A bit about you:
Name: Mark Corbett
Current home town: Oldham Birthplace: I can't remember, I was only a baby at the time!
How long have you supported your team? Since August 1986
Overview of your club:
Favourite thing about your home ground: I'm struggling to think of one! The good thing about grounds which have become a bit old and run down is that they usually have character, something sadly lacking amidst the modern trend for identikit, soul-less plastic bowls (when will somebody work out how to build modern facilties and still give a ground character and atmosphere?) but I'm afraid Boundary Park is a bit of an exception to that rule.
It's had a pretty bland feel to it ever since we were forced to go all seater, which is about the same time the atmosphere died off as well. It can still come to life now and again if it turns out to be a really exciting game (Millwall this season is a recent example), but it's very much reactive these days whereas in years gone by a pro-active crowd used to liven up even the most run of the mill fixture.
Facilities wise it's mainly the kind of stuff required to make money from means other than ticket sales that we are lacking, hence why one of the stands was knocked down in the summer to make way for one that will incorporate a load of corporate stuff and various other means of making money even when there is no football being played. But in terms of the facilities for the ordinary fan they're not shocking or anything. In fact the view from the Rochdale Road End, in which the Leicester fans will be housed, is pretty good. As I said, it's just lacking a bit of character and atmosphere…..
Favourite match played by your team & why: Sheffield Wednesday at home on the final day of the 1990/91 season. 2-0 down with less than half an hour to play we came back to score an injury time winner that won us the old 2nd division. The feelings that took hold of my body that day were indescribable.
In terms of fixtures fresher in the memory then the FA Cup win at Everton last season was pretty special. We claimed some impressive scalps during a couple of remarkable cup runs in the 1989/90 season which will probably live longer in the memory because they happened during an era that was probably the most successful in the club's history, but I would say Everton last year was probably a bigger upset than all of those. The number of league places between the two clubs was bigger than in any of those games in 89/90, Everton were in fantastic form at the time, the only players they rested were Neville and Howard, our team was severely weakened due to injuries and the like, and instances of teams that high up the Premiership losing to sides in the bottom 2 divisions are just so rare these days. Sometimes you get a feel for when an upset could be on the cards but I don't think anybody saw that one coming, least of all our own fans!
Favourite player of all time who played for your club: Roger Palmer. Not the best player we've had and certainly not the most skillful but he just had an aura about him that made him my favourite as a kid. His trademark on the pitch was his uncanny knack of appearing unmarked, seemingly from nowhere, to score. How he used to do that so often I'll never know, it was like he could make himself invisible or something.
The length of time he was at the club and the fact he scored more career goals for us than other player, despite playing mostly in midfield, obviously helped endear him to us as well. But he was equally famed for his secretive and elusive nature off the pitch. He was, and still is, notoriously difficult to track down, he got married to his long time girlfriend without ever telling anyone he even had a partner and he was reknowned for turning up at training Del Boy style with a suitcase full off watches and the like that he would proceed to flog to his team mates. I think all that added to the mystique and that's half of why so many of us loved him.
About our forthcoming match against you:
Your favourite current player in your squad and why? Mark Allott. He came through our youth set up and spent a few seasons in our first team as a striker. He was distinctly average, unpopular with the fans (including me!) and left for Chesterfield, so it raised more than a few eyebrows when we brought him back several years later.
In the intervening period he had converted into a defensive midfielder and as soon as you saw him play there you would never believe it was the same bloke! It must have been in the back of his mind when he agreed to come back that it wouldn't take much for the boo boys to get straight on his back but he took the plunge and quickly won the fans over and that is partly why I like him, I think it said a lot about his character.
His role in the team isn't especially eye catching, a defensive midfielder who breaks up attacks and then plays the simple pass, rarely giving the ball away. But he is a model professional, terrificly consistent, bags of enthusiasm, unassuming, but a massive player for us. And he manages to do all that without coming across as being a miserable git as is often the case with that type of player!
Player in your squad we should most fear and why? Winger Chris Taylor causes a lot of problems, his pace and dribbling ability mean that he regularly goes past defenders with the ball. He's right footed but the lack of a natural left winger at the club means that he is nearly always on the left which although it has its disadvantages, does make him dangerous when he cuts inside.
Daniel Jones who we have just brought in on loan from Wolves is an option as a left footed winger but we've been using him at left back so far and he's been terrific, especially going forward, so he's another one you'll have to watch. Him and Taylor have made us a real attacking threat down the left. And like him or loathe him, Lee Hughes is always a goal threat. I didn't realise just how many chances he also creates till he came here and we were able to see him at closer quarters than in his West Brom days.
Player in our squad you most fear and why? I could pick several to be fair. Looking through your squad it's easy to see why you're doing well, there are a lot of players there that wouldn't look out of place in a decent Championship team. Oakley must be one of the best playmakers at this level and you've got some dangerous wingers as well in Dyer and Gradel who impressed against us for Bournemouth last season.
Steve Howard is a target man I've always admired, he's 32 now but pace was never one of his main assets so there's no reason to believe that his hold up play and threat in the air, which are proven in this division, won't be just as effective as they always were. If I had to single one out though I'd go for Fryatt. He didn't get the goals I thought he might in the Championship but no doubt some of that can be attributed to playing in a struggling side and we can be a bit susceptible to pace so Fryatt and your wingers could well be the main threat.
Up and coming prospect in your squad? Well Taylor and Jones are both young enough to be described as prospects so I suppose I'd have to mention them again although with the number of first team games they've played, particularly Taylor, it seems a bit strange to talk about them in that context.
Besides those 2, and presuming you mean someone likely to be in the 16 for Saturday, then Lewis Alessandra (who will probably be on the bench) looks like he might have a bright future. He's a striker but he's one of those that will probably create a lot more goals than he scores. He tends to come a bit deeper for the ball than whoever he happens to be up front with and is an intelligent, creative player. He could probably do with becoming a bit stronger but at 19 he's probably still filling out so hopefully that will come.
Where do you think you'll finish this season? I fancy us for the top 6 actually. It's become a bit of a cliche in this division but there genuinely are about a dozen or so clubs that have squads capable of a promotion challenge and I would most certainly include Oldham and Leicester in that group. Which of that dozen live up to the billing and which don't will in the main come down to consistency and luck with injuries and in that respect we're much better placed than last year, when we came eigth.
This year we have the strength in depth to cope with injuries and suspensions and just as importantly, to afford ourselves the luxury of the option to replace an out of form player with someone that has actually left school. Last year we often had to persevere with the man in possession regardless of form but this year, in a lot of positions, it's debatable who is our best player. Having said that, I think the opposition will be tougher as well. I think it's a stronger division this time so perhaps the 2 will cancel each other out a bit but yeah I do fancy us for at least the play offs. It's still early enough in the season for performances to have been deceptive though.
How do you think you'll do against us? If pushed I'd go for a score draw but I don't think any of the 3 results possible would count as a surprise. It's another cliche I know but I really do think it's a tough one to call.