Gemma06

Saturday was pretty poor. The defence looked comfortable but thereafter, we struggled. Where is the passing? We were promised that by Shez. Woolfy is out of his depth; when he managed to see the ball on Saturday he rarely did anything that added any value.

 

No wonder Davies kept the ball, I bet that he couldn't see anyone who could do anything with it on Saturday.

 

We need a good coach. And we need to either dispel the drinking rumours (Taylor) or sort them out. We are turning into a team of high paid boozers.

Wolfy is not out of his depth, if we play high balls to him then he is not going to be able to do much is he. I can only remember once when someone managed to almost play him through they didnt fully but he managed to get past his man and then Kilkenny took it off him on the edge of the area. Play him alongside Ricketts and he will play much much better. I've seen him play loads in the reserves and yes i know it's not the same as the first team but he is a clever little player and i remember seeing him run rings round Heinze (at least i think it was him) in a manchester senior cup game a couple of season ago.

The midfield needs sorting, if Wellens wanted more money we shoud have give it to him and not bothered with Kilkenny and either JP and Allott - they both play virtually exactly the same game. Wellens made our team tick, it was said by many whilst he was here that when he didnt play the team didnt play, this is being proved this season. Somone said above that Liddell should play in the centre, thats all well and good he would be able to play good balls through but it's clear he does not have the legs to play centre midfield it would need to be 3 playing behind him in the middle like we did pre-season and with Eardley and Bertrand pushing on down the wings - there both fit young kids and should be able to get up and down the wings - with either Allot or JP dropping back and covering in defence for when the full backs push up.

Were missing Porters goals as well but the amount of money he wanted it was never going to happen but we have got good enough replacements in for him and the goals will come in time.

At least the defence seems sorted and i was pleased to see Eardley have a good game though i think he could have pushed on a bit more. I'm sure gregan must be coming up to a ban though, he got booked again on Saturday and i'm pretty sure he's already had a few

To right. I'm gettin so frustrated watching greedy Craig Davies taking stupid shots when he should be passing. Which is why at this point I'd rather see Ricketts and Wolfy given a go up front

I think Ricketts and Wolfy would work very well together, Wolfy is a very intelligent football player and Ricketts would be able to play through quality balls through to him when he is making his runs

It surprises me that so many people think the solution to Taylor's poor form is to put him on the right. Yes, he's right-footed, but he's shown that he can play and be more than effective down the left. If we move him to the right, I reckon he'll just be a player in poor form there, instead of on the left. Perhaps it would give him the new lease of life he needs, but I can't see it.

I agree, putting him on the right will do nothing. The lad is quick and so could get past him man easily, other teams now know about him all they have to do is stop him knocking the ball past the full back to run on to and Sinclair did that brilliantly yestersday. He needs to learn to get his head up, look what options are availble to him and then pick out a pass or put a decent ball in. He needs a rest and a few games in the reserves to get his confidence up and Shez and Wright should be working with him in training so get him to move his game on to the next level, he's not a young kid anymore he's supposed to be an established first team regular. The problem is we have no other left winger, Bertrand is here to convert into a left back so he can't play there, Davies/Wolfenden/Smalley are other options but i dont really see any of them being that effective out there

[Not to pick up on too much as it is mainly right, but your rating of Eardley is so wrong it's just... wrong.

 

His best game all season by a mile and easily my man of the match (for us) - which granted ain't saying much.

 

Lesson of the day: This just goes to show how important Ricketts is to us.

I thought Eardley had a good game too, his distribution was poor a couple of times but overall he did very well.

The decision making by both Davies and Taylor was awful at times, i know there both very quick and can run past their marker with ease (tho i dont think Taylor did that once yesterday) but they need to start looking up and seeing what options they have instead of just running into dead ends

Yesterday i also heard a lot of people saying that Smalley and Alessandra should both be starting for us when they are fit, now i know these two have a lot of potentional and were fantastic last season for the reserves and youth team, but all these people that are shouting for them to start have they actually seen these two play or are they judging them on a couple of pre-season friendlys? I saw them both play a few times last season for both the reserves and youth team and i was impressed by both but just because they were playing well then it does not mean they can automatically been thrown into the first team and expected to do well. Them coming on off the bench is the best way to get them used to first team football, they have a long way to go and still need to improve on aspects of their game and Shez and co will i'm sure get the best out of them, but there is no need to throw them in at the deep end just yet, a suspension or injury at some point in the season will give them their chance

Speaking of suspensions how may cards has Gregan got now, he got another yesterday he must be getting close to a ban now

can anybody explain to me how the hallwell jones stadium home of warrington rl has two sides that are standing one of which is an upper tear this is a new n build stadium of 14000 capacity so what is the differance between thugby and football !

