Thetownend.com

The opponent:  Oldham Athletic

Is it on or is it off? I guess we will know in 9 and a bit hours, too late for some I fear. My friend asked me last night, “Are you going to Oldham”? My reply was “Only if you buy me dinner love”. I think it was lost on him, and probably most people of a relatively normal mind. We have had the classic Di Canio rant/non-rant, personally, since Jezza was shoved out of the door, it seems the hostility he mentions at boardroom level is a distinct possibility, others may feel that he is once again trying to attract the attention away from the players before a game and putting the attention on to himself. Either way the vital thing today is 3 points, an away win will set us up nicely for Friday night against the current league 1 leaders, but 1 game at a time eh....

So the long trek up to Lancashire begins. I wish I was going as Boundary Park is one of the grounds missing off the list of grounds to visit, but with Christmas looming it just wasn’t meant to be. I have done my usual digging on the opposition and have to say that finding out about Oldham was something of a disappointment; the place really can’t be far behind Milton Keynes in the lack of history stakes, with just a few noticeable exceptions. Winston Churchill started his long political career in Oldham, although he was defeated by the Liberal Party in the By-Election of 1899, still, he did alright for himself. Oldham started out as the wonderfully named Pine Villa FC in 1895, which played in local Manchester and Lancashire leagues. When rivals Oldham County F.C. folded in 1899, Pine Villa moved into their stadium, the Oldham Athletic Ground (now known as Boundary Park) and changed their name to Oldham Athletic, so you could say they have been there a while.  Oldham were one of the original members of the maiden Premier League, and lasted 2 seasons in the top flight and in 1990 they made it to The Twin Towers in the League Cup Final, where they lost 1-0 to Nottingham Forest, the goal incidentally scored by the then future Scummer, Nigel Jemson. Under the management of Paul Dickov, Oldham managed a disappointing 16th position finish in League 1 last season and will be hoping to improve on that this season.

One of my favourite set of ‘Oldhamers’ are the fantastic Inspiral Carpets, the band who gave us “This is how it feels to be lonely”. The band are also noted as having Oasis Axemaster Legend/God, Noel Gallagher as their roadie back in the early 90’s and together they visited The Oasis Leisure Centre, where Gallagher is alleged to have came up with the name oasis for his little brother’s band.  Moving on to blocked fallopian tubes, the 1st ever IVF baby, Louise Brown was born in Oldham General Hospital back in 1977. Other famous people who hail from Oldham are the well past it Cannon and Ball (I’m sure they do double glazing adds nowadays), Wannabe Paedo exposer and Gopher molester, Philip Schofield, and footballers David Platt and Paul Scholes.

What are they saying about us? –

Not a great deal it seems, you look round the forums they have and it makes you feel grateful for having The TEF.

“His name should be re spelt as Paolo Dick onio , the blokes fucking mental, but entertaining too”.

http://www.owtb.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=39459

Oldham Athletic Last 6 –  LLWWLW (Oldham are currently 16th on 26 points)

The Threat – The fantastically named Jose Baxter has scored 8 times for The Latics so far this season, loanee Matt Derbyshire has bagged 5 and is expected to return to his parent club, Notts Forest.

A Warm Welcome Too – Colombian winger/striker, and today’s answer to the loan ranger, Cristian Montano. The ex Hammer scored 1 goal in 4 games for us last season, on his debut in the 2-0 win against Accrington Stanley. Sadly Montano soiled his name and likely became a livestock botherer by agreeing to join Oxford on loan where he scored 3 goals in 9 appearances. So far this season he has scored 2 goals.

The irrelevant stats – Home form is somewhat indifferent, having won 3, drawn 3 and lost 4 games at Boundary Park. They have scored 11 and conceded 10 in the 10 games they have played at home.  Oldham Gaffer Paul Dickov currently has a 31% win ratio over his 2 and a half years as a manager, not the most impressive and IF we can put some of these many chances we create firmly in the back of the net , that ratio will not be improving today.

Head to Head – We have met the Latics on 45 occasions in all competitions, and honours are very even, Oldham having won 17, Swindon having won 17, and a draw on 11 occasions.

The Odds –  Oldham 21/10   Draw 23/10  Swindon 13/10 (odds taken from the sponsors of Oxfords league next season, Blue Square) Fancy a Stevenage style thumping? BetFred are offering 66/1 on a 4-0 victory for us, or the less optimistic may be looking at a 1-0 defeat, currently 8/1 with Bet 365. Who is likely to get the nod up front today? Williams and 1 other is likely and if you think Chris Martin is going to get off the mark today Bet365 will give you a rather ungenerous 11/2.  Flint is generally 25/1 to score 1st and Montano is generally 9/1.

