beag_teeets

If I had to pay a £5 I'd rather they'd have done the old test than just a simple blood test.

FFS! Defensive midfielder is my favourite position and I've been a big fan of Fane despite all his faults and been looking forward to him coming back into the side and protecting the back four. He's not paid to deliver balls on a sixpence, just do the ugly stuff, win it and pass to someone else in blue and he was getting better at that, I know the passing to a blue shirt was a stretch at times but he was good at getting in the way and breaking up opposition attacks. Binning assets for personal reasons doesn't make much business sense to me.

He just uses park benches.

I was hoping for soft tissue injury/bruising/slight ligament/sprain. Maybe they didn't have the facilities but they usually administer oxygen with a bone break, he didn't look comfortable and made a job of getting on the stretcher, just going to have to wait for the official update.

True, he's been a bit of a passenger but the only way he would become more of an influence is more time on the pitch. It was the FA Cup run that sparked him off last time, I'd hoped it would spark him off this season and until half time it looked like it might. Hopefully it isn't too serious and he isn't out too long and he's up to full fitness and match sharpness in time for the Xmas campaign.

Looked bad on TV, especially when they put him on the stretcher. Agree he'd had his legs sandwiched between a couple of defender's scissor tackles, I hope it is just contact bruising rather than a more serious internal injury, probably be a bit before he can be scanned?

This is Brexit Britain love, we've had enough of 'experts'. All good advice, used most of that myself. First time I've been on meds, I put my trust in my doctor, she knows more about this than I do and I tried to do what she and the lady from Healthy Minds said. Meds helped in the short term which helped get me to the next step, as you say, might not work for everyone and it can take trial and error to get on the right drug and dose. Takes time to get enough in your system to start working so don't expect instant results, if they are recommended for you don't let male pride fuck you in the ass, even a drowning man will reach for a piece of straw. Accomplishing one thing a day helps, getting out of bed is enough some days, others you can manage a walk round a park and pick a loaf up on the way back so you eat that day. But most importantly of all, for fucks sake don't support Latics, you've got enough on your plate without that shower giving you false hope before letting in two late goals when they should've cruised that game. This relegation was all my fault too, I missed many games of the good spell last year when Doyle was banging them in, when I was able to get back to matches his goals dried up and he got injured. Then at the end of the season I was having a good spell, I thought "I'll take a relegation if it means I keep my sanity", last few years when I've been shit Latics have survived, the one year I can cope with a relegation they go and bloody do it. Sorry everyone.

You fucking mental bastard!!! ??? I've lost count of bouts, relapses and zombie periods. First would've been when I was about 7, the latest one lasted about 10 years, I functioned, excelled in some areas but my life was crumbling and came to a head on 16th December 2016 with the end of my marriage. It took that to remove my head from my arse and get help again. These last two years have been the worst of my life punctuated with some of the absolute best as small acts of kindness from friends, colleagues and strangers nearly broke me but helped with the on-going recovery. Fuuuuck, I didn't intend to come out about this today, especially not to you lot but sod it, if Gambly McGee can share then I too can share my depression, anxiety and a bit of PTSD creeping in like the cheeky wee scamp it is. I've been doing well recently, I saw my doctor last Thursday and discussed dropping down the dosage of my meds, less than 24 hours later things got pretty bad and certain options became viable solutions, took till Tuesday night to get back to what passes for an even keel these days but I got through those minutes and they eventually turned in to hours and then became days. The nervous energy and adrenaline expended this week has taken it out of me so I've taken next week off work to give me time and space to return to stability. Like Fruitygoo I'm not a bad listener, far from an expert but happy to help, it takes my mind off my shit for a bit. The NHS is also there, you don't get carted off to the loony bin straight away but your GP is probably the best place to start. Most likely they'll tell you how to engage with your local mental health services and prescribe you meds which initially make you feel worse but in time, once they've become established in your system start to help with the immediate crisis and help you to function and get through the stage until talking therapies, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) or whichever treatment the mental health specialists think is the most suitable for you needs. All of this takes time and is hard. No magic cure and you have to commit to recovery, some days it's a step forward, other days (weeks, months) it is 8 miles backwards but as a friend says, just keep swimming. Some days you need to lie on your back and float for a bit but just keep swimming. You've got to do it everyday, that's the hard bit. But it does get easier.

