Gemma06

You should sit in the main stand, i get that every week. We could be winning 10-0 and they would still find something to moan about. When Ricketts scored the penalty in the first game of the season they were moaning about it!!

At the beginning of the season i thought Thompson was shocking but he seems to be settling in nicely now, he reads the play well and has slightly more pace than Gregan and has no problems going in for 50/50 balls but he does get pulled out of position far too much he seems to just follow the guy he's marking leaving huge gaps at the back which isn't helping either Gregan or Eardley. As i said earlier i don't think Gregan is as good as some people think but at this level he has the ability to be a decent centre half he just needs to stick to the things he does best and keep things simple but i think all over the team players just need time to settle in and get used to playing with each other. It takes time, we have changed our team so much over the last few seasons we just need a little patience for Shez to get his best starting 11 sorted

If he gets back to what he does best, winning the ball and getting rid of it instead of messing about trying to pick out tight passes or beat his man then he will be an excellent player this season for us. Unnfortunately i can't see that happeneing. Another thing is the amount he blames other players, yes i understand he is captain and sometimes he is right to have a go at them but most of the time it is his fault anyway and part of being a captain is bringing the best out of the players on the pitch, playing by example and at the moment he isn't doing that. Though to be fair i don't think anyone is doing that well at the minute. I'm sure it will come good though, just need a bit of patience for the players to get used to playing with each other

I think we are missing Wellens in the middle of the park, yes he wasn't always on top form but he always came and demanded the ball and was always willing to try different things and get the ball forward. We do not have that at the minute, especially with Kilkenny out. I think we'll come good though, but we have quite a few new players and they need time to settle. But we seem to be saying this at the start of every season recently, its time we got a settled squad for a few seasons in order for us to move forward

Pace is all well and good but neither Taylor nor Smalley can consistantly put decent balls into the box and that is what wingers are there for. Liddell is better starting the game and then if things want changing either put him up front of take him off and put Smalley/Taylor both of whom will be able to exploit tired legs with their pace. A lot of people were saying at the game that Liddell gives it back to Eardley too much but thats because it seems to take an eternity for the ball to get out to him and if Eardley doesn't then go on the overlap that leaves Liddell with two players stood in front of him to block any crosses he attempts. We need to get the ball out to him earlier

I think Bertrand was better going forward while Giddings was better defending, but i think we will see Bertrand get better as the games go on. I think he'd also do ok playing left wing

We didnt seem to have any cutting edge at all today. I'm sure it will come in time Shez is still trying to work out his best formation and his starting 11 and the players need to get used to playin with each other and the system their playing. I thought Bertrand did ok he could be a good signing for us and could do a job at left wing as well as left back. Eardley seemed to do a bit better today but was caught out for the goal. I thought Rickets and Liddell both played well and was surprised that both got brought off.

Well the Barcelona fans loved him, i saw him play for them on numerous occassions and they thought he was fantastic

I understand ur opinion and of course everyone is entitled to their views and i know a lot of oldham fans who don't want Hughes to play for us. One of whom is refusing to attend any games whilst Hughes is here even though he himself has a criminal record and often moans to me about him not being given the chance at a decent job!!! My fiance's father was killed by a hit and run driver, he was eventually found and served a short time in prision. He wasn'tdrunk or anything, he just paniced and drove off. The guy has now rebuilt his life and i understand he has since gone on to have a family, good job etc. He has seen him quite a few times - they both sit quite near each other in the same stand at Everton - and the first few times he saw him he was outraged that he was there just leading his life as if nothing has happened. Anyway after reading about Hughes being released all day whilst i was work today i asked him when i got home what he thought about it, he didnt really think he should be stopped from playing and will still come to the odd game when Everton aren't playing even if Hughes is playing for us but he understands how the victims and their families will feel and how they will want Hughes to rot in prision. Should Hughes have served longer than 3 years? of course he should but given the opportunity of parole no-one is going to say no are they I hope Hughes signing doesn't stop too many Oldham fans coming to games but i'm sure should he score for us that some will feel uneasy celebrating the goal. But were not here to judge him, he's served his time and i hope is a changed man. Once he's settled the club should have him doing a lot of charity work in the local community, making sure he keeps his head down and gets on with living a quiet life Anyway i'll make that my last post on the matter now i think ive said enough on the topic and i'm off to my manutd supporting cousins house to see what her views on the game yesterday are

Forgiveness doesnt come in to it, he doesn't need anyones forgiveness to allow him to go on with his life

Adams could quite easily have killed someone if was done for drink driving he was lucky not to have done if thats the case and same with Woodgate he beat him up, one more punch or one more kick and who knows what could have happened to the victim. No not rubbish because they don't agree with me but most of the people complaining about him being released and able to play football do not know the facts. I don't mean the journalists but the general public. Many seem to think he got an easy ride and has been freed early because of his profession, this isn't true. They also think he will be getting paid loads of money - he wont. What i do find most puzzling is that some parts of the media keep mentioning how the family must feel with him being in the news again, the only reason he is in the news is because the media are making a big deal out of it. Playing for a third division club does not get you in the national press week in week out, if he scores a goal then he will get a mention in some sunday newspapers in the two line review of the game that most papers include.

