Oldham v Barrow match thread

[xerxes]

It's a pity the away supporters were kept in the dark by being banished to the upper circle!

Yes, you wouldn't think there was an ongoing pandemic. It would have made sense to allow them to use both tiers so people could spread out. Maybe they wanted to save a few quid on stewarding costs.

[pjdaly]

Most of the protesters were pre pubescent and a few ran over to goad the Barrow fans. If it was a proper protest, stay there and do it properly.

Yes, very juvenile and amateurish. If they had done their homework and planned things out properly beforehand they would have been on early (before the rot set in) and chained themselves to Josh Gordon's ankles to stop him running around quite so much. That work ethic must be right up there in the annals of Barrow AFC work ethics.

[andyg]

Generally a good day out.

Interesting reading the comments from those who watched on ifollow as opposed to being there. For example I thought Grayson was good - a real utility player particularly as his main position, like Taylor, is more of a defensive midfielder. In the first half Fage was a handful and what we should have done after getting the first goal was to double up on him rather than leaving Grayson exposed.

Got a perfect view of Banks goal - he hit it so sweetly!

Impressed with Farnham except for one mess up coming for the ball. More than made up for his Harrogate error. Can't believe they are top but as everyone says - the less mistakes you make in this league the higher up in the table you are.

We are finally looking like a football league team. Yes I know Oldham were generally poor but we did what we had to do and won comfortably & considering our injury list that makes it even more impressive.

We also look dangerous attacking teams so there is now always a goal in us which is exciting.

For the stattos when is the last time we won 3-0 away in a football league game?

My only downside of the day was the booing of the taking of the knee. I would prefer if you don't agree with it you just keep quiet in those 10 seconds or so. We do have a number of black & mixed race players so just respect their views.

[behind the goals]

1971 April 9th Lincoln City 0 Barrow 3 Hollis 2, Garbett att 4518, next day we drew 1-1 at Holker Street v Oldham att 3716

[pjdaly]

Ah, Mick Hollis in the goals back in 1971 at Sincil Bank! I made a reference in an earlier post to the phenomenal work ethic of Josh Gordon. Well, Mick Hollis is a player I remember with great regard because he was another who ran his socks off every time I saw him play. He played as a right full-back for us to begin with and then converted to being a striker. He wasn't the most natural predator you would ever see but you had to admire Mick for the number of guts he bust every time he played. In the following season, 1971-72, he ended up as our top scorer.

[BoltonBlue]

A really enjoyable game today. Oldham we’re absolutely abysmal, surely there won’t be many worse teams than that this season. Apart from switching off a bit in the final 10 minutes of the first half we comfortably nullified what little threat they had.

As mentioned above Grayson looks a class act and is a great addition in that defensive/midfield role. Banks looks a lot fitter and sharper this season and brings a lot to the team. Jones is looking strong at the back since retuning, some classy saves from Farman. Players working their socks off for each other. A good turnout in the away end. All positive stuff.

[russell_anderson]

Very very good result and decent performance. For me, the scoreline is more reflective of how completely shite Oldham were than how good we were. We were decent and did everything right without being outstanding, Oldham were truly awful and I can't think of a worse side I've seen at this level or below for a good while.

I feel for Oldham fans currently and support their protest, but that attempted pitch invasion was absolutely pathetic. They'd done the hard bit (which wasn't that hard) by getting on the pitch in the first place and sitting in the centre circle. They then inexplicably ran back off again after about 60 seconds with literally nobody doing anything about their presence. Completely bizarre, pointless and lacking in any bottle at all.

Agreed. I'd have been extremely worried if we hadn't managed to win today. Today's defeat makes it 6 home defeats in a row for Oldham and you can see why. They can't hit a barn door when they attack and they can't defend.
In actual fact, it was never a 0-3 match and they won almost every stat possible i.e. much more possession, many more corners, more shots on target and almost identical number of shots. Farman made a couple of excellent saves and Jason Taylor did a great job in central defence as did Banks in midfield but Grayson and Brough really struggled against their right back and right winger in the first half and they really should have had a couple of goals but for dire finishing.
The 2 new lads look good signings. They are quick, get around the pitch and can pass the ball properly. Getts was particularly impressive. Any away win is a good win but I'll be surprised if we play a worse team all season.

[Jim]

If you don’t spell peoples names right you won’t get far man

[Wintergreen]

Ex Premier League side heading for the National League by the look of it. Quite sad really but them’s the breaks.

[Falstaff]

My only downside of the day was the booing of the taking of the knee. I would prefer if you don't agree with it you just keep quiet in those 10 seconds or so. We do have a number of black & mixed race players so just respect their views.

Exactly this. If you boo people taking a stand against racism you are effectively condoning it. And especially when your team has black players, that is a real kick in the teeth for them. And frankly a disgrace.

