When Rochdale face Oldham this weekend, it will be a derby of unlikely saviours at once stricken clubs now looking to the future
It’s not every day one of Britain’s richest men knocks on your door to say hello, especially in. Sir Peter Ogden’s impromptu doorstep in Percy Street met a typically unvarnished response delivered in flat Lancastrian: “You’re not trying to sell me summat are you?”
The group were kitted out in their Rochdale gear bought at the club shop the day before, which prompted the neighbour’s defensive reflex. Sir Peter had been giving back for two decades via the Ogden Trust, a charity which focuses on various educational programmes promoting the sciences, before he answered the desperate plea from the club he supported as a boy. Whilst Rothwell can talk a rocking horse to sleep, Sir Peter rarely speaks on the record, leaving the delivery of the Rochdale undertaking to Cameron.
The critical moment came in the Bamford Suite, Rochdale’s premier hospitality space, on the night of Tuesday 12 March for the visit of Woking, inadvertent witnesses to transformation. Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham was also present to demonstrate the support and involvement of the political class in this process.
That sense of community endeavour, depicted in a mural of a father and son holding hands as they walk to the match on the wall of the Ratcliffe, the club’s social hub – “It’s not just a club, son, it’s a way of life” – is preserved under the Ogden ownership. Waugh was born and raised in Spotland, “literally floodlights through the windows stuff”, is how he describes it. As the town’s MP under thegovernment he has a duty of care towards the club as well a season ticket holder’s enthusiasm. Together with the Ogdens, local councillors and Mayor Burnham, Waugh is part of what might be seen as a multi-faceted campaign to demonstrate the relevance of small-town football clubs to their communities.
Surrendering a winning position to goals in added time at home is football’s thumb screw, emotional wipeout for three days at least. This was the fate of Rochdale against Crawley in the first round of thelast month, an outcome that would have been a grievous hit in the all too recent doom-spiral when existence relied on cup runs and player sales. Not anymore.
“The Ogdens have reflected on the role of the club in the community, and want to do everything they can to help. The club helps veterans, young girls particularly, food banks, a panty at every match, cooking courses, mental health schemes. The community Trust motto is helping the people of Rochdale live, work and play. That’s why people turn up.
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