Stagger Lee

32 years ago ... May 1982 Was on the train back from London after watching Oldham beat the already relegated Orient 3 - 0. Poor as the proverbial church mouse I had spent all my money and was starving. But sat in the 2nd class carriage was already an experience because i had seen John Craven from news round on the train But all that paled into insignificance when Jim Frizzell walked through the carriage and saw me - and my latics scarf - and sat down with me and talked for a while. He must have took pity on me, a scruffy spotty long haired teenager, because after a while he asked if i was hungry (yes!) he left and came back with a couple of boxes of sandwiches telling me that it was what the players had not eaten so tuck in. Gratefully I accepted and later on quite a few of the players came by to say hello and sign my scarf - even providing the felt pen! The time they took with me left me humble and forever a fan. What I was to overhear after the train had pulled into Manchester was Jimmy saying farewell to everyone of the players on the platform. It was not a see you in a few weeks farewell but a full blown I may not be seeing you all again sad farewell. I thought little of that until a couple of weeks later when I learnt that Jimmy had been sacked - he knew it was coming. I have the image of Jimmy walking past me after saying his goodbyes and giving me a nod and smile - his last active day as part of the Oldham club that had been his life for over 20 years A true gentleman and I wish I could thank him for his kindness that day as well as for his service to the club.

My wish is for a full rebuild but with a nod to the past with an old mill / terrace brickwork facade as other posters have alluded too. BUT WITH BAD ACOUSTICS AS STANDARD .... don't want the players to be put off by the moaners

Disagree, The Australian team set up is well versed on keeping check on players all over Europe and it is no great detriment to a players chances of playing for Australia. The bigger hurdle is if he played for a club that continually 'forced' him to cry off midweek international friendly games. just for info this is the Aussie squad for the world cup Goalkeepers: Mark Birighitti (Newcastle Jets), Eugene Galekovic (Adelaide United), Mitch Langerak (Borussia Dortmund), Mat Ryan (Club Brugge) Defenders: Josh Brillante (Newcastle Jets), Jason Davison (Heracles Almelo), Ivan Franjic (Brisbane Roar), Curtis Good (Dundee United), Ryan McGowan (Shandong), Matthew Spiranovic (Western Sydney Wanderers), Alex Wilkinson (Jeonbuk), Luke Wilkshire (Dynamo Moscow), Bailey Wright (Preston North End) Midfielders: Oliver Bozanic (Luzern), Mark Bresciano (Al Gharafa), Ben Halloran (Fortuna Dusseldorf), James Holland (Austria Vienna), Mile Jedinak (Crystal Palace), Massimo Luongo (Swindon Town), Matt McKay (Brisbane Roar), Mark Milligan (Melbourne Victory), Tommy Oar (Utrecht) , Tom Rogic (Melbourne Victory), Adam Sarota (Utrecht), Dario Vidosic (FC Sion) Forwards: Tim Cahill (New York Red Bulls), Josh Kennedy (Nagoya Grampus), Mathew Leckie (FSV Frankfurt), Adam Taggart (Newcastle Jets), James Troisi (Melbourne Victory) There are a lot more Australian based players in the squad compared to previous campaigns but that is a reflection of the increasing standard of the Australian A league.

Some one please remind me how much of a cut Latics get if he is sold?

I've seen some rubbish on the internet over the years but this .....

So has Anton Rodgers been injured? I thought he had just fallen out of favour with LJ and would automatically be sent packing at the end of this season. What has been his injury? Should we even be keeping him if he is fit?

If that IS the case then I can understand why we did not resign him. I just got the impression that no great effort was made to keep him. anyhow LJ will be judged on how well he solves our scoring difficulty. It will make him or break him next season, but his ability to sort out our defence in the second half of the year does give me hope.

For me his biggest signing mistake was not holding on to Smith. Doing well at Leeds in a higher division so think how good he could have been with LJ coaching him and playing in our division.

Oath Agree 100%

Would we need a pie chart to show that?

looks more like watersheddings in 1971

5 grand? That seems OTT How do none league clubs afford that? Is it a sliding rate, charge 5 grand for premier clubs and 5 hundred for league 2 sort of thing?

So LJ has had his first full season as a manager. How have you rated his performance, as opposed to the team, out of ten. 1 point - he should have been sacked midway through the season, cant believe he is still our manager. 2 points - he should be sacked now that the season is over 3 points - you would not be upset if he was replaced by another manager 4 points - you think he did poorly but we may as well stick by him 5 points - He did alright for a new manager but if he does not improve midway through next season he should go 6 points - He did well given it was his first season and you expect better next season 7 points - LJ did as good as anyone can given the budget and the team (or lack of) that he inherited 8 points - LJ did a very good job and you are confident he will even better next season 9 points - He did a fantastic job and you expect by next season he will become a highly regarded manager by all 10 points - LJ did an amazing job he will be poached by a championship or premiership team at any moment For mine I would give him a 7/10 - To build a team from near scratch and also have to sell your two best players given the budget constraints I don't think too many other managers would have succeeded as well as he has. But I don't think we will loose him to another club during the off season.

Yep good clear shot at goal and before fatigue set in ... should have been buried

Good news, more so because I suspect he will not be the highest paid player in the squad. Q. When was the last time Oldham resigned their top scorer to a long contract?

Very good read Gracias Diego

Now that is a nice beer .... have we got off topic here or is beer always an allowable diversion from the conversation?

The bigger problem here is Fosters. Strewth cobber u poms still drinking that horse piss

An enigma for me was Mickey Quinn. All set to be a legend for the club in my opinion with 34 goals in 80 games and many years in front of him then - bang, sold and hardly a protest or even mentioned in dispatches. Better than Stainrod or even roger 'the dodger' wylde but both of them get called legends. So is Mickey Quinn a legend? - no maybe not, but he deserves to be remembered more fondly than he is.

Typical of the club, not consulting with the fans, forcing BP1960 to change his name To 'RRE BETTER ACOUSTICS' and giving him a $20 discount will not suffice

Devil is in the detail agreed Great news on the face of it BUT if it includes taking all the future profits from running the club shop and / or it is performance based contract then it may not be that good.But I prefer to be optimistic. .... A guaranteed minimum income from the sponsorship helps the boss budget for future players contracts A permanent tenant for the new stand which will help attract other businesses to have a go at renting a space A 5 year deal with a kit supplier will surely encourage a more desirable, better designed and supplied product rather than the usual 2 year commitment that so often ends up in frustration for all concerned. A air of professionalism around the ground that just adds to a positive frame of mind to all from the management, staff, players and fans.

Some one call the authorities there has been an outbreak of optimism in the Latics community! Avoid relagation Belief in the manager to improve the team New stand Chairman who is bankrolling the club with out bankrupting it And now *Big sponsorship* deals I'm getting giddy from the excitement

I accept what you meant to write may have been different from what you actually wrote. I'll put this to you though, Why would the Chaddy filled by away supporters sound better (or worse) than filled with Oldham fans singing themselves hoarse for 90 minutes? Are you suggesting that the acoustics are different depending on the origin of the supporter?

+1 "it's just that it has never been filled by fans who are prepared to roar themselves hoarse for 90 minutes" question for you 100 miles away, How many weeks have you being going boundary park to see the latics?

They are just getting in early for next seasons annual FA cup fixture