The opponent: Oldham Athletic AFC
4.59.59pm? That is supposed to be the time the Spurs trio’s deals were completed. Well why wait until 20 past bloody well 5 to tell us? Bastards. Had this thread been started around the 17.00hrs mark it may well have made an entirely different read. For the last few weeks I have generally just stuck to matchday threads, mainly due to work taking off, but there was a bit of me that just about had a gut full of all things STFC. I will be the first to admit, I was a Di Canio fan, and was a bit pissed with how that all ended. It then seemed our dream of a developed County Ground and squad investment went down the pan as quick as it came in when Mr Black left, and then our takeover is completed, just, etc etc etc. So for the last few weeks I have avoided waiting for Adver Sam’s every Tweet and watched from a distance. Buuuuuuuut, I can’t sit back any longer, after the news was broken a couple of days back that the never quite made it to the top striker Jason Roberts was in talks to sign a pre-contract agreement to become our player/coach. Sky Sports? BBC Wiltshire? Adver Sam? STFC Gazza? No, The Town End’s own Chris STFC. Does that mean 5Live will love us from now on? As always, there are more questions than answers.
So the Easter weekend has arrived, rather uninterestingly, I was born on a Good Friday (I know, what was so good about it)? But it does mean a double dose of football, and god have I craved some football over the last few days. 2 very tough matches for very different reasons, starting with Oldham Athletic this afternoon. The AFC bit of tonight’s opponent gives the club its full title, Oldham Athletic (2004) Association Football Club Ltd, although the Oldham Athletic AFC that they have on their shirts is probably a bit easier for the average Latic to grasp. Incredibly, when The Latics were relegated from the 2nd tier of English Football back in 97-98, they have not gone up or down a league in all of that time. 15 years of League 1 football! At least we got to experience Accrington, Morecambe and Barnet in recent seasons. Looking through the Oldham squad, they have made good use of the loan system with Chris Iwelumo, Lee Barnard and Jordan Obita amongst the ranks this season. How our 3 young Hotspurs stand in comparison will obviously reveal itself over a period of time, although one thing is for sure, I wouldn’t swap our current league position with theirs!
Looking back through the history of Oldham Athletic, they haven’t rally won a great deal to be honest, unless you count Lancashire Combinations Cup success back in 1908 as a major honour. A few years after they did manage to finish 2nd in what was then the 1st Division, but since then, the odd cup run like the one back in 93 really is about as exciting as it has got for them. To be fair to them, they do well to get the average attendances that they actually achieve with Boundary Park being less than 9 miles away from the nearby stadiums of Manchester City and Manchester United, and more notably, Rochdale and Bury. One thing I found out about Oldham which I never knew before was back in the 1960’s, the club was owned by none other than Ken Bates, who, in his wisdom, decided to change the clubs colours so the players home kit featured a garish tangerine orange shirt and blue shorts! Oldham’s loss is surely Leeds gain?
Notable fans of The Latics are few and far between, although double glazing salesmen and former comedians Cannon and Ball are amongst them. Another proud fan of OA(2004)AFC is all round brain box, Professor Brian Cox, surely the next Patrick Moore? He was also lucky enough to be born in Oldham, and being the son of bankers, was privately educated in Oldham, though he did once admit that he only got a D in his maths exams. There is hope for all of us yet.
What are they saying about us? – “Will be a very hard game as they should have beaten Notts County but for their goalie making saves.
I'm going to Swindon and I would take a point but got a gut feeling that we will win 1 nil. Hope I’m right, Monday is our must win game”
http://www.oafc.co.uk/Bessone is disappointed to miss out on featuring tomorrow at Swindon.
"They were my last club and things didn't go how I wanted and decided to leave in December," he continued.
Oldham’s ‘Ex-Barca” left back speaks his mind.
Oldham Athletic Last 6 – WWLLLW (Oldham are currently 20th on 39 points)
The Threat – Jose Baxter currently leads the way for The Latics with 13 goals in all competitions.
A Warm Welcome to – Crisitian Montano (the poor soul ended up on loan at Oxford in the end) is currently plying his trade for Oldham, having scored 2 goals for them.
The irrelevant stats – Oldham have managed to concede 50 goals so far this season, 28 of those being away from Boundary Park. They have managed 5 wins away from home this season. Interestingly, out of the 28 goals they have conceded, 16 of those were in the last 15 minutes, perhaps fitness is an issue?
Head to Head – In the 46 encounters between ourselves and The Latics we have won 18, drawn and lost 17 times.
The Odds – Swindon 8/13 Draw 16/5 Oldham 5/1 (Bet 365) With recent home form in mind, the draw is not looking like a bad bet to be honest, although 2-2 may have some more appeal at 22/1 with Bet Victor, and is as short as 14/1 elsewhere.
The Son Says – Its half term at the moment, so thankfully this game fills out another half day of child entertaining. The lad says 3-0.
The Prediction – I am going for a 2-0 victory, goals from Shit Williams and Adam Rooney, both in front of a half filled Stratton Bank and a total crowd of 9022 (224 from Lancashire)
And Finally – The Oldham Gold Rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by Eric Kippersthwaite, in Royton. News of the discovery brought some 300,000 people to Oldham, mainly from Yorkshire leaving it quite empty. Of the 300,000, approximately half arrived by bus and half walked overland. Thankfully First Great Western and Virgin were unheard of back then.
