astottie

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18018280 Scunny Cliff Byrne? Part of one of the best defences ever to grace this division about 5 years ago, kicking people up in the air at will. Can't believe he's only 30. I think he would be worth a shout if we could afford him

Gordon Bennett you worried me then, I thought you said David Reeves, clip clop, clip clop,

http://www.london2012.com/games/olympic-torch-relay/torchbearers/search.php?bearer-location=northwest&community=Oldham&search-submit=Go Published on Monday along with the route on official website. Most of the stages have a similar spread of people. i think what they have done is choose the people and then give them a spot rather than choose the towns and pick people from them. I believe they have tried to give people a place in the relay passing within an hour of where they live - not quite sure how that's worked with Warrimoo! The only person i know who has been selected to carry it, lives in Oldham and is carrying it in Hudders a couple of hours after it's been through Oldham!

hope to god they sell him midweek and we sign the Robster permanently before that!

Interesting point that, I heard Welsh Bastard and Long Haired Geordie Punt shouted times without number tonight. I wouldn't want to equate these comments with those about race, colour and/or ethnicity but casting first stone and motes in eye and all that may be relevant. Good luck Tom and you can rise above it - even if you shouldn't have to.

Very good point and the kept on having a go right to the end. We played with energy and impetus and Furman was a collossus, The view that if you go to places like these and have a go then you'll lose heavily was probably substantiated but what the hell, it was fun while it lasted and the death knell was only sounded in added time. One last point to be proud of. Last ten minutes and3-1 up and Reina and Carragher were wasting time.Wusses!

Interesting Clarke is named even though we haven't announced he's signed. Hope it's the case and not another 'journalistic error'. Hudds Examiner says there's a whisper he's coming back here though.

what kills me every time is the guy on the pitch with the motorbike helmet. Priceless.

I'm not certain but I don't think you can. I think you can do standard loan (i.e. half or full season) or emergency loan (28 days)but i don't think you can do the half season once you've done the emergency loan.What you can do is extend the emergency loan to 3 months (93 days?) after the initial 28 which cannot then be extended. In the case of the 2 we have at the moent this would take us up to a game or two short of the end of the season. This might help, then again it might not. http://www.football-league.co.uk/regulations/20110629/section-6-players_2293633_2125731#50

Found this piece brilliantly written and very moving, I have a really good mate who is a Darlo fan and is forever banging on about all those glory days mentioned there and hatred of the Fishheads (Hartlepool). Unfortunately I am going to put a bit of a dampener on it, so sorry. I think there are several themes in this thread and , in Darlo’s recent history that should ring bells for all fans of lower league clubs. 1. Big money man (Reynolds/Moore/Icelandic consortium/ 3 amigos) comes in and we all get giddy. Whoo let’s buy this player and that player and pay loads of money in wages, and who cares about the rest, we’ve got loadsamoney. The FA/Football League or whatever want to impose fit and proper persons test. Booooo, we don’t like that, it’s not fair, it might stop us being the next Blackburn or Wigan. 2. Loadsamoney man (see above) says we’re going to build a new stadium, whoooooo! 15000 capacity even though we only get 4500 now. What!? Only 15000 capacity, where’s your ambition man. Lets build it and they will come. All those local Man U, Newcastle, Boro etc fans they will come. 25000 at least we are a big club, we went to Wembley once (2x, 3x...) 3. Thing goes tits up. We only have 3 sides to our ground. All our best players have been sold (Armstrong, Hill, several Darlo players who I can’t remember) and only me and our dog come. Booooo! Not fair we have been let down by the man/men who promised us the promised land and we are Darlo/Oldham/Stockport and we deserve it. 4. Darlo (and many others since them inc Wrexham, Halifax and Chester) established league clubs drop a division or 2 but keep their hardcore support. They then rampage through the non league divisions increasing their support from local glory hunters and lording it over the non league plebs as they go. My main point I suppose is that the likes of the clubs I have mentioned (including/especially us) are small time , small town clubs who really should function at a certain level but every so often get lucky and something happens. A lucky goal, dodgy pen, inspired signing (Stimpson/(Redfearn/Barrett , Ritchie, Holden)and all of a sudden we are playing above our station and even doing well. This is brilliant but the sad reality is that eventually we will return to our true level. The key for the supporter is to accept this and even enjoy it. Remember it is the hope that kills us. My favourite Latics’ game was the opening game of the season 2004/5ish? , lost 3-1 at home to an infinitely better Brighton side with a Latics team, the majority of whom I’d never seen and who would never play more than 10 games for us. The point was we were still in existence after the previous years shambles and I still had something to do on a Saturday afternoon. This has some resonance with the plight that Darlington find themselves in currently. However their opponents at the weekend also experienced something similar 30 or so years ago before they could tell their plight on the wonders of the internet. I wish them both well and hope they don’t begrudge us our day in the limelight tomorrow, after all they were there once and we may well , one day, be where they are now. Great respect to all the fans of clubs like theirs and ours who support their town team through thick and thin despite the lure of the great Satans just down /up the road. Come on you Latics/Quakers/ Bluebirds etc!

