Midsblue

From memory, I attended Cardiff at Home (2002), Brighton at Home (2003), Luton Away (2004) then decided not to attend the Yeovil game at home (2005). I then returned back in 2006 when I travelled to Tranmere but last season, I decided not to attend the home game against Swansea. Can you see the trend? This is 100% true so I'm afraid I won't be attending against Milwall this Saturday despite wanting to! My most favourite one has to be against Liverpool at Anfield. Couldn't get a ticket so stood in the Kop and I'm afraid I couldn't help myself from going off on one when The Pearl scored to put us 1-0 up. Despite the circumstances, the Liverpool fans were great and were quick to return the compliment when we end 2-1 down at the end.

Can't believe it's only 4 days until season starts again. This may have been posted elsewhere so apologies for Titanic moment but who would be in your starting eleven plus subs? A packet of spangles for the nearest to the pin answer come 3pm......................... GK - Crossley LB - Lomax CB - Hazell CB - Gregan RB - Eardley LW - Phillips CM - Whittaker CM - Maher RW - Taylor ST - Davies ST - O'Grady Subs - Fleming, Stam, Allott, Smalley, Alessandra Who's your choice?

That's great news. One question though - they also say a slight change to the design of the home shirt. Does this simply mean Carbrini replaces Hillstone cross the front or it's essentially a new home shirt i.e. Carbrini replacing Hillstone and Carlotti plus a new shirt design? Surely as Carlotti and Carbrini are owned by same company then the same shirt design can be used?! If it's a change then those who own or recently bought the Carlotti shirt deserve a discount on the new home shirt, would they not? Some are less fortunate than others with kids who won't want the "old" shirt. Appreciate the circumstances but the club have been paid up by Hillstone.

£3 million for Eardley??!! Football has gone mad but if Ince is willing to pay then I have a meeting up there later this week and can pick up Neal on the way and even pay for the coffee during the contract discussions. Can't see it myself and I reckon we'd rip their hand off for 66% less than that! That'll keep the wolves from the door for the rest of this season, pay for Phillips, a new RB, a new LB and Scholes on loan for the last month of season when we go up!

This must have been in pipeline for ages after the rumblings of Hillstone and the pinch in the construction industry. How long has the new batch of away kit and merchandise been "on order" at the club shop? The delay was to allow Hillstone to be replaced by Cabrini but what about Carbrini replacing Carlotti? Both brands are owned by JD Sports so perhaps Carlotti will remain for the home and third kits but Cabrini on the Away. Carbrini could then replace Carlotti for the new home and away kits in Season 2009/10. It'll be unfair if the home kit is totally rebranded with manufacturer and sponsor because kids will want the new one and being a parent, I've already forked out for kits for my little one so that she's a beacon shining out from the likes of Villa, Blues, Wolves, Coventry, Derby....and on...and on...... Hopefully a further announcement from Alan will dispel any concerns?!

The key reason for our failure last season was injuries and a smaller squad. We've now addressed this by growing the squad with experience as well as ability so arguably this is a huge positive going into the new season. Add to this our new physio who appears to have identified the root problems to our injuries then that's an added bonus. Shez have confirmed that we have two people for every position (with exception of LB and LW I would suggest) who are more than capable to perform at our level so surely there must be a degree of confidence going into the new season?! The catalyst to how we perform is motivating the team and delivering consistency - this can only come from the Manager and Coaches. So may times last season we struggled but didn't have the squad to replace key people for the next game so had to persevere hoping that they come good. This should change next season so we can react quickly rather than rely on underperformers. Still nothing is guaranteed but I'm far more optimistic this season than I have been for the last three or four. Granted that other teams have strengthened and paid hefty fees but paying a fee doesn't guarantee that the player will be brilliant. I still think we can more than compete against these teams and return from the likes of Walker Stadium, Elland Road etc with points in the bag.

