GlossopLatic Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 (edited) I'm going to expand on a point I touched upon in the Latics Problem thread and basically ask what kind of role we should have within Oldham Athletic. Currently at Oldham Athletic we have Simon Corney running the show who despite occasionally being volatile does his best to keep the club going, and has kept doing so when many would have given up and gone home bearing in mind how much he's put up with. On top of that we have a supporters trust who have a stake in the club and the playershare scheme which supporters put into help the club strengthen the team. So overall we have compared to most football clubs a fairly big influence in its decision making. Now having read these boards their are a fair amount of posters who have been quite involved with the trust and before them SAFE who now possibly feel a little bit in different to all things Oldham Athletic posters such as Dave Og and Derek Wilson (feel free to put forward your point of view on this guys). For me and this is why I still would rather watch Oldham Athletic at Boundary park than anyonelse is that its somewhere where I can go and switch off. Weve all got enough stress going on in our own lives and 90 minutes at Boundary Park every other saturday gives us that chance to just be a football fan. Getting involved in the organisation of the whole thing would put me off a little bit certainly when it come to something like the trust where everyone is wanting to have their say on how the club is run. Barry Owen may have put his foot in it a few times on this message board but he's got a very difficult job in one respect trying to handle what the fans want, what the club can do, and what his fellow board directors think should be done, he simply cannot satisfy everyone. However if you look at what SAFE and the trust did they did achieve a fair amount. SAFE was setup to help bring investment into the club and while Chris Moore proved to be an arsehole they did achieve that aim. The Trust themselves generated a huge amount of money to help the club and played a big part in getting us through those difficult months of 2003. Both groups also mobilised the fans to do something extra for the club. Weve never been a big club with a huge fanbase so arguably the fans of Oldham Athletic have to go that extra mile to keep the club going and its often the case that the fans are possibly that bit closer to everything. Looking at where Oldham Athletic are now its very similar to where we were around 2001 we need new investment to take the club forward can we the fans help the club find investment? Or should we be less involved should we just be football fans and just try and enjoy saturdays and wait until a major crisis such as 2003 and then get involved? Does anyone think that having heavy fan involvement holds back the club and we should get out of the boards way and let them get on with the busisness of running the show. Any thoughts or suggestions? part of me would like to think that we could help find new investment into the club. Edited September 29, 2011 by GlossopLatic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lookers_Carl Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 (edited) Would like to add a few things to this if I may One thing I would add to this is regarding the whole fan on the board thingy. With Barry in the position he is in, and the fact that rightly or wrongly, we have a chief exec who will answer emails from fans usually within 24 hours, I think we as fans do get to know a fair bit more about whats going on within the club than most do, certainly more than the clubs where the fans/trust have no say in the running of the club, but probably not as much as the likes of exeter who are pretty much trust run. I definitely dont think fan involvement holds the club back as such. I mean look at Exeter who are essentialy run by fans. Their playing at the highest level they have played at, and in all honesty are punching well above their station. But to me there does seem to almost be an expectation from some fans that they have to know more or less everything thats going on at the club. Whether that expecation has derived from having a fan on the board I don't know, but I sometimes feel that if we didn't have the fan on the board, there wouldn't be this expectation of openness. I think your spot on with Barry though. He is in a difficult position where as you said, its simply impossible to satisfy everyone. Although I do think that it needs to be asked regarding the role of the trust chairman and club director, whether the role is that of 'trust representative who sits on the club board' or 'club representative who sits on the trust board' Edited September 30, 2011 by Lookers_Carl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
don't worry be happy Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 the club has been on it's last legs for to long now.How mr corney keeps it it afloat is above and beyond me..I have moved on after many many years of saturday's at the latics ..The sad thing for me is i don't even miss the saturday expierience anymore lower league fotball is dull boring and lifeless..at best an away win at huddersfield is the highlight of the season...good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave_Og Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 (edited) SAFE achieved sod all but thanks anyway Glossop. It wasn't for the want of trying but I found the experience utterly dispiriting and would never get involved in anything like that again. I rarely attend these days but then I was never a season ticket holder anyway. Let's face it, if a nearly 50 year old bloke who's lived 200 miles or so away for over 30 years, has two kids and a golf addiction is the club's target market then the club are in even worse straits than I thought! Edited September 29, 2011 by Dave_Og Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longtimeblue Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 (edited) [Removed] You think he's alone? I know many more mate. Why just make a comment like that as opposed to trying to think of reasons to get people back. No smoking, high prices and general unenjoyable afternoons mean that a lot of people find other things to do with their Saturdays. Edited September 30, 2011 by Stevie_J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pukka Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 (edited) You think he's alone? I know many more mate. Why just make a comment like that as opposed to trying to think of reasons to get people back. No smoking, high prices and general unenjoyable afternoons mean that a lot of people find other things to do with their Saturdays. You miss the key point; he mentions "lower league football is dull boring and lifeless" - I am not having a pop here and saying that he and others are glory supporters. To different people football has a different level of enjoyment and importance. When the fun goes, whats the point? If we were top of the championship or "doing a blackpool" no doubt people would find it more enjoyable and would be more willing to spend £30 every 2 weeks on a trip to BP. Edited September 30, 2011 by pukka Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longtimeblue Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 You miss the key point; he mentions "lower league football is dull boring and lifeless" - I am not having a pop here and saying that he and others are glory supporters. To different people football has a different level of enjoyment and importance. If we were top of the championship or "doing a blackpool" no doubt people would find it more enjoyable and would be more willing to spend £30 every 2 weeks on a trip to BP. All part of the same thing, get what you mean in the sense that our league standing isn't the only reason not to attend games but an eternity in the same division combined with a number of other factors is keeping a number away, lots that up until relatively recently were regulars and those shouldn't necessarily be chastised for their decisions. I've picked and chosen games at other periods and fully understand why people aint going through the gate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scapegoat Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 I am of the view that I don't want to get involved in the club particularly. I work full-time and spend enough of that worrying about budgets, pressures, risks etc etc I don't really want to have to do the same with my spare time on something that is an entertainment pastime (supposedly anyway). I'd prefer the club to be managed and run well by the people whose job it is to do that leaving me to rock up at 2:50pm, buy my programme, put a bet on and enjoy the game. I like that debate and discussion that goes on in this forum, and the fact that the club appear to be about as open and honest now as at anytime I can remember and that is picked up and discussed on here. At times of crisis however, when it seems that without help the current management of the club might not be able to keep it going, then it is right that fans motivate themselves into organisations to assist. If at other times, there are people that WANT to be involved and that model can be made to fit and work well with the 'paid professional management' at the club, then good luck to both parties. But its not for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aidan_latics Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 You think he's alone? I know many more mate. Why just make a comment like that as opposed to trying to think of reasons to get people back. No smoking, high prices and general unenjoyable afternoons mean that a lot of people find other things to do with their Saturdays. Because they're entitled to voice their opinion that all lower league football is naff which is a bit of a generalisation, as am I entitled to voice my opinion of one of the many stay-aways that are hampering this club. Also, you have to ask the question - are people staying away because of the high prices, or are the club having to put these high prices in place to try and make up the gates from all the people staying away. Also no smoking is league policy not club. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekWilson_1968 Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Bit drunk, but it has never stopped me before. My reasons? Some of them have been stated on other threads, crap ground, crap team etc. The thing that'll get me back? New owners and dissolving the current board of directors completely. Hardy I can take, the rest of them, no thanks. Two of them bring nothing to the party so far as I can see, the other two are egotistical idiots. Latics won't see a shiny brass farthing from me until changes have happened. Do I miss it? Yes, I bloody well do. I know that I will go back one day, and I will love them again. I can't stomach this incarnation though, so I watch from a distance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lags Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 To support it and the players on a match day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeP Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 To support it and the players on a match day. Hear, hear. At the end of the day, it’s just a game of football and it is the team we support, not the board. Even if we doubled our gates, the fans would hardly be lining the pockets of the board. If you are missing it, surely you’re cutting your nose off to spite your face. I don’t know much about the board members apart from Corney and he, in my opinion, is a good egg. The make-up of the current board certainly wouldn’t stop me from supporting the team. Just on some of the other points raised in this thread; with regards to Barry, yes he’s in a difficult position, but isn’t that the nature of his role? I thought he was supposed to be like a “Union Rep” (if you like) for the fans. Union Reps where I work are constantly sending out e-mails, updating members with information they want and need to know. OWTB would be a great platform to do this, but there still seems to be a lot of fans that have unanswered questions... With regards Don’t Worry Be Happy’s post, and the many others that have posted similar over the years; Are we supposed to be shocked by a post like that? Or plead with the posters to come back?? You’re not telling us anything we don’t know, it has all been said many times before and it’s boring – people have been predicting the club’s downfall for years and I thought this thread was supposed to be pro-active in getting the fans involved in resurrecting the club, not an opportunity for individuals to inform us all with the tiresome “I don’t come to Latics anymore because...” clichés... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
