OAFC Blues

Can't argue with a word of that. The game where he got 2 yellow cards in the first 5 minutes I'd have driven him out of town myself.

On the rare occasion he looked like he could be arsed playing football, I think he looked very good. I think his accumulated time being arsed over the past season and a half is probably under 90 minutes though.

I'm reading it as all out of contract players being released. Weirdly formatted though. I'm sad to see Fondop go as he's been a bright spark at times over the past 2 seasons and seems like a really nice guy. He's also been a pain point at times and I completely understand releasing him. Hard to coach and has to be constantly directed on the pitch from what MM and Norwood have said in the past. We need players with a bit more football intelligence. He does score goals at this level but probably doesn't fit into a well drilled side if he's off doing his own thing half the time (i'm hoping we will become a well drilled side obviously). Really, if we could have a Nuttall level of skill with a Fondop level of energy and commitment, we'd do well. I don't get the love in for Gardner, he's made of absolute biscuits and had some pretty dire performances in the first half of the season. I think a lot of people have rose tinted glasses due to him playing out of his skin recently (to try and win a contract more than likely). Willoughby Ward Shelton Reid Nuttall Those are who I think we are most likely to shift one way or another, leaving us with 14 pros. Hopefully Mickey has his eye on these specialists we keep hearing about.

I'd like to say unbelievable but sadly its not. I could have gone today, I just chose not to because I could sense something like this coming. I don't know what the voodoo is that keeps us down but it doesn't seem to be going anywhere.

We do seem to have gotten worse since January. I was initially happy with all of Mellon's signings. They made sense for what we needed and added either proven experience, youthful potential or a bit of speed and positional flexibility. I think that the only Mellon signing that I questioned at the time was Garner and he's arguably had the most impact. The odd signings for me, with hindsight, are Walker, Sachdev and Dallas. Three players who can change the style we have to play with the current group, yet they either don't get in the squad at all or are crow barred into the 352. I've stopped listening to the pre match interviews so I don't know if Mellon has been addressing why they are absent or being used in the way they are (think Walker and Dallas both been injured at points) but it seems weird strategy to bring them in to offer something different and then use them in the same way as everyone else or not at all.

I don't understand why MM has brought in these players he wants, to improve the squad and has stayed with the same set up. I thought he was playing long ball because we had no midfield. Well he's brought in two midfielders, one who has pedegree and should be able to dictate play in the middle and we consistently send it flying over his head. Why? I fully believe MM will get it sorted, he's done it multiple times in the past, I just want it to be sooner rather than later.

I'd have to go back and listen but even before Wrexham went up last season he's talked about how much money teams like Stockport and Salford were losing trying to get out. I'm pretty sure that he's said in the past that Wrexham didn't actually lose a lot more than others due to the big global sponsorship deals they got.

I was listening to the price of football the other day and it was noted that clubs in the NL on average lose more money than clubs in L2. The losses in the NL are more on par with what clubs in L1 lose. Clubs who have gone up in recent years have lost a ridiculous amount of money per week to try and get out of this league. The NL has a bottleneck because of the 1 automatic promotion place and to me it seems to encourage clubs to go all in financially in a desperate attempt to get out. Its not good really and will end up causing a lot of clubs problems, us included if we aren't careful.

So if we win, will that be 5 in a row (in the league)? When was the last time we did that?

No idea.

Yeah, I think it was just bad luck for him. Signed to be a big part of our attack but then along comes Norwood to make him superfluous. He's barely had a sniff and thats not his fault. Hopefully it won't harm his career and he manages to get into another NL team and start smashing goal in (just not against us).

How frequent have Conlon's injuries been? I'm a bit concerned about it. I remember when we signed Gardner thinking 'he'll boss this league if he can stay fit' and he's barely managed to string more than a few games together. Its great to sign quality players but ultimately a bit pointless if they never play. I'm not trying to be negative, I can't wait to see the lad play and hopefully make our midfield look more assured. Just feeling a bit of trepidation.

