stargazer

With Latics now trailing , Mansfield and Coventry appear to the 'Northern' representative in the Checkatrade Southern Cup.

There are as least 6 terrible excuses for professional football teams in this division (how many games do Bury have to go without a win to hit the bottom) ....... and only 4 can go down. Latics have every chance of staying up .

Look at the difference to the names mentioned earlier in the thread,from the mid 80's Players of ability and plenty of characters......but the biggest difference is they were part of a recognisable team who fans could bond with , not 11 different lads each 12 months .

I think we picked up one point in about three months and then lost to division 4 Orient in the cup when Joe was in charge. I have no recollection of there being any talk of him going , but it was along miserable period ....but as mentioned Linighan and Paul Jones arrived and the good times weren't far away. At some stage is no one on the senior management team going to ask are all these managers we keep appointing and sacking useless? No , of course they aren't , the problem is the job , resources ,money and 2 decades of stagnation . Who on earth would want the job , embargo or no embargo.

With Coneygree out and Douvan not stepping up to 3 miles, it is a very poor renewal of the King George excepting the Tizzard horses. Since Cue Card stopped to a halt when beaten by Silviano Conti in the King George and had a breathing operation he has finished all his races strongly. Thistlecrack could have won 4 World Hurdles like Big Bucks , but now has a 50-50 chance of winning a King George due to the poor field. Vroun Vroum Mag will hack up in the Christmas Hurdle as The New One jumps right at every hurdle. And Latics will continue along the road to oblivion ...........

Nearly all the current players were brought in during the summer break. There is a reason that most of them were available. How on earth this is envisaged as how a 'team' is created I have no idea. Younger fans will have got used to this insanity , knowing nothing else , but it cannot and does not work. There is little or no point in blaming the manager , Wenger & Ferguson working together could do nothing with the club in it's current predicament. Unless we get substantial investment , it is only a matter of time before our annual brinkmanship game with relegation ends in the worst case scenario. And just like the only 2 relegations we have had in the last 45 years , we are currently in no state to come back up.

howler or two......two passes to Sheringham against Spurs that went back into the net unless my memory is playing tricks.

Lee Grant was a terrific keeper for us , but as usual we could not afford him. He was leading the save percentage stats in the Premier League for Stoke before this weekends fixtures. Gary Kelly regularly played teams on his own and he was awesome at saving penalties.

It is a new low watermark , even for the last 20 inglorious years. Played off the park for over an hour . Rhead won lots of headers , but so what , the problem was the statuesque defence not anticipating this and stopping the second ball , it was pathetic. Lincolin must have wondered what on earth was going on at the oppostion club when Crofty came on and looked head and shoulders above the outfield players who started , but in a coaching masterclass was only brought on at 3 nil down.

They don't get much better than the 4-1 win at Maine Road on August Bank Holiday Monday 1985/6 ish ??? and Roger's hat trick ......mind I think we did them a favour as to how bad their team was. Changed loads of players and got promoted , don't think we won away from home again for months.

A pal of mine is a Barnsley fan , and he always said that Paul was the rock their stay in Division 2 alongside ourselves was based upon. Been reading various forums and newspapers on the internet since the news broke , and there are so many fans and clubs out there he played for or managed who hold him up as a 'legend' , some tribute.

Very sad news , he was a stylish and classy player who made the game look easy. Great memories of both the twin brothers playing for us in better times. RIP

The Elk Mill behind the open Rochdale Road End

Chris Waddle was a fantastic player , Spurs beat us 4-2 on the plastic in the Cup one year , and he was unplayable.

In the 2-0 League Cup defeat , we were losing one nil after a couple of minutes. I recall the useless new full back we paid a fortune for being subbed after a shot went for a throw in. I went to this game instead of seeing Nirvana at the Academy .......wrong choice

Reading the 'riot act' to grown men has always seen a bizarre concept . Why should an adult require shouting at to do his job . If it does work , it will likely be of very short term benefit and won't work the next time ,which will be probably be within a few games. We have no money and pick up with players on short term deals picked up at the last moment ......there is a reason many of them are available .

When we played Tbilisi the teams came on the pitch at kick off time , but had to stand around waiting. There was some local cup final being played before , it went to penalties and finished about 10-9 to one of the teams. This team had flown thousands of miles and what they must have thought of this is anybody's guess !

Sad news hearing of his passing . We were fortunate enough to have two incredible managers in a 24 year period. He laid the foundations for what was to follow , taking the club from the depths of division 4 becoming a constant item in Division 2 (the Championship today) , punching well above our weight and playing good football to boot. RIP Jimmy.

Me and my pal were still in the Rifle Range at 3pm , there was no urgency we were promoted and West Ham were sure to beat Notts County. Arriving late in the Chaddy we ended up on the flat bit at the front of the Chaddy behind the goal ...... not too shabby a position to watch the surreal second half come back. Can't quite recall the name of the Sheff Wed player who gave the penalty away ........

Redfearn was no winger , Warhurst was no full back.....terrible decisions. Losing Redfearn was the worst decision made in that era .......well apart from buying McDonald, Kane , Kilcline etc. He was a dynamo in central midfield ,tough tackling , good passer and excellent long shot. Look at how well he did for Barnsley for the next five years!

Back in the 80's Good Friday often involved watching Latics and Oldham rugby. A lunch time 4-2 victory over Blackburn followed by a 58-6 win at Rochdale , the last game at their old ground , was a very good day.

A staggering performance. The financial difference between the chosen few in Super League and the rest is a chasm , and I for one think the sport has always been the worst for it. Oldham did reach 2 semi finals in the 1990's and in 1986 lost to the unbeaten Australia tourists by 6 points , yes 6 points . My late dad who was fortunate enough to live through Oldham's golden era in the 1950's would have been a happy man today.

Whatever issues Mark Ward had ,they appeared long after he left BP.He certainly did not waste his career. He had a long and excellent career in the game , and was one of the best players I have ever seen playing for Oldham. He barely missed a game ,had a rocket of a shot and was a bundle of energy. He was bought by West Ham only days before the season began , our best talent has always been sold to balance the books.

There are no solutions in this era of the haves , have little and have nots. We have had hundreds of loanees , and they are not the kind that Watford and now Coventry are getting. If we have any player who shows an inkling of ability , the sharks are in and the player is gone in double quick time. Journeymen and loanees are going to result in what we have ....a team who survive and finish in the bottom half. Of course this can not go on forever , there won't always be 4 worse teams. My daughter raced home from work at 6-30 to get to the game .....for this latest shower(there have been a few) , to put in yet another pitiful ,disgraceful performance. It has been constantly stated how poor the first half of games has been, and what have they done in training , attitude and UEFA coaching badges to put it right .........nowt !

The club had 2 very good keepers for our level in Bouzanis and Cisak , wonderboy let them both go ......not been solved since.