athleticus

Like you I grew up watching the same players and inherited the passion from my Dad. Saw the balmy 11-2 win against Southport in what looked like 6 inches of snow on the pitch.

I also can't see how the next generation will be able to experience what I did. There are so many different reasons for the situation coming to this and no single party to blame.

It is hard to believe how so many things could go wrong one after another and I keep thinking that something has to go right eventually but will it?

Part of an article in Ciderspace:

"The ground has not been sold, the club has not been sold. It's a fact the club is available to the right people if somebody comes along and wants to take the club forward. A move out of the borough is still a possibility no doubt about it. Whatever we do we've got to get something sorted very quickly otherwise the situation will not improve. If people can't find us a site suitable then the only alternative is to move out. The fans should be worried - I'm worried. I don't want to see the club in a situation like this, but we're faced with this situation and we've got to try and and do our best to get out of it."

All this must be having some effect on the players.

http://www.ciderspace.co.uk/ASP/news/news.asp?NewsItemId=14457

From "When Saturday Comes"

Oldham's new ground search hits another snag

9 February ~ Oldham's attempts to get a new ground look as if they might be sunk with the news that the Charity Commission is blocking an important part of the process. Chairman Simon Corney has been quoted as saying that league football will not be played at Boundary Park next season, asking: "What is there left for us in Oldham?" The club's plight isn't unique. They currently play in a dilapidated stadium, with poor facilities and little atmosphere.

As if the natural decay of 100 years wasn't sufficient, the board took the inexplicable decision to demolish one side of the ground, adding a sense of the ridiculous to each home match. Declining support means that the only route to financial security is a new and improved stadium, with other facilities that will generate non-football related income.

The need to act has been clear for years, and the club announced their first plans for a new ground in 1999. In the period following administration new owners put together an ambitious scheme to redevelop Boundary Park, but well-organised local opposition and the fall in property prices saw that plan off. The current plan involves a move to a new site around three miles away – still within Oldham but only just.

The plan has not proved popular and it's easy to find causes for objection. Oldham is one of the poorest areas in Greater Manchester and the additional travel costs to the new ground are not trivial. The new site provides a good view of the City of Manchester Stadium nearby, and the planned home of FC United of Manchester is just a goal-kick away. Unless the club can take a significant proportion of its current fans with them, the chances of drawing support from run-down areas of north-east Manchester seem unlikely. Despite those doubts, the club remain convinced that the move is viable and represents the only realistic option.

Access to the site of the new stadium depends upon the club making use of land which is currently Failsworth Lower Memorial Park and the arguments about this land are reminiscent of the plot for a comic novel. Opportunistic local politicians and jobsworth local activists compete for attention. Studious visits to the dusty archives of council minutes from the 1920s by an improbably named group of opponents of the plan, FRAG, eventually drew in the Charity Commissioners to pronounce on arcane aspects of the law of charitable land and trusts. The outcome is that the club now own a site for the new stadium –an investment of £3 million – but have been refused the chance to acquire the land essential for access to that site.

The next few weeks promise speculation over legal appeals and recriminations between the club and the local council. But for Corney, there is little incentive to engage. He will, he says, explore every option, and the possibility of a ground share outside the town, including with local neighbours Rochdale, is back in the press. The club are adamant that redevelopment of their current home makes no financial sense.

It is a situation rich in irony. For those who have been critical of the decision to focus attention on the Failsworth site, within Oldham, may now find the club compelled to look elsewhere – beyond the town's boundaries. Perhaps the greatest irony is that all of this takes place as the club have put together the best side for many years. The irony is compounded by the fact that the side is, in the main, made up of young players, full of optimism, all with points to prove and playing for the future. The only real option for the fans is to enjoy the season and let tomorrow take care of itself. Brian Simpson

http://www.oldhamathletic.co.uk/page/NewsU...2288532,00.html

Going off that statement I think the club are not going to do anymore pussyfooting wih the council.

Is it just me or has anybody noticed that just about everybody else is inconsistant too?

Yes why has this come out now we werent moving to failsworth next season even had they given us planning permission before christmas.

It could be that if the stadium in Failsworth had got the green light it would have been viable to keep boundry park open a bit longer. The problem being now Failsworth has fallen through and there is no prospect of a new stadium that could be built to start generating income in the near future without starting the process all over again on a new sight. Would there be sufficient funding to keep boundry park open as well? Or the will for that matter.

Does anyone know if there is anything we can do as supporters at this time?

Start an OWTB fund to raise money for legal investigation into the councils role in this to establish whether the fans can sue the council. Appoint a committee to represent the fans in the matter (members of OWTB). If it has any chance of getting anywhere contact all major media outlets ie: local-national newspapers, radio, tv etc to get a high profile coverage of the farce.

????

athleticus, I am afraid to say you are being niaive if you thnik the bulk of the debt is jsut to banks.