[Desmond2-2]

My only downside of the day was the booing of the taking of the knee. I would prefer if you don't agree with it you just keep quiet in those 10 seconds or so. We do have a number of black & mixed race players so just respect their views.

Exactly this. If you boo people taking a stand against racism you are effectively condoning it. And especially when your team has black players, that is a real kick in the teeth for them. And frankly a disgrace.

Here we go. Soon this thread will be calling all Barrow supporters racist. If you want to discuss that subject, go create a topic in the general football. This is about Barrow and an excellent away win at Oldham.

[andyg]

Exactly this. If you boo people taking a stand against racism you are effectively condoning it. And especially when your team has black players, that is a real kick in the teeth for them. And frankly a disgrace.

Here we go. Soon this thread will be calling all Barrow supporters racist. If you want to discuss that subject, go create a topic in the general football. This is about Barrow and an excellent away win at Oldham.

I'm only going to make this one further comment on this topic. I was immensely proud of Barrow fans at Harrogate when players took the knee and there was no booing and the same at Barrow for the Villa game in my section of the crowd. I wasn't at Oldham - it saddened me. It is not a general football topic as you say Desmond as it happened at the game & it does not obscure a really great win for the team. It happened, its my own personal observation of the day, & the only part I did not enjoy.

[Main Stand SeasonTct]

Here we go. Soon this thread will be calling all Barrow supporters racist. If you want to discuss that subject, go create a topic in the general football. This is about Barrow and an excellent away win at Oldham.

I'm only going to make this one further comment on this topic. I was immensely proud of Barrow fans at Harrogate when players took the knee and there was no booing and the same at Barrow for the Villa game in my section of the crowd. I wasn't at Oldham - it saddened me. It is not a general football topic as you say Desmond as it happened at the game & it does not obscure a really great win for the team. It happened, its my own personal observation of the day, & the only part I did not enjoy.

Great win yesterday and every player put a shift in. As for booing when the players took the knee that says more about those that boo than anything else. Its a sad state of affairs when a few folk cannot refrain from booing when players took the knee for 5 seconds.

[Suffolk Blue]

Very very good result and decent performance. For me, the scoreline is more reflective of how completely shite Oldham were than how good we were. We were decent and did everything right without being outstanding, Oldham were truly awful and I can't think of a worse side I've seen at this level or below for a good while.

I feel for Oldham fans currently and support their protest, but that attempted pitch invasion was absolutely pathetic. They'd done the hard bit (which wasn't that hard) by getting on the pitch in the first place and sitting in the centre circle. They then inexplicably ran back off again after about 60 seconds with literally nobody doing anything about their presence. Completely bizarre, pointless and lacking in any bottle at all.

Agreed. I'd have been extremely worried if we hadn't managed to win today. Today's defeat makes it 6 home defeats in a row for Oldham and you can see why. They can't hit a barn door when they attack and they can't defend.
In actual fact, it was never a 0-3 match and they won almost every stat possible i.e. much more possession, many more corners, more shots on target and almost identical number of shots. Farnham made a couple of excellent saves and Jason Taylor did a great job in central defence as did Banks in midfield but Grayson and Brough really struggled against their right back and right winger in the first half and they really should have had a couple of goals but for dire finishing.
The 2 new lads look good signings. They are quick, get around the pitch and can pass the ball properly. Getts was particularly impressive. Any away win is a good win but I'll be surprised if we play a worse team all season.

Agree Russ. We should see the result and the performance for what it was against a very troubled Oldham side. The size of the win should not mislead everyone into thinking that we are going to storm this league. But it does suggest that some of the more negative forecasts of our likely fortunes this season were most probably on the the pessimistic side. The level of our performances so far has been reasonably consistent and pretty solid whoever has played. We are looking tough to beat and the fact that we've bagged three twice in six games suggests that goal scoring may not be the blocker that we thought.

What we should reflect on is firstly that the result was achieved on the back of injuries to at least half a dozen players that might otherwise have featured in the fixture and that in their absence we continue to see real improvement of some of our current starting eleven. The two new signings already look to herald a strengthening of our box to box capability. Gotts in particular looks like he might be a gem. A million miles away from Callum Gribben. We've given Zanzala a showcase for his talents and whatever his value was has probably doubled in the first month of the season. Banks looks like a totally new player. Whites performances pose serious questions regarding the mentality of those who let him go to Bolton last season. Also both Gordon and Hutton have been refreshingly good (you should have read the comments of Stevenage and Walsall fans on these guys when we signed them to understand the significance of that).

With regard to the possession stats, my own view is that MC is well aware of the difference between having possession and using it. I think you'll see a good few games this season especially away fixtures where the possession stats run against us but the result may not. Big thing however is that at the moment you can look forward to the next fixture without that historic fear in the pit of your stomach.

[Cromwell58]

If you have the right to clap the knee then you have have the right to boo it, it is a American marxist idea that has solved nothing, better to stand in the centre in silence to bring home the problem of racism.