Sport

Oldham Athletic’s Struggles Continue

Gemma Carter December 1, 2023

OLDHAM Athletic are enduring their second straight season in non-league football, and although there has been a pick up in performance of late, a disastrous start to the season sees The Latics languishing in mid-table.

David Unsworth has been replaced by Micky Mellon in the dugout, and the former Tranmere boss has elicited a good response from his players. A playoff place is not beyond the realms of possibility for Mellon and his team, but they need to keep improving under the Scot to have any chance of a top-seven finish.

Oldham’s Fall From Grace

It is hard to believe that Oldham Athletic were once a Premier League team that made it to two semi-finals in the FA Cup. In the mid-nineties, The Latics challenged the country’s top teams on a weekly basis and more than held their own in the top tier of English football.

Boundary Park

As fans, and those who like to have an online football bet can attest to, those years are well and truly gone. In 1992, Oldham became one of the founder members of the Premier League and enjoyed three seasons in the top division before their incredible fall from grace began by falling through the trapdoor into what was then known as Division 1 in 1994. Any chance of being part of Premier League betting, or Championship odds in the near future, is not likely in the coming years.

Since then it has been all downhill for The Latics. The club endured some torrid times both on and off the field in the intervening years, going into administration a number of times, and even being threatened with liquidation after getting into huge depth due to a number of incompetent owners.

Thirty years on from their involvement in the inaugural Premier League campaign, Oldham became the first team in history to fall the whole way from the top division all the way down to non-league football. It is a record that no club would want, but fans are hopeful that in the coming years, the Boundary Park side might be able to start climbing in the right direction for a change.

The Magic Of Royle’s Reign

When you think back to the days when Oldham were considered to be one of the big clubs in the country, most of the success at that time can be attributed to one man – club legend, Joe Royle. Royle was the man behind Oldham’s rise to the top level of the game and was also over the team for their Premier League stay and FA Cup semi-final runs.

Royle was in charge at Boundary Park for a total of 12 years, before being tempted back to his hometown club, Everton in 1994. Royle had made his playing debut for Everton as a youngster, so going back was always going to be hard to say no to.

Royle’s departure from Oldham coincided with the beginning of the club’s disastrous years, a sign of just how much of an influence the manager had during his time. Micky Mellon is the latest in a long line of managers that fans are hoping may become their new Joe Royle, but any boss at The Latics has very big shoes to fill.