UpTheLatics

I know you weren't but it's often what we do.

Our haste on jumping on anybody associated with the club is very much the problem. Wild deserves a medal for taking on the job for this amount of time. Let's leave him alone, eh. The simple fact is - and we really have to get this into our heads - that the players, despite a seemingly firm belief across this board, are essentially average players and as such they show elements of quality some of the time, but are ultimately inconsistent. The squads we've had in the last decade have been lauded, but very few have made it above mid table of League One. Yes, I hoped we could sustain some form but the last two games have confirmed what I've known all season: we lack the ability to put together a significant run of results. It isn't suddenly going to happen and so we should aim as high as possible and hope we can beat Donny to extend the FA Cup run. A 12th place finish and the 5th Round of the FA Cup wouldn't be the worst thing and before some start lashing out, it isn't me being happy with us finishing 12th. It's realistic considering the way our club is run.

Do we have to sell out before putting in the request for the additional batch? I'd be amazed if we have not sold the initial lot some point early on Monday at which point there will be a lot of glum faces turning away from Boundary Park if they have to return.

Why, Paul of course!

Inspector Goole over here. Paul - crack on lad.

I'm not disputing it, but what I'm driving at is the strangeness of the situation. There aren't many scenarios I can think of whereby somebody gets paint on to their trainers. the two I can think of (at a football ground) are: a) a banner his crew has created or b) paint from some work done at Boundary Park Either way, it's a silly situation to have developed. If he's in the wrong, he should be a man, admit it and pay his penalty. I'm not praising him as such. I'm saying he and his lot have done a good job energising our excellent away support. His problem is that he makes himself recognisable because of his odd fondness for taking off his top therefore he's painted a target on his back, and, yes, I'd prefer it if he just acted normally. That said, he's trying summit different and he's a kid and he should be allowed to do that.

What exactly has the lad done? On the basis of that letter, he has been fined £50 for wiping wet paint on a wall. It is bizarre. if we're going to damn the lad for giving aggro to opposition supporters, then are we going to be brave when the older lot do it or cower off? Are we going to have quiet words with them? We have some right pillocks and they're all ages; the mob who organise around the tunnel come the final whistle embarrass themselves on a weekly basis. I've been in pubs all over the place with the idiot element and often heard and witnessed some really stupid behaviour. A lot of these lads have 20+ year marriages and kids. Personally, I think the whole ultra stuff is bollocks and I'd praise him - and a lot of these lads deserve some recognition for their loyalty to the club and in assisting in our away support getting the nod it often does - if he come up with some original stuff, but he's a young'un who will hopefully mature and a few on the forum are getting a little but chewy over nowt.

Spot on. Their problem is that they hasn't played 500 professional games.

If we appoint an inexperienced manager, it will invariably be a player who has retired in the last few year such as Wellens, Dunn, Johnson, Dickov. If we employ someone who has managed before, we'll probably end up with someone who has had a bit of success over two or three year but then seemingly failed thereafter or someone who inspires no confidence and has been at at least half a dozen clubs. Or we can try and be a bit clever and convince someone like Wild to take it. Nonetheless, our pool from which to chose from is limited and so what we expect from whoever has to be curbed. We've just got rid of Bunn, with considerable backing by supporters, despite him having the highest win percentage, other than Sheridan, for nearly 20 year. Sad truth is that unless our new person secures a play-off season in their first attempt, the backing will quickly fizzle. I have no problem with putting Wild in place until close season, but he'd be a little silly to accept. His Fulham victory may have saved him from what our last dozen have had from the board and a good section of the supporters (some deserved to go mind).

I think there might have been a third because I was coming out and a bloke of about 60 was being helped back into the ground and looked in serious discomfort - overheard the coppers saying he'd hit his head, although it looked like he'd knackered his back. I didn't see the fall so could have been one of the two you're talking about. It needs raising. I might call on Monday and ask why basic steps haven't been fitted.

They're a good side mate; sometimes that has to be admitted. The performance was far from perfect and without doubt we needed to get stuck in from the first minute. We got better and could have nicked it but Rovers can pass and there is a clear focus on fitness (intense closing down) demonstrated by the unusual half-time fitness session their subs went through. There wasn't a ball in sight until the last few minutes. On the Corney front, I plead not guilty. I was against him for years before he left and this clown we have I've retained doubts about since he first appeared on the scene. You need to split the fiasco that is the management of the club and the playing field. If we beat Macclesfield, it'll be 10 points from a possible 12. That is play-off form.

I thought we'd been sold a pup with 20 played, but he improved throughout and he looks handy.

That's a little unfair. Forest Green outplayed us for the first half hour and Wild altered it at half-time and we improved considerably. It is also the first time this season Rovers have not scored away from home in the league. They're a good side and I'm happy with a point. That said, we desperately missed Surridge today. We need to bring in a striker as we seldom had anybody in the box today and we unable to get in behind their defence. Bloody freezing today.

Donny's result today was brutal.

Aye. Arriva Northern guards have now had 44 days of industrial action spanning over two years. Last week the Manchester Victoria train station picket line was attacked by right-wingers hence the show of support this morning. https://issuu.com/rmtunion/docs/gaurds_2016/2

I hope we can add an extra few hundred on the gate after last week. I consider this to be a really important game as a victory over a top-7 side would mean we go into a more-than-winnable away trip at Macclesfield aiming to make it four league wins on the trot, it will demonstrate we're good enough to get into the play-off places and the confidence and momentum it will spawn heading into the Donny game would be huge. A loss would confirm in my mind that we'll be playing in this division next year; it'll show we just don't have enough consistency to put a run together good enough to amass points.

I was on the picket line with them this morning Anyway, I'm surprised by the lack of faith in our ability to turn out. I remember Huddersfield filling the Rocky Road in 2008. I think we'll do the same at Donny. Is anyone aware of a cap on the number of tickets each supporter can purchase?

No doubting we made an electric start.

He wants to be ashamed.

With 25 minutes to play and four goals already, Gabriel Jesus could very well have done it.

Anyone think the Bolton-Doidge debacle might unsettle the players? Mark Cooper is a good manager and his Swindon side was one of the best League One sides I've seen at Boundary Park (Feb 2015 - we won 2-1 but they dominated from start to finish). EDIT: Funny how things develop: We were 5th following that win; ominously, Chesterfield were 7th.

There's summat paradoxical about labelling an Oldham Athletic supporter a 'day-tripper' anyway marra. I'll join the bet too deyeres42 - £20 to the foodbank on those terms.

Aye. Good spot that. Few of us were talking about a day and night in Sheffield before heading through to Donny.

It's the 4th round of the FA Cup. If a professional footballer playing in the fourth tier can't be motivated by a game like this, then they'll naturally drift into non-league and will be working alongside your average football supporter in a few year.

You've got it mate. We could have landed a dour trip to a host of Championship clubs without a guarantee of television or a 20,000+ crowd. Although not what we wanted, we've just seen the lads knock out a top flight club - whatever happens, we've got a memory to treasure. This is a game where we can play toe-to-toe with the opposition and it's certainly not an outlandish proposition to suggest we can win the tie. I'll be there and I urge every last one who was there yesterday to get through.