Whilst public figures speaking openly about their mental health issues is a massively positive step I believe the bigger changes will come about when your average Joes are able to start talking about their experiences in the same way people are able to do with physical or other issues. It's not going to be easy to start with as most people don't know how to respond to someone who says they've got or had depression beyond 'But you're ok now?' or hiding the sharp objects from view. The information available to the general public about depression isn't great and this is only one of many types of issues that are covered by the label 'Mental health'. For some people living with mental health issues it is incredibly hard for them to want to engage with the patchy support services available to them due to the stigma attached to people who have to tread that path. Self referral processes can further delay people from getting the help they need. Often they exist undiagnosed and untreated for years as their condition worsens, their thoughts, behaviours and actions may push loved ones away as it becomes difficult for friends and family to know where the personality ends and the illness begins which further worsens the affects of their conditions. It will take some brave lads* to take that step and start talking about their conditions, it will also take some just as brave lads to let them speak openly, listen sympathetically and without judgement. Don't be scared of asking dumb questions, many people will happily answer, most ill people can't wait to bore you with all their health complaints and those with mental health issues are no different, but maybe not all the time, when they want or need to talk they will. *(I know many women are affected, caused a few myself! The demographic of most of the members of this board is largely in the group that would benefit from a more openness around mental health.) The are far better qualified people on here to discuss this topic, some even get paid for it. People generally do not ask to get ill in any shape or form, within our little community on this board we've seen our numbers affected by cancer, heart issues and all manner of distressing but safe to talk about health issues. Those living with mental health issues didn't chose to do so either but one small thing may have just tipped them over into the mental health community or the chemical imbalances in their brain since birth may have taken decades for the consequences to become apparent and present themselves as a mental health issue. A 'How you doing?' text, call, visit...etc.. helps anyone with a medical issue, with some mental illnesses a small act of kindness like this can be life changing and might pull someone back from the brink or provide a few moments of relief and a break in the dark clouds. Being able to talk about your mental health issues is one thing, being able to listen to someone else talk about their mental health issues and engaging with them is another, once this step is taken it will be easier for all society to deal with mental health issues.

I think Sam deserves a lot of credit, he's done a great job so far, the TWOL series is very good and all the other media work he produces is enjoyable and informative. The use of the #oafc tag is a massive improvement even if our cousins in Ontario won't be best pleased. Roy and Mike do a great job with the commentary too. I go through periods of agreeing with you that Roy may need to start winding down but he occasionally completely captures what it is to be a Latics fan as we blaze a certain goal wide or let them waltz through our defence. Also he is clearly 100% Latics and no other media service broadcasts with the club at heart as our commentary team do.

At a fans forum Ronnie Moore asked the same question to the audience, "Style or results". No hesitation, I vote results any day of the week. If you're winning games you can start to worry about style, when you're not winning you've got enough on your plate trying to fix that. I'll take ugly, hard fought tense results over playing nice flowing football but losing. Agree that the two aren't mutually exclusive but at this level we have to have a degree of realism, results breed momentum, both ways. A few of our players seems to be developing a decent bond with their teammates, passing the ball into space for them to run on to, understanding whereabouts each other is on the pitch, holding the right line and turning defence into attack and we're not out of September. I'd love to go to BP on a Saturday knowing that we've got good players who stick to the system who will play the ball in the right areas and look good doing it but we're a 4th division side trying to arrest a decline many years in the making. At the minute I'm happy with the players giving it a proper go, listening to the manager, z rowing it at the back and playing football in the opposition half. If the results come, then we can make tweaks to the system to 'entertain' a bit more. Nepomuceno's goal the other week came from a lovely flowing move, his running through the middle, no look pass out to the wing, continue the run and slot it home, lovely goal! I'll happily take "worst team I've ever seen" from every opposition fan as we leave with 3 points, if you want entertainment, go to the circus, as Ronnie was fond of saying. And until there's a column next to points and goal difference that says "Style" stick to ice skating. I hope we get into a system that eventually does deliver goals, wins and entertainment, but that's at least a season and a half way, for now, steady the ship and start to build.

I agree with those that have said we were decent without a cutting edge. Best home performance in a while for me, we had balls coming in from both wings, attacked through the middle and brought the ball out of defence into attack quite well at times. In the middle Missilou had a few yard dog spells and Gardner had another all action 60 mins before the usual gas out, Edmundson is coming on leaps and bounds with Clarke next to him, Hunt did well at both ends of the pitch and the front line is about a month away from clicking. One good point blank save from Zeus and our defending from most set plays looked organised and players knew their jobs. Yes there were bad points, occasionally running out of ideas, at times strikers were in crossing positions but no one in the box and I think the three games in a week on the sapping swamp started to affect our players so the subs could have been a bit earlier but there's a long season ahead, we don't play a top side each week. If you look at a home game at the back end of last season and compare it to Saturday there is a marked improvement and it looks like there is still more to come from the players that were on that pitch and those who have yet to get a run in the team. Baxter has had two introductions from the bench this week after his first 90 mins, maybe that the 90 mins took more out of him than first thought as he has been subdued in both games since Tuesday, he's not match fit yet but does appear to be better when he starts as he gets the pace of the game well rather than picking it up when he's a sub. We've still got a lot of youngster learning the game and making the occasional mistake but as experience is gained these will become less. Despite losing I thought we were ok, starting to get some green shoots.

