the_mighty_bosh

It's a terrible time for us to play anyone!

That's a joke right? I'm really hoping that's not true, or else the farce that is the club will have reached a new level.

You were lucky it did. Saw Exeter Vs Macc, Exeter were really poor and won with a lucky late goal, Macc were pretty decent and didn't deserve to lose. Campbell's done well with what's on paper a weak group of players.

Forest Green 2-0 Oldham (HT 1-0) No Scorer 2,521

His stupidity a few months later was made worse by remembering just how much I celebrated that goal. What a game that was, an unbelievably cavalier Latics line up too!

The Wheater signing definitely is a massive positive for the season, but is he fit for tomorrow? Can't imagine he's had much of a pre-season at Bolton.

Best signing of the summer, genuinely think that we have a similar replacement for Clarke which I didn't think would be possible! I'm also a lot more optimistic about Stott's prospects now.

Not the Top 20 podcast has us 23rd too, although I think that's where Sky get their info from.

Aside from all the other shit that's gone on, the fact that he's made that request is a disgrace.

Fair point, I personally think that both go on to have good careers and will probably be established players by the end of the season, but I think it's a big risk having them starting the season as a partnership. Similar with Mills being a leader, brilliant if he is but I'd be surprised if he organises a young defence straight away.

On paper (and probably on the pitch too) their squad is certainly better than ours. Really hope I'm proven wrong but I can't see us getting a point on Saturday.

In an ideal world we'd still be in at least League One with Shez moulding a squad over a few years in his image. But... ...the impression I get is that AL provided the funds Corney couldn't, that allowed Byrne, Doyle and Kean Bryan to be brought in, which in the short term at least made a massive difference to the quality of football being played. Sadly it was the other players that AL brought in which rubbed Shez up the wrong way, making him feel that his position was untenable. Sorry BB but we are definitely worse off than at the end of Corney's reign. I can see that if Corney had stayed much longer that we would've have gone into admin, maybe beyond without another buyer coming in. But whereas it took Blitz, Gazal and Corney 5 years to start having a genuinely negative impact on the club which slowly lasted for the next decade, AL has accelerated our decline over the last 2 years, wiping out any of the positives that he has done with negatives that will be destructive for years to come. That is unless there's someone who comes in to slow him down or stop him. I don't disagree that Corney left the club a mess, but AL has turned it into a different kind of mess and one that we don't look like getting out of.

Barring any major signings this week, I'd go for: Woods Mills Hamer Stott Iacovitti Missilou Sylla Branger Maouche Nepomuceno Wilson Most of that XI will probably be OK, but the Centre Back pairing terrifies me. Sefil will probably start which doesn't make me feel any better, although I think it's really unfair on Hamer and Stott to be expected to hold together the defence without any experience alongside them. I'm really hoping to get the start of the season buzz that I usually get around this stage that convinces me to go, but it hasn't happened yet.

I'm inclined to support the FLG over AL, but the bold bit is definitely not my attitude. It's what was said about Corney and while he certainly wasn't good by the end of it, it's hard to say we've got an upgrade now. Whoever at any stage takes over from AL needs to be scrutinised as much as possible, otherwise we'll find ourselves in the same boat again.

If he wasn't playing regularly then we wouldn't be the right club for him and I'd be OK with us letting him go. That said, of all the teams that he would go to, Plymouth is the team I hoped he wouldn't end up at (too many Argyle fans at work!).

You're The Guardian of OWTB. The poster who hates other posters.

Sefil look like he could do a job? I think all of Mills, Hamer, Stott and Iacovitti could do OK next season, but it has to be 3 out of 4 and an experienced leader for me. Doubt that will be easy to find though. The 3 essential signings we need are that experienced centre back and 2 strikers, closely followed by a winger. And after that we'll still need some players to pad out the squad.

It should be an easy decision for me, being a relatively local game on the first day of the season. Yet I'm going to wait and see how much optimism returns between now and then. I'd imagine we'll take about 350-400 seeing as it's no longer a new ground.

That's a true recipe for success there.

I agree, beautiful outside. 🌤

Haha not really my kind of music, but better than his brother.

Pogba's the only player there that I've heard of. Not a terrible record in English football (not great either mind).

From what I've seen at the end of the season he already is.

I agree, but you'll be hard-pressed to any Latics fan who was happy with what was going on in the appropriately (and brilliantly) named "Horrible Anus" year. Comparing AL with the part of the Corney era when the wheels really came off doesn't do AL any favours. I was expecting (or at least hoping) for something better to be honest.

The bit in bold I totally agree with because his positional sense was terrible, however I think Fane was proof that you could still be a defensive-minded midfielder without being a holding midfielder. Fane was best used when he was pressing the opposition high up the pitch trying to win the ball back. Of course he would be limited going forward due to his lack of technical ability but if he won the ball high up and found the short pass to a more able player then we could've got the best out of him. I think he could've been very useful in League One in a 3 man midfield with an experienced player sitting deep and a creative midfielder like Byrne alongside him. Whether it's worth accomodating him in the team in this type of midfield was the bigger question. In the end Maouche and Missilou offered more than him and I think Sylla will turn out to be an upgrade, but I think we needed him to play his role in our relegation battle and I wouldn't be surprised if the reason for suspending him was frivilous and cost us.