yarddog73

I'm coming round to the idea that whatever happens Mellon will need till this time next year to be properly judged, I know that's a swing in my opinion and some might say that's fickle but some things are stacking up differently for me now, I've been critical of managers in the past when really they took the shit for bad owners and I'm of the opinion now that there is little point gunning for Mellon because our problems run deeper.

None of us really care about styles of play and tactics if the results are good and I personally feel Mellon with half a dozen solid signings can deliver that and in this situation we shouldn't be scrutinizing the manager but looking at the deeper issues and the culture that exists which iI have a feeling he's determined to worm out, dirty washing is out now and some of these players no longer have anywhere to hide and if that takes another month, six months or a year to correct then so be it I say. 

I'm going to back him after the news broken by Suzanne last week, short of a club statement it answered many of my concerns and gave me an insight in to where the club is at.

I think we've hit rock bottom and now I feel the only way is up and I think Mellon has the balls and personality to put the foundations in place even if I don't always agree with everything he does. I suppose I'm coming round to the idea of trusting the process.

Alty 1-0 up at Bromley, Linney goal with a Conn-Clarke assist.

Nobody can tell me that these playoff teams have more overall ability than we have, they just seem to have a plan and style of play and stick with it.

They are also proving as well that once you are in them anyone can progress.

3 hours ago, Lags said:

Going to buck the tread a little. I liked that Mellon interview, the honesty that we've all seen and worked out for ourselves. The level of abuse and vitriol has to stop if we are to become a promotion outfit and if anyone wants to take issue that smacks of it's any kind of 'fans fault' suck that up. I left very early during the Wealdstone game for 2 reasons, we were going to lose and I didn't want to watch 'the best fans in the league'  spitting feathers. The only way to promotion is the whole club pulling the same direction.

Providing Mellon and DR can talk a good number of players to leave and release the budget for in coming, then Mellon will get us up there next season. He's no mug and his track record for me gives him credence. Of course every manager as a shelf life and times move on, but times not up yet for Mellon. He's the man still currently. 

Don't always agree with you Lags and no pun intended but that's about as fair a post as I've seen on the subject, given we are clearly going in to next season with MM in charge it's probably about time the slate was cleaned on all sides and we offer him our backing, there's little to be gained from hoping a manager fails for anyone to prove their point, in fact if that does happen it will undoubtedly be another failed season we'll rack up and surely no fan wants that, I've decided I'm going to renew next season in the hope that DR and MM can clean up some of the mess and give us a team we can all be proud of. Here's hoping.

4 hours ago, Clubfootkilkenny said:

 

 

Got to keep Norwood at all costs and make him captain. 
 

 

Your a month late with your April fools joke.

Shitpeas at it again.

Tweets last night that the Rothwells now want out as it's costing them too much money. 

The Hogan business doesn't stack up to me, he's average at best and I wouldn't need any sort of reason to drop him and I'd presumed he continued to play him because of his professionalism, that though is now being questioned.

We've carried him in games lately and he's been awful, what I cannot understand is how he was allowed to play enough games to trigger a new deal, that's an expensive fuck up by someone as we need better both in his position and as Captain. I wouldn't have an outgoing Captain around a squad, it undermines the new one and it can also create mixed messages within the group particularly if there are cliques. 

Just now, League one forever said:

Really chuffed for Mikey if this is true. 
 

10 Goals. 
 

Best MPG of anyone at the club. 
 

Brilliant off the bench. 
 

The only one I would’ve kept who is OOC. 

I thought Reid had the best MPG?

Season ticket might be renewed given the pub players are on their way out. Feel better if this is true.

42 minutes ago, oafc1955 said:

So…if we manage to get shut of Nuttall  & Willoughby and save some money we’ve got the mouthwatering prospect of re signing, McGahey, Gardner, Green & Fondop!!!

For varying reasons they are all squad players at best…If that’s really what Mellon is considering he needs to go right now!!

What a prospect, so he's effectively saying if we can get rid of the players we didn't have anyway we can re-sign the ones who took us on our worst winless run in twenty years at the lowest level we've ever played at. Sorry but that's just fucking stupid, does he somehow think he's going to get a different tune out of the same bunch?.

