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This post is not intended to offend

so please don’t take it the wrong way, but I believe that the position of our club in the very early years of your support has a big impact on how you see things now. I first started watching Latics in the early 70’s, they had recently been promoted from

the old 4th division and things were on up. We got promoted to the 2nd division soon afterwards but progress thereafter was slow. We’ve been to the premiership, which was more than I could have ever dreamed, but are now back down to where we were shortly before my first match. We have gone full circle during my time and I believe that makes me more tolerant and realistic than those who first supported Latics during our more successful period in the late 80’s/ early 90’s. I have hope (loads of it), otherwise why bother, but It infuriates me that some struggle to accept teams like Harrogate Town as being our equals.

We are what we are and this is our reality!

 

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Bring back the downboat button.

 

Being beaten by Harrogate is not good enough period.

 

The reality is that we are far too accepting of this reality and it's because we have gone so long without watching a consistently winning team as a result their is defeatist culture within the football club Some fans even wear it like it's a badge of honour. We are far too comfortable with being crap. Harrogate are still below us in the league. 

 

We do not have the divine right to beat anyone ofcourse not, and our players should approach every game professionally. But as fans we should expect our team to beat teams at home who are below us in the league that is a very realistic expectation and anyone who doesn't think that, are the ones who need the reality check.

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19 minutes ago, GlossopLatic said:

Bring back the downboat button.

 

Being beaten by Harrogate is not good enough period.

 

The reality is that we are far too accepting of this reality and it's because we have gone so long without watching a consistently winning team as a result their is defeatist culture within the football club Some fans even wear it like it's a badge of honour. We are far too comfortable with being crap. Harrogate are still below us in the league. 

 

We do not the divine right to beat anyone ofcourse not and our players should approach every game professionally. But as fans we should expect our team to beat teams at home who are below us in the league that is a very realistic expectation and anyone who doesn't think that are the ones who need the reality check.

He said Harrogate being equals and they are in the same league as Latics, so yes, they are on an equal footing. Any team that doesn't play as well as the opposition deserves to be beaten and I suppose the fans of Exeter and Newport were of the same mind regarding Latics. Teams are where they are on merit.

 

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24 minutes ago, GlossopLatic said:

Bring back the downboat button.

 

Being beaten by Harrogate is not good enough period.

 

The reality is that we are far too accepting of this reality and it's because we have gone so long without watching a consistently winning team as a result their is defeatist culture within the football club Some fans even wear it like it's a badge of honour. We are far too comfortable with being crap. Harrogate are still below us in the league. 

 

We do not the divine right to beat anyone ofcourse not and our players should approach every game professionally. But as fans we should expect our team to beat teams at home who are below us in the league that is a very realistic expectation and anyone who doesn't think that are the ones who need the reality check.

I’ve supported Latics long enough to know not to expect anything. I thought we’d beat Harrogate on Saturday

and was very hopeful but that my point, your expectations were incorrect. I hear long term City fans arguing with ‘new money’ supporters about a slight dip In form. Saturdays performance was very confusing for me. We were totally out

played in every department and I’ve never watched a Latics team who can be so good and so bad.  

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We have spent 25 years on a downward trajectory . We might have reached the play offs a couple of times in that time but the graph os downward and last year we finished in our worst position for 50 years . As a result our collective expectations have diminished and we start hailing wins at Exeter or Cambridge as special results. We see plodder pros as superstars and still see ourselves as aristocrats in the lower division.  We ain’t 

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13 minutes ago, Sheep Foot said:

We have spent 25 years on a downward trajectory . We might have reached the play offs a couple of times in that time but the graph os downward and last year we finished in our worst position for 50 years . As a result our collective expectations have diminished and we start hailing wins at Exeter or Cambridge as special results. We see plodder pros as superstars and still see ourselves as aristocrats in the lower division.  We ain’t 

Agreed and it’s a common trend of teams who reach the summit of English football without the funds to sustain it. I was reading the Bradford message board and there was hints on their of former glories. If we ever progress up the leagues we would  eventually have to face the consequences. 

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50 minutes ago, Wardie said:

He said Harrogate being equals and they are in the same league as Latics, so yes, they are on an equal footing. Any team that doesn't play as well as the opposition deserves to be beaten and I suppose the fans of Exeter and Newport were of the same mind regarding Latics. Teams are where they are on merit.

