UpTheLatics

So it's almost certain to sell out, then. Excellent.

How many of us went over? According to a steward, he said they didn't expect more than 1100, but the amount of noise we made, what with 24,000 attendence, sounds like a good few more. That excellent form of passing, too, just when Lewi was called offside was fantastic.

Hazell's tackle on Showumni at 41 secs

That's brilliant. I also thought the stewards were decent. They allowed the last 4/5 rows all stand up, again because it's not affecting anyone, so fair enough.

Well, if we continue to play so well, he's gonna find it hard to prove his ability. Shez has admitted he doesn't like changing a winning side. On a side note - which may see Lee come into the side - the game that will tell me is we're capable of promotion will be Colchester away. Let's see if we're up for that one, which doesn't have all the wonders of Leeds away.

:lol: That's a brilliant excuse.

Indeed. Wellens and Whitaker are different players. Now, he has already proved he's not a lazy-arsed sod like Wellens was (I never overly rated him), so he's already won more respect from me than I ever had for Richie. I do also think he's gonna have a very good season, as he reminds me of Allott, and any player who puts in 100% at this level tends to be rewarded. I do want to see him more though. Today we saw him in 2 roles. During the first 30 minutes he was very much like Allott in the fact he didn't make many forward runs - something I think would have seen us create more chances in the first half (not picking here). Then during the 2nd half when we were running riot, he was on the edge of the box a lot more (the only similarity with Wellens really, and the only ever thing I liked about Richie), where it's no surprise we benefited, as we won so many more second balls. One thing we missed all last year - well apart from when Jarrett was around - was a man on the edge of the box. I hope he plays in an advanced role next week, but he shows that when we need to play it safe for the opening exchanges ofpotentially tough matches he can do this effectively. There's no way many players will run through Allott and Whitaker without being hit with a powerful but fair challenge.

You should also contact Alan Hardy or someone, explain what happened just in case they're not aware of it. I'm not being patronising or owt, but if we as a club can find out what really happened, our voice is louder than just a fans', who the FA may just think is biased and may not follow it up in the correct way.

No, fair play for those comments, Derek. You simply couldn't not comment positively, though, on his performance today. However, Taylor does have to maintain the high levels of performances we've had so far this season (which I think he will). Then again, only a slight dip in form shouldn't also see your usual comments either. If that's the case, they'll be void because every player has a slight dip in every season, and I haven't seen another thread for a seperate player who isn't performing from you.

I was reading that open-mouthed. He just won't give up, and I bet he won't greet any other side, like he failed to do so with us. I love how we was harping on about their fantastic squad of players. I really hate that man. Sadly, I felt a lot of fans would dislike me starting off "we're having a party when Ken Bates dies", so I withheld from doing so... loudly.

Aye, I saw him being taken away, again thinking he was drunk. However, that is shocking. Not only were the Leeds fans singing "time to go" and "cheerio", but apparently now they were the ones to injure the lad. Pathetic. If this is confirmed, I fully expect us to report A. The fans and B. the stewards - I saw them running about a few times, and it looks as though they've let a few of their fans slip into our end. Now, for me, I think our behaviour was pretty good today. Good banter, which wasn't asked to be cooled, and the only standing was from fans at the back -which, their stewards didn't have a problem because they're not affecting others' viewing of the match. There was very little abusive language too from what I could hear. So we kept our own fans safe, so if we fail to report this -again, if true - I will have a major problem with our owners, and they will lose a lot of respect from me. It works in a two-way thing. How did you find this out Latics Lady?

Aye, its clear that's all it was. Jermaine 'he's gonna be an absolute star' Beckford was left kicking the ground in frustration. Both Gregan and Hazell were fantastic, especially when we all pretty much knew we would need them early doors and Leeds would attack us. They stood up to the test. I mean, Hazell was having that much fun, he started shooting from the half-way line!

Simple. Another manager besides Shez will just see how talented he is. We'll be fighting off a few clubs from the Championship (which reminds me, I saw 2 scouts on Saturday). Last season he grew as a player so much, and what he brings to our side, such as his energy to bomb up and down the flank, his support when over-lapping, his excellent tackling, his pace, and his composure is so under-rated I think.

That's taking it too far Yeah, in about 8 year or so. His price will rocket up before it starts to fall.

Haha I know. What made it worse was our new speaker dude actually sounded excited when he said "Goal scorer for Millwall - Tressssoor Kaaaandol!" Still I loved the goal-scoring tune. Very, very catchy.

100% agree with this post. You haven't nailed a player to a tree, nor have you called for instant solution. You're spot on when you say we can change, due to our depth. This was even shown to be correct in the first league game. 3-1 down, we change our system and bring on 3 very good players, and we win the game. It's our first proper game. The tempo was quicker than either the Hull or Derby game, and if anyone has watched SSN tonight, it's shown several Championship managers say the same thing: We didn't play as well as we can but it's the first game of the season. We'll settle. I was, however, surprised at the mistakes our defenders made, considering they know each other very well. But as I say, we were always going to make mistakes (saying this, I hope Shez reminds Crossley, Gregan and Hazell that those mistakes are daft for such experienced pros). We've added to our squad more than a good number of sides in this division, so, in theory, it should take us longer, but at least we won our game. You can guarantee no manager, well apart from Dagenham's, was 100% happy with their teams' performances. We need to address a few things, we can do this for the Rochdale game, and we can do this with 3 points banked. What is for sure is that to get outta this league you need to find the back of the net. We've scored 4 goals, and it took us up until the 46th league game to do so last season. I am interested to see what Shez does for Tuesday. Will he go with the same line-up to get another game together, or will he include the 3 players who so obviously changed the game? I see positives in both options. See, we have that very option, which I bet a good few teams in this league don't have.

