Grylls

As per the title, I’m intrigued to know if anyone knows the cumulative combined total of every Oldham signing ever? Or even a vague guess? I’m not after an ‘adjusted for inflation figure’. Ian Olney is still the dearest and he’s peanuts in the grander scheme of things. I’d wager that both Manchester City and Real Madrid have a player on their bench tonight that cost more than every player in our history combined?

His average league points per game would have seen us easily safe with a full season. Purely on a statistical basis. he improved the league position since he took over. thats me out of positives. I'm done.

League Two it is...

We're fucked.

Tonights results don't make a blind bit of difference. They could only have been drawn in to the relegation battle if both ourselves and Rochdale won. If we win we stay up in either situation. It makes no difference to us.

I don't buy in to that. At the end of day Ripley is 24. He has about 100 professional games under his belt. Valdes, although he'll still be under contract for another year will be one of, if not the, top earner at Middlesbrough. He's also 35 and a depreciating asset so it'd make sense to get rid in the close season. I doubt he'll want to slum it in the Championship. Brad Guzan is off to the MLS. Now bear in mind Pickford is younger than Ripley and had a similar number of professional games at lower levels before being given his Premier League debut and it seems entirely logical that Ripley will be starting games next season in the Championship.

Sort your heads out lads. Teams put their young players out to gain experience and blood them, he's been progressed year on year. Why hold him back? The next natural step is the Championship and guess where Middlesbrough will be playing next year? Ding, ding, we have a winner. The notion that a 'foreign coach' won't know what he can do is also utter fantasy. 'Oh hi, Mr X, Y, Z, what do you know about our squad of players that you wish to manage?' Reply; 'Nothing. I know nothing about football, I just thought I'd chance my arm in this country and expect your existing backroom team to be equally as clueless if they are still about?' where do you lot get your ideas from?

Dont know to be honest as it was locked on a rather cowardly basis.

http://m.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39697804 Sadly a few on here were probably talking rubbish. It was obvious it was a false conviction, hence why I said so at the time. Now a team that will be a league ABOVE US next year, have bought a player for £500k (the whole thing will have reduced his value). That could've been £500k net profit (Suppsedlly his wages would be paid by his birds Dad?) and/or a FREE striker that a promoted club sees value in? Hope the haters on here feel VERY STUPID?

Christ. I have NEVER seen a conspiracy theory on Jill Dando before. Next you'll all start on 9/11 (I was born in America) but the thing with conspiracy theories is just THAT, they are a theory. Some right nuggets on here.

He did alright for years with knackered old ones. Bollocks to the score board, get Shez his terminator legs. Champions League here we come!

There is a sticky fingers joke in there. I know there is...

Oops, I missed replying to that bit earlier. This one makes me laugh. He's not responsible for other people's actions and I'm sure he doesn't know every acquaintances 'usernames' or the like. If you'd be wrongly accused of something and people were defending you, would you tell them to stop? I sure as hell wouldn't. Father in law? You do realise that he isn't married don't you? Granted, she's not overly pretty (looks like she will end up a bloater) but is he to be blamed or lambasted for someone putting together a legal team? In that case, only the guilty would use the legal profession eh?

If I'm being completely honest, a bit of both. I shall expand. As I've said previously, I worked with someone (a couple of people actually) who were on City's academy at the same time as he was. I last worked with a lad called Andy at the point Ched signing for Sheffield United so followed his career from there. I was already very well versed on the details before he'd left prison, let alone been linked with us. I'm a former rep (not a legal thing I acknowledge) and I have done Jury service, so feel I'm able to look at things in an objective manner. In terms of his 'wrongs', although questionable and immoral they are not illegal - cheating on your bird, having a 'go' after your mate, leaving via a fire escape etc. On the flip side, as much as something is made of leaving via the fire escape he entered via the main entrance, the room was booked in his name etc. I genuinely believe he is a victim of circumstance and I do not believe, for a second, that a rape took place. When we got linked with him, I wasn't surprised but it would have resulted in me attending games again rather than being an 'armchair fan' (by all means, use it to lambast me, I'm not fussed!). The scope of watching a potentially multi-million pound striker who's career was on an upward trajectory at the time interested me a lot more than watching all the crap we've had up front since our measly £750k record signing from over 2 decades ago. (Although I loved Banger's pace although it's all he had, McCarthy and later Wijnhard). I've watched the club deteriorate. One of the last times I went, which gives you idea of how long ago it was, we had Bertrand on loan. My mate, who is a Forest fan, and I were laughing at how crap he was and wondered what Mourinho saw in him. He was terrible. Anyway, I digress. The whole idea of the transfer market is to 'find value' and we would have done that with Ched. If it gets overturned I'd hope we MAY have a chance of signing him in recognition of the fact we tried to put our money where our mouth was, sadly there will be better offers out there. For me, what he did is far less than Lee Hughes. He crashed in to someone whilst pissed (he'd already been done for drink driving!), he KILLED someone, left someone else in a wheelchair, left the scene of the accident, didn't report the accident to the police and hid away for 1 and a half days. In summary, we've signed someone who wasn't someone I wanted at the club. We haven't got a pot to piss in, these situations will keep cropping up. Big clubs can afford morals and don't need players who have missed years of playing and/or training.