 

 

So what they are in the same division as is I'm still expecting us to beat them. Not because I'm holding on to some 1991 nostalgia because we should have the players to beat them and for us not too is an underachievement. I shouldn't be surprised about wins and Newport and Exeter we should be going in with the mentality that we can take points of what should be our promotion rivals 

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1 hour ago, GlossopLatic said:

 

So what they are in the same division as is I'm still expecting us to beat them. Not because I'm holding on to some 1991 nostalgia because we should have the players to beat them and for us not too is an underachievement. I shouldn't be surprised about wins and Newport and Exeter we should be going in with the mentality that we can take points of what should be our promotion rivals 

I always find this interesting. 
 

You’re implying we aren’t at our level. Otherwise why would you ‘expect’ to beat certain teams in the division. 
 

You then say- ‘I’m not holding onto nostalgia, but we ‘should’ have the players to beat them.’
 

Why ‘should’ we have the players? Based on what??

 

Our fanbase is disenfranchised, our budget is low, and the club has conflicting vested interests. That’s not accepting defeat, that’s the reality.

 

I think you’re conflating what we could be with where we are. IF the club was whole, and IF it attracted fans back, and IF it didn’t lurch from one crisis to the next. Then IMO we could be top end league one team/lower championship team. But we are a million miles from that, and so defeats to Harrogate are par for the course I’m afraid. Based on the harsh reality of a largely poor squad, (strikers apart) chronic under investment, and ‘two owners.’ 
 


 

 

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I think Harrogate are a bad example in the respect that they’re  probably better, one to eleven, than us. 
 

I look at this league and think we should be beating the majority of them however I respect the OP in the fact that, judging games on their own merit, we vary rarely outclass any team.


I tend to feel hard done to because I jumped on this rollercoaster at the start of this 25 year decline (I’ll happily argue my case as the most starved fan in the football league) but it is getting beyond a joke now. The thing that gets me is, regardless of the stay aways...there’s still a good 6k that will flood back in as soon as we have a glimpse of success. Any owner with a bit of nouse would realise this and invest in a squad knowing it would pay for itself after half a season.

 

Off topic, my take on this season for what it’s worth, we’ve got Rowe and bahambouola who are too good for this league. the rest of them would struggle at conference level and I include mcaleny in that. Think HK has done a superb job getting this team to where he has. It’s still not good enough though but at the same time, we’re not owed an easy season just because we’ve struggled for years.

 

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7 hours ago, League one forever said:

Our fanbase is disenfranchised, our budget is low, and the club has conflicting vested interests. That’s not accepting defeat, that’s the reality.

 

I think you’re conflating what we could be with where we are. IF the club was whole, and IF it attracted fans back, and IF it didn’t lurch from one crisis to the next.

 

This is where we are at the moment I agree. We are broken but we are surviving...just.  

 

If we ever fix all the problems at the club then we would surely move away from the bottom of the professional football pyramid. You say about our current plight  ‘that’s not accepting defeat, that’s the reality’ - and its a fair comment.

 

However we all want more for our club and there’s nothing wrong with that. Ultimately the ‘reality’ is that until we find owners who are prepared to rebuild the club by investing in a long term plan we will continue to languish in the depths of league 2. Or maybe it could get even worse.

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This board only knows two songs. 

 

We're shit and we know we are. 

 

and

 

We're by far the greatest team the world has ever seen. 

 

At least there have been a few opportunities to give the latter the occasional airing this season. 

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12 hours ago, meat pie sausage roll said:

I’ve supported Latics long enough to know not to expect anything. I thought we’d beat Harrogate on Saturday

and was very hopeful but that my point, your expectations were incorrect. I hear long term City fans arguing with ‘new money’ supporters about a slight dip In form. Saturdays performance was very confusing for me. We were totally out

played in every department and I’ve never watched a Latics team who can be so good and so bad.  

 

The point regarding City that's the price you pay for success. If the price of unparalleled success is higher expectations amongst the fanbase then bring it on as far I'm concerned. I'm glad Harry Kewell came out and said we weren't good enough on Saturday and I'd also like to think their were few arguments in the dressing room and a few tea cups/ lucozade bottles thrown.

