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New faces, same story
Reporter: Matthew Chambers
Date online: 04 February 2013
Walsall 3, Athletic 1
THIS DEFEAT summed up the tenure of Paul Dickov.
A strong line-up assembled by the manager, featuring high-calibre players you wouldn’t necessarily expect to turn out in Athletic shirts given the ever-strict budget, began quickly and brightly.
Lee Barnard — a striker of repute, last season part of the Southampton side promoted to the Premier League — marked his debut with a superb header from Lee Croft’s pinpoint cross as the visitors to the Banks’s Stadium tore into their task.
Compressing the pitch, biting into tackles, passing the ball with quality, tight at the back; despite four enforced changes, this was still recognisably the team that, six days earlier, had seen off Liverpool in extraordinary fashion.
Chances were being carved out regularly, even aside from Barnard’s goal. Two penalty appeals fell on deaf ears. One was for a push on Chris Iwelumo, who worked hard without proving particularly effective, and the other a clear tug on the shirt of livewire Barnard.
Had Athletic kept up the form of the opening third of the contest, three points would have been heading back up the M6. And the manager may well have lived to fight another battle.
Sadly, that simply isn’t the way it has worked under the regime of Dickov.
Over the course of two and a half seasons, 90-minute performances have been the exception rather than the rule.
Once again, Athletic brushed shoulders with adversity. Once again, Athletic crumbled. Once again, there was no phoenix rising from the flames as Dickov’s reign finally burned out.
In attempting to force a positive result, the flipside of Athletic flooding the pitch with attackers was that 11-goal leading scorer Jose Baxter was left prompting from way back in the centre circle. Athletic’s heavy pressure rarely looked likely to result in goals.
When Jamie Paterson ran through a huge hole to drill home as defenders backed off, improving James Baxendale’s 40th-minute equaliser for the Saddlers, it wasn’t too surprising.
Paterson repeated the trick in injury time, breaking past an abject Athletic back line containing in Connor Brown a player who had an extremely tortured afternoon. The finish was terrific.
From an Athletic viewpoint, the final hour was dismal. Walsall, now on a run of five consecutive home wins, were ruthless and impressive.
Athletic can be better than this. To avoid relegation they must be better than this — whoever takes charge.
Comments
Now Dickov has rightly gone I just hope whoever takes charge makes up a new team of his own and gets rid of all the deadleg players at the moment. Their lack of fitness and couldn't care less attitude are the reason Dickov went.
Most of them are nothing more than non-league standard and should be ashamed of themselves for their lack of commitment.
They are an overpaid, underworked bunch of losers who deserve nothing more to happen than ending up the same as their ex manager....Out of a job!
He had to go, 3 seasons, worse every season. PD's problem was finding a system to win games and changing the game if not going well. Neither of these abilities he had. We got leathered by a team of kids at Walsall, none of whom you'd want to start in our team, but the one thing Walsall were, was organised. Sad but true.
LO.... you can't be serious. Why would Paul Scholes (a rookie) be any better than the rookie we've just had leave...?
It did'nt take long for the shine to wear off the cup win against Liverpool and for a number of Oldham players to fail to turn up for this game. In particular, Connor Brown, he had a nightmare game and is quite obviously 'not fit for purpose'. He was'nt the only one with a midfield so poor after 20 minutes that it became an embarrassment and S.C. was right in blaming the players. A sub-standard pitch & referee added to the misery but the acquistion of a new r/back is urgently needed or else.?
Would love to see Megson (think i'm the only one) we might play boring boring football but at least we'd be defending properly
Yes LA I'm very serious, I can only hope and pray that for the very future of football in Oldham that SC pulls off something along these lines.
I can see a great opportunity for Iain D as Manager with Scholes and a Welshman as a dream team.
Every Manager in any job has to learn, PD in my opinion, though without doubt a great guy, could not see that you can't play that part when fitness/discipline is called into doubt.
I'm truly sorry for PD but SC knows what he's doing, he has OAFC at heart !
@carboig: Conor Brown didn't play against Liverpool, so can't be entirely to blame.
The entire squad has to take collective responsibility for the way they have performed all season. It wouldn't surprise me if they actually showed up against Yeovil, to give any prosepctive new boss the illusion that they are capable of picking up 3 points.
'MarkH', the non-de-plume is 'Caboroig' and I did not state that Brown played against Liverpool, read the text again PLUS the fact that I also criticised a very poor midfield. I don,t know whether you attended the Walsall match, I did and I will tell you that the performance aligned to the display of Brown's was as poor as you will get for a team containing some relatively high profile players.
I am against a manager returning to a club as this rarely works a second time around.However at least with Iain Dowie we would have a team that went flat out for 90+ minutes. We will have no success until we can defend for 90 minutes. I am sorry to say that Cliff Byrne is not up to it (look at Walsall's third and Liverpool's first) and neither is Yves Jean M'Voto without an experienced player guiding him through a game. Unfortunately we haven't had a natural leader for a good number of years
cliff byrne for me had a mare. can this man run. time for tarky to get a run in the team. maybe byrne at right back though obviously not a wing back.i think we will score goals with the lads up front just the midfield looks overweight and lacks pace. wes tyrone jose not exactly flyweights
Well Latics Observer if you are intimating that Giggs and Scholes will be part of our backroom staff in the near future then I just wonder where the money would come from. We will struggle to pay Dowie and an assistant let alone these other two. Still you can't blame Latics fans for dreaming - it's better than the real thing!
Am I reading this right. We are in a perilous relegation scrap having played a game more than our rivals and one point and one place off the bottom four and Latics Observer wants Giggs and Scholes who have NEVER managed to manage us out of this mess. That has to be the most ludicrous, suicidal and funniest thing I've ever read. My mate won his fantasy football league at work last season, do you fancy giving him a try too. Thankfully, SC won't be making that appointment.....
Be assured money of the sort that Chris Moore threw around is not available at B.P.
However as most of you appear to know all that goes on inside the club, also be assured that S.C. knows exactly what he's doing and whatever the cost it will always be the right thing for OAFC in his very experienced business man role.
He has been let down by some but surely has never been his wish or desire!
As for Iain Dowie and others, wait and see, Iain was not part of the club when S.C. came in, patience.
Have Your Say
Sadly back to the same old problems, are our players match fit?... on the evidence I seriously doubt it and have done all season as matches follow the same pattern, but of course adrenalin saw us through the cup ties.
If a behind the scenes massive dream comes off and a local CAR LESS ginger haired terror and hopefully his mate !.. joins us I can Simon Corney being knighted and the whole future of Oldham Athletic being sorted.
Oh SC I seriously hope that you can pull it off, it IS the answer !
By Latics Observer @ 04/02/2013 13:05:37