Oldham Valderama

Just noticed some of the results from this weekend's championship fixtures and they are quite surprising and started to make me think about how Oldham are doing back in the Championship, its had its ups and downs, a lot of fans have positive views, others not so positive therefore I thought I'd share my opinions and see if others agree or disagree. None of us are right or wrong, its all just opinions so for what its worth here's mine on the season so far. Last year in League 1 we pretty much walked it. Investment had been made in the playing squad and around 80% were Championship quality players and with the greatest respect to the other teams in League 1 if we had not won the title there would have been serious questions asked. In the end it was a pretty straight forward campaign and we won promotion at a canter with little fuss and with games to spare. We are now in the Championship which again with respect to other teams in League 1 is a whole different ball game. Oldham recruited well with experienced Super League players although the caveat to this was that they were with respect later in their careers (Adam Milner, Iain Thornley, Matty Ashurst, Gil Dudson & Josh Drinkwater), all cracking players although I think brought in more for their experience and game management skills. To this add a couple of younger additions in Lewis Baxter & Ben Forber, good players although i think we are yet to see the best out of these two. We therefore enter the season with a really good squad and hopes are high however expectations need to be realistic, yes we have spent a few quid and are there to be shot at but we along with Hunslet are the new boys so are both entering into the unknown. We start of the campaign proper against Barrow in the cup and blow them away, next up York, one of the fancied teams in the Championship and we again absolutely blow them out of the water, they just could not cope with an Oldham team who were on fire. At this point it is pretty clear that if Oldham have no injuries or suspensions (this comes to bite us on the a**e soon enough) then we are a match for anyone. We then play Batley in atrocious conditions, free flowing rugby was not on the agenda that day but we still came away with a draw thanks to JD's fantastic last minute goal kick. We then get back to winning ways at home in the next couple of games against Rochdale in the cup and then London in the league, both getting a good spanking by Oldham then a good hard fought away win at Sheffield. Mixed in with this was the defeat in the cup at Hull KR, admirable and hard working performance however this was against the current best team in Super League so not exactly unexpected. What was unexpected though was the defeat at Barrow, we'd already given them a pasting at BP however for some reason this game something felt odd about it with team selection, it was not a recognised first 1-17 and it showed with a totally disjointed performance and the only one this season where I voice criticism towards the team and coaching staff, was i justified in my criticism well that's down to others opinion but for some reason that game just did not sit well with me. Then at this point in the season (still early days) injuries and suspension seems to kick in and kick in BIG STYLE!!!!!! Every game since Sheffield away it seems Oldham have had to put out a make shift team with players playing out of position to cover gaps, dual registered from Wigan being parachuted in who have no idea how Oldham have trained and new signings again coming into a team that at the moment they have no idea how they play, what set moves they practised and so on. It feels that since Sheffield Sean Long has had one hand tied behind his back regarding team selection and has to just basically go with what he has got. Saying that though even with a nightmare injury list we have done pretty well:- Cup game against Barrow at BP - Barrow came with an air of confidence after a great start to the league campaign, they'd stuffed us at their place however Oldham prevailed and with a gutsy performance come away with a 38-24 victory League game against Featherstone at BP - yes you could argue we got out of jail in this one as Featherstone could not kick a goal for toffee but again with a make shift team Oldham came away with a 30-28 win. Featherstone are no pushovers, they are a decent Championship team who's current league position does not give a true reflection of how good they are. Putting it into context they gave Widnes at Widnes a damn good spanking today beating them 38-16 so they cant be that bad. League game against Widnes away - alright I'll concede this was not Oldham at their best but again with a make shift team they eke out a 10-10 draw, a point is a point at the end of the day so better than nothing League game against Bradford at BP - to say the side put out against the best side in the league was "make shift" would be an understatement!! The number of fans I spoke to in the bar before the game were very pessimistic. Those Oldham players out there though that night gave it their all and even though we lost 42-12 there was no shame and was very proud of Oldham's performance League game against Doncaster away - again not a classic but again a make shift Oldham team who put in a massive effort to come away with a 30-26 win (JD masterclass did help i admit!!). Like with Featherstone impressive performance today Doncaster totally stuffed Halifax at their place today 30-6 so again Doncaster were no pushovers and are a good team but Oldham prevailed and won a hard fought game. League game against Tolouse at BP - could not attend this one due to other commitments but from what i can gather, some players back but still nowhere near what the ideal Sean Long first 17 would be and they put in a spirited performance but were beaten by the better (full time) team. I think therefore from my perspective as an Oldham fan of 40+ years man and boy I'm more than happy with where we currently sit in the table (if I'm correct around 5th place with 12 points after 10 games - feel free anyone to correct me if i am wrong). If in an ideal world we had not suffered the horrific injury list that we have and also Jamah Sambu's suspension I personally think we could have been sitting pretty at the top (or very near) of the league, I feel that we are that good on our day. The real world however (and i appreciate it is the same for all teams in the Championship) can be cruel and the past 5 or so games have been pretty tough for Oldham but to be where we currently are is a testament to how good a job the players and the coaching staff are performing in the face of adversity. Yes before anyone from other clubs point it out I appreciate we have a wonderful chairman in BQ who at the moment will get the cheque book out to add reinforcements (Ben Davies, Ryan Lannon, Eloi Pelissier in the past couple of weeks) but any new players including dual reg will take time to bed in. With the best will in the world no newbie can work wonders in their first couple of games. If i had to field any criticism it would only be for two instances:- 1) The away game at Barrow, still think there was something more to this than what we were told but I'm probably reading too much into it and it was just a bad day at the office 2) The signing of Nene Macdonald - I initially thought it was fantastic however even though a really good player I felt his presence totally disjointed the team for the two games he played, no one knew what he was going to do and in the end I feel it just came across as a vanity signing. IF we though sign him when he comes back from Australia for the rest of the season I'll more than probably change my opinion Apart from that I feel everyone connected with Oldham, BQ / MF, the coaching and back room staff, the squad, George and the social media team and also the fans can be proud of where we currently are and what we have achieved this year so far. Yes as i say there have been bumps along the road and no doubt will be others as the season progresses but the squad that has been assembled, when all are fit and available and Sean Long is able to pick his best 1-17 then we are a match for anyone even Bradford & Tolouse so well done one and all, I'm massively proud to be an Oldham fan!!! Roll on Sunday and bring on Featherstone - you boys can do it I know you can, make Oldham proud and let us sing our famous song under the arch at Wembley GIVE US A "T" etc

Bit nervy that last 10 mins not helped by the referee and linesman making up the rules of rugby league as they went along, Stevie Wonder would have seen the Doncaster players offside by a mile for their last try it was that obvious All credit to Oldham, those lads out their are certainly putting in a shift, at present SL cannot put out anywhere near what his ideal first 17 would be. Today we had two new signings who'd been with us less than a week and DR players from Wigan filling gaps in the squad for multiple injured players, with the best will in the world none of them can be up to speed with how Oldham play, how they train, what formations, plays have been worked on etc so I can understand why at times we will look disjointed but credit where its due, all the newbies (as did the rest of the team) defiantly played for their jersey today, yep a few mistakes, silly errors and could have played better in certain areas but the effort is certainly there and a win at Doncaster who are a decent side however you achieve it is not to be sniffed at. I've said this also on the Facebook page, Josh Drinkwater is absolute class and his play today was phenomenal. If Oldham can in some way get him signed up for next year as soon as possible I for one (and I bet I'm not the only Oldham fan) would gladly pay a few extra quid on my season ticket for next year to cover his wages if it keeps him at the club. One of the best signings Oldham have ever made in my time watching the YEDS. COME ON OLDHAM!!!!!!!

Mine was also £3.50 in Car Park 2 according to that "Your Parking Space" app that we were directed to

Fair play to Sambou for getting his opportunity with Hull KR, good player with bags of potential although not sure if ready for Super Duper League just yet? I think if possible we try and do a PLT deal with Hull KR and get him loaned back to Oldham next year to learn his craft a bit more in the championship before he makes the massive step up. Cant fault the lad though for taking up the opportunity. Hopefully given a another season or two Oldham will be in a place where any younger players we have that catch the eye of others feel able to turn them down and stay at Oldham!!! Can understand fans being a bit aggrieved at a lack of transfer fee, these are very few and far between these days in Rugby League and once a player is out of contract they can sign for anyone they chose. My only gripe with this is that there are still 2/3rds of the Championship season to go of which Sambou is "under contract" with Oldham. For me if you are "under contract" you should not be "tapped" up by another club until very much near the end of the season (something in a similar vain to football where you can speak to other clubs from Jan 1st if in the last year of your contract) or better still once the season has finished. If i was BQ / MF / SL in this situation I'd be asking Hull KR for something in return, if not a transfer fee but something similar to George Hirst and Wigan, something to soften the blow of losing a player. Unfortunately though I happen to live in the real world and what goes on behind the scenes in Rugby League these days makes the mind boggle but I have faith in BQ / MF / SL to have gotten the best deal possible for Oldham. COME ON OLDHAM!!!!!!!

