dave_ragg1984

I don't know what I'll do. Frankly, it's disgusting that I have a decision to make.

I wonder if Evans isn't signed will SC decide after all this enough is enough?

Hopefully

A lot of people have a properly :censored: decision to make. They've paid a lot of their hard-earned cash* for STs and won't want to waste it, so they'll go along with a heavy heart. I don't blame them, but I massively admire anyone who takes a stand like yours.

 

*Leeslover gets his cash from the taxpayer and is therefore a thief.

I'm still bloody paying for mine until April.

It's a tough decision which we shouldn't have to make.

According to SSN, CE is training with us tomorrow prior to signing a short term deal. Unless the club back out of that, my decision (as stated in my email to the board and LJ earlier) still stands. I'll go and watch Bath City or Mangotsfield United instead. It will hurt; it will hurt a lot, but that's the way I feel. For those that continue to go, I wish you all well. We are all entitled to our opinions and no one should be condemned for sticking to their beliefs. That's the way it is.

 

If CE does become a Latics player, I will continue with the Prediction League for the remainder of the season, but that will be the sum total of my involvement with the club until CE is shown the door.

If George Elekobi snaps him in 2, meaning he won't be fit enough to sign, he will get my player of the season vote.

Of course not but I have read an awful lot of stuff on this over the years because a former work colleague was on the youth team with him at Manchester City.

 

People are capable of forming their own views and history tells us that a jury isn't infallible - Pistorius, O J Simpson etc...

There wasn't a Jury in the Pistorious trial was there?

If, as Mike Keegan says, Barry has been 'heavily involved', then I'd suggest his position is untenable.

Him and Corney.

What has been achieved since they have both been at the club? Absolutely nothing positive.

Still in the same division. Attendances have shrunk. Spent over half a decade playing in front of only 3 stands, with one being built (and no idea of when or if it will be completed). And signed 2 players with extremely serious convictions which will have damaged the clubs reputation beyond repair.

Yeah, wouldn't it be better if the second graph was number of second half goals?

Dissappointed as he will probably sign for another L1 club and cost us promotion knowing our luck.

Why will he? The team who are bottom of the football league wouldn't go near him, so why would one who are chasing promotion from a division above?

If we are ever going to achieve anything, we need everybody on side and pulling in the same direction. Right now, everyone is happy, behind the manager, and we have a good shot at doing something this season.

Signing a rapist would seriously split the fanbase. He might be able to score goals, but it could derail the season and do miles more harm than good.

Tranmere are bottom of the football league and even they aren't desperate enough to entertain the idea of signing him. Hopefully we will put the issue to bed tomorrow, but we really shouldn't have even spoke to him.

Less sure about that penalty now!

The defender is pulling his shirt for ages, it's a definite foul.

We may be murdering an analogy but if all the Oscar winners turned up to do your kids Christmas panto and looked like they hadn't learnt their lines...

 

Anyone who missed the Scotland Ireland game should try and catch the replay by the way. I doubt one of the starting players would even the England squad? I was (shock horror) hoping for an Ireland win but neither side of fans could go home with much to criticise. Not pretty but great to watch and fully committed.

That Scotland V Ireland game was crap. A masterclass in how to waste possession. England do that quite often and get criticised for not caring (they do care, they just aren't as good at football as we'd expect or demand).

The Colts are going to peak at just the right time and Andrew Luck is going to dominate the playoffs.

I went to a game earlier this season. California Golden Bears at home against Sacramento. It was very one sided, but a damn impressive spectacle.

 

The previous Chaddy the Owl had a similar issue last month with Barcelona. It was changed to the Friday. They found out the Friday night (after the game), when telling a barman how much they were looking forward to the game the next day.

 

It's shocking they can do that at short notice, and without the offer of refunds. But seems a regular thing.

I think in Spain they often don't actually announce kick off times/days until 10 - 14 days before the weekend the game is due to be played.

Don't you think there is a difference between spending an evening with a girl, taking her back to a hotel room over a longer time period and just walking in and just getting on with it straight away so to speak? I've looked at the one sided Evans website and I'm not sure how the jury could give a guilty verdict for McDonald as how could they prove beyond reasonable doubt that consent wasn't given. With Evans though, he had a much bigger job of proving he had obtained consent in a very small window of opportunity. In my view, I'm not sure whether Evans could actually do that in that time period. On a basic level, he didn't protect himself even if she had been happy for him to join in.

Yes, I think there is a massive difference. But according to the one sided Evans website, McDonald didn't spend the evening with her. It sounds like they met not long at all before the rape took place.

The hotel CCTV footage is actually on Evans' website and, as one would expect given what the site is seeking to achieve, shows the victim moving about unaided & with no issues. However, as I said earlier, the site sets out to make the same points that Evans' friends made ill-advised tweets about.

