Simpo

Hope they price it sensibly.

Throwing a prediction for the final two friendlies out there, Sheff Weds and Sunderland.

Dylan King, released from our youth team, named in Baraclough's first N.Ireland U21 training squad (alongside Dummigan)

Just now, disjointed said:

The carab what cup?

New League Cup sponsor.

The top line reads "national radio rights", I believe local broadcasts will be unaffected.

This deal makes sense in that case, as rather than broadcast a Championship or League One game, in weeks without Prem fixtures, R5L would focus on rugby, or cricket.

On ours as well. Not sure about the Stott recall deal, but I can imagine the Stalybridge one is part of the Osei transfer. They've been relegated this season, a Northern Prem side now. That's our first game then, fitness test more than anything, but a lovely place to watch football (and rugby league) in the summer.

We've just announced the first friendly, and it's back to Nash.

I've been in 2013 and 2014, the first time got there late after work and missed Schmeltz scoring on his debut, the second time we demolished them 8-1 as we got ready for a strong start under Lee Johnson. Unfortunately one of their players broke his leg too. But I'll also remember their chairman shaking the hands of Latics fans on their way out, thanking us for a bumper crowd, which I've not forgotten as a nice touch.

Last two times we played them, they only had experience of playing at the lowly Evo Stik Div.1 North level. They've consolidated two leagues higher at Conference North level since then, with a nice cup run too, so we shouldn't expect to put 8 past them this time! It's also further along in pre season than our previous encounters, so should be a bit more competitive in general, with less early subs.

Also, I might be able to get to that Bolton youth team game, it's even closer to where I live than the Macron.

The Chron says we have a July pre-season plan like this:

Saturday 8th Away (Stalybridge)

Bath training camp Tuesday 11th to Friday 14th: (Salisbury Wednesday, Cheltenham Friday)

Tuesday 18th Away (Curzon)

Saturday 22nd Away (Accrington)

Tuesday 25th Home (possibly Middlesbrough)

Saturday 29th Home

Sat July 8, 3.00pm - Stalybridge Celtic (A) - Tickets, Adults: £7, Concessions: £4, Accompanied U16’s: FREE

Weds July 12, 7.45pm - Salisbury FC (A) - Tickets, Pay What You Want! £1 to access main stand seating.

Fri July 14, 12noon - Swindon Town (Neutral) - Behind closed doors game

Tues July 18, 7.45pm - Curzon Ashton (A) - Tickets, Adults: £6, Concessions: £3

Sat July 22, 3.00pm - Accrington Stanley (A) - Tickets, Adults £10, Concessions £5, U12s £1

Thurs July 27, KO 7.00pm - Girona (H) - Tickets, Adults £10, Concessions £5, U12s £1

Tues August 1, KO 7.30pm - Man Utd XI - Tickets, Adults £10, Concessions £5, U12s £1

Youth team fixtures: https://www.oldhamathletic.co.uk/news/2017/may/17052017-youth-team-pre-season-fixtures/

I'll try to remember to keep this updated.

Can't wait to be able to moan on here about United and City fans being in our end at the playoff final next May. ;)

6 hours ago, Lee Sinnott said:

That was Moore, wasn't it, when Ritchie was our manager. Around the same time, we went in for McAteer, Faulconbridge, Daz Fergus on and Jon Newby, all for reported 6 figure fees. Imagine the state we'd have been in if we pulled them off!

 

Lots of the names mentioned on here weren't only rumoured on OWTB, we were actually in for most of them. Didn't the official website report our interest in Berger...

I remember well that it was a cool million we supposedly bid for Jason McAteer.

Agreed. Often using a classy midfielder who gets the ball moving around the field quickly.

But I think he gets in strikers' heads as well. Chris Porter as an example didn't look like he had such a good season in him when he first signed.

Sheridan often gets strikers firing. Porter with us, Craig Davies a bit with us, and lots at Chesterfield, he got two 20 goal seasons out of Reuben bloody Reid at Plymouth.

Whether it's Erwin or someone else, I'm very hopeful we have a striker getting us regular goals under Shez.