I can't see cash actually being offered for Thompson or JP - I'd let them leave, simply to free up the wage budget. I wouldn't sell any of the obvious candidates now. We're too close to the first game, and the buying sides are too late. However, if we don't go up this season, we'll almost certainly be in real trouble. There's no way we'll hang onto Eardley, Taylor and Smalley. If Corney has any intelligence - which he apparently has shown - he knows that this is our best chance of promotion for a few years.

Well, I think this is way too early to be doing, considering we A. Don't know our starting 11 and B. Haven't even seen the current squad in a competitive game. However, when we do compare the 2 squads in terms of numbers, this is the first squad to match that of 02/03 man for man. This is a major positive, especially when we look at where we finished back then. Though if Shez gets us to where we finished under Dowie, that'd be the bigger achievement by far. Shez, now in his 3rd year with us, has built a side with big potential. Woah! Too much positivity up here. Bring me down, lads, bring me down... Then again, Shez has already matched Dowie's finish, yet 02/03 is still deemed a success, yet Shez got stick for this first season.

Gregan I like. He'll make a mistake every now and then, but his ability to win balls in the air is something we missed for a major part of last season. After Trotman left, we conceded some silly goals simply because we didn't have a ball-winning centre back. Stam can do it, but look at the 2 goals we conceded at home to Swindon. Hazzell is excellent, but he lacks height. Combine that important attribute with he sheer aggression he installs. He frightens opposition defenders - something I don't get from Stam and Hazzell again. As for Lids, I like him. Yes, he probably won't play 46 league games this season, but anyone who can deliver a ball like the following - without having to run, may I add - is always a danger, and will always be in the back of my mind. - Probably one of the best balls I've seen from an Oldham play in a few years. Again, something we missed last season was a winger with the real ability to cross the ball well. We scored very, very few goals from wide positions, which was opposite to the season before. Just to add - O'Grady + Liddell or someone who can cross = success. He'll probably be used more as an experienced winger, who comes on say with 20 minutes to go. How many silly fouls do sides give away when they're 1-0, there's not much time left, and they're nervouse? Quite a few.

Well, with all the disruptions off the field of play, Shez has got on with it, given whoever does all the talking a list players to sign, and by the sounds of it he's got who he's wanted, barring maybe a couple, so far. We're not even into the friendlies yet and we've signed 6 players - possibly making us the most active in League 1, and one of the busiest in the country. Shez wanted another main striker, and judging by the early timing of O'Grady arriving, it certainly looks as though that was one of the first strikers he went in for. He's brought in another 'keeper, again very early, indicating Greg was higher up on Shez's wish-list. Very pleased as yet. Whether we've done enough I don't know. Looking at how well we did last year considering the many negative factors, like others have said, if we remain relatively injury-free, or at least not having the spine of the side ripped out for most of the season, we certainly stand a chance. But the challenge for Shez and Tommy is to get them playing well together, and he's already admitted to having 2 poor starts, and he's changed it this year by bringing the lads in a week early. He's doing everything earlier this year, and it can only help. Still, we need more depth on the left side.

Well, exactly. The last two were local businesses with Latics fans in charge - it's all very selective to me. Push the boat out, actually try and attract a wide range of firms from a larger range across England and the rest of the UK. These commercial fellas shouldn't be paid for just crossing the street to a buisness, they should be paid for getting out and around, spreading the word we're 3 sponsors down, and make sure it gets further than the top of Sheepfoot Lane.

What with Gillespie's move to Col U, they could well be the Spurs of League 1. Very good strike-force, shocking defence. I don't think they'll be up there, especially because they're losing their all-important sloping ground, which I guess teams last year got used to. Leeds and Leicester are bound to be up there. Other than that, you simply can't predict what will happen.

If selling star players for something which affects the "short-term", thus affecting our long-term future, then something is clearly wrong with the mentality amongst the club officials. They're acting as though we're some Blue Square Premier side, when in fact we're a decent League 1 side. There are plenty of other sponsors.

The players we've signed weren't free players. They had a club, and considering we're now allowed to approach players who still have clubs, yet aren't under contract, it's called quick and good business to most of us. All the players we've brought in, barring Kieren Lee, were still wanted by their then current sides. However, I've just read BBC's site, and it says the club were set to break their League One transfer fee record. What is ours? I don't think it was us, either way. Shame, because 16 goals at a side who were woeful last season is very impressive, and still only 23.

Can the 28 voters of Guns of Navarone please tell me what you like about it? It's absolutely awful - there's no flow, it's all over the place. EDIT: Watching a better version, it's not entirely bad.