Cup Defeat Financial Disaster - Hardy

[Hometownclub]

Same here....

My god you should be serving a life sentence.

[Diego_Sideburns]

Yes, absolutely undoubtledly and I wouldn't be doing it to gain acceptance, gratitude or thanks from anyone.

 

The first thing I'd do is buy back BP, sell the land at Failsworth and start rebuilding where we are now - starting with a new Lookers Stand.

 

I pray that you are successful.

[oafc0000]

My god you should be serving a life sentence.

 

?

[Rick]

I pray that you are successful.

 

Me too.

 

 

Seven prayers - for good luck

 

 

[boundaryblue80]

?

I thought you were bright

 

Missing a game = a crime

 

You've missed a lot of games = a lot of crimes akin to so many you should be doing a life sentence...

Edited November 8, 2010 by boundaryblue80

[Macca]

I thought you were bright

 

Missing a game = a crime

 

You've missed a lot of games = a lot of crimes akin to so many you should be doing a life sentence...

 

Its not a crime it's a choice. The choice not to go is being made easier and easier.

[opinions4u]

The choice not to go is being made easier and easier.

Quality of football is massively better this season. Very, very entertaining on the whole. Even Saturday's debacle was entertaining.

 

People choosing not to go, depsite this, is going to strangle the club more than a first round FA Cup exit.

Edited November 8, 2010 by opinions4u

[DerekWilson_1968]

Bravo Prozac. Bloody Bravo!!!!

[oafcprozac]

Quality of football is massively better this season. Very, very entertaining on the whole. Even Saturday's debacle was entertaining.

 

People choosing not to go, depsite this, is going to strangle the club more than a first round FA Cup exit.

 

This is what is so disheartening, it is so much better than last season entertainment wise but every time there's a glimmer of hope, more bad news is released or we shoot ourselves in the foot ala Saturday!

[slystallone]

Quality of football is massively better this season. Very, very entertaining on the whole. Even Saturday's debacle was entertaining.

 

People choosing not to go, depsite this, is going to strangle the club more than a first round FA Cup exit.

 

The damage has been done over a number of years – but IMO last season’s ‘product’ was the final straw for a large number of previous ‘diehards’. In a crumbling ground; with little atmosphere – having to watch the dross that was served up week in; week out broke many.

 

Regardless of how well the playing side is currently playing; many are not coming back......it’s those fans that have caused the attendance drops. The ones from the glory days are long gone; and have proved time & time again that no matter what state the club is in; or how well the team is playing; they won’t come back. Our gates from say 2 years ago were what; around 5,500 – 6,000 and today we’re looking at around 4,000 currently. It’s those fans we need to come back; the recently departed, not the 8,000 or so who used to call themselves Oldham fans back in 1990. (Yes; we obviously ideally would like them back; but realistically that just isn’t going to happen). The only problem is with trying to get those 1500-2,000 back is that; what can we actually entice them back with? The football is better than last season (& IMO the last season under Shez too) but it’s being served up in a 3-sided; soulless, crumbling archaic ground; in an atmosphere that is hardly encouraging; all played out under a ‘will we / wont we’ stadium move to an area lots of fans don’t want to move to; and with the sub-plot of 2 out of the 3 owners pulling all investment from the club and the ones who remain seemingly intent upon only putting out negative messages & alienating further fans with misjudged comments in the media. With all that going on; it’s just not enough to think better on the pitch performances are going to bring back the recent stay-aways...........

 

[drphibes]

 

How we get those 1500-2000 god only knows. Going to the football is an habit for many fans in the lower divisions because success is a distant dream. Under the Penney regime we lost a shedload of fans and now they have broken the ritual habit of going to bp it is going to take one hell of a product on the pitch to get them back.

[oafcprozac]

The damage has been done over a number of years – but IMO last season’s ‘product’ was the final straw for a large number of previous ‘diehards’. In a crumbling ground; with little atmosphere – having to watch the dross that was served up week in; week out broke many.

 

Regardless of how well the playing side is currently playing; many are not coming back......it’s those fans that have caused the attendance drops. The ones from the glory days are long gone; and have proved time & time again that no matter what state the club is in; or how well the team is playing; they won’t come back. Our gates from say 2 years ago were what; around 5,500 – 6,000 and today we’re looking at around 4,000 currently. It’s those fans we need to come back; the recently departed, not the 8,000 or so who used to call themselves Oldham fans back in 1990. (Yes; we obviously ideally would like them back; but realistically that just isn’t going to happen). The only problem is with trying to get those 1500-2,000 back is that; what can we actually entice them back with? The football is better than last season (& IMO the last season under Shez too) but it’s being served up in a 3-sided; soulless, crumbling archaic ground; in an atmosphere that is hardly encouraging; all played out under a ‘will we / wont we’ stadium move to an area lots of fans don’t want to move to; and with the sub-plot of 2 out of the 3 owners pulling all investment from the club and the ones who remain seemingly intent upon only putting out negative messages & alienating further fans with misjudged comments in the media. With all that going on; it’s just not enough to think better on the pitch performances are going to bring back the recent stay-aways...........