20 hours ago, Fruitygoo said:

 

Anybody ever asked Shez if it was a foul or not?

Yeah, at a Q+A he joked that he did it on purpose, because he'd rather a northern team won the league.

Watch him put the goalkeeper on his arse here:

Sublime.

Daniel Jones has been a bad football player for a good few years now.

On 4/20/2017 at 7:38 AM, TheBigDog said:

Burnley defender James Tarkowski has spent two days, one hour and 32 minutes on the bench this season - the most in the Premier League. In fact nobody has sat on the bench for longer than him in Europe's top five leagues this season

59 minutes ago, Stagger Lee said:

 

So a win ratio of about 41.8 %  when added together, not to shabby for any time but given that both times he took over teams deep in relegation = Awesome

Lets hope he increases that today - Come on you blues!

It's a Sunday 12noon game. ;)

6 hours ago, leeslover said:

Was that his first kid or were the older ones on the pitch his as well? Lad might need a pay rise to buy a telly

He had his first child in August 2016.

I'll be interested to see where he ends up, more so than your average loan player that's for sure.

But I agree, if he ends up back in League One, there's 24 Championship teams that will be missing out.

Here's some attendance stats from the last 3 seasons:

14/15

15/16

16/17 (incomplete)

Positive way to end the season all round really.

If Bolton mess it up next week, and Blackburn come down, average attendance could get a healthy boost next season.

But it's Latics, so maybe not!

Posted a bit info from today's programme in another thread.

I don't say much on here about the running of the club, but my thoughts are this.

Dislike the man all you want, that's fair enough, we're all entitled to our opinions and we're all Latics fans at the end of it all. But come out with accusation after accusation to Simon Corney, and don't back it up with solid evidence and/or a no strings attached meeting with the chairman, then I have no time for you.

With love and good intentions, enjoy the game, keep the faith,

- Simon B

2 page spread from the chairman in the programme today, mostly positive and looking forward to the future, while admitting getting through month to month has been difficult.

Regardless, the rumour told to a Latics fan by someone at Fleetwood that we paid £100k for Holloway looks to be true.

He also says "we spent another 500k in January to ensure survival, and although I believe it has been money well spent, it certainly caused you a lot of headaches."

Speculate away!

That site also shows how much our home form suffered when we started playing with a wide open side in 2008. 08-09 wasn't so bad, but after that, while our away form has never been terrible, we have been consistently crap at home. Only now, with the new stand finally operational, are we showing signs of recovery. The stats don't lie.

Even when we finished bottom half 11-20 years ago, we were competitive at home, usually winning more than losing.

Love stats, me. ;)

As we all know, Conor Ripley is one clean sheet away from the all time record at the club.

But also, as we feared earlier in the season, we are set to break the unwanted record for fewest league goals scored in a season.

• We are currently on 30, the previous worst was 35, both in 1922/23 (Div 1, 22nd, relegated), and 1924/25 (Div 2, 18th).That was with 42 games in a season as well, the fewest we've ever scored in a 46-game season was 39, in 2009/10 (Lg 1, 16th). 

• We have scored 18 at home, the record is 19, in 1980/81 (Div 2, 15th). The record in a 46-game season is 20, in 1959/60 (Div 4, 23rd).

• On the other hand, we currently sit joint 5th in terms of fewest goals conceded in a season, on 43 goals conceded. The meanest defence we've ever had statistically is Dowie's playoff team in 2002/03, with 38.

• Our goals conceded at home this season is currently 17, which, with a clean sheet today, would be our best effort since 1986/87 (16, Div 2, 3rd)

All stats from http://www.statto.com/football/teams/oldham-athletic/history (Please bear in mind that this site has not put our 2-0 home win over Peterborough into its stats yet for some reason)

I'll be playing a 16-man Football Manager tournament on Wednesday with a winner's prize of a grand.

It's at Revolution in Manchester on Oxford Road, and anyone can turn up for a nosey, or it'll be streamed on BetBright's facebook page.

My team name will be Barnett Wanderers or something like that.

Previous tournaments have looked like a right laugh!