Even if you want to carry on with your blinkered outlook, that's fine. Let's tackle it from another angle - he's served his time. That's his punishment. His punishment (or any other persons for that matter) isn't for a load of tampon wielding misandrists to hound his every move and prevent him from plying his trade. I can guarantee you'll encounter people on a day to day basis that carry far more risk than Ched Evans would. Know the history of your window cleaner/delivery boy/window cleaner/pool boy/gardener/painter/decorator/mechanic/bus driver/taxi driver/shop assistant/builder/plumber/electrician or the like? Nope thought not. A guy with a questionable conviction (the fact it's got to appeal speaks volumes) running round a bit of grass kicking a ball about in fronts of masses of people holds NO risk, unless you think that if he scores a hat trick he'll jump in the crowd and tag team the first girl he comes across along with everyone celebrating the goals? It's narrow mindedness of the highest order. As I say, when it's overturned let's see if 100k+ people sign something to acknowledge that they had a mob mentality and a sheep mindset? We both know they won't, they'll just STFU like they should have done from the start.

Just for clarity's sake, I'm not suggesting neither have done wrong. 1 I believe has been an incorrect outcome and he's maintained his innocence throughout, the latter pleaded guilty to 2 charges on day 1...

A wet willy... Not that we'd be in the position to go for him, after all he scores 1 in 6 in the Premiership but it wouldn't bother me in the slightest if he played for us. Hell, I'd be the first to start the chant off 'If you tolerate this, then your children will be next!' A point of interest, Frank Ribery got arrested for having sex with an underage prostitute, the difference is the culture. When I was growing up all the girls we knew were getting rattled before they were 16, let alone finger-banged (expect the ones that really munted or turned out to drink from the furry cup). Not saying what he did was right but Grabam Rix worked again and I would say he was far less of an 'asset' than a free signing Premiership standard player. Still wondering when Sunderland will sue him for some of that £10m transfer fee, if for nothing else but to detract from the backlash they are getting? Lucky for him his contract was due to expire in the summer. I could see him fitting in well in Rochdale...

I still reckon this will get over turned. Should shut some of those hate spitting muppets up when it does happen? Doubt the hundred thousand morons will bother to sign a form to accept they were wrong, eh?

5 years potentially. Call it 2 and a half for good behaviour? We could have him signed up for the start of the 2018/2019 season?

Iain Dowie back would be good. Or Mike Newell, other than his spell at Grimsby he did alright. The outside bet would be Ched Evans, if no-one will let him play, at least let him manage. As for Lee Johnson going, let's see what's in my give a :censored: pocket? Nope, nothing there, it's empty. Just his voice wound me up, he sounded like he should be mincing about on Canal Street, not managing a football club.

Likewise, the ignorance that nobody would have leaked details to the press shows a lack of understanding. I wanted Ched here. Give the board some credit, they were in negotiations for a month without anyone letting the cat out of the bag. That's a strong, unified board.

Boom. Question time. I predicted that earlier, if the Admin could be bothered to show it? LOL

Gutted. Looked like we had a truly decent striker for the first time in a decade. The stats on the percentile chances of his conviction being overturned at this stage are very strong. OAFC basically 'prick teased' him over the last 5 days. No idea, no courage in their conviction, no bollocks, no ambition. Oh when the blue go crawling away... Hope it comes up on Question Time?

* A £3m striker for 'free' (4 times our all time record signing Ian Olney) * The scope for said striker to commit to the club long-term for the faith shown. * Whole career spent in the top 2 leagues bar 1 season in League 1 when he got 29 goals in 36 games. * If this hadn't have happened he could arguably be playing in the Premiership now. * If it's over-turned the club would be vindicated of any :censored: that has been thrown their way. * Goals win games. * People late into the professional game seem to play at the top until longer in my eyes - Stuart Pearce, Ian Wright etc, so it could perhaps be argued that his 'time away' could be recouped? * At 26 years old, with the right contract and backing (think that's been fluffed in the last few days), we could have had a decent striker for a decade? * I actually think current players will have doubts about the strength of his conviction and the difference in 'views' seems very generational. Football players don't seem to be the age range that are spitting tampons. Could actually build a siege mentality and strengthen team solidity (I accept that will be contested by most!) * Durex could offer a £ per click on the forum in which case we can sign Neuer, Lahm, Varane, Hummels, Alaba, Hazard, Pogba, Rodriguez, Busquets, Messi and Ronaldo?

I'm pro signing him as you know but he is a very lucky lad in terms of his backing if that's true? How many people would give someone so much as the time of day if they had cheated on their Daughter? Not many. Even fewer for what he's done time for. For him to then be paying legal fees and helping to pay a clubs losses is beyond bold. It's high leverage when you look at the toxic press surrounding this case and his fortune is based on a Jewellers who I would wager make a lot due to marriages etc. Marriage and this case go together like steak and custard. I hope he gets it over-turned and repays everyone who has shown loyalty, faith or even a blindly, opportunistic faith. He'll be washing up on Christmas Day until the day he dies!