That's how I view this next season - I don't mean the owners jumping ship but Sheridan at the helm. Next season has got to be the first season since the QPR Play-Off defeat that we have the strongest chance to go up. I personally think that we exploited the transfer market brilliantly by bringing in established quality or emerging quality without breaking the bank. From what I understand we haven't been held to ransom and have actually signed players on our terms as opposed to stretching ourselves to satsify the demands of players or their agents. Where we've paid a fee, you can safely see this as an investment - O'Grady this season, Davies last. Our squad is the healthiest too in respect of versatility, experience, pace, flair and creativity. This league will be wide open egarding promotion and Play-Off probabilities. Even the likes of Leicester and Leeds aren't guaranteed because they've shown weaknesses last season and I personally feel that the 22 players that form the nucleus of the playing squad are more than a match for the more favoured. With all this in mind the pressure has been cranked up to maximum for Sheridan and rightfully so. I did question whether Sheridan was able to be a successful manager for us after last season but I've begun to changed my mind over him. The acquisitions he's made this summer have been promising and I can see us being creative in the midfield, pace on the flanks and strength and speed around the box. I'm seriously excited for this season and I'm confident that Sheridan can break the hoodoo of us remaining is this league for eternity. So, my thoughts are Promotion as opposed to Bust. What do you guys and gals think?

With Maher signing, do you think he'll come straight into the starting eleven? I'm still deliberating on our strongest line-up ........ GK - Crossley LB - New Signing (or Lomax if unsigned) CB - Hazell CB - Gregan RB - Eardley LW - Phillips CM - Whittaker CM - Maher RW - Taylor CF - Davies CF - Hughes However, Stam or Lee who could come in a LB (Stam pushing Hazell in central defence maybe?) and I'm unsure whether Allott or Stephens to come into the CM slot instead of Maher. There's also O'Grady pushing Davies or Hughes for starting slot up front and will be a great sub. Just goes to show the strength and depth when two of the above and also Thompson, Alessandra, Black, Smalley or Kalala may not even make the bench. What's your choice asn to who will start against Milwall? It's a great dilemma to have now, especially when we were struggling last season.

Ever present for Toronto and they're storming up the league as well as beating Beckham's Galaxy recently. I seriously doubt he would come here unless his wage isn't the greatest over there. Plus he's more a central midfielder as opposed to wide player nowadays as Toronto have Laurent Robert and Rohan Ricketts on either flank. They have Daniel Dichio up front too. My money is on Livermore joining us...unsure why it's taking so long but I reckon we'll sign him.

SORRY, JUST READ A SIMILAR POST BELOW DUPLICATION...NOTHING TO SEE HERE.....MOVE ON........

Straight from the horse's mouth...to quote..."I couldn't turn it down because it's three times what I was offered at Oldham", which is three times £3k plus bonuses. Haven't spoke to him in weeks as I've been busy but all I can say that he he honestly loved the club, was definitely going to sign but the ££££s swayed his decision. Right or wrong decision, who knows but if I was presented with that in my career then I'd seriously consider it despite my loyalties.

Agree to a point Eddie. However, from little acorns............... When we were in the Prem, it was just a rebranded Division One. We were relegated before the pots of cash arrived. We need to restart by improving the product on the pitch irrespective of what budget we have. If we cut budget to sustain the future then so be it. The emphasis is on the manager to maximise the homegrown players and motivate the team and squad to deliver on the pitch regardless of how much we pay them. Scouting is key so that we unearth cheap quality, which enables us to retain an economical budget but succeed on the pitch. Success on the pitch WILL attract new and old fans alike. The key though is promotion. Next level up and there is more awareness in the national press, on TV and in advertising. Awareness will breed interest and we'll attract new fans. We don't have to throw money at the problem as this will increase our debts. Equally cutting attendance pricing will NOT increase attendances permanently but will increase our debts too. A sustainable playing budget, a strong and successful team ethic motivated by a successful manager and then a strategy to retain those who do return is key.

