Dale sell out for Spurs Cup clash
THE wave of negativity which greeted Rochdale’s arrival on the FA Cup fifth round stage last week has done nothing to dampen the spirits of those around the Crown Oil Arena.
Chief executive Russ Green spent Monday morning in the middle of a snowstorm making hot drinks for Rochdale fans queuing for tickets to Sunday’s showcase cup clash with Tottenham.
Supporters waited in line from the early hours to secure their seat for the visit of top-flight Spurs with tickets selling out before lunchtime on Monday.
In a gesture of gratitude to the hardy supporters, Green headed straight to the ground’s kitchen to make a brew in polar conditions – the true face of the football club emerging after days of criticism over the condition of Dale’s playing surface.
He said: “I can’t believe people have picked up on it, but fans were queuing outside in the middle of a snowstorm when arrived,” said Green.
“I went up and made a few flasks of tea and coffee for people just to warm them up really – a bit of tea in Rochdale never hurts!
“That’s what you get at clubs like ours. We appreciate what the fans are doing and it was a ruddy cold morning!”
Dale confirmed tickets for the BBC-televised clash sold out 48 hours before they anticipated, just a couple of hours into the general sale window.
All hospitality packages have been sold and only a minimal number of tickets remain as Rochdale prepare for the arrival of the national and international media.
Green, twice CEO of the year at the Football Business Awards when at Hartlepool, expressed delight at the speed of sales – exceeding his expectations.
He said: “It’s been unbelievable to be fair, really busy.
“Staff have been working their backsides off and I think we’ve coped well I having had a series of strategy meetings to get through it.
“The organisation has been good, you always get a few hiccups with a complete sell-out but it’s worked fine.
“We expected there to be huge demand – it’s probably the biggest game we’ve ever had at the stadium – but the speed of it surprised us.”
After the postponement of the League One game against Fleetwood Town on Saturday, the club announced the Spotland pitch would be relayed ahead of the visit of Spurs.
Specialist contractors Premier Pitch – who lay the turf at Wembley, Murrayfield and Old Trafford – started work from 6pm on Saturday.
The surface – which will be sand-based as opposed to soil-based – will have been in place from Tuesday afternoon and ready for Keith Hill’s players to train on it by Thursday.
Conversations on replacing the pitch started before the Millwall replay, with concerns aired among the board as early as the visit of Blackpool on New Year’s Day.
Green has spent the last ten days fighting the club’s corner and reiterated player safety remained the chief concern throughout.
He said: “Every single professional player that walks on the pitch have to be looked after, whether they’re in the Premier League, National League or non-league.
“Callum Camps is as important as Dele Alli to us. If there had been any danger whatsoever in that pitch not being right against Millwall, the referee wouldn’t have played the game and neither would we.
“It’s common knowledge what clubs get as TV money in these games but replacing this pitch has cost us a hell of a lot.
“We’ve not just chosen to relay it because of the Tottenham game – we’ve done it to give Keith a greater chance to maintain our League One status and get the games played.”
Dale were due to face Bristol Rovers at the Memorial Stadium on Tuesday evening as the Observer went to press.