 

If the point you are making here is that Saturday wasn't good enough and it's a reality check on this team and that we must do better and bring players in in January then I agree with you.

 

But if the point you are making is that this is our new reality that we are just going to have accept it then I can't get onboard with that mentality at all. I remember Lee Johnson saying during his time here that we needed to change the mentality of the football club he was right we haven't got to the level we were at then since.

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18 minutes ago, mcfluff1985 said:

Liverpool drew with the mighty WBA yesterday

WBA. 5 times FA Cup winners. 5 times FA Cup finalists. Top division champions . Top Division runners up. Charity Shield winners League Cup winners FA Youth Cup winners. Numerous league winners. 

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21 minutes ago, Sheep Foot said:

WBA. 5 times FA Cup winners. 5 times FA Cup finalists. Top division champions . Top Division runners up. Charity Shield winners League Cup winners FA Youth Cup winners. Numerous league winners. 

Welcome back Magister/BCD. Let's see how long you last this time 

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22 minutes ago, Sheep Foot said:

WBA. 5 times FA Cup winners. 5 times FA Cup finalists. Top division champions . Top Division runners up. Charity Shield winners League Cup winners FA Youth Cup winners. Numerous league winners. 


Never let it be said that Latics fans live in the past

 

We were runners up in 1914 you know 

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1 hour ago, GlossopLatic said:

 

The point regarding City that's the price you pay for success. If the price of unparalleled success is higher expectations amongst the fanbase then bring it on as far I'm concerned. I'm glad Harry Kewell came out and said we weren't good enough on Saturday and I'd also like to think their were few arguments in the dressing room and a few tea cups/ lucozade bottles thrown.

 

If the point you are making here is that Saturday wasn't good enough and it's a reality check on this team and that we must do better and bring players in in January then I agree with you.

 

But if the point you are making is that this is our new reality that we are just going to have accept it then I can't get onboard with that mentality at all. I remember Lee Johnson saying during his time here that we needed to change the mentality of the football club he was right we haven't got to the level we were at then since.

Think there is a difference between wanting to do better and expecting to do so, the mentality only changes through winning plenty of games surely, just saying we should be expecting to beat sides because we are Oldham makes little sense.

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19 minutes ago, deyres42 said:

Think there is a difference between wanting to do better and expecting to do so, the mentality only changes through winning plenty of games surely, just saying we should be expecting to beat sides because we are Oldham makes little sense.

There’s a difference between expecting to compete at the top end of this league because we’re Oldham and ex-prem, and expecting us to have a squad/coach/tactics of being able to compete at the top end. 

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15 minutes ago, nzlatic said:

There’s a difference between expecting to compete at the top end of this league because we’re Oldham and ex-prem, and expecting us to have a squad/coach/tactics of being able to compete at the top end. 

 

... and the latter is exactly my point.

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5 hours ago, TheBigDog said:

 

This is where we are at the moment I agree. We are broken but we are surviving...just.  

 

If we ever fix all the problems at the club then we would surely move away from the bottom of the professional football pyramid. You say about our current plight  ‘that’s not accepting defeat, that’s the reality’ - and its a fair comment.

 

However we all want more for our club and there’s nothing wrong with that. Ultimately the ‘reality’ is that until we find owners who are prepared to rebuild the club by investing in a long term plan we will continue to languish in the depths of league 2. Or maybe it could get even worse.

Spot on. 

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1 hour ago, nzlatic said:

There’s a difference between expecting to compete at the top end of this league because we’re Oldham and ex-prem, and expecting us to have a squad/coach/tactics of being able to compete at the top end. 

But what is the basis for that expectation?

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1 hour ago, deyres42 said:

But what is the basis for that expectation?

Newport, forest green, Carlisle, Cheltenham and Morecambe currently make up the top 5. All have a pre-covid fan base of around 4K or under, which should be compatible with us.

 

I expect us to be able to compete with those teams, I just don’t have the faith in the current owner to actually achieve that. 

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Teams like Harrogate tend to up their game when they play a club like Oldham. They have been non league for their entire history and they regard us as a big scalp, even though we aren't. They were better than us from start to finish and their recent results show that they shouldn't have been. Our players probably approached the game all wrong as well, having won away at the top of the league the previous game.

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