This team has never been able to consistently pass more than a couple of times without giving it away. MM has assessed the strengths and weaknesses of the squad and because he's a proper manager, he's worked out the style of play that is most likely to get us wins. It's a butt ugly style of play but the results speak for themselves. I'd prefer to watch games like when Kewell was in charge too but I have no desire to be 17th in the league, no matter how entertaining it may be.

I wonder if this signing was happening regardless of Stones' injury. This seems to be the same type of player as Kofi Moore, quick winger that can be used through the middle. MM brought Moore on as a striker when he came on as a sub. Makes sense with Moore going back out on loan too.

Didn't they say that the lads on loan with part time teams train with the main squad the rest of the time?

Who is the player rumoured to be leaving on loan?

I think he's been isolated up top a lot and asked to graft for very little reward. I don't think we've ever played in a way that maximises his skill set and on the occasions he's played as part of a 2, it's never been consistently the same person to help him build a partnership. I agree about the attitude but at the same time I think he was sold the dream of coming here, banging in the goals and winning the league. Instead he's been in the mire in a bang average side.

A shame that a load of dick heads who probably don't usually bother, got tickets and lots of season ticket holders didn't. Club may well pay for that cock up. Conceded 3 poor goals, which isn't great. I've been sticking up for Sutton because I think he's a young lad doing a good job out of position but he was abysmal today. Every time they got the ball it went straight to his wing because they knew that neither him or Green could stop them. We HAVE to sign a RB if we realistically want to make the playoffs. Didn't think Norwood did much again today but still scored so not really going to complain. Was nice to see Hope back, thought he had a good game. Energy and work rate was high but passing was sloppy, lots of stray balls going to the opposition. All in all, absolute corker of a game, brilliant atmosphere and huge 3 points. A day that will live long in the memory.

Not sure of your logic there, Reid scored, Willoughby didn't. He worked his bollocks off and made the effort that lead to the first goal but didn't score himself. I think Norwood for Willoughby would be more unfair than Reid.

Going off ST's pre match, he said the players have been told to earn the shirt and that Lundstrum is ready but not as ready as he thinks. To me that says it will be the same lineup as Tuesday but with Reid instead of Willoughby. Lundstrum and Norwood on the bench to make early second half appearances.

If it was another player I think I'd say stick with the goal scorers but Norwood is such a cut above, if we get him in the team when it's trending upwards, it'll build his confidence after the frustrating start and hopefully kickstart a golden boot challenge from him.

Has Freeman fallen down a well? Haven't heard anything about him recently. I wouldn't be surprised if we set up with 3 at the back, a lot of teams do and with the right set up it can be a good formation to attack teams. Doesn't have to be a secret flat back 5. Kitching and Green as wing backs?

Sad how comparable our stats are so far. It has to be a good performance, a disciplined performance and most importantly, a win. Not sure on the lineup, do we only have 1 midfielder available? Hudson Freeman Hobson Hogan Kitching Green Sheron Dickenson Tolitt Reid Norwood Personally I'd try Raglan with Hobson but I don't think he'll drop Hogan.

Enjoyed the pod as always, lots of good points from both sides. I've never been Unsworth out. I came close after the battering from Notts County but decided I'd give him the chance to redeem himself in the return fixture. He did, then he seemed to figure out how to get results in the league and the second half was much better and gave me a lot of optimism. I was happily telling people at work that we are going to have a great season and maybe even win the league. Now I have United fans mockingly asking me if we have won the league yet and Rochdale supporters gleefully comparing our respective league positions. It's not fun. I'm still backing DU but I'm rapidly losing patience. I'm not sure I buy into the infrastructure talk either, I'm not sure what it has to do with his job as manager. He had a budget, built a squad, now trains that squad on the best training surfaces we've had in years. It's not like he's missing time with the players because he's painting steps and filling potholes. I think that if I'm honest with myself, the reason I'm still DU in is because I want to back Frank to the hilt. He's the best thing that's happened to this club in years and I'm willing to bear some shit football and live in hope that DU will come good for his sake. Am I willing to lose a whole season to it? Hopefully I won't have to find out.

Gone for yes because I'm giving him the next few games to show something and even if at that point I change to a no, I don't think to board will fire him this early anyway, they've invested too much in him.