 

 

 

[BP1960]

You know what; I'm going on New Year's Day Mr BP - been to Hartlepool more times than i care to remember; so it's Droylsden Vs Vauxhall Motors for me.

Enjoyed the game; the 'old school' atmosphere and the standard of Football.

 

If, as many now see it, the lurch into administration & liquidation isn’t too far off – many could do a lot worse than go to watch the Bloods.

 

Droylsden & Vauxhall might still be in the FA Cup the following Saturday too.

[JoeP]

The damage has been done over a number of years – but IMO last season’s ‘product’ was the final straw for a large number of previous ‘diehards’. In a crumbling ground; with little atmosphere – having to watch the dross that was served up week in; week out broke many.

 

Regardless of how well the playing side is currently playing; many are not coming back......it’s those fans that have caused the attendance drops. The ones from the glory days are long gone; and have proved time & time again that no matter what state the club is in; or how well the team is playing; they won’t come back. Our gates from say 2 years ago were what; around 5,500 – 6,000 and today we’re looking at around 4,000 currently. It’s those fans we need to come back; the recently departed, not the 8,000 or so who used to call themselves Oldham fans back in 1990. (Yes; we obviously ideally would like them back; but realistically that just isn’t going to happen). The only problem is with trying to get those 1500-2,000 back is that; what can we actually entice them back with? The football is better than last season (& IMO the last season under Shez too) but it’s being served up in a 3-sided; soulless, crumbling archaic ground; in an atmosphere that is hardly encouraging; all played out under a ‘will we / wont we’ stadium move to an area lots of fans don’t want to move to; and with the sub-plot of 2 out of the 3 owners pulling all investment from the club and the ones who remain seemingly intent upon only putting out negative messages & alienating further fans with misjudged comments in the media. With all that going on; it’s just not enough to think better on the pitch performances are going to bring back the recent stay-aways...........

 

There's nothing we don't already know there, though.

 

The sniping at the Hardy article just sums a lot of Latics fans up to me – always looking for an excuse to moan. WTF is he supposed to say?; “It was almost a terrific fightback and everyone should come and see us on the back of that!”. No – he would have been accused of “thinking people are stupid to fall for that” or whatever. He told it how it is. And at the end of the day, does it matter how you interpret this article? The clubs got bigger problems.

 

The fact is that we need a bit of solidarity. Corney might not be everyone’s cuppa, but the fact is we have to put our faith in him because there’s no one else on standby with a bucketload of cash, so why not give him the benefit of the doubt? If the worst happened and the club went under, I still wouldn’t hold TTA responsible – for every decision they’ve made, I can see why they made it and they did it at the time because they thought it would move the club forward. Arguably, some of them haven’t turned out as well as we’d hope, but I don’t think pointing these errors out is going to do the club any good at the moment.

 

[Canada_latic]

You know what frustrates me? It's the people that defend TTA time and time again and i'm struggling to understand the justification for your loyalty to these ex-pat business men that are about to leave our club in one holy mess.

 

We are all grateful for what TTA did in late 2003, but since late 2005 when we got a sub-4,000 crowd for a pre-Christmas game v Walsall, the owners and Corney in particularly has been vociferous in his criticisms of the fanbase, alienating the faithful 5,000 that has since dwindled to the faithful 3,500. We've had to put up with emotional blackmail year after year, scratch our back and we'll scratch yours mentality that has frankly become a little tiresome for many. We even fell for the sob story over the council's dismissal of the planning application for BP. We mobilised in our thousands and marched vociferously, wrote letters, sent emails and told anyone who would listen what an injustice it all was. How were we repaid? Feet were dragged, a stand was dropped as a cynical money-making measure - leaving Boundary Park a soulless and depressing place. On top of this we have seen every young prospect sold at the drop of a hat - Richards, Spencer, Philliskirk, Eaves etc.. Eardley was allowed to leave for peanuts and our top-scorer for each the SIX previous seasons to leave for almost nothing(Killen, Beckett, Porter, Davies, Hughes, Abbott) I am under no illusions that this club has always sold to survive but over the last few seasons I don't think we've dug our heels in enough to get market value for our best prospects. There's been no continuity during their tenure, there's been too many knee-jerk reactions that have damaged the club, a small investment in a second striker during 06/07 may well have seen us promoted. Instead we made do and failed miserably. Similarly when it was clear Porter had clicked, surely an improved contract offer should have been made in the Autumn - he cost us £100,000 surely it made sense to protect that investment. Same with Wellens - good businesses protect their assets. Since losing to Blackpool in the Play Offs it seems that club has been consistently 'down-sizing', the fans are not stupid and as sad as I am to see as many as I have drift away, they all have their reasons. Instead of finding out why such apathy exists; the club, some fans and the Trust I might add, find it easier to point the finger and blame the stayaways.

