Oldham Athletic v Swindon Town Matchday Thread

[Paul Mason]

Sadly even with my pint glass half full optimism I am starting to have a fear to what the end of season holds. Realistically it looks like one spot in the relegation zone is a potential pitfall and my fear is in many divisions the tail end lf a season sees a team which is thought to be safe suddenly get sucked down the trap door and I have a big fear it may be us unless something dramatic changes in the next 3 games. Its unclear how long Obika and Ajose will be out but we have struggled without Obika and to lose the leagues top scorere is a hammer blow especially as we seem incapable of defending, conceding goals at an alarming rate.

To have an attacking way such as the fabled "Swindon Way" is admirable but behind that you have to have some basic defensive capabilities to give you a platform to attack and win games. There are times we give away goals beacuse of defenders bringing the ball out and losing it and spaces then being exploited. First and foremost a defender should be a defender, deny your opponents opportunities on your goal with good positional play so why isnt that the case, why cant the forwards and attacking midfielders do their thing, why do they need the defenders to join in as well, let defenders defend. Then the second element of defending is marking your opponent properly and having the determination not to be beaten whether thats competing for a challenge or desperately trying to block a shot or cross, yet i see neither currently.

This football club simply cannot drop down into league two, I dont anticipate us ever being a championship club unless another Andrew Black appears and we get a top line manager but I do feel we should be a top line league one club fighting each year in and around the play off spots giving a higher percentage of enjoyment than despair to us the fans at the bottom end of the table as has been the case this season.

There needs to be a balance between investment and sustainability so I applaud on one hand the chairman trying to sort the club out so we dont go out of business but at the same time there needs to be some investment to give the club a balanced and competitive squad. Thats not easy but he has stated he is a businessman and a man with many football contacts so I dont see why he cant deliver this.

I will be at the home games and maybe an away game before the end but cant see me making that long haul to Bradford as thats a lot of effort and personal expense for what I sadly think at the moment could be a very horrible day given their form and our form and team available.

To finish on a positive, it was nice to see a few of the academy players in the fold, I just wish they had a few more experienced players alongside them to guide them

[adje]

Has there ever been a more predictable scoreline.we are far too bad to only concede one,with ajose out no possibility of notching and oldham are far too crap to score 3.should have broken my own rule and bet against us

[deltaincline]

Sadly even with my pint glass half full optimism I am starting to have a fear to what the end of season holds. Realistically it looks like one spot in the relegation zone is a potential pitfall and my fear is in many divisions the tail end lf a season sees a team which is thought to be safe suddenly get sucked down the trap door and I have a big fear it may be us unless something dramatic changes in the next 3 games. Its unclear how long Obika and Ajose will be out but we have struggled without Obika and to lose the leagues top scorere is a hammer blow especially as we seem incapable of defending, conceding goals at an alarming rate.

To have an attacking way such as the fabled "Swindon Way" is admirable but behind that you have to have some basic defensive capabilities to give you a platform to attack and win games. There are times we give away goals beacuse of defenders bringing the ball out and losing it and spaces then being exploited. First and foremost a defender should be a defender, deny your opponents opportunities on your goal with good positional play so why isnt that the case, why cant the forwards and attacking midfielders do their thing, why do they need the defenders to join in as well, let defenders defend. Then the second element of defending is marking your opponent properly and having the determination not to be beaten whether thats competing for a challenge or desperately trying to block a shot or cross, yet i see neither currently.

This football club simply cannot drop down into league two, I dont anticipate us ever being a championship club unless another Andrew Black appears and we get a top line manager but I do feel we should be a top line league one club fighting each year in and around the play off spots giving a higher percentage of enjoyment than despair to us the fans at the bottom end of the table as has been the case this season.

There needs to be a balance between investment and sustainability so I applaud on one hand the chairman trying to sort the club out so we dont go out of business but at the same time there needs to be some investment to give the club a balanced and competitive squad. Thats not easy but he has stated he is a businessman and a man with many football contacts so I dont see why he cant deliver this.

I will be at the home games and maybe an away game before the end but cant see me making that long haul to Bradford as thats a lot of effort and personal expense for what I sadly think at the moment could be a very horrible day given their form and our form and team available.

To finish on a positive, it was nice to see a few of the academy players in the fold, I just wish they had a few more experienced players alongside them to guide them

Post of the season for me.

Very considered and 100% accurate.

Power claims he is a business man - though I can't find much about him in that regard, and he claims to have contacts in football. Despite him being a journeyman footballer and never having achieved anything approaching success in his career as a player, he seems to make some fundamental mistakes, like not bringing in cover in the transfer window and relying upon the inexperienced opinions of his newly appointed rookie manager.

I wonder why Mr experience didn't overrule his manager in that instance?

Personally, I don't think we will get relegated this season as when we have a few bodies back we'll pick up the points that will see us over the line.

However, Williams is obviously very inexperienced with zero in terms of scouting prowess and Powers 'football contacts' don't seem to be providing much fruit for us this season ( I wonder why Spurs aren't helping us out any more...), so where are the cheap players that we can polish and then sell-on going to come from for next season?

Powers model for a sustainable club is built upon selling players, and that's fine to a point, but only if the entity that provides a platform for them to shine on actually allows them to do so. If we continue like we are at the moment, that platform will soon be L2 and I remember how tough it was trying to attract players last time were there - with loads of money and a very high profile manager too.

Still, the happy-clapping gang have got it all sussed out, and if all else fails, I'm sure they'll have some smart-arsed comments and in-jokes ready, and that will always divert attention away from what is becoming a grim reality for those that have their eyes open.

[Don Rogers Sock]

Post of the season for me.

Very considered and 100% accurate.

