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Greyfriars Bobby · 12-15-2014, 12:03 PM

30 August 2014

Life was looking better from the manager's office at Spotland Stadium. A 4-1 victory at Ballymena United and a successful Transfer Day worked wonders.

Andy Sim celebrated the first start of his Rochdale career with a brace. Alan Foster and Steven Jackson got the other goals, and Jackson assisted on all three of the goals he didn't score. The result lifted Rochdale all the way to 14th, not where anyone in blue wanted them to be, but a lot better than the bottom.

Several clubs came calling with offers for Jackson, but Paul turned them all down. "Linfield offered us £85,000 at the very end of the evening, but I honestly didn't consider it. Steven is one of our key players."

The club did sell one player. Lars Nielsen had made it clear that he wasn't going to sign another contract with Rochdale, saying the club wasn't good enough to match his aspirations. So, when Barnsley offered £100,000 for Lars's services, Sanderson shook his hand and wished him good luck.

"It's never a bad idea to do business like that with your parent club," Paul reasoned. "It wasn't easy to sell Lars; he's a fine player, but he didn't plan on staying here after the end of the season. He understood that it was better for us to get the fee for him than for us to let him leave on a free in June."

Paul hoped he had found a good replacement for Nielsen in John Spendlove, age 29, whom he bought from Sheffield United (League Two) for £22,000. He'd appeared in 33 matches there last season, mostly on the right side of midfield, but he didn't appear to be part of their plans anymore.

"John can play right wing back or right full back, even though he didn't play much in those positions with Sheffield. If it turns out he's not a good fit there, we can always use Craig Robertson."

As the transfer window closed, Paul registered his squad for the first half of the season. There were no surprises on the squad list; here's how it looked. Loan players are shown in blue type.

Goalkeepers: Sakari Kinnunen, Stavros Molloy, Morten Pedersen.

Defenders: Jamie Bennett, Andy Carr, Danny Clements, Ger Dykes, Craig Robertson, Graham Somers, John Spendlove, Adam White.

Midfielders: Sam Dawson, Alan Foster, Adrian Martland, Jack McGrath, Max McKenzie, Josh Moore, Johannes Scherrer, Joe Webb, Paul Webb.

Strikers: Charlie Baird, Craig Ennis, Steven Jackson, Emannuel Koffie, Andy Sim.

12-15-2014, 12:03 PM	#41
Greyfriars Bobby College Prospect Join Date: Sep 2013	30 August 2014 Life was looking better from the manager's office at Spotland Stadium. A 4-1 victory at Ballymena United and a successful Transfer Day worked wonders. Andy Sim celebrated the first start of his Rochdale career with a brace. Alan Foster and Steven Jackson got the other goals, and Jackson assisted on all three of the goals he didn't score. The result lifted Rochdale all the way to 14th, not where anyone in blue wanted them to be, but a lot better than the bottom. Several clubs came calling with offers for Jackson, but Paul turned them all down. "Linfield offered us £85,000 at the very end of the evening, but I honestly didn't consider it. Steven is one of our key players." The club did sell one player. Lars Nielsen had made it clear that he wasn't going to sign another contract with Rochdale, saying the club wasn't good enough to match his aspirations. So, when Barnsley offered £100,000 for Lars's services, Sanderson shook his hand and wished him good luck. "It's never a bad idea to do business like that with your parent club," Paul reasoned. "It wasn't easy to sell Lars; he's a fine player, but he didn't plan on staying here after the end of the season. He understood that it was better for us to get the fee for him than for us to let him leave on a free in June." Paul hoped he had found a good replacement for Nielsen in John Spendlove, age 29, whom he bought from Sheffield United (League Two) for £22,000. He'd appeared in 33 matches there last season, mostly on the right side of midfield, but he didn't appear to be part of their plans anymore. "John can play right wing back or right full back, even though he didn't play much in those positions with Sheffield. If it turns out he's not a good fit there, we can always use Craig Robertson." As the transfer window closed, Paul registered his squad for the first half of the season. There were no surprises on the squad list; here's how it looked. Loan players are shown in blue type. Goalkeepers: Sakari Kinnunen, Stavros Molloy, Morten Pedersen. Defenders: Jamie Bennett, Andy Carr, Danny Clements, Ger Dykes, Craig Robertson, Graham Somers, John Spendlove, Adam White. Midfielders: Sam Dawson, Alan Foster, Adrian Martland, Jack McGrath, Max McKenzie, Josh Moore, Johannes Scherrer, Joe Webb, Paul Webb. Strikers: Charlie Baird, Craig Ennis, Steven Jackson, Emannuel Koffie, Andy Sim.