Oldham Athletic - View

Following the great work prior to the Sheffield United game, Notts County find themselves again at the mercy of the weather. Tomorrow will see us host the Latics who are, unfortunately for them, at the bottom end of the table, sitting in the 19^th place, 5 positions away from Notts who now sit 14^th but with 3 games over our visitors. We have taken the time to ask a series of questions to Bob, who gives us an insight into his time as an Oldham supporter who is sending a positive message about backing a young manager.

Firstly, could you tell prideofnottingham.co.uk a little about yourself, such as how long you've been a fan for?

I am 59 years old and supported Latics since 1970 after being told by some schoolmates to come and watch a player they called "Big Jim Fryatt". I was hooked from then on and it has been a roller coaster ride from then onwards!!

How do you feel things are going so far at this point in the season and are there any concerns regarding your low position yet?

Things are going from bad to worse at the moment and we seem to be going down like the Titanic. It is a shame since we have been very unlucky on many occasions added to by injuries and suspensions but they say you make your own luck but that seems elusive to say the least.

Could you please tell us about how many away games you've attended so far this season and up to this point which one has been your favourite?

I go with my son, to most away games and we are season tickets holders at BP.

My favourite away win was at Forest!!! What a day out and our fans were superb and outshouted the Forest fans even when we were losing.

In the 2010/2011 season in which Paul Dickov arrived as player manager, he sparked some impressive wins and appeared to turn things around for your club. What is your take on this?

I am a big fan of Dickov even though he has many calling for his head. He always tries to attack and win games and has some good contacts which have helped us e.g Derbyshire who has now gone back to Forest and Baxter and Wabara from MCFC. He is doing his best with little funds and is passionate for the club and the fans and that is why he has my support and will continue to do so despite our situation.

Why is your club nickname the Latics?

We are called "Latics" because it is short for "Athletic" albeit has been copied by Wigan who are the plastic "Latics" who have tried to steal it away from us. There is only ONE "Latics" and that is us.

Often I've taken part in quizzes where people tend to forget about Oldham featuring in the Premier League at the start of it's formation, do you recall anything about that season?

We were one of the original teams of the Premiership when we had a great team put together for next to nowt by Joe Royle. Great days when we more than matched our rivals down the road at Maine Road and Old Trafford.We had some great players e.g Ritchie, Barratt. Warhurst, Holden and Palmer.

Can you tell us which players at Oldham are most lively for you, posing a strong risk to our defence?

We are lightweight up front so do not feel we will pose any real threats but this is Latics we are talking about here who can go from one extreme to another. Our young striker who is pretty tall is Matt Smith and we have another youngster called Taylor who looks promising. Behind them we have a great signing called Jose Baxter who has shown loyalty to the club by signing a long contract when he could have gone on to a higher level. I put that down to Dickov as well.

If you were the manager, which two players of Notts County would you tell your strongest markers to watch for?

I do not know which players of yours to watch out for, I would say all 11 of them including your keeper!!!!

I visited Meadow Lane on the 5^th of January, which was the day you played Nottingham Forest and impressively beat them. Some of your fans strongly felt you would win, did you attend the game and how important was the win for you?

Yes, I came to the Forest game but I did not think to be honest that we would win. Our second half team performance was superb and Simpson's two goals changed the game and sent the 3000 Oldham fans ballistic.

What is your favourite chant at away games?

My favourite chant is "Oh when the bllllluuueeeesssssssssssssss" or simply "Come on Oldham"

If you go back to any season and relive some of the memories which featured, can you tell me which season, when and why you would go back to that particular point in time?

My favourite season was 1990/1 when we got promotion as champions with the last game of the season at BP when we beat Sheff Weds 3-2 after being 2-0 down to them and winning with a late penalty by Redfern in front of the Chaddy End which was packed to the rafters. It was great winning loads of games both home and away and having huge support and also winning over lots of neutral fans who loved to see lowly Oldham take on and beat the top clubs. Sadly those days have gone and many fans have stopped going.

Where would you like to finish and which position do you realistically see Oldham finishing?

We need someone with a small fortune to spend but the chances of that happening are zilch. We can but try to keep faith and hope for better things in the future especially for our younger fans who have seen lean years and no doubt get ridiculed by their school mates who support the Manc clubs. Still.. we are die hard fans and loyal to OAFC and its future no matter what happens to us. We are having a new stand built soon so that is a starting point...like the phoenix rising from the ashes!!!

We would like to take the time to Thank Bob for answering our questions.