Sports Editor Tony Bugby brings us the latest from Oldham Athletic
THE DUST has settled after the unwelcome Ched Evans affair and Oldham Athletic’s win at Scunthorpe United last Saturday catapulted them back into the promotion play-off positions in Sky Bet League One.
And as things stand at the moment, Latics look to have a decent shout at clinching a top-six spot in what is proving to be a captivating division.
Bristol City, Swindon, Milton Keynes Dons and Preston North End look nailed on to claim the top-four places, though which two teams go up automatically still has to be fought over.
Places five and six are wide open with only five points separating sixth-placed Latics and 17th, I cannot remember a division so competitive.
Though Latics experienced a hiccup in December, in which they lost all four matches, they appear to be regaining their early-season form.
But the week just gone epitomised that they still lack consistency. They produced an impressive display to defeat Notts County, failed to turn up at Barnsley in midweek and then four days later pulled off a terrific win at Scunthorpe.
It was an interesting January transfer widow for Latics with loans for Blackburn Rovers goalkeeper Jake Kean and former Chelsea midfield man Jacob Mellis from Blackpool. And on deadline day they borrowed striker Conor Wilkinson for a second time this season from Bolton Wanderers and paid an undisclosed sum for Dagenham front man Rhys Murphy – thought to be £20,000 for the ex-Arsenal youngster.
And to counter balance that, goalkeeper Paul Rachubka was released after having his contract cancelled while James Dayton and David Mellor have been loaned to St Mirren and Halifax Town respectively.
Lee Johnson certainly has an abundance of attacking options when you look at 14-goal top scorer Jonathan Forte, Danny Philliskirk, Dominic Poloen, Amari Morgan-Smith, Rhys Turner along with new-boys Wilkinson and Murphy.
Latics’ manager believes he has the firepower which can propel the team into a play-off spot come the end of the season.
That would be an incredible achievement bearing in mind the financial restraints and the fact that players like Jose Baxter, Jonson Clarke-Harris and James Tarkowski and Korey Smith have been all sold in the last 18 months bring in an estimated £1.3million to help balance the books.
Johnson had to undertake a major rebuilding job for the second successive summer and made some inspired captures like Forte, Liam Kelly, Mike Jones and George Elokobi, all on free transfers.
It’s just a pity the season of such promise has been soured somewhat by the move for Evans which attracted such adverse publicity which can only have been detrimental to the long-term image of the club.
And it is as though they failed to learn from the Evans episode when it later emerged they had also spoken to Nile Ranger, the former Newcastle and Sheffield Wednesday striker who, let’s say, has had more than his fair share of problems off the pitch.
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