Dave_Og

You don't need a hatchet man to clear out players at the end of their contracts

In SAFE days we tried and tried to talk to Moore but never got anywhere. The money the shares cost is irrelevant - what else would it have been spent on? Anything that gives fans representation is good.

Won nothing? Do you still think West Ham won the second division championship??

Played golf with the great man and Sonny Ramadhin. My Dad was hugely jealous! Bert Lister from the football arena

Joe is about the longest relationship in my life. He was my hero when I was 6 and i got my Dad to take me to Old Trafford to watch him score for Everton and knock United out of the FA Cup. First time I have worn a Latics related smile for a decade.

He always hated being called that

I domn't think anyone is surprised; it's just that some things make you stop and think for a momeet

Interesting you should say that. There's lots of reasons why my visits are infrequent these days but one of them is a hangover freom the SAFE days which was a depressing experience on lots of levels.

A good friend of mine who watched far more games than I did had a moment of epiphany at a game towards of the end of the second relegation. After am awful home performance and defeat we were waiting for a cab back to Piccadilly outside the Clayton Arms. A group of players came past laughing and joking, apparently without a care in the world. At that moment he said he realised that the club meant nothing to the players and that all the emotion he had invested over the years had been wasted. He's never beeen to a game since; I wonder how many others reached a similar conclusion this week.

Well they've already lost my respect for being out on the lash at such a crucial stage of the season. Embarrassing.

Well they've already lost my respect for being out on the lash at such a crucial stage of the season. Embarrassing.

No more Mouldy Old Dough?

I think it would help - it would help the club to regain a modest amount of self respect

I don't know who as I haveen't seen the CCTV. Tell you what, stick your manager in a headlock tomorrow and see how you get on.

Okay, that's stretching a point a bit but if there was one thing he did get right it was sacking Alan Smart. If someone doesn't walk this time then my respect for the owners drops several notches.

Not in 1897 they didn't!

What is the significance of the big banner? My commemorative mug tells me 1995 was the centenary.

My version says that Sharp wanted to extend the trial with a view to signing but Hyppia got a firm offer from Willem IV in Holland, where his best mate played and took the firm offer

Might as well wheel out Sami Hyppia even though the way I heard it was very different to Sharp's version of events

Have any of these players moved forward in ther career to any significant degree?

Good points, well made. It is just a symptom of a wider malaise. I'm trying to recall which team it was earlier in the season who were having a great run but when the cup came round they couldn't play many of their loanees and an barely recognisable side got walloped.

Good grief. This used to be a a place for debate. It's the system I'm having a go at, not Latics use of it. I find it hard to feel any great sense of connection with a team including so many players who belong to ther clubs. Just a point of view - mine.

I said "possibiity" - it appears to be your reading ability that is ridiculous. Add Budtz, Ferreira and Jones to that list and you have six "possibilities"

Getting beyond a joke. Can't blame Latics for trying to take advantage but the possibility of having more than half a team belonging to other club's makes a mockery of long term team building.