Hemel latic

They've only lost 4 at home all season so a point really wouldn't be the end of the world. I'd also like to see Green at RWB. I'd bring Sheron back, I think we missed his energy and pointing on Tuesday night. But I don't expect MM to drop Hammond after a game, young player, the hope will be that he'll improve with time in the team.

I'd really like to see Alex Reid on the bench if he's fit, he would be a good option. Let's not cut our nose off, eh?

40 minutes ago, basilrobbie said:

well, for what it's worth :

 

It's a really interesting league this season, from places 2-24. and will be even more so next season as the current bottom two in L2 are not likely to pull up a lot of trees.

Interesting read as ever, the FGR chairman would actively oppose the pulling up of trees by his team. "Joking" aside, perhaps FGR are picking up form, good result the other night. Sutton look gone, very little bounce from the new manager although by all accounts they put up a creditable performance v. Wrexham midweek.

1 hour ago, nzlatic said:

Dorking wouldn't be as bad if they didn't let people stand 3 deep at the front right on the hoardings. If they made everyone stand on the steps then it might be possible to see the pitch!

 

I stood on the back step in the corner and am fairly tall but I couldn't see anything once the ball got in our area.

We must have been stood pretty close to each other. I was a bit further down, view obscured by the giant and his gf stood at the hoardings.

I'll be there. Dorking is the absolute nadir in terms of viewing to the extent I'll think twice about going next season is we're both in the same division.

1 hour ago, spanishfly said:

Same question I asked . He uses the box to "entertain" family and business clients mainly and therein lies the difference from a normal fan. The word entertain does come into it for some.

 

p.s. last night, we were down about 1,000 fans from the last home game and 2,000 since the first home game against Aldershot. IF the football had been good, I suspect a lot of those missing people would have been in attendance last night. 

 

 

Last night's attendance was a few down on the previous Tuesday night game at home to Barnet but 400 up on the Tuesday night game before that, Maidenhead in October, so decent for a Tuesday night.

It's a fair point though, if we continually serve up dross the buzz will dissipate and some fans will drift away. I don't see that happening this season, if we stay in and around the play offs there's excitement there in and of itself.  And let's remain hopeful that the football will improve with Mellon's tenure. It would be nice to sign a real crowd pleaser, someone to get the fans out of their seat. We are really missing much in the way of an X factor, particularly with Norwood out of the equation.

19 minutes ago, nzlatic said:

Was just doing a bit of form table digging myself!...

 

Home games form table:
Last 10 games - 17th 
Last 8 games - 13th
Last 6 games - 10th
Last 4 games - 5th 

 

Away games form table:
Last 10 games - 1st 
Last 8 games - 1st
Last 6 games - 1st
Last 4 games - 1st

 

All games form table:
Last 10 games - 4th 
Last 8 games - 3rd
Last 6 games - 4th
Last 4 games - 6th

 

Our overall form is consistently in the play offs since Mellon joined. Our away form is consistently the best. And our home form is improving over time. If we can continue that trend with the home form and repeat it over a longer run of games then we must stand a good chance of threatening 2nd/3rd place.

That's good and somewhat reassuring analysis. I guess what undermines that for some of us is just how poor the performances have been this calendar year. It's hard to see how we will continue to get such results when we're playing badly most of the time. Perhaps I was dazzled by the games against Barnet and Woking (A) but the games against Hartlepool weren't too bad either although we may have caught them at a good time. In short, although results have held up form seems to have deteriorated.

Another way of looking at it would be imagine how good the results will be if/when performances pick up. In Mellon we trust.

20 minutes ago, bluehobbit said:

It's funny people calling for better football. Reminds me slightly of the Ronnie Moore era. Getting results but not by any means playing "attractive football"

 

For now, I just want wins and I don't care how they come. Last night is a game we normally lose. MM makes sensible changes Hobson shuts down the space they were getting between Sachdev and the centre-backs and Green gives us an outlet.

 

Defensively we are OK, 3 decent centre-backs for this level and a good LWB when we can get him up the pitch. 

 

Playing devil's advocate though the football isn't brilliant which seems odd with the money spent. I still feel recruitment is a bit odd. Crying out for RWB we signed someone else's youth team player, sounded promising but he's given us the same as Sutton going forward i.e. virtually nothing and he's easily bullied. Boreham played in his area all first half when they came forward last night.

 

Walker and Dalls have come in both quick something we lack and both seemingly crocks. Unfortunate? 

 

Hammond another strange loan. Doesn't seem to give us much we don't already have - although I think he will improve to a decent standard in time. 

 

Ward looks like a lot of other players who get injured for lengthy spells at a new club - hasn't played much, couldn't tell you want he's supposed to be and we could have taken him off after 10 mins and not missed him. 

 

Garner puts himself about and his experience will help - I doubt you can play him and Norwood up top but i'm glad to see him score hopefully he can add a few more. His layoffs didn't always work but you can tell there was a footballing brain there. 