Sid Says – It took a good few minutes to encourage him to perform today and when he eventually did he predicted a 2-1 defeat, much more of that and he will be banished to Shaw Forest.

The Prediction – I have thought long and hard about this one, I am going for a 2-1 win with goals from Collins and Flint, 435 loyal Town fans in a crowd of around 3’698.

And Finally –  Back on October 31st this year, a group of children going house to house trick or treating in Oldham were handed packets of cocaine instead of sweets. Snap bags containing the class A drug were found among sweets in the children's possession after they had visited a house in the Royston area of Oldham. As you can imagine, the Primary School aged kids empty their goody bags out on the living room floor, and Mum and Dad have had kittens on the spot. The substance was then taken to police, examined and confirmed to be cocaine. To be fair, with it being Oldham, the kids probably told their parents what it actually was.
COYR COYR COYR

3 - 1 to swindon

Dominant performance with us winning 4-0, goals from Martin (he has to score sooner or later), Collins, Williams and Ritchie...crowd 3528 with 377 Town fans making the trip (including myself if it is on) C.O.Y.R!!!

It will be fucking freezing....fuck that...never again....boxed ticked.

Is that THE Matt Derbyshire?? He must have turned something chronic, he was decent a few years back. Jose baxter isn't half bad either.

Be a tough game, hope for our decent away form to pull us through, but we always seem to draw up there. 2-2

Got to love a London night bus! Missing the last tube by a minute is such a bitch.

Jose Baxter is a good player = 1-1 draw

If it is on i forecast a defeat....i  really hope i am wrong but things dont seem hunky dory at the present.

2-1 Oldham.

Just one forecast for me today! 2-0 with an attendance of 4611, 500 being Swindon fans. Hope the game is on else an afternoon/evening in Manchester beckons  :pint:

2-0 Oldham, can't see us winning at all today.

Last time I thought this way was Stevenage and look what happened there.

2-1 defeat.

No pitch inspection game goes ahead 2-1 town williams & collins.

I think we might get spanked today for some reason

Dull 0-0 draw.

Gonna be a tough, cold game. I predict 1-1 with De Vita scoring, and dporter to be a drunken mess by about 19:00.

Am I the only one who's noticed the thread title being wrong?

I've got a good feeling about this.  2-1 Swindon COYR

Oldham is where the surgical stocking was invented. There used to be a sign proudly displaying this fact when you entered the town.

1-1

Fair play to shaw rosso for the detail he puts into information on our opponents. Sad cunt needs to get life though ;)
0-0

Thanks, I think

Although I have no idea what you mean, well spotted Barry

Your opening posts are good reads.I like them. How long do you put into reseaching them?

This will be a tough, tough game. I suspect we'll win due to this.

It does vary from one team to another really. I have always had an interest in other Towns and Cities so you are probably right about the sad cunt bit  :) generally a few hours spread over a couple of days, although today's thread was started at 9pm last night  :pint:

We've got as much chance of winning as the Stevenage game!

Anyone know why Flint's out?

It's a shitty day for me, therefore I'm going to be a miserable cunt and say we're gonna lose 2-0. Paolo tries to punch Patey, is sacked, and Patey takes over for a disastrous 6 months where we get relegeated and everyone is sold off before the CG is swallowed by a sinkhole.

Town Team ..

Foderingham, N Thompson, Ward, McCormack, Devera, Ferry, Hollands, Ritchie, De Vita, Williams, Martin

Subs: Bedwell (GK), Archibald-Henville, Roberts, Rooney, Collins, Miller, Bostock

2-1 win looking at that team, only weakness is Devera at left back, but he's proved me wrong so much this season I hope he does it again. 450 town fans.

I would have thought McCormack has been weaker this season than Devera, although that is mostly based on match reports and comments on here.

Hollands for Bostock - fuck me!

McCormack has been, but coming into the season who would of thought Devera would have played such a good role for us this season. He's been solid and very versatile.

My wife has made me a fucking amazing stew. This means today will be a good day. We will win.

I'd go 1-1 but agree with most of the rest

Pox 1-0 down at morecambe! 1pm ko!

Feeling negative. Think we're due a poor, lacklustre performance after two games of a lot of effort and quality without the finish. 2-1 loss. Mcormack error for one screamer for the other. De Vita volley for ours. Williams injured on hard ground.

