EASTLEY

Done

This is true, a thigh injury for a while before his more serious injury

I like Allott a lot but to this post Paddy I say just like in the bible "and so it came to pass and God's(Joe Royle ;)favourite team did win in Nottingham

Did you get your phone back? I've texted you on the only number I have

Cool - will probably meet you there if that is ok?

last minute equaliser against 9 men? Are you going to colchester - is it easy to get to from Waterloo(Wimbledon?)

He does - he is just disregarding history and trying to rewrite what happened. But we all know that the way MK Dons came into existence shouldnt have been allowed to happen - it is probably the blackest mark on the professional game in the last 80 years. Being slightly controversial(and you have to know I really dislike them and how they have got to where they are)they are well run, and they do have a progressive infrastructure allowing them to keep rasing capital. I just wish they had done it the proper way winning promotions rather than taking someone else's bond. They will never loose that tag

Yes (mostly) a season ticket holder still ;)

I have that in the morning ;) see you there

Again this looks like a step towards the European league which they can do. What it may do though is reduce the power of the premier league and therefore the average earnings of the players in it, hopefully in turn deflating wages further down the pyramid. It depends whether interest can be kept in the product and the product down through the championship and leagues - in my view it could go one of two ways, either everybody will just watch the European league on the tv and attendences/tv money will drop in the domestic game creating massive issues for domestic football especially league 1 and 2 which may disappear, regionalise and or go part time. Alternatively people may watch the European Super league on the tv but decide they have more affinity with local(ish)clubs and still want to go to the live spectacle(which hopefully in the European league is prohibitively expensive to attend)and will filter back towards championship/lower league clubs. As the tv money will be much lower for many more clubs(as the european league will be where all the investment will be)players will not be offered ridiculous salaries by as many clubs(as there will be less getting the silly amounts of tv revenue)so teams like Oldham will be more likely and able to compete to sign average players. Hope that makes sense I fear the result maybe the former though

Hope John Keeley is a better coach than he was a keeper for us or else Cisak will soon be throwing them in ;)

I donb't disagree with this at all, though I think the Bosman helped hurt clubs like ourselves and Stockport and only benefited some of the average players and to league clubs who managed to save on transfer fees and then have blown the savings on wages inflating them through the leagues. A double whammy so to speak. This was compounded even further last year when the premier league threatened to turn off funding from the lower league clubs if they didnt reduce the compensation required for allowing young players registrations to move. It just fuels my dislike of the governing bodies and self -effacing clubs when I see things like that. One day it will all implode though as the TV rights monies go to the clubs and the top 6 will run off to Europe and they will be broadcast 24*7 leaving the rest of us to get back to maybe not the best qulaity but more competitive football ;)(Maybe thats a pipe dream)

Your last point is very accurate - I remember Alan Hardy being vilified back in 1990 as he was pandering to the new fans rather than than the 5-6k hardcore. I agree with your comments about the agents though I think the Bosman ruling has contributed to this with the agents and premier league clubs taking advantage of the shift in power to players and agents. I do agree with your views around why tackling has been moved out of the game as well and Arsenal with their total football have long campaigned against the physical side(especially after the injuries at Birmingham and Stoke). It'll be interesting to see where football moves on but I for one still have an affinity with latics and lower league football(probably because its nearer the level I ever managed to play than the very different game played in the prem)and as I said earlier enjoy more of the blood n thunder - seeing Andy Holden win tackles and even contests with Milligan and Henry against McNab et al still makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up ;) Was all good and still is mostly when you think about it. As for KTF that for me is about the club surviving the tough times and giving us those glimpses which make it our special club, we need an Everton moment or an Arsenal 3-1 game to put the smiles back on our faces ;)

