CHARLIE Raglan will spark Spanish celebrations – as well as some in Saddleworth, Shaw, Slattocks, St Mary’s and St James’ – if Oldham Athletic make it back to the Football League.
The Latics’ defender and vice-captain is ready for battle as Micky Mellon’s side takes on Southend United in the National League Promotion Final at Wembley.
More than 20,000 fans have snapped up tickets, while there are various watch parties taking place in the area on Sunday, June 1
Lydgate’s White Hart is hosting one with the tagline ’meat pie, sausage roll, come on Oldham, give us a promotion.’
Greenfield Cricket Club, Whittles in the town centre and Royton’s Angel Inn are also among venues across the area screening the match, Oldham’s first Wembley visit since 1994.
And victory would cap a roundabout journey to success at the national stadium for Raglan after growing up in Tenerife.
When he was six-years-old, father Norman decided to move to the Canary Island and run a furniture shop – they stayed for a decade.
Now as he prepares for the big day, he knows his unusual path can play a part.
Raglan said: “Basically, dad got a bit fed up of life in England. Very soon after my sister was born, he said, ‘Look, let’s go back, we’ve had enough,’ and then settled there.
“I went to a bilingual school but when I was playing football, there was no English doing that! It was sink or swim and it helped me a lot socially, the language was a massive benefit.
“I spent most of my last year at school over here, living with family members while having trials. I finished school and a week later, I was pre-season with Port Vale.
“But a lot of emphasis here was on channel balls and second balls. That wasn’t really talked about in Tenerife. It was more focused on control, passing and finding a man.
“It took me a long time to adapt and I probably don’t give myself enough credit for actually adapting like I did, because it’s not easy.”
Raglan’s adaptation paid off as he carved out a Football League career at clubs like Chesterfield, Oxford and Cheltenham.
Now after joining Oldham’s bid to get back into League Two, he hopes to hear the end of tales from the darkest days under owner Abdallah Lemsagam.
A string of managers – including Harry Kewell and Paul Scholes – came and went as they became the first former Premier League club to drop out of the fourth tier in 2022.
And what he has heard left him staggered as he added: “I played at Boundary Park for opposition teams and when you’re playing against teams in League One or Two, you don’t think they’re in that much of a mess.
“It wasn’t until I heard the stories from the likes of Hallam Hope and Dan Gardner, who’s still here. They would tell me how shocking it was and you couldn’t believe it really.
“But I always knew how big a club Oldham is, Days like when you go to Tranmere in the FA Cup, when they took over a full stand, showed that.
“As a Manchester United fan, I would go to the games and the away fans always dictate what you think about a fan base.
“These fans, when they go away from home, it’s unbelievable.”
Raglan would have good reason for hating play-off football. He has been in them three times – with Chesterfield, Cheltenham and FC United of Manchester – and lost three semi-finals.
Now he goes one step further, for Oldham’s first trip to Wembley since a 1994 FA Cup semi-final and ‘the goal that killed the club.’ Mark Hughes’ volley in the last minute of extra time that earned Manchester United a 1-1 draw.
He was only one-year-old at the time but he conceded: “It could be full circle.
“And if that’s the case, whoever scores the winner today, could score the goal that kickstarts the club again.”
An Oldham win, after a 3-0 triumph at York – who finished 23 points ahead of them in second – would also spark jubilant scenes among a fanbase that has not experienced promotion since 1991.
Two people will not join on-pitch scenes, 32-year-old Raglan’s three-and-a-half-year-old twins, Sophia and Olivia.
However, they would have played a full part in any success by helping their dad ‘accept the uncertainty.’
He continued: “They’re too young to understand what’s going on. Their mum said about Wembley and the first thing they said was they don’t want to go on the pitch.
“Anything in the future is either hope or anxiety and it’s all a myth until you get there. My girls help me stay in the moment because they need me.
“They need me to be there and when I’m there, you can’t be thinking about 20,000 people at Wembley.
“However, we’ve proved in the big games we’ve had this season we’ve tended to play well.
“And winning would mean everything, It’s right to talk about what happened but you can see it as a burden, or you can see it as an amazing chance and opportunity.
“We’ve got to view it as an opportunity and it’ll be a hell of a party if it goes well.”
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