Not convinced Hollands has done enough to get in ahead of Bostock yet. Maybe Di Canio thinks we have more chance of extending the Hollands loan than the Bostock one (who could go to a championship club in Jan I reckon) and wants to give him the game time.

HARTLEY AND HODGETTS COMMENTATING THANK FUCKING CHRIST

Thank fucking christ indeed.

The commentary is better than usual already.

appreciate your alertness but you may have slightly jinxed that one - 1-1 finish

Now come on Town!

Still not an amazing result for them.

How have we started?

York 3 Wovers 1 after 20 mins

McGhee out?

Brizzle Robots are in real trouble again - already 3-1 down.

Sounding pretty good IMO.

Agreed re Pox - ok start for us by the sound of it but not at match

If that was chris wise talking about empty terraces and matches from 15 years ago people would be sharpening their pitchforks

Get in Raffa!!

Gooooooaaaaaaalllllllllll

Get in there!

DeVita! 1-0

fucking get in

Get in, all the way from Earls Court

Lovely job

Austin scores for Burnley. (Pen)

Thats 2 :s

2-0 I think.

Yessssss! Ritchie again?

2-0 ! Ritchie!!!

Very odd. Commentators sound confused, couldn't hear any celebrations.

yay

Whoopee fucking do!!

De Vita according to FB and Sky.

Well fuck me sideways and call me Dora :pint:

De Vita x2 by Sky

Shamone mother fucker heeeeeee heeeeee

Rovers 4-1 down.

Their local derby next year will be FGR

And this ladies and gents, is the start of something beautiful

Bring on the Championship

(Getting Carried away smiley)

How's Hollands doing?

Just checked the BBC site to see how we were doing. I was quite pleased with the score and the shots stat was sexy.

[url width=433 height=104]http://i.imgur.com/N5qrY.png[/url]

He hasn't scored an own goal today at least...

Own goal our 2nd

Now Shitty are 2-0 down at home

Good stuff, now for Roberts to come on and show our two wingers how it's really done...

Liverpool 0-2 Villa snicker snicker  :clap:

Well this just seems lovely all round.

Fuck a duck, I didn't see this score coming.

I might to start predicting defeats every week

0-2 HT

Lets hope we can improve our goal difference in the second half rather than sit back and throw it all away

Just the tonic I need after a day traipsing around Harrod's, Harvey Nic's and Hugo Boss :beers:

get you

Shame it was all window shopping. Jewellers I walked past in Knightsbridge had just suffered a raid, coppers everywhere, all the glass cabinets smashed in. Some spouses will be happy this Chrimbo

Long interlude

QPR set to win first game this season in Prem. Did they surpass or equal our record last week?

They beat our premier league record, and equaled the top flight record (held by Sheff Utd) last week.

Any update on the game? My phone has died, so I am sans Twitter.

Not exactly an enthralling match. Here's some music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_5RH3fH8es

Cheers Posh

Is this thread proving we're never more animated than when we've got something to moan about

Not a lot happening at the moment.

Have just said that there are 287 Town fans there.

Looks like Roberts is coming on, to replace Raffa.  Let's hope he does better than last week, when he was very poor (Roberts that is)

Credit to the 287, but that's at least 250 less than I expected we'd take. Week till Christmas and all that.

Been listening since the linesman got injured. Not much seems to have happened. How did we do first half? Did we deserve to be 2 up?

Martin gets booked and is then replaced by Collins (who was already warming up)

Collins to score a 3rd please

They've made 3 subs. Injure the keeper. Standard.

Oldham just had a decent chance, but was cleared by Town.

The Oldham keeper has just been injured in a challenge with Williams, and they have made all their subs.

Stretcher being called for, hope he is ok

fucking williams, when will he learn how to challenge in 1 on 1's properly!

Keeper's going off. Down to 10 and no goalkeeper. This is blatantly going to end 2-2.

Would like to see someone fill their boots now... preferably one of our goal-shy strikers

He's coming off (keeper), walking wounded

At least he didn't bottle it this time :)

Looks like Miller is coming on for Ferry

7 mins of added time, due to injuries to a linesman and a keeper which is a bit different

Sorry. Can't stay for the Paolo rant today chaps. Can someone else have a go at summarising.

Morecambe 1-1 Oxford How's basement football fuckers, better than non league at least  :smugfu:

I avoid the aftermath....aftermatch...

Job done! Nice one Town. Now lets 'av Tranmere.

