TafkaN

Why are people still defending this team and the manager? We are shocking - we have scored less goals than any other team in this league, and I can't see that changing anytime soon. Yes, slate the doom and gloomers, but do you think we want us to be in this position? Of course not. The reality is that we are in this position, we are sh*t, and we will be struggling to avoid relegation.

I'm not saying sack anyone, just start delivering what you promise. Sacking DP would not serve any purpose other than unsettle things even further. We need DP to kick this team up the arse, realise things aren't working, and press on.

So much for pushing on after a positive second half on Saturday. Mr Penney promised us a lot, said all the right the things, but the truth is we are a poor side. I've never been this disinterested in the team in my years as a supporter. I don't even bother to go on the Fishal site anymore, which used to be my first port of call whenever I went on t'internet. I know I'm not alone, my mates are feeling the same way. There's nothing to instill any kind of enthusiasm. I know my mates won't be renewing their STs next year, and I'm feeling like that myself at the moment. No doubt I'm a "doom and gloomer", but the enjoyment factor just isn't there. My eldest son (12) is llosing interest, and sadly, my youngest (6) is fading and he's only in his first season as a ST holder. I can see a relegation battle if we carry on in this manner, we keep going backwards, each clearout and manager change leaves us with a poorer quality team. I'm really frustrated

it might be if you go the wrong way round the M60...

Dress it up however you want - yes, Huddersfield won via a free kick, but they were better than us. We were poor today, as we were against Soton and Hartlepool, and Yeovil. Just not good enough. Penney promised much, but his team has delivered little. No doubt I'll be another labelled as a "Doom and Gloomer", but we don't seem to be at the races. Keeper with no confidence or any kind of judgement of a ball in the air, no second balls picked up by midfield, posession given away too easily, no play through midfield. It's hit and hope over the top half the time, and it's rubbish. And I'm one of the optimistic ones

Had Pav to score first and us to win @ 60-1! Nice return on a quid!

Another defeat, and no goals scored. Definitely concerned about what is happening.

In my experience, he was always a nice guy too. Always took time to talk to fans, I spoke to him half a dozen times or so. He also gave me a match worn Gary Kelly keeper shirt to wear when I was doing a fundraiser "beat the keeper" at my kids' school summer fair.

Renewed Mine and my eldest son's tickets today (using finance plan), and also applied for a new ticket for my youngest lad.

We can laugh now

More bizarrely, John Thompson has scored twice for Notts County!

I was a stayaway from about 95 - 2003, mostly due to having a new wife and family and no spare cash, and working 6 or 7 nights a week to pay the bills. However, in 2003 - 04, I took my eldest lad (6 at the time) to a game and he loved it. Since 2004 - 05 season, we have both been season ticket holders, and also get to a few aways every season. Even better, my youngest son has now expressed an interest (he came to the Southend game on Saturday), and he wants to come to every game with me and his big brother, so that's another junior Latic with a season ticket for next year. I never realised how much I missed matchdays during my exile until I returned. Sharing it with my lads makes it even better, even though we haven't had much to cheer about lately. My lad has been to about 25 away grounds, and he loves telling his armchair Man U fan friends at school about his travels. During his time as a Latic, he has seen us beat City and Everton in the FA Cup, not quite the highlights I have seen, but he knows that anything is possible, and that's what keeps us going. Keep the faith, mine has been restored by having the chance to introduce my two sons to being fans of a real club, where we feel the pain, we suffer the lack of TV cash, but every victory is all the sweeter and means something. We have seen the lows, which makes the highs all the better.

Bizarrely on Sunday afternoon, I switched on my Ipod, set it to shuffle, and the first song it played was Genesis "Say it's alright Joe" Half an hour later I read on the official site that Royle has returned.....

My mother-in-law works for Nick part-time, and she sees the players regularly - she got one of the players (don't know who) to get my lad an away shirt signed by all the players as a Christmas present.

