From fan to boss – Chris brings his Dale tale to book
New play is a homage to Rochdale’s history
THE former Rochdale AFC chairman has written a book telling his story of being a Rochdale supporter from the 1960s through to becoming its chairman.
In his memoir ‘More in Hope Than Glory’, Chris Dunphy explores his journey from a young lad who used to walk four miles to the ground for every home game through to his 32 years at the football club.
The 70-year-old’s autobiography reveals the ebb and flow of running a lower league football club and recounts the hopes and aspirations of every football supporter.
He said: “Because the world of football is changing so much I thought it would be interesting to show what it was like supporting the organisation in the 60s.
“Things get forgotten and passed by and I wanted to make a record of that.
“It was a story that needed telling and I wanted to tell the tale from a chairman’s point of view of what it’s like to run a community football club that has to survive week to week in a very competitive world.
“There is more hope than glory in our Rochdale club.
“You live in hope of getting better and know you’ll never get to the Premier League but you reach for the stars and hopefully hit the moon.”
When he first joined the board in 1980, the club was in a precarious situation; owing in excess of £200,000 to the Inland
Revenue but the organisation survived.
After David Kilpatrick resigned as Rochdale’s chairman, Chris stepped up to the plate determined to reach his vision of getting the team higher up in the football league pyramid.
The life-long fan was chairman during the club’s most successful ever period, overseeing a first Wembley appearance and two promotions.
Under his 12 and half year leadership as chairman, Rochdale AFC gained promotion for the first time in over 40 years. Relegation to League Two in 2012 was followed by promotion back to League One in 2014.
The father-of-five began writing his memoir, which took him 18 months to complete, when he was still chairman.
At the time he did not know how the book would end but found the writing process cathartic and it was eventually published in April.
He said: “When I watched football it was a working man’s game and people looked down on footballers but by the 1980s and 90s it became a sport for all classes.
“To me football is the greatest game that has ever been invented and in Rochdale it really is a local team for local people.”
The former Cardinal Langley RC High School pupil used to play for Rochdale Catholic Club in his youth and recalls paying two shillings to watch a match around 1960.
He enjoys playing a game of football in the park with his eight grandchildren and still speaks with former manager Keith Hill on occasions.
Chris, of Milnrow, is still working as a specialist in heating engineering and provides churches with a carbon neutral solution while protecting the building fabric.
In December 2018 he stepped down as chairman due to a difference in opinion about the direction in which the club should go.
The grandfather of eight said: “One of my fondest memories from my time as chairman was when we got to the top of the league aiming for promotion and we sorted the finances out at the club, supporters were chanting ‘top of the league and paying our bills’.
“We were playing Bury that day and that made me think we got our message across.
“Bury were putting a lot of money in their football club and weren’t doing as well as Rochdale.
“Supporters were basically saying we can do this and we are improving without spending vast sums of money.”
Chris praised the club for its development in professionalism from its standards to training techniques.
He continued: “David Kilpatrick and Keith Hill put together were fantastic and brought fresh ideas to the club we hadn’t had before, and
Keith was good at attracting young football players.
“Young people need support from a good club and a manager that will play them if they are good enough.
“Keith was prepared to play young players unlike a lot of managers and that was the strength of the club going forward because as young people developed they became salable assets.
“Young talent is absolutely essential for the future of the club and it will not survive from the people who come from the turnstiles on the Saturday.”
Reg Jenkins, Gary Jones and Ian Henderson are ‘legends’ in the eyes of Chris and he described Gary as a particularly inspirational person for the players around him.
I AM delighted to hear that a group of local actors have had their first read-through of a new play - Cotton Famine Road.
The play, which tells the story of Rochdale mill workers during the 1860s, recently had its first observed readthrough at Touchstones Rochdale.
Actors from our wonderful local theatre groups performed selected scenes to an audience of representatives from Rochdale Council and local arts organisations.
The play tells the story of Jessie, an Irish immigrant who struggles to keep her daughters fed and community together during the Cotton Famine.
During this period the cotton industry in Rochdale ground to a halt due to the American Civil War and people in Rochdale came out in support of the abolition of slavery.
Cotton Famine Road features several real-life figures including leading black activists from the time such as Sarah Parker Remond, an African American activist who became well known on her abolitionist tour for her fiery speeches.
A plaque honouring her has just been unveiled near Russell Square Tube Station in London.
John Bright, the Liberal MP and Rochdale mill owner, who opposed slavery in parliament and corresponded with US President Abraham Lincoln also appears in the piece which incorporates verbatim quotes from their orations as well as extracts from contemporary Cotton Famine poetry, written in Lancashire dialect.
The script is being written and produced by Mick Martin and Jude Wright from Bent Architect theatre company, following the tour of their recent production Full English.
Mick Martin, whose previous works include Once Upon a Time in Wigan, England, Arise! and Broken Time, also wrote and directed the 2017 play It’s in the Blood, about Rochdale and Oldham’s heritage as rugby league towns.
It was during rehearsals for It’s in the Blood that the idea for Cotton Famine Road began to take shape.
The piece has been supported by Arts Council England throughout its research and development phase and has recently received a grant from the Granada Foundation, alongside support from local organisations including Touchstones, the Rooley Moor Neighbourhood Forum and Cartwheel Arts.
The team behind it is currently looking to secure further funding, with a view to staging the play in Rochdale next year, as part of a wider arts project exploring the Cotton Famine.
They would like to encourage anyone interested in assisting with funding the piece to get in contact via the dedicated website, www. cottonfamineroad.weebly. com »