Latics4Ever

Yet again Dickov has pulled off a fantastic loan signing...compare these to the bunch of dead legs and dross that Penney persuaded/bribed last season and it shows how bad the appointment of Penney was! Dickov has been like a breath of fresh air for me and his signings are top drawer. I really hope he can pursuade monsieur Wenger to allow Evina to remain for the rest of the season, I believe he went back to the Emirates yesterday to discuss his situation with Arsene. Would be great if we can keep him, but I would also understand it if Arsenal decided to send him on loan to a Championship/lower Premier League club to enhance his development. Fingers crossed Cedric gets the chance to return though! Brill will now be warming the bench for the rest of the season! Maybe Amos can teach him how to CATCH the ball rather than punch it high and not very far away.

Does ANYONE actually know what offside is anymore? The authorities have messed about with the laws of the game so much that offside is an extremely murky and confusing rule to try and implement. What with active, second phase, coming back into play, not interfering with play, etc, etc. They should either scrap it altogether or go back to the trusted method of old. Personally, I'd scrap it. Bring a few more goals about if nothing else!

Totally agree! Its extremely nauseating having scousers whinging about their club and bemoaning the state of the team on the field and blaming hicks/gillett for it. Only to put Sky Sports on today and listen to the same scousers delighting in the fact that they have got new owners. After slating the last lot of Yanks why they welcome new Yanks with open arms is sick. Personally, I would LOVE to see Liverpool relegated. If Gerrard gets a long term injury this season it is possible as the rest of the side is decidedly average. Torres is to injury prone, and currently sidelined once again. I also read the following on BBC Sport: "Crisis-hit Liverpool are to be sold to the owners of the Boston Red Sox baseball team, subject to the resolution of a legal dispute with the club's American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett." As Hicks & Gillett have a very large debt to repay to a bank by 15/10/10 by defaulting on this, putting Liverpool into Admin with owners lined up would mean the club pay a much smaller amount back. In addition, legal disputes have a nasty habit of rumbling on so this could be the start of a very bleak period indeed.

I must admit that I am only an occasional visitor to OWTB nowadays due to a variety of reasons, but I have read this post throughout and find some of the comments from fellow Latics' fans amusing to say the least! Personally speaking, I was born & bred in Oldham and lived there for the first 22 years of my life. I moved to Farnworth nr Bolton and have been here for the last 16 years. However, I have continued to hold a season ticket at BP as well as attending as many of the league games as I possibly could. I recall the day TTA took over and gave their grand speech about their hopes for the club. I also recall that they openly stated that they were NOT in this for the long haul. Their aims being to get the club self sufficient, stabilised and promoted back to the Championship at the very least. Admittedly there plans have not come to fruition, but had they done so in the time they had hoped for, I very much doubt that ANY of the 3 would still be here. The fact 2 have now resigned is irrelevant, in my opinion. We still have Simon Corney in the driving seat and I honestly believe that he would NOT have expected to still be here. That's not the actions of someone who couldn't give a stuff about the club. First & foremost, Simon Corney is a businessman. If he makes a profit from the eventual sale of Latics then good luck to him and his two cohorts. Secondly he, along with the other amigos, spent considerable sums of their own money. This has been reported in the press and in terms of actual figures, it is irrelevant to the man in the street - I mean if they have put £1m in each should we castigate them for not putting £1.5m or £2m etc into the club!!! Also, its not like anyone else is queuing up to put this money in. And without it we would probably be a distant memory now and playing football in the non-league under another name. I would love Latics to stay at a fully redeveloped BP (even a ground where the pitch may be moved through 90 degrees) but this is clearly not possible. Therefore, moving to a brand new stadium appears to be the only way forward. Ideally it would be great if it could be built within the Borough of Oldham instead of moving to Failsworth. However, if the legacy left behind by Corney, Blitz and Gazal is a brand new ground and long term prosperity then this surely has to be the way forward for fans, players, management, staff and directors alike. It won't be long before Premier Greed and Football League clubs start going bust with NO chance of recovery. I personally remain confident we won't be included in this sad indictment of football nowadays.

