Dear Fellow Supporters,
Christmas and New Year has not been kind to the Latics. It started off with a 1-1 draw at Preston N.E. and then came the postponment of the home game against Burnley due to a waterlogged pitch. A bumper gate was expected so the financial loss was tremendous to the club. On the 3rd. January the Latics bowed out of the FA Cup at lowly Cardiff, another blow as it could have meant a money spinner against good opposition in the fourth round. As it was Cardiff did NOT get a glamorous tie in the next round so it was probably a good bet to concentrate on promotion (how many times have we heard that before?). Since then the team travelled to York and drew 0-0 (yet again), and then returned to the Boundary Park fortress and beat a Luton Town team which was undefeated in fourteen weeks of away travels by a score of 2-1 with Graham bagging both of the goals.
I cannot believe the number of senior members who are now holding yellow cards. This is the first time in the club’s illustrious history when seven of the top eleven players are holding a yellow card.
It’s not often that I commend a member for receiving a yellow or red card but when Peter Egan received his first yellow card ever on 21st. November 1997 it was given because the previous week Peter had missed the meeting, the first meeting that our current number three had missed in seven years of being a Latics supporter. Congratulations Pete! you are a perspiration to us all.
The Christmas Draw was again a great success. All prizes were won as usual and I am sure everybody had a great time in the bargain. It was nice to see Sweetie and John Barnet at the meeting although Sweetie walked off with a bottle which would have been better directed at me!
The Chairman
You may well ask how the Latics are ever going to return to the Premiership? The influx of foreign stars since the Latics relegation three and a half years ago has made it a whole new ball game. Athletic’s wage bill in those days peaked at just over 3.5 million pounds whereas Manchester United paid out over 11 million. Today their bill is 22.5 million with Newcastle in second place with 15.4 million. Seven other teams have gone past the 10 million mark. Pity poor Barnsley who got elevation to the big time last season. Their total wage bill, players and administration, on their last balance sheet showed 1.7 million pounds, a figure that was not even enough to pay Fabrizio Ravanelli’s wages for Middlesborough last season.
Athletics operating loss is amounting to about 1.15 million pounds with their current wage bill at 2.77 million. Some players are still receiving the wages they were earning in the Premiership. Since regegation to the second division last season the Latics have raked in a profit of 965,000 pounds in transfer activity and, asd as it sounds, it seems that the only way forward for the Latics is to continue selling their best players to balance the books. When we get promoted at the end of this season we will re-evaluate the situation. Anybody fancy organising a ‘whip-round’ to help out the club?
C is for the Chairman. What more can be added to the most loyal, dedicated, good-looking, friendly, fair, kind, intelligent, gifted and modest Latics supporter ever.
C is for Chaddy Road End. The famous Chaddy End was always the most voiciferous part of the ground before the introduction of all seater stadiums. It was the vista point where so many, witnessed so much, in the line of duty, on the way to Wembley for the first time ever in 1990. Although the Chaddy End (as it was) is no more, it will always be a part of the memories of countless supporters who were honoured enough to have stood on the hallowed concrete
Hello All,
Thanks for the latest programmes, I really enjoy reading them but what happened to the Fisher Crockett and jilted saga? Did I miss a programme? If you remember it was just before The Chairman came over to England that I suggested a game of cards.
I’m writing after the Cardiff disaster which is a new low, even for us. We should have at the very least have got a draw. It speaks volumes of our promotion chances if we do get into the play-offs, which we should. The away-leg could turn out to be our achilles heel.
I didn’t go to Preston even though I booked the coach and bought the ticket. One week before Christmas I fell off a ladder and broke a rib. I’m still on the sick as I write to you. I am going to York though. I’ll send you a copy of MY fanzine when I eventually get back to work so you can pass it round your meeting.
I’ve enclosed a copy of the best selling tape in England of 1988 so far. I think it’s great. What do you think? It’s my birthday on January 31st. so me and Sue (Nobby’s wife) are booked into a Travel Inn near Northampton so I’m looking for a good result all round!
Up the blues!
Nobby.
Ed.’s note: Nobby used to play football on the same successful team as The Chairman. The main thing that The Chairman remembers from Nobby’s pre-match team talks is his famous quote, “Be careful, out there”. Nobby, practise what you preach.
Two shipwrecked United fans, David and Darren, are walking along the beach of a desert island. One day, David says, "I see City lost again". Amazed at his friends cognizance, Darren asks, "How do you know that?" To which David replies, "It's Saturday".
He writes, "Manchester City fan saves friend from vicious animal." The boy interrupts: "But I'm not a City fan." The reporter starts again: "Oldham fan saves friend from horrific attack." The boy interrupts again: "I'm not a Latics fan either." The reporter asks: "Who do you support, then?" "United," replies the boy. So the reporter starts again: "Red bastard kills family pet"
I couldn't go to the game Saturday, so I decided to go and watch my local side Sutton Utd. play at Hitchin Town. (hey, I wanted to watch some football!) About midway through the first half, there I am, standing on a crappy wooden terrace, when I hear the following ditty :
Meat Pie, Sausage Roll, Come on Sutton Give us a Goal.
Oh my god! What have we created??
The Chairman has a copy of “Meat Pie, Sausage Roll” if you are interested in ‘real’ music. He knew Elvis was still alive!
Todays cover picture shows Richard Graham the scorer of both goals in last Saturdays victory at Boundary Park over Luton Town. An interesting bit of trivia about Richard is that the Latic’s manager, Neil Warnock, believes that a tot of whisky is the secret behind the recent wonders of his performances. The hard stuff has been administered before his recent eye catching displays and the ritual was also repeated at half-time. “Some managers use smelling salts but I believe whisky does the trick. It makes him stronger”. Before the Bolton game last season a woman (they’re all spoil-sports aren’t they) wrote to complain that Warnock was encouraging drinking. Warnock apologised by saying they are only small tots. Personally I don’t think you should give small tots drink.
Speaking of drinking, The Chairman got stopped by the police a few nights ago. The officer said, “Do you think you are fit to drive?” to which The Chairman replied, in a slurred speech, “Well occifer! I’m certainly not fit to walk!”.