De_La_Vega

When that player is the best we have and showing signs of improvement then why not. What that doesn't make him is a Premier League quality footballer or a quality player to be enjoyed while we are blessed with his presence. Taylor, Eardley, Fitz Hall, Clint Hill, Paul Murray, Chris Armstrong... All better players in their respective positions yet how many Premiership appearances do they have between them? Tarkowski was still running underneath the ball towards the end of last year and some on here have him as player of the year!

. Call me crazy but I think he's pointing out that Fitz Hall was quite a lot better than Tarkowski and yet struggled to establish a Premiership career. So by default the inferior Tarkowski is probably not a Premier League player... I'll bet you win all the arguments when you fail to grasp what the other side are on about. Or did you and just chose to ignore the implied contrast between the abilities of the two players? Either way, bravo.

My we're a touchy bunch aren't we... Nobody has said that Tarkowski hasn't shown signs of.improvement this year and I definitely haven't implied that he shouldn't be playing. But then I guess that is a hallmark of talking bollocks; given no leg to stand on you have to manufacture the alternative argument to make yours more convincing. Politicians do it all the time, I just hadn't expected to see it on OWTB. At the moment Tarkowski is a decent footballing centrehalf who is a pretty average defender prone to moments of brain freeze and in need of a touch more aerial prowess. None of that is to say that he is useless, and it doesn't mean that he had no hope of improving to be a good pro over many years. What he isn't is outstanding, Premier League quality or player of the year in waiting. People who see that are looking at his performances with their minds made up - they want him to do well so every positive is magnified tenfold whereas mistakes are brushed away. Watch him objectively and stop trying to demonise anyone who has a more critical opinion. We all want himto succeed, but he'll have a better career by working out his faults rather than listening to sycophantic drivel.

Well if Tarkowski goes onto become the player that some seem to think I'll be very happy. Personally I don't really see it, because I find the consistent failings to be rather important. I like bits of his game, but fundamental defensive flaws cannot be swept under the carpet of "not the finished article" because they will cost us in the long run. Or the short run in fact, because watching that game I felt that Pope and Hughes got far too much joy against us in the air. But what do I know? I'm anti-Oldhamer and bitter!

If only you knew how much I want local lads to do well... I have been a strident critic of the anti Taylor / Eardley / anyone brigade for a long time. To that end I want nothing more than to see Tarkowski do well, and truth be told he has looked a far better footballer this year than he ever did. But... The defensive side of things is not good enough at times and he needs a lot of work. Aerially we were massively outgunned on Saturday and we really struggled to clear our lines - if that continues we will concede loads from.corners this year. Yes they were a big, powerful side but that is where you need a combative streak in your premier centrehalf.

Lads there were about three incidents in the second half alone where they won big headers off corners but somewhere between the striker and the keeper the ball got stuck under someone's feet. If you genuinely can't see that Tarkowski is in desperate need of improving his aerial ability, then I don't see much point in continuing the debate - it should be obvious.

"had Pope in his pocket"? What game were we watching? Not blaming Tarkowski, but as the senior centrehalf I'd have hoped he would be more dominant. Instead they looked like they could score at will from that battery of corners they had.

Agree with most of what has been said. Tarkowski annoyed me again. In the midst of a decent performance he still continues to throw in unacceptably poor moments that are inexcusable in a professional footballer. Usually when he decides he cannot use his right peg and would rather turn into trouble and back towards his own goal. Cut that out and life will be easier for him. Biggest disappointment was that when Derby realised our weakness to the through ball and tightened up the space we didn't think of a plan b. That said, excellent first half and a genuinely exciting team in prospect. A lot of positives.

Been website still shows the game finishing as 1-0 to Stevenage. Happy days!

Sad to see the back of PG - proper Latics boy and one of my favourite players from all the time I've been watching. Interesting to see the way Donny are shaping up, I see either great success or unmitigated disaster, nothing inbetween.

Like a couple of people have pointed out - aim to win every game. Simple When teams start deciding they'd rather have nothing to play for than be in a trophy then the game has really gone mad.

A bit of talent, but too much of a nowhere player. No best position, not enough goals to be a striker, couldn't be an out-and-out winger either. That said he looked capable in a wide forward role, but not enough end product for me.

He is a c u next Tuesday according to the greatest Wikipedia entry of all time...

Paul Murray is a legend. This is great news!

This is a sad state of affairs. Cisak had real ability, whereas Bouzanis is shakiness personified. We have done poor business in losing him for nothing... Not that there was much that could be done to rectify the situation after last season mind...

Paul Murray is in fact the single greatest chap of all time. A man so stupendous that I would gladly see him made chairman and manager as well as reserve team coach.

I love that first line on his Wikipedia page - that is total class! As for the rest of this story - it cannot be the case that we are looking at selling up to a goon like that. Don't believe it.

Sorry, "are totally lame".

People who use comments such as "this is more of a general thing" to excuse overreacting to specific events is totally lame. People need to get better things to do than watch the website religiously for the summer months - watch cricket for instance. Ignore Twitter. I also saw on here a comment about a new shirt being released without fan input... Really? Some people need to get a grip.

Realistically we are winning whatever cash we get given that Baxter cost us nothing, so 300k is no disaster if that's the way it boils down. If we are going to keep him then I want to see us play in a manner that gets him on the ball.

We played some good stuff at times, and maybe if he gets a bit more structure around himself then he may turn out well. That article is worrying though, sound like a distinct lack of self-awareness...

Jesus no. This lad is :censored:. Cannot for the life of me think why we would want a guy who has indifferent distribution, cannot catch a cross and seems pathologically averse to coming off his line. Oh, wait... Maybe it's that he sets an impeccable example with his flawless disciplinary record...

I was mascot at that game. Didn't realise I'd make it onto national telly...

Eardley, all day everyday. Disgraceful :censored: shouted at that lad, and oops what's that? He's playing in the Premier League in addition to representing Wales alongside Bale, Ramsey and Bellamy...

If ticket prices are kept steady by our oligarch and I can afford to watch OAFC beat up those red :censored:house dirtbags down the road then I would not only sign up, but would vote for him in local elections. Rather do it without that bollocks, but watching Latics win a league would be unbelievable.