Andy b

Agree. You would be very surprised at the skills and experience of people out there though. Latics fan base ain't made up entirely of people on the dole with no skills. Some have significant business experience and do posses the attributes needed. You don't need wealth hence we cut our cloth accordingly.

No one is saying that would happen but the fans have passion, drive and care. That goes along way.

If he goes the fans takeover, we cut our cloth accordingly and we start again. We get our club back. Seems straightforward to me.

Mrs wouldn't approve, otherwise...

My prediction for what it's worth - we will survive, get all excited and optimistic about next season on the back of one or two signings which look good on paper and we will have the same conversation this time next year just as we have done every January for 10 years. And repeat.

Thanks for the feedback.

Well said westy and with passion.

42 is a champ position. We did not bat above that for a long time did we? We batted at or around that level for a significant period of time with 4 or 5 years (not a 'long time') being above that. Bear in mind that before the premier league formed that average position wouldn't have resulted in relegation. We are now a world away from 42nd position on so many levels. Point being that despite being :censored: for 20 years (1/6 of our existence as a club) we still manage an average of 42nd position in the football league. Can the teams which we now compare ourselves with and who are genuinely a similar size to us (Crewe, fleetwood, dale, bury, fleetwood) compete with that? No. Can the teams sitting above us with bigger attendances, better budgets etc (walsalls, gills etc) compete with that? No. Illustrates the magnitude of our collapse. Ah well.... Stalybridge won today

Am in the angry stage. Denial next

Luton - good shout. We will however be the first ex prem club to drop out of the football league.

You cannot bat above your average for a long time unless you were absolutely terrible for the rest of the time. That is how averages work.

No one did. Damage was done in the early to mid 90s when we failed to put proper plans in place re stadium development. Hudds, midds, Bolton for their :censored: together didn't they.

Forte, none of which were established champ clubs though were they. There is a difference between having a purple patch where you punch above your weight for a couple of years and actually being established at that level. For so long we were an established 2nd tier club. Part of the furniture at thay level much like say Ipswich. The same does not apply to gillingham who merely flirted with the champ. That is my point here and illustrates have far we have fallen in stature, status, finance, fan base etc.

Well yes, very true about Wimbledon. Our fall is more about the size and status of the club than its league position for me. Teams fall down the leagues temporarily but unless they contract substantially in size, it's usually a blip (even if one that lasts ten years or so) and they come back. Burnley were a sleeping giant during their period in the lower league, still getting good crowds and having a presence in the town. They didn't massively contract and it was inevitable that they would get back to their natural level. Ditto Bradford. Lincoln are not a non league club in stature and will be back. Stockport's period in the second tier was a blip in an otherwise lower league existence. It's the extent to which we have shrunk as a club which gets me. 2007 was key. Ten years in league 1 at that point and we started to really lose fans but they could have returned had we gone up and we would have pushed on. I fear that even if we got promoted now the lost fans wouldn't return. They don't associate with the club anymore. We are a small club with few fans. We are no longer a medium sized club having a hard time with a potentially good fan base. We are a badly run Rochdale!

May be I am stating the obvious but what is so depressing about our situation is that none of the teams which have fallen out of the football league and with which are increasing comparing ourselves (York, tranmere, stockport, Grimsby, Wrexham, Chester etc) have anything like our recent history. These have allways been lower league teams and have hit hard times, dropping a down a level or so from their 'natural' position in terms of league, crowds, finance etc. For us it isn't just a case of taking one or two steps down but a fundamental contraction in the size and status of this football club, potentially to the point of no return. We are no longer a decent sized club currently dormant. No other club has contracted to our size over bearly 20 years from our starting point, though Coventry may be on the way to doing so. Yet we are increasingly aligning ourselves with teams outside the football league with whom we have no history and can only dream of competing financially with the likes of....Rotherham, Oxford, Peterborough, gillingham, Walsall and the like. Of course history is always being created and I am very much coming at this from a perspective of someone who started supporting oafc in 1990. Someone will tell me that our average position historically actually puts us in league 1 in any case but our collapse and contraction over 20 years is unprecedented in modern football. Sad times.

Yes but boy did the swans trust kick up a fuss. We all heard about it and they won't fail to consult again will they. That is as an active fan trust doing what it should do and holding the club's decision makers to account. If only...

One is in the champ (one of the richest leagues in the world) and has spent the majority of the last 15 years there from recollection. The other is in league 2 and has been so for many years, including during sheridens reign. No comparison.

Fair point but if the club has said we are getting £1m over five years which will help keep us afloat I'd have been happy and sufficiently convinced of the benefits of the deal. We have to get in the real world. That is what is needed to merely sustain the club. Saying it will give us a top 6 budget was, at best, a very foolish thing to say.

Deyres that's a ridiculous comment. Why exactly did the club need to say this to justify the deal? The fans don't need convincing of the benefits of such commercial deals.

I suggest the attendees issue a summary note of the questions, objectives and agenda once they have met up and confirmed arrangements. And yes, clipboards will be issued to all attendees along with hi vis jackets

Such a meeting is being planned

Singe, NZLatic, Rest assured this will not turn into a slanging match. Any fan initiative needs to be approached in a positive way and must be based on building bridges with the club and its owners. We should try and hold them to account but protest and aggression won't achieve our objectives at this stage. The owners will close up and shut us out if it turns into a slanging match. It is important that we get the tone of this interview (any all future engagement with the club) right if we are to get honest and open answers. If I have the opportunity to attend, I for one will ensure this is approached in a professional manner, conducive to building a better and more open relationship with the club.

It's a yes from me

Thanks for the update nnn.