He sounds quite happy and calm today

Di Canio out

Those pox cunts equalizing wrecked my acca before the other games even kicked off. Of course the other results all came in  :badmood:

Liking the chirpy buoyancy in his voice but lets see if he taints it with an m'bargo type rant

This bit about the loyalty of away fans is classic, I just wish I could understand all of it.

I have no idea what he is talking about.

Although I did just hear him say there is non hostility from the board.

Paolo could literally be saying anything.

I havo no idea, hatin' on younger players maybe?

He he, good luck with this one NMH!

Apparently we got fined 5,000 quid under a former manager because of damages to a hotel?

Hodgets asking the question about should this be kept behind doors...brave.....brave.....

He really is box office, cracking interview, well done SH

Do you think he talks in the third person all the time?

"The fans all love Paolo Di Canio", confirms your theory

PDC rant:
- Basically saying that he wants to make the club more professional before he leaves. He will leave one day but that might not be for a long time
- He won't be able to get Swindon playing like Barcelona, but he can make sure that behind the scenes the club is run like Barcelona
- He says that he has cracked down on players and implied that there were lots of hotel bills and police issues in the year before he joined
- Doesn't believe things should be done behind closed doors when there are people spreading poison about him. He is in a no win situation and his style is to tell the truth and crack down on people when there are major issues
- Ranted about the plan being a 3 year one. Nothing has changed. If the money men had wanted a push for promotion this year they could and should have put plans in place a month ago

Gotta go now chaps!

Love Rafa's Scotish tint in his voice

strangest voice ever

From what I could gather it sounded as though he is being put under pressure to play more youngsters. He feels that are not ready yet.

Join the club

I had Coventry, Bornmuff, Crewe, Swindon and Morecambe

Cunts

All hail Mrs Flashheart's stew  :I'm a complete mofleakin Deak

YES.

I will make sure another is made for our next match.

My effort.

PDC

-Deserved three points, professional. Hollands and Martin starting to understand. Dominated last three games but didn't win but today we did. can only be happy.
-Took first real chance. Clear we were a better side.
-Hoped we could save energy for Tranmere second half.
-Did very well, deserved victory.
-On Raffa...Sometimes forget he is a footballer, and he can strike a ball... joke.
-Raffa did very well, credit to him, two goals, very good.
-Oldham not cold, beautiful weather! Hotter than Swindon. Probably feels better because we won.
-Looking forward to Friday. Played our football for first 35 minutes. Nobody can relax because we have a chance to make a difference at this moment.
-Joe Devera marks better than Alan, even if he's a very intelligent player. Alan worked well with Raffa first half.
-Very happy Miller is back. Crucial player. Too early to say whether he'll start Friday.

At this point, he stepped up a gear and I didn't follow all of it.

-Thank you to fans that went, long trip, poor form, it's difficult. 300 is big number at this time, real loyalty. They can travel back happy. End of match waving means "our strength is important", after Jeremy left something has changed, but we need to stay strong. "I promise something and I don't give up".
-Important everyone stays in their position (role). "Dedication is not to wear Swindon tracksuit and hold cup of tea at the County Ground" (dig at Bodin??). PDC works 24 hours. Contract 16 months, could be many years if I have my chance. Youth players need to come through every year. Not enough quality.
-No other interests than making Swindon better than before he joined. He's had lots of help from people around him. If players cause trouble he will push them out."I want to leave good memories, I want to win. I want success with Swindon. I'd love to stay 20 years and wear a tracksuit, but I work 24 hours and wear casual."
- Why should he not talk to defend himself? When someone a snitch I have to talk the truth.
-Fans love me, how can they not love me. At the moment not fantastic. Playoff would be fantastic achievement. Dynamics changing. Nobody help calm situation. One man with his staff trying to please thousands of people. I will do more for my fans. Can't make everyone happy. People shouldn't judge without knowledge. Not sure on plan re: Championship. Plans should have started a month ago for January. The original plan was three years, one year to go. Next year we try to do everything.
-We don't know what we can have re Bostock, Hollands, Martin etc.

RDV
-First one great ball from Matty, quicker to react than defender. Second, was deflected but will claim it.
-Same as last year, 6 goals at this point. Won't go to sleep this year, like last.
-First ten minutes a bit shaky. THought he'd be first subbed.
-PDC yelps alot from touchline, calls you names. Just happy to play.
-A lot of games to be played.
-Concentration better today, Oldham no shot on target. Didn't give them anything.
-Will be in pretty much everyday over Xmas, important period.

