mattsgrandad

I'm positive we will finish just above the bottom 3!

That may be factually true, but the point about the first post (I think) is that it feels more like a continuation of the last season. The attitude needs to be more of " start as you mean to continue" rather than "continue where you left off". Time will tell (and I suppose November is as good a time-frame as any) which of these paths we are following.

As I've said in other posts...... The half-time re-assessment by the opposition mangers is proving crucial - they are observing our weaknesses (narrow midfield, (potentially) weak fullbacks, no cohesion in front two) and half-time gives their manager the opportunity to change their tactics/formation and exploit those weaknesses. Why don't we do the same? I know there is the view that we should play our game and let the opposition worry about us but sometimes you have to adapt to the opposition.

Some relevant facts from last night: 1. We were beaten by a team that is arguably considered to be of the same standard as us 2. PD continually states "we must improve" or "we have to learn..." 3. Greg Abbott said much the same after their opening game defeat 4. By all accounts, Carlisle turned their game around after the half-time talk - where presumably their manager identified our weaknesses and changed the team around to take advantage of those weaknesses. 5. PD's half-time assessment however .....? Let's hope that first victory arrives soon because no-one wants to be in a relegation struggle so soon in the season - we all know Latics suffer badly when confidence drops so let's hope for a morale-boosting victory this coming weekend.

Oh dear! As i said after Saturday - it's "as you were" as far as our goal scoring ability is concerned.

A bit of maths applied by the club? match price = game costs divided by expected number of attendees. Result = Category 'A' price but factor in the likelihood that a category 'A' price would impact the divisor, it was downgraded to a category 'B'. I would also assume the club have assumed a minimum number would attend whatever price category was applied - hence not a category 'C'to maximise the revenue.

From what I saw today the pre-season predictions regarding Sheff U's promotion prospects and our relegation prospects were spot-on. Best attendance for an opening game for a long time but unfortunately also coincided with a very poor performance. Midfield was non-existant and the defence, considered to be our strongest asset (pre-season), went missing at key moments. As for the forward line - it's as you were - no goals and no prospects for any. I didn't really expect anything from today's game (in points terms) but I did expect some effort, passion and committment. Maybe we might improve when Morais returns but I'd be disappointed to be pinning our season's hopes on one player. The rest of the team need to improve and quickly.

Interesting situation this one..... 1. Sunderland obviously feel there is some potential - hence the new deal 2. Not first team material so need to loan him out 3. Need to choose a club where he will have the opportunity to confirm that potential 4. Would like to recover as big a slice of their outlay (12 months wages)as possible 5. His record as a goal scorer at Latics is poor - would seem to rule out achieving no 3. 6. Can't image our financial position would allow 4. But then again, football's a funny old game.......

Glad to see the irony wasn't missed!

However....we can allow ourselves some indulgent fantasies...... Dateline.....July 2014 Chronicle Headline.... "Paul Scholes to become Oldham Athletic's new manager" Storyline..... In an exclusive interview with the Chronicle, Paul Scholes has revealed that he has been approached by the club to take over from Paul Dickov who announced his resignation earlier this week to take up the vacant England manager's job. Since gaining his EUFA coaching qualifications, Paul has been building up his experience by guiding the Manchester United youth team to unrivalled success in the Manchester Senior Cup, a feat he hopes to emulate with Oldham Athletic. Speaking from his holiday home in the Bahamas, Paul said he was looking forward to the challenge ... OK - back to reality!!

Why the debate about whether he could do a job for us? I thought he'd already agreed a coaching role at Man U so anyone thinking he would abandon that in favour of a few glory moments at BP must live on a different planet.

Like many others, I'm not convinced about the 'lack of fitness' excuse for his performances - after all, if a young healthy man engaged in professional sport cannot build up to an acceptable level of fitness over a period of 4 months, then something is clearly wrong. What I prefer to focus on is the fact that he came into the club just when things started to go wrong and the two essential components for success were diminishing at a rapid rate - confidence and consistency. The club now has the chance to start the next season with a squad of committed players from which a settled side will emerge with playing styles and partnerships that bring out the best in everyone. The pre-season training programmes will give the players the best possible start but ...... at the end of the day it's up to the players to realise they'll only get out what they put in. Rueben's reduced terms are a testimony to that and other players would be well advised to take note.

