De_La_Vega

Philiskirk was decent I thought. He is definitely lightweight, but shows quality on the ball. Consistently finds space and his passing shows his intelligence.

Definitely still a developing player, but even so I'd have him in the team. Certain players make others look better and I'd put him in that category. One thing I would note though - I think he plays better alongside guys like Dayton who are comfortable in interchanging across the pitch.

Nothing to do with Johnson's ability, but the side lost its balance with him playing the same role as Philiskirk. That seems pretty obvious from watching them to be honest. He was a classy footballer no doubt, but the side looked totally unbalanced.

Nah, Johnson and Philiskirk in the same team made us too narrow. We were much better shape-wise with Winchester on one wing and able to tuck inside and Forte playing ostensibly on the left but pushing on. In other news though - Adam Rooney's 20th goal of the season so far was a 25 yard screamer... Maybe that's the guy we need back!

He's a douche bag. People talk about "not being personal" but his position makes that attitude untenable. This is not an employee trying to do a job, he was put in place by fans to be a personality, a representative and a fan's voice. After which he turned his back on the people whose money and engagement put him on the board. I blame nobody who takes that personally. I've never see anyone threaten him and nor should they. However his conduct at times has justified criticism and opprobrium in equal measure. The lack of respect he shows here comes as no surprise, and just reinforces a feeling that the hierarchy at Latics is a rat's nest. I am sure that's not fair, but it is absolutely how it feels right now.

I never want to see that ugly :censored:-bag ever again.

I always felt we were a bit hasty on this, despite the fact that I totally agree with the end result having watched that tape. Could we not have suspended him without pay for the course of the trial instead?

That's an excellent article by Melissa Kite, as galling as it is that she writes for the Daily Mail. I totally agree, he should be able to find a club, because there is no second tier of punishment in society. However the market should dictate that club, so we should see such a toxic individual ignored by all professional clubs. Eventually his talent will find a semi-pro club where he can get £200 a week and maybe do another job too. If he makes it back into professional footy in three years time having been hoofed round the Conference then people will care less about the past. If, if, if. I don't really care about Ched, although I do hate the talking heads who want publicity around this topic and have done since long before we were involved. He has served his time and deserves to rebuild his life, but every club has to address their moral compass when it comes to signing such an unpleasant individual. I for one am gutted that ours seems to be so out of balance that we'd go for it. The handling has been abysmal, but even opening this Pandora's Box was so utterly bereft of any right thinking that I am staggered.

Agree that this waiting is an absolute shambles. At least if the club had announced it and just followed through they could have appealed to a sense of principle, second chances, rehabilitation and so on. Then every fan would have had a choice to make. By doing this we just look like sneaky opportunists who had a punt in the hope that people had got it out of their systems with Sheff Utd. So not only do we look trashy, we also alienate fans. Magic.

So? Both drank, but while Hughes chose to drive, Evans chose to have sex with an insensible woman. This is not an apology for Lee Hughes, but I see a difference in the scale of what occured and hence I'll react differently.

I see fundamental differences, because I know people who have driven after drinking and I know the massively flawed mental permutations that lead to their doing so. There but for the grace of God and all that. The impact of his crimes is massive, but that was not his intent. Rape is a crime of action - Ched Evans chose to rape that woman. I wouldn't ideally have wanted Hughes and didn't warm to him. But this, this is worse to my mind. No issues with him finding a club, he has served his sentence. But not my club, not Latics.

This cannot happen, absolutely not. I have argued with all sorts of people about this; my position is that it should be down to each club whether they take a punt on the bad karma he brings, but that he should be able to play if he can find a club willing to take on such toxic baggage. If a club are that morally bankrupt then it would say more about them than anything else. Never did I seriously think that we'd be that club. There is no way that we should even contemplate this. I pray that the club are looking at this board and taking heed; I will not be watching him ever. This is utterly despicable.

