JoeP

12 hours ago, yarddog73 said:

 

I think we've hit rock bottom and now I feel the only way is up 

Never assume we've hit rock bottom! Been said many times before and we keep showing that we haven't...

6 minutes ago, GlossopLatic said:

So Sutton have gone down today solihull currently 2 up at Barnet game on in that one.

And they're rubbish.  You don't have to be anything special to get out of this league..

Unfortunately we're not even "nothing special"...

Still at least we get to go to Sutton next year.  There's always that.

14 hours ago, mcfluff1985 said:

I imagine it'd be one of those viral clips on Undr The Cosh where someone says "there was this one time where James Norwood..."

Was he attempting to be funny or being a bit of a knob? 

9 minutes ago, Lee Sinnott said:

But he's shit. Get rid...

Yet is the only striker we have who can score with his head, run at defenders and score from range.

Just now, Lukers1 said:

I’ve not, most of my posts are usually there or there abouts.

I know.  Poor attempt at humour on my part.

Got renewed faith in Mellon if all those things come to fruition..

5 minutes ago, Lukers1 said:

Yep, that’s him, had a great season but I’m told a couple of league two clubs are looking at him.

 

Not sure if if it’s been mentioned but Hogan is going to be a squad player at best and the preferred back two are Raglan and Hobson.

 

Norwood has been apparently been told to actively find another club due a development.

 

We’ve approached Wigan to sign Stones permanently or a season long loan.

I’m hearing big Mike has been offered a one year deal.

Even if you've made this up, it reads like poetry....

Just now, LightDN123 said:

Conlon, Lundy and McGahey (a centre back) better than him. 

Not while they've been at Latics, they're not...

Gardner, I'll give you.

2 minutes ago, deyres42 said:

I'm sure he will. He doesn't need to be humiliated in the process though.

I sort of agree, but if he's on the transfer list, it's implicit that he'll no longer be captain..

6 minutes ago, LightDN123 said:

 

Sheron, well, he’s simply not good enough for any team looking to be competitive on a consistent basis. Absolutely shit footballer. 

Yet probably our best midfielder, as low a bar as that is..

Hogan's someone I've never been able to form a really strong opinion on.  He's not shite, but he ain't that great either.

https://www.theoldhamtimes.co.uk/sport/24279562.oldham-athletic-captaincy-set-change-hands-next-season/

The plot thickens..

2 hours ago, yarddog73 said:

I will guarantee that some of those 'released' will be training with us and end up re-signing.

 

Imagine the pissboil amongst the fanbase if they announced a new deal for the likes of McGahey who polled about 8% on here from fans who thought we should retain.

 

I'm getting fucked off with the clubs lack of engagement at a pretty crucial time in the season, it's almost feels like them and us now and I really do fear for our attendances next season if there isn't a shift in mood, of course the clubs not obliged to disclose anything or even share their plans for the future but for me thats piss poor form that harks back to years gone by,

 

It's been compounded by Mellons disastrous stints in front of the camera recently which have frankly been on a par with his touchline antics and embarrassing for the club.

 

I'm not holding my breath - this is football after all where all business acumen goes right out of the window but what a shame it would be to start disenfranchising the fan base because they have received some criticism, it's a very dangerous game they are playing and I for one am turned off from it all.

A good post. 

An "easy win" we haven't improved is communication and media since the takeover. 

I really hope today's article was just badly executed, rather than being deliberately vague. 

Both those teams tonight were awful. Neither seemed to have a style of play - it just seemed to end up in the penalty box somehow and go in 6 times!

6 minutes ago, dannyboy55555 said:

Seems to me as if we are waiting to see if we can get rid of some of the contracted players first. e.g. If we get rid of Nuttall/Reid/Willoughby we would offer Fondop a contract. Similarly if we get rid of Shelton/Ward we might offer Gardner one etc. They cant say that in any statement obviously.

Hmmmmm...I don't think I would've put anything out then. Maybe a statement saying "we're working on a budget for next season as it stands and we won't be making any announcement with regards the Out of Contract players until that's finalised".

39 minutes ago, BP1960 said:

 

York City show contract offers.

https://yorkcityfootballclub.co.uk/club-statement-2024-25-retained-list/

 

Something like this is what I thought we were getting today - was the intention of what we've put out supposed to just confirm what we already know? 

The key part of communication is communicating. If we're being asked to fill in the blanks, then our statement hasn't done it's job. 

I know we fans have a reputation for moaning too much but come on, lads and lasses - basics...

All they need to do, if they are all being released is change the sub-heading "Out of Contract (June 2024)" to "Contract not being renewed (June 2024)".

Everyone's on the same page. 

1 minute ago, Lukers1 said:

AFC Fylde are keen on Reid.

