Bristolatic

Alex Palmer, keeper on loan from WBA for one game when Iversen was away with Denmark and De La Paz was injured.

Baxter?

Nope. Pretty sure it's the Blunts.

At the end of a troubled week for the club, the Prediction League produced a mixed set of posts but, in the Premier League, @Ex_pat reckoned Latics would bounce back and picked up 6 points in the process, keeping him top of the division. @oafcmetty also picked up 6 points, moving him up a couple of places as @JoeP was the highest climber, up 3 places. The bottom five didn't move. @BP1960 top scored in the Championship with 9 points, but even that only consolidated his place in the play offs, whereas @GlossopLatic,s 5 points shifted him up 4 places. There is a new leader,though, as @yarddog73's 3 points was enough to oust @Benja. @Latics_Fanatic dropped 4 places and, once again, the bottom seven stayed the same even though Lawman and @youngen collected 3 points apiece. The best performance in League 1 was the 9 points picked up by @maximus1267, taking him up to 3rd and the 8 points scored by @mick26 took him into the last play off spot. The biggest drop was the 4 places that @Latics and England fell and, once more, the bottom seven didn't move, although @Lee Sinnott's 5 points edges him ever closer to safety. Premier League Championship League 1 So, that's it for 2018. Just one more League game on New Year's Day before around 4,000 of us descend on Craven Cottage. In the meantime, stay safe and enjoy the celebrations on Tuesday; obviously, a Latics win and

I use the Just Park app for most games where parking is a nightmare. Folk rent out their drive way or parking lot. I've got one a 20 minute walk to the ground next Sunday for a tenner and I know it's safe and not get towed away.

Even better. 4-1 (O'Grady)

What a confidence boost this is. Need to give Notts County a pasting on Tuesday and then we can all enjoy Fulham.

3-1 Nepo. Get in.

Santini must have been out of the game for at least 10 years, surely. More chance landing Dowie (unless Ibby gets his way)

Vale 2-2 Latics (HT 1-0) - Nepomuceno - 4,958

I have a feeling we've seen the last of Surridge, but if that's O'Grady up front on his own, we will struggle. Three kids on the bench including the 15 year old Williams. Down to the bare bones, so PW obviously didn't have much to pick from. Nice to see De La Paz back; at least that's decent cover for Iversen.

That would be my line up well. Lyden protects the back four where we're lacking in pace. Just don't hoof it up to Surridge; he needs it on the ground to run on to and use his pace. The only tweak to that could be Hunt to RB and Taylor in at LB so there's a natural left footer for a bit more balance to add to the left side with Nepomuceno. If we need to go two up top and the midfield is going ok, then move Lyden up and bring on O'Grady/Miller to support Surridge. Or shove Lang up front and go 4-1-3-2.

As long as he's at the bottom of the applicant's list, preferably with the likes of Graham Westley and Lee Clark that'll do me.

Thought he came across really well, when he must have been nervous having only had the job for 10 minutes. I wish him and the team well and just hope they put on a performance that sends everyone home happy. Apart from the Port Vale fans, that is. As an aside, I know Wild is a pretty common name around those parts but, as he's from Royton, I wonder if he had a relative in the early 60s called Norman that lived on Highbarn Road between the golf club and Shaw Road. If so, my Dad played golf with said Norman. Now there's some useless information.

He was a goalkeeper with the Bin Dippers and the Plastics.

If, God forbid, the club folded, there is no way I would support a Phoenix club. It just wouldn't feel right after all these years. I'd probably go and support MUFC. Er, that's Mangotsfield United, not what some of you may have thought.

Dear God, no. *shudders*

^

That's your choice and I understand how you feel. I'm now 74 years old and I've supported Latics since my very first game as a six year old. It's in my blood and it has never ebbed away, despite the dark days of having to apply for re-election (non League football was a real possibility), 2004 and all that. Quite simply, my love for Latics won't go away and I'll continue to support whoever pulls on that blue shirt. It doesn't mean I'm wholeheartedly behind the regime that runs the club. I'm as pissed off with a lot of the shenanigans as you are, but I won't desert the football club that has been in my heart and soul for the thick end of 70 years. You might think I'm mad for doing so, but we all have our choices to make. I've made mine, you've made yours. That's your prerogative and I won't castigate anyone for going down that route. I'm simply asking that as many as possible get behind the players and let's see where it takes us.

I think you'll find they do care with January round the corner. And yes, they were playing for the manager, but he isn't there any more, so I do believe that the fans can play their part.

Robbie Fowler, Owen Coyle, Graham Westley . Just need Lee Clark for a full set of nobheads.

There's a great deal of passion running through posts at the moment and that is totally understandable. However, let me just say this with a cool, clear head. Please forget about boycotting games as some have suggested by saying vote with your feet. I think some have said they won't now go to Port Vale and Fulham. Some may feel that they've had enough altogether. Yes, things are not looking great at Boundary Park right now but, surely, this is the very time that the players of YOUR club need all the support they can get. None of us want our beloved Latics to slip into deeper trouble and, even, oblivion. Nobody wants us to do a Leyton Orient or Chesterfield and it's the fans who can be such a huge help in keeping us going. None of those players who walked off the field at Carlisle would be proud of what happened. On top of that, they've lost the manager that they seemed to be very happy with. Morale will be low now so, instead of not bothering to go, turn up as usual and show the players that they have your support. What you do to show your displeasure with Lemsagam is a different matter. Have a protest outside the ground, make banners, chant what you will, but show those players in blue that you care about your club and get behind them.

Can you please give @archiecat his emoji back please? Christ, we need something to smile about at the moment

I wonder if Frankie's tactics did him no favours? Many have posted about being surprised/baffled by the way he had us set up. Was that the case at Carlisle? Was it the problem second half against Exeter? He also seems to have been reluctant to use substitutes recently until it was too late. I, for one, couldn't for the life of me understand Branger-Engone for O'Grady yesterday. Maybe he wasn't as tactically astute as he should have been and that also led to his downfall. I'm not suggesting that AL is a tactical genius, but he may well have seen that Frankie was struggling in certain areas. The fans certainly have and expressed their concerns. Yes, a 6-0 tonking is no good on anyone's CV, but maybe he deserved a bit longer after the recent upturn in form.

The issues with advanced editing are not yet resolved, so apologies again if the quality is lacking. Anyway, on to to the nitty gritty of the Boxing Day massacre. this is probably the lowest scoring game in the history of the Prediction League. Only three players in the Premier League scored any points, the best being the 5 collected by @astottie by virtue of being only -9 from the attendance, which moved him of the bottom of the table. The 3 points scored by @oafcmetty moved him up 4 places. Just four players in the Championship collected points, 3 being the best by Lawman and @Stevie_J. The top 5 stay the same as @aidan_latics nips into the play off places. @pjkent slides closer to danger if we have a League 2 next season. In League 1, @Brisbaneblue top scored with 4 points and moves a little closer to safety as the 2 points scored by @Latics and England puts him in the play off slots. The top five haven't moved, so it's as you were in the promotion race. Premier League Championship League 1