dave_ragg1984

How on earth will we be Oldham's team if we are not based in Oldham? If we have no representation in the town, how are we that town's team? The cost of travel would not go up for me, but thats really not the point at all. Fair enough, you want Latics to be the town of Rochdale's second team. Rochdale AFC are based in Rochdale and pay all their rates to Rochdale council. If you want to watch a team who pays their rates to Rochdale council, why not just go and watch them?

Leaving Oldham without a professional football club would be a pretty damn huge deal tbh.

Well I'm sure it still bothers them a bit, but they could learn to accept it as they are still in Bolton. There are places in Oldham I wouldn't be best pleased about moving to (Failsworth, for example) but I could accept it. Moving professional football out of Oldham would be unacceptable.

1. Horwich is in Bolton. 2. I couldn't care less about Bolton. I am not from Bolton. I don't support Bolton. All I care about is professional football staying in Oldham.

Well, if moved to Ashton, in my eyes, Oldham Athletic would cease to exist. How could they possibly be Oldham Athletic if they were playing in Ashton? Plus, Ashton is way too close to COMS for it to be a success, and I think more fans would be lost than gained, so I reckon that business would die out anyway. Where on the Rochdale/Royton border is there enough land? I'll rephrase it if you want...the best chance the clubs has of surviving is to redevelop BP or to move to a new stadium in Oldham. Hypothetically, if the club was based in Ashton, and we had a repeat of 2003...would the apathetic public of Oldham rally around a club that isn't even based in the town? Would all those City and United fans in Ashton/Tameside rally around a club called Oldham?

Yes, it would half the cost, but it could also mean realistically playing infront of half the fans too. A lot of fans in Oldham would be lost, and hardly any, if any, would be gained. I wouldn't go if we moved out of Oldham. That isn't me looking for an excuse to stop going. If I wanted an excuse to stop going, Lee Hughes was that excuse. I support Oldham because they are Oldham. I couldn't go and watch Rochdale 2nds, or Ashton Athletic, or Middleton Blues, or whatever it is that we might as well then be called. Corporal wasnt wrong when he said "If you come from Oldham you can't divorce the club from the town, dump or not. To a certain extent, OAFC is the town." We have to stay in Oldham.

Yes. The club will die if it moves out of Oldham.

Erm...if we have half the building costs, and reduced running costs, why would we retain all the revenue? Is it me, or does that sound like a really crap deal for Rochdale? Why would the transport links be better if we shared with Rochdale? Why on earth would anybody not want us to have our own ground.

100% agree. If I could agree more than 100% with that, I would. You can't move Oldham Athletic out of Oldham. We moan that the town doesn't back the club, but there would be no chance whatsoever of the town backing the club if it wasn't even based in Oldham. And why would people from another town (who are more than likely all already United and City fans) back "Oldham" Athletic just because it has been dropped on their doorstep? The only way the club will survive is to redevelop BP, or to move to a ground at a new site in Oldham.

Why would anybody pick that they would WANT us to groundshare with Rochdale? Or groundshare at all? Surely the ideal scenario would be to either redevelop BP stand by stand (the original plan) or, build a ground at another site in Oldham, and move there when complete (like pretty much every other club who gets a new ground).

As do Preston.

I hope they are.

Well if you put it like that! Really really really really would be gutted to leave BP. Ok, its a dump, but its out dump, a dump we can call home. Fair enough, if we have to move we have to move....but it has to be in Oldham, otherwise it just cant be home.

Why on earth would anybody in their right mind actually WANT Latics to share a ground with Rochdale? If we do share with Rochdale, it better be on this side of the border aswell. Why on earth would anybody willingly want us to move into their town to share with that lot?

United playing in Trafford is completely different. When they moved to Trafford, football was in its infancy, whereas we have played in Oldham since 1895. There really is no comparison. And Horwich is part of Bolton. Moving to Tameside, to me, would be no different than Wimbledon being moved to MK. If the people of Tameside want league football, then they can get off their arses and support Droylsden/Stalybridge/Curzon Ashton/Ashton United/Hyde United and hopefully one day they will get in the league. Why on earth would they support us if they moved there? Anyone who wants to support us in Tameside already does. Its not hard to get to BP, you just need to get the 409. Tameside is not the answer. What we need is a new ground, either at BP, or elsewhere in Oldham.

I said I'd like to stay at BP but would have no problem in moving within Oldham. But would have a problem moving out of Oldham. A bloody big problem. It's hardly short sighted saying I would have problem with my football club, which I only support because they are from the same place as me, moving out of town (no matter how close they remain).

What is wrong with what he said there? If Oldham Athletic moved out of town permanently then I'd stop supporting. I'd like to stay at BP, but can understand if we have to move ground. But if a new ground is not in Oldham/Royton/Chadderton/Failsworth/Saddleworth then they will no longer be representing Oldham, therefore no longer representing me. And as a result I'd stop going, and probably stop watching football....and I'm pretty sure I'm not on my own with that.

Old Trafford isn't fit to host a Test match at the moment...saying that, I can't understand why Trent Bridge was overlooked. We won there in 2005, and it's a cracking cricket ground. Plus, Cardiff has never hosted a test, why do they get an Ashes one first? I bet Durham and Hampshire are fuming.

He's harmless really.

She was called Harriet. Cant believe you went there. If you see her again, do not, I repeat, DO NOT ask her to "hug it out".

Who was it who disgusted you this time? Anyone we (I) know?

Not her again?!?

If he has cost us one fan (which I'm pretty sure he has) then it is one fan too many and we shouldn't even entertain the idea of re-singing him. I was never a fan of signing him in the first place, and it made me happy that we got rid. Q. Do you want us to re-sign Hughes? A. NO!

Whilst they didnt leather us, Chealsea brought an ace team here in the cup a few years ago. Luca Vialli and Gianfranco Zola up front, Marcel Desailly at the back. Think John Terry made his debut in that game too. Still well happy I got to see Zola play in the flesh, the bloke was a class act.