MIKE Ford has already brought one word that had been missing from Oldham RLFC in recent years – excitement.
Now the Saddleworth-based former player and coach hopes to see the class of 2024 live up to it by earning promotion back to rugby league’s Championship.
Ford’s arrival and the comeback of chairman Bill Quinn has seen a Roughyeds resurgence as their full-time return to Boundary Park begins.
Look around the room at players like former New Zealand star Elijah Taylor, ex-Super League players Joe Wardle, Jamie Ellis and Jordan Turner – among others – and one conclusion can be formed.
This is not a League One squad.
But Diggle-based Ford knows that to make that first step back towards the top, with Super League the long-term aim, they have to overcome hurdles.
Oldham’s competitive season begins on Sunday, January 28 with an AB Sundecks 1895 Cup match against Halifax Panthers.
And that word, excitement, comes back into the conversation.
Ford said: “It’s fair to say that had probably been missing.
“I was looking from afar when I was in rugby union, watching the exploits of the club. Then in March 2022, we were in the bottom league and the bottom-placed of all the heartland clubs.
“The only teams below Oldham at the time were the franchises that had just come in – Cornwall, Midland Hurricanes, London Skolars.
“I thought, ‘This isn’t right.’ So I looked at it and thought, ‘I need to give something back. The town has given me a lot, the rugby club has given me a lot.’
“I was in a position to do that. It took 12 months to acquire the club and the excitement is that the stars have aligned in terms of coming back to Boundary Park, Bill coming on board again and getting a very experienced board of directors.
“My role in it was I just wanted to make sure we all wanted the same thing and we were all aligned. We are – we have a vision, a purpose and a philosophy.
“We just need to execute that now.”
If sponsors’ enthusiasm at a Boundary Park breakfast with the players is anything to go by, new Oldham coach Sean Long and his side will be just fine.
But after Oldham tasted the heights of being in Super League, the desire is to get back towards the halcyon days – with homegrown players from the town playing for them.
For now, though, just getting a buzz around the club is enough.
Ford told Saddleworth Independent: “When people think of Oldham, they think of Boundary Park. A lot of people still look at Watersheddings – that’s gone, it went in 1996!
“For us to play here for the next 10 years, to have it as our home. We can now build a good business plan around that.
“Our strapline is ‘Stronger Together.’ We know we can’t do this on our own – we need all the business people and fans. We need to find new fans but we’ve got a chance.
“I’d hope we’d average 1,500 for the season and if we’re doing well with a bit of momentum towards the end of it, we could make 2,000.
“We’ve had a meeting with the amateur club’s coaches who’ll help our pathway. Why did I want to play for Oldham? Because when I was eight, nine and 10, I played for a school that played rugby, my dad took me to Watersheddings, I made the town team and we were twinned with Perpignan.
“We played at Wembley in 1977, I played at Watersheddings as a kid and I had heroes. If we can get that pathway, the kids in Oldham experiencing that, plus putting a good product on the field, kids will want to play for Oldham.
“We talked about excitement. If you can get the kids excited, if they can wear the Oldham colours, we’re halfway there.”
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