Nice to see the board listening, however the idea of free entry for kids is a bit naughty in my opinion. As we only charge £3 for Under 12's and £9 for concessions, it is hardly going to generate money in the long term. Personally, I feel the costs of adult prices are too steep for our division and whilst this is the "norm" I feel the Football League would be better placed to strike a deal with the FA Premier League to get more cash from the Greed is Good league and filter that to the clubs, so adult admission prices could be reduced. That way, dads and their kids could be encouraged back at a reasonable price. One other glaringly obvious way of enticing fans back is through the reintroduction of safe standing areas. These are cheaper alternatives to all seater stadia and as such lower admission charges would apply.

What, prey tell, was on these four pages about our impressive if diminutive leader?

I used to be a member of the original Starline Scheme we had at the club which was fairly popular in the first couple of years. And I will be looking to join this scheme shortly, I just need to sort a couple of things out with my finances in the first instance. However, I have some ideas/suggestions for raising funds in addition to this scheme which may be worth considering: Car Boot Sales - Latics used to run these fairly regularly on the car park a few years back. I'd imagine the club would let the Trust use the car park, charge say a £5 a car / £10 a van. All funds going to Playershare. The Trust could then have a stall themselves, promoting Playershare, selling Trust memberships etc as well as any items fans may wish to donate to the Trust to be sold at the car boot sale. All profits going straight to Playershare funds. Quiz nights / Player Q&A sessions in a local pub. Entrance fee payable either on the door or per team entered. Corporate Playershare - Not sure if the club still does this but at one time all parts of a players kit could be sponsored. If this is not done any longer, companies could be invited to sponsor an individual players shirt/shorts/socks etc or the whole kit for a set price. All funds going to Playershare less a deduction to cover the costs of advertising the company sponsorship in the program. "Strike It Lucky" - Relaunch the scheme with all of the profits being split 50/50 between the club & Playershare funds.

See both goals tonight on the League show on BBC. Proper smash-and-grab raid by all accounts, but fair play to 'em! Southampton fans had better get used to this division, I have a feeling they are going to be here for a while!

Wardlelatic, I have just stumbled across this Thread and realised I have missed 2 Poker Nights to date. However, I would be interested in playing in the future, assuming there is a 3rd night to be arranged? What's the entry fee?

Season Ticket holders such as myself who paid in excess of £300 for this season and suffered some appalling football in return. However, those fans who have stayed away in their droves are now thinking of coming back on a 2-4-1 deal...NO. You've saved money by not attending games, if you're going to come back now that Penney The Prat has been sacked, then do so and put some coffers back into the clubs funds! Buy your ticket today and save a couple of quid on matchday prices as well.

Not a bad shout. Paul Simpson did reasonable for himself at the clubs he's managed. But a fair number of people on here seem to be disapproving of Simpson. CBA reading through everything to see why. Doubt Ritchie would be interested. More involved in the media side of the game nowadays and I doubt we'd be the type of club he'd want to come to. Total off-the-wall, far fetched long shot would be Avram Grant....least he might get paid at Latics and I'm sure there are a few massage parlours around the North West that he can "relax" at after a game!

For me Ste, its irrespective of whether he played 1 minute and failed to touch the ball, or played 90 and scored 1 or both of the goals. He was part of the Hartlepool side and he & the club broke the rules (the lad in question would have known he was booked and most probably known how many bookings he was on - we had a similar situation with Gregan on 9 bookings!) They should be punished for it and rightly so.

For me Ste, its irrespective of whether he played 1 minute and failed to touch the ball, or played 90 and scored 1 or both of the goals. He was part of the Hartlepool side and he & the club broke the rules (the lad in question would have known he was booked and most probably known how many bookings he was on - we had a similar situation with Gregan on 9 bookings!) They should be punished for it and rightly so.

Totally agree with your sentiment on this oafc0000. A similar scenario, albeit on a much happier front, was the return of David Beckham to Old Trafford. His appearance as a substitue was greeted with cheers and applause from all 4 sides of the ground before he was booed the first time he touched the ball for the opposition!! With regard to Halsey, it has been widely reported in various sections of the media, that both he & his wife have been battling cancer. Fortunately, both Mr & Mrs Halsey appear to have won their respective battles and as such Mark Halsey has returned to his job as a referee. However, in order to set the record straight, I want to point out a major discrepancy throughout this thread....Mark Halsey IS a Premiership referee. He never stopped being one. He is building up his fitness and expertise by reffing games lower down the league. He started with a reserve fixture, has done 1 or 2 League 2 games and Saturday was his first League 1 game. I have heard that his aim is to referee a Premier League game by the end of the season, and Halsey wants it to be an Everton game. This is due to the fact his last Premier match was the Everton v Arsenal game at the start of this season. As a human being I was privileged to witness the reception Halsey got at the start of the game, but he would be the first to admit he would want to be slagged off by a fan if they disputed a decision he gave...this is part & parcel of the game and Halsey wouldn't want anything different!

