To light the perpetual gloom

[beag_teeets]

We are in the paper for the right reasons for once and a late entry for up the arse corner!

 

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2010/...cup-semi-finals

 

[oafc1955]

We are in the paper for the right reasons for once and a late entry for up the arse corner!

 

 

Supporters of Liverpool, Manchester United and Nottingham Forest in particular might disagree, but Oldham were the team of the 1989-90 English season by a mile. The other three got the domestic trophies, but Oldham got something more important: glory, and in industrial quantities. At club level at least, they were the coolest neutral's favourites there ever was. They were simply magnificent: swashbuckling, unassuming and youthful.

 

That's why supporters are so pi***ed off with today's team!!!!

[dave_ragg1984]

The splendid Andy Ritchie, who even made baldness look cool.

 

[leeslover]

Duly forwarded to me boss!

[slurms mckenzie]

That was the real Oldham. I remember when people used to ask where I was from, I used to have a big smile on my face when saying Oldham, thanks to that team.

 

 

EDIT - love the article, "Oldham were the team of the 1989-90 English season by a mile"...... "were simply magnificent: swashbuckling, unassuming and youthful"......... and Andy Ritchie referred to as "splendid" twice

Edited January 15, 2010 by slurms mckenzie

[KUNGFOO]

thay should get the players in to watch vids like that give's fire in the belly

[andy_b_100]

That brings back memories ..... 0898 12 11 42 Latics Clubcall ... I squandered £90 of company funds listening to that match in my office in Macclesfield unable to attend due to work. So I dialled in put it on speaker phone ..... Oh my god how the staff laughed as I danced around the place knowing i would be going to Wembley as a Latics fan with my head held high.

 

West Ham have had quite a bearing on results in the years to the Champion season... Good on em !!

[Diego_Sideburns]

Before last night's TV highlights, the presenter said "a League Cup semi-final is never won in the first leg".

 

[BP1960]

It doesn't seem 20 years ago.

[slurms mckenzie]

That brings back memories ..... 0898 12 11 42 Latics Clubcall ... I squandered £90 of company funds listening to that match in my office in Macclesfield unable to attend due to work. So I dialled in put it on speaker phone ..... Oh my god how the staff laughed as I danced around the place knowing i would be going to Wembley as a Latics fan with my head held high.

 

West Ham have had quite a bearing on results in the years to the Champion season... Good on em !!

 

I used to get in trouble from my parents for ringing that number

[BP1960]

I used to get in trouble from my parents for ringing that number

 

Quiz question: Anyone remember the prefix letters before the number when telephoning Latics in the 1950/60s ?

[oafc1955]

Quiz question: Anyone remember the prefix letters before the number when telephoning Latics in the 1950/60s ?

 

MAI ???

 

[bluehobbit]

 

 

I know holden was left footed but that one where the keepr throws the ball to him and he just runs direct down the line and then crosses something in. H

ow many times do we see Taylor run at the defence with pace scare them half to death then slow down and stop - bloody annoying oh well those were the days.

I havent seen a low scoring latics team really but this one struggles to get a shot on target

Edited January 15, 2010 by bluehobbit

[Roger Ritchie]

I wonder if the current crop could ever be written about with such fervour?

[futchers briefs]

I wonder if the current crop could ever be written about with such fervour?

Let's give it a break hey....there has never been and probably never again be a collective group of Oldham Ath players to have such things written.

 

"The splendid Andy Ritchie, who even made baldness look cool, enjoyed the brightest of Indian summers, including two marvellous goals in the 3-1 defeat of the champions Arsenal; Rick Holden, a shambling maverick who looked like a roadie for a particularly rubbish indie band and who was actually Phil Brown's best man, would terrorise right-backs and send over a relentless stream of huge, booming crosses; Mike Milligan was a midfield bumblebee whose inability to reach the very top is hard to fathom; Earl Barrett (lightning fast) and Paul Warhurst (even faster) were at the centre of a formidable defence that also included Denis Irwin. Of their best XI, only Ritchie and the evergreen Roger Palmer were over 25.

 

 

Their season was full of what Dan Turner described as "merciless gianticide" in When Saturday Comes. "

 

Fantastic piece of writing and that is what "supporting" Oldham Athletic is all about!!

[Oafc88]

Great read, so gutted to have missed all of this was only 1/2 years old at the time. All ive ever known is league 1

[Frankly Mr Shankly]

I know holden was left footed but that one where the keepr throws the ball to him and he just runs direct down the line and then crosses something in. How many times do we see Taylor run at the defence with pace scare them half to death then slow down and stop - bloody annoying oh well those were the days.

 

Do you think that may be down to the way players are coached these days? After all, back then we were well renowned for "You score 3, but we'll score 4" type of tactics, which Tricky Ricky fitted into nicely. Even great sides at this level recently, or even in the past 10 years, I've never seen one play in the same style that we did. In fact the nearest I've seen was Barnsley in 1996 when they went up and we went down. They tore us apart that day, very much in the way that we tore teams apart in our pomp.

 

These days, there seems to be much more emphasis on getting a goal, or maybe two and shutting up shop. Holding the advantage.

[leeslover]

Do you think that may be down to the way players are coached these days? After all, back then we were well renowned for "You score 3, but we'll score 4" type of tactics, which Tricky Ricky fitted into nicely. Even great sides at this level recently, or even in the past 10 years, I've never seen one play in the same style that we did. In fact the nearest I've seen was Barnsley in 1996 when they went up and we went down. They tore us apart that day, very much in the way that we tore teams apart in our pomp.

 

These days, there seems to be much more emphasis on getting a goal, or maybe two and shutting up shop. Holding the advantage.

It comes and goes in waves. Arsenal and Man U have won things playing great attacking football but they have still done most of it on the back of very strong mean defences. I think the likes of Holden aren't seen because the focus is on shooting from possession from in front of goal, hence wingers cutting in or tight midfields with the full-backs given the job of keeping the other defence honest by at least threatening to get forward and wide. Ol school tactics would probably get a certain number of results, if for no other reason than that other teams and players just aren't set up for them at all.