Agree 100%. To suggest that fans are making easy excuses and then staying away is simply alienating those who could be swayed in the future to return once the product on the pitch improves. Whilst flogging their network or mobile phones, is their sales strategy also to suggest that people are making easy excuses not to buy? To win them over they have to sell a handset that has more flash features than the competition so that they are desperate to buy despite the price. I still don't understand the argument that attendances are affected because we have the big boys on our doorstep. At our level, matchday tickets are £20+ less than the Prem and £10+ less than the Championship. You're already pricing yourself under that section of the market. Our competition are those other League One teams in the area, which charge the same ticket price. The only way to attract the fans is to differentiate yourself from the rest and that's to promote attractive, passing football that is equally successful by bagging goals. You'll entice fans back who used to come to the ground but you'll also win over new followers simply because the product is better BUT cheaper than those teams in the leagues above. IF our product is that good then those who cannot afford to take their kids to a Prem or Championship game will be influenced to take their kids to Oldham because they are entertained. Once in, the club should then aim to retain those kids as the next generation of fans - maintain the quality, subsidise merchandising i.e. football shirts so that kids opt to wear Oldham than your Man Utds, Man Citys or even Chelseas. Cutting attendances prices simply devalues your product and has one result - you lose money! You may attract a few extra but they are driven by price. If you don't improve the product and have to increase prices to sustain income then you lose them again. It doesn't work in any business unless you can afford to cut admission prices permanently BUT maintain product quality. The simple answer (as I said last night) is look at the manager not the fans Mr Corney. Motivate the players to succeed on the pitch and maximise the homegrown quality, which have lower overheads than expensive imports. If importing players in the only solution then the pressure is on the manager to guarantee results so that fans are attracted to reimburse that investment.

I'm echoing what a number on here have said, which kind of suggests that even the hardcore "I'll still buy my ST no matter what" fan realises what the answer to boosting attendances is............ IMPROVE THE PRODUCT ON THE PITCH! No gimmicks, no cut price deals but success breeds awareness breeds interest! It's scarey that we've got the biggest budget compared to attendance and still underachieved on the pitch. OK, we had injuries but so did every other club in this league. Sheridan shut up shop with six games to go. So whilst we could have reached the Play-Offs, he signalled his intent to write this season off and concentrate on next season. What impression does that give out to incentivise fans to buy STs? The fans last season voted with their feet because of the quality served up added to the inability of the manager to get consistency from a team that could and should have at least ended the season in the Play-Offs. Sheridan has retained the majority of the squad and can still field a team for next season that should achieve promotion. Adding to this squad is a bonus so there is no excuses. The owners needs to realise that a budget exceeding our income isn't the answer but we need to cut our cloth accordingly. It's the manager's job to mould what resources he has and succeed. I'm sure that Ritchie in the Lees era would have bitten off both arms to have the funds that Sheridan has used over the last two seasons!!!!! Only when we get promotion and the profile of the club increases then attendances will increase. Not only with Oldham fans return but away attendances will increase too along with off-field sponsorship and merchandising revenue. DON'T BLAME THE FANS BUT BLAME THE MANAGER AND PLAYERS MR CORNEY! They trusted the club over the last number of seasons but the club has failed to deliver. You can't expect people to shell out hard-earned money unless entertainment and success is large probability let alone guaranteed.

Unfortunately of the three that we sign at 2359hrs on August 31st, it was announced less than 30 seconds later that contracts hadn't actually been signed. All three asked to pop to the loo before inking the document. Hardy was left with his custard creams for a further 15 seconds before realising that the toilet was in the opposite direction to where the players had left. A further five seconds later, two of these "signings" appeared on the Doncaster website and the third on the Tranmere site.

I heard an even stronger rumour that we'll bide our time and then sign four players on the afternoon of August 8th and then a further three at 2359hrs on August 31st.

No ambition and no sufficient funds for new signings....surely we must sack the board or campaign for the owners to sell the club!!??!! After winning promotion from League One and the Championship, Oldham find themselves in the Premier League. After selling players to the tune of £1.2m to balance the books, what funds does the manager get for the first season back in the Prem? £230K....yes, £230K!!!!!! My little one bought me FM2008 for my PSP last week and it's hugely addictive. Not as indepth as the PC version but getting to the Premier League with Taylor, Hughes and McDonald still in the squad is some achievement surely...and with no cheats!!

