bozman

He got the wages thing right but he did say Stubbs was 90% done last week. Recent betting activity suggests he might be right on this one.

Very early in the season for this to happen. The season ticket money must have run out already. I'd hoped we'd have been managing our finances a little better so that the first non payment of wages crisis wasn't due until mid season. It doesn't present the club in a very good light to any potential new investor or manager. It makes me even more impressed with the player performances on Saturday and last night given they've not been paid. And the staff too, who've continued to turn up and do their jobs.

Agreed, this cup is no bad thing for us given the size of our squad coupled with the fact that we are not in a resrve league. Wellens said in his interview last night that he's giving the whole squad who aren't on international duty a long weekend off. I think that's quite a smart move as it lets the overseas players get home for a few days. Hopefully they'll all come back refreshed and raring to go.

Knocked the ball around really well first half. They barely got a kick. We faded in the second half, gave the ball away too much and looked tired, but still created a few decent chances. Placide was excellent when called upon. A couple of great saves and caught every cross/corner that he came for. Great distribution again too. There were a couple of hints of good things to come from Queensy. Very quick and looks to have a few tricks in his locker but quiet for long periods. Byrne and Gardner excellent going forward.

I agree completely. I'm currently taking solace from the fact that, in the short time the market has been active, there have been 3 or 4 candidates who've had a spell as the odds on favourite for the job but we are yet to appoint anyone.

Somewhat worryingly Stubbs is now 4/7 favourite with Sky Bet. Seedorf 5/2, Wellens 6/1, Correa 12/1. I hope Ibby has used his inside information to lump on Dowie at 33/1.

" Johny Placide (Haiti) and Gevaro Nepomuceno (Curacao) can both play, though, with their international call-ups only kicking in after tonight. " It's in the MEN link posted above by oafcmetty.

He certainly is. If I was Dowie, I'd be investigating how to get a restraining order organised.

Placide and Nepomuceno are available. They don't leave until tomorrow as their international games are next Tuesday. I reckon there may only be 1 or 2 changes. I think Wellens is still auditioning for the job so will put a strong team out. Especially seeing as they've got 10 days off afterwzrds.

Just watched Wellens' pre Crewe interview on ifollow. The interviewer asked him about the possibility of him being given the job for the rest of the season. It seemed strange that he came up with a specifc timescale, rather than just ask him about getting the job or not. May be that is being discussed within the club and then, depending on how he does, they may look for someone else next season ? I liked his answer too, which was basically that, if you bring someone completely new to the the club in now, you can really only ask them to avoid relegation, where as he can aim higher.

There was an article in one of the tabloids about this event a couple of weeks ago (can't remember which one). It said something very similar I.e. that Shez took full advantage of the hospitality and was absolutely steaming by the time it was his turn to speak. Consequently he said very little. From what I've heard over the years though, Shez has always liked a drink, during good times and bad. It was obvious from his demeanour this season that something was getting to him and it seemed to be more than just results. I'll always be grateful to him for what he did for the club and hope he finds success in whatever he does in the future.

I suspect the extent of Corney's questioning was when they went to Simon Wood's restaurant. "What do you want to eat Clarence? Choose whatever you want, Abdallah's paying."

You can all calm down. Ibby has revealed that Seedorf was only there for the famous Oldham Athletic stadium tour. The real front runner is ............. Dowie! ??

Fair enough. I missed that one.

I'm more surprised you think Abbott is of a similar quality to Ritchie and Palmer. He was decent but not in their class imo.

When I saw it first time (from the North Stand) I thought it was a nailed on penalty. But it looks completely different on the highlights from the other side. This looks like one of thlse where the replay should really help his cause. At the very least, it should be considered accidental and the ban reduced to 1 match.

Actually he is in the squad according to this https://www.trollfootball.me/news/view/curacao-squad-fifa-friendly-against-qatar So we should have enough call ups to postpone it if we want to.

They play Qatar on October 10. My mate who supports Oxford reckons their Curacao international has been called up, but I can't find the squad online.

I wonder if Gevaro might get called up for Curucao ?

Let's hope that is pretty close to the truth, but I wouldn't expect Moisley to say something like that unless 1) He's been told that 2) He's been told he can say that in public. From what I've heard, it's unlikely he's been told either of those things. I don't think in any of the radio/press interviews he's done since the story broke, Moisley has said anything of note that Corney hadn't already revealed in his video.

I wa confirming that was definitely what Moisley said in the interview but suggesting that it probably isn't true. That's not to say, Moisley is trying to mislead the fans. I don't think he knows much more about the takeover/invetstment situation than the rest of us do. He probably said that because it felt like the right thing to say from the club's perspective in the absence of him knowing for certain that it isn't true. I agree with you completely that the prospect of another permanant manager coming in (other than an Abdallah approved candidtate) before this saga is sorted one way or the other is virtually nill. Clearly Abdallah has influenced the signings of recent weeks so it's reasonable to assume he will also influence any permanant managerial appointment that is made.

He did say the potential investors would have no say in the next managers appointment incase the deal didn't go through. If that statement is true and not bullshit there is no way a new manager is going to come here under those circumstances, and especially one who is currently in a job. That's definitely what he said. Whether or not that's true is another matter. As others have alluded to, if that were true, why wouldn't the principle extend to the players we've signed that the previous manager apparently wasn't keen on?

There's an interview with Wellens on the official site looking forward to tomorrow's game. You can tell he's genuinely gutted for Shez. Says he told the players that they let him down. There will be changes to the team tomorrow and to the way we play. Mclaiughlin's injury is a bad one, he'll be out for minimum 2 months. None of the other injured players are fit enough to come back in the squad. Sounds like he is definitely only in the post temporarily. He mentions trying to have a few more points on the board by the time a new manager comes in, in 2, 3, or 4 games time.

BBC reporting that Wellens is in temporary charge. Wright has left too.

Think it might be Wellens/Philliskirk in temporary charge until the investment deal is finalised. Then it looks likely to be Correa, or someone else with a history of managing in France, if player recruitment is anything to go by. Abdallah doesn't seem the type to go for a journeyman English lower leagues manager.