mikeroyboy

Under the circumstances that was a decent result today. There was no protest, apparently their is no one to lead it. Scholes’s first game in charge probably attracted circa 1,000 extra cash paying fans based on anticipation. By his demise he had lost the majority of these cash payers because there was zero improvement to our performances/results. The protest had already begun/happened. That’s life. We have had over two weeks to stew on our predicament. Outbursts, threats and anger have waned in most. Pragmatism focuses the mind and most of us sadly realise that we are stuffed without a benefactor and even when one turns up we are impotent at being in a position to judge or control any sequence of events or appointments by said benefactor. We are close to the bare bones of our fan-base again. Many claim they have the answer - but they don’t. As supporters of Oldham Athletic and other club, it is a simple enough choice. We chose attend matches or we don’t. Club ownership is a lottery. The people who clamoured for Corney’s departure and maybe now AL don’t have answers but we are all the same really. We dream and live in hope.

I am quite sure, like me, you have no idea of what effect a protesting or demonstrating crowd will have on a group of players and their coaching team in a professional game of football. But we all know how excruciatingly difficult it is to put some upheaval in our own lives to the back of our minds. By tomorrow evening we will be able to judge everything - even whether there is stomach for a match day protest or boycott. Meanwhile, myself and four others in my group have not renewed our season tickets. Multiplied many times AL will be well aware of that, make no mistake.

Can’t we just concentrate on supporting Pete Wild for this one? He was a breath of fresh air during his short spell at the helm and doesn’t deserve to be involved in a demonstration or boycott, as he attempts to drag the best out of, what must be, a group of disillusioned players. And not forgetting, ‘inept’ in many cases.

Billy, it's mildly positive to see you've been appreciated and not zipped. Well done.

We could be a Blue and White Plattoon by August.

The ground obviously . But it seems like a pipe dream to me, without intending to be rude or ungrateful for any serious research or effort put into the possibility. Has there been any costing or forward looking business projection on the subject. Is it being finically supported by one/several wealthy benefactor/s? I just can’t see it being viable with a fan base of circa 4,000. For two decades I was heavily involved in running a cooperative LTD company. It was a million miles away from being as complex as running a Professional Football Club and the same distance from being as volatile. There is a tremendous amount of work and responsibility involved and mostly the same few directors shouldering it. I am at a loss to identify anything like a solution for a Football Club that is struggling under (at least from the evidence) a seemingly out of his depth owner. A protest telling him to go, if it works will, produce what. A club in liquidation? A sale to one of the wealthy benefactors waiting in the wings? The protesters shaking buckets around our Metropolitan Borough? Oldham Althletic is a ‘for profit’ business like any other. Unlike, to my knowledge, excepting other Professional Clubs, it’s core customers are very demanding on quality. When in fact every time they open their doors (30 max times a year) the opposition is trying to sabotage our product. I was ok in league 1. Being in business for 33yrs before retirement 13 years ago helped me appreciated any owner who came in to give it a whirl and invest for my benefit. To me running a Football Club is a thankless task for anyone. Every season probably 80% of all fans are throwing a wabbler for one reason or another. You only have to look at the longest serving manager in the Football League down to the shortest serving manager to identify the chaos that ensues. 7yrs, is I think, now the longest serving. Only about seven have managed over 4yrs. The magic round about has never been more apt. There is no White Knight on the horizon from where I’m sitting. My protest, short term is not renew my ST. I don’t think I will be able to stay away next season because that will harm my club. But if we all did that it would create an immediate problem for our owner and a simple indication that most of us are not happy. I won’t be joining any protest on match day because the players will have enough on swilling around in thier minds. We need another three wins. And why on earth should we give the opposition and thier fans a leg up. I have no no answers but I know I don’t feel entitled to someone comeing in with millions to invest in serious potential failure, like many clubs before us. KTF

Na! It will be something else.

I read a lot of financial stuff but I’ve not heard of that one. You maybe right if you’ve got it in the back of your mind.

Sorry. I should have quoted jorvic_latic post. I am not sure how the club would be legally obliged to refund a season ticket purchase in a random or general way, but only in specific circumstances. If refunds are being made outside certain peramiters it shouldn’t last long - unless nobody is bothering to look.

The ticket office are on our side - that loophole could soon be closed down.

How can something that hasn’t happened be judged against something that has?

I have had a positive feedback from Barry Waterhouse at Oldham NHS. All tickets in the appropriate date and time zone will be cancelled. Any penalties paid will be refunded. For me the most positive part of the outcome is refunding anyone who has already paid the penalty. Apparently it it is the club who failed to notify them of the fixture. Full marks to Bazza

Thanks folks. Just found email from club with Barry Waterhouse’s details. Can relax and concentrate on game now. I have been down the ‘ignore’ route before and it worked. But I’m getting too old for receiving threatening letters and court action - especially when I’m inoccent. I hope no one actually pays this parking notice without questioning it.

Just spoken to someone at the club. She said it has happened before. The system is swiched off on match days but had been overlooked on the last occasion. Probably a repeat malfunction. She is emailing me contact details of someone at the hospital who will then, hopefully sort it out. Yes, I’m aware of the parking idiosyncrasies of private parking companies but not perhaps up to date. Unlike a police or council parking notice, this notice does not place me under a legal obligation to ‘disclose the drivers details’. It it is however looking as though it may not be necessary thanks for your input.

