Oldham Athletic 0 Cheltenham 0

Personally, it doesn't need repeating what Dowie has correctly said already, however I beg to ask this question to those boo-boys which made their ridiculous thoughts known... isn't it sometimes better to say nothing at all, if you have nothing constructive to say? Maybe during those 15 minutes in the dressing room, parts of the crowd had time to think as the atmosphere did improve during the 2nd half but all too often when things get tough for the Latics, our fans just do the obvious - no encouragement, just screams of "sort it out," "get X off and bring X on now," and any other non-constructive shouts which give little encouragement to the team.

However, the blame isn't being pointed at the fans for this lacklustre 0-0 showing from the boys in blue. That has to go to the team for showing a lack of passion and unusually, desire, to go out and win this game. It smacked of a
complacency, flavoured with a touch of the Chelsea spirit - ie. we can only get up for the big games. Indeed, every away game is a big game now (especially the longer we are unbeaten) so maybe we just haven't the mentality to scrap
it out with the minnows of this division at Boundary Park.

Looking at the facts, Dowie is right to point out the absences of Hall and Low contributed to this performance. Indeed, both were sorely missed and Sheridan carried around his broken ribs. But Dowie (although he won't) should admit to
losing a gamble he waged. John Eyre has done enough this season to prove that a) he isn't a right-winger and never will be and b) his best position is in front of the midfield and behind the front two. So to use him as cover for Low
seemed a surprise, with Murray's ability to fill in on the right and Duxbury sat wondering where his start might be.


Indeed, that factor become more conspicuous as Duxbury was made a straight replacement for Murray - maybe Dowie saw something in Eyres (pictured) performance that I didn't. All in all, there's not much to say other than many more displays of such lifelessness will see us slowly slip away from the leading few.


It's not hard to see the Pretend Latics (Wigan) pick up wins at Bloomfield Road or Griffin Park and it isn't difficult to notice Cardiff win at home against Chesterfield. Nobody can point at them and say they're not up for the games. Even Paul Jewell (the wide-talker that he is) admits they're playing badly but somehow they're getting the wins. And the less said about Bristol City's ludicrous 5-4 win the better. Let's just say that I felt pig-sick that not only
had they got lucky when losing to Notts County 3 weeks ago only for it to be abandoned, they somehow managed to rob Mansfield blind when with 3 minutes to go they won from 4-2 down.

Despite the fact our rivals are picking up points though, you can only look at yourself and this weekend was a good time to do so. It feels very topsy-turvy as one minute we're at Upton Park re-creating glory, the next we're at home
struggling to 2nd from bottom Cheltenham. Let's hope that they don't come back to haunt us should we make it past Burton on Wednesday evening.

In what was a game filled with little, the Latics did have more possession. However, a constant wish to play a hugely unsupported player into space meant that the hosts constantly ran down alleys with dead ends. Attempts at goal were
at a premium and at times Cheltenham looked more dangerous than we ever did, but despite this Pogliacomi had little or nothing to do. Only the last few minutes did Pogi save us and as the Robins nearly flew home with all the points.

Making notes for this game turned into an easy task - there were that little to make. Plus, it wasn't hard to remember the strange decisions the referee kept making, especially the booking for Sheridan. It was he that got shoved by 2
Cheltenham players for stopping the ball from rolling away as the referee had awarded a Cheltenham free-kick.


But amazingly he was booked for it and even more amazingly, the referee moved it forward 10 yards. So was it something he said, dissent, who knows, but it genuinely appeared to be that he'd stopped the ball for the free-kick and became the victim.

There were only 2 notable events in a lacklustre 1st half, where both sides either cancelled each other out or just continually gifted each other the possession (meaning little advance at goal was the result). In the space of a couple of minutes, Cheltenham's Jamie Victory volleyed one effort over when he probably should have tested Pogi, whilst Eyres drilled a free-kick marginally over the bar at the other end.

The 2nd half started with more of the same. Only the crowd, whose mood had changed, was lively around Boundary Park. Eyre's attempted another long-range free-kick on 58, which wasn't far off target but the chances were very sparse and both keepers must have struggled to keep warm in the swirling winds off the Pennines. Finally, on 66, the game saw its first touch of class - one which should possibly have put the Latics in the lead. By this time, Wijnhard had been thrown on to light the touch-paper and it was he who received Andrews pass as the youngster took advantage of a defensive slip. With his back to goal and being man-marked, Wiggy coolly tapped the ball from the edge of the 6 yard box out to the edge of the area, spotting Armstrong's powering run onto the ball.


However, the lad just cannot score and he hit a curler just wide of the Robin's far post. This prompted a response from Cheltenham and on a break on 68, the visitors saw an effort crash against the joint of the crossbar and post and bounce away to safety.

The game appeared to have heated up now and on 73, both sides had chances within seconds of each other as the Robins tested Pogi with a free-kick, before Wiggy sent an effort wide of the far post. That prompted Latics fans to vote for the substitute to be the text-man-of-the-match, showing the underline fact that no other player on the pitch appeared worthy of it.


Armstrong however did deserve credit and at times, his tackling, passing, determination and will to get forward epitomised everything that was lacking from other players. The rest just appeared content to take the less intelligent pass which they either cocked up, or left the recipient fenced in with nowhere to go. However, with 9 minutes to go this game could have turned one way or then another. Within 30 seconds, Cheltenham looked to have a certain penalty as it appeared one of their players had been chopped down in the box by Hill.


Seconds later, Wijnhard was in the middle of a fracas in the Cheltenham box but the referee waved away both appeals. The Latics pushed forward and on 83, Armstrong again looked to have settled the game. Despite Andrews' cross being a beaut, the former Shaker just couldn't get enough of a head onto the ball and he steered his header agonisingly over the bar. Even worse, he thought he netted his first ever Latics goal when he rifled in a breath-taking 25 yarder into the top corner, but the flag was up as seconds earlier Eyres' had strayed just offside.

As easily as it could have been won, it was nearly lost. At the death Pogliacomi faced a one-on-one as the defence fell asleep and allowed Devaney in behind. With a tight angle to aim at, Pogi spread himself superbly and saved the Latics
from a humbling defeat.

In the end, the Latics should thank themselves lucky for not losing. Then again, they might have sneaked it too and after what was a poor showing from the hosts, a point was just about right. True - we should be winning these games,
especially at home, but it isn't the first time that Boundary Park has seen the blues under-perform and under-achieve. This needs to be addressed immediately because if it isn't we could be looking at a FA Cup 2nd round exit (should we beat Burton on Weds) and a potentially costly defeat to current league leaders, Wigan. If that happens, we'll know that the wheels really have come off at home. It's time to batten down the hatches me thinks!!!