David Cameron Walker

Archive for the ‘Oldham Athletic’ Category

The Pancake Blues

Sunday, February 12th, 2012

February is that time of year when the majority of New Years Resolutions have bitten the dust, the decadence of Christmas and New Year has disappeared into the distant past and all there is to look forward to is a commercial celebration of chocolate and stuffed toys and a strange egg and flour based feast.

For some this is masked by continuing success on the football pitch. Cup runs and promotion campaigns have the capacity to brighten the darkest of winters. Not for Oldham Athletic fans though. Discarded with the gym memberships this year were the dreams of Wembley and a season with consequences outliving the snow.

Upon wakening from the almighty hangover caused by watching forty-seven chances created over 180 minutes yield just one goal against a particularly feeble Chesterfield side, both managed by a former player and manager and consisting of no less than three former players, it became clear that the Latics’ season has taken a turn for the concerning.

With just one league goal scored and one point gained since the 3-2 win over Notts County on New Year’s Eve, it is becoming apparent that something needs to be done to prevent a repeat of last seasons February and March barren streak.

This situation has disconcerting echoes of that terrible two month spell at the beginning of 2011. The defence is reasonably tight – young stopper James Tarkowski having recently been compared by Paul Dickov to a young Richard Dunne  – presumably a compliment, though one could argue otherwise. The creative areas of the field seem in good health too, with plenty of chances being carved by a combination of Chris Taylor, Robbie Simpson and the resurgent Filipe Morais.

What is lacking is that most fundamental of requirements: goals. Those optimism tinged days of the early Autumn when Shefki Kuqi and Robbie Simpson were dovetailing beautifully to supply the goals are a long way off now, and thoughts are turning to a potential late arrival to the relegation battle.

These thoughts may belong to the pessimists but it is clear that manager Paul Dickov needs to do something to get his young side firing and away from from danger. The loan system is often the first port of call when attempting to remedy such a situation, occasionally with fantastic results: the signing of Simpson being a case in point. It isn’t a perfect solution though, and it is hard to believe Dickov would be keen on pitching what would undoubtedly be a fairly green loanee into a squad largely consisting of players already lacking in experience.

This would point to a change of shape or focus within the team. Not an ideal situation, but in Kuqi, Simpson and the soon to return Reuben Reid Latics have the personnel to provide goals.

Dickov’s task, one of the toughest yet in his embryonic career, is to help them do so.

It is when handed assignments such as this more than when the goals and points are flowing free that fans and boards alike can truly assess their managers. From now until May Paul Dickov’s moves will be assessed very carefully as the board decide whether he is the man they want at the helm in August for the dawn of the 2012/2013 season.

Written by Christopher Platt, We Are Going Up’s Oldham Athletic Blogger

Chris tweets at @chrisbradman

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Into the Liver Bird’s nest

Sunday, January 1st, 2012

In many ways last Thursday morning was a microcosm of life as a Latics fan. A 6:30am alarm call saw me at Boundary Park for 7:00, where I, along with over a thousand others, queued for hours in the interminable wind and rain to get my hands on a ticket for Friday’s FA Cup third round game at Anfield.

Oldham Athletic supporters, indeed football supporters in general, are the worlds sickest masochists. Who else would put themselves through the weather conditions this corner of Lancashire can throw at you in December – causing two supporters to leave the queue with hypothermia – to ensure their presence at a game all and sundry will assure you is to end in emphatic defeat?

This madness is all part of the pursuit of fleeting moments of joy, such as this weekend’s late win over Notts County. After Boxing Day’s dire showing in the 1-0 defeat to then-managerless Hartlepool United one could have been forgiven for thinking Latics would struggle to score, let alone win for the rest of the season. Yet Paul Dickov’s side responded well to their festive setback, with Filipe Morais and Zander Diamond grabbing the goals that turned the Magpies’ 2-1 lead into a 3-2 home win.

This is not the first time Dickov’s side have bounced back in this manner. It has been a sign of the excellent never-say-die spirit in the Boundary Park changing room that following this season’s most disappointing set backs there have been positive results. A 4-1 thumping at Colchester United prompted a run of four games unbeaten, two consecutive defeats to Brentford and Exeter City were followed by unexpected victories over Scunthorpe United and MK Dons, plus a 2-0 home reverse to Bury was the catalyst for an unbeaten six game run featuring four victories.

