ThaiLatic Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 'Little brothers' can still match big boys for passion Sebastian Hassett January 2, 2011 Everyone seems gripped by the battle unfolding between Manchester United and Manchester City for the Championship of the Known Universe - the English Premier League, that is. Spare a thought, however, for their neighbours, Oldham Athletic. The Latics are trying to keep in the hunt for the League One play-offs in a brave effort to stay relevant in a city where they are very much on the fringes, not just in terms of geography. They're currently ninth, one point away from sixth-placed Bournemouth and a shot a promotion. For them, that's a dream every bit as fulfilling as a domestic or European triumph. Oldham have a proud history, though for most football fans they are remembered for one thing: winning the old second division in 1990-91 earned them a place in first division and they stayed up for the founding year of the Premier League, and thus a share of history. Few have heard of the Mancunian club since, for they have since fallen on hard times in lower-league obscurity. But their fighting story this season is every bit as romantic as anything else from the same city. Last week, their player-manager Paul Dickov (such relics still exist down the pecking order), a former City icon himself for his never-say-die attitude, had to think quickly after Oldham's ground froze. Dickov sweet-talked his old club into using the facilities on one occasion, before champion boxer Ricky Hatton offered his sparring gym for an afternoon. They even snatched a session at nearby Rochdale. But the highlight? An impromptu aqua-aerobics session with a group of unsuspecting pensioners at a local indoor pool. What would City superstar Carlos Tevez make of that? It's a familiar story for many of the second clubs - or in this case third club - of various cities. As the bigger brothers soak up the attention of the media and public, they toil away in the background, often at much closer quarters to the community. But they should not be forgotten. These smaller clubs have always been a great source of fascination for me and many others. Look around and you'll almost certainly see a cult following, whether it be Torino in Italy, 1860 Munich in Germany - or my own club, Everton, which seems forever destined to play second fiddle to Liverpool, no matter how badly the Reds conspire to underperform. Full story http://www.smh.com.au/sport/football/littl...0101-19chu.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosa Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 Yeah saw that yesterday. At the risk of sounding like a pedant....'mancunian club'? I'd let him off, what with being on the other side of the world, but he says he's an Everton fan so i assume he's an ex-pat from the north-west, and therefore should know better. Decent article though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryBosch Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 nice but massively ill informed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diego_Sideburns Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 Yeah saw that yesterday. At the risk of sounding like a pedant....'mancunian club'? I'd let him off, what with being on the other side of the world, but he says he's an Everton fan so i assume he's an ex-pat from the north-west, and therefore should know better. Decent article though. His geographical ignorance is unforgivable. I suppose he thinks Tranmere Rovers are the third Liverpool club. Also when mentioning "shared chants of 'Merseyside, Merseyside' in FA Cup finals seem like a lifetime ago", he forgot to mention that it was little Latics who had a say in that. We're not part of Manchester! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
futchers briefs Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 His geographical ignorance is unforgivable. I suppose he thinks Tranmere Rovers are the third Liverpool club. Also when mentioning "shared chants of 'Merseyside, Merseyside' in FA Cup finals seem like a lifetime ago", he forgot to mention that it was little Latics who had a say in that. We're not part of Manchester! We could be soon!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diego_Sideburns Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 We could be soon!! Not unless there are plans to move the boundary nearer to Oldham. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy_Fent Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 what you've got to understand is due to the size of Australia, cities like Sydney and Brisbane etc don't have any surrounding towns unlike the North-West which is basically built up all the way from Saddleworth to Liverpool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryBosch Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 (edited) what you've got to understand is due to the size of Australia, cities like Sydney and Brisbane etc don't have any surrounding towns unlike the North-West which is basically built up all the way from Saddleworth to Liverpool so what you're saying is, although you're not a journalist yourself (i assume), you're more knowledgable/better researched than this one? Edited January 2, 2011 by HarryBosch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryBosch Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 what you've got to understand is due to the size of Australia, cities like