The truer state of the nations health is more accurately measured by debt to private sector including private finaince initiaitives, pensions etc.

The rounded down UK GDP is £1,000 billion, or a trillion.

We are approaching the stage where the liabilitiesd are equal that.

Thanks for the chart. Interesting that the sharp increase coincides with the collapse of the markets precipitated by our world banks. I am also aware that that trillion debt is aprox £40,000 per person in the UK and that just paying the interest per year on it is not a million miles away from what we spend on the national health service. I find it very scary to be honest. I do not believe that debt is the soul responsibility of the previous government. Im by no means a Gordon Brown lover but credit where its due. If he did not step in when he did after the collapse things would have been a lot worse both nationally and internationally as a lot of governments then followed his lead and we all avoided a total economic meltdown.

Why are people so intent on marching against cuts? Has it ever occured to people that the reason we as a country are in this situation now is because of the recklessness of the former government? How do these people believe that we will get ourselves out of the financial mess we are in without doing it? Gormless Brown said no more boom or bust.......well he was right its just bust. We couldnt go on living under Labour's reckless spending policy much longer, so sadly, thanks to them, everyone has to suffer with the cuts. Im sure Cameron and Osborne would be more than willing to listen to alternative ideas about how to plug the massive gaping hole in the economy.

 

Yes the cuts are crap and yes we are all suffering but the leftist socialist regime that was the Liebour party knew their policies would only work until they run out of spending other peoples money. Cuts are now part of the Broken and Bust Britain we now live in!

This all sounds very naive to me. Our debt was not that great not long ago until the BANKS shafted us good and proper. In fact they still are and that tit the other week representing the banks had the gaul to say its time they stopped apologising for it. We do not need these high paid w.......rs despite the fact they contnually keep telling us we do.

The best transfer window dealing ever witnessed at Oldham. /well done to everyone concerned.

Holdsworth has now officially signed by Morcambe

Makes all comments about the man sound quite petty. RIP Richard.

"Chelsea are ready to make a £20m move for Micah Richards - as the unsettled Manchester City defender demands talks with Roberto Mancini.

Full story: Sunday Mirror"

The Owen family would like to take the opportunity of wishing all fans a Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

 

This has been a really miserable month without football but I am sure Paul Dickov and the boys will re-emerge to make the second part of the season something to remember.

 

In the meantime keep the faith and help when you can please.

 

Barry

Thank you for the thought. Have a lovely time.

Alan Lawson.

I used to feel for some of the players he downed never to rise again during the game. He couldn't do much else but Jesus I'd rather play against the Cray twins.

No I am not a single parent... Just a dad who appreciates his child's company...

Thats nice and very encouraging to see your devotion..

If you spent less time posting on here maybe you could spend even more time with the family. please don't take me to seriously.

Actually I'm sure you won't.

I do, I think. I certainly understand it enough to know it was never me. But I can respect that psyche, whereas you can't seem to respect mine.

 

 

Well, you appear to be saying that only the diehards like yourself can be considered as supporters of the club and not us waverers, so how else should we take it?

Oxford dictionary quote for supporting:

Person or thing that supports; hold up; keep from falling or sinking; keep from failing or giving way; give courage, condidence or power to endure.

I think Diego is quite right to suggest that certain people in this thread are not supporters by definition and not by his opinion.

It appears you cease to be a supporter till you start supporting.

Barry Owen is a member of this forum, a fan of Oldham Athletic and, most importantly, a human being.

 

Am I the only one who finds these personal attacks unpalatable?

very unpalatable and has no place on here.

ok, well, you really are not helping anything are you....

Well hopefully I am but I'm really open to being wrong. It helps sometimes.

I don't hold a position of responsibility...

But you can comment on it.

Well I agree with that... I just think the infighting can be reduced from ALL sides... I don't think it gets reduced by Barry pointing it out in every post he makes. And I wish I had never said anything now and contributed my own infighting to all this...

 

I just wish the club, the trust and the fans could "share" more... Its either just a business and we are just customers or it is more than that...

Words of wisdom indeed.

PR really isn't your strong point...

 

I think the majority of "snipers/doom and gloomers and belittlers" (concerned fans) want is information. The repeating question seems to be how much :censored: are we in at the moment... or in simply terms, how much debt are we in today and how much we are likely to be come end of the season...

 

I don't think people want a meeting many wouldn't have time to attend, or a dressing down, just some information...

Thr King of PR spouts more tome's of wisdom.

No vic Halom?????????????????????

I was just going to say the same thing.

You have stated you don't share his views... but when someone menthions the wider fan base they aren't just talking about you.. Like I said, the world is bigger than you

Actually the worlds a lot bigger than you believe it or not. I know this might be hard to get your head round.

http://www.potomacsoccerwire.com/news/5322/13376

 

Takes me back to the Ritchie years

Amazing, don't remember ever seeing a better goal.