Frankly Mr Shankly

This will be another one that'll be played on a sandy allotment. Perhaps our playing style has been adapted with this in mind?

That's a big old 1 out of 5 on TripAdvisor isn't it?

I agree. We can forget any higher than 6th imo. We’re pieced together with a grind out ethos, which comes unstuck sometimes as it did there. On the other hand, we’re more than capable of pulling off a few wins too. A relatively mild last three matches against teams I’m expecting with nothing to play for will probably play into our hands too. only a run of 3-4 straight losses will see us lose touch in the play-offs. As bad as we are, on the eye, I expect we’ve enough in us to blag enough victories. should we get there, it’s rather a lottery and even the unfancied such as Bromley and Boreham Wood gave Chesterfield and Notts a run for their money. Could just as easy see us whimper out at Gateshead or Aldershot as nailing a result at either. It’s not the end of the world either way, we’ll be stronger next season as a result.

Out of interest, how many clubs at our level, and even L2 operate with a DoF installed? If it’s not many, or hardly any why should we go down that route?

‘I mentioned in another thread about the [forced] change of tactics which means a deeper sitting Kitching. But I’ve also noticed in recent matches Kitching has been singled out by opposition players. Kidderminster doubled up on him to eliminate his threat and Boreham Wood manager / rent-a-coaching-buzz-word Luke Garrard mention him as one of our more dangerous outlets. He has to find a way to rise above this, but I think it explains his regression of late. that said, Eastleigh away he was excellent, so not a case to write off. He perhaps needs competition for his position, we literally have no-one natural to play there (unless we recall Cuoto).

That should be the case in year 3 after the takeover, however the DU era has long reaching ramifications. Especially when you see the amount of non-league fodder were saddled with until 2025.

Kitching is regressing due to the tactics we’re forced to employ, in a bid to grind out enough results. He showed at Eastleigh what he has in his locker. In a reimagined team, that plays a lot more attacking (which, with a thoroughly reinvested midfield, we should start to see), Kitching has a role to play. most of the remedial work will be in midfield and wide players. Always been a massively neglected and poorly recruited area. I trust MM to be able to remedy this, given the chance in the summer.

It’s a bit like bald men fighting over a comb then.

But what if the cinema manager explained that he can’t get the fancy dan blockbusters just at the moment, because the production companies have them at the big chain screens, but trust the process and after the summer, you’ll get hold of plenty of the dick-hardening high octane action movies and you can gladly throw those low-budget movies in the skip, located just off Hollins Road?

Keep Hudson Hobson Raglan Kitching Sutton Conlon Green Hammond Norwood Fondop (Only if we don’t go up) Sheron (as a bench option only) Not renewed Tollitt Cuoto Gardner Dickenson Windass Hogan Hope try to move on in loan or transfer Norman Ward Lundstrum Sheron Reid Nuttall Willoughby Jettison into the nearest orbiting planet McGahey Shopping list 2 strikers, one with pace. 2 wingers, one of which can play left wing back 2 centre midfielders, one of which can tackle / holding midfielder 1 right back or right wing back any others can be loanees.

I’ll never truly understand the willy-waving about crowds and who takes what where. Tons of reasons why more may go, say, Maidenhead or Dorking than either Aldershot or Eastleigh. Lots of factors such as timing, economic pressures of the seasons, matches quickly in succession and recent form. So what if we take 400, 500 or 600?

408 Latics fans travelled.

This is Oldham, gentlemen; the Gods will not save you.

You can't bring approx 400 year upon year and as soon as you're doing well you're wanting the moon on a stick. Do one.

Massive match to win on Saturday. With Gateshead, Solihull, Bromley and Barnet all not playing, a good opportunity to get into fourth place and put a bit of daylight between us and Halifax / Alty depending on their results. A draw, whilst not the end of the world makes our run look a bit weak, with three draws and a win from four. A defeat just heaps a lot of pressure to snare a win on a boggy / heavy pitch at Halifax on Tuesday. At the end of the day, to be successful in the play-offs, we'll need character and resilience. This and Halifax will go a long way to telling us we've got plenty of it or not enough.

They all blended into one in that end of season debacle. Pathetic from him. He suits being in that 'orrible fat Scottish twat's team anyway.

Of course he hates us. Makes me ill thinking of his snidey manufactured sending off at home to Exeter with three matches left, ensuring he'd be sat at home as we finished the season. Won't be forgotten that.

I liked him. Thought he had a good game and pushed Kitching hard.

There was a last to post on this thread wins thread which was brilliant. Was on there as this username I think.

York, Oxford City, Kidderminster, Wealdstone, Maidenhead and Dagenham and Redbridge. Every one of of which are now bottom half strugglers and the last two were as inept performances as you get. It was a good bedding in period for MM from that mini-run, granted. But don't be colouring it as if we were like prime Brazil.

"hardly a mess".

To come in mid-season, perform open heart surgery on a bloated squad that just isn't fit for the physicality of non-league football and get us into a play-off berth is not 'ample time' to present a Chesterfield-esque dominating machine to our long-suffering home supporters. MM has tried setting us up in a more attacking way which failed miserably in the first half vs Boreham Wood. He has been open and honest to deduce that the players he has inherited simply don't have the quality or consistency to be able to execute an attacking, free-flowing gameplan. As has said before, McGahey is simply an adequate stopgap to ensure our back line isn't exposed. I feel we've the best centre halves in the division, but they're no good if an opposition payer is allowed to waltz straight through to the edge of our penalty area unchallenged. The results of which, whilst ugly, are yielding enough results to keep us in a play-off place. I'm hopeful the team we can put on the pitch next season, further cleansed by MM and GB's judgement will result in a more attractive proposition. I'm happy to put up with it in the meantime as a means to get us competing in the play-offs.

So no summer window is 'plenty of time', ay?

He got caught on the ball a couple of times. But he stopped them marauding through the centre, which happened time and time again when he wasn't there. Like I said, he's a sticking plaster over a festering wound, left untreated from last season. Who else would you have in the middle that breaks up play?