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I'm not too put off by this. After all, Johnson has made it clear that he will be using the young players. As a result we should expect to see fewer short term loan deals and a large saving in the budget compared with this season where we have had a number of players on the wage bill who we never see kicking a ball. Bring in good players in key positions, and build around them with the youth we already have and one or two of players who will be begging for a contracts by September 1st.

Cooper's or Gosset's may be worth a shout! Professional debut and all that.. who knows where they may go.

On a slight aside.. our discipline record doesn't look too clever.

I think you'd end up with an entirely passionless fanbase that wouldn't muster attendances much more than any of the three sides get at present. As for the 'Oldham disease' - I presume he means prolonged periods without scoring goals.

Interesting thought. I don't think I'd quite feel the same connection with the club. One of the few attractions of supporting Latics is being able to relate to those working within the club, players coming through the youth team that used to nutmeg you at school, and seeing familiar faces hopelessly wearing the same colours as you all over the country. For example, presently it wouldn't be so difficult to pick up a phone and perhaps talk to Neil Joy, Broady etc. or even have a conversation with one of the clubs directors through an unofficial forum. Heck, I think if any of us really tried hard enough we could probably even speak to the manager or chairman directly. I don't think fans of 'big clubs' will ever experience that. I live in Edinburgh and can't make it to many Latics games, but even so Saturday 3-5pm and Tuesday 7:45-9:45pm is reserved for only one thing - and the result influences my mood for at least the next 24 hours as though I have attended the game. I don't think it would nearly as much if Oldham were just another team on MOTD that night. The logic really doesn't add up, surely it is the dream of any lower league team supporter to see their team up there with the very best regardless of the path taken to get there? Yes. But it wouldn't be the same Oldham Athletic I have grown up to love if it happened that way.

Wont stream. Balls.

Paul Edwards could shift. May have been later than JJ. Years of mediocre to :censored:e players blend into one.

I would be surprised if he even plays at all tbh. But then I guess this is sensible. What would we otherwise do if Grounds was injured? No evidence so far to suggest that he's been impressed by Mellor.

Deane Smalley - if it weren't for his contract expiring I'd have thought we would have passed him on for a fee after a very good season under Shez in L2.

Plus our next game is now against second placed Swindon. Unlikely to come out with anything more than a draw whereas I would have fancied us to beat Shrewsbury. I worry what a defeat very early in his tenure will do for confidence and morale. That said, an extra few days to work on fitness and tactics - I'd be very pleased with a point.

Gordon Brown was once slated for using the phrase "101%". Not giving enough apparently...

But.. Everybody liked Dickov. The problem was with his tactical ineptitude. Sounds like LJ already has a solid grounding in tactics and methodology. Welcome, Lee. Fans are fickle. Keep us up comfortably and show us what you can do in the summer and next season.

It's basically the start of a career on FM.. 'Oldham appoint rookie'. Usually ends in domination of Europe so sure, give the guy a shot. But seriously, agree with the appointment or not; the guy needs our backing.

Passes?

Dowie? Lives in Bolton, no?

I wouldn't go so far as to call it baffling yet until we've seen if somebody else arrives to replace him. RW? Paul Scholes as player/manager? N.B. That last part is a joke.

Good servant with nearly 150 appearances. However I think the fact that he's only managed nine goals in that time pretty much sums it up. A good player, but never showed his full potential and ended up being a liability. I think he's one of the main reasons we haven't scored many over the last few seasons, doesn't get forward enough and not creative enough to make chances from deep. Nonetheless, good luck. I suspect if there's a fee involved he will have been pushed a little too, so I don't blame him.

Not against long ball principally, and I think it can be very effective. However the way you have set up there I'd argue is very one dimensional. With everything going through the middle, it would be easy to cut us off by standing off and playing for the second ball; nullifying the flick-ons. One of the keys to playing with a direct system is having the option of wide men - not only to get balls into the box for the big man - but to stretch the opposition defence to make space for the likes of Baxter. I think I'd much rather see one of central midfielders cut loose and allowed to get in the box. It would let Baxter come deep with more options than a heavily marked striker or a square/backwards ball, and would allow Barnard to play off the back of the defence like we saw Derbyshire do. -edit- this is of course based on a selection including Baxter up front.

Relegated at Preston on April 9th?

I would normally read '2014 season' to mean 2013/14. Unrealistic? Still, this is a necessary step and one we have been waiting for. I'm sure Corney and the club have been as frustrated as we have by the delay, but the ball is now officially rolling..

BBC Sport, North West.

richard askam ‏@richaskam Tony Philliskirk reiterated his position to me that is not interested in taking managers job full time #oafc #latics

Is there a provision in the emergency loan system to take somebody on loan as manager?

But.. but.. he's only worked for Liverpool.. and Bolton.. Both of whom are significantly more successful than we are. Better players, coaches, experience etc. But then again Iain Dowie is the Lord and the chosen one so who am I to say anything about it. Similarly players who have scored less than 30 goals AT EVERY CLUB are not good enough for us.

While Scholes as favourite seems completely ludicrous, his contribution as (presumably) player-manager would probably keep us up anyway! Will no doubt be a first class coach, have the contacts, support etc.. But, surely not.