Would much prefer "I've thought about this long and hard since the weekend and realised that I'm out my depth as a manager. More than happy to remain as a coach and help the transition for whoever you decide to appoint and will give them my full support"

I think we've been blinded by this "inexperience" tag that Sheridan has been given. He's now had two seasons at the helm but you have to remember that he was involved in the management set-up for 3+ years under other managers and at youth level. Let's be honest here, we can make up countless excuses for Sheridan failing this season but perhaps the truth is that he's a coach as opposed to manager. Last season we achieved a lot more but he inherited players. This season he was able to stamp his own mark on things with funds at his disposal. Admittedly he's brought in one or two capable players but when he was needed to fire his troops or make decisions to strengthen, he's failed pure and simple. Do we waste another season in this league provided him with another opportunity to succeed? Yes, we need a seasoned head BUT one with a decent track record of attractive football. Do we compensate with Sheridan's inabilities by bringing in someone above at an extra cost to us or simply replace? Yes. we'll be back to square one and would have chopped and changed again but sometimes it has to be done and the owners hopefully will see this after the frustration of failing again and unable to react accordingly when given funds.

Hmmmmmmmmmm, if you suggested what I think you're suggesting then would someone make public incriminations and accusations if the same could be thrown back at them? I think it's a stitch up from some disgruntled agents and doesn't detract from what he has achieved on a shoestring elsewhere.

Ritchie should get more credit than he does and if he had similar support to what Sheridan has had from the owners then I'm sure we'd be in a much better position. Ignore what went on at Huddersfield because at least we have owners who are hands-off, supportive and dedicated to football. He'd be one of my choices but the ultimate decision would be the owners. That aside, Mike Newell would be one but I'm sure that we'd have a decent pick come the summer. Sheridan will still be here next season but I don't predict a major upturn in our successes I'm afraid!

How can anyone be anything other than disappointed with this season? We reached the Play-Offs last season and Sheridan then had time and resources to strengthen and go even further. More wrong decisions than right were then made on incoming/outgoing players and basically the opportunity was squandered. Despite this, Sheridan then had ample opportunity throughout the season to right those wrongs but his hesitation, inexperience or plain error squandered those too. With whatever players we had, Sheridan's tactics and inability to motivate meant failure on the pitch too. We've struggled throughout the season with very little to be joyous about. The pinnacle of this was ten or more games to go when Sheridan had effectively written off this season despite ample games left for success. He stated that the Play-Offs weren't possible and then started crowing about next season...that's just after he stated that a lot of our players wasn't good enough for the step up anyway! Frankly the odd game has papered over the cracks and his playing achievements for us in the past are hiding his incompetence as a manager. I fully agree that managers should be given time and that the chop and change approach doesn't work. However, we cannot hide the fact that perhaps we have the wrong person in charge and avoiding the chop and change approach should only be applied when you have someone worthwhile in charge to be patient with. I'm sorry but in the two full seasons in charge, I have seen very little to be enthusiastic about with Sheridan and he definitely needs to go. How much I would love to be proved wrong as I will never forget how good the bloke was on the pitch but great players don't always make great managers. I expect the flack in return because it's a matter of opinion and some are blinded by the man rather than the manager. I also expect people to go on about injuries but Sheridan has had greater opportunity than the majority in this league to address this too - funds to bring in physios, new players etc - but he hesitated or made wrong decisions. He needs to go. I would say as soon as the season ends but I would even recommend asap so that we have the advantage over other teams to get the right man in before other clubs decide to replace their managers in the close season.

Just know that he's missing Oldham but I doubt we would have him back as Huddersfield would want a fee and he still has more than a a season on contract.

Hasn't gone down too well with the players there apparently. I'd welcome Stitch back here as a Director of Football or if Sheridan goes to Wednesday. If he did end up here then he could join a certain striker who is keen to return across the Hill.

Looks like we're using a new agency for trialists but by sounds of it, both of these Fulham players have been farmed out to other clubs recently including Crystal Palace (who rejected both). FN Sports