Rochdale board of directors issues message to supporters after disappointing start to season

Rochdale board of directors issues a message to supporters after a disappointing start to their first season back in the EFL.

They note the growing unrest with life at Dale under Ian Watson and his side, who have lost four of their opening 5 league fixtures.

Before to the 2026/27 season got underway, Jimmy McNulty had departed the club, to join League One side Stockport County.

He was then replaced by Ian Watson, who South Shields who finished 2nd the the National League North, which is two tiers below League Two, and lost to Kidderminster in the playoff final.

Rochdale got their man, but it isn’t going as hoped, but it seems the Board of Directors are going to give Watson more time…

Ahead of tomorrow night’s Fans Forum, the Board of Directors have penned a message to Dale supporters.

📝 https://t.co/YtvLGmarW6#rafc pic.twitter.com/jYbrVYxYyc

— Rochdale AFC (@officiallydale) September 9, 2026

A statement read: “Ahead of Thursday night’s Fans Forum at the Crown Oil Arena, the Board of Directors have penned the following message to Dale supporters.

We are now five games into the new league season. Clearly, results have not gone how we would have liked. There is no escaping that. Ian and the coaching staff, as well as the Board, are all keenly aware that we will need to see an improvement in our performances.

It is disappointing for everyone associated with the Club that, after the recent positivity, there is now, understandably, frustration and this is finding its way into the stands.

However, we would also like to make the Club’s position clear.

Having achieved our initial goal of returning to the EFL a year ahead of schedule, we are now embarking on a second three-year journey, in which our aim is to win promotion to League One.

With outstanding references from all levels of the game, his ambition, but also, importantly, a desire to be part of our longer-term project, as well as being a thoroughly decent person, Ian and his team were hired with this journey in mind.

Whilst we are obviously disappointed by the way the start to the season has gone, we were not necessarily expecting this to be an easy ride. It is not always obvious from the outside, but the level of disruption caused by the departure of not just a manager, but also a number of key figures from our football operations over the summer, cannot be understated.

After a shortened pre-season and recruitment period, through no fault of the Head Coach, we have also suffered an exceptional number of injuries – in some cases very serious – which has significantly hampered our ability to field a consistent first eleven and/or rest healthy players. Against Gillingham, we had nine players, who we have invested over £1m of our playing budget into, unable to participate.

Ultimately, football is a results business. The very minimum of our ambitions this season is to ensure we remain in the League. However, given our longer-term plans, we do not intend to make any knee-jerk reactions, particularly in light of the headwinds noted above.

Our priority as a Board is to give Ian the time to develop the team and improve our results, and we intend to fully support him in his efforts to do so.

The Forum will take place in our newly refurbished Ratcliffe Bar on Thursday 10th September. Doors will open at 6.30pm, with the Forum getting underway at 7pm.

On the panel will be Co-Chairman Simon Gauge, Head Coach Ian Watson, Chief Executive Officer Laura Thomas, Head of Football Operations George Delves, and Rochdale AFC Community Trust Director Ryan Bradley.

The event is free to attend for all supporters. It will be filmed on the night and available to watch back via our official YouTube channel the following day.

Head coach Ian Watson said, as per the club website: “It was a really poor day. It was not an acceptable performance from start to finish,” says Watson.

“I thought even at the start of the game we weren’t moving the ball with the same intensity and bite that we had on Tuesday.

“I think we allowed the opposition to dictate too much of the game and I fully take responsibility, there’s a lot we need to improve on. We have to be so much better in the transition moments, we didn’t win any duels today and it was a soft performance.

“There’s no excuses, we didn’t have the intensity or the hunger. You could see on Tuesday we had the knife between the teeth and chased the opposition down.

“Today we didn’t have that, we allowed them to beat us up.”

Dale have been dealt with constant injury blows, with Ethan Ebanks-Landell and Ryan East picking up significant setbacks.

“Both are going to be long-ish terms (injuries), Kkip’s (Ebanks-Landell) going to be looking at a ten-week period, and Easty (East) will be a 14-week period, he’s fractured his toe in two places

“They’re both going to be out for the forseeable.”

Here’s how fans reacted on social media after the Rochdale board of directors issues a message to supporters after disappointing start to season…

@B_26281: “Having achieved our initial goal of returning to the EFL a year ahead of schedule, we are now embarking on a second three-year journey, in which our aim is to win promotion to League One.” Keep Watson in charge and we’ll be starting another three year journey in non league👍

@MattyK988: So what your saying is you haven’t got the balls to sack him yet even though most people can see he’s leading us back down

@jon_38dale: Ahh, the dreaded vote of confidence

@joembeebam: Happy they’ve done this. Think people are underestimating how many things are going against him at the minute. Not like they’re saying if performances carry on like this they won’t do anything about it. Don’t think any manager who they get in would do any better at the minute.

@JGriffin1971: Sometimes it’s easier to get off at the wrong stop earlier, than keep travelling in the wrong direction…

@Tom_H_04: 5 of the next 7 league games are against opposition who are yet to be beaten in the league, Oldham (10th) and Swindon (2nd) the exceptions. It’s going to be a long couple of months.

@dolan21sha: What a load of bollocks of football is a result business and the bored know that the results are shocking then need to get rid of the clown simple, we have a 3 year plan to get back into league one but the only way I can see is going is back to the NL with this 🤡

@HoltyAB: Ridiculous! I’m sorry but clearly performances haven’t been good and asking us to believe in management that isn’t working is just insane

@GabSutton: I must say, I absolutely adore Rochdale’s communication and transparency. Part of building a strong, but fundamentally real, relationship with supporters, is the ability to speak openly and honestly in tough moments, when not everything you say will be universally popular. Was lucky enough to visit Spotland in the summer, and I love what’s going on at that club, even if for different reasons it hasn’t quite translated onto the pitch this season just yet. In Cameron Ogden and Simon Gauge, that club is in the very safest of hands – both as a footballing entity and, just as importantly, as a community hub for the people of Rochdale. #RAFC 🔵⚫️

@NathanAsh66: You know what? Fair enough. Can get behind that. #rafc

@RochdaleFan: The dreaded vote of confidence from the board for Ian Watson. Can understand some of their points to backing him, but how long do we give him if results don’t improve, before risking at “The very minimum of our ambitions this season is to ensure we remain in the League” #RAFC

@AllDaleArentWe: Bold statement yes he’s had an unprecedented amount of injuries that any manger would struggle with. But risky if what the board are saying is true and there going to stick with Watson for now. I could accept it more so if there was a clear plan but that’s been lacking 95% of the time.

@HaydenBrowne5: Bunch of excuses to make up on your mistakes! Just sack him! #rafc

@RochdaleAFCcom: Reads very much like a vote of confidence. #RAFC