Scapegoat

Given there has always been an early bird price - I wonder what proportion of supported take it up vs those that pay full price? £460 equals £20 a game. Or miss 4 and be no better off v paying on the door. I have had a ST for pushing 30 years, but a combination of work / holidays / sickness / social commitments means that I might miss that number of games reasonably often. There is no way I would renew for that sort of discount - and then the temptation sets in. Tuesday night, cold and wet, 70 miles round trip and not seen a goal in the last 4 games....I'd probably not go if it meant finding £24 on the day. All I can guess is that they have created a price to make the offer prices look tempting - surely nobody would pay the top whack?

I will, as ever, be renewing my ST (and my Dad's). We've been going together since the late 1980s, and relegation to League 2 won't stop us (as it didn't when we got relegated the two previous times). Also, I am fortunate enough to be able to afford the £480 in total it will cost me for the two tickets, at relatively short notice - but I am very aware that this is a very different issue for many others. Even with the impending arrival of my first child and uncertainty over whether I will be able to make as many games next season, at £300 it works out at £13.04 per game - so it would make good value unless I am going to miss half of the season. For me it's definitely a price inelastic service. But I have been coming for all my life, and the success of the late 80s/early 90s undoubtedly created a life long bond. Would I feel the same as someone who is only just starting to watch / or only just "qualifying" for a full price ticket? Someone who is likely to be at the start of their working life and money would be tight? I'd imagine that it wouldn't be the automatic response to renew I have at the moment in that position. I'd certainly be much more likely to view this as a price elastic service, and would decide after considerations of lots of factors. These are the people that if you pitch it right will become the future generations that renew without thought because it's ingrained in them. Pitch it wrong and they walk away thinking they will still come and pick and choose some games. With a team battling relegation; high quality premiership football nearby and on every TV screen; an awful pitch; and possibly the worst team in terms of entertainment I have seen in 30 years.....price and deals are critical in attracting this group. £300 is a decent offer, as I said £13 a game. But 2 weeks is not enough time. Feel that we have made a mistake with this.

Whilst our defensive record stands up, the lack of goals is a massive worry that a change in manager hasn't improved significantly. Looking round, we have on of the worst goal scoring records in all the leagues, and the only other teams as bad as us are rooted in their respective relegation zones. If we manage to stay up you'd imagine it would be with a high number of 0-0 draws and a couple of narrow wins. But with the quality of teams we are playing over the next month or so, that defensive strength will be put under severe pressure.

When I met his Middlesboro GK coach a while back he mentioned that diet and weight were an issue that he needed to get control of if he wants to be successful at the highest level. It's obvious he isn't the most svelte like of players, but not so bad that it impacts on his performances. But you'd have to agree that he wouldn't make it in the Premiership like it.

11 points for safety. 9 games to get them. Gulp.

Another one gutted to not make it today - marriage is about compromise and a boys weekend snowboarding followed by a full week on th road with work means that this was always going to be a sacrifice. Holloway vs Ngoo upfront. Interesting idea raised by BP1960. It's a key game and getting on top early and forcing Bury on the back foot could be critical. Risky, but I do think Ngoo offers more "fear factor" for opposing teams than Holloway. Given the importance of the game and form and results under our tried and tested model - not sure I would risk it, and very much doubt JS will.

Always liked Crofty - wingers / wide players often my favourite player in the squad. Ability is there, but fitness and weight are things directly within his control. At the moment he isn't doing enough to earn a new deal for me and time is running out for him to prove me and others wrong. Perhaps a very low wage with a pay as you play incentive could be the best he can hope for. David Eyres was fitter and more hungry when he retired (though he looked as though he could have done at least one more season at the time).

At times earlier in the season I thought Croft was one of our better players (not difficult I know given performances), and has the ability to influence a game at this level. My issue with him isn't a one off mistake and one that was far more understandable (a lunge for a ball after losing possession) than Gerard's against Chesterfield. Difference being one game we lost and one we won. Croft isn't generally a player you worry about his risk of a red card. However, like Gerrard, his lack of effort in terms of being in good physical shape at this stage of the season - is something I have issue with. Professional footballers shouldn't look like they are carrying that amount of weight. No excuse for it.

Booked for the last night. Cannot wait (never thought I'd say that about a musical!). Lucky enough to have seen the "pinch me" years in the flesh (and England get to a WC semi-final).....football seemed easy and mostly enjoyable in those heady days. I do wonder if I'd have got the "bug" if I'd watched 10 years on league one dross at the start of my footballing life rather than the 85 to 95 period....

Seem to remember them being crucial point winning goals though.

He almost always kicks the ball outside the area, but - critically - he releases it from his hands on the line, the momentum taking outside when his boot makes contact. If your dream comes true, and it wins us the 3 points that keep us - he might be the first load player to have a statue commissioned of him!

Thanks guys - really appreciate the update. I get the point about sponsorship and being associated with some of the content in message boards, and also I suppose without the demographic information it's hard to know what audience you'd be targeting. £1,000 a year doesn't seem too bad for what we get - how many regular members do you have? How much of that is now covered by donations (regular or not) from them?

