Chronology of KopTalk’s development

June 1996 – Oldham’s earliest known appearance on the internet

Jan-May 1997 – Oldham’s Sky cards scam, selling non-existent satellite cards on Usenet groups

Oct 1997 – Oldham makes a Usenet post entitled  “!UK Cple seek males for sex !!!!!!” In it he asks for men who would be willing to sleep with his girlfriend while he films them to contact him. The address he provides is the KopTalk PO Box

May 1998 – new aliases uncovered as the man behind the Sky cards scam. Suddenly begins posting frequently on Usenet LFC newsgroup

May 1998 – Oldham makes a hapless attempt to to set up his own English Premier League Usenet group. It fails miserably. One reply reads: “You, sir, are a fucking liar with a greatly over-rated sense of worth.”

June 1998 – Liverpool fans are already seeing through Oldham’s “insider” gossip bullshit and are picking apart his lies

July 1998 – someone tells Oldham about the LFC email mailing list. Oldham has never heard of it before

Aug 1998 – Oldham starts his own LFC email mailing list

Sep 1998 – Colin Seaman (the eventual designer and co-founder of KT) posts this message in the Usenet group: “LFC Fans/Backers wanted to make the Ultimate LFC site”. This post will result in the eventual creation of KopTalk in March 1999

Oct 1998 – Oldham is already peddling laughably vague “insider” info about LFC: “Before I heard anything about a bid I stated that I was aware a certain agent of a certain player would be in Liverpool on Thursday this week, at which club I was unaware – I then heard on the grape vine from a extremely well trusted source that a bid had been made.”

Oct 1998 – Oldham begins procedures to start up his own LFC newsgroup on Usenet

Nov 1998 – Oldham boasts in a Usenet post that: “I don’t need telling how to cover my tracks, my nickname is Mr. Teflon
as in ‘ non-stick ’ according to the local Prosecutors.”

Nov 1998 – Oldham’s new LFC newsgroup launched. Begins to spam the old LFC newsgroup with false messages claiming (incorrectly) that the old group is about to be discontinued (see an example here). These lies are effective in moving posters over to his new group

Nov 1998 – Oldham is already being criticised for his dictatorial style and patronising manner towards his members

Mar 1999 – KopTalk launches

Mar 1999 – KopTalk is already being referred to as Kraptalk

June 1999 – Oldham attempts to form an independent Liverpool Internet Supporters Club. It comes to nothing

June 1999 – Oldham is already running a premium-rate ticket info telephone service on KopTalk

July 1999 – gets married at Anfield. His uncle is his best man

Aug 1999 – Oldham has launched an LFC KopTalk commentary service at 25 pence per minute/just over £20 per game

Aug 1999 – Oldham makes an empty promise that KopTalk will report on LFC U-17s and U-19s matches next season. This will never happen

c.Sep 1999-c.May 2000 – Mr Manchester United appeal

Nov 1999 – Oldham launches the KopTalk Deluxe Email Service (£15/£10 per year). Features include the fantasy of “Half-time and full-time scores emailed direct to you from within Anfield on match-days.”

Feb 2000 – new Kop Kids feature launches on KopTalk. It is run by the ten-year-old Steve McNeish, who Oldham has begun to groom

Feb 2000 – Oldham launches the VIP KopTalk site (£15/£10 per year)

Jan 2001 – Oldham launches his first KopTalk SMS service (£20 per year). It fails

c.Feb 2001 – Oldham begins to talk about selling shares in KopTalk to members

June 2001 – launches new KopTalk forums

c.July 2001 – Oldham is having to (slowly) issue refunds to members who bought shares in KopTalk

July 2001 – Oldham is already writing long, rambling ripostes to his “critics”

Nov 2001 – Oldham launches the KopTalk Insider email service (£13 via PayPal, £11.75 by cheque)

c.Jan 2002 – Oldham launches the KopTalk Insider website (£13 via PayPal, £11.75 by cheque)

c.Jan 2002 – KopTalk moves to the FootyMad network

Aug 2002 – Oldham is running a pyramid-selling scheme on KopTalk

Sep 2002 – Oldham launches the (short-lived) KopTalk VIP Forum (£5)

c.Nov 2002 – KopTalk is kicked off the FootyMad network

April 2003 – announces and starts taking “deposits” on his Anfield Exposed book (still unpublished)

June/July 2003 – Oldham launches the KopTalk Gold Club pay service (£26 per year)

Aug 2003 – Oldham has launched the premium rate (£1 per minute) KopTalk Insider info phone line

Nov 2003 – Oldham admits on KopTalk that “We deliberately circulate false Insider reports throughout the web”

Dec 2003 – Oldham claims he rejected an offer of £1.3million for KopTalk

end of 2003 – all former LFC players who wrote columns for KopTalk have left the site due to them seeing through his cons, being warned off by the club or due to disputes over Duncan Oldham’s failure to pay them

c.April 2004 – moves to Wallsend

July 2004 – Oldham launches the KopTalk “Bronze Member” news service (£3.65)

Dec 2004 – launch of “YNWA LAUREN APPEAL”

2005 – Oldham is selling heaps of fake “signed” LFC memorabilia on KopTalk. Prices are as high as £249.99 per item (see here, here, here and here for examples)

Jan 2005 – Oldham says he once applied for Leeds United season tickets

July 2005 – Oldham claims that Liverpool players are confiding in him via email

Aug 2005 – Oldham admits he is a Newcastle United season ticket holder

Oct 2005 – KT moves to “new premises”

c.Oct 2005 – Oldham launches KT’s www.footy4free streams sister site (£5 per year)

Dec 2005 – KT relaunch

Sep 2006 – free KT forums closed. New £30 per year subscription launched

Same old laughably vague “insider” info: