Summary of Questions Received - "Ask the Chairman"

[Andy b]

Please can we all be clear, no one WANTS administration or relegation. Fact. Does it worry me that it might happen? Not really. Why? Cos one of these things is going to happen and I don't believe we would any less attractive to a buyer (i.e. the only thing that will see more success on the pitch) if either of those things did happen.

[HarryBosch]

 

 

 

A bit of life about the place like Andy says wouldn't go amiss though, would it?

 

No but I'd prefer goals and points

[HarryBosch]

Clearly it is Harry Bosch. Which begs the question, why do you support OAFC then? Cos you love the club I suspect. That means you fell for its charm not its success on the pitch.

 

Nope. There was less charm in the 87-88 season than there is now.

When we won games that season and the next it was ace. That's what got me hooked, I think...?

Matches & the atmospheres were often enjoyable, even before 89-90....

 

Is achieving the highest possible league position (which is seemingly 16th in League 1 for us) the absolute priority which trumps everything else?

 

Yes

 

If it is, then you are going to be unfulfilled for many years to come.

 

I hope not. But I've got used to that and if I continue to be I'll be fine. Don't you worry about me.

 

I've been "fulfilled" on a few occasions this season believe it or not. I'd like it to happen more often though.

And if the occurrence of such fulfilment was more reliable I'd be able to share that fulfilment with a few hundred/thousand extra Latics fans on a regular basis.

 

Whatever floats your boat though.....

Edited December 7, 2016 by HarryBosch

[oafcmetty]

 

Nope. There was less charm in the 87-88 season than there is now.

 

What? Roger had more charm in his little toe than the entire club has at present.

[oafcmetty]

I will defend him until someone comes up with an actual solution.

 

If someone said there is a buyer here who can take us to the next level and SC refuses to sell I'll call him out.

 

Till then he's doing the best he can.

 

There are enough people on here who seem think relegation and administration would be beneficial in some way. Administration would ensure relegation.

 

Us being in League 2 would not help anything. Our income would be further reduced.

Honest question - do you support Charlton and Blackpool fans in wanting to get their current owners out?

[BP1960]

 

What? Roger had more charm in his little toe than the entire club has at present.

I used to look forward to going to see individuals such as the Latics legends, now it's just going for the sake of it.

[mcfluff1985]

Honest question - do you support Charlton and Blackpool fans in wanting to get their current owners out?

Don't know the Charlton situation in any detail. Blackpool from what I can gather are a lot worse off currently but I'm not properly up to speed. So couldn't really say

[Fruitygoo]

If someone said there is a buyer here who can take us to the next level and SC refuses to sell I'll call him out.

 

 

What koukash wanted to do (move us) would have been sh1t but corney refused to sell..

 

I told him (Koukash) the terms that would be required for him to take over, said Corney, of his meeting with the horse racing magnate and Salford Red Devils owner.

 

That would be staying at Boundary Park and being faithful to the manager and the players

 

[mcfluff1985]

What koukash wanted to do (move us) would have been sh1t but corney refused to sell..

 

 

OK can I add not :censored:ing us over and moving us to Salford

[Fruitygoo]

But who is he to say what a future owner should and shouldnt do... Yes you can buy the club but.....

 

Of course nobody wants to move to salford but the point im making is that people have been interested. How many others have been put off due to demands? None? Who knows...

 

I used to trust his judgement to decide who was right for us.. Now i dont.... Appalling decisions recently have seen to that lack of confidence

Edited December 7, 2016 by Fruitygoo

[Blue_Guru]

I will defend him until someone comes up with an actual solution.

 

If someone said there is a buyer here who can take us to the next level and SC refuses to sell I'll call him out.

 

Till then he's doing the best he can.

 

There are enough people on here who seem think relegation and administration would be beneficial in some way. Administration would ensure relegation.

 

Us being in League 2 would not help anything. Our income would be further reduced.

Jesus wept...its Corneys responsibility to come up with that solution!!! Not football fans who know 10% of the facts!

 

The facts we know are...the club is going downhill, the fan base is getting smaller, results are getting worse, assets are getting lower,

 

Every year that goes by is another nail in the coffin under the current regime...but oh wait Simon is doing his best!

[JoeP]

 

:censored:ING HELL!

 

 

 

It's not a "debt" it's a bill. And we'll have to pay the same bill at the same time next year for a similar amount. Just like we had to last year, and the year before....

 

It's his business and his poor running of his business that's resulted in him not being able to cover this expense/bill in the manner a business would normally do so.

 

You talk as if he's some random bloke coughing up £300k for us out of kindness.

 

If we were still getting 6,000 crowds rather than 3,500 as a result of his continued bad decision making the bill would actually be even bigger but would be paid on time as a matter of course from normal club income as it would with any other stable business.

 

 

OK, let's say Corney had said the £300k was for a broken floodlight that needed to be fixed - an unexpected bill.

 

Who picks that up? Corney.

 

Who picks that bill up if some posters on here get their way and Corney leaves? No one and the club moves even closer to insolvency. Is that a better position to be in?

 

A change of ownership is probably needed - we all agree on that - but people have to pick their battles. Corney wants out, a lot of noisy fans on here seem to want him out, but I just don't see the benefit in demanding his removal.

[Fruitygoo]

 

OK, let's say Corney had said the £300k was for a broken floodlight that needed to be fixed - an unexpected bill.