I will guarantee that some of those 'released' will be training with us and end up re-signing.

Imagine the pissboil amongst the fanbase if they announced a new deal for the likes of McGahey who polled about 8% on here from fans who thought we should retain.

I'm getting fucked off with the clubs lack of engagement at a pretty crucial time in the season, it's almost feels like them and us now and I really do fear for our attendances next season if there isn't a shift in mood, of course the clubs not obliged to disclose anything or even share their plans for the future but for me thats piss poor form that harks back to years gone by,

It's been compounded by Mellons disastrous stints in front of the camera recently which have frankly been on a par with his touchline antics and embarrassing for the club.

I'm not holding my breath - this is football after all where all business acumen goes right out of the window but what a shame it would be to start disenfranchising the fan base because they have received some criticism, it's a very dangerous game they are playing and I for one am turned off from it all.

10 minutes ago, League one forever said:

Exactly. 
 

I really don’t like this- we’re over budget, non of it is my fault, I haven’t got a magic wand, we’ll just have to hope we can do something. 
 

Resign then. 
 

Oh. You want your money. 
 

Right. Well stop bitching in the media, and get on with you what keep telling you already knew- it’s a big job. 

Which is about what I said last week, he needs to suck it up and show us why he's the best paid manager in the division instead of bleating and making excuses that he and the players hide behind.

2 minutes ago, PeteG said:

My season ticket expired last week, thanks.

Mine expired after Fylde at home, thanks.

18 hours ago, BradKnowles1 said:

Few WhatsApp messages of madri man Mcgahey getting a new deal

Awful news if true

2 hours ago, sempreazzurro said:

I've been following latics man and boy for over 35 years now, and this forum for a good long while - voyeuristically... but need to get this off my chest.

I feel deep despair at present. Following 30 years of decline, and with the club having teetered on the brink, I feel - as do we all - profound gratitude that Frank has stepped in, and gifted us a platform on which we can build. For the first time in ages I have been looking up the league hierarchy in real hope, if not expectation. I even bought myself a new replica top for match days, and was looking forward to this season with real optimism, especially given how strongly we finished the previous term.

Realistically, I know we need to accept that the journey (back to where we need to be as a club) will be long and not without it's bumps... but I can't help but feel that the initial goodwill of the fans now has been utterly exhausted. It's been a poor, poor season.

From where I stand, we have regressed. It's obvious that the recruitment has been less than perfect, but, on paper at least, we have a group of professionals who should have had more than enough to get us out of this poor league.

Something, though, is rotten - in the mindset of the whole group (including the manager), and in the relationship between the playing staff and the fans. Whatever cancer this is needs cutting out, quickly, because it translates into performances and results which are beyond piss poor.

I don't need sexy football at this point. Before the pinch-me years, there was some pretty uninspiring fare served up at BP, and I still turned up, and since, obviously, but what I have seen this year has been beyond bad.

I'm no DU apologist. He never had a rapport with the fans, and, after the start we had this year, his position was untenable: however I personally think he was getting a better tune out of the squad than MM. I went to watch us at Borehamwood, and what I saw was structured and disciplined. Either team could have won it, but I think we defended well and looked promising in the final third. There was some width. Basically, I came away not feeling too negative. In the final analysis, in his 9 league fixtures, his return was 7 points, and SEVEN of those games were against opponents who were amongst the stronger teams in the division (in that they all finished above us). Tricky fixtures, in hindsight.

In the final leg of this season, when it really counted, MM has managed to return 5 points from the final 9 games, against mostly poor opposition. This from a guy with 'experience' and a 'track record', and a squad which should have been super-motivated.

I have never liked this guy. I find him dour and uninspiring. The team has developed a distinct imbalance, we hoof it, we don't seem to play with any discernible tactics (the recent draw vs.Chesterfield being a rare exception), and without the required energy or fitness levels. Even during our purple patch, we were being found out. I know we ended up winning 3-2, and the second half was exciting (thanks in no small part to the width an energy of Wigan's Stones), but the first half at Solihull Moors is without doubt the worst football I have ever seen from an Oldham team. It was dire.