I'd not read the actual article in question, so was unaware Hartlepool had brought it to the FA's attention. In that case, I reckon the FA should reverse the result and give Brighton the points. Fine Hartlepool as well and impose a suspended points deduction for say 2 years for any future repetition.

Is that 3 points in addition to the 3 points they won? Or just the 3 points won? Personally I feel they should be docked 6, otherwise they've not really suffered for their mistake...clubs have been kicked out of the FA Cup for the same offence, just taking off the points won would possibly send out the message its worth the risk?

That sounds like a FANTASTIC Half-Time event....Bring Penney out and let as many fans walk up to him, tell him precisely what they think of him, his inept handling of the team and dish out a slap or 2 to boot. Fans' would flock back for that! PENNEY OUT!

Seeing that the played & won the game with an ineligible player in the side, the punishments likely to be handed out are as follows: 1. The match awarded to Brighton as a 3-0 win, so taking 3 points off Hartlepool and crediting Brighton's total. 2. Remove the 2 goals scored and add 3 more goals to their goals against column. 3. Finally, a financial penalty and/or a 3 point deduction for breaking the rules (some or all of this could be suspended - depending on their previous discipline history). I reckon they could have a further point deducted though. 4. One other scenario would be to order the game to be replayed, but this would cause a big headache as other clubs would protest that Hartlepool get a second bite at the cherry, which would be grossly unfair. And if it was Latics, I would support all of the above....its hardly rocket science and surely is part & parcel of the day-to-day role of the Club Secretary!

I hope Gregan gets an opportunity to make a sliding tackle, around the half way line, and carries on straight into that little obnoxious gobshyte that is Paul Ince.

I've judged him over the season and include his attitude towards the fans' in my assessment, not the last couple of games you prick.

Still want him sacked. The last two home performances have produced vital wins we need at this stage of the season and by all accounts, we were the better side at Huddersfield and very unlucky to lose.....however, I am not under any illusion this is down to Penney, more the players fearing a relegation on their CV and trying to avoid this where possible. Probably best to wait until the end of the season then get rid.

My vote also goes to Colbeck. Thought he had a great game and was sorry to see him being subbed. Whittaker & Guy also had good games and were contenders as well IMO, and one other special mention needs to go to Smalley. He played well today and was rewarded with the winning goal!

We're already being robbed of our senses by a dumb Yorkshire prick in charge of our club....There's not a cat-in-hells chance of me paying £24 to you bunch of Dingles to watch us lose!

Only just heard about the protest, but it seems more like a kiddie march rather than a proper organized protest. That said, I am genuinely amazed at the number of supporters / pro-Penney fans we still have! What the hell are you lot seeing that the rest of us aren't? The guy is a clueless pillock, who doesn't have a Plan A let alone a Plan B. He doesn't consider winning games all that important and is devoid of any emotion whatsoever on the touchline, preferring to play with his bollocks rather than try anything tactical to switch things around on the pitch! Love Oldham, Hate Penney - Sack Him NOW!

Not sure if anyone else saw what happened with Gregan in the 2nd half, but basically someone around where I sat had made a comment about our second half "performance" and a (very rare) slip up he made. Gregan heard this and made some comment back in our general direction. Cue a few more comments/verbals! Anyway, come the end of the match and whilst Penney was scurrying back up the steps as quick as his legs could carry the useless waste of space, Gregan made a point of coming over and offering his apologies. For all that is said about players not caring, this clearly doesn't apply to Greegs and you could tell he was hurting at yet another abject display but he wanted to make amends for the minor spat with the fans'. I just wanted to take my hat off to Greegs and it shows the quality of a man to be able to step up and apologise. If the TTA want an interim boss, we could do worse than give it Gregan as Player-Manager. He'd take no prisoners on or off the field!