Bobledgersheart

Welcome to Oldham, Abdallah !!

It's held a lot of us back.

I've watched him picking people up at corners and free kicks........ he doesn't ! Maybe he was moved upfront because of this.

Thought Bobby was pretty good, for a red, and Jack was fairly steady.

I don't know if you actually go to matches but his passing is very adequate for the tasks he is asked to do. It's a team game and he has his part to play i.e. "get it and give it to someone who has a range of passes" (e.g. Jack Byrne). A team full of Fanes would be as effective as a team full of Byrnes.

The point being it's holding up his progress into first team football. Apparently when he's had a chance off the bench he's played quite well and looked a natural finisher. When a new manager comes into a club he invariably signs players he "knows" usually to the detriment of the existing ones chances. It doesn't look too good when you talk your chairman into signing someone then they're kept on the sidelines by a kid from the youth set-up.

A very good prospect, according to my Rovers supporting mate, whose only been held back by Mowbray's insistence on starting players he's signed.

McLaughlin was at his best when played inside, running off a centre forward. His poor crossing ability is a big drawback for a winger. He shares the same affliction as most of our players, he can't miss the first man when crossing.

When he was played as a pure right side attacking player last season his form dropped in my opinion. It's a lot easier to attack when the play's in front of you. As long as the right side midfield player covers his forward forays he is a great asset at this level. Byrne's failure to track back left him exposed quite a few times

I was sure it was George, and he played on the right side of defence.

Nephew I think.

The problem is they make it so bloody obvious what they're doing so seldom get away with it. Still think that if you make an attempt to get to the ball the ref is less likely to penalize you. You need to be clever when fouling, use your body not your hands, like Lee Hughes was. He used his arse and hips to push people off the ball and invariably got away with it.

Can't disagree with you there - he's been a major disappointment and I'm glad he's gone......with my best wishes !

Because it's the nice thing to do. I don't get this bad-mouthing players or ex-players unless they've done the dirty on us, ala Chris Porter.

Holloway's problem, like Tope, is that he snatches at most chances. Most goalscorers concentrate on getting their knee over the ball and hitting the target. Keeping on the move is also an integral part of goal-scoring which, unfortunately none of our strikers,including Davies, seem to possess. Our two current central strikers seem preoccupied with battling with their markers instead of battling to get away from them.

Offered nothing going forward, which is understandable because he hasn't a left foot so constantly turns inside. When we were pressing late in the second half with four attacking players upfront he lobbed the ball aimlessly forward to no-one in particular. Even when pressed into service as a right back last season he would advance to the halfway line, turn back and pass to Clarke. I don't expect him to bomb forward at his age but when he does get into an attacking position his crossing is usually terrible. In fact the whole team's crosses are pathetic, even Dummigan, who really impressed yesterday, invariably over-hits every time.

Another right-footed left back? Although after Wilson's performance yesterday we do need somebody.

Saying you'll sell if the right offer comes along is what all footballers want to hear. The negative comments about Byrne may have been part of an agenda to get him back/put others off signing him. It doesn't appear to have upset Jack much !

No, because the newspapers do make some rumours up or filch them from sites like this for attention which helps sell their crappy papers. Passing on knowingly wrong information is a bit childish.

Fans are more likely to appreciate something that has a basis of truth. Otherwise we can all just make up shit for attention!

I was just a kid when my idol, Bob Ledger, played at Boundary Park but when I started work spoke to a Latics fan who said Bob's dad wrote to the letters column at the Oldham Chron saying "You're breaking my Bobby's heart" after he was dropped for a couple of games. So you see it's not unprecedented for a player's dad to be over-involved in their career.

He's the "mate" no one wants a night out with. Avoid like the plague !

APPEARING ??

I think most people are just pointing out he's not perfect despite what some posters, and I suspect himself, thinks. Not many have been critical of him with the ball at his feet, it's the other part of the game he's not brilliant at. Some weeks ago people were having a dig at Gardener and Fane, yet they have facilitated Byrne's freedom from responsibility which enabled his talent to flourish. He's a very good player - he's not the Messiah.

Perhaps his workrate and stamina is aided by the fact he very rarely tracks back. No one disputes his ability on the ball, but he does have faults.