He will score against us. Put your house on it.

5 minutes ago, nzlatic said:

They’ve left that ambiguous haven’t they! All released?!

They might take the article down and try again for a third time...

1 hour ago, GKing521 said:

I really don’t think McGahey is as bad as people say. Think this another classic case of Latics fans picking a player to direct their anger toward.

He might not be in reality - they're all not as bad as people say, probably.

But we simply can't keep them all if we're going to get better as a team.

What is it they say about a person who repeats the same mistakes and expects different results?

For me there's a case for Fondop getting a new deal and maybe Gardner.  The rest we have to let go if we're not to have same again next season.  McGahey hasn't done enough to suggest he's going to take us to the next level moving forward.

13 minutes ago, Frankly Mr Shankly said:

 

Or, is it not like a drug. Once you've experienced one success, you're hungry for more of it. As someone who's attending lots of interviews at the moment, employers want candidates who have demonstrated success elsewhere.

 

Alarm bells are raised far more from 'nearly men' than 'winners', if you get my jist.

Yeah, I see the argument for signing them. 

Hogan for example ain't the spring chicken he was when he won promotion, though. He might see it as a drug - he might think meh, I've done it once, it'd be great to do it again, but I'm at an age where I'm slowing down now - when I retire I'll still be able to look back and say I've won something, if I don't win anything here. 

Signing "nearly men" is a slightly different argument, but I think in all walks of life ambition and attitude should be considered as important as previous achievements. 

2 minutes ago, Dave_Og said:

Yep, team game - but teams rarely win promotion when they have weak minded players in their regular starting XI

My point is maybe the players weve signed might have provided the talent, rather than contributed to the mental side of successful sides they were a part of previously. 

Also not sure about the hunger of a player who's already been there and done promotion. Do you have the same eagerness, if you've already won it? 

32 minutes ago, Dave_Og said:

 

There's a real dilemma here.

 

It's just bizarre that so many of our players appeared to be weak mentally - Many have played at a higher level, many have achieved things in their career that are what we as a club aspire to. But they're mentally weak?  It makes no sense at all.  Mellon seems to have preferred experience over youth during his career but here he has a team of largely experienced players who have proved they can play at this level, at least, but we're left with spineless performances against clubs with a fraction of the resources.  OK, we were light at right back and in midfield but it doesn't excuse some of the stuff we've seen which has looked a lot like throwing in the towel.

 

So, we'd prefer a good blend of young dynamic players who, pretty much by definition, will be taking a step up if the come here even if they are coming from a higher level club where they played in, say the U23s, and gnarly NL experience.  If our first question of that younger cohort is can the cope with the pressure of playing for the mighty Oldham Athletic and the only way of finding out is by signing and playing them, then we really are stuffed because the chances of getting that right, say, 75% of the time seem to be pretty remote based on recent experience.

A lot of the players weve signed who've won things in the past might have been pulled through by the other players who were in the same team. 

We might have signed these players based on stats and previous achievements, when it was their team mates that were keeping them going. 

It's becoming obvious with Lundstram that he needs the right players around him more than most. Alty's player of the season last year, but not even a glimpse here. Alty, meanwhile, have barely dropped a beat since he left them..

So we've basically signed the branches of other successful teams, when we needed to sign the trunk... if that metaphor works!

24 minutes ago, OneSizeFitz said:

 

I might be in a minority of one here, but I don't think he's that technically limited... He's strong, decent in the air, and not hopeless with the ball at his feet (for a defender). Spent several seasons playing regularly in League One / League Two and still only 28. So added to the 'personality', can see why Mellon might keep hold of him. 

Your pre-season optimism has started early!

11 hours ago, PeteG said:

He never really endeared himself to the fanbase for whatever reason, the crowds never went up when he took over which i still find strange given how many have turned out and supported Frank 2 divisions lower down.

Just on this - and I can't speak for everyone else - but my concerns started when I first heard a Football Agent (who aren't exactly known for their decent scruples) from Morocco, with no connection to Oldham who I'd never heard of and wasn't an agent to one footballer I'd heard of wanted to take over.

And it was downhill from there...

53 minutes ago, PeteG said:

Is it? Tell me yours then, because he certainly inherited an absolute mess of a football club. He provided decent budgets in the early days and i'd still argue that the squad that got relegated from League 1 was far superior to some of the ones in the previous few years that had stayed up. If we had stayed up, it may have worked out differently but i suspect not. He never really endeared himself to the fanbase for whatever reason, the crowds never went up when he took over which i still find strange given how many have turned out and supported Frank 2 divisions lower down.

After some relatively petty squabbling for quite some time on here, I think you're actually bringing us all together!

Great work! Keep going!