Tom Kennedy was the latest ex-player to entertain diners prior to kick off for the FA Cup tie at the Crown Oil Arena against Bromley, he commented that it was great to be back and he thoroughly enjoyed the day out except for the result.
Tom was born in Bury, father being Keith Kennedy, who played for Bury while his uncle, Alan Kennedy was a defender for Newcastle United and Liverpool.
DOB: 24th June 1985 Dale debut: 11th August 2007 v Peterborough United 0-3 League Appearances: 184, 9 goals (three spells) Other Clubs played for: Bury, Leicester City, Peterborough United, Barnsley, Blackpool, AFC Fylde Honours: 2008/9 PFA Team of the Year & Football League Two/2009–10 Football League Two
Tom’s story at Rochdale AFC: He made his debut for Rochdale after leaving Bury, in the opening game of the season on 11th August 2007 in a 0-3 loss against Peterborough United, quickly becoming a first team regular in the left–back position. In the Second Division Play-off semi-final against Darlington, he scored in the penalty the shoot-out, which saw Rochdale going to the final to face Stockport County but a 2-3 defeat was a demoralising end to a promising season-he made 46 appearances, scoring twice in all competitions.
The 2008/9 season saw Tom feature in every League game until he missed out on the last game of the season, due to resting ahead of the Play–offs, which Rochdale lost 1-2 on aggregate to Gillingham. Despite this, he was voted into the PFA League Two Team of The Year, voted for by fellow professionals in League Two.
In the 2009/10 season, he was described by manager, Keith Hill, as the best left-back in League Two after helping the Club to finish in third place seeing promotion to League One. Once again, Tom was voted into the PFA League Two Team of The Year for the at the PFA awards.
At the end of the season, Kennedy was offered a new contract by the Club, as his contract was set to expire in July, however, he announced his intention to leave with Clubs in Championship, Doncaster Rovers, Leeds United and Scunthorpe United all tracking to sign him before Leicester City swooped.
On 14th August 2014, Tom re-signed for Rochdale on a short-term deal until January 2015 to re-unite with Keith Hill, making 24 appearances then announcing a new two-year deal.
2015/6 season saw Tom making 21 appearances in all competitions before leaving by mutual consent in May 2016.
