Dale fans say ‘thanks for saving our club’
Open letter to those who have preserved future
ACAMPAIGN group set up by fans opposing a ‘hostile’ takeover of Rochdale AFC has written an open ‘thank-you’ letter to those whom it says have helped to ‘safeguard’ the future of the club.
The Up The Dale Not For Sale campaign was set up anonymously by fans of the club to spread the word over the summer when businessman Andrew Curran, of Morton House MGT, was in talks to take over the group.
Now the campaign says: “it feels like the right time to draw a line under the ongoing saga, thank a few people and reset ahead of 2022 and beyond.”
It has issued thanks to a number of people, including Andrew Kelly, a club director, ‘superfan’ David Clough, chairman Simon Gauge and Colin Cavanagh, chairman of the Dale Trust.
In a public message to Mr Kelly, the campaign said: “Thank you for making the right (but difficult) decision not to sell out to Morton House.
“We know that decision has come at great expense
– financial, health and physical – but without your decision on that fateful Sunday, who knows where we would be now?”
Also singled out for praise was Colin Cavanagh, chairman of the Dale Trust.
The spokesman continued: “We know you won’t enjoy being singled out for a name check, but without your ‘Open letter to AK’ thread and the countless hours you have spent spearheading the campaign to save Dale, as well as your fantastic leadership of the Trust, we firmly believe we may still not have the club in safe hands today. Thank you.”
A tribute was also paid to lifelong ‘superfan’ Cloughie, who left his estate to the club.
They said: “Your legacy will live long in the folklore of the football club.
“The estate you left enabled the Trust to become the single biggest shareholder in the club, and on behalf of the fan base they will continue to work in the best interests of Dale. Thank you.” And there was also a mention for chairman Simon Gauge for “stepping up to take over the reigns of a sinking ship, steadying it and setting it back on the right course”, and Graham Morris, Trevor Butterworth and John Smallwood.
The late David Kilpatrick was described as being “a role model of what custodianship of Dale looks like, and a true example for Simon Gauge et al to follow.”
The editors of the club’s website were also thanked for ‘moderating the information’, as well as the original shareholders.
Directing comments to the website, the spokesman said: “Thank you for providing a platform for the brilliant work referenced elsewhere in this post. Despite repeated legal threats from various parties, you moderated the discussion diligently to ensure that all relevant information was, and still is, able to be viewed by any member of the public who is interested to know what has gone on, and just how close we came. Thank you.”
Message board member RAFCBLUE also received a special mention for hours spent gathering information, as did journalist Fitzochris.