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‘Keep the faith’ or not?… simple question.

 

So fellow latics fans, our beloved club motto, ‘keep the faith’, what does this say to you? Is this a phrase which sums up your football club? And if so, is this a phrase you would like your football club to be known for?... “Ow that’s Oldham Athletic, they keep the faith!”

 

Know, I for one appreciate this is a very minor point and I may get lambasted for even bringing it up. If you don’t have the players, your club motto can be ‘Lee Johnson’s massive phallus army’ and it will make little difference. My personal opinion is that this phrase is too pessimistic and is backwards in approach. Keeping the faith to me suggests that things are so bad, if just carry on and think of Britain you may get out the other end without too much of a bloody nose... I accept, given our year on year relegation battles you may say “That’s pretty bang on arctic10, have a coke and a smile and shut up”.

 

Now, at the time of its immaculate conception this motto was truly deserved. This phrase came at one of my lowest points as an Oldham fan. You remember when that man who sold touch-screen tills and also liked to touch up his books brought our football club to the brink of extinction? Yes, me too. I can honestly say that I was truly ‘keeping the faith’ at this point, however this phrase has hung around like a divorcee at a wedding for the next 13 years.

 

The message from Johnson since the day he sat in the big seat (and his feet barely touched the floor), has been that the culture needs to change from the tea boy to the chairman… So, we then move on another 12 months down the line and the message from the manager is "It is stuck in its ways, this place,"… "I've not been able to change as much as I hoped - it's bedded in and I have somehow got to change that."

 

So, I propose a change. I’m fed up for once simply ‘keeping the faith’ and I’d like a change this year. We have a new stand, new sponsorship and a forward thinking manager. If we cannot wish for more than simply ‘keeping the faith’ at this point then will we ever.

 

So let’s have a look at what could be:

 

Everton - ‘Nothing but the best’

Manchester City - ‘Pride in battle’

Tottenham Hotspur - ‘To dare is to do’

Sheffield United - ‘Intelligence and courage’

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Could be a good thread, this. I don't think there's anything wrong or embarrassing or regrettable about 'Keep the faith', but I agree it has a ring of 'Worse things happen at sea' or something similarly unambitious or downbeat.

Edited by Crusoe
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It's a bit generic but I like "We Are Latics". It shows pride in who we are and is something that is memorable. It's also factual.

 

Then again, some of those others are pretty good, so if another one that is easily relateable to Latics comes up then it would be interesting to see what it is.

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I don't see it as pessimistic at all. On the contrary without hope of better days, why bother?

 

I think of it as a tongue in cheek reminder not to let the vast majority of :censored:e we watch get you down.

 

An the point about which division your in isn't important. Apart from a very select few, I think every club hopes an dreams of better times ahead.

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The phrase was coined by Big Joe in the Premier League years, not at our lowest point.

 

For what it's worth I think it precisely sums up where we are now after what seems like, and to many of our fans is, a lifetime in League One.

 

Think Leicester started to use it or did for a while.

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Why would 'keep the faith' always be be associated with being down on your luck and hoping for better times?

 

We could be going out to play in the league cup final a year after winning the div1 title - and we will still be 'keeping the faith'

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The phrase was coined by Big Joe in the Premier League years, not at our lowest point.

 

For what it's worth I think it precisely sums up where we are now after what seems like, and to many of our fans is, a lifetime in League One.

 

It was around WAY before Big Joe's day....I remember it in the early seventies.

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The phrase was coined by Big Joe in the Premier League years, not at our lowest point.

 

For what it's worth I think it precisely sums up where we are now after what seems like, and to many of our fans is, a lifetime in League One.

He said it though when also saying that if he could choose between keeping the club in the PL and winning the cup, he would choose the former. We lost both.

 

Joe is quite rightly a legend but I feel that a bit more positivity was needed then and I don't feel Keep the Faith is positive, it has stagnation written all over it.

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Could be a good thread, this. I don't think there's anything wrong or embarrassing or regrettable about 'Keep the faith', but I agree it has a ring of 'Worse things happen at sea' or something similarly unambitious or downbeat.

The soft bigotry of low expectation

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Ive always liked keep the faith, its been with us in many a hard time when sadly a lot of people didnt keep the faith.

 

However, with the positivity around the club at present ow would be a good time to change it i feel

 

How about

 

Believe-strive-achieve

Win the battle-and the war

Together we grow - together we conquer

Stand tall together for Oldham will Prosper

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I hate it. Hate it, hate it, hate it. It's almost an acceptance of defeat. A suggestion that nothing is in our control. It's rolled out by the ostriches when people have valid concerns. Bin it off.

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