Hands on

First thing we need in January is a 2nd goalkeeper worthy of that name - Ruddy hopeless - why would you have a 19 year old in goal - stupid legacy from Sheridan. Would have won that with Johny. Just shows how good he is.

We don't have a game this Tuesday so no need to rest anybody however I wouldn't start Queensy because he is a substitution waiting to happen and that limits the scope for tactical changes. My only change would be Omrani. Very sad for Johny.

Not the dominant win I was hoping for but a win when playing or being made to play poorly is not something we are used to. We were always a threat but from half time both Byrne and Queensy gave up on defending so it was more like a 4 2 4 and that made it much more exciting. The Johny assist was the best I have seen at any level for a long time. To save and then see the option waving Holloway forward before launching that pass which he put on the money so Holloway was through and only had to score - fantastic no wonder the defenders ran to Johny.

We can beat anyone in this league and we could lose to anyone. The important thing is to make progress up the league and I would hope to see us comfortably 14th by the end of November and 12th by the end of December. Current form would have us pushing the top six but we can't do that or can we?

There is more on this game than the MKDons match so I suspect we might see some tension amongst the players. 'Tis a good test for RW - can he get them to play freely when it matters and after he has secured his contract? A draw might not matter but a loss will be hard to take. A win will say much about our prospects up to Christmas. The forecast rain seems to have been delayed until 18.00 so no problem with playing.

Great news. He has set himself a very high standard. Taking games in blocks of 5 makes sense - we are five higher after the first block. Richie Wellens has given us something that Lee Johnson provided in short measure. Hope and a positive outlook but even more than that a team playing well. The buzz is back.

Wellens has got the balance right. Some individuals would fit in anywhere playing like they did today but it is all about the balance which includes having a goalkeeper you trust. Spectacular wonderful day at Boundary Park.

Wouldn't it be nice to have a manager who speaks in sentences without any of the football speak crap. Wellens for me. However there is always the "whatever it is" going on or not as the case may be to mess things up.

It's crazy first I hear Abdallah has gone then Shez is suggesting we were already jumping to his tune. I think any manager would be miffed if 8 players turned up unannounced and six were signed the next day. Even after the three wins we are heading for deep shit if no new money is forthcoming.

The BBC SPORT report BBC Radio Manchester reported which they will probably have picked up from Sky but they also say that the club refused to comment.

Going to Mossley. Won't show my season ticket as good value at £5 for an old codger.

1. Wellens has a very able assistant/mentor in TP who he will have to replace should he be given the job - it isn't just him. 2. Had we lost the last two games the pressure would have been on to find a manager quickly. 3. The two wins have taken the pressure right off as we are now in the publicly stated position SC aims for i.e. league 1 survival. He can now interview candidates until the cows come home. 4. I'm intrigued by the Wellens reference to "the owners and Simon Corney" and hope 'the owners' don't share the SC aims.

If it's him I'm getting an away shirt. What a coincidence!!!!

Get a grip!

The only thing that can produce the loss is the great white elephant, the yet to be finished north stand, which I thought it was established is leased by the club who incurred the cost of building the bloody thing. It would be nice to put this 'asset' in the balance sheet at cost but no doubt the accountants said get it valued and low it is worth much less than cost hence a write down to profit and loss. No doubt of interest to Abdallah but doesn't change the ongoing fact that the club can't meet its debts and can only continue if Blitz and Gazal let it.

Undoubtedly Placide made the biggest impact on the game and a clear mom. Byrne and Fane are different players with a different role - both had great games. Fane tackling and harrying Byrne creating pulling the man in then turning round him both good to watch. 8 minutes of injury time stretched forever for no good reason. Placide booked for playing at the pace boro did in first half. The arrogance of thinking they just had to turn up to win stuffed right up their arses. Best Banks moment when he tried an overhead kick and ended up flat on his back gave the ball away so not a competent performance. Foreign Legion did us proud.

Wagg will have been told what questions he could ask and clearly the whatever is a rather touchy subject as is the influx of the foreign legion hence you can't ask about that.

Well three As might already have this sorted or we could have another thread breaking 2,000. I don't give a toss as long as Abdallah Lemsagam gets whatever he is up to sorted so we can spend endless days trying to work out what it is and how it will impact on us via the performance of our team. Manager after manager has 'failed' because for the last 15 years the goal has been league 1 survival and the minimum has been spent (investment is a misnomer unless there is some clever scheme going on). Doesn't matter who it is if the goal remains the same IF however we start looking beyond 17th and some money is spent things might look up. On this score I am firmly a pessimist.

Until they sort out whatever it is that is holding up whatever is supposedly going on Sheridan will stay even if he has lost heart and would rather be sacked. Just might give him the time - only 5 points from 17th.

We are stuck with the goalkeepers we have unless the foreign legion can provide us with an out of contract EU citizen who is better. So far I have seen Wilson and Ruddy who are both on loan. It is possible that we might have to play Ruddy to save money, we just don't know and if that is the case so much for Sheridan picking the team. We have another goalkeeper who is all our own for the next two years with Placebo. I would like to see him play in a league game as what difference would it make if we lose and he might just have the character to boss our defence into some sort of shape. I know he has been called away to Japan for 11 October but he must be available for Tuesday. If he is just a bench warmer then we have to hope that Ruddy will play himself into form rather than losing any confidence he had.

Could it be that a 'development' squad is being built of the overseas players and Sheridan is carrying on regardless doing what he thinks is best for what he regards as his squad. No doubt if there is someone worthwhile in the 'development' squad he will use them but his expectation is that they are all 'seconds'.

You can analyse and say how well we played until the cows come home but if we continue to give away two poor goals through errors a game notwithstanding the crackers we are scoring we will get relegated.

Sheridan got us out of a mess and then put Notts County into one. Sheridan then got us out of a mess again but here we are rock bottom again. Anyone taking over or investing in Latics might wonder, as I have, if Sheridan is the right man to take us forward and upwards. Of course our position might have everything to do with the possible take over/investment but the decisions on formation and selection must also have had their impact and that is down to Sheridan (or is it).

Summed up beautifully by d3d4 as a "bombardment of consonants".

I suppose he could just be being coy but from his interview even though Ruddy has the number 1 shirt it doesn't sound like he is definitely the number 1 keeper. Who will he pick and who will he leave at home? PS Even though the penny should have dropped by now I would not be surprised to see the supreme talent back in the centre of midfield - I'm not going to mention his name just like we did with the special one.