202526 season
A01=Chris Fitzgerald
Author_Chris Fitzgerald
boardroom battle
Category=SFBC
community ownership
Crown Oil Arena
English football
eq_bestseller
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_sports-fitness
financial crisis
football culture
football history
forthcoming
Greater Manchester
Jim McNulty
Lancashire football
League Two
lower-league football
National League
National League play-offs
non-league football
northern football
Ogden family
play-off final
promotion
promotion season
relegation
Rochdale AFC
Spotland
supporter culture
sustainable ownership
takeover attempt
Wembley
Wembley final
Product details
- ISBN 9781836805274
- Dimensions: 144 x 222mm
- Publication Date: 03 Aug 2026
- Publisher: Pitch Publishing Ltd
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Hardback
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When the final whistle blew at Wembley, it marked more than promotion. Rochdale AFC, a club defined for 119 years by survival rather than silverware, were National League play-off winners, lifting their first national trophy and authoring the most improbable chapter in their history. Just two years earlier, Dale had been relegated from the Football League after more than a century of membership, destabilised by financial strain and a divisive takeover attempt that threatened their very existence. Boardroom battles, legal disputes and a suspended points deduction left supporters fearing the worst. Survival to Silverware tells the story of how Rochdale rebuilt from the brink. From a fight to protect the club, to the arrival of the Ogden family and a new model of sustainable ownership, to Jim McNulty’s promotion‑winning side, it charts a season rooted in belief and community. After 119 years of waiting, Rochdale finally had their moment. This is how it happened.
Author and journalist Christopher Fitzgerald was born in Manchester and raised in Rochdale. A lifelong supporter of the club, he has worked for the Press Association and several regional and national newspapers, and has covered Rochdale AFC extensively throughout his career. He has been nominated for Sports News Writer of the Year at the Scottish Press Awards. His previous books include The Rochdale Division and Into the Unknown.