Great atmosphere tonight and the fireworks were really good, maybe a few Friday night games are the way forward!!! Thanks BQ for arranging this

Some interesting comments on here, some i agree with, others I think are a bit out of order! My take is this, when i got to the ground and heard the team I was a bit taken aback, we were already down to a bare squad then another four pull out that were named in the squad made me wonder what the hell was going on???? Anyway I'm not privy to what goes on in the squad or the condition of the players but I have faith in Sean Long and will back him with whatever squad he chooses to put out on the field. I'll admit i was not optimistic at kick off but we have two sets in the Bradford half, first set we nearly go over, second set we do score, happy days I thought then the floodgates opened. That first half Bradford were on fire and you'll be hard pushed to see a better try in any league than their second, one end of the field to the other, fantastic try!!! Oldham just could not handle Bradford who were quicker, faster with the ball, more expansive and better disciplined. Their kicking game into the corners was spot on, high ball, run after it and then get their big man to palm it back and over they go. Simple intelligent rugby which unfortunately Oldham could just not deal with. Second half Oldham played a lot better but in all honesty were still second best although Bailey Aldridge's try was a belter and showed what Oldham were capable of, pity the quality of the Bradford side kind of snuffed out Oldham's ability to play as they can. In the end a more than fair result, Bradford were on fire tonight and even a full strength Oldham team would have needed a whole lot of luck to beat them tonight. As for Oldham, yes we may have lost but I am still proud to call myself an Oldham fan, they lads out there I feel gave it their all, 100% effort from all of them but tonight they were just outplayed by the better team. Losses and bad performances I can handle if the team try their best and those lads out there tonight gave all they could for the shirt and that is all I ask, well done lads, heads up, you did us proud, thank you for your efforts and I'll be there at Doncaster to cheer you on again!!!!! Glad there are a couple of extra days rest between now and the next game as we need some bodies back, looks like we are now possibly struggling to get a 1-18 out on the park after tonight. COME ON OLDHAM!!!!!!!

@Bullmania My advice would be if wanting to use the car park at Boundary Park would be to arrive early doors. Hopefully you will be bringing a good following so spaces may be limited and used up quickly. Also I noticed at our last home game that a decent section of the car park was cordoned off for repairs so we are quite a few spaces down. Its a large car park but fills up pretty quickly pre match. On street parking round the stadium is not great (lots of permit only and double yellow lines), you can probably find somewhere but may end up being a bit of a trek. Enjoy the game but hopefully not the score

Its a shame you cannot make Friday evening, its got the potential to be a cracker. Hope to see you though back at BP for other games this season Also fair play to you for disagreeing with me, that's the point of these forum's, listening to other peoples points of view and taking them into consideration even if you do not agree. At least the club / fans are having the conversation and are hopefully seeing the pro's & con's from both sides

My take on the Friday night switch for what its worth:- When I purchased my season ticket last year it was in the first couple of weeks that they were on sale. At that point no fixtures had been released therefore I did not know who we would play and when. I was aware though that some Championship games are played on a Friday night by some teams so basically just thought I'd go with the flow and attend games that i could whether they be home or away, either on a Sunday afternoon or Friday evening (and possibly some on a Saturday which would feel a bit weird LOL!!!). I'm one of the lucky ones, I work 8 till 5 all week and live in Oldham so the Bradford game switch from Sunday to Friday does not really effect me that much. I do however understand other fans positions where life is a bit more complex and a switch from a Sunday to a Friday causes logistical issues that cannot be overcome. The problem is whatever the club decide to do will not please everyone, this is unavoidable. Even if you bought a season ticket after all the fixtures had been announced you have to be open minded and expect that there will always be a possibility that for many reasons any fixture could be re-arranged for another time. The club are trying this experiment with the Bradford game in an attempt to boost attendances, this makes sense to me as potentially this is the biggest income revenue game of the season at Boundary Park. No point doing this with a home game against say for arguments sake Sheffield or Hunslet who bring hardly any fans. I'm sure prior to the decision to switch the game was made BQ / MF would have had discussions with their counterparts at Bradford who I bet would have advised that switching the game to a Friday evening would encourage more Bradford fans to attend. In a previous post i saw it said Bradford took 2500 fans to Halifax, IF replicated at Oldham (and i cant see why not as its again a reasonably local derby between two top teams in the championship) thats approx £50k in revenue for Oldham in one game (split between paying adults and kids coming in free plus food and drink purchases). In the end for me the club have got to try these experiments, you never know it may result in a damn sight more Oldham fans turning up on a Friday night and from next season we play the majority of home games on a Friday. On the flip side it may fall flat on its backside and on Friday Oldham fans are vastly outnumbered by Bradford, we just do not know? I hope it is a success I really do, the away following we had at Widnes was a sight to see and made me proud to follow Oldham. The current regime are doing wonders with our club which only a couple of seasons ago was on life support with not much hope of pulling through. We now have a fantastic ownership and a club and a set up that is going places BUT needs the fans backing to take it to the next level. This is not going to happen overnight and all avenues of attracting new fans and increasing revenue streams have to be explored. Whatever the club do is not going to please everyone and I will never say that everything they do I agree with, this is unfortunate but real life and unavoidable but we ALL have to support what the club is trying to do as best we can to achieve long term success and I hope this Friday proves to be a positive decision. COME ON OLDHAM!!!!!!!!!!!

