The new badge

We went out and spoke to our panel of talking heads about the new badge:



Tony Rankin (Rochdale Road End Steward) - I'm unsure in one sense it's good to move with the times but on the other hand it's important to keep tradition.

Sean Hatton (Chaddy End Pie eater) - I think the club should keep with tradition as much as it can but at the same time the game is changing and so should the club.

Peter Hodge (Main Stand season ticket holder) - I think it's important for the club to keep in touch with tradition, but the club needs to move with the times.

Dean Prince (exile in Southport) - I don't like it when traditions are lost, but I don't like it when people don't move with the times.

Luke Webster (Goes to all the away games) - The club needs to move with the times, but at the same time keep with tradition.

Emotion Season continues with this blog

There are many things in life that people get their kicks from. To some people like the arts, to others it's gaming or opera; for me it's watching football. Yes you can't beat watching a game but more importantly watching Latics a team that speaks for me.

Yes I probably do waste loads of money following them, yes I probably missed out on lots of stuff and potential over time at work. Yes I partly blame my failure at university opting to go to Luton on a Tuesday night rather than finish my assignment.

But would I change it? Of course not!! I am one of the fans who gets worked up and annoyed when am not at the game having to pely on peoples texts, social networking sites and Soccer Saturday for updates.

In a modern era of SKY TV and Premier League, watching Latics it deemed unfashionable by others. But life is all about trends and football is no different.

The best comment I hear is "you are only there for the 90 minutes if we lose it's awful". WRONG!! To me it is more than just watching the game. Winning is a bonus so is playing well but the day starts for me when we get on the train or jump on a bus. It ends when i arrive home (usually plastered).

The pre match beers, banter with the away fans, debating with your own supporters; these are what make watching Latics so enjoyable.

I wont lie I prefer away games and I am even more selfish I prefer the very long distance ones. You can start to identify the die heads. The London lot, the Rifle Range fans, those on club coaches.

End of day I would not have it anyway other way the fact thet 11 men on a pitch can bring people together. The fact a lot of my football buddies are now classed among my best friends does not matter what age or what sex they are. It shows what watching Latics is all about.

Yes all fans get screwed and overcharged by clubs including our own at times. But I would much rather be seen with my Latics shirt on at an home or away match than some armchair support wearing the shirt because their the team on top or a high profile player plays for them sat in a pub. In my eyes these people are missing out on all the fun.

But even when there is 2000 or 3000 fans watching Latics its good because you get to see other familiar faces. Lets be fair why else would you make a silly trip to Yeovil? or Thurrock on a Sunday morning?

That is what watching Latics is all about to me but this way of life is under threat by the Sky TV culture.

Taylor's Trainspotting

It was such a relief for the Ginger Wizzard that the trip to Exeter was switched to Friday, Taylor (pictured right) was able to take the Saturday afternoon off and focus on his main objective of the weekend - Catching a glimpse of the 11:37 service to Yeovil, he loves trains and playing for Latics is just a stop gap before he discoveres his true calling in life.

Glory Hunters - a rant

Ok so we hear about them all the time, but yesterday due to us not having a game to play I decided to go into Manchester for a few drinks. When I got off the train at Piccadilly just after 4pm the station was awash with people of all different accents and identities all with one thing in common - the red of Man Utd. Now I'm not one of these Oldham fans who is that bitter about Utd, I'm not one of these who would go out and buy a Real Madrid shirt if they were playing them in the Champions League, I'm not one of those people who make a mockery of the Munich Air Disaster nor am I one of those people who refer to them as "the Scum".

But yesterday brought to my attention something I do despise about them, when I was walking past a map of the city centre I saw these two lads with Midlands accents looking at a map of Manchester wondering where the hell to go. Now I'm aware that we live in a free country and we're allowed to do what we want, but it really pisses me off how people would rather watch a team 200 miles away than watch their own club, in England we are blessed with many professional teams but I think the way in which it is deemed acceptable to watch a team on TV these days and the fact that everyone seems to be investing in the same place is really killing the English game.

What I saw yesterday were people who to me will never know the true meaning glory, supporting Latics is hard, we've won nothing in 20 years and it doesn't look like any glory is going to come anytime soon, but I'll tell you one thing if that day comes when Latics win something, it will mean a hell of a lot more to me than it would to any plastic fan when their team wins the Champions League, Premiership, FA Cup etc. This brings me onto another topic - why do people support football clubs? To me I was always told to follow either your local team, your Dads team or the first team playing at the first game you went to to me those reasons for supporting a team are due to the fact that the club becomes a part of the person. How can these people I saw yesterday going back to Cardiff, Nottingham, London etc feel the same sort of passion to support their club than I do to support mine? If only people could see things this way then maybe the English game would be a much more even playing field making the game more competitive and enabling the smaller clubs more investment to bring players through rather than a large proportion of the population pumping their cash into the same clubs ensuring the rich becoming richer and the poor becoming poorer, unfortunately this article will probably go unnoticed and we will see in the next 6 months at least one Football club going out of Business.

Tuesday Daydream

is the day dragging

ok Failsworth didn't happen, but this could be anywhere:

Good News

There is nothing to boo about today, so instead we are going to list the people and organisations whom have upset us over the years:

Ronnie Moore
Paul Furlong
Andy Campbell
Jon Macken
Port Vale Stewards
Mark Robins
Adrian Littlejohn
John Aldridge
United Utilities
Elton Welsby
Whoever created the old Chaddy the Owl costume
Mark Lawrenson
Jamie Oliver
Channel 4 news
Jack Duckworth
Chris Moyles
Nick Hancock
Roger Palmer's Dentist
Mark Innes
John Stapleton
Failsworth Hats
Mr Blobby
Davina McCall
facebook
Carlton Palmer
Royton Pizza
the streaker at that Huddersfield game

we recommend that you boo whenever these names are mentioned on TV

that is all