Sydney and Brisbane etc don't have any surrounding towns unlike the North-West which is basically built up all the way from Saddleworth to Liverpool a Aussie lad I know told me he was from Melbourne. it turned out he lived about 4 hours from Melbourne. he couldn't seem to grasp that was like me saying I was from London same with Yanks i've got a mate in "Boston" - he's actually 2 and a half hours from boston Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stebuzz Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 Not unless there are plans to move the boundary nearer to Oldham. dont forget, we are in GREATER MANCHESTER ask the police Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diego_Sideburns Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 dont forget, we are in GREATER MANCHESTER ask the police In London do they say they are in Metropolitan? Anyway, who wants to be where the police are? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
otid Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 what you've got to understand is due to the size of Australia, cities like Sydney and Brisbane etc don't have any surrounding towns unlike the North-West which is basically built up all the way from Saddleworth to Liverpool You raise in interesting point in relation to where people generally say they are from 'when travelling'. I have mates from Oldham who say they are from Manchester whenever they are 'away' from home. Personally, it makes me puke. However, I live in Camberwell (a district of Melbourne), but when anybody in the UK asks me where i live, i say Melbourne.....maybe beccause few people outside Australia would know where Camberwell is.......in many ways like few people outside England know where Oldham is. Anyhow, to the point.....take a look at a map of Melbourne and look at the proximity of Melbourne, North Melbourne, Collingwood, Carlton, Richmond and Hawthorn. It's about half the size of Oldham and houses six AFL teams. Throw in St Kilda, Essendon, Footscray (Western Bulldogs) and Geelong....that's competition for support. Lowest average attendance amongst that lot for 2010? North Melbourne with......over 27,000. If the product is good enough, people will turn out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yard Dog Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 Same with Perth - what they call Perth is probably about the size of Lancs, but the actual city of Perth is little bigger than Oldham. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryBosch Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 You raise in interesting point in relation to where people generally say they are from 'when travelling'. I have mates from Oldham who say they are from Manchester whenever they are 'away' from home. Personally, it makes me puke. However, I live in Camberwell (a district of Melbourne), but when anybody in the UK asks me where i live, i say Melbourne.....maybe beccause few people outside Australia would know where Camberwell is.......in many ways like few people outside England know where Oldham is. Anyhow, to the point.....take a look at a map of Melbourne and look at the proximity of Melbourne, North Melbourne, Collingwood, Carlton, Richmond and Hawthorn. It's about half the size of Oldham and houses six AFL teams. Throw in St Kilda, Essendon, Footscray (Western Bulldogs) and Geelong....that's competition for support. Lowest average attendance amongst that lot for 2010? North Melbourne with......over 27,000. If the product is good enough, people will turn out. i'm watching Underbelly at the moment - great TV. I thought Melbourne was way bigger than Oldham?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
otid Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 i'm watching Underbelly at the moment - great TV. I thought Melbourne was way bigger than Oldham?? Melbourne IS way bigger than Oldham. The point i'm making is that the proximity to Manchester isn't the reason we don't draw in the crowds. If Melbourne can sustain 9 teams in the top flight of AFL, there's plenty of room for other well supported teams in proximity to Utd and City. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rudemedic Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 You'd be surprised about how poor some people's geography is- we are football fans we know where lots of mid sized towns are because we play them at football. For example, one of my uni friends had no idea where Rochdale (or Oldham) was, she wasn't thick (she was doing a degree that probably required her to get 3Bs at a-level) and she was from Wigan. Only those people from Oldham wouldn't say Oldham is part of Manchester- Boundary Park is closer to the middle of Manchester (St. Peter's square) than the airport is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rudemedic Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 Melbourne IS way bigger than Oldham. The point i'm making is that the proximity to Manchester isn't the reason we don't draw in the crowds. If Melbourne can sustain 9 teams in the top flight of AFL, there's plenty of room for other well supported teams in proximity to Utd and City. Yeah but how many teams have Sydney, Brisbane, Perth etc. got in the top flight of AFL. AFL is Melbourne. In comparison to wages football prices have gone up massively. As recently as the 90s fans of Citeh and United used to watch the other teams in close proximity if their own team wasn't playing, nowadays