A fee of six figures sounds like the chairman is getting a bit giddy to me but fair play to him as he's their lad and he's scored some goals at a reasonable, if not top, level of non league football. If we spotted Smith I think we would have spotted this lad but Smith was a free agent. Interesting Connor Jennings was with them from 17, I wonder if he'd been at a league club before that as a youngster.

http://menmedia.co.uk/tamesideadvertiser/sport/football/s/1469076_celtic-chairman-tells-scunthorpe-to-raise-offer-for-striker-connor-jennings theyve been watching him for a bit and he's had a good season.

Can I ask where you got that from as OS says lunchtime today http://www.oldhamathletic.co.uk/page/NewsUpdate/0,,10337~2565382,00.html but it may have been written by our escapee from the rarely wrong Chron Thanks latics Pete! Couldn't you have waited another minute! Anyway seems like all's well

and Bertrand. Both played their last games against Leeds away the game before. Taylor also got injured in that game and missed Everton.

Around 2/3 hours to go for us to sort out the loanees for them to be available for tomorrow. Although I don't think it's crucial for the starting eleven (unless Wes is out) that we have them available, I think without Clark, Scappuzzi and Adeyemi the bench will be looking young and pretty thin.

According to OS http://www.oldhamathletic.co.uk/page/NewsUpdate/0,,10337~2565382,00.html Possibility we could be without 3 of our main squad members for Friday if deals aren't renewed/extended. I think there is sense in keeping all of them for the rest of the season if at all possible, 1) because they are decent players and 2) because there must be some benefit in keeping the squad together. We could get rid of Clarke and Adeyemi in the hope of getting someone better but it is a risk, ref that midfielder (Lund?) we got from Stoke last year. I was listening to Radio Laydes on the way home tonight and their sports panel was lamenting Hudders defence saying that they are all over the place and Clark keeps messing his selection about. With Bruce called back by Leeds and Kay out of favour (can't understand why) I wondered if they might mention Nathan Clark going back but they didn't.They did however say Hudders have a centre half targeted and the deal is well progressed.

Bit of help please. Does anybody know if it is possible to turn up tomorrow and pay on the coach without already having booked in advance?

Are you the Queen?

Pleased to see that Richard was recognised in the BBC SPOTY obituary section tonight alongside the likes of Gary Speed,Basil D'Oliveira, Socrates, Joe Frazier and so many others. Very tragic for a such a young man and his family.

A terrific result away to the top of the league I think, especially when coming from behind and having 3 out of first choice back four missing. That's 2 defeats in the last 13 now and there were mitigating circumstances in both of them such as having ten men against Bury and circumstances conspiring against us last week. Unbeaten in the last 5 away and I think fancy Phil having bagged the equaliser today will have done him a world of good. Expected the worst when they scored so a good point.

me neither. Bit surprised at Parker right back instead of Winchester. Don't know if he has ever played there before. Fingers crossed they have no left winger.

Took my then 7 year old to the Everton game and the Leeds one 4 days before. Thought we could get battered in both so sat her down beforehand and warned her not to get too upset if we lost both games because we probably would but these sides were probably better than us and we were away and our noble boys would try their best and that's all they could do. Drove back from Goodison with her thinking i was a complete idiot and obviously knew nothing about the game, a point on which she might be right.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/16180102.stm this would suggest different but if not teatime today a home defeat to Walsall might mean gone by Saturday teatime and the next game is Hudds away so i think you are reading those runes correctly.

I may have got this wrong but weren't those who took advantage of the 2 quid tickets season ticket holders?

Reason 2 they have won 1 out of last 5 at home