"Doesn't know his best team yet"

Why all the moaning? Are the moaners just being a 'smart arse' in case we fail to get promoted they can say I told you so. Last season was a success IMO when you consider Duff didn't get the team playing the way he wanted until Christmas. As for lucky? I'll take that every day of the week. We've not been lucky with penalties. People need a reality check, we're a 'yo yo' Div.1 and Championship team. Just enjoy the ride of being Red. You can always bgger off and be an armchair Man U or Liverpool fan.

 

100% mate. Whats more, is that in 4 of the 6 games where we have dropped points, the opening goal for the opposition has been a penalty. That's something we should be able to improve on.

 

Don't give stupid fouls away. Read the room regarding refs.

 

Definitely. Might just need a steadier head in there as well. We gave loads away just before Thomas came to the club last year. Mael doesn't seem as rash now he's settled, it's about keeping calm around our own penalty area.

 

Won't av a clue about best eleven until everyone is available. most think Connell and Lopata are a shoe in when fit and their probably right. I think we'll smash everyone after Christmas and win the league or at least get 2nd..

 

I think that's fair. Although I'm satisfied with functional at the moment considering the upheaval in the summer. I'm hopeful that the football gets better though, obviously, and I have a lot of reasons to believe it will.

We've been non-functional a couple of times (first 20 minutes against Portsmouth and the last 20, after making the subs, against Peterborough) and the only time I think we really showed our capabilities was the second half against Portsmouth. Play like that on a regular basis, which I believe we're very capable of doing, and few teams will get near us.

Stopping giving penalties away will also help.

 

As others have said. Football is a team game. The best 11 against Orient might not be the best 11 against Shrewsbury. The best 11 at the start of the match might not even be the best 11 in the second half or in injury time at the end of the game.

The manager picks the team that he thinks will perform best against the opponents based on a game plan and scouting them. Their manager will do the same. We just hope we have the better players, tactics and plan.

 

I am still waiting to see a GOOD game and I have seen all home games. Seen flashes of good but a lot of mediocre. I do not see what others see in midfield when they say we have the best midfield in the league. We are slow and ponderous. If Connel can regain what he had then that may change but I may be wishing for too much. We are doing well in the table but not playing well so the coach deserves some credit for that.

 

''James Norwood's 72nd-minute strike earned Oldham a memorable derby day victory at Rochdale in a seven-goal thriller at Crown Oil Arena.''