piglinbland

A win would have taken us out of the bottom 4 - that's frustrating. But a very creditable performance by the sound of it and, more importantly, keeps us in the chase.

In other words, demand money. From where?

To be fair, he's been perfectly candid. Stated that he's done about as much as he can and that he can't take us any further forwards. He admits the football hasn't been good, owns up to making poor decisions and hasn't denied the financial difficulties - he says that this is about par for the course for a league 1 club, and I suspect this is the reality. The fact he made TWO trips to China suggest to me that there was at least more than a passing interest vis à vis investment (the more cynical will, at this point, suggest that the whole interview was in fact faked, as was the Oxfam chair, the niggling cough and the wan, unhealthy pallor). To me, it suggests the grim reality that football at this level is a loss making venture exacerbated by the obscenity of the Premier League. Rather than making a scapegoat of Corney, we should be boycotting Sky and any other support that promotes Premier League football. He also alluded to the crushing negativity of a tiny percentage on this board and on social media in general. He has a point, with all due respect to prozac and bb80, whose loyalty to the club has never been in question, because without money, there is really very little that we, or anybody else, can do. It's very easy to criticise with hindsight, but unless you have serious ideas, real skills or big money to accompany your glib opinions, then what can you do but let the man in charge continue to be in charge?

Add to this the fact that there seems to be a worrying idea going around that people would actually prefer the club to be relegated or to go bust than continue to struggle as we are doing. We should be very careful what we wish for. Whilst boundaryblue80 makes some good posts and has valid points, he appears to hold a personal grudge against the chairman and he must know that his rhetoric on here is rabble rousing. Like mcfluff, I will continue to be broadly supportive of the club until I have cast-iron proof that large scale asset stripping is going on. That doesn't make me an apologist or a sycophant. In the meantime we could all boycott the Premier League in every way possible - stop sky subscriptions, avoid pubs showing football etc.

'Another jumped up egotistical pretentious weirdo'. Classy. Now I'm a jumped up egotistical pretentious weirdo who calls everybody a :censored:.

I think my appraisals are justified - this forum is littered with the most preposterous accusations and half-formed bar-room conspiracy theories. The fact that you think my pointedly impersonal posts are labeling the majority of you as :censored: just demonstrates the cyber-hostility I was trying to describe.

Actually, there is no shortage of evidence of forward planning - aforementioned stand, scoreboard and ticket prices for example. I accept that the club have failed on many fronts over the last couple of years but it isn't for me to come on here wailing and gnashing my teeth with the benefit of hindsight. The appointing of rookie managers, for example, isn't a bad idea and the new stand, to my mind, is a fantastic asset and could still be a great revenue generator when completed. Only Mr. Corney (I don't know this man from Adam, but still accord him the respect on here that I would should I meet him face to face) and his entourage are privy to the finer details concerning OAFC and it's finances. Anything we hear on here is rumour - so why even speculate on the supposed 24 million value put on the club? I'll tell you why - because on here we can dream up unbridled conspiracy theories without the worry of responsibility or reprimand and without the slightest regard for etiquette - and this is precisely the reason why the club are so circumspect when releasing information. Catch 22.