So back to Anfield, where this spirit will be required in buckets – nay, tankers – when Latics travel along the M62 on Friday to meet their illustrious Premier League opponents. Whilst Oldham’s recent form has been patchy and key midfielder James Wesolowski is a doubt for the game Liverpool are due to welcome back their own midfield powerhouse Steven Gerrard. Whilst usually one would expect the Reds’ inspirational leader to sit out a game against lowly League One opponents it seems likely he will start in an effort to get minutes under his belt to prepare him for the second half of the season.

A look at the names on the team sheet the last time Liverpool played League One opposition earlier in the season at Exeter indicate that Gerrard is unlikely to be the only big name facing Dean Furman and his colleagues on Friday. Pepe Reina, Charlie Adam, Maxi Rodrigues and Luis Suarez all played that night, so it seems reasonable to expect Oldham to face a similar line up.

This may all seem rather daunting, but it is worth remembering one thing – on Friday some bookmakers had Blackburn at 20-1 to win at Old Trafford, with Latics at 14-1 to come away from Anfield with a win. As Rovers proved the bookmakers aren’t always right. Liverpool may be welcoming back Steven Gerrard, but Dickov can call upon Shefki Kuqi, Chris Taylor and Dean Furman with a sell-out 6,100 away following to spur them on. Whatever the result, it should be a night to remember.

Written by Christopher Platt, We Are Going Up’s Oldham Athletic Blogger

Chris tweets at @chrisbradman

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Good Times Around The Corner

Tuesday, December 6th, 2011

As we roll into December and towards the busy Christmas period Oldham Athletic’s season looks rather disconcertingly like turning into a pretty good one.

The glitter of a Johnstone’s Paint Trophy Northern Semi-Final spot and a potential FA Cup 3rd round tie at Anfield currently embellish the bricks & mortar of a league campaign that sees Paul Dickov’s ever improving side in the pelaton loitering outside the League One play-off zone looking to be the team that breaks away in the new year.

The last month has seen a run of four potentially season making or breaking home games turn out surprisingly well. Despite getting off to a disappointing start with a home defeat to Bury – having been a man down for eighty minutes – Latics clicked into gear and booked their places in the JPT area semi & the FA Cup 2nd Round with 3-1 victories over Crewe & Burton respectively. The Boundary Park lock-in was then wrapped up with a commanding 5-2 defeat of Chesterfield, a performance one can only hope is a mark of things to come when the league campaign reaches crunch time in 2012.

One deciding factor in continuing this impressive form could be whether Dickov can tie down the man who’s hat-trick was the highlight of that shellacking of the Spireites. When Robbie Simpson came in on loan from Huddersfield Town the fans’ welcome was at best lukewarm, but his performances since have transformed him from underwhelming loanee into a key part of the Oldham team & the number one target for a permanent transfer come the January window.

The goalscoring exploits of Shefki Kuqi have understandably overshadowed Simpson’s arrival but for a number of the 12 goals he has plundered he owes a debt to Simpson, who currently tops the League One assist charts with seven. By his own admission the goals haven’t come as frequently as anticipated but Simpson’s hat-trick took him to a useful four for the season. He has also threatened often, creating numerous openings for his team mates with his clever running and bountiful reserves of energy.

Just two games of the forward’s loan deal remain, allowing him the chance to fire Latics into the Northern Final of the JPT and to a victory in the Roses clash with Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday. Athletic will then be without their primary provider of goals for the remainder of December: a period that includes that crucial FA Cup replay against Southend. Fortunately it is looking increasingly likely that come January a permanent move could be in the offing for the unassuming winger.

However that is a whole month away. A month in which Latics can move to within one round of a first Wembley appearance since 1994 and into the FA Cup 3rd round for the first time since 2007/08. A month in which we will find out the answer to the question: Will Robbie Simpson make his 2nd Latics debut on January 7th at Boundary Park  against Colchester… or at Anfield?

Written by Christopher Platt, We Are Going Up’s Oldham Athletic Blogger

Chris tweets at @chrisbradman

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Three-sided fortress?

Thursday, November 3rd, 2011

Some weeks in football are best described as simply a bit daft. After a routine 2-0 home win over Wycombe, Paul Dickov’s Oldham Athletic headed off for two consecutive away games. They packed up the kit, the half time jelly babies, even the box that Dickov stands on to look Jean-Yves M’voto in the eye. The one thing they left