 

Who picks that up? Corney.

And people would give him credit for it... A hmrc bill is part of running a business... He cant complain about having to find the money on youtube and expect me to pat him on the back

[laticsmarra]

Wanting administration or relegation is very different to not being scared about the potential consequences of it. Don't confuse the two. Relegation and admin are fraught with risk and danger but any fan can see that keeping us in this division is not something to be pursued at all costs. It is not the holy grail for heavens sake and whilst we continue to treat it as such, the club and fans are losing out in so many more ways.

 

The lack of charm, character and soul within the football club and the negativity around everything OAFC causes me much more saddest than would be caused by seeing us play the likes of Barrow every week. I would rather we focused our efforts on returning some of the love around the place. Why has our north stand not got a name, why has it not been officially opened, why were the flags removed from the Rochdale Road end, why has the north stand not got any signage on it that defines it as part of OAFC.

Why are there no photos memorabilia inside the North Stand celebrating the history of OAFC, there are more in our house.

[Blue_Guru]

 

 

OK, let's say Corney had said the £300k was for a broken floodlight that needed to be fixed - an unexpected bill.

 

Who picks that up? Corney.

 

Who picks that bill up if some posters on here get their way and Corney leaves? No one and the club moves even closer to insolvency. Is that a better position to be in?

 

A change of ownership is probably needed - we all agree on that - but people have to pick their battles. Corney wants out, a lot of noisy fans on here seem to want him out, but I just don't see the benefit in demanding his removal.

Any unexpected costs/headwinds are part of business...i think you forget the fact Corney was part of a 3 team consortium who bought the club as a business decision/investment which went wrong...his/their mistake

[mcfluff1985]

Jesus wept...its Corneys responsibility to come up with that solution!!! Not football fans who know 10% of the facts!

 

The facts we know are...the club is going downhill, the fan base is getting smaller, results are getting worse, assets are getting lower,

 

Every year that goes by is another nail in the coffin under the current regime...but oh wait Simon is doing his best!

Well he's trying to sell the club isn't he

[Blue_Guru]

Well he's trying to sell the club isn't he

He has been trying for 6 years...for every seller there is always a buyer. The price and value just has to be right and clearly he's struggling to get the return on investment his bosses want. That's the issue.

[underdog]

Why are there no photos memorabilia inside the North Stand celebrating the history of OAFC, there are more in our house.

The trust have talked about it, had some ideas like Murials & memorabilla that could be put behind Perspex etc so it's not half inched..haha. But there are other priorities at the moment I'm sorry to say

[yarddog73]

Koukash wanted to move us to Salford?

 

Where's your evidence of this then Mcfluff.

[adamoafc]

Koukash wanted to move us to Salford?

 

Where's your evidence of this then Mcfluff.

That was common knowledge mate.

[yarddog73]

Really put a link up then.

 

Do you really think Koukash wanted to move us to Salford into a stadium owned by Salford City Council and The Peel Group where he feels he's paying extortionate rent? Koukash wanted to take us on because he wanted to own BP and thought he could buy in on the cheap, he's been asked to pay £30 million plus for the AJ Bell and saw us as a cheaper option, in reality he was far more likely to move his rugby team to Oldham in a stadium he would own not the other way round.

[Guest nonaenever]

Been on business in Coventry today - and met a 30 plus year Coventry fan - he was actually more depressed than me! We are currently considering a suicide pact.

 

Seriously though, I`m off to Glasgow for a few days on business now, so not much time to devote. I`ve had some very constructive personal messages offering support all round. One of the problems is the growing anti-board/Simon Corney sentiment at the moment. Now we've surrendered, without a whimper, in the "big" cup there is more than likely going to be a £1M plus shortfall this year that has to be plugged (not just the recent £300k bill debated at length). We need stability at the moment at board level or our very future could be in jeopardy; that's my personal view. I`ve always preached communication not confrontation and honestly believe that is the way forward. For whatever reason, the Trust doesn't seem to be fulfilling the needs of the fans at times like this. That's not a criticism per se, it's simply what a lot of people are saying.

 

Many fans have suggested to me privately to set up a proper meeting of supporters (away from the club) to gather thought/views and form a coherent strategy going forward.

 

I`ll give that some thought when I`ve got some available time.

[JoeP]

Honest question - do you support Charlton and Blackpool fans in wanting to get their current owners out?

 

Isn't the issue at Charlton that the owners are running the club into the ground from afar, don't turn up to games, don't engage with fans and generally seem to not give a :censored:? I don't think we can accuse Corney of these things, especially the last two.

 

Not up to speed on the Blackpool situation, but isn't the gist that the fans want to know what's happened to the millions raised during the Premiership years? They've dropped three divisions - that's some decline.

 

Whatever the reasons, things must be pretty bad to want to risk going bust as long as the owners leave and I don't believe we should be thinking in those terms...yet.

[Dave_Og]

 

While there are multiple reasons people are pissed off the main one is the fact we haven't been promoted from this league for over 20 years and haven't had more than the odd month or two of looking like we might for most of those 20 years.

 

 

 

We haven't been promoted from this league for more than 40 years

[Dave_Og]

Till then he's doing the best he can.

 

 

 

No, he's not. The best he can would include things like running an effective marketing department (we are still debating whether it's worth putting some poster up for heaven's sake). Things as basic as that don't need huge budgets, just common sense.

Edited December 7, 2016 by Dave_Og