Just received parking notice for Tuesday evening 19th February, Morecambe match. Has anyone else had one? Paid £3 as usual to guy on Westhume Avenue and followed stewards directions down to the bottom end of car park. Leaving ticket on dashboard. All as normal. Parking ticket only states time of arrival/departure and being an unorthorised vehicle. I only hope this is a technical error and not a none payment of the clubs agreement with the hospital.

‘All’ coaches have limited abilities. Sometimes, a multi-million pound budget hides the fact.

I’m not big (knowledge wise) on tactics and formations but I can easily understand the constantly recurring difficulty ‘all’ teams have with consistency. It’s impossibly difficult, even at the top of the Premier League. While not involved last Saturday, Scholes would probably have been known within the camp as a done deal. A second half prerformance superior to the first half resulted in a 0-3 away win. Tuesday night was not brilliant first half - much better second half with two late goals perhaps flattering us overall. Yesterday, first half, we knocked the ball about accuractly as well as I have seen this season. But not in the second half. Inconsistency! What fans the world over never seem to factor in is the other team is constantly adapting, reforming and changing how they deal with our threats and visa versus. The best managed team with the best players, over a season, will generally come out on top. But not without their fans having a hissy fit every time a point/s are dropped. It has been so since I started watching football 65yrs ago. Yesterday, Crewe sussed us out, changed personnel, found our weak spot and ‘earned a point. Meanwhile, our last 3 games have earned us 7pts for a an average of 2.3pts per game. On track for the play-offs. We’re doing OK. It’s true what they say ‘you can’t win them all’ and a game of football is arguably the most fiendishly difficult way to try.

I don’t pretend, never have done, to be knowledgeable enough on the clubs long standing and present set up to debate it coherently. As fans (the same for all cubs) we depend on a wealthy benefactor/s to support our hobby. We have no meaningful say in how this arranged or carried out. What I do believe I’m knowledgeable about is the most important item of a successful enterprise is its product. We have all seen the media attention created by Paul Schole’s appointment. I have highlighted his undoubted attributes. I now await with interest and antisipation how he mobilises our group of stuttering misfits into a reliable 2pts a game promotion contenders. ‘Whoever’ is is driving the financial bus has made a pretty asstute assessment of what would drive ‘our’ club forward on the pitch in my opinion. Bums on seats is where it starts. Hold tight.

While eagerly looking forward to Saturday I can’t help but ponder. A local retired player and Latics fan, who was coached as a youth by, arguably, the best youth coach of his era. Then went onto become, arguably, one of the best mid-fielders of his era for, arguably, one of the biggest clubs in the world. And was then managed for virtually his entire career by, arguably, the most successful manager in football history. While in his spare time accumulated over 60 England Caps. Scholes can’t be casually discounted from being one of the best candidates ‘ever’ for possessing the insight, experience and mindset to actually becoming an outstanding coach right through the whole coaching system of ‘any’ club. By pure coincidence it now appears that serious investment is being considered into the club. Just saying like.

I don’t think there’s much the same so far between AL and the 3 Amigos. It it looks to me as though AL is attempting start on his arse then work his way up. I’m hoping he’s tried it his way and is now going more traditional. A learning curve, to give him the benefit of the doubt.

It makes a change if we benefit from some high level shenanigans or poor interpretation of the laws. We have had a poor run lately with three appalling penalty decisions, one of them proving critical. Let’s roll with this one and see where it takes us - notwithstanding there’s nothing official yet.

He could certainly wax lyrical in his reporting. I’m sure I can recall him in his heyday describing one of our players ‘like a raiding Apache down the wing’ Always a nod and a smile when passing on the canal in Uppermill and Dobcross. RIP Jim

Scholes and AL have been/still are in negotiations. The stumbling block for AL is he wants too much influence in recruiting players. The stumbling block for Scholes is this is totally Unexeptable. With our three latest short term, jobing acquisitions it seems clear that a serious push for promotion this term is not on the cards. With the next manager still up in the air it is hard to imagine any quality targets are lined up waiting. If any realistic applicant for the job was going create a meaningful increase in ST sales it must surely be Scholes. With AL continually scratching about for ‘generally’ underwhelmingly, ordinary players it time for him to grasp the reality of where a player fund is going to come from. Off course it is football and disasterishly difficult. I often ask myself ‘how easy did he think it would be’.

A successful club is unequivocally the sum of all its parts gelling. I see no evidence of that, so far, under Lemsagam. Most new owners are novices in running a football club. But generally would have a forward moving business plan, including some on field investment including upgrades of management and players. I see no evidence of that either, so far. Again, in general terms, one would expect a visible increase in the budget. I see no evidence of that, so far. Indeed, pretty much any player of value or costly to keep were sold/released. Lemsagam ‘appears’ to be working alone although I do suspect his brother is involved. We are asked to be patient, and we are. But my business head just can’t fathom out why he bought our club. It is just not stacking up for me at the moment. My natural optimism is slowly being chipped away. Some fans are already calling for a new owner. What is the name of the person who will be in charge of pulling that golden rabbit out of the hat? The guy is keeping us afloat and he appears to be a fan – I just hope Lemsagam’s not wearing camouflage.