wiseowl

Then I am glad I`ve not purchased a season ticket because I wouldn't want to contribute to such madness. If it carries on and players at this low level can earn £1million plus every 4 or 5 years, then that's me done with the game as a whole. Let's be honest, there are many, many non-league players who could step up to our level quite easily - so £200k plus per year is staggering.

As I`ve said before, in my opinion he's our most technically gifted player - but IF the £4k per week is true - that's a ludicrous basic wage for a 4th division footballer - or have I completely lost touch and the football world is now so far removed from reality (even at our level) ?

IF the £4k per week figure is true, I don't think anyone would disagree. No 4th division footballer is worth over £200k per year in wages (and that's probably before win bonus etc) - it's sheer madness.

Good point.

May have been mentioned already - Ryan Brooke to Mossley

Just seen the press conference and thought LB came across as a very genuine and humble man. Now, that doesn't guarantee success but he is a likeable bloke and, hopefully, people will give him a fair crack of the whip. It's clear there is an intention to develop young talent to "sell on". No problem with that but it is a little strange that he's only on a 12 month contract. Nobody can do that in 12 months. Perhaps the owners are sick of paying compensation to managers they sack, so he's been given a reassurance of a longer contract, providing the wheel doesn't fall off very quickly. The fella's got a very tough task but I wish him the very best.

Agree - I lost all respect for the jocks when Rangers rioted in Manchester a few years back - I intervened when a group of them were terrorising a lone female (trying to turn her car over whilst she was in it). Low life pricks the lot of them (or they certainly were that night).

It's a bit of a myth this "hard scotsmen" image. Honestly, they are no "harder" than anybody else! It's just that a lot of people automatically believe the myth.

Never had any dealings with him personally but a very good friend of mine (who I trust completely) was a police constable when BO was an inspector. What he tells me about his character and people skills tends to suggest that the general perceptions are correct.

It's mind boggling when you consider we paid Fleetwood £100k for him - and he was on circa £2,500 per week. A striker is supposed to score goals and AAH never did for us.

Would that have been Russ Waller? - the lad from Southend originally, who lived on Shaw Road Estate and used to run the programme shop at back of Rochdale Road end (he now lives in Australia if it was).

I remember Stainrod at Wrexham doing one of the most mesmerising runs/dribbles you could witness. Turned several defenders inside out (two fell over trying to tackle him) and then stormed into the box. He pointed to where he was going to blast the ball into the net.............. and the keeper saved it. Had it gone in it would have gone down as possibly the best goal I`ve witnessed by a Latics player. Superb stuff to watch.

Hunt was excellent when we had him on loan. A big disappointment when we signed him permanently and particularly poor last season - too lightweight. Been one of his biggest critics of late but I do actually think he's better than this league (he showed he was when on loan). As someone else has said, maybe he hasn't settled up north - such things can throw people off their game. A good move for both parties.

Very good player at this level - and probably a decent league one full back too. Well done

Not sure, singe and that's why I put a question mark against OEC. At the end of the day I suppose commerciality rules. If the place is going to be packed out and turning over lots of money I`m sure an appropriate hire rate could be negotiated but who knows. The whole idea of the OEC originally was to generate non-match day income - perhaps ideas are being looked at across the board.

Yes I heard the same from 2 people, who work on the periphery of the club, earlier this week. They said don't yet rule out Clarkey coming back - so maybe something's afoot? They also said there's going to be a big push on that age-old subject of attracting more ethnic minority fans to BP. Rumours of a fair chunk of free tickets (i.e. for several matches) to attract the Asian youth (my guess, however, is that any ticket distribution will be "across the board" i.e. via schools for any youth who is interested). They said longer term, the club will also look into hosting Asian Melas and the viability of tapping into the huge Asian wedding market (OEC as a venue?). There was a passing comment that alcohol may, in time, be banished from the ground but tbh I`m not sure whether that was a wind up, as they know I like a drink. The rest of the conversation seemed to be genuine though. The thought being that the current owner and his brother may be best placed to understand how to attract the asian muslim population, in particular, to BP.

Spot on sjk2008. I`m usually quite an optimistic person (honest!) but our sinking ever further into the abyss I find thoroughly depressing. Others don't seem to do - we're all different I suppose. I see no positives since our new owner arrived - none whatsoever. I don't fall for "lip service" like sticking a name on a stand or handing out a free scarf when I observe our club generally being regarded as a laughing stock in many quarters. It just seems like one big vanity project - and they usually end in disaster.

Attractive fixtures are sparse to say the least. Bearing in mind the standard we have dropped to, the opening month looks difficult. We desperately need a storming start to the season to have any hope of maintaining a reasonable home support. August could well define the whole season; here's hoping with fingers and toes crossed.

Appreciate the sense of humour If the owner does have ambition to get us up we desperately need stability on the management front - someone allowed to build almost from scratch - because we have a very poor squad. Let's hope the expected influx of foreign players can gel quickly.

Alan Groves - simply superb. It's a tough one to call but probably THE best player I have witnessed in a Latics shirt (Bobby Johnstone was before my time). Simon Stainrod ran him a close second for entertainment and individual skill but Grovesy's dribbling was just mesmerising. Very fond memories of a fantastic player.

Hilarious - am I supposed to be intimidated by you 2 or something? You both seem to "follow" me and make derogatory comments. I haven't risen to the bait before but, trust me, you don't intimidate me one little bit.

It's a very strange feeling. Everything about/around Latics is as flat as a pancake. A fellow fan (25 years plus season ticket holder - until now) just rolled his eyes when I tried striking up a conversation about the new head coach - total disinterest. It's a feeling I`ve never experienced before. We've had lots of lows over the years but there's always been fight/passion amongst the supporters (or a distinct minority of them). Whatever the cause, it is draining the lifeblood out of many long-standing supporters. Once the first home game is out of the way, it will be very interesting to see the "attendance trend" at BP.

That seems a generous price but, like others, just couldn't bring myself to have a wager on the demise of Latics.

Removed - inappropriate for a football board - my apologies

Yep - but we live in a very strange country - just look at Labour's "gender balance framework" within their ranks - absolute load of horse shite. Forget about the best person for the job - went out the window years ago in many spheres. We have a media (and many institutions) littered with left wing idealists - witness the massive campaign on the ground to get the "Muslim voters" out to vote for Labour in the Peterborough by election (it worked). The UK is a scary place at the moment - and I`d say the anti-semitic lefties are the scariest of the lot.