 

Now we're in a dire predicament, but the fans are confused. We've unsurprisingly posted losses of £1.5m, but a third of that is attributed to a planning application and costs linked to a holding company separate to Oldham Athletic. We were told the budget was in place for this season before the season started, yet a few weeks ago we're told the budget is in place but the money isn't? This confused me, as how the hell could we afford to sign MORE players when we still had existing contracts to meet? It simply doesn't stack up and consistent with the latter part of the owners tenure namely the goalposts being constantly moved.

 

 

People argue that TTA have put x amount in here and x amount there and I have been very grateful for this but let's not forget that during their tenure we have seen an increase in TV money allocation and FL sponsorship, extra shirt sponsorship and logos on shorts have been permitted and the club have been on TV live on no less than 11 occasions (Off the top of my head), and have received fees for Richards, Spencer, Philliskirk, Eaves, Trotman, Eardley, Davies, O'Grady, Abbott (well over a million quid) amongst others so has their backing been as generous as many think? Not forgetting that match-day prices have increased by about 35% in comparison to 2003.

 

We're now in a situation where we are fighting for our lives again, one that Corporal Jones described in detail over and over again a couple of years ago. Since the middle of last season, the penny dropped for me and many others. Many have walked away, having no stomach for a fight. Some of us are still here and will be here no matter what but there's a lot of uncertainty. The Failsworth situation remains unresolved and is taking too long, there's a lack of clarity over how the stadium will be funded for it become a reality. There's rumours of Mr. Corney and other club officials walking away or retiring. TTA aways stated that they would never put the club into administration, unfortunately the likelihood of this becomes closer to reality by the day.

 

To attribute being up :censored: creek without a paddle because of who we may or may not get in the FA Cup is like betting the club on '33' black at the casino!

 

The question is are people happy simply to trust the owner(s) and simply continuing to be nodding dogs, or are they willing to fight for some clarity and some real answers over what is happening? We know the club's skint and in trouble, what I want to know is what is being done to ensure the club can survive?

 

I know the club are sensitive to criticism, but tough! It's time we had a few answers as to what the future holds and just what the intentions are of our landlords. I'll still be here long after the present board have gone, I want to know there'll be an Oldham Athletic...

 

Spot on, again.

 

Have you been to see Alan Hardy yet?

 

[Canada_latic]

This is what is so disheartening, it is so much better than last season entertainment wise but every time there's a glimmer of hope, more bad news is released or we shoot ourselves in the foot ala Saturday!

EXACTLY!

[Canada_latic]

The damage has been done over a number of years – but IMO last season’s ‘product’ was the final straw for a large number of previous ‘diehards’. In a crumbling ground; with little atmosphere – having to watch the dross that was served up week in; week out broke many.

 

Regardless of how well the playing side is currently playing; many are not coming back......it’s those fans that have caused the attendance drops. The ones from the glory days are long gone; and have proved time & time again that no matter what state the club is in; or how well the team is playing; they won’t come back. Our gates from say 2 years ago were what; around 5,500 – 6,000 and today we’re looking at around 4,000 currently. It’s those fans we need to come back; the recently departed, not the 8,000 or so who used to call themselves Oldham fans back in 1990. (Yes; we obviously ideally would like them back; but realistically that just isn’t going to happen). The only problem is with trying to get those 1500-2,000 back is that; what can we actually entice them back with? The football is better than last season (& IMO the last season under Shez too) but it’s being served up in a 3-sided; soulless, crumbling archaic ground; in an atmosphere that is hardly encouraging; all played out under a ‘will we / wont we’ stadium move to an area lots of fans don’t want to move to; and with the sub-plot of 2 out of the 3 owners pulling all investment from the club and the ones who remain seemingly intent upon only putting out negative messages & alienating further fans with misjudged comments in the media. With all that going on; it’s just not enough to think better on the pitch performances are going to bring back the recent stay-aways...........

+1

[LaticsPete]

Droylsden & Vauxhall might still be in the FA Cup the following Saturday too.

 

Do you post on this site about Latics as much as you do on here about Droylsden.......?

 

BP's fav team?

[oafcprozac]

There's nothing we don't already know there, though.

 

The sniping at the Hardy article just sums a lot of Latics fans up to me – always looking for an excuse to moan. WTF is he supposed to say?; “It was almost a terrific fightback and everyone should come and see us on the back of that!”. No – he would have been accused of “thinking people are stupid to fall for that” or whatever. He told it how it is. And at the end of the day, does it matter how you interpret this article? The clubs got bigger problems.

