the_mighty_bosh

It's the best yardstick for whether we're ready for promotion or not.

All conventional logic would say that we're not ready, but it wouldn't surprise me if some of our players see it as a big enough game to put in a big performance for.  Not the ideal attitude over the whole season by any means but it's what I'm hoping pushes us to compete today.

30 minutes ago, TheBigDog said:

Anyone beginning to question whether Mellon is the right man for the job or is there another thread for this sort of question?

 

<smiley winky thingy >

 

The question should be asked in every thread for me, it's overdue that Mellon should be sacked.

Personally I'd have sacked him after the 3-0 defeat to Fylde.

54 minutes ago, GKing521 said:

Come off it. If we fail to make the play-offs then it is a stackable offence. 

Using Unsworth as an excuse can only hold for so long.

This whole thread is a joke, it's nonsense that you're actually being serious. 

If Mellon doesn't get a summer transfer window then we're a knee-jerk club that listens to the idiot part of our fanbase way too much.  Luckily Frank and the board are better than that.

14 minutes ago, GKing521 said:

If we don't make the play offs he should be dismissed as soon as the final whistle blows after the Wealdstone match.
 

 

On 3/2/2024 at 10:40 AM, basilrobbie said:

 irrational, volatile and unable to contextualise what they are seeing. And then there is the overwhelming sense of entitlement.....

 

 

 

Sums up GKing's posts well.

I'd love to say that we'll win this and win on Tuesday and we'll cement our playoff place, but I absolutely don't trust this squad to put in back-to-back good performances so one narrow win and one turgid draw is probably the best we can realistically expect.

Still it's nice for the first time since maybe 2019 (and before that 2007) that we're playing playoff 6-pointers rather than relegation ones, so I suppose that's progress.

Fair play to Aldershot because when we smashed them 5-1 at the start of the season it looked like they would be nowhere near the top, so credit to them still being in the mix.

Four strikers, three of which are proven at this level or above and the other (Fondop) who's mercurial enough to cause opposition defences panic.

We didn't give any of them a proper opportunity to score with the way we set up tonight, aside from maybe Garner in the early stages.

Mellon has got enough points so far to justify that he's doing the job that needs doing, but surely he could be setting the team up in a more effective way than he currently is?

We made enough mistakes tonight that very nearly led to goals to say that the clean sheet was more down to luck rather than a particularly skilled defence.

Playoffs will be progress this season, but it clearly could be so much better than this.

1 hour ago, 100milesaway said:

In my opinion, he was head and shoulders worse than anyone else on the pitch.

...feet and ankles?

6 hours ago, disjointed said:

Was in Truro last weekend, I didn't know any of this, why are they not playing in Truro? 

At time of writing Truro doesn't have a football ground in Truro that they can use, as Treyew Road got sold off to a supermarket a couple of years ago and there's been loads of false dawns with stadiums.  Although they are due to be moving back there for next season. 

In the meantime they groundshared with Torquay for about half a season, before groundsharing with Plymouth Parkway for a year and a half.  But this year's rush to get fixtures played due to constant postponements has led to where they are currently.  Gloucester has an artificial pitch which at least gives them a better chance of getting the game on.

Stretching this thread title a little as it's National League South (and a Latics forum of course) but...

Truro City's nomadic existence reached a whole new level of farce today.  Starting the season playing in Plymouth (2h30 round trip from Truro) they agreed to groundshare with Taunton (near 5 hour round trip) out of fear of not completing their "home" fixtures due to so many postponements. 

Of course Taunton are struggling to complete their own home fixtures with their already boggy pitch and, since this agreement, Truro haven't managed to play a "home" game in Taunton.

So when Truro play at "home" to Taunton on Saturday, naturally the match is taking place at National League North side Gloucester City's ground.  A 400-mile, 7 hour round trip for a home game!  It would actually be 2 hours and 100 miles (round trip) closer for Latics to play a home game there.

Add that to Torquay's financial problems and it's fair to say that non-league football down here in the South West isn't looking in great shape at present.

2 hours ago, GKing521 said:

So, erm. New thread called 'Micky Mellon Contract Extension Watch'?

If we fail to go up this season and are pottering around mid-table playing poor football going into January 2025 then this thread will have some merit.

Until then I can't think of anyone who would be a realistic upgrade on Mellon at this level.

Our record is W11 D4 L5 in the 20 league games with him at the helm.  Who was our last Latics manager with a better record of results over their first 20 matches?

7 minutes ago, League one forever said:

Why is hardly anyone buzzing with 9 unbeaten on the road Bosh? 
 

I don’t get it. 

9 games unbeaten is the least that the fanbase deserved after the 3-0 horror show at Fylde.

32 minutes ago, League one forever said:

Time check. 
 

It’s roughly 50 minutes since the game ended. A game in which we extended our away record to 9 unbeaten - which must be a record or close to it. . 
 