Of course I would join in the promotion party if we got there, it would be an amazing achievement by the club. Would I enjoy the games as much, whilst watching a team like Barca is a privilege(?)I am someone who enjoys the physical, blood n thunder football as well and am frustrated by the loss of the physical aspect of the game. Diving to get someone sent off or booked on the slightest contact to me is akin to spitting. Its gamesmanship and cheating of the lowest order. Saying that it would be great to see some of the skills on offer live, but its about balance to me around tackling(which in itself was a skill)and moving the ball around in weird and wonderful ways. My comment around the greedy league is more about it being created to line the pockets of a few eg David Dein whilst pretending to be in it for the good of the game which history shows they were not. I also find it a sad state of affairs that the clubs have become play things for the biggest sugar daddies who have no real attachment to the club, fans or even the UK. I think for me as we move up the ladder then the club would itself become more distanced from people like myself who at the moment can actually feel that they know the club and some of the personalities that make it tick. This for me is sad as we may become another corporate entity that people dont have any real attachment to. Many of the core maybe priced out of Oldham, lots of kids would wear the shirts but never get to go. If you look at many(not Wigan, Southampton, Fulham) premier league clubs the "fans" are middle aged men who watch the game, Dads and sons arent really there anymore(I believe the average age of fans has increased markedly)as they can't afford it anymore and then again is a sad consequence of the premier league, and why I wish we had a model more like Germany in that respect who seem to have what we miss in most areas - balance. Just my thoughts and apologies for the length of the response, maybe I'm just a luddite who has never got to terms with the newer game we have.

Westley for me basically because he showed a complete lack of morals in shafting Farnborough. Complete self-centred tool

As frankly are people who seem to be going to the game with the sole intention of moaning. It's league 1 with league 1 football and footballers. In a 3 sided ground that has a poor atmosphere(not helped by the fact that there are only 3 sides and the ground is not in the best of states). I know what to expect when I go into BP to watch standard league 1 football, and I can see when its not good or great or is poor, however then to hear "Poor me" people whingeing about it relentlessly just kills any semblance of enjoyment. I go to watch a game of live football where the game is truer to its roots than at other levels and it can be enjoyable. Refereeing is poor, the players/managers arent the best,thats why its league 1. However If people went with a smile on their face and accepted the realities of league 1 football then BP itself may have a lighter atmosphere and few more smiling faces and who knows maybe the footballers would play better feeling less constrained if they are less likely to be pillored/made a boo boy etc if they make a mistake

I know you say that but to be fair Penney's season was one where we failed to score 3 goals in any game and were content to hang on to a 1-nil defeat. I understand the frustrations with the football but there have been a few more brighter games with Dickov. We have scored 3 or more 7 or 8 times in the last couple seasons and have actually come from behind to win or take points. Its very different than Penny in that respect though not great I'll grant you ;)

It's the greedy IMO because it was set up by self-serving people under the pretence of improving the England team. However due to internal mis-management and the granting of board positions to people on the board of the premier league to the FA, the FA has been compromised and is now the poor relation hence the standing of the FA Cup compared to the positioning it used to have. Ref the football I believe our division is truer to the game that I enjoyed growing up with and that is played by many than that of the premier league where gamesmanship and diving tend to be more common(it saddens me that we do see this in our league as well)and that tackling and the physical side of the game are becoming less and less common. The game with players who could tackle and take a tackle as well as show skills on the ball doesnt exist in our top division anymore but you still get glimpses of it the lower down the pyramid you go(in the pro game). That's why I prefer the football that I watch rather than Premier league which reminds all to often of sanitised exhibition games.

Agree this +1

I'd go with this, this was a game we have got something from and fine margins mean't we didn't but this wasn't overall an awful performance, we had chances we didn't take them. They also had a couple of other chances but it was a pretty even game. We'll play worse and win/draw

I think the players are regarded more as a saleable asset than an employee, therefore the players will be seen as an asset on the balance sheet

Nope I would also suggest that the great majority of posters have no clue what the people here listed actually do on a day to day basis and , and are therefore not qualified to know if for the investment available in them gives a good return. Therefore the tittle tattle on here is of little merit. Until you actually have an informed view based on fact rather than conjecture I suggest we may as well support the team and management. Actually if there is a good atmosphere on match day the players may respond and enjoy playing in front of "supporters" and raise their game. This may help improve results, bring some stayaways/floating fans back who may in turn enjoy the experience and keep coming back. This will boost the coffers and we may at worse become a saleable item and you get your wish for change. Just a thought

It wasn't mean't to be a blatant lie, though am sure you did maybe though it was a little a bit of fun at that time Are you going sat though?

Stevenage away last year - ;) sorry mate

7 - season ticket holder, live in Surrey but miss most night home games Will do some Southern away games but not all The journey home has been painful this year(though after Saturday I drove to Scotland, still painful though and not as a direct result of the game!)