Fair result today I thought, cracking game and to be in this position in the table after 7 games I would have gladly taken that at the beginning of the season. I felt for the Oldham players today, as Sean Long said pre match we were down to the bare bones and the whole team looks tired, not surprising the effort put in so far this season but today it looked like it was beginning to tell. Josh Drinkwater who is absolute gold for Oldham usually but unfortunately today could not instil his usual dominance in the middle of the park and it showed in the teams performance. Cannot fault the effort of the lads but today it looked like the recent run of games was beginning to take its toll on the team and I bet there are a few tired bodies on the coach home this evening. Got to give credit to Widnes, I don't think they were outstanding but did play some good stuff and I think the draw was a fair result, thought we'd blown it though at the end when the kick went out on the full, Oldham defiantly got out of jail there with that one. Fair play Oldham, a draw away from home is still a positive result so well done lads, your doing us proud Also a shout out to the Oldham fans today, what a following we had, must have been at least 500 there today if not more, cracking support for the lads, well done one and all

Yep

Thanks for that, think if you go through the link on Oldham's website it takes you to a different page on the Widnes site as just now if I wanted to I could purchase a ticket for the North Stand at £24. Going direct through the Widnes website it does as you say indicate you buy a ticket for the South stand block B. I think therefore I'll go with that option otherwise I'll be sat in a 2500 seater stand on my own like billy no mates

Just checking before i purchase my ticket for this Friday's game, are all the Oldham fans gonna be in the North Stand at Widnes? You can buy a ticket in the South Stand but I'm assuming that's where all the home fans are situated. Thanks

Fair play to Featherstone today, though you played an excellent game (apart from the sending off) and some of your attacking stuff was excellent. Your league position does not do you justice and you are a lot better side than you league position suggests. I think a draw today would have been a fair result and I'm glad your goal kickers had a mare otherwise i think the two points would have been yours. Also great to have some away fans at Boundary Park today giving it a good atmosphere, sorry it was cold but that's Oldham for you All the best for the rest of the season apart from the remaining couple of games against Oldham!

Now that was a proper game of Championship Rugby League!!!! Oldham got the two points but that was an end to end game and Featherstone really played their part and are a really decent outfit, their current league position does not do justice to the quality of their team, some of their attacking play was very impressive and i was nervous every time they got anywhere near our line as i thought they could go over at any point. In the end through sheer bloody guts, determination and damn hard work Oldham got the job done and a "win is a win" no matter how achieved. I don't think Oldham played badly, I think they were just taken aback as to how good Featherstone were and struggled to stamp their usual dominance on the game. Fair play to Oldham though, they stuck at it and got the win all be it with a bit of help from the Featherstone kicker who had an absolute mare, i think i could have done a better job Not sure about Nene Macdonald in this team though, fantastic statement signing by the board all be it short term and there is no doubt he is a class player but to me it has disjointed the team. He's a bit of a maverick and a bloody good one but I'm not sure in the short time he's been with us the rest of the squad have had any idea what he is actually going to do on the pitch and i think our play has been effected. If he had been with us from the beginning of the season and been involved in training sessions etc he'd probably be absolute dynamite by now but I'm not sure this short term three game loan has had the desired effect. No slight on anyone involved as your not going to turn down the chance of adding a player of such quality to your squad but i feel to be really effective would probably need a bit more time to get used to how Oldham play and understand all the pre planned moves that are practised in training. Watch this now he'll have an absolute blinder at Widnes on Good Friday and score a bucket full of points and rip the opposition apart, here's hoping!!! Anyway, Oldham continue to upset the apple cart in the Championship and are are force to be reckoned, well done all involved and am proud to follow this team of triers who most certainly never lie down and always put a shift in when required, WELL DONE OLDHAM and roll on to Widnes!!!! Not sure about a crowd of 1600 ish??? Looked a darn site more than 1600 there today, be interesting to watch the highlights in the week. Also all the best to George Hirst, hope he's OK? Saw the tackle on him and it was a fully justified red card