I had a couple of grandsons (junior season ticket holders) who missed out on that and when I asked Alan Hardy what they were doing for existing young supporters, I was told to 'watch this space'. At the end of that season I was still watching - so much for their concerns for the young supporters. As always with the Latics, they can't see what's in front of their noses. My grandsons only attended occasionally the season just finished - they complained 'we never win' and with no other entertainment on offer (I remember the facilities enjoyed by the Junior Blues when my sons were that age), it's hard to persuade them to come to BP.

I would have hoped the 'pay-up-front' agreement was limited to a month at a time rather than an advance payment for the season (which the figures quoted would suggest). In any case, I find it disappointing that the club couldn't find a local supplier willing to trade on mutually beneficial terms.

It may be me being niaive but I don't understand why we should be a creditor of a printing company. If anything I would have thought they, as suppliers, would have been creditors to us i.e. we order the goods, receive the goods, get invoiced for the goods and then pay. No wonder football clubs seem to be in poor financial state if they are paying up front for this service. Plus, didn't the board look into the background of this company before entering into their trading arrangement - according to the article, this company emerged from the remnants of a previously failed company so there should have been some warning signs from the outset.

...which is why I said "...before the end of next season"

The latics feature quotes the owner as saying: "...there will be two core elements to the pub - live music and live sport" What about the beer? I would have thought that was the core element to any pub. Unfortunately, many pubs with similar 'core elements' have folded in recent times but good luck to the man - I hope he bucks the trend. BTW - like the min-bus idea - include some nibbles and pre&post game drinks and who knows - it could expand into a full double decker before the end of next season.

I did ... for a short while and then came back ... and on reflection, glad I did so because otherwise I would have missed the highs and not-so-highs associated with watching the Latics.

Surely the problem here is the raised expectations by publicising the unveiling as an 'evolution'. As has been mentioned earlier, a new badge is hardly an evolution in the context that the fans were 'hyped' into believing. I can only assume it's a genuine effort on the club's part to show committment to the club's future but as is the usual case with the Latics, the delivery didn't match the expectation. IMO it would have been better to delay the new kit/badge until a firm decision had been taken on the ground move/development and use that opportunity to announce the 'new beginning' and ideally, with a kit and/or badge design that was submitted locally (Oldham 6th form college students perhaps) with a fans ballot to select from the submitted designs. It's quite apparant that the absence of a good experienced Marketing Manager is limiting their potential to excite and promote

I'm with you on this. Change has to be 'for the better'. The badge (admittedly as only seen on this forum rather than in 'real life') looks like something from a cartoon strip. I know we are potentially the laughing stock of Division 1 due to the ground situation but let's not invite further ridicule.

Looks like something from my grandson's 'Moshimonsters' magazine. The good news is that on that basis, he might actually be persuaded to come and watch them again.

But let's not forget that the choice of 'his players' will have been severely restricted by the budget set by the Board. As the saying goes 'Pay peanuts - get monkeys'. I can only repeat my previous comment - the best we should expect is survival in Division 1 and if that happens, all credit to him.

We live in an age where the demand/expectation for instant success is a must and nowhere is that more demonstrated than the world of professional sport. The Board's decisions regarding managerial sackings and appointments have been well documented and debated and no doubt will extend into the next season if results don't yield the desired result. The season under Paul Dickov's management has been the proverbial game of two halves - pre Christmas we exceeded everyone's wildest dreams; post Christmas saw the realisation of our worst nightmares and clearly, had this not been PD's first season or relegation had resulted, then I think there could well have been another management team in for next season. HOWEVER..... for me, there has to be a realism amongst supporters to acknowledge that we cannot compete financially with the teams likely to be competing for promotion and that will continue whilst we remain under the existing ownership regime and given that scenario, I for one will be more than content to enjoy a repeat of this season's offerings. I really hope PD is allowed the chance to build on the positives of this season and keep the ship afloat until we find a new harbour to sail into.

Agreed - before the ref produced the card, I said that's going to be a sending off. I don't think the verbals he'd given the ref during the game helped his cause either.

and so would I .....if our playing record this year warranted it. The problem for PD is that too many loanees are inexperienced kids - the likes of Wenger, Bruce & Ferguson aren't stupid - they know that a spell in the lower divisions will either make or break the kids potential. The ones that succeed go back to their parent clubs (and usually progress via successive loans to clubs higher up the footballing hierarchy) and the ones that don't are released. We really need the right balance of youth and experience and unfortunately, that hasn't happenned for the Latics. PD may have the contacts but has he got the negotiating power (by which I mean funds & club reputation) to achieve that?