I think this is the crux of the matter. Some think that the financial situation at the club means that anything that can secure additional income should be done. Some think that they value some other aspects, such as tradition and the views and feelings of the supporters should be given value - and on this occasion believe this outways the financial benefit. An additional 1000 away fans across 2 games is worth what? £30,000. A short term benefit that could be lost if say 50 loyal people see this as their "straw" that breaks the back.

As a ST holder for 27 years, most of that in the Chaddy, I was against the move. I still have ST, now in the North Stand. Which is OK, but I preferred the familiarity of my old seat - with strangers that you knew to chat to at the game and enough spare seats round us that lapsed friends and family would come along on occasions and sit with us. I can imagine that there has been around 50 lost attendances a season from the 4 of us that have ST together since the move. The North Stand seats we have just don't have the room around them, and it's not the same for the wife or the father-in-law to sit on there own for the game, or I move away from my mates to sit with them. It's easy to dismiss those that have different opinions, or those that place a value on the traditional "home end". Which you can overtime re-create in a new stand, but it's the big games against local rivals that help to create the atmosphere and bond that makes that change possible. With this process, it appears that this is not going to happen.

I think without the "baggage" of being a Latics supporter and having had a good spell with us previously - many more supporters would be critical of CT since his arrival. Those two factors give him more leeway than many other players. I was delighted when he re-signed, and I hope that he will be a good player for us this season and maybe beyond. But taking off the rose (blue?) tinted specs for a moment - I have to admit that Chris has not been the influence I'd have hoped on games so far. Solid, and has glimpses of ability to find space that others are not using, but ultimately he has not been as good as I hoped. Match fitness etc are all reasonable comments - but are also convienient excuses to hide behind. I am still glad we signed him, I think it's positive have a local lad in the team, and he isnot a bad player. But not the automatic pick we'd hoped for.

Have always treated this competition with disdain, but after 20 years in the lower leagues a realistic chance of a day out and to see my team actually "win" something - I am for this competition. Format could be improved for sure, but I'd take a win in this competition. #sostarvedofanyprospectofsuccessthatIamwillingtoembracethemostmickeyofmickeymousecompetitions

19th on 50 points. 5 clear of Bury in the last drop spot (with Vale, Chesterfield and Coventry going down) and Swindon in between on 47 points. And we win our last 2! Squeaky bum time ahead. I think that everyone has us within 1 or 2 games of relegation - most understandably the right side - says it's a hard run in and could go either way.

Tough call. Despite an amazing turnaround in points per game since Shez has returned, there are a number of worries for me: (1) As mentioned, goal scoring. Lack of goals makes it hard to win games. Two forwards scoring good forwards type goals on Tueaday was a good sign, but needs to be maintained. Main, as also mentioned, hit a purple patch last season and was the difference between safety and not. (2) Despite that good run of form, we are only just out of the drop zone and games in hand could put us back in. A measure that we were almost cut adrift before Shez came. Whilst I expect our form over the remaining season to be between than pre-JS, it wouldn't be surprising to see it not maintain the last month. (3) We are picking up points. But a good proportion of them have been "ground out", and performances are still average. Chesterfield and Coventry - 2 apparently "doomed" teams could have easily beaten us on another day; we were outplayed by Swindon (another straggler); we held on against Millwall; and we did a professional "smash and grab" on Charlton (look at the stats). Conor Ripley is rightly lauded as one of, if not THE, player of the season. When your keeper is doing that regularly you are not a good team winning games easily. Hard won games can easily slip to narrow defeats. I think that we will stay up, but it will be damn close, and it could easily end up being a season of last day heartbreak. It's going to be exciting.

Fair point on the advantage / disadvantage balance - might even out, or might favour us (but less than a plastic pitch that you could learn to play on - this is disintegrating each week and therefore we have to adapt every week). But in terms of preventing good open, flowing football that might attract and retain supporters - by entertaining them - surely that is clear? I'd hope that Sheridan would make a request / demand for improved surface next season.

It looks awful - and we are not the only club that suffers bad weather. It seems to have been a handicap for the last few seasons - wonder how many points we lose due to it? How many supporters do we lose because it's impossible to play good football. Feels like we need to do something in the closed season to rectify this for next season.

As someone else said - can you Latics fans chanting the name of the player that had missed 2 pens in 4 minutes?

Might have missed a previous discussion so sorry if this is a repeat. What is the annual cost? And have you looked at sponsorship?

Think that Paul Murrays influence under LJ was bigger than expected. His departure and Holdens arrival was around the time we started to lose a bit of form.

Did wonder what MK did with the "big story". Potentially still working on it I suppose...

Wondered how many ex-players (loanees or our own) are playing at Premiership and Championship level? Premier: Tarky, Bertrand?? Championship: Matt Smith; Korey Smith?? Who else? What would be the best starting 11 of ex-Latics players currently still playing?