2005/2006 Season Preview - Oldham Athletic

Oldham: Greater Manchester. Home: Boundary Park. 13,624 (all-seated) Nickname: The Latics Hate: Man City, Man Utd, Blackpool. Last Meeting: 21st Apr 2001 LD2 Oldham Athletic H L 1-2 It might be hard for some of our younger readers, or anyone else for that matter, to believe, but just over a decade ago Oldham were holding their own with the big boys in the top flight, reaching two FA Cup semi-finals against Man Utd and the League Cup final against Nottingham Forest, all under the management of Joe Royle. Promoted to the old First Division in 1991, the club lasted 3 years in the top-flight, including two years in the newly formed Premiership, before finally succumbing to the realities of the new money-orientated era that the Premiership ushered in. After their years of glory, Oldham took the path that was to be followed by many clubs throughout the 90's and beyond. Relegation followed, as did the obligatory financial woes and manager/player departures. A couple of seasons struggling in the second tier of the League were followed by relegation to League 1 in 1997 where they remain to this day. Oldham's well-publicised financial woes were eased when a rescue deal was put together in 2003 to save the club from liquidation. This didn't stop manager Ian Dowie leaving to join Crystal Palace however, and it would have been interesting to see where Dowie could have taken the Latics under less disruptive circumstances. The rescue in 2003 wasn't the end of their problems, with financial uncertainty casting doubts over the future direction of the club. They didn't have to wait long though, and their troubles were eased when a three-man consortium took over the club in February 2004, paid off the clubs debts and set about rebuilding the club again. The Oldham fans obviously feel a great deal of gratitude towards the US-based businessmen who now own the club, but non-local business consortiums don't have a good track record within football, so maybe there should be some caution for the future, given that the consortium will surely be looking for a return on their investment? One of the new owners, Simon Corney, an Arsenal fan (his fellow directors support Chelsea) has stated: "We have shown our commitment and we would like fans to respond. We would like to see crowds of 8 to 9,000 in the not too distant future because we need to be running at a profit." Whilst these are sensible words and aspirations, is there cause for concern if Plan A does not bear fruit? will the new owners stick around if things don't go to plan? Whilst funding plenty of signings on the pitch, the new owners have also been looking into the possibility of building a new stadium elsewhere in the area, but have failed to find a suitable place. The likelihood now is the redevelopment of Boundary Park over the coming decade. Oldham's time at League 1 level has been mainly a time of struggle, both on and off the pitch, but the club did attain two consecutive top 10 finishes in 2002 and 2003. In 2003m under the guidance of Ian Dowie, the club reached the play-offs despite the increasing financial uncertainty surrounding the club. Last season the Latics finished in a disappointing 19th place. They started the season with Swans target Andy Burgess' father-in-law Brain 'Call me dad, Andy' Talbot in charge, but a poor run in the New Year, including seven straight defeats, saw Talbot sacked, and replaced by former Rotherham manager Ronnie Moore. Moore is held in high regard by Swansea fans for getting welsh disaster club Cardiff City to add another £1,000,000 in borrowed money to their huge debt by exchanging said sum for Irish madman Alan Lee whilst Moore was in charge of the Millers. Cardiff are currently desperately trying to offload Lee and his massive wage. Good work Ronnie. Whilst the league campaign offered little to shout about, the FA Cup provided a famous occasion for the Latics, with victory over Manchester City in the 3rd round. Struggling in the league at the time, Oldham beat Kevin Keegan's City by a single Scott Vernon goal - his sixth in nine starts at the time. Athletic fared slightly worse in the League Cup however, getting mashed 6-0 by Spurs. Oldham were not safe from the drop until the final day of the season, despite the goal-scoring exploits of on-loan striker Luke Beckett. Moore knew that changes had to be made if the club were to be competing in the right half of the division this season, and boy has he made changes! Having been allowed by their bank to have a cheque book and debit card again, manager Ronnie Moore has been busy trying to bolster his side's attack with bids of £150,000 for former loan player Luke Beckett and £100,000 for former Swan Nathan Tyson. The club have been linked with almost every striker under the sun recently, including Chris Greenacre, Jamie Cureton and Scott Taylor as well as Tyson and Beckett. Having failed to land Beckett on a permanent transfer, Moore has finally ended the saga by securing Beckett's services on a year-long loan deal from Sheffield United, with the deal likely to be made permanent at the end of the season. Moore has been the busiest of all League 1 gaffers, making a signing on average every 5.8 hours. Moore's legion of signings includes Gareth Owen, Ritchie Wellens, Chris Porter and former swans target Terrel Forbes. Along with securing the services of Beckett, Moore's best summer signing has been that of former Wigan attacker Andy Liddell. The club's most recent signing is 34-year-old defender Chris Swailes, signed on a free transfer from Moore's old club Rotherham. Moore may well have signed a few more players in the time it takes to commit this article to the internet, so please consult the Latics' official site for the latest batch of players. All this activity means that it will be a much revamped Oldham Athletic team that lines up this season, whether all the new players gel into a side that can mount a promotion challenge is anybody's guess. It may be asking too much for a newly assembled squad to get promoted, but Moore has done it before at Rotherham, and certainly knows what it tales to get a team promoted. Some readers may be aware that some opposition fans have waged a campaign to urge supporters to boycott Boundary Park this season after the club, making use of a new Football League regulation before the ink was dry on the paper, have placed a £22 price tag on a seat in the away end. Even though away fans on average pay more to attend anyway given the travelling costs, the club have put the prices up claiming the facilities are the best in the ground (something I have no reason to deny). At the end of the day, Oldham can charge what they want, but surely they should be encouraging fans to come instead of seeking every opportunity to put the price up for what used to be known as Third Division football? As a Huddersfield fan said: "£22 to see a team with Delroy Facey in it is absolutely disgraceful".

They will finish: 14th (Prediction achieved by throwing a dart at the league table).

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