Who cares what a few narrow minded people think? The media will try to make a story out of anything so it's no surprise they did here. Hughes could turn out to be a flop but he could also prove to be a fantastic signing, i hope its the latter. I'm sure the club were prepared for the negative publicity they will be getting for a few weeks. That is an intereting point about if he gets sent off for violent conduct though. The people writing all these articles and talking rubbish on talk sport about how he should never be able to play football again and garbage like that should really take a good look at who has played for our national team for some of the top teams in the premiership, there have been several criminals both past and present, i mean it wasn't so long ago various newspapers were calling for Woodgate to be re-called to the england squad, wasn't he convicted of a racially provocated assault not long ago? or something like that anyway, and Tony Adams was convicted for something too i think (could be wrong though) and he went on to become one of Englands best ever centre halfs and captained his country. It's time to let everyone involved try to get on with their lives - both the victims and their familys and Lee Hughes and his family - and stop dragging up the same story over and over again

I know he hasn't, i said a few weeks at least. He may be on the bench for a johnston paint trophy game or a league cup at home should be beat Burnley - i don't know the exact dates of when they are though. I think he needs to be brought into the team gradually, hence a home tie in the johnstone paint trophy would be an ideal game to give him 10/15mins run out (as long as we beat accrington that is) As for being in the starting 11 for league games, i can't see that for a few months, maybe even after Christmas. It all depends on how he handles it all

He's having a week off to get used to things again and see his family etc but he is due to link up with the squad for training next week i think. I can't see him making the match day squad for a few weeks at least though

Who was the other one that always used to score against us, was he called Cooke or something, i used to hate them both, i dont think they ever played against us without scoring!! I think its a pretty good draw, a local away game against a team we haven't played in a while. plus my best mate is a Burnley fan so we best win otherwise the drive home will be awful!!

I'd drop Taylor. It wont be a popular decision but i think it would the best one. If he drops Liddell i will be very disappointed, he would be first on the team sheet for me

He's at Boundry Park now

It was the last few months that Porter and McDonald also fell away, if they aren't getting on the end of the crosses then Lidds can't really do much about it. I know everyone is entitled to their opinions but unless we get another quality winger in then i can't see how we can leave him out. I like Taylor but he doesn't cross the ball well consistantly and doesn't always get his head up to pick out passes, i think it's something he needs to work on this season. We have Ricketts and Davis who will be starting up front, two big lads over 6ft, and in Ricketts we have a player who will thrive on decent crosses into the box and Liddell is the man who will provide them.

Kilkenny is a central midfield player not a winger. And he is not a better crosser of the ball than Liddell, Lidds puts quality balls into the box consistantly. Why buy a quality central midfield player and then play him out of position. We need some creativity in the middle of the park as well as out wide and Kilkenny will provide that.

I agree about Lids we need him in the team, especially now we have Ricketts who should get on the end of his crosses. I personally would have Kalala instead of Allot starting though but it's nice that we actually have a choice of decent players to choose from all of whom will be fighting for a starting place

I always rated McCarthy, i thought he did really well for us - tho my dad always said he looked like buzz lightyear! His goal at Old Trafford was fantastic too

I thought all in all it was a decent enought performance. I think we do need a creative midfield player though, Kalala and Allot both did well but we need someone else in there who can pick out a pass. I was impressed with Ricketts, he is much slimmer than i thought and looked pretty fit. Showed some great touches and could be a very good signing for us. I am a bit worried about Gregan though, i think other teams have realised that all they need to do is get a pacy striker up against him and drop the ball in behind him, it was happening towards the end of last season too. Hopefully Thompson/Stam will have the pace to cover. Next season will be a big year for a number of our younger players. We all know Taylor has the pace to get past people but now he needs to get his head up and pick out a pass or put a decent ball into the box. It's also a big season for Wolfenden and Smalley, they will both get a chance to break into the first team and they both, especially Wolfenden, need to take it and prove they can make it in the first team. I personally think they both will

Neither Kalaa, Kilkenny or Allot are wingers though, all can do a good job in the centre of midfield but out wide they will not be as effective. Taylors balls into the box aren't always that good. 9 times out of ten Liddells crosses are spot on and with Rickets in the box we have someone who will thrive on good balls being played in

Although i think Kilkenny will be a decent signing should it come off i do hope his attitude has improved. But i don't think he will be playing on the right wing. He is not a winger. Liddell will do fine out there with Rickets and eventually Hughes there to get on the end of his crosses. He may not be the quickest but there is no denying he is a fantastic player who has the ability to put in quality balls for our strikers

Say you played for Rochdale, you'd come to the end of your contract and you were now free to look for another club, would you go somewhere where you thought you could further your career and maybe get a bit of extra money too plus a nice signing on fee or would you stay playing for a team where 'fans' had been having a go at you for months despite playing through injury and being the leading goalscorer or would you go? Did you feel the same about him when we signed him from Bury? And the players we have recently signed on free transfers should we not have signed them because they should stay with their clubs too? It's football, people move on. Porter isn't an Oldham Athletic fan, very few of our players our. But he has done his job very well, he played well for the club, scored more goals than any other striker has in over 10 years and gave his all and now if he chooses to move on then so be it. If he goes to Scotland and we lose out on some money then yes it is very frustrating but Porter didn't make the rules, it's not his fault we wont get any money.