 

The fact is that we need a bit of solidarity. Corney might not be everyone’s cuppa, but the fact is we have to put our faith in him because there’s no one else on standby with a bucketload of cash, so why not give him the benefit of the doubt? If the worst happened and the club went under, I still wouldn’t hold TTA responsible – for every decision they’ve made, I can see why they made it and they did it at the time because they thought it would move the club forward. Arguably, some of them haven’t turned out as well as we’d hope, but I don’t think pointing these errors out is going to do the club any good at the moment.

 

I blame The Three Landlords full-stop - 6,000 fans when they arrived, now less than 3,500 in a :censored:-hole of a ground. Moving the club to City's doorstep, polarising the fanbase and :censored:e decision after :censored:e decision. At what point are you going realise we're past the tipping point Joe? What about when we're playing at Spotland or Edgley Park?

 

This is the problem, there's still too many fans unwilling to admit the situation we are in and what has been the catalyst for it. Whether those decisions were made in good faith or not The Three Landlords have made the biggest contribution to the situation we are in. Unfortunately The Three Landlords are willing to blame everyone but themselves, whilst some of the fanbase can be criiticised for being complete :censored:-outs - blaming the fans totally is a cop out! They could have got it so right, instead they alienated 40% of the match going public.

 

Moore :censored:ed us up in one go, The Three Landlords have gone about it by stealth and by constantly moving the goalposts...I think they've failed miserably. If only they could be held accountable?

Edited November 8, 2010 by oafcprozac

[oafc0000]

If only they could be held accountable?

 

 

At least at the end of the Moores reign the ground was in the hands of the council

 

[oafcprozac]

Spot on, again.

 

Have you been to see Alan Hardy yet?

 

NO, and won't be doing until I know what is going on with Failsworth. After some thought and discussion with fellow fans, marketing is only a tiny issue in the bigger picture.

 

However, i'm pleased to see us suddenly getting new lines in the shop, and the club is listening to the fans. We have tickets being sold in the town centre and kids playing half-time matches at BP all of a sudden. Maybe they are now listening, shame the horse has already bolted but fair play for giving it a go...

[help_shiny]

I blame The Three Landlords full-stop - 6,000 fans when they arrived, now less than 3,500 in a :censored:-hole of a ground. Moving the club to City's doorstep, polarising the fanbase and :censored:e decision after :censored:e decision. At what point are you going realise we're past the tipping point Joe? What about when we're playing at Spotland or Edgley Park?

 

This is the problem, there's still too many fans unwilling to admit the situation we are in and what has been the catalyst for it. Whether those decisions were made in good faith or not The Three Landlords have made the biggest contribution to the situation we are in. Unfortunately The Three Landlords are willing to blame everyone but themselves, whilst some of the fanbase can be criiticised for being complete :censored:-outs - blaming the fans totally is a cop out! They could have got it so right, instead they alienated 40% of the match going public.

 

Moore :censored:ed us up in one go, The Three Landlords have gone about it by stealth and by constantly moving the goalposts...I think they've failed miserably. If only they could be held accountable?

 

 

Spot on

[HarryBosch]

The question is are people happy simply to trust the owner(s)

 

have we got any choice??

 

what does not trusting them entail? how would you like someones distrust of them to manifest itself exactly?

 

or are they willing to fight for some clarity and some real answers over what is happening?

 

to what end?

 

yet again, what are you & others going to do with the information??? nothing. absolutely nothing.

 

we're in a mess. we need bigger crowds. we need a new ground. we need to get promoted. END OF. we know this!

 

why you feel a need to go to a meeting at the club and maybe get it worded differently is beyond me.

 

i'd rather Hardy or whoever spent that wasted hour trying to get us out of this mess.

[boboafc]

i have confident in the club ,maybe we won't go up but we will be okay

[oafcprozac]

have we got any choice??

 

what does not trusting them entail? how would you like someones distrust of them to manifest itself exactly?

 

 

 

to what end?

 

yet again, what are you & others going to do with the information??? nothing. absolutely nothing.

 

we're in a mess. we need bigger crowds. we need a new ground. we need to get promoted. END OF. we know this!

 

why you feel a need to go to a meeting at the club and maybe get it worded differently is beyond me.

 

i'd rather Hardy or whoever spent that wasted hour trying to get us out of this mess.

 

You do seem to have an issue with every post of mine Harry, what's the issue?

 

Actually it was Alan wasting his time on here, not the other way round Harry. He took exception to my criticisms of his and the club's marketing strategy. I initially agreed to the meeting but decided there were more important issues. Why a Chief Exec feels he has to attempt to chastise fans is beyond me tbh. Most people I spoke to found the club's attitude to be pretty pathetic. Instead of shouting down fans they should show themselves to be trying to rectify the problems you have mentioned above.