Power claims he is a business man - though I can't find much about him in that regard, and he claims to have contacts in football. Despite him being a journeyman footballer and never having achieved anything approaching success in his career as a player, he seems to make some fundamental mistakes, like not bringing in cover in the transfer window and relying upon the inexperienced opinions of his newly appointed rookie manager.

I wonder why Mr experience didn't overrule his manager in that instance?

Personally, I don't think we will get relegated this season as when we have a few bodies back we'll pick up the points that will see us over the line.

However, Williams is obviously very inexperienced with zero in terms of scouting prowess and Powers 'football contacts' don't seem to be providing much fruit for us this season ( I wonder why Spurs aren't helping us out any more...), so where are the cheap players that we can polish and then sell-on going to come from for next season?

Powers model for a sustainable club is built upon selling players, and that's fine to a point, but only if the entity that provides a platform for them to shine on actually allows them to do so. If we continue like we are at the moment, that platform will soon be L2 and I remember how tough it was trying to attract players last time were there - with loads of money and a very high profile manager too.

Still, the happy-clapping gang have got it all sussed out, and if all else fails, I'm sure they'll have some smart-arsed comments and in-jokes ready, and that will always divert attention away from what is becoming a grim reality for those that have their eyes open.

My way of thinking is that we have had alot more success with Powers methods than failure. I look at it and think he has had one good season and one quite poor season. I will judge him on next season.

If it carries on like this then yes i will start to panic but let's wait and see

[corner]

Post of the season for me.

Very considered and 100% accurate.

Power claims he is a business man - though I can't find much about him in that regard, and he claims to have contacts in football. Despite him being a journeyman footballer and never having achieved anything approaching success in his career as a player, he seems to make some fundamental mistakes, like not bringing in cover in the transfer window and relying upon the inexperienced opinions of his newly appointed rookie manager.

I wonder why Mr experience didn't overrule his manager in that instance?

Personally, I don't think we will get relegated this season as when we have a few bodies back we'll pick up the points that will see us over the line.

I would disagree with the first paragraph in that power has shown he is a businessman by not bringing anyone in January, we didn't need to and still don't, why waste money and bring in players that arnt needed, we're not going to go up were not going to go down, so would be in my opinion a waste.

[Audrey]

Not needed?

Not fucking needed?

So you think it's OK to shortchange fans for the last 8 home games by fielding the heap of shit we've been forced to watch lately?

And how many fans are being turned away now by the distinct lack of anybody actually giving a fuck

[Honest Lee]

You beat me to it.
We should be building for next season at least.

[Don Rogers Sock]

You beat me to it.
We should be building for next season at least.

What player will leave their current club with an eye for next season?

[Honest Lee]

What player will leave their current club with an eye for next season?

Doughty maybe.  Who knows but you could at least fucking try.

[Audrey]

What player will leave their current club with an eye for next season?

Why do any players leave their clubs during a transfer window

[Don Rogers Sock]

Doughty maybe.  Who knows but you could at least fucking try.

I'm confused. Did you mean sign players for this season in January or for next?

[Tails]

It's all fine margins isn't it? If x, y, z player doesn't get injured we probably would have been pushing top 6 this season. Last season Power was a genius. This year he's a crook. I get the impression this was always going to be a season of rebuilding due to the sheer volume of outgoings last season. I don't blame Power for selling, the downside of having a good team full of players performing is that it draws attention to them, which has always been the case and we've ALWAYS sold players / managers. We're a third tier club, in the division we belong, and players can and should do better. And whilst I won't claim to know the ins and outs, I know we run at a loss and those losses have to be covered.

It's easy to say the recruitment policy failed this season, we certainly didn't land all the players we wanted to, but it's obvious there was an eye on 16/17. In that respect, there is a lot more pressure on Power this summer. The loan market is being restricted so he will have to bring in players permanently and the only way we can attract anyone decent is by promoting ourselves as a stepping stone. That was going to be difficult in January, although I do think that there should have been some more bodies in add some depth.

3 years of Power. 1 pretty decent (8th), one very decent (4th) and one awful (TBC - fairly confident we wont go down). You're only as good as your last result (or season in this case) so I can see why a lot of supporters will be frustrated and throwing their tantrums... But there are reasons to be optimistic. Williams has shown himself a good coach (development of the likes of Byrne, Gladwin, fuck he even helped turn Williams into a 20 goal striker) and I think he can get another decent season out... But there are lessons to be learned. We need a strong summer, if anything to get fans back onside (although the petulant nature of many means that some have made Power a villain and that won't change).

[Don Rogers Sock]

A little perspective is needed here though isn't when it comes to signings. Take a look at the following and give an honest opinion on your initial feeling when we first signed them.

Louis Thompson
Nicky Ajose
Jordan Turnball
Fabien Robert
 
We also were very unfortunate with Stewart and Williams from liverpool. These players are good players where we went wrong is filling other key areas with very poor players. You can't replace Kasim with Rogers and you can't replace Toffolo with Boo for example.

That's why like i said let's wait until the summer after 1 good and 1 bad pre season

[corner]

Not needed?

Not fucking needed?

So you think it's OK to shortchange fans for the last 8 home games by fielding the heap of shit we've been forced to watch lately?

And how many fans are being turned away now by the distinct lack of anybody actually giving a fuck

In a business perspective they are not needed,
If he was here for the fans and have unlimited funds then it wouldn't be a problem, he had written off this season when cooper went.
Your not forced to watch anything btw, it's the shape of things to come unfortunately. Crew springs to mind,

[Audrey]

For me there is only one question that needs addressing.

How on earth are we ever going to get a defence that doesn't give away so many chances/makes so many errors game after game.

Without that we are going nowhere - even with the calibre of players such as Luongo, Byrne etc we couldn't hack it. And what's the chances of recruiting that quality of player again any time soon.

Williams hasn't filled me with belief he can organise a defence