 

Fondop I still don't rate him, couldn't hold the ball much last night but one big chance and he took which is what we need in games like that. 

 

Lundstram - nearly always gets the ball with his back to the opposition goal, and can drive forwards but is rarely doing. Plays far too deep and leaves a massive gap between himself and the rest of the midfield (which isn't his sole fault)

 

Conlon did OK but can't help feel he needs help in the centre. He can be our playmaker if he gets support to often the other 2 would either drop backwards or hide. His set pieces were very good tho a nice weapon to have. 

 

 

2 tough away games now - but they are winnable if we can give ourselves something to defend. 

 

 

Agree with most of what you say bar the criticism of Fondop, and you're not alone in not rating him. Last night he scored the first and won the free quick for the second. He provides a physical challenge for whoever as the difficult job of marking him, he is the one player on our books who can hold the ball up, When he holds the ball up he nearly always plays the ball to a team mate facing the opposition goal. Very good in the air, he wins countless defensive headers as well as those in the other half.

Is it perhaps time for Oldham fans to stop asking what has Mike Fondop ever done for Oldham Athletic?   

2 minutes ago, Dave_Og said:

 

He's a permanent signing isn't he?

Yes

I thought the first half last night was as bad as anything we served up under Unsworth. Mellon seemed to be saying in the presser that he's done with 442 and that it's 532 with this squad of players, we shall see. To me it felt a bit like his team selection for the game against Hendon, he sent out a load of square pegs in round holes to prove 442 wouldn't work. Which is odd given our best performances under Mellon were 442 but that was with Gardner and Green on the flanks.

That's one good performance in six for the calendar year. It's looking to me more like scraping into the play offs than storming them, it's difficult to see where the long unbeaten run is coming form after recent performances. Perhaps all the comings and goings have unsettled the squad and it's going to take time to settle down.

I still can't believe how hard it is to find a competent RB/RWB for this level. Hammond ran around a lot, which isn't necessarily a bad thing as we have lacked players with a good engine, but it remains to be seen whether he's an upgrade on Sheron, too early to tell.

It's disappointing to travel to Maidenhead on Saturday expecting no better than when we went there last season (1-1) in the early days of Unsworth's inglorious reign but it looks like we'll be an outfit that plays tough to beat and relies on finishing the odd chance created for the foreseeable future.      

I'd be surprised if Atherton started ahead of Walker, Green and Hope. Would have thought the bench is a good place to start a young player, we can bring him on against a tiring Wood when we're 3-0 up.

13 minutes ago, BradKnowles1 said:

O’Dea was watching the youth team and said he was not involved today. 

Interesting...

2 hours ago, mick26 said:

Played 2 different teams for 45 mins against United u21s behind closed doors and both Atherton and Doro did well according to MM pre-match interview.

I'm loathe to read too much into it but, I can't help myself! Reference in the article on the official that a couple of players have niggles and might be missing tonight. Might we see Atherton and Doro feature in the first team squad over the next three weeks given we're playing six games (weather permitting)?

It's almost like a 16 match mini season from here on in. Build on this platform, look to improve, play well and win over the course of the next two months and get as high up as we possibly can in the league table to bag the best possible spot in the play offs. Really hope we can go on a good run after the disappointing start to the calendar year and go into the play offs in good form as a feared opponent for all the rest.

I don't think we've beaten Boreham Wood since we dropped into the National League, they're pretty much everything we find to hard to beat in this league, tonight would be the prefect time to find the winning formula and put this lot to bed.

Good to be welcoming back Hogan tonight, think we missed his leadership during his suspension.  

I've just bought the last two tickets in the Main Stand. Me and my daughter decided over the weekend that if Frank can row the Atlantic the least we can do is drive up the M1 to welcome him home.

A remarkable man, when you look around the wacky world of football ownership we have been truly blessed. 

Jon Worthington is caretaker manager at Huddersfield.

An obvious statement, but only good teams play consistently well. Despite being in the upper reaches of the league we are not yet a good team because for every decent performance there is at least one bobbins effort to follow.

It's frustrating because at certain times it's looked as though the sunshine has been about to burst through the clouds: the successive away wins against Woking and Barnet, the all too brief Stones era. But for every sunny spell there is a Fylde, or the turgid displays of late.

There is still every reason to believe in Mellon, have you seen the 5 (FIVE) promotions on his CV? The rebuilding job isn't complete, the new players are bedding in, a fully fit Conlon has the potential to be some player at this level, every other team bar Chesterfield is just as inconsistent.

It's hard not to get down after a display like Ebbsfleet but there's still plenty of reason to have confidence in the gaffer and the boys to get us into those play off places.  

13 minutes ago, oafc1955 said:

And also why, in our current 352 formation, when we are attacking with supposedly 5 across the middle we are still consistently out passed.

I don’t think we are good enough or even have a clue how to play this system and should revert back to 442 or 433.

We've played 532 in the last 8 league games. We played 442 in the two preceding games that saw both good performances and victories over Woking and Barnet. 

22 minutes ago, yarddog73 said:

One of the biggest mysteries to me is how ineffective Mark Kitching is as a wingback compared to how well he played as a fullback when he used to bomb on regularly. He is a player who we've nullified since going three at the back.

I think the oppo recognise he's one of our biggest attacking threats so they attempt to nullify him but agree, the lack of a left winger/midfielder for him to work with him does reduce his effectiveness. 

56 minutes ago, mickjagger said:

 

I think this is highlighted because we do not have a good right midfield player who produces good crosses, so highlights the RB who we want to be a good defender and a good crosser of the ball, if we had one of these he would soon be playing at a higher level.

I think there's a lot in that. Our current formation demands wing backs that are really fit and strong both defensively and in attack. I guess when you look at it that way it is a difficult position to play - you need to be a good 1:1 defender while at the same time adept at passing, dribbling and crossing.

The RB position is an enduring mystery to me. Sachdev clearly has promise but it's been a problem position for two years now, might be 5/6 years since we had anyone really decent in the position. Perhaps it's harder to play than it looks. I often think when I'm watching the PL that even really highly regarded full backs often look the weakest player on their team, perhaps it is harder than it looks. 

31 minutes ago, Only Blue said:

Latics have done low price offers before in seasons past and so it is nothing new but this one lands perfectly with Frank returning.

 

Regarding someone's query about season ticket holders. You have already bought your ticket in advance with your season ticket so you are fine.

 

I think the Chaddy End is going to get a lot of people in there so it's going to be great having our fans in all four parts of the ground.

 

Also , why are some people squabbling over this??!!!

 

Three options:

 

Buy a £1 ticket

Buy a £1 ticket and donate.

Don't bother at all and stay at home, it's your choice.

 

No fourth moaning about it option.

Hear hear. It's a great opportunity for the people of Oldham to get together and celebrate the homecoming of the remarkable man that saved our football club and will have done something for the second time that very few of us could ever consider. I think it's quite a smart way of encouraging people to donate what they might have paid for a ticket to the charity that is clearly very dear to the Rothwell family's heart, many other people too.

And given the message from Luke Rothwell that it's been much tougher this time, both in terms of the voyage and the fundraising, it's a way for Oldham supporters to get behind Frank and show him our support. 

For me it's a time to park the gripes and look forward to celebrating Frank's homecoming and hopefully enjoy a full house at BP for the first time in many a year.

The Boreham Wood game looks pretty significant now. After signs that we'd turned the corner we've put in four pretty dismal performances out of five in the calendar year. How will we cope without Norwood for anything up to 8 weeks? After a sparkling league debut we haven't seen much of Tom Conlon in the last two games, we have to get him on the ball more. Elsewhere we really are crying out for a bit of pace and power (Josh Stones...) but at the very least players need to be be competing and winning their individual battles. At least we welcome back Liam Hogan next time out, on the face of it he's been sorely missed in the last two games.

1 hour ago, GlossopLatic said:

I've defended Nuttall on here in the past and really wanted him to do well. I've seen some of the arguments on here about his languid style and possibly not playing to his strengths and they are legitimate. I do believe he falls into the category of "their is a player in there somewhere"

 

But whichever way you look at it we've not got bang for our buck. For what we paid we should be expecting more from him and we have given him a chance he was a regular starter when he came here and was first choice for most of last season I was hoping pre-season would really get him into shspe but its not really happened for him this season either despite being a starter at the start of the season. Mellon gave him a chance in his first home game and he didn't take it. 

 

I don't dislike any of our players even those that don't do well (we'll maybe I have in the past but not now) I don't Boo ex players when they return its just wasted energy. I certainly hold no ill feelings towards him who knows he might come back better, or he might thrive at Cheltenham it wouldn't be beyond him to do that EFL clubs were looking at him when he signed for us. But I get the feeling he will fall into the category of could of done better with his time at Oldham he's not the first he won't be the last.

Really good post. I posted a few weeks ago about Nuttall having talent (Notts County at home on NYD, was a very good performance) but he's running out of time to prove it. Best result for him and us would be for him to make a success of this loan move, keep Cheltenham up and we get a fee for him at the end of the season as he completes a permanent move.

The fact that Daryl Clarke sees him as a footballer reassures me that those of us that see something in him aren't going mad but I fear Mellon has got it right, there's not enough commitment, or whatever it is holding him back, to justify a starting role in a National League side.   

46 minutes ago, Boyyou said:

Brennan Dickenson to Hartlepool on loan

Fizzled out after a bright start. Didn't have the gas to run for 90 minutes.

1 hour ago, yarddog73 said:

Dodged one not bringing in the young and progressive Daryl Clarke as manager by the looks of it.

Have you seen Cheltenham's results since he took over? Night and day.