It's not just corners. We hardly ever seem to gain any advantage from throw-ins. Hughes lost the ball and chased their gy and pressed him into conceding a throw half way into their half. We then throw the ball back to Hazell, who passes it back to Crossley. How frustrating must it be for Gregan and Hazell when they trot up for a corner, and we try the short corner that never produces anything?

I once had an argument live on the radio with Derek Hatton on his phone in on Century 105.4 - he basically said that any father who was absent in a child's life (ie wasn't living with the mother) was a bad parent. I argued my point that my ex had left me for another man and I saw my daughter every week, provided for her and loved her, but the fact that I was "absent" according to his definition was black and white to the whiny little scouse arse.

Another thing that got me yesterday is how many muppet fans we have. There was a group of young lads sat near me yesterday who came to the game to stare at the away fans, flick them the "V"s and spent the whole 90 minutes watching a stand rather than the game. I know we need all the support we can get, but these clowns are an embarrassment. I know all clubs have an element like this, and I know there are times when stewards get heavy-handed, but these people don't help the situation. Sure we all stand up when the ball gets down to the goalmouth in front of us, but we don't all stand up to gesture to the away fans that we are going to "have 'em" outside. The pillock in front of me yesterday was even punching his own forehead and frothing at the mouth in his "hardman" efforts to intimidate a similar chav in the tranmere stand.

Super Reuben won me some cash today - I had a quid on him as first goal scorer at 40-1!

I was walking back to my car after the game, the Tranmere fans were all singing "Same old Oldham, always cheating" - how did we cheat today? Another Tranny muttered "Cheating Munich Bastards" as we walked past.

He was parked 2 cars from me in the club carpark. He was with another bloke I didn't recognise (the other bloke was driving a nice black Audi R8, Will was in the passenger seat). Asked him if he'd brought his boots, he laughed and said he wasn't playing today. Saw the pair of them in the Mersey Clipper a short while after.

1. Taylor 2. Hughes 3. Whittaker

Because they're our club. Everyone who is a true football supporter (not just Latics fans) know what it means to experience the highs and lows. Yes the lows are bad, but the highs are just that bit sweeter. An armchair fan may follow a team that wins the league, but I guarantee we glean more pride, enjoyment and camaraderie from losing to Forest at Wembley in 1990, holding ManU to a 3-3 draw in the FA Cup, Putting the likes of Derby, West Ham, City and Everton out of the cups in recent years. My 2 sons are Oldham fans, the eldest (11) is on his 5th season ticket, and he's been to about 20 away grounds. He laughs of the scorn of the plastic Chelsea and Man U fans at school, because he knows he is an Oldham fan, and that he has been there, seen it, experienced it, and will continue to do so. My youngest is 7 and he's been to a handful of games, but his interest is rising all the time. He is almost as anti Man U as I am, he hates them with a passion! If that doesn't prove a case for nurture Vs nature, I don't know what does. If he sees anyone wearing a Man U shirt, he openly tells them that their team is rubbish, and that they should support Oldham.

Don't know if anyone has ever posted a link to this site before HTFC World. It's been going for a few years now featuring comical and graphical match reports. Well worth a look, and a good insight into football at the lower league level.

Funnily enough I posted the following about Eddie on another forum the other day! "There used to be another guy in Oldham in the 70s - 80s - "Foreign Coin Eddie" was one of the nicknames he had. He was an older man (Late 50s/60s) and was always trawling the litter bins. The funny thing was, he would go mental at the mention of "Harold Wilson", so kids being kids would shout this at him. He'd yell and swear and flick the Vs at anyone who had dared mention Harold Wilson! One of those urban legends you hear is that he was "very successful/a Millionaire/ a scientist" who had lost his fortune/status because the government had ripped him off! It makes me piss just thinking about him now! " Didn't he live on Grendon Avenue? I always remember him acosting me and my sister (I was about 7, my sister 13) outside Romeo & Juliets, he wanted us to go down into the underground toilets (remember them?) to look for cigarette cards. My dad had just pulled up in the car and chased him off.

I have it on good authority that after leaving Wetherspoons, you were trawling the pubs in the Gay Village with your freshly-dampened crotch... God knows what the other patrons thought...