. . . aaaand hardly any replies. Hardly anyone coming on saying well done without adding a but. 
 

If we lost tonight - (for the first time in 9 away games)  we would have had 20/30/40 posts already. 
 

I can only assume that many are much happier moaning about defeat than being happy with winning. 
 

They're on the Mellon Sack Watch thread.  Quite frankly it's a disgrace that Mellon is still here.

36 minutes ago, Glossop Shrimper said:

 

Geek fact but true, Bill Shankly's brother, Jimmy, played for Southend United. 97 goals in 150 odd appearances wearing the modest but iconic Shrimper badge

 

Despite all our off field problems we've just beaten Aldershot 4-1 last Saturday, and Alty 2-1 tonight.

 

Gauntlet thrown down, roll on Saturday

 

 

Done us a big favour this week by beating those two teams.

One more favour by giving us a rare home win would be much apppreciated! 

12 hours ago, JoeP said:

Seen some criticism of the centre-backs, which is a bit harsh. Hobson's our best player and Raglan is solid. 

 

All they can do is hoof it, if there's no midfield. 

 

Hudson is OK too, but I don't think that corner we gave away when he sort of palmed a back-pass away in the first-half will make his YouTube highlights video...

I rate each of Hobson, Raglan and Hogan individually at this level, but as a unit they've just conceded 2 poor goals from corners in the last 2 games that have directly lost us points.  Add to that they don't look like an attacking threat from set pieces either despite their height, physicality and nous (admittedly Conlon and Gardner's slow drifted balls don't help) and there has to be questions asked about them.

36 minutes ago, Punce said:

Unsworth got 12 months in the job and that's the absolute minimum for any manger at any club, unless he rogers the Chairman's cat.  Don't blame Mellon for keeping schtum, he knows how the usual crap comes across, lets hope he saves his voice for the players.

 

.

In the Lemsagam era, it wouldn't actually surprise me if a Club Statement relating to this was produced.

11 minutes ago, deyres42 said:

Despite the fact that our 'strengths' probably lie mainly in central defence I think they are going to have to go to a back four, we don't have a RWB up to it and Kitching, for all he is better going forward then defending, seems to perform better at LB, would mean either Sutton or going back into market for a RB.

 

Hope has his limitations but he does at least give you energy and can finish, given that Reid is obviously toast then I think we need to find a place for him.

 

Gardner, if he is in the squad then you might as well start and if he breaks down then so be it, can't be any worse than Lundstram and Sheron.

 

Dallas, early days but you can see why Barnsley quickly had second thoughts about him...

A fair post, more of this please.

7 minutes ago, BP1960 said:

 

Well they will at home with his hoofball tactics .

Let's just hope he adapts the way he sets us up then, which he has apparently done at the three other clubs he won promotion with (can't remember a Latics manager I've been able to say that about).

8 minutes ago, BP1960 said:

 

Past reputations don't equate to current success, the football is turgid and will continue to be so.

Why won't you admit it?

 

In the same way that current poor performances don't equate to guaranteed poor football in the future.

20 minutes ago, GKing521 said:

https://twitter.com/OafcPodcast/status/1761451054456005066/photo/1

Terrible look.

That is poor from Mellon and as bad as the team performance.

And there's still no way that we should even consider sacking him.

13 minutes ago, nzlatic said:

He’s here to shitpost and wind people up. Nothing more. Days like today are perfect for that. 

Yeah that's true, although sometimes amongst it I think he actually believes that he's the only fan who is correct.

6 minutes ago, deyres42 said:

The list is too plentiful to post here.

A very creative way of saying none.

11 minutes ago, deyres42 said:

I get all the big calls right and I'm certain I'll be proven right on this one too.

Again adding to your track record of being proven wrong.  What "big calls" have you gotten right?  

3 minutes ago, deyres42 said:

I get that people are desperate for some success and desperate to big up Mellon's track record as an indicator he'll do the same for us but this style just isn't going to work at Oldham, not medium/long term anyway.

 

You'd have thought the Royles would be more switched on to what was needed but it appears not

It's just lucky that you've got a track record of being wrong a lot more about these things than being right.

Just now, BP1960 said:

I don't want him out I want him to play an attacking brand of football, not defensive minded hoofball.

What we have seen at home is totally unacceptable and the board should let him know in no uncertain terms on Monday morning.

MMs big problem he seems like an ostrich with his head in the sand.

 

 

I'm not desperate for an attacking brand of football, but I do want a clear and effective strategy of how we're going to win matches.  It's not happened enough so far.

That said, the idea of sacking a manager who has a league record of W10 D4 L5 is laughably stupid.

21 minutes ago, GKing521 said:

Mellon out? It's a serious question that needs to be raised. It is totally and utterly inexcusable what has happened today. They've let the fans, the chairman, and the town down.
 

We've just been rolled by a dog and duck outfit.

You can forget Wembley.

It really isn't.