Woking on by

Thoughts from @fromthelookers ...

“If you see me walking down the street

And I start to cry each time we meet.

Walk on by.”

Poignant words written by Dionne Warwick about Latics fans relationship with those bloody boys in blue. Strange how she pre-empted the feelings many have had, after consecutive draws at home against the mighty Eastleigh, Altrincham, Dagenham and Maidenhead.

Yet Latics fans don’t tend to walk on by. We stick with them. Keep the faith. No matter how shit they’ve been (or may be). We don’t bloody boo our players on to the pitch a la Mark Shelton against Eastleigh. I know as much as the next fan that he’s been pretty awful for the majority of his time at the club, but what good is booing going to do? Seriously. Sort it out.

As for the man in the top right corner of the North Stand who called Mark Kitching “fucking shit” moments before he was named man of the match, I will gladly donate towards your new pair of glasses next home game.

On the topic of last Saturday, hats off to the Athleticos for another top class display and the groundsman for his lovely, respectful pitch trimmings for Remembrance weekend. It feels so nice to have a fan base that can show love to the club nowadays without feeling guilty. I can’t wait to show my love at Wembley on the 4th May 2024.

In all honesty, our draw against Eastleigh wasn’t all that bad. Barring another shite penalty award (how many have we conceded recently?), we dominated the ball for large periods and IMO should’ve come away with the 3 points. Josh Lundstram looks the real deal. I’m really hoping Dan Ward comes back in and proves his worth too.

Progress is slow and slightly painful, but it is progress none the less. We’ve gone from drawing against Maidenhead and Dagenham 1-1, watching them pass the ball around us, to watching us pass the ball around Eastleigh and still draw 1-1. Aye. Painful.

I guess the positive I’m clinging to is the fact Chesterfield have been so bloody good. Them and Barnet make it appear that, even if we did have a better start under Unsworth, we’d still be miles off. Play-offs, it seems, are our only hope now. Therefore this season can fast forward to February time where you’d hope to see us sat more comfortably in the top 10.

Off the pitch, I wandered into the club shop after the match and found the selection of new player merchandise to be rather amusing. I’m sure there’s been some ribbing amongst the players in the dressing room as to who’s been done over the most. My money’s on Willoughby, but Kitching runs him close. I almost had a mad moment and bought an Alex Reid cushion for the missus as a stocking filler. I say for her, but she’s always bloody moaning at me for watching his TikTok. I decided against it on the basis she might start asking questions. Is it weird that my first thought as Reid smashed it in to equalise last Saturday was…“That will make a good clip for his Matchday Vlog”?

Frank’s going rowing across the Atlantic in just over three weeks so I feel it’s only right I give him a plug. What a bloody legend. Also, congratulations to The Boundary Park Alert System for their nomination at the Football Content Awards 2023 – football is always the winner. Also to OADID and Aaron Diskin. Hate to say it again but this club is something else.

I heard that the meet-the-manager event went down a treat. Some of the more insightful questions included whether Micky approved pineapple on pizza (absolutely fucking not) and “What’s your favourite chant?” Come on. Own up. We really are the best football club off the pitch.

If I remember right, Micky was asked about playing with wingers. When I saw Dan Gardner playing wide right last Saturday, it really did signify the almighty fuck-up of recruitment by Unsworth and Thompson. If we can keep Gardner out of the physio room most of the season, we’ll do alright – good luck to Micky Rathbone.

On to next week and two away games where we will see what we are made of. Will it be a Bromley classic? A Fylde masterclass? Or will Mellon finally instil some confidence into those boys in blue (or tangerine) shirts. Will we stand up to be counted on Saturday? @OAFC_OASIS will be watching closely. 8-1 down on aggregate for our tour of Southern Community Leisure Facilities - surely the comeback is on.

I really do hope we start to win a little bit more. I’m sick of coming back into school on Monday (I’m a teacher, not some moderately literate 15-year-old) and being asked by Harry: “How did Oldham do this weekend sir?” Well Harry, you know full well how we did. “What league are Oldham in again sir?” he usually pushes, with a smug grin on his face. Not heard from him for a few weeks mind, I think he’s got bored of asking now, seen as it’s the same story every week. And while you’re at it Harry, you support the red shite so I have nothing more to say. Viva las Glazers.

I’ll leave you with a quote from our very own Arlene Finnigan (for whom I am simply trying to fill the huge void today) who stated this week:

“If David Cameron can make it back into government, we can make it back into the Football League this season.”

Sending love, Arlene.

“Foolish pride.

That's all that I have left.” – Dionne Warwick

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*not entirely true