Tommy_Fent

Don't remember giving half the ground to Huddersfield

Citeh , Leeds , yes but not them from over th'ill

Since 2008 the Rochdale Road End has made up approximately 46% of the capacity. Ok it's not quite half the capacity and they've never filled it but I don't know many other teams that give that much to away fans.

I'm going to go up Tandle Hill before sunrise, performing my Druidical rites, causing the Monument to reveal it's full Owlish form briefly as the first beam of grey light reaches it. Then I will lead my band on a direct route along the ley line to Spotland, destroying everything in our wake.

 

We might spare the Tavern.

I don't know why, but your post reminded me of this

I take the point you are making here, but Burnley v Blackburn has an intensity even though (in my football supporting lifetime) they've largely been in separate divisions as have Southampton and Portsmouth where there's no love lost

That is probably down to the fact that both examples you've used are just as much about a rivalry between two towns than it is about two Football teams

Some of our fans moan that we don't look after our own supporters we do this - maybe Rochdale are.

In the past when we've given half the ground to teams like Leeds, Sheff Weds, Huddersfield etc I have been critical of it. But in hindsight by doing so we've possibly prevented clashes in the home ends which I suppose we should be grateful for.

I may be wrong but I'm sure the club do sell half season tickets. It's just that they don't advertise it.

Is there even a rivalry between the two towns? Over what?

 

Is it still the norm to go out there? We used to regularly 20 years ago but felt no animosity towards them, nor recieved any for being from Oldham.

I'd say there can be rivalries between towns, in most cases it's purely down to Geographical convenience. I've never lived in Oldham and like you I feel a bit "meh" about Saturday but I get the impression that it means more to those who live in Oldham than those of us who don't.

I get the impression the whole Oldham vs Rochdale rivalry is more about a rivalry between two neighbouring towns rather than a rivalry about two Football clubs. Which I suppose is how most of the traditional Football rivalries started out.

How they've fallen does make me think that it could easily have been us.

But all that said Prenton Park was becoming one of those grounds I was sick of the sight of. Plus they always got shocking refereeing decisions against us.

Latics fans were top yesterday, the atmosphere was buzzing. Although the "if you see a scruffy c*nt, mow the :censored:er down" song is beyond dreadful.

 

The Evans stuff was inevitable, but I had Super Oldham stuck in my head all night. Brilliant.

I admit I had a little word yesterday with a few, I felt towards the end when we were up against it we really needed to back the team rather than sing Anti-Yorkshire/Rochdale/Ched Evans songs. To be fair to them they responded and I think the support was good to be a part of at the end.

Doncaster this season.

 

There's a common denominator.

I wasn't at Doncaster, but from my point of view the stewards should be there to solve problems and make the matchday experience a safer place. Yesterday they caused more problems than they attempted to solve.

The Stewarding was shocking yesterday, granted at away matches those who want to be more vocal all go to the back which sometimes leads to more people than seats which can be dangerous. But if the stewards wanted to do their job properly yesterday they should have asked a few fans to move. But instead they piled in on a power trip and decided to eject a couple of lads who had a seat and as far as I'm concerned did nothing wrong. Though it's not the first time we've had these sort of issues, Rotherham last season anyone?

Oakwell, Dean Court, London Road and Vale Park stick out for me as grounds we never win at

 

One of the worst days to be a Latics fan. So much hope and optimism. We were third, they were second bottom, and we had beaten them 4-0 at home just 3 months earlier.

 

Instead we were 4-0 down before half time. We have fans fighting in the stand. We never really recovered after that game that year.

The only ever time I've left a match before the end

 

I think we're more likely to get a win tomorrow than at Rochdale. But like you say, the win at Sheff U would be a bigger win from the outside. A win at Spotland would be seen as a decent result, but not get much attention, when it'll probably take a much better performance to come back with a result.

To be fair I'm sure the same people are thinking the same thing about Rochdale. Whereas Sheff Utd are expected to be in the top 6 in May

A win would be a massive statement of intent. I'll hazard a guess that pundits and fans of other teams are looking at us right now and thinking "They're only Oldham, they'll drop back down the table soon and finish in the bottom half". A win at the "mighty" Sheffield United tomorrow might make a few more people take note.

I'dd m expecting a day out in Yorkshire will mean a day off from my usual healthy Mediterranean style diet tomorrow and involve a burger and chips - is there a 'posh' burger type place like an Almost Famous/Solitos type place in the city centre reasonably near to the Matilda St car park ?

Not as far as I'm aware but if you fancy pie, mash and a pint I'd recommend the Hop at West One

?Tap- although my memory is more than a bit hazy of what happened after my last sojourn into there.

They've stopped allowing anyone in colours in there on matchdays now

I'm surprised 08/09 hasn't been mentioned, we got some good results early on. But crap loan signings and the complete capitulation towards the end including that Tranmere game was something which I found incredibly depressing.

That said the following season was no better, but I missed a lot of games due to being in my first year at Uni.

My first time to Sheffield United this - does anyone know where most Latics fans will be drinking before the game?

It's usually the Howard opposite the station

I'm sure we all admit not every England game is a thrilling 90 minutes entertainment. Personally I believe home games should be taken on the road and I feel some of the ticket prices are nothing short of scandalous.

But one thing that I find amusing are those hypocrites who are the first to fly the St George's flag out of their house come Major Tournament time then feeling the need to shout from the rooftops in November how little they care about the same team.

Being in League 1 we tend to attract a lot of those sort of players who show a lot of potential but seem to be lacking something that would take them to a higher level. I think being a Latics fan you've got to accept to an extent that most of our players won't be perfect. But at the same time you shouldn't write off everyone on the Footballing scrap heap

A bit different on the other side of the pond

Maybe you don't like the term but that's what it is. The club is not in the business of buying loyalty. They are in the business of selling entertainment. There are an awful lot of other business's out there competing for our £ on match days. How would you like a football match to be termed with regards to a debate on value, discounts, offers and desirability?

 

There, and I didn't use the word you don't like.

Like I said in the OP, I don't want another debate on why attendances are low because quite frankly it's been done to death on here. I was just making a suggestion about the feasability of a potential opportunity of rewarding the loyal fans with a voucher scheme for this cup match.

I personally go to watch Football for the day out as a whole and one thing I know when I walk through the turnstile is that I am not guaranteed to see us win. The product should always be the sport and not any individual clubs. Of course some people see it differently, which I just find a bit sad to tell you the truth. No team has a divine right to win a Football match, anything can happen over 90 minutes and that in itself should be enough for a lot of people to go and support their team. That is why the game is as globally popular as it is.

Some good points made on this, I'd say that by offering a voucher system for this 2nd round game the club worded it to say that it MIGHT allow for priority if we got a big cup tie then I'd suggest they don't have much to lose.

Btw can people stop using the term "product on the pitch" I don't know why but I just bloody hate that term.

Would be very presumptuous.

That's the potential drawback