I once met a Thai bloke with a thick Yorkshire accent. It was a surreal experience.

He prob thought 'eeh ba gum' was some sort of soup

Wish they'd just sack Bodin and move on. If that issue is a problem(which it appears to be and has been bubbling for 2 seasons now) and the board want Di Canio to continue then this has to stop.
Sort out the youth Paolo if you have the answer i say.
If he wants to stay and has a plan within a budget then lets fucking get on with it.
Slagging off the youth boss aint helping but the manager has to be backed. If he wants him out(pretty obvious) then move him on.

I presume all this Bodin stuff boils down to Billy

BTW he's sunk without trace at Torquay

I think there was tension before that. I wonder of there's bitterness because Bodin didn't get the manager's job

And where the fuck would we be if had

Nah, it pre-dates that, that was just another continuation of a row already long in the tooth. I'd always assumed it started with the physio being sacked, but turns out it's to do with wearing Swindon tracksuits and drinking tea, although Di Canio didn't say which of the two he specifically dislikes. Although he did say he himself wears smart casual clothes, so I guess it's the tracksuits

absolutely agree - though I think if we get rid of Bodin, we should make the effort to improve the whole system.

We could only speculate.

Just had a quick butchers at the Torquay forum and yeah, BB is getting quite a slating. There's some that seem to think he just can't be bothered.

Agent Darren said the other day on twitter that he found the youth team manager (probably not Bodin) unfriendly. Make of that what you will.

It more or less boils down to Bodin not being one of Di Canios staff. They have never had a relationship so for the good of the club one needs to go. The manager is more important so its a no brainer. I dont blame Bodin at all but it has not worked and never will so it has to stop. The public slaggings off mean things must have got worse.
I like Bodin,he's loyal(turned down assistant boss job at Torquay to stay) and not deserving of the flack he's getting but this has to end. I'm amazed he's stuck it out this long.

Just when I'm starting to get a bit weary of Paolo, he comes out with something like this and it makes me love him to bits all over again.

Beat Tranmere Friday.....within a whisper of the top at Christmas.

Agreed

If we win every Saturday paolo can have a rant every Friday as far as I'm concerned.

Except he will have to rant Thursday this week.

In honour of Paolo london_red and I are sat waiting for our food in an Italian restaurant in Oldham.......and I'm not shitfaced yet!!

Well done Town and all those that travelled.

Really looking forward to the Tranmere game now.

I've taken the dog for an half hour walk and there's 4 new posts on a match day since I went out. What's going on?

We won.

No point getting rid of Bodin cos PDC will only be around for a short time [year or whatever]
so sacrificing an important link to our tradition and history [which can set an example for
youngsters arriving with pound signs in their eyes] would be a cheap-ass thing to do.

Whatever reason PDC gives when leaves, it wont be about Bodin.

I know most people think PdC is here for a relatively short stint - but I'm not so sure.

He has said he would love to stay long term - as long as the club has the same vision as his.

I do struggle to think of what sort of club would take him on next and, more to the point, what sort of club he would leave us for.

A higher level club in trouble is not the sort of move I think either he would want or a club would take a chance on.

A middling size club (Wolves for example) would not be attractive to PdC.

Honestly cant think of what sort of club would fit with him

Bring Byrne back i say. Reckon he would work well with PDC.

Bloody nice bloke as well.

I remember well the day I called him up for a chat (he was caretaker manager at the time). He called me back when my credit ran out.

Fuck the yoof team it's about the first team

Is part of the problem that Paolo wants rid of Bodin, but the board won't sack him.

I guess if that we're the case it also could be possible that Bodin is stirring shit behind the scenes, which is winding Paolo up.

enjoy your date :)

PDC did speak about a 'snake' behind the scenes and 'poison' within the club. Really quite scathing.

Of course there's 2 sides to every story. Would be interesting to hear PB's side of things.

Someone needs to write a book about Paolo's time here one day.

I hope he goes public too. Probably too dignified though.

I can see there being more than one.  I'm sure the man himself will have a shot one day as well.

17 shots today with ten on target...we are going to batter someone soon surely.

Do we know it is necessarily Bodin, Jeremy Newton is head of Youth Development, Zippy is the Under 18's team manager although he would be responsible for preparing the U18's for the 1st team. Newton has been around the club as long as Bodin in a youth capacity?

Newton is Centre of Excellence, so doubt it.

Tranmere on Friday night

Big crowd on Friday?

