotten that Beech did actually play for us after Huddersfield. I do not recall that at all! I should've checked Wikipedia first (32 apps in 2002-04, allegedly).
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If you could have signed one player on 17:22 - Apr 29 with 1536 views
If you could have signed one player on 17:12 - Apr 29 by krafty80
Full disclosure, I had totally forgotten that Beech did actually play for us after Huddersfield. I do not recall that at all! I should've checked Wikipedia first (32 apps in 2002-04, allegedly).
Nor did I! You did say in his pomp tbf. If we don’t remember him then he must have depomped by then.
I used to always wish Bury’s Steve Johnson played for us. Really glad we did get him, as he was a good striker for us, but bloody frightening when he played against us. I suppose he goes into a list of players who we were relived to see play for us who had given us nightmares when playing against us.