I thought we couldn't get any worse than we were when I saw us at Meadow Lane last season - but this was just another level of shit.

I have experienced some bad performances and results over the years (e.g. losing 7-0 at MK, but that was almost funny; just a really bad day at the office)... but the sheer consistency of the terrible football we have trotted out this season has been difficult to take.

My last game this season was vs. Halifax last week, and it was just the final nail in the coffin for me. We played OK in spells, but we had no left-side, defended poorly, played without pace or passion (especially given what was theoretically at stake), and should have lost against an opponent who were more pacy, direct and organised.

I don't know where to go now with this lot, but want to keep the faith - if only to repay Frank.

It's bleak. Academy mothballed, parachute payments ended. The modern infrastructure DU was trying to put in place abandoned, the same core squad contracted into next season.

The are boils which need lancing. The Reid situation needs concluding. For me, the manager needs to go, and I believe we need to get some young managerial blood in, and hopefully a young player or two who can inject some pace and directness. A manager who is able to fashion a system which brings the best out of the players we have, because, as I say, they are mostly capable of more than this, in my opinion. It couldn't turn out worse than this, could it?

The Sachdev situation mystified me. MM calls him a wing-back (is this not what we needed - a bit of width and attacking intent??) - a young, England U19 international, who had put in MOM performances... but clearly not to MMs taste. Weird in terms of both recruitment and subsequent team selection (or lack thereof). I wish Sai well, and hope we haven't damaged him too much.

For me, the straw which broke the camel's back for me was MM's pre-match presser for the Rochdale game. He had all the excuses already to hand (players not of the calibre, not able to field a team with width etc...). For such an important game (and a derby at that) he was downbeat and negative, whilst repeatedly stating that he knows what we need, and he has all the experience, blah, blah. Also seemed to say that he didn't really care about the fans' reactions on the terraces. God's gift to motivational speeches he is not. We should have been buzzing for that. What pissed me off the most though is the way he spoke of Oldham in the third person ('they', 'the club'). He has done that right from the start... like he's some external fucking consultant come in to write a big report on how shit our squad is. Where's the "We" Micky? To be fair, he has jointly shouldered it post-match after some of the horrorshows, but I think that's more because he was obliged to.

No manager will be perfect, but we've had some promising talent pass through our club through the years. Guys who seemed more invested. Even in recent times, I would take e.g. Wellens, Kewell, Wild, and, dare I say it, Unsworth over this guy.

Hopes for next season? Scraping a playoff place, and building an on-field identity. More than that?? You're having a laugh. Last season I watched Notts County a lot. At Wembley, it was clear that Chesterfield were a formidable and organised team. Unlucky as they were, it was clear to me on that day that they would piss it this season. Latics are nowhere near the level that either of those teams turned out. Nowhere.

Anyway, I've been rambling enough now. Doubtless many will disagree with much of what I say, but I do feel better for getting that off my chest
 

That's about where I'm at and as of yet I've not renewed and will wait and see what the clubs next move is, I think many are in the same boat.

10 minutes ago, latics22 said:

Chesterfield have the average highest home attendance, so I guess they are the biggest ? We’re second.

As you'd expect given they've lifted the title. Chesterfield generally bring about 600 to BP, I wouldn't class them as a big club at all, we are still the biggest club in that division despite being shit for 30 years.

3 minutes ago, League one forever said:

You don’t, Eyrsey is making things up again. He talked to OASF (once) and to hear the full interview you need to be a OASF member - which is really steep at a £1 a month. . . 

Why wouldn't that be available to all fans then?, not looking for an argument it's just a simple question as to how the club communicates to those not part of the Foundation.

10 minutes ago, The Greek said:

Our problem is we THINK we’re the biggest club. 

Whose 'bigger' then?.

And even if you don't think it every player visiting BP sees it as that, that's why we need players prepared to give absolutely everything which I see as the main problem at the minute.

