mattsgrandad

.... and when you do, mention Andre Previn - I bet he smiles!

It's a bit like the morecambe & wise thing - same letters - wrong order! (at least the c,r,i,s ,d,a,i & g) ps if you don't understand that one, ask your (gran)dad.

Yep, been there quite a few times - bit canteenish in layout but at least the bring your own booze approach helps keep costs down. Used to like the Simla in Royton before they updated it. Still, they have an all-in tenner a head deal which is good value - just need to wear shades as the place is so brightly lit. All time favourite was the Light of Bengal (Union St) - finishing off place after the christmas night out pub crawl. Admttedly, not been for quite a few years - don't even know if it still exists. Perhaps someone will enlighten me on that.

oops - me rushing in with my size 13's - confused him with the other ex-Latics player (Chris O'Grady). My excuse ? - the clue is in the name!

I was being a bit cautious with the term 'at least' but also didn't want to deny you the curry you obvioulsy crave. On that note, any curry houses in Oldham that you would recommend?

Championship clubs chase Craig Davies........... .......I just wish one of them would have caught him before he beat us last Monday.

Knowing our luck, he'll turn up in opposition colours and give a match-winning performance. FA Cup round 1 season 2011/12?

Footballer's steps to success: Do well in training Get picked Play well during the game Score (if a forward); keep clean sheet (if a defender) Win the game Keep injury free OR be one of the highest paid players in the squad and justify your wages based on the above or play to get in the shop window to attract a move to another club (loan or otherwise). On that basis, I'll say that he will eventually have to play and (sticking my neck out) will probably score at least one more goal before the end of the season. Now stand back and await the fallout!!!!

I do agree that managing supporter expectations is going to be difficult - but the point of my post was to highlight the likelihood of failing the club's aspirations whilst we remain in the lower levels of the professional leagues so whether it's realistic or not, our only hope of progress is via promotion. Survival in Division 1 was probably the target for most of us at the start of the season but the bigger fight is that of survival as a football club and whilst the possibility of a promotion still exists, we need to do everything we can to nurture that hope.

A defender's header - safely over the bar!

.... and unfortunately, there lies the problem. A mid-table position yields mediocre crowds in this division (<4000) and that's nowhere near enough to support any aspirations for progress - either on the field or off it. The only hope we have of moving forward as a club is to gain promotion and, yes the team is a young one and yes, we do have an inexperienced management team but those should be viewed as positives - youth brings enthusiasm and ambition; inexperience brings innovation. Let's hope the new year results were just a blip in an otherwise exceptional season (from initial expectations) and we find that little bit extra that turns good overall performances into wins.

Another non-event day in Laticsworld then.

That seems a bit high considering the distance and a mid-week evening game. I'd envisaged around 300 tops. Let's hope you're nearer the mark than I am.

Perhaps it was the penalty and he was suggesting they pick up the posts and move them

Does anyone NOT believe that back-to-back losses over the holiday period will have an impact on the attendance for the next couple of games at BP? Also the financial impact of three home games in succession for non season ticket holders at the worst possible time of year - do the Latics need to offer a price reduction (especially for the mid-week game)? My predictions: Swindon - between 3500 & 4000 Southampton - between 3000 & 3500 Vote away....

Sadly, his game plan usually includes misdirected aggression - at the referee. I think that takes his focus away from what he should be doing - running at (and hopefully past) defenders and delivering quality passes. I didn't see him make one run yesterday that took him past a defender - plenty of opportunities but chose to check and play a square or reverse ball instead.

I agree with the sentiment but you might as well send an email to Santa Claus for all the good it would do. The fact is that neither the league, the FA or the referees will acknowledge, let alone discuss, comments on individual referee performances however poor they were. The referee will have been assessed by both clubs and, as I understand it, a match official but, unless the clubs themselves decide to publicly comment on that assessment, it remains 'in-house'. The referee may be invited to discuss his handling of the match with the appropriate authorities but almost certainly the outcome will not be reported. Such a shame in an age when players, club officials and fans are being urged to show respect to referees (something that I fully endorse) that it's not a two way thing. In my book, you have to show respect in order to earn it. Today, the referee showed great disrespect to this great game.

My comment wasn't that they played better than us - just that they played THEIR game (defend in numbers, hustle and break ) better than we played ours (slow build up, trying to pick out the perfect pass, walk the ball into the net etc.). Result was they scored two goals from their limited chances whereas we could only manage one from a far greater number of attacking opportunities.

I think when all the emotion has died down and people take an honest view of the game, the only conclusion can be that Rochdale played their game better than we played ours. Admittedly, it did co-incide with a very poor referee who seemed out of his depth but nonetheless, we have to accept that the refereeing decisions didn't cause our downfall - we did. We seemed to forget that it was a local derby when form and reputations take second place to pride & passion - something completely missing from our game until the last few minutes. Derby games don't always go according to the script and Hazell's attempt at last-man dribbling cost us dearly - row Z of the Broadway stand (if we had one) should have been the destination for his clearance rather than try to prove he's of Ronaldo class. Still....... not yet relegation form.... is it?

The worrying thing is that PD has highlighted this on numerous games this season - and yet it's still happening. What's needed is a captain's performance from a central defender - someone to organise and control the defence - it's all perfectly well having attacking full backs but cover has to be there for the FB runs that break down. Clearly the experimentation with Jarrett in that role didn't work and other options appear to be non existant - OK, we have Trotman in reserve, but he would need a few games to reach match fitness let alone take up a captain's role. It will be interesting to see how PD resolves this - perseverance? experimentation? new players?

Latics really are between a rock and a hard place on this one. The sad truth is that without some external (divine?) intervention, there isn't a cat in hell's chance of playing football at BP for the forseeable future. The frost penetration is likely to be so severe that only a massive thaw (temps of 5+ for at least four or five days) will remove and I haven't seen any forecasts that predict that. Our only hope would be the deployment of hot air blowers but quite simply, the Latics cannot afford that sort of financial outlay that would entail - especially as there is no guarantee of success.

I knew I should have called in the ref yesterday.

.... and yet another non-event day in Laticsworld.

Carlos Tevez? ..... and the rest of the City lads judging by their current sports gear - all that's missing is the overcoat!.

Another non-event day in Laticsworld! At least the club have published the no-news so maybe we're heading towards that 'small step for man......' moment.