LaticsPete

"The quality of the fans" - yeah sure MLS fans are so much more knowledgeable

Fleetwood 2 Oldham 2 ht 1-1 clarke 3961

Mud, Sweat and Shears Dave Thomas Pitch Publishing, 2017 Softback, 318pp, £9.99 Terry Venables wrote a novel entitled “They Used To Play On Grass”. In reality, they also played on mud, snow and pretty much anything else the British weather could create. Most readers will have watched (or at least seen videos of) matches that tested physical endurance and ability to adapt to a range of conditions rather than the so-called silky skills of today. When the Premier League spends time on pontificating what design grass can be cut in, it really is a cultural shift from an era when pitches were used to play and train on frequently and utility was much more important than appearance. Roy Oldfield was groundsman at Burnley in the 70s and 80s, a period that saw the club descend from the top flight to Division 4, and nearly out of the League. A turbulent time both off and on the pitch (excuse the pun) and a period that tested his ingenuity, patience and the basic equipment that was available to him. The club was very much the fiefdom of chairman Bob Lord, the legendary butcher from the town, when Roy was taken on with no experience of grounds keeping, having been approached by then manager Jimmy Adamson when working in the council Parks Dept. The onus was on getting matches played, regardless of the problems faced from the weather or as a legacy of previous games (youth team and reserves) or training sessions on the ground. It was not only a matter of pride but of getting cash through the turnstiles when gate money was the primary source of income. The author uses extensive discussions with Roy to build a narrative of the life of Burnley FC in the period. As much about the merry go round of managers and directors, as well as players, the book is a saga of incremental decline before beginning the climb back. The groundsman’s role brought him into contact with nearly everyone else at the club, as well as visiting managers, referees, and media. There are consequently anecdotes involving some of the best-known people in football – Clough, Keegan, Best, Shankly et al as well as many referees such as Jack Taylor. There’s a backdrop of a character list of players, some assessed by their playing ability others by what they did to the pitch; Steve Kindon had Roy Oldfield in a state of frustration with his slides along the ground creating long divots in the surface. But some of the stars of the story are buckets of sand, forks, shovels and second-hand lawnmowers. The constant pressure to either get the grass cut or to get it growing, to soak up water or to melt the snow, or “motivating” the apprentices to clean the terraces by letting them keep whatever money they found, are the vital components of Roy’s daily life, ones that are a constant no matter what the league position or who Burnley were playing against. It’s not a glamourous life, nor a glitzy story, but one that was probably replicated throughout the league, like much of football a far cry from the manicured state of today’s game.

Oldham 2 Charlton 2 ht 1-1 Clarke 3769

Don't disagree with the thrust of what you say but has the Trust rep contacted SC asking for an update? Proactively looking for information may be more productive.

As the club did with Tony Bugby

Really saddening. An Oldham institution . A voice of radicalism for many years.

https://todaysfootballtips.com/fans-forum-study/amp/

Blackpool 1 Oldham 2 ht 0-2 Clarke 4989

Oldham 2 Wigan 1 ht 1-1 Holloway 5601

Walsall 1 Oldham 2 ht 1-1 davies 4998

Ripley bound for Burton it is alleged.

Decent following from them. http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/sport/oxfordunited/15449570.Xemi_blown_away_by_Oxford_United_s__crazy__travelling_fans/

Oldham 2 Oxford 0 ht 1-0 Davies 4501

Time for an appeal for cash to owtb users?

It's an excellent feature - my only pedantic niggle is every interviewee is "caught up with" !

If Only Simon Turner Pitch Publishing 2017 Softback, 382pp, £9.99 Subtitled “An Alternative History of The Beautiful Game”, this is a series of six scenarios where history has been rewritten and there’s a very different outcome to that we’re familiar with. So, Scotland win the inaugural World Cup, Clough’s Derby become champions of Europe, and, in another European final, David O’Leary’s Leeds gain revenge over Bayern Munich with a victory in 2001. Oh yes, England win the 1990 World Cup (beating Argentina of course). Each of us probably has a moment in our own club’s past when if it wasn’t for the width of a goalpost, a handball not spotted, or deflected shot, then things would have turned out differently. It’s part of the angst we all feel, at the same time both frustrating and somehow liberating, giving us the opportunity to weave a more successful narrative and outcome. If only Mark Hughes had slightly miscued his extra time volley in the 94 FA cup semi-final then Oldham would have gone on to win the Cup, avoid relegation, play in the UEFA Cup and so on. So, this book takes us into such a parallel universe, and, at least for fans of the teams involved, it will be an enjoyable journey. It's a work that’s both fiction and non-fiction. The author packages his altered reality with a healthy and researched description of the context and background of the competitions he talks about. Thus, for the 1984 Battle of Britain final of the European Cup between Liverpool and Dundee Utd, you are presented with a very good background not only of the Liverpool era of the 70s and into the 80s but also of the Tannadice club and staff. Jim McLean is rightly identified as the driving force behind the club’s rise and there is an insightful piece on its ascent to the top of the Scottish game. In reality, the Tannadice Tangerines lost to Roma in the semi-final but Simon Turner intersperses the factual background with an account of his “alternative history”, the build up to the game, the match itself and reactions to it. And this is his technique with each of the six matches he writes about, so there’s plenty of football history (from 1930) as well as fiction. Suspend reality and this is a book that works. It’s written in a very readable style and has a strong factual background. It’s escapist in its premise and, like anything that’s the subject of a “what might have been” discussion, should be judged as that. And the next time a shot gets kicked off the line get dreaming about what might have happened in the years to come if it hadn’t.

Bump

Monty's bark is worse than his bite

Indeed Metty - eyes are fading ! Should have gone to Specsavers

Here's the 1932/3 version for the Main Stand. Interestingly the Bank of England inflation calculator converts this £5.50 into £352 in today's money

When pre-season training was for men. Jack Rowley and players at first training session , pre-season 1960. L to R : Kennedy, Kelly (trainer), Birch, Spurdle, Phoenix, Rowley, McCirley, Frizzell, Jarvis, West

There used to be pre-season Trial Games at many clubs. Probables v Possibles, Blues v Reds etc. This is Latics Blues in the trial match on 22 Aug 1959 Back Row: McGill, Spurdle, Ferguson, Taylor, Chaytor, Robinson Front Row: Phoenix, Bazley, Beswick, Mallon, Stringfellow

Lots of valid ideas but nearly all hung up on relatively recent people - and that's understandable . I know it makes it harder but shouldn't we consider obvious candidates from further back? In existence for over 120 years now / perhaps there's a case for acknowledging that what's really being considered is a post war set of legends . Further back - and I doubt any of us on here were around during their time - then even a cursory look at the club's history has to throw up names like ; David Ashworth David Wilson Jimmy Naylor Charlie Roberts Jack Hacking Tommy Davis Jimmy Fay Matt Gray All of whom seem to have met the criteria of the op. It's a debate that can go on for ever but I always fee uncomfortable in issues like this - or "greatest player" votes - that there is the inevitable subjectivity of personal connection rather than a more objective longer term view.

Jack Hacking I think Three caps 28/9