 

Even amongst the posts on this thread, people seem to doubt whether the verdict was just despite not being aware of the full array of evidence that the jury had. Of course, there are wrong convictions and miscarriages of justice but our system is based upon a jury listening to all the evidence and then deciding which they did and found him guilty. I find it odd on his website that his supporters make the point that he is referred to as 'the footballer Ched Evans' as if this was one of the reasons why the CPS and jury thought him guilty. This obviously overlooks the point that the jury acquitted another footballer charged with the same offence.

This is the thing I don't get about the case. From reading the Ched Evans site (which obviously only presents the evidence in his favour, but can only present evidence given in court) no complaint of rape was made until the police had told the victim of the statements made by Evans and McDonald (unless I've misread it). According to them two, they both had consenting sex with her and told the police this when they were asked how she ended up waking up in a hotel room paid for by Evans. But the victim has no idea how she ended up at the hotel, and she was complaining to the police believing she had been spiked. So according to that website, she had no recollection of any rape or sexual intercourse. So what I don't understand is, according to the jury she could/did consent to McDonald but couldn't/didn't to Evans.

Anyway, no, I wouldn't want us to sign a convicted rapist. Just like I didn't want us to sign someone who crashed into someone whilst tanked up and did a runner leaving them for dead.

The fact they are all defenders/midfielders might be why.

They are players though, so JSS did just prove that its a myth.

I maintain the NFL team would be infinitely more sustainable if they themselves employed the nomadic principal. By way of example you could play 4 at Wembley, 3 at OT, 3 at Villa Park, 3 at Hamden and 3 at Windsor Park... people will travel from Manchester to London for a one off game or two but not for 16 games - the cost is just too great. But they will likely pay for a three game "season ticket" and then you'll make up the gaps with people who'll pick up the single game. God forbid you make the playoffs then you play at Wembley and do priority for those who bought all three tickets to their local games.

 

It's not unreasonable for the team to be called the British Bulldogs or some equally derivative name and have them travel when you consider that it is smaller than many US states! You have to make the team competitive of course and that's not easy - but expansion drafts and the like can be weighted and you'd have to weight this one more heavily than normal perhaps. But it's still feasible.

If they want to put a team over here, it needs to have an identity with a place, as that is how it will attract fans.

They also need a smaller stadium than Wembley. If they play there then they will be playing at the stadium with the NFLs largest seating capacity. Even some successful, established NFL teams would struggle to sell 90,000 tickets 8 times over. They'd need a 50-60,000 seat stadium ideally.

They'd only do an expansion draft for an expansion team, and I can't see them expanding the league. But with the way the nfl works, you can become competitive if you are managed well within a few seasons.

Different ends of the career spectrum. DP had the motivation to work hard, Porter wouldn't. He's always looked like a lazy player and at his age and stage in his career i don't see him coming to Oldham and finding the motivation to go and score goals. I couldn't really care less about what happened. Most players do what their agent tells them. I just think he's crap and wouldn't do the job.

Thats not really the point that I was making though. I'm not even saying if I think we should or shouldn't sign him, but if we are going to look at players and say well he's not good enough for Sheffield United then he isn't good enough for us, then basically we'd never sign anyone. We've got cock all money, so we need to build from other clubs rejects, loanees and youth players. And that will mean signing players who have previously failed at clubs in this division.

Do we need him??

 

If he's not good enough for Sheffield United....

Danny Philliskirk wasn't good enough for Sheffield United.

It also enables you to go onto OWTB and complain how hard done by you are when any other offer comes along.

And get a brew and bacon butty served by the manager when queueing for FA cup tickets....

Wasn't it the non-ST holders who got the brew and the bacon butty? All us superior beings were safely indoors with our feet up, safe in the knowledge that we already had our tickets secured.

Dave was a great bloke. Top Latics fan and top friend.

Was shocked when I heard the news earlier this week.

Its going to take some getting used to, going in WH before the game and not being able to have a pint with him, or going over to chat to the lads at HT and Sev not being there. He will be missed massively.

Thoughts are with his wife and family.

R.I.P. Dave.

 

Buy the sondico original for £17.99 and then you can sew your own badge on better!

The badge is £25 though.

If he buys a shirt or two, attends games with his kids, spares five minutes to boost our profile in the media then he's doing his part.

 

Realistically, dropping down to League One and the target for every clogger in the middle of the park plus opposing fans?? If I was him, I definitely wouldn't do it when retired let alone when he was match fit. Retiring gracefully as a pundit.

More likely if he played for us, like the rest of his career, the opposition would be the target for the exceptionally talented dirty b**tard in the Oldham midfield.

That spell by Clark was sensational.

Name on the trophy this year. Going to try and get down to finals day.