Erratic_Latic

You make it sound like he nicked a Creme Egg from the corner shop. Should tw@ts who make unprovoked physical attacks on people get time in jail - of course they f**king should. Or worse.

Let's see.... 9 - 11 - 37 - 40 - 41 - 49. Bonus 33.

Let's start this one again.... We've shed 6 against Southampton, lost 10-2 on aggregate to Peterborough, conceded 4 against Hartlepool, 3 against Accrington, capitulated against Exeter (which was admittedly the best 70 minutes I've seen from us in years but we still didn't win), and now 3 more against the most dross Sheffield Wednesday side we're likely to ever see. This would not have happened if Gregan had been playing. Fact. So maybe he's too slow to be a league 1 central defender now - what was wrong with giving him a holding midfield role instead and make him captain - let's be homest, there are no other natural captains in our squad. He could motivate, he could pass, he could bring a team together. And one other thing. The crowd used to chant "Gregan, Gregan" because he embodied the spirit that people want to associate with their club, he was a fighter and he got people passionate. Whose name do we chant now? Stephens? Morais? Lee? Arguably our best players but is there one single fan who is motivated to get out of their seat and chant any of their names? No. We have no leaders on the pitch, nobody to pick the team up by the scruff of the neck when things turn against us, no presence - powder puff. And people still say Gregan was past it? Where is the proof? How can anyone say that when he didn't even get 5 minutes on the pitch to prove them wrong? So Gregan's gone and this is all "what if" stuff. But getting rid of your player of the season without giving him a chance the following season? Anyone remember Neil Redfearn? FFS. Rant over.

What screamed out to me on Saturday was a complete absence of any natural leaders on the pitch - heads down, no motivation, nobody pumping the rest of the players up. Hindsight and all that, but would we have capitulated so badly with Gregan in the side? I don't understand how a player who won player of the season and was an ever present in 2009/10 could then be released without kicking a single ball in 2010/11. I like PD but he has created a squad bereft of leaders and has shipped off the best one we had.

Everyone around me in Main Stand feels the same - 11 in the box makes no sense for all the reasons in this thread. I'd never claim to know even 10% of what Paul Dickov knows about football, but on this point..... we're right, surely?

Very impressed with Dickov's substititions. Alessandra made such an impact. I was surprised at Furman coming off but what a difference it made when the formation changed. Kelly also looks a decent player who will make things happen. Well done Paul Dickov, not a great performance but you made the decisions that brought home the 3 points. Who are the d***s who will not leave Brill alone. Get behind the whole team.

M'Voto for me. And please let Kelly and Allesandra start next weekend. Different game when they came on, clever substitution by PD.

My main memory of him was Chelsea away, think it was first game of 92/93 season? (we were in our Ajax kit) We were 1-0 down late on and then their keeper (Beasant IIRC) completely fooked up a clearance leaving Henry to calmly slot home from about 35 yards. Game and performance was shyte and it was classic smash and grab.

I thought Jarrett & M'Voto were both very shaky in first 20-25 minutes and this upset the whole balance and confidence of the team, we looked poor in that opening spell. From my position near the dugouts, during a break in play I heard Dickov shout at his defence to "f***ing sort it out" and from that moment onwards things improved dramatically. I thought the centre backs looked pretty solid after that and this spread through the team and we looked like a very decent side for the last hour. Some people on the Facebook site were slagging Kelly and one or two even said he is worse than Colbeck I don't know what game they were watching but I think he looks like a very decent player who will contribute well - great bit of scouting in my opinion. Agree with the comments about Dickov on the pitch, I didn't like it, felt there was too much pressure both on himself and on the rest of the players. Should keep himself in reserve for emergency situations.

Certainly looks like it, cheers mate. Didn't have a clue what was going on on the pitch but at least we won!

Agreed, a really nice idea, and a good way of providing a reminder that Latics are "their club". Although you wonder whether it would have the desired effect if "my first game" happened to be a 5-0 drubbing Deviating slightly from the main point of the topic, how can I find out which my own first game was? If I could find a list of historic Latics results and dates the games were played from the mid-late 70's I could work it out. It was against Wrexham on a dull weekday evening, but I can't remember the season or even the score for that matter (think it was 1-1 or 1-0) - I was pretty young and my main recollection of the night is my older mate going to get me a meat and potato pie.

Charlton away is one of the most difficult fixtures of the season and a defeat, although disappointing, would not signal big problems. It's likely that the majority of Udders, Peterboro, Brighton, Sheff Weds etc will also leave Charlton with zip all.

+1, very good to see votes were spread across the entire team.

Can't tar everyone with the same brush here, I think this is the first time I've posted a negative rant. And I don't think it's right to call people thick for making valid points. Most points made in this thread are valid. I take on board people's points about cashing in while we can, but not so much the points about risk of his value falling, leaving on a Bosman, etc. Firstly, he has played a handful of competitive games in Division 3, mostly (or all?) substitute appearances, has scored no competitive goals, and hasn't exactly transformed the games that he's played in. Comments from the Reebok stadium noted that "he is a long way from the finished article" and "we will develop him step by step for a period of time until he is ready to start challenging for first team places" - strongly suggesting that he will see very little, if any, first team action this season. At the moment, Tom Eaves is all about promise and potential, nothing more. These factors would therefore, as far as I can see, place £200k, £250k or whatever it is as being the extreme low end of the scale of his potential transfer value. His value could not possibly drop below this in the short-to medium-term (injury aside). If we'd waited until January, or next summer, the worst that could happen is that he'd still be worth £200k / £250k / whatever. The best that could happen is that he'd racked up a bagful of goals and be worth £500-750k. The likelihood is that it would have been somewhere in between. Secondly, a 5 year deal sets expectations in the fans' minds that only serious offers will be considered, and that the club was prepared to wait for him to develop over a season or two to allow time for his value to appreciate, whilst also hopefully contributing positively to the team's performances and results. I suspect a lot of the disappointment in this thread stems from the fact that the club appeared to be setting out to play hardball with an unusually long contract, and then caving in at the first offer. Thirdly how was he ever going to leave on a Bosman (unless he stayed with us until 2015)? We all know we need cash. I just sense that we could have got a lot more if we'd given it 6 months or a year.

I'm sure he would have bagged a few in this season's team...