Oldham fan Tom Thornley provides the view from Boundary Park ahead of Sunday's FA Cup fourth round encounter. What was your reaction to being drawn against Liverpool? Well it was a good draw for us. No disrespect to Notts Forest, but when you reach the third round of the FA Cup you hope to draw a Premier League team, so getting Forest was slightly disappointing. But drawing Liverpool in the fourth round makes up for that. It's a lower league team at home against a Premier League team that is being shown on TV, so revenue from the match, for a club like us, is huge. You can cause an upset because... We have arguably caused two in the FA Cup already this season. Doncaster are looking good for promotion and we beat them, as well as beating Championship side Forest. Something about this competition this season brings out the best in us, so hopefully it will be third time lucky. What songs can we expect to hear? I will expect a lot of chants about Lancashire. As well as one that came about due to the third round match against you last season: "Who put the ball in the Scousers' net, super Robbie Simpson!" Who makes Oldham tick? Former Everton wonderkid Jose Baxter. Real quality at this level, likes to pick the ball up and run with it and can spot a good pass. He recently signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with us. Top player who sadly, I imagine, will not be with us come September. Best way to beat Oldham? Crosses and corners have been our Achilles' heel for the past few seasons. Liverpool players you rate? Obviously you have Gerrard, Suarez, Agger etc, and there seems to be a lot of talk in the press about your youth players coming through, mostly Sterling and Suso. But one player who, whenever I have watched Liverpool and he has played, has looked good is Andre Wisdom. Looks like a very solid defender and definitely one for the future. Best and worst thing about a trip to Boundary Park? Best - the away end has no pillars to obstruct views, so all the Liverpool fans will have a good view of the pitch. Worst - we only have three stands and have no scoreboard. Best and worst thing about being an Oldham fan? Best - the players have a good team spirit and, on our day, we can beat anybody (in our division). Worst - for years we have had patchy form, win a few, lose a few. Hopes get up, hopes get dashed. As well as that, because of the size of club we are, there is always a fear that we may end up back in administration. Anywhere for Liverpool supporters to get a drink and some food? Obviously there is Oldham town centre, and then there are a few pubs within 10 minutes' walking distance of the ground, but no pubs on the road that the ground is actually situated on. Prediction? I would love to say a 1-0 Oldham win. However, given our current run of form, and what happened last season, I would have to go for a 4-1 Liverpool win. LINK
I always wonder where they find these fair fans for these pieces on the website. I would expect scouse **** this, cheating sh!t that. Gonna destroy your crap team etc etc. Then, I suppose we don't play the chavs every week,
Not even sure it is entirely 'the armchair fan' either, I think footy forums are just a place for some people to become ****s
Off to Boundary Park this Sunday, although there's a bubble heater over the pitch to thaw it at the moment, and the club are asking for volunteers to go shovel snow from the ground today and tomorrow. More snow forecast tonight in Oldham area as well. Internet forums - here, youtube, wherever - are very much like cars, can turn otherwise innocuous people into goons.
