Gentleman

Always difficult to do the release game without knowledge of financials (both player and budget) but I think the bulk of us would fall under a "not really arsed who leaves" banner. Probably worth mentioning Foreshaw had a season ending injury within 5 mins of his first Ossett United game rather than not catching at the level. Not that you'd imagine he'd stay regardless.

All a bit embarrassing in the main stand as Norwood comes off

Had forgotten that Wealdstone were the "Brazil" team with that Allarakhia winger. Always finds half a yard. Nice for Fondop to have bagged in what you'd imagine may be his last game. Crowd low and flat so far

Just watched this myself. I'd forgotten how much of an onslaught that second half was.

Aye, think he did. FWIW, the away one pending is a bit different to what we've had previously.

Don't mind the interview so much as he's clearly hurting but what sticks in my mind - and has cropped up a few times since he's been appointed - is his own lack of diligence in taking the role/ownership of the team. He mentions his second game Vs Fylde and I distinctly remember being dumfounded by the lineup and the inability to change the game in our favour after a poor start. I thought to myself at the time that he mustn't have watched any of our games back before taking the job as he paired players that had not worked multiple times before. One of the reasons I was fairly keen to keep Thompson was he'd lived through the Unsworth era so knew the shortcomings and what would need to be done over the coming months. The first few weeks of Mellon saw several infuriating lineups in the name of getting to know a player's worth and who he could trust. We've reached the back end of the season and his answer is now "none of them". I can fully understand the way he's gone about certain things but each big decision he's made (banishing Reid, loaning out players, recruitment positions, square peg players to manage games) has ultimately meant we've come up short whilst playing some truly awful football. It's not just the league games, we've been thoroughly embarrassed in the cups too. Can see arguments for keeping him or getting rid but either way there needs to be an investigation into why it's gone so wrong across footballing operations at the club. When you look how Southend/Solihull started the season and how the likes of Gateshead have adapted to a gutting of talent halfway through, it's just embarrassing how scattergun and wasteful we are. My season ticket price is at least a third of a banished player's weekly wage. York aside, how many other clubs at this level would carry that?

Came quite highly regarded but I hadn't really seen him. Is he someone that will find it with time/confidence or was he "decent" in spite of it?

NM. Working now. Ignore

He had a feeble effort from the edge of the box and later in the game should have been played in by Conlon who instead opted to take on a shot (well, I think it was Dallas). I don't think he's been particularly good but, in my opinion, both him and Norwood (and us generally) would look a completely different outfit with wide/creative players that know what they're doing and commit players so there's space. I look at Chesterfield's squad and they're packed with invention and courage just behind the front man.

It's an awful pitch and one that's "maintained" by the council. Surprised someone hasn't stepped in yet to make them fulfil their fixtures elsewhere as is the case at lower levels. Stick some astro down at the Piece Hall and let's have at it.

Today is the first "must win" of the run-in for me. Gives slightly better hindsight to an away point at a beach-ready Dagenham but more importantly picks up three points from a round of fixtures where other sides around us are facing each other (Solihull, Barnet, Halifax, Rochdale, Gateshead) or are away at sides scrapping for points in a tight relegation block (Aldershot, Altrincham, Southend, Bromley). A few of these go our way and the giddiness begins again ahead of Monday. If I have to go to Halifax (unfortunately sober) with nothing to play for but finishing above Rochdale or something asinine, I'm booing for 90 mins.

Fair play to Paddy. Re: the cup question - did we even manage five cup goals this year?

Buy some sand and get on with it. Neither side needs grass.

Jake Forshaw joins Ossett United on loan for the rest of the season. Apparently they've just sold a striker to FC United so he may get a fair bit of game time. Has anyone seen him in any of his other loan spells this season? Record was pretty unreal in the yoofs!

Think he was Fowler's assistant but always great to see the Oldham to Saudi pipeline flourish. King Salman, have I got some strikers for you!

Dean Holden is off to Saudi as Gerrard's assistant...

Seem to remember Guns of Navarone winning a few OWTB only votes.

Yep, another for the pro Mouldy Old Dough brigade. For the purpose, it's completely bizarre and ours.

I think he has a position at Doncaster now.

One of the bigger frustrations for me is that it feels like we're playing out the same game on repeat. Regardless of your opinions on Norwood or Nuttall, the idea that there's enough pace in that partnership to benefit either member of it is laughable. If we're going to play a two, let's have some variation that stretches teams and causes problems. It's the same sort of thing that means we all know that Sheron and Shelton as a central duo didn't work, yet we've had to bear witness to them in a competitive fixture. There are hours of footage of these ailments in different in-game scenarios that the coaching team could have spent time observing rather than wasting games with. Not particularly arsed about the result today but it was a decent opportunity to rotate and test out different combinations in our bloated-for-the-level squad and instead we get the standard Latics turn up and die.

Playing alongside Zak Dearnley too

If we're looking for playoffs this year from where we are, it's roughly 1.8 points per game needed (hits 74 total) across the remaining 37 games (111 points to play for). Who is most likely to hit that target based on previous experiences/how do the previously mentioned characters seem to start at their new jobs?

Would it be useful for Darren/an other to publish some of the key stats that show we're due for a turn in fortune according to their projections? It's difficult given the apparent closeness between Joe/Darren and Unsworth not to jump to accusations of nepotism so if that isn't the case let us in on whatever journey we're going on because at the moment and for most of his tenure we are not passing the eye test and the bulk of the stats that fans can access make somewhat sorry reading for a team building towards being one of the better teams in the league.

Jake Forshaw recalled from Colne

I completely agree with your reasoning here and I'm not adverse to a 3-5-2/3-4-3 when coached properly as it can actually be quite an expansive system and has players in defensive areas that frustrate sides that keep the ball, however I just don't trust our current coaching team to be able to get the necessary performances in that system out of these players/adapt in-game to guide them through it when there's a bit of adversity. Suits Kitching as the overload but comes down to intent first and foremost for me.