The fans are the difference, unnfortunately you still get idiots going to watch football who would probably find it amusing to surge forward purposely to squash those at the front, im sure it seems like a lot of fun when your not the ones getting squashed but when your there with children or you are a child yourself getting hurt its not so much fun. I'm not against standing coming back - in fact i prefer standing, especially when the stand is full the atmosphere seems much better - but there does need to be strict safety procedures in place

The drummer was respecting the opinions put forward.... He said he wouldnt take it to the next couple of games. Which he didnt... If people have changed there mind, if the vote is closer, then thats an indication he should continue... If it stays the way it was last time then I would suggest then its time to stop it...

 

When did we start living in a "im ok so sod everyone else" world..... Other peoples thoughts on it should count for something. I think the feelings of us lot on here more or less repersent the wider feeling....

 

Anyway, we are a community on here, if the community dont want this poll then lets remove it...if not...i am intrested in the results...

 

The other poll got

 

107 post and 1,763 views....

 

This is clearly an issue that was bugging people.....

I wasn't having a go at you for starting the poll, as you said a lot of people voted and commented on the other one and i'm sure they will this time. All i meant was even if everyone is against him bringing the drum we can't stop him from doing so

Does it really matter what any of these polls say? Just because a few people on a message board dont like it you can not stop him from bringing it. It's obvious most people on here don't like it, and i must admit when i have been near it at some away games it has been anoying having it banging away right down your ear but the lad enjoys it and he and his mates enjoy singing along to it. A lot has been said on this message board about a lack of atmosphere especially at homes games and someone tries to do something to improve it and he gets nothing but stick for it

Dean Holden

 

Neil will always be a legend for scoring this goal !!!

My best moment ever watching football. He has to be a club legend just for scoring that one penalty for us - plus he had very nice legs

Nothing to settle, Eyres was great but he was no Tricky Ricky, not by a long chalk; that fella was class.

Thats who i've always said as well but most people i ask can never decide between them

Lol....was going to edit my last post....anyway...as it wont let me (admin, it seems if it's X big, ya can't edit it it) anyway........

 

Just fooking amazed at Gemma post there.....comparing Lids...........

 

Adams (please, no, seriously...................PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Lids.....a very, very poor Adams!!! Not even close!!!)

 

Eyres...."Lids has never had any real pace though, neither had Eyres"................just cannot, SERIOUSLY....cannot believe this comment. You must be.....????????Well...who knows???? Eyres had no pace.....hahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Eyres got slated for beating his man...then, beating his man. And then............beating his man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Eyres got slated coz he did them and didn't put the ball in......Eyres never had pace..............WASH YA MOUTH OUT!!!!!!!!!!!! Eyres or Lids in my team...........ha...........even the blind know!

 

And the fantastic finale.............Holden....................PMSL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I know Lids has some fans but me.................that's the funniest post I've read on OWTB!!!!!!! Yes, I'm responding in such a condescending way.....but is there any other way to it? I can't believe my eyes.......Eyres....no pace????????? and Holden????????????????????? There is no way to respond to it..............Stick up for Lids but please.................do not even try to compare him to Eyres (God!), Adams (legend) and Holden (a right back)...................Liddell will slump away from the Latics in the summer (relieving over 4k a week in wages!) and be long, long forgotten!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Firstly try reading my post properly i didn't say that Liddell has played as well for us as the other players i mentioned did, just that none of the wingers i mentioned were lightning quick - tho as i stated i could be wrong with Adams and Holden(thats Rick Holden.....a left winger......) as i was very young when i was watching them but their pace just doesn't stand out in my memory of them. Eyres wasn't quick for a winger, he beat his man with skill.

Eyres, Holden, Adams are all Latics legends i am fully aware of that, and i'm also aware that Liddell will not be remembered at the this club in a similar way

Oh and Liddell gets paid no where near 4k a week i know that for a fact

yes but he can play for a drifferent club every season im sure he has previously played for leeds, if im wrong then am sorry. this should be our team

 

1 hallworth

2 irwin

3 barrett

4 r holden

5 ritchie

6 bunn

7 eyres

8 shez

9 warhurst

 

oldham in the maters would be quality. if leicester can win it with that team then surely we could get a better team than they got

Ricky Holden and Eyres in the same team, perhaps we'd finally be able to settle who was better player!!

Gemma , me and you seem to have the same thoughts on Lidds , you sit in mainstand lower in think ? , i sit in Lower Lookers............must be the pitch level view

I do sit there yes, the side the RRE. It must be down to the view that we see just how good he really is

And just so we all know. LIDDS' LEGS HAVE GONE. Gone, gone, gone, gone, gone!

