Midsblue

Oumare Tounkara http://www.rokerreport.com/2012/5/19/3030341/sunderland-retained-list-2012-craig-gordon-released

I reckon he'll be one of the first signed up. Is PD on holiday and due back next week? Surely deadlines over by now for those offered contracts?!

One brother Wolves, another Derby and my dad kInd of followed Coventry. Friends mostly Villa or Liverpool as we were growing up early 80s.

I picked a team from somewhere I didn't know, followed their scores on TV and in the paper and then started attending matches when I could...admittedly all away matches against midland teams. As soon as I could afford, I scoured train and bus timetables to venture further afield and then one day finally got to Mumps and made that walk to Boundary Park.

As soon as I could drive, every other Saturday found me driving 200+ miles up and down the M6.

People still ask me why even though I've now been an Oldham fan for 25 years this year! I still can't name any road in Oldham and never been in the town centre shopping but I have two daughters who only wear Oldham shirts, each have a stuffed Chaddy and boo whenever Villa, Man Utd or Birmingham appear on TV!

Isn't the script writer of Corrie a fan?

Along the lines of Cardiff this week, why don't we approach ITV for funding in return for renaming our club as Weatherfield FC for the season?

Leyton Orient can do the same with the BBC and be renamed Walford Town.

We'd get a few inches in the red tops each week I reckon.

On a serious note, I'd approach that bloke from Asia offering to change our away shirt to red, swap that to the home shirt and call ourselves the Red Dragons. For 10 or 20 million I'd dump Chaddy.....:censored:, I'd do it for 5 million as long as its for squad building and written off as no debt to us in return for getting promoted out of this damn league!

Whilst I was picking up my new him shirts on Tuesday there was a Ford Granada with RM9 as the registration.

Now don't hold me to this but I'm certain that I saw Rodney Marsh in our boardroom. I was hanging from the roof gutter at the time and the wind was picking up.

It's about time we had the flair of someone like Marsh up front.

From the numbers though, more adult season tickets have been sold for next season so far than the same period last season?

2012/13 season - 2,238 total ST - 767 £10 STs = 1,471 non-£10 ST holders

2011/12 season - 1,786 total ST - 332 junior STs = 1,454 non-junior ST holders

OK, it's a 1% increase but it's an increase!

Keep the glass half full everyone, next season will be a positive surprise for this club...I can feel it.

End of June as release date apparently but colour a closely guarded secret(!)

I expect being shot down by some for my comments but well done to Wigan and another season at the top.

Small club, small crowd but continues to stand toe to toe with the big boys and survive.

If we ever repeating the feat we did in the early 90s, I hope we share the same success of developing a squad on limited budget, entertaining a small but loyal fanbase and still pulling out result after result.

Has anybody bought the kids version of this shirt? I want to buy one for a 3 and 6 year old tomorrow but what's all this SJ and MJ about? I know it's small and medium junior but it's a tad restrictive on size.

Cheers

What happened 03/04 when we had no #9?

Been racking my brains to remember why. Was that the season when we were searching and searching but found nobody???!!!

I just hope we get a really, really decent #9 next season and I don't mean promoting Kuqi!

Eyresy is one of my all time favourites and excited me whenever he played.....however even the legend #28 would be a waste as we have nobody to convert his passes or crosses.

Therefore I would go for Stitch. That said, what could we have done this season had we had a lesser mortal than Ritchie like Beckett or Hughes to convert all those chances????

Won't be today as it's bank holiday?!

Surely PD and the players will be at home watching Homes Under the Hammer and Bargain Hunt?

I remember a time when Big Joe and his players would be at home watching an episode of Why Dont You or a Disney film on Bank Holiday.

Flaming TV companies and not recognising bank holidays and what footballers and football managers actually want to watch!

When will the new away be released or actually shown on the website? Would be great to have a choice but like the new home shirt though

Rotherham

From the pictures on line, it's growing on me. Even the colour looks good. It's not our usual blue but it'll be unique next season and the gold trim will be fitting when we hold aloft a trophy or two.

Pound for pound, I still think we can do better than Kuqi next season. Tonk full time and ANOther up front.

That said if PD has faith in him still then in PD I trust.

Another gold star for Mr Dickov in his pursuit for success at Boundary Park!

He's signed players expecting them to perform for us - those who don't are moved on and those that do are retained. It's a slow burn achieving that success at this level with limited funds at your disposal because you can't simply bring in new faces when it doesn't work. The one positive constant is PD at the helm still.

If the likes of Simpson, Lee and Taylor move on then so be it. A thank you from me for playing for us but I want players in the team who want to be here rather than chasing the dream elsewhere. They know the situation financially at OAFC. Make a quick buck elsewhere with a new team, new manager and unknown outcome or earn a decent wage at this level here (in relation to you and I rather than keeping up with the footballin Joneses) and buy into PD's "project".

Can't wait for next season, really fired up...........

I was firmly in the Redknapp camp until Roy was mentioned and I started reading up on CV.

Ignore the Liverpool job because he was on a hiding to nothing reminiscent to Man Utd post Busby. Dalglish ruined whatever chance he had and Roy was stuck with players tainted with Liverpool history.

With England Roy can choose his own players who support his approach and I'm confident he won't be afraid to drop names if they don't conform. His thorough with his planning, not afraid to adopt effective tactics over flair at times and has a proven record at international level.

With Harry we would have had a media darling, which sucked me in I must confess. Success only through wheeling and dealing irrespective of nationality and prospered through a decent scouting network in Africa.

Completely changed my stance and firmly support Roy and looking forward to the Euros now

How can a player be so prolific at non-league level and ineffective in League One?

He must have the skill, ability and positional play but needs the coaching to transfer it to the next level.

Are we just being impatient with him?

I honestly think we have a gem on our hands that needs polishing and I'd rather us give him time than pull the lever. We did the same with Davies, O'Grady and others who then come good after we let them go.

With a tight budget next season, coaching and development is critical. Start a summer boot camp so in the close season our younger strikers and midfielders receive intensive coaching on positional play, crossing, shooting, heading and dead-ball play.

Injury record vs slashed budget and Diamond staying doesn't make financial sense.

Tarkowski instead plus I reckon well have Brown on season loan. Both combined will cost us much less than Zander so sound financial sense

Hell of a lot of pruning from next week with PDs wheeling and dealing paramount to our immediate future....and his at the club

And so it begins.......

We should never have signed Hughes. However to make light of the McCormick situation is sickening. The bastard shouldn't be allowed out of prison let alone allowed to play professional football again. I hope someone breaks both his arms and all his fingers before he's released so his life is ruined as much as the family whose children were killed as as direct result of his actions.

It's going to click next season. All the faith put into Dickov will be repaid and he'll secure us a Play-Off place. Hell, he'll get us promotion!

There's no expectation on his shoulders, he'll get the types of player we've missed this season and he'll buck the trend.

The owners bought the club to get a return on future land sales, which have hit the skids on this climate.

What about investing in players to make a return through developing potential and quality?

Taking Vardy and Fleetwood. Paid £150k, salary in our structure I reckon and then looking to sell for seven figures this summer. Better return than land sales.

Makes sense whilst keeping salaries in check.

If not SC investing personally then external investment via a business case to investors with development from TP, DF (if rumours true) making it happen.

The point I'm making is that our scouting, PDs contacts and our coaches in developing talent makes good business whilst keeping salary budgets in check.

Chris O'Grady?

Great game and well deserved for Chelsea. I hope they lift the cup now....especially with Terry on the sidelines.....arrogant :censored: