Andy b

Wanting administration or relegation is very different to not being scared about the potential consequences of it. Don't confuse the two. Relegation and admin are fraught with risk and danger but any fan can see that keeping us in this division is not something to be pursued at all costs. It is not the holy grail for heavens sake and whilst we continue to treat it as such, the club and fans are losing out in so many more ways. The lack of charm, character and soul within the football club and the negativity around everything OAFC causes me much more saddest than would be caused by seeing us play the likes of Barrow every week. I would rather we focused our efforts on returning some of the love around the place. Why has our north stand not got a name, why has it not been officially opened, why were the flags removed from the Rochdale Road end, why has the north stand not got any signage on it that defines it as part of OAFC.

The owners aren't held to account because as long as they keep us in this division they are holding off threat of fans turning on them. That is why corner finds the money every year to keep us up. As long as we stay up we don't have sufficient justification to turn on him. Fans won't unite as 50 percent will continue to fall into the 'we should be thankful to him for keeping us here' camp. Divide and rule in action. We need a common cause

Must be true then. I stand corrected. we do have one the biggest budgets after all. I feel silly now

Of course we have one of the lowest budgets. Our crowds are virtually the lowest in the league and our commercial operation is woeful and brings little revenue to the club. If anyone thought the SD deal (worth a grand sum of 200k per year reportedly) was ever going to give us a top half budget than they are extremely deluded

Correct. Our attendances would be around 18th in league 2 and 3rd or 4th in the conference, if that's a reasonable proxy for budget.

It's not a strategy as such it's a realisation that that is what might happen. It comes down to a question of what you want out of your football club. I would have us playing FC Halifax every week if it meant I felt proud of my club and was a part of it. Others disagree and would rather stick with what we have now - the 'look at Stockport' line of argument as so often tabled.

Big dog, I couldn't care less about 'the players' quite frankly. They are a bit part in oafc and lost to Lincoln cos they are a match for our team. That's their level. It's not their fault they are not very good is it.

Very true latic76.

Fine by me.

Agree but it might be a catalyst for the fans to rally in some sort of way. We have to do something about it rather than moan on message boards but there doesn't seem to be any compulsion to do so whilst the owner continues to do such a fine job in keeping us in this league. Relegation may unify fans. What's the alternative?

Well summed up philligi. I too have little interest in what division we are in. I just want a club which I want to be a part of and which I am proud of no matter what level we are playing in. I don't feel that way about the current and its got very little to do with the fact that we are not very good on the pitch. This is exactly why I am not in the slightest bit concerned about us getting relegated. It might, just might, act as some sort of catalyst. The very slow decline that we are experiencing is killing us as no one really knows it's happening. The people of oldham, most of which have at least a soft spot for oafc, have never had a rally call cos it's never got that bad. It just may need to get worse before it gets better.

Ps but more importantly we need to engage with the club in a unified voice and put a compelling proposal forward for how we as fans can help (manpower, finances, passion, contacts - whatever) to move the club in the right direction - more income, better prospects on the pitch, happier and more engaged fan base and ultimately more fans through the door

Fan ownership may not be a panacea but greater fan input, influence and a sense of ownership can go a long way imo. It is the void between the club and fans which is doing the damage and creating the negativity around everything OAFC related. The fact that we could only generate 25k worth of funding from the scoreboard initiative (an average of less than 8 pounds per dedicated and devoted latics fan who still goes regularly) is really indicative of this. A well intended initiative no doubt but the fan base of the club did not feel it was their initiative. Result - a lack of buy in. There would be merit in the club handing over the running of a part of the club (probably the commercial off the pitch stuff) to the fans. Commercial staff would be employed by the fans and all profits could be put back into the club with an agreement that a fixed percentage goes direct to the playing budget.

Exactly nzlatic. Collectively we need to consider our next move here as this is certainly something which needs to be properly explored. A fans meet is needed as a message board isn't the right place to debate this imo.

Thank you for this. In the interest of you not shouldering the full burden here and to ensure fans feel properly engaged in this process, I think your suggestion is a good one. Has to be on the fans terms whilst being well managed and chaired.

Just a further thought - whilst asking questions of the chairman, it is also important that he understands our concerns as fans. These will be inherent in the questions of course but would the whole session benefit from a short opening statement to Corney to provide some context to the questions that follow? A scene setter. He needs to understand the sentiment behind the questions. It's not just a q and a session but an opportunity to get a clear message to the chairman. Happy to draft an opening gambit

Bp1960 - the disconnect starting long before the move out of the chaddy started my friend. Damage done over many years before that. The chaddy lost its status as the proper home end about 10 years ago. In fact do 'home ends' even exist anymore?

Agree that we should allow them to see the questions first. A 'them and us attitude' isn't conducive to building bridges. Fans and owners need to build some trust between them if the fans are are going to allowed to have some positive influences in moving this club forward

Dr evil - we are a league 2 size club these days and that is our level. But our current owner has overseen a period when we have gone from mid league 1 in stature to lower half of league 2 in stature. When put in that context I hope you can understand why I will never accept that we should greateful to him just for keeping us in league

Well done for leading the charge here. My biggest issue in recent times has been the disconnection between fans and club and that the club is seemingly unable to really understand the fans' perspective. The fans view the club and its owners with suspicion and vice versa. For a club of the size and stature of oafc that is hugely damaging. Corneys recent interview only served to reinforce my perception that the void between the fans and owners is extremely wide. They are simply not on the same page at the moment. I would like to think this can change but proper engagement between the fans and the club is critical. It has to be driven by fans though. Silly questionnaires on our website don't do it. There are means and ways of engaging with fans on a more personal level. Faceless and impersonal questionnaires really aren't the way forward for a club like us. I really hope this is the start of an improved relationship. Lastly, Corney's continual reference to 'letting fans see the books' says it all to me about his clear misunderstanding of our perspective and the issues we have as fans. I don't doubt for one minute that the books don't make for good reading. My issue, and that of most fans, is the fact that we would appear to have little chance of progress under the current regime. A regime that has overseen continual year on year decline and yet we are supposed to buy into the view that he has done a good job for keeping us in league 1. That's not what motivates football fans mate. You clearly don't get it.

Indeed it is but then this is a message board and exists for the purposes of dumping useful and unnecessary facts, observations and opinions on other people which you won't dream of passing on in real life and conducting ones self in a manner which is socially unacceptable

Nowhere in my post do I indicate that. I am merely stating facts. The point you raise is a different one entirely. Getting relegated three times and then promoted three times is no more or less 'successful' than staying in the same division throughout that period. You start at the same point and finish at the same point. As a football fan would I prefer us to get relegated three times and then promoted three times or stay in the same division throughout that period? Without a shadow of a doubt I would prefer the former. We would be no more successful but it would be far more enjoyable I can assure you. Problem is, getting relegated doesn't mean you get promoted so its not a choice one gets to make.

Yes it is my friend.

Might add Blackburn to that and possibly Newcastle.

Ok so am bored with preseason and clearly this shows just how much but here goes. In the 19 seasons we have been in league one there have been a total of 496 top six places up for grabs across the football league (ie number of divisions x 6 x 19). Say there has been 105 different clubs in the football league during that time then that means on average teams have finished top 6 on 4.72 occasions. The average amongst clubs which have been in the football league for the full period (such as latics) will clearly be higher. We have been in the top six on 2 occasions during that period. I reckon only Coventry and possibly villa will beat that. Not highlighting anything new just a different perspective on something we already know. Back to work