Oldham fans don't really want much but one thing that won't be tolerated is lack of desire and heart.

39 minutes ago, Boyyou said:

Paul Cook addressing Chesterfield supporters at promotion celebrations 

"...we need each other and we should always be there for each other when times aren't so good. There will be dark days ahead, when those dark times come make sure we stay together strong.

"I think the National League is so much tougher than people will know. Every game is really hard, especially when you are the biggest club in the division.  Everybody wants to beat you."

 

Perhaps some of our FANS AND PLAYERS should take note.

FTFY

13 minutes ago, deyres42 said:

You can hear from Royle every month if you are happy to pay for the privilege.

Is that actually true? Do you have to pay for the privilege and if so why.

Makes my decision to swerve a season ticket even more easier if that's the case, when this has been mentioned before I actually thought it a joke. Whose in the exclusive club then?.

7 minutes ago, BP1960 said:

 

And Benny Couto.

Be a good test for Couto, Pemberton and Drummond down the right flank for Macc could both play at our level at least and I suspect are interesting scouts from the EFL.

12 minutes ago, oafcmetty said:

Might be facing Ashton Utd in the playoffs.

Yes I think they'll be strong favourites and probably should be given their respective budgets. 

11 minutes ago, League one forever said:

Im sure someone said on here that they were sat near Conlon’s family at a game, (not long after he signed) and they were bemoaning the move and said he’d picked the wrong club. 

Yes it was either Brad or Paddy, they will probably confirm. 

2 minutes ago, yarddog73 said:

And they put about 2000 on the crowd that didn't turn up, not a chance we had more than 4000 there on Saturday, they've counted me for a start and I watched the first half on telly and then drove down to watch Macclesfield v Workington.

Talking of Macclesfield they would beat us comfortably at the minute, play a similar way to us with John Rooney playing the CDM role that Mcghahey has been playing, got some real quality on the flanks Tre Pemberton was quality at rightback with Kane Drummond equally impressive in front, Luke Duffy played played well on the left but he's still not quite ready for the step up, they brought him in to replace James Berry when he signed for Chesterfield. Of the others the keeper Byrne is better than what we have along with the lad who played on the left of the two centrehalf Mendy who was good on the ball and but has a mistake in him, Owalabi who I recommended a couple of years ago played upfront on his own and did a good job for the team. I think they are on the up and a crowd of about 4000 isn't too bad for that level.

2 minutes ago, Hemel latic said:

Our lowest league attendance o a Saturday of the season.

And they put about 2000 on the crowd that didn't turn up, not a chance we had more than 4000 there on Saturday, they've counted me for a start and I watched the first half on telly and then drove down to watch Macclesfield v Workington.

23 minutes ago, scamp04 said:

 

When Cook left us for the first time in 2015 we had a couple of terrible appointments and transfer windows which sent us into a downward spiral. Not a single manager last a full season and until Cook returned and every manager we had in between wanted to sign players but had to do it within budget constraints, so, we constantly bought rubbish which meant the team kept losing and we sacked the manager and started the same spiral again and again!

 

Cook came back and at each end of season we released more than we signed. Often we'd trade 2 players who were steady for one top quality player and over the last few seasons we've done that culminating in Grigg, Naylor Jacobs and Berry this year as mentioned.

 

I just think you need to refine the squad season by season and it might take 2 or 3 seasons to get there as long as you are seeing a year on year improvement like we did.

 

As a side note I really thought Andrew Dallas would do well for you, he looked a decent player for us. Not sure why that one doesn't appear to have worked out

Dallas got better with each game and joined us at a bad time really when the rest were jacking it in.

We need to do exactly the same thing really and in key positions so it will be interesting to see how this seasons transfer business goes, we should of been going in for the likes of Colclough as I think wingers at this level can win you games but we had this obsession with harvesting strikers. We played Fondop and Reid throughout pre season and it looked quite promising but we've seen little of it as we've also used Nuttall, Willoughby, Norwood, Dallas, Garner, Stones which is frightening really given we signed six of them permanently for God knows how much money.