I reckon he was alluding to Curly Withers slipping Valium in the pre-match brew

Unlikely, the other 5000 only come for the games when a trophy is at stake. I would say 8k tops

By big I meant anything over the usual 7500/8000. I can see maybe 8400.

And if we aren't just piss on the fusebox

Just got back. Few quick points:

- Oldham is quite possibly the worst place I have ever been
- One of the worst grounds in the league
- Bit dissapointed with turnout of town fans
- Awful game, they are the worst side I've seen all year
- Very comftorble victory, Wes hardly touched the ball
- De Vita class, still lacking a bit of cutting edge oversell
- Paolo at his brilliant best after the game, he really loves this club

Very happy with the 3 points, bring on Tranmere!

I'd agree with the above - although I have been to worse places!!

We just didn't seem to want to try to score a 3rd, particularly bearing in mind that by this time there was no proper goalkeeper, but seemed to want to play "pass the parcel" with the ball in front of goal. The opportunity to improve our goal difference was there for the taking. Pleased with the win though particularly after recent results.

Paolo mentioned trying to save the players for Tranmere, hence the lack of urgency for a 3rd goal.

I reckon that's sounds about right, think its a good call moving to the Friday night. I would imagine most attendances in the football leagues were slightly down today and next Saturday probably even lower. Our club obviously know this so hope we do get 8+ for what is a big game.

Not sure if this has been mentioned or not but "Oldham Athletic AFC"? I never knew they were called that.

Always thought they were OAFC, but looking into it they are OAAFC, Oldham Athletic Association Football Club.

From the interview you could think that Bodin is trying to put pressure on PDC to blood some of the youth team via someone else in the club. There were mini rants about them not being good enough and people talking behind his back. I got a bit lost when he was giving the example of the Man City youth player.

Well done my young padawan! :-)

Took me by surprise, nothing that a last minute bit of editing couldn't sort out  :)

With very little reviews from fans there today I will give mine...
I thought Oldham were the worst side I have seen this season. Whilst we bossed the game and there were plenty of positives, we can't be complacent and ignore the negatives. Tranmere will be a far harder test and the strikers have to improve. Raffa and Ritchie are out scoring our strikers and that's a worry. I can't understand why Storey is not given a run, the lad deserves it more than Martin and his pace will scare teams. I cant think of too many games the strikers have really impressed and done much in a game. If we has the Austin/Paynter style combo this year we would walk the league. I can't understand why Bostock was on the bench either. And I hope we bring Luke Rooney back as the back up winger rather than Roberts.

Thought Raffa and Ritchie looked very dangerous and we looked solid at the back. I actually think Devera deserves a lot of credit, he seems to be 'fill in' versatile player but he has always stepped up to the plate and should in the 11 every week IMO.

Oldham were there to be battered today, truly awful. That said, we did the job and still looked miles better. It's been a strange inconsistent start to the season, but we find ourselves only 5 points off the top and all we need is a good run of form and could easily finish top 2. If we can find our best 2 strikers and then get them scoring I think that would be the difference.

And fair play to the home fans singing 'Oldhams a shit hole, I wanna go home'! That's a ground ticked off the list I won't be rushing back too!

Considering many people are properly skint at the moment with Christmas/recession etc are you surprised???

I've been going to Town for 20 years+ and this season will be my worst in terms of number of games ... But, of course, with attitudes like that it's hardly encouraging me or the "glory hunters" back.

Perhaps instead of this holier than thou attitude we should think about welcoming these people when they come and see games??

Just a thought.

I agree Terry. Think as a regular I just wish we had more regulars. Not referring to you individually as your circumstances are none of my business.

I do think if we had a Leeds or a Villa on Friday and not Tranny then about 5000 people would not be quite as skint and would manage to find £25 down the backs of their sofa's though.

He was out injured yesterday

There are four season ticket holders who sit near me who don't think it is a good call, the distances they have to travel makes evening games hard, two of them have to book a day's holiday to travel - and their company were not allowing it in the run up to Xmas.  The usual 7,400 for me.

Thats my point, not implying Terry is a glory hunter or anything like that. Its a costly time of year, no doubt. My point is we seem to find an extra 5k for bigger games.

That's becos the extra 5000 haven't been forking out £25 for the previous 10 games

think you have got the wrong end of the stick. Everyone has there own reasons for going or not going, it makes no odds to me if you or anyone else go or choose not to. My point was we gain an extra 5k for big games. If it needs you or others to be "encouraged" to come along then thats your business.