only the very rich can afford to do that- some of our own fans can't afford to watch us. Not to mention all the other distractions. If I was living in Oz- i'd watch a lot more sport live than I do now as the Oz TV is awful, the weather is better etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy_Fent Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 You raise in interesting point in relation to where people generally say they are from 'when travelling'. I have mates from Oldham who say they are from Manchester whenever they are 'away' from home. Personally, it makes me puke. However, I live in Camberwell (a district of Melbourne), but when anybody in the UK asks me where i live, i say Melbourne.....maybe beccause few people outside Australia would know where Camberwell is.......in many ways like few people outside England know where Oldham is. Anyhow, to the point.....take a look at a map of Melbourne and look at the proximity of Melbourne, North Melbourne, Collingwood, Carlton, Richmond and Hawthorn. It's about half the size of Oldham and houses six AFL teams. Throw in St Kilda, Essendon, Footscray (Western Bulldogs) and Geelong....that's competition for support. Lowest average attendance amongst that lot for 2010? North Melbourne with......over 27,000. If the product is good enough, people will turn out. and most people support Collingwood because they're the most successfull, I was roped into becoming a Richmond fan when I was down there to keep a shopkeeper happy but with exception to Geelong don't they all play at either the MCG or Docklands Stadium? Imagine if Latics, Bury and Rochdale were forced to play games at COMS? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
otid Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 and most people support Collingwood because they're the most successfull, I was roped into becoming a Richmond fan when I was down there to keep a shopkeeper happy but with exception to Geelong don't they all play at either the MCG or Docklands Stadium? Imagine if Latics, Bury and Rochdale were forced to play games at COMS? Yep, all Melbourne teams play at MCG or Docklands (Etihad stadium as it is now), but it's not like playing at COMS because no club owns either of those stadia. Also, many of the AFL premier teams have their own stadia where they train and house admin/medical staff and where their junior sides play. Collingwood won this year for the fist time in 20 years. Carlton and Essendon both have more titles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldhamSheridan Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 Yep, all Melbourne teams play at MCG or Docklands (Etihad stadium as it is now), but it's not like playing at COMS because no club owns either of those stadia. Also, many of the AFL premier teams have their own stadia where they train and house admin/medical staff and where their junior sides play. Collingwood won this year for the first time in 20 years. Carlton and Essendon both have more titles. City don't own the COMS (yet). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryBosch Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 Yep, all Melbourne teams play at MCG or Docklands (Etihad stadium as it is now), but it's not like playing at COMS because no club owns either of those stadia. Also, many of the AFL premier teams have their own stadia where they train and house admin/medical staff and where their junior sides play. Collingwood won this year for the fist time in 20 years. Carlton and Essendon both have more titles. i thought Geelong were the big/most successful team? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy_Fent Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 i thought Geelong were the big/most successful team? They are one of the only teams to have their own ground, I think the mentality in Australia is if it's unsuccessful people will desert it, whereas in the UK people like to whinge about their team a bit more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L1onheart Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 I live in Cornubia which is basically the halfway point between Brisbane and the Gold Coast. When people ask where I am from, I have an ID crisis and say Oldham. When they say is that near Manchester? I say no mate, Manchester is a small city near Oldham. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perfectOzblue Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 I live in Cornubia which is basically the halfway point between Brisbane and the Gold Coast. When people ask where I am from, I have an ID crisis and say Oldham. When they say is that near Manchester? I say no mate, Manchester is a small city near Oldham. I live near Tamworth in north-west New South Wales. Ever since I arrived here about two years ago, I just say I'm from "near Manchester". I always feel a bit guilty/pretentious saying that rather than my actual place of birth. I am from Rochdale, so allowances can be made though, right?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yard Dog Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Saying you're from 'near Manchester' when you're speaking to foreigners is ok in my book, but can't stand people from Oldham, Rochdale etc saying their from Mcr - they're not! If anyone in this country asks me where I'm from I say Oldham, and if they don't know where it is they're not worth talking to Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.