 

I'd drop Lidd's and play Davies on the left, Taylor on the right and Wolfy/Allessandro/Hughes (if fit) up front.

 

(Obviously Hughes would be ideal).

GONE.

Lids has never had any real pace though, neither had Eyres and i never remember Holden or Adams being lightning quick but all of them put quality balls into the box, thats what wingers are there for.

Lids still has to the legs to last 90mins, he gets back to help eards - more this season than last in my opinion - and he gets forward to support the attack he just doesnt run at his man like Taylor and Davies can but that does not make him a bad player and it doesnt mean that his legs have gone

I find it quite bizzare that two of our most naturally gifted players get the most stick

he CANT BEAT HIS MAN....

Did you go to the Leeds game? The best moment of the game was when someone finally gave Lids a decent ball, i think it was either Ricketts or KK (the balls that get played to him are normally very poor) his first touch was perfect to put it behind the defender and into the area, he then ran round his man and his picked the ball up again, unnfortunately the bounce just didnt go his way and he couldnt get a shot away but he did play a good ball in for Taylor. It was pure class

And a nice goal from him today coming in at the back

Lol....Totally agree! Erm...which is why I'm saying put Taylor in his right position....

Taylor cuts inside on his right...yeah...and then runs flat into a defender. Said all this before about Taylor numerous times. He shouldn't be cutting in, he should be getting past his man and whipping it in. He can't put that cross in on the left....simple as. Because a) he veers towards his marker as he runs down the left coz he can't control the ball at pace with his left, so gets stopped or b.) coz he can't cross it with his left if he ever does finally beat a man. Anyone who thinks Taylor is a LW, above a RW....well, they've not a clue! Stick him on the right, then he'll do it. Did it before he got shifted and will do it again if given a run there.

 

Moving Taylor is one of them things I thought Ronnie was stupid for doing and then couldn't believe when Shez followed on with it....and still can't!

 

As for stats, erm, you want to compare a kid coming through, playing out of position to Liddell? Lol....very fair! At a guess for 2007, I'd say their stats are probably identical.....well done Lids.....for keeping up with a kid who's out of position! Impressive!

When he was on the right his crosses weren;t that good. When he got switched to the left he played just as well as he had been doing on the right. He can put decent balls in the from the left as long as he looks up and picks a spot - his cross for Wolfy last week as is mentioned above. The problem is other teams have got to know about him, they know he is fast and they have worked out ways to stop him - whether he be on the left or right. No-one is saying he is a bad player just that he needs to improve on some areas of his game

Taylor can't put a decent ball in from the left winger, coz he ain't a left winger. Should be on the right. Then that leavs solving who to put on the left.

He can't put balls in consistantly on the right either. He's a player with great potential but he needs to work on his final ball and he needs to get his head and look instead of head down all the time

The thing is, as we've seen a few times this Season, Davies has the pace to get round the full-back and then head towards goal. Also, getting to the by-line means the pass is a cut-back rather than a cross which is a much easier art and also harder to defend.

 

It's a dilemma isn't it and I'm sure Shez and his Coaching team will find the right solution!

I personally would give him a go on the left but as you say im sure Shez will get it right. It's good we have so many different options though as were normally screwed should a player get injured, it's nice we have players fighting for a place in the team instead of us having a starting 11 and no real quality in reserve.

Playing him on the left would encourage him to cut inside and have a pop with his right foot and in that case, let's stick with Taylor. Playing him in Lidds position would give different options. Pace on both wings and hopefully, a couple of poachers waiting in the box. At the moment, when he is in a foot race, he's put through the middle where there are two CBs and it is easy for the Keeper to sweep. The ball therefore has to be great. Put him out wide and the angle will be better for the pass (much larger percentage for error) plus there will be less defenders. Got to be worth a try in my opinion as it will stretch the defence and encourage the centre mids to push on supporting the attack.

I agree with you that having two players with pace on the wing would be fantastic but they also need to be able to put decent balls into the box consistantly and neither Taylor nor Davies can do this. At this level we wont get a quick winger who can cross if they could do both then they would be playing at a higher level. So do we go for two wingers who cant cross but can run fast or one with pace and another who can cross the ball? I myself just can't see the point of two wingers who wont be able to put decent balls into the box

Seriously? I must be watching a different game...he gets the ball, sees the opposing full back and turns looking for KK or Davies or whoever else. He puts 1 in 10 balls in, not 9 in 10 balls!

 

*At present, Eardleys the one playing that diagonal ball. From the flippin half way line and the oppo's defence goes "gobble, gobble, ta very much!" Either that or Ricketts wins it, nods it down for a runner....and they are, erm...nowhere near.