I do have an issue with the idea that because he's in a privileged career that he shouldn't be allowed the same leniency as any other convicted felon. That said though, it would be unacceptable for him to join Latics, and I would expect any right-thinking fan to say the same. Therefore let market forces decide. He is a tawdry individual regardless of any late appeals or acquittal that may yet come, and so wherever he goes fans should react as they have at Sheffield United. Sponsors and fans unite against him to the point where his ability is overshadowed by the damage his reputation would do commercially.

Definitely better using his pace coming in from wide for me. We're missing a trick moving him out of that channel.

Class again from Dayton and Philiskirk, those two just have that bit more intelligence and quality than most and I think it really shows when they play together. They're so mobile in swopping around the positions in the midfield. But that said the midfield were superb today, which bodes well because from my limited viewings so far this year I like the look of Tidser and Winchester who didn't even start. Good strength and depth. Having seen Colchester, Orient, Barnsley and now Coventry I can only state that we are looking better all the time. When's the next Tuesday game?

Let's not forget that Latics have lost a lot of home games in the past five years or so. It is a long time since I actually enjoyed going, and because I play on a Saturday I only make about ten home games a year or so. That is an awful lot of apathy to overcome in 11 games! No idea on the stats but we must have lost nearly 50% of home games in recent years...

I don't get carried away until after the January transfer window closes! No harm in a bit of excitement, but I do still think we're light up front and that could hurt us in tight games when there's a lot riding on it. We have some good and dangerous players, but lack a really reliable cutting edge.

As has been rightly pointed out here, he's playing well but is benefiting heavily through the balance of the midfield being right. Some good, scruffy footballers in there who can win the melee, but they all have a bit of ability too. Philiskirk becomes hugely important in this team though, for his ability to bring midfield runners into play. I was saying on Tuesday that I don't think it's a coincidence that Dayton's best games come when Philiskirk is playing well. Good balance with some good options. Nice to see.

Poleon and Wilkinson were excellent in patches, but both of them were wasteful when it came to playing in their team-mates. Some real quality from both of them though... Dayton and Philiskirk were superb though, so good at linking the play and feeding off each other. Their intelligence and movement made that formation work.

Mellor doesn't just need time, he needs to turn his potential into some performances. That doesn't come from his manager, sooner or later it has to come from him. Some nice elements to his game, but as a player he needs to start having an impact on the match. Winchester looks like he is finally understanding that.

First ever Latics goals for Tipton and Littlejohn. Class acts the pair of them. Other than that though there was a scud from Tony Carss against one of the Bristol clubs from a corner. That was swell.

Don't think he's too bad, but he definitely needs to start impacting the game more rather than just passing it sideways.

Craig Bellamy thought that fitness experts were bull:censored: when he was at City, so when (Hughes was manager I think) a Dutch specialist was brought in with new-fangled ideas he was so suspicious that he kept his own fitness diary with results of bleep tests and such. The change in performance due to more modern !methods had such a profound impact that even after a change of manager saw the coach leave City, Bellamy paid out of his own pocket to carry on working with him.

This multiplied by 10... but... Before we pile onto an anti-Greg bandwagon I would say that within the remit he has got he has done the best he can, and by all accounts there is a lot of coaching and youth development that is addressed within the document, so it might not be a total waste. The problem is his remit, which is to pussyfoot away from the real problem which is the concentration of wealth in the Premier League and the subsequent devastation of relegation. Improve the coaching of kids and this will improve, reduce the spending power of clubs so that :censored:ing Stoke can't outbid the rest of Europe, and maybe find a carrot or two for developing young English talent like the ECB do. This is unworkable in English football for me. B teams could be incredible if everyone in that pyramid accepted the natural primacy of the Premiership teams, but are we a lesser team than Fulham or Wigan? Are Derby or Leicester, Burnley, Leeds or Wolves (several of whom have plumbed the depths in recent years) really going to accept Stoke as their betters? Are they bollocks and nor should they. Half-arsed ideas from a panel petrified that the Premier League are going to veto anything they don't like. We've already been bummed over that EPP bollocks, and now they want a new league in which to fling all the young lads they hoover up for peanuts. Wankers.

Which explains the inordinately expensive food and your lavish lifestyle... Cuts hours and wages please, I hate the proles but want a cheap chicken fillet!