Meet the newest member of the Pearl Street Post team

We're delighted to welcome Jimmy Moorhouse - an experienced journalist but more importantly, a lifelong Dale fan - to the team as our newest writer to help deliver the fresh, independent coverage of RAFC that our fanbase deserves.

So, without further ado, let's allow our new man to introduce himself...

It’s hard to believe it’s been more than 20 years since my first trip to Spotland.

I grew up in Bamford, just more than a stone’s throw away from the ground, so it was almost inevitable that I’d start coming to the games with my fellow football enthusiast Dad.

As a young’un, I quickly learned that supporting a team which won occasionally was actually far more rewarding supporting one that won every week, as most of the kids my age who supported Manchester United got to experience under Sir Alex Ferguson at that time.

It was missing the 7-2 win away at Stockport County that pretty much solidified my desire to watch every Rochdale game wherever possible, and that’s the attitude I’ve stuck with ever since my early teens.

For large parts of my childhood, I had it pretty good when watching Dale, as we celebrated two promotions under Keith Hill and recorded our highest ever finish thanks to heroes such as Gary Jones, Craig Dawson and of course, Ian Henderson.

I began writing match reports about Dale from a young age and that led me into the journalism career I have today, which has allowed me fantastic experiences such as covering the Commonwealth Games and reporting live from Old Trafford.

But when it comes to Saturday at 3pm there’s nowhere I’d rather be than Spotland, even if the start to the season has slightly drained the enthusiasm we all had at Wembley four months ago.

When I saw a post about Matt starting a new website covering Dale, I knew that I wanted to contribute and I really hope that the season can still be a successful one, as there’s perhaps nothing worse than reflecting too much on a match that your team has lost.

This club has given me, and probably most of you reading, some incredible moments in recent times and that arguably only feels better thanks to the truly awful times we’ve had to go through as a fanbase.

So let’s keep our heads up, remember where we were three years ago and stick together, because we all know just how special this club is.

Up the Dale!

Jimmy