Every club in the land gains fans for big games. Many pick and choose matches or will go to big games on the odd occasion

Very true Arriba, personally i see the Tranmere  game as massive, if we win we are potentially 2 points off the top with some winnable games to follow

Similar situation for me, it's a long haul for our home games, but I've arranged the day off & an hotel. I'll pop in to see the family on Saturday for my annual pre-Christmas visit.  I don't usually have much time on Saturday games.

I had to throw a sickie to go to a mates funeral a few weeks back. My first sick day in three years. I knew the company wouldn't let me have the time off so I just swung the lead.
The company will still be there in the morning, my mate wont.

Same for us, I have the afternoon off work & we are staying down for the weekend.

The advantage for us is that we are staying with family so it makes it more affordable.

That said, I can understand why the club have made it a Friday night

Last Friday before Xmas is the main day for work meal/pissup. Imagine a few will be missing for this reason, me being one of them.

If we had one decent goalscorer let alone two we'd walk this league.  How did Martin do yesterday out of interest?  Also I've heard a few people questioning why Benson has been sent out on loan when we're struggling up front.  Personally I think he could still do a job, but wonder if there's  bit more to it ie has he upset Di Canio?

Anyway I must admit I expected to get a point at best yesterday, so 3 was a nice surprise.  Fair play to those who travelled as well.  I wonder if some were put off for fear of it being postponed? 

We really need to push on and get another 3 points on Friday night.  Tranmere have wobbled a bit of late, so it's ours for the taking.

I don't think the crowd will be that good.  I know several season ticket holders who are unable to go due to it being moved to the Friday night because they already had prior commitments.

We should sign Mido

I'd put it down to the fact that PDC had come to the same conclusion as Charlton - Benson is good enough for L2 but not L1. However, your post reminded me of an interview when Benson made reference to being best mates with Caddis. I wonder whether he has stood by his mate?

David mcgoldrick's loan at coventry ends soon, he's been prolific so far

He will  be in the Forest team i reckon......no chance.

My input from yesterday:

-Oldham is a shithole, comfortable victory, won't be going back!

(4 hour+ journey on the way up got stuck on the M6 due to an accident and arrived at 2.35 having left at 10.30)

I don't think Benson fell out with PDC at all. I had a very long conversation with him a few days before he went to Pompey. He didn't give any hints about the move, he did say he thought PDC was an excellent manager and seemed to really like working for him.  There was no mention of Caddis, his main mate was Ritchie (they were at Dagenham together previously) I think the move was to get his confidence back again. PDC was quoted in the paper as not wanting to lose him, but having to so he could get in another player. You would suppose that a premier league reject would be better, but so far I don't see it. Benno is a really nice bloke and I hope he comes back and starts playing & scoring for us again.

Also Friday night is a terrible night for football, whose stupid idea was that? Friday night is for going to the pub, Saturday pms are for football, not Christmas shopping, yuck. Don't think I'll be going. Also it will be freezing cold.

When did Tranmere stop playing on a Friday, so they didn't clash with Everton or Liverpool?  Friday isn't a great day for football though I may still go.

Also I quite like Oldham, from a previous visit.  The Prince of Wales near the ground made for interesting drinking.

I'm gutted the game has been moved to a Friday, probably won't be able to make it now (especially with friday night traffic)

Shame as it is a huge game for us.

I'm going, will be my first game since Villa.

Excited.

cannot wait for tranmere match...day off...early start on the sherberts...beat the mock Scousers and then WAM gig in the county....quality...

Over billy sharp, cox and blackstock? I wouldn't be so sure on that, reckon we could get him until the end of the season

I'm fitting in my Christmas night out with the mates around the match. Could be quite an evening!

As are we.

Tis also my Christmas do on Friaday. 50/50 on going to the match and staying out drinking. Have last minute xmas shopping and a gig to go to on Saturday so maybe the scales are tipping...

Two lads I go with cant make Friday because of work Do's but I know another 5 who are going as they play Saturdays. Don't suppose we will know which day will bring in the biggest crowd but the club have changed it because they believe it's the best option. Saturdays are for football but i also like a home game under lights.

Of course I don't need encouraging to come- but some do.

My point, which you missed, is that we treat the "glory hunters" like they've got some kind of disease we all might catch.

Perhaps they come back to the big games having not been for a while and then don't come back because we bitch, complain and moan each time they arrive. Hence the proceeding games the attendance drops.