The only time he looks to pass the ball inside to KK is when there is no-one, or only Ricketts in the box, whats the point crossing the when its Ricketts against 3/4 defenders? Taylor needs to start coming in at the back post more - as Shez and Wright are constantly telling him to. We also have no central midfielder making runs into the box, McDonald did it very well at the beginning of last season. I know KK makes some good runs but he likes to wait on the edge of the area to pick up any cleared balls and Allot/Kalala dont really make any forward runs. Lids puts loads of great balls in but most of the time there is no-one in there to attack them

Amidst all this Pro/Anti Ricketts posting, one thing does jump out at me is:-

 

Numerous people keep defending Ricketts with "he's not fit comments"

 

WHY is he not fit??????

 

He had a full pre-season including 5 pre season friendlies.

 

We have now played 11 competitive matches, so thats 16 matches in total. He has started the vast majority of these.

 

He's also been training with the club for about 14 weeks so should be pretty fit by now unless we are doing something badly wrong in training.

 

How many more matches and how much more time do people think he's going to need to 'get fit'??

 

I'm not his biggest fan but thought he did alright the other night against Dirty Leeds, it just strikes me that I can't see any reason why he should be any less fit than the rest of the squad at this stage in the season.

He is carrying injuries if he wasn't he would probably have played for 90mins more. I think people assume he is unfit because when watching him during the game he does look disinterested at times though i'm sure he is interested it's just his body language doesnt give that impression

Ill retract afew of the harsher things said about Ricketts last night ... id still like him to look alittle more interested but ill be man enough to admit some i said was me letting off steam/heat of the moment stuff.

 

Onwards and Upwards.

 

Also just a note about CD on the wing ... maybe could swap him and Lidds for the Cheltenham game .. as Liddell has got a fantastic footballing brain .. just till Hughesy gets fit etc and see how CD does on the wing. Worth a 20 min try?

Lids does have a good footballing brain too but he does lack pace, perhaps he and Davies could interchange throughout the game? it would certainly keep their centre halfs and left back on their toes. They would have to be careful though to make sure that one of them was always tracking back to help out eards

It's alright, if Ricketts only scores another 3 times before the end of the season it will be okay because he gets these little flick ons and holds the ball well.

If we play the ball to his feet or play him through one on one with the keeper then he will score. Give him the ball in the air 40 yards out then all he can do is flick it on, give it on the half way line with his back to goal, all he can do is hold it up and lay it off to our midfield

Don't get me wrong, I like Davies and think he's a fantastic player. He isn't a striker though and hopefully Shez will realise it soon and gives Ricketts a proper foil up front - and add to our potency by putting CD on the wing. Left or right, I don't care.

I would like to see Ricketts and Hughes up front, they should be on the same wave length, they've both played at a high level and should both be able to read the game well and see things quicker than most players at this level can. I would also like to Wolfy given a chance along side Ricketts, i think Wolfy could turn out to be a really good striker at this level and playing alongside Ricketts can only help him improve.

With regards to Davies i'd give him a chance on the left, Taylor is struggling out there and hardly ever gets balls into the box. A few weeks rest for him and hopefully he'll come back stronger than ever

I can not believe what i am reading about Ricketts, how can people say he is the worst player to play for us in a long while and that he was our worst player last night. Are you the same people who have a go at Lids and gregs and who were having a go at Wellens and porter last season? Ricketts may not being able to sprint around for 90 mins like Davies and Taylor can do but he offers the team so much more, he can control the ball in an instant, his movement is second to none its just that our other players dont always see it, he can pick out passes, given the chance he will score - fair enough he missed a decent enough chance last night but he was being pushed all over the place. Shez wants him to play as a target man, this is not his natural game, he likes the ball in to his feet or to be put through one on one with the keeper - he made is goal at Walsall look easy. In Ricketts, Lids and Kilkenny we have 3 of the most naturally talented players in league one, to suggest dropping any of them would be foolish.

I do agree that Wolfy should have been brought on slightly earlier but for Davies not for Ricketts.

I do want to nail the misapprehension that a local paper has to remain neutral. Absoulutely not!! look the length and breadth of the country and local papers are taking active roles in supporting/opposing positions on issues. Campaigning is at the core of modern local news media. It's not about births, deaths, and marriages but about taking an active position for the beneit of the community. And, IMO. the benefit of the Oldham community is served by a vibrant football club witha better stadium.

No-one is complaining about the stadium being improved it’s all that goes with it so we can fund it, all the flats/houses etc/.

Any decent journalist has to remain impartial when writing an article presenting all the facts to the reader to enable them to form their own opinion