It is, with deep sadness that I must report the death of Hornets Chairman Ray Taylor. Ray passed away whilst on holiday in Tenerife; following a stroke and a brain haeomorrage.

Ray had been at the helm over the last tumultuous decade and had steered the club he loved through some very dark and worrying days. Indeed, his love for - and belief in - Rochdale Hornets seemed like the only things sustaining us at times.

Since starting the website - and subsequesntly the Nest Egg - I got to know Ray quite well; and the one thing that stood out for me was that it was difficult to work out where the Hornets fan finished and the Chairman began. Certainly, Ray was a big a Hornets obsessive as the rest of us - and his enjoyment, concern and passion for the club were always clear to see.

And Ray was never shy in sharing his opinions, experience and, ocasionally, red, white and blue-tinted view of the game. Open and accessible, Ray would always give a straight answer to a straight question - and whether you agreed with him or not, you could trust implicitly that he had the best interests of the club at heart.

On many occasions I've picked up the phone at work or at home to have Ray on the other end bubbling with excitement over some piece of news, sharing his enthusiasm over a great win or simply venting his spleen over '... that bloody referee...'. Trying hard to wear his chairman's hat whilst, really, just being another Hornets fan happy to talk about his club.

And Ray's been an enthusiastic supporter of everything relating to the club: happy to face the fans at forums and field some, occasionally, quite surreal questions; happy to give us a quote or information for the website (usually preceded by the phrase 'and this is NOT for the website, but...'); appreciative of everyone's efforts in helping the club no matter how big or small.

Most recently, Ray's blind passion for Rochdale Hornets had found the perfect foil in Bobbie Goulding. The tones in which Ray spoke of Bob underlined the immense gratitude and admiration he had for him and the job he's done - and it was clear that the feeling between them was one of great mutual respect.

Indeed, Ray had the respect of everyone at the club and in the wider game in general - and there's no greater tribute to pay anyone.

From the occasional quiet word to his generous applause of the Hornets faithful, today, each of us will remember something about Ray. Having battled so long to secure the future of our club, it seems unfair that he won't see his efforts continued. But Ray's set the standard and we must go onward together.

Ray once said that "... Rochdale Hornets is a modest club, but we have a lot to be modest about." I think he sold himself short there - in Ray Taylor we had someone to be very proud of.

Our thoughts are with Barbara and his family.