Not having a pop at you, nonaenever, as I hear what you're saying and like your posts. We're all frustrated at what has come to pass. However, from where I'm sitting, we are certainly no worse off than many other lower league clubs. While we cast jealous eyes at the likes of Bournemouth or Burton we should be mindful of the plight of far bigger fish - from Portsmouth, Blackpool, Tranmere and Stockport (OK, these last two are tiddlers), who have fallen from grace so spectacularly, to clubs like Coventry, Bolton or Blackburn - clubs who have courted the big time, have 30,000+ stadiums and accompanying overheads (or not, in Coventry's case) and who risk a far more ruinous and infernal descent than us. Even Aston Villa can no longer guarantee their membership among the elite. I would say that our club can't do right for doing wrong. Not so long ago, these pages were filled with posts bemoaning our "3 sided :censored:-hole". Then when the North Stand went up, (and against all expectations, was far more than the bus shelter predicted by the cynics) it was suddenly labelled a white elephant. Similarly, we had nostalgia threads about the old scoreboard and how any progressive board would entertain a modern version. Lo and behold, when the club hold a survey and crowdfund one, it's a "daft little initiative" (sorry, your words). And when the club slash ticket prices (after perennial laments on here about overpricing), it's "too little, too late"; The biggest difference between the modern era and our own insouciant youth is without doubt the advent of social media. There is now a form of popular anarchy whereby everybody can scream as loudly as they want and there is, by definition, no call to order because everyone is hidden behind a keyboard. The Ched Evans debacle (without getting political) was an example of this. The constitution going through it's creaky motions in a correct fashion but winged and bought down by on-line hysteria. The ever-increasing vitriol towards OAFC by the fans, whipped-up by a few tenacious provocateurs with an axe to grind may well lead to a precocious exit by Mr. Corney, which could be hugely detrimental to the club. People want him out without knowing what they really want instead and your proposed protest group (pressure group?) would need to be very canny indeed to avoid the shortfalls of previous efforts. To challenge the running of the club you will need your own manifesto. For example, what would be your own plan for the season? or your 2 year/ 5 year plan? (given that Mr. Corney is not rich enough to give us the required impetus and no other investor appears to be on the horizon? What ticketing structure would you propose without alienating the fans, at the same time keeping up cash-flow? what would you do differently to generate off-field income? How can we (afford to) keep players on longer contracts etc; etc?

Your posts are spot on, pinevillawill. The only thing at Oldham that has changed is that internet has provided a platform for each and every fan to scream from.

Can't imagine anything worse than being bought out by 'Yankee Global Enterprises'. Ugh!

Yeah, I remember that. Not sure it was a night match though. Bolton used to pack the RRE, so did Newcastle and Sunderland. One time, IIRC, the Bolton game was called off at the last minute because of snow. The 25,000 or so who had converged on BP promptly dispersed at five to three - around half being Wanderers fans.

Fans can boycott if they wish, as it's a :censored: cup. But the team must turn up and battle each round as if it's the play-off final in order to garner mettle, mental strength and a winning mindset. In this respect, we may actually benefit from progression in the tournament. Injuries notwithstanding, of course.

Love the disclaimer!

"Tell your ma, your ma, to put the champagne on ice, we're going to Wembley twice, tell your ma, your ma." Maybe the confusion is borne out of this classic song?

Of course, if they catered for more than turned up they'd get accused of wasting food (that could be used to feed Lee Croft).

Yes, very good indeed.

Trouble is, after 6 pints of 'Old Dibnah' It'll seem hilarious to bellow 'Wanky, wanky, wanky Wanderers..' to all and sundry.

Avoid the Phoenix Club - they're Bolton and they're barmy.

Maybe they hadn't been paying his wages, in which case it would be "owed to Joy". Sorry.

For every Groves, Shaw, Chapman, Valentine and Bell we had our fair share of rubbish too - but, yeah, I'd take that over today's :censored:e anyday - even if it's for the nostalgia of simpler times (and a full head of hair, flat tummy and a long and unplayed-out future). That said, I knew a girl who was employed part-time to hand out free tickets on Tommyfield market for certain, ahem, less than attractive fixtures (Cambridge Utd). And guess what - the crowds were still sub 4000!

And you can't blame Latics for the shift in social habits. Back in the day you would moan about the dire performance (a :censored:e 0-0 with Orient usually) in Dreamers on Saturday night, forget about it then go again - because there was :censored: all else to do on a Saturday afternoon. Goodness me, lower league was meant to be played by donkeys before everything got castrated.

Isn't there a strange and tedious cloud hanging over everything at the moment?

"CAN HE DO IT? .........HE HAS!"

Thanks! It sounds standard beer festival then, 'specially the super-size halves. I'll be there.

Hi Simpo, do you know how many pints (sorry, halves) correspond to a sheet of tokens? (can't find this info anywhere on the site and it's probably the most important!).