24hoursfromtulsehill Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 To support it and the players on a match day. ...and then there was light! I might consider my support position if Corney or someone was listed as a donor to the Tory party, but other than that, I don't care who's in charge in the boardroom. As an exile and someone who doesn't get to BP very much at all, I contribute to Playershare just so at least some of the money I spend on football goes to the club I support...rather than to the pubs around Leyton Orient and Brentford. Just out of interest, does anyone know how much of the gate from league games goes to away teams? Is it zero? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
don't worry be happy Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 the only and one and only reason that you ain't going to the latics is because er indoors say's so.. avin a giraffee me falla .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longtimeblue Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Because they're entitled to voice their opinion that all lower league football is naff which is a bit of a generalisation, as am I entitled to voice my opinion of one of the many stay-aways that are hampering this club. Also, you have to ask the question - are people staying away because of the high prices, or are the club having to put these high prices in place to try and make up the gates from all the people staying away. Also no smoking is league policy not club. Other clubs provide a designated smoking area, winds me up that Latics can't just paint a line or open a gate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie_J Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Hear, hear. At the end of the day, it’s just a game of football and it is the team we support, not the board. Even if we doubled our gates, the fans would hardly be lining the pockets of the board. If you are missing it, surely you’re cutting your nose off to spite your face. I don’t know much about the board members apart from Corney and he, in my opinion, is a good egg. The make-up of the current board certainly wouldn’t stop me from supporting the team. Just on some of the other points raised in this thread; with regards to Barry, yes he’s in a difficult position, but isn’t that the nature of his role? I thought he was supposed to be like a “Union Rep” (if you like) for the fans. Union Reps where I work are constantly sending out e-mails, updating members with information they want and need to know. OWTB would be a great platform to do this, but there still seems to be a lot of fans that have unanswered questions... With regards Don’t Worry Be Happy’s post, and the many others that have posted similar over the years; Are we supposed to be shocked by a post like that? Or plead with the posters to come back?? You’re not telling us anything we don’t know, it has all been said many times before and it’s boring – people have been predicting the club’s downfall for years and I thought this thread was supposed to be pro-active in getting the fans involved in resurrecting the club, not an opportunity for individuals to inform us all with the tiresome “I don’t come to Latics anymore because...” clichés... I know, as long as Corney comes out and makes the right noises once in a while, most won't hear a bad word said about him but, leaving aside what I think of him as a person, why do people really think he's still around? It's not because he loves the club. It's not because he thinks he can bring us success. It's because Simon Blitz wants him there to claw back as much of his money as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeP Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 I know, as long as Corney comes out and makes the right noises once in a while, most won't hear a bad word said about him but, leaving aside what I think of him as a person, why do people really think he's still around? It's not because he loves the club. It's not because he thinks he can bring us success. It's because Simon Blitz wants him there to claw back as much of his money as possible. Maybe he wants to see through a project he's dedicated a lot of time and money to? Whatever the reason, we can only guess. The fact that we don't owe money to creditors (despite appalling gates) and the redevlopment of Boundary Park is on the horizon suggests to me we're better to have him than not at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlossopLatic Posted October 4, 2011 Author Share Posted October 4, 2011 I know, as long as Corney comes out and makes the right noises once in a while, most won't hear a bad word said about him but, leaving aside what I think of him as a person, why do people really think he's still around? It's not because he loves the club. It's not because he thinks he can bring us success. It's because Simon Blitz wants him there to claw back as much of his money as possible. Not doing a good job of it is he they ain't making money out of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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