Well that's balls. Still, match tomorrow and I fancy us to keep the run going. Glad it's sorted, I'd have preferred the romantic happy ending but not to be

Which Jack Byrne? The one who could unpick a defence with a pass when he had team mates alongside him who were thinking positively and giving him options, or the one who saw no options in front of him and then played a daft hopeful ball in or tried to run it through 17 defenders and get a shot off with his wrong foot? And which Game of Thrones? The one which is a rough concoction of various periods in European history but with tits, dragons and a mishmash of other fantasy tropes, or the one that kept introducing new characters or ones from the past (who the fuck was Benjen?) and with access to a good transport network so that some characters can get from point A to B in about 20 mins whereas others took weeks to get to where they need to be to get their arse or tits out?

Yew gotta be kidding!

Kitson also recommended, he did a 2 hour show at the Royal Exchange last year, towards the end I was sore from laughing. Unbelievable comic.

He's carrying a bit of timber but will soon be providing crosses in to the box and shoring up the defence. Legs like tree trunks but a lovely finish, got a tough veneer on him and he's tough as teak.

I hope that we do see Byrne in a Latics shirt again. He's been a dick but aren't most of the kids who've come through Academies where they earn more than those playing competitive football in the lower leagues? An in form Byrne would only improve our squad and team. Other players have been "re-integrated" and I'd rather have a player with his potential in the Latics squad than another club's squad. I made personal and work mistakes at his age, to be fair, not stopped doing them! He's a young kid with more ahead of him than behind him, I hope this period in the wilderness at a club in the wilderness helps him develop as a person but the only way he can do that is to prove to Bunn and Abdallah that he is worthy of a place back in the squad and then from there, in the team. He isn't the first player to have gone through a team mate in training and put them out for months and won't be the last. I'm a massive fan of Fane and think with him on the pitch we'd have more cover for our young defence so am pretty pissed off that Byrne crocked him but would welcome him back if Byrne shows contrition. Then once he got back in passed the ball a bit more rather than trying to do everything himself but we're a long way from that. He might get lucky and get picked up by a League One club if we release him to get this behind us but I think we'd be slightly cutting our nose off to spite our face. Being able to bring Byrne back in to the squad and team around October could give us a massive boost, we've no other way of getting a player that comfortable on the ball any other way. Get his head right, get the apologies right and a good spell in the first team under his belt we could all be winners in the January window, either through offloading him for a good price, or on better terms, sell-ons and other clauses. Or we've a player that can only improve the team and give Bunn options wanting to stay and play. I work with enough people that I'd happily throttle but respect their skills so put up with several layers of nonsense, it's up to Byrne to decide if he wants his reputation to be one of being a dick or one who has dickish qualities but does his talking with the ball and gets results. For the record, I like Game of Thrones and Stewart Lee. Lee's Content Provider show is one of the best pieces of stand up I've seen recently and am looking forward to the conclusion of GoT soon! The Norm McDonald, Sarah Silverman and Chris Rock stand up specials on Netflix are quality, Norm and Sarah's are masterclasses in comedy in my view

Ssssh! It's a job creation scheme that has kept me in biscuits and a roof over my head for nearly the last 20 years. There was a time when Radio was a new technology and fiddly and complicated.

Normal service resumed. FFS Latics. Squeaky bum time. I'm glad I only have the commentary and not the pictures, I don't think my nerves would take actually watching this

Get in!!!! That's two! Brilliant service!!

If your commentary is a few seconds in front please could you let me know if we score so I can get a bet on?

It cuts right through me. Thankfully they are back and still sound like they are broadcasting from Bucharest. I'd nipped for a pee but Roy's just said they missed the start. I know it doesn't really matter but it is a bloody laughable service, they need to stream two 50 minute blocks of audio, it isn't rocket surgery. Don't get me wrong, I've nothing against Roy and Sam, or is it Mike? Sorry. They do a really good job with the tools they've got to work with

Roy and Sam did their best to fill half time with chat about Lee Croft and Brian Horton then commentated through the AC Tyres challenge but I think Roy needed a 'comfort break' so they are taking a break and there was dead air.... I forgot what I was listening to and the silence continued......... Luckily du di du di duuuu di duuu di duuuu came in and a soothing voice telling me that "You'll be back after half time...." on repeat forever!

That is a fair point, having Clarke around the club can only help the other players, he's having a long career as he looks after himself unlike Gerrard, or myself and can do a lot of work on the training pitch that will help the youngsters. I'd be surprised if we get more than 20 games from Clarke, hope we do though, having another experienced pro would just cover the season for me. Bit like O'Grady being the senior forward with younger lads around him doing the running.