The mentality of these fans must be fuck 'em - when actually we should be welcoming them and not being such moralistic cunts because some can afford to go each week.

PS not being aggressive there - just arguing point. Just re-read and didn't want anyone to get in a wiggie!

I see your point, just not sure that a few moralistic cunts would put the occasional supporter off coming to a game, maybe a few it possibly would, but out of 5000? I know the TEF has its powers but I am not convinced a few bitchy comments would stop me or many others, should I choose to just turn up for the big games. I'm all up for fans coming whenever they can, as long as there is some Bovril left for when I arrive 5 minutes before kick off  :)

Agree 100% about being afforded. Some people in this country are having to live on £71.00 a week (less than what our Prime Minister spends on lunch) through no fault or choice of their own, so finding £19/25 would be out of the question for most.

 :lightsabre:

Going to the darts Thursday at Ally Pally, staying over in London having a few bevs, train home midday, straight into the pubs, Swindon v Tranmere, out for some more  :pint:

Lightweight, you can have a few beers on the train  :)

You're right Shaw Rosso, I'll have to have a couple of cans on the train...if anything it will break the journey up a bit!

Just don't buy them on the train, last time I purchased a Stella it was £2.50 a can, although I did get a free FGW Napkin with it

Get in a what?!

Moralistic cunt

Never buy them on the train, I'm one of those take a few in a plastic bag kind of people or a crate on an away day!

If he had the choice of us or Coventry he would choose Coventry without doubt.

Can't see why everyone was so down on Oldham, had a decent time up there. Not as cold as all that and the town was alright in the evening, if a bit quiet. Not a race riot in sight.

As for the football the game was a bit shit but we did play some nice stuff in patches. We looked like we were playing down to their level initially - as we tend to do - and the goal seemed to snap us out of it.

Impressed with Thompson who continues to improve, De Vita was quality and that's the hardest I've seen Ritchie work in a long time. Put in good crosses when he had the chance but it was his work off the ball in the first half particularly when we'd lost possession that impressed me.

Our various strikers have a lot of good and complementary attributes and strengths, unfortunately 'sticking the ball in the back of the net' is one they all seem to lack a natural gift for.

Also thought Miller stood out in his brief 10 minutes at the end - would like to see his partnership with Bostock in the middle renewed on Friday - our most dominant midfield performance was when those two played against Stevenage and we'll need that against Tranmere I think.

Roll on the Christmas period, the top 10 in this league are so tight at the moment we could make a significant move - one way or the other - between now and Jan 2nd.

Only just recovered from a pretty messy weekend after a huge night out Friday and 3 hours sleep I somehow managed to get myself up and on the bus from manchester to oldham for the game. I also somehow managed to bring with me my girlfriend (a leeds fan), 2 Wigan fans, a non football fan, my old man and a United fan brought his 2 year old to his 1st ever live game! Fair play to the Oldham stewards on the gate who let him and the kid in for free when they arrived 10 minutes in.

As routine a win as you'll ever see and we definitely took our foot off the gas 2nd half. However, it's important to point out that the work rate did not drop, we were constantly hassling and winning the loose balls in the middle of the park, completely dominated their midfield and show some great technical touches. We should have buried them 2nd half but guess we didn't need to.

Highlight for me was my mates little un trying to shout, "come on reds!", magic!

Blimey, we would have arrived 10 mins late if we'd known it would save us 40 quid!!  :D

Did you have a stupidly cute 2 year old in arms? Think that may have been the reason they were so soft

No - he's 22 and too heavy for me to carry!!

Was that the same little lad who got the We Are Paolo's Red n White Army chant going during the first half? Thought that was fantastic and a highlight of the match for me (other than a routine 2-0 win of course).

No, at 2 years old I don't think he's got the lungs for that!

Not a lot to add to what's been said, Oldham were dire. Reminded me of us when we were last in this league, without Austin.

Subdued atmosphere but the game didn't really take off and we were more than comfortable. Thought Ritchie/De Vita/Hollands were our best players on the whole although the rest played well too.

Teaching a few Oldham supporters, the victory gave me something to look forward to during lunch duty.

The league is unbelievably tight, we just need greater consistency and to be more clinical in front of goal. The Oldham fans mocking our finishing drills pre-kick off sums it up. It has cost us points at Notts County and by most accounts Doncaster, lack of confidence or something else?

too true.  I think it is vital we are still in the chasing pack as we enter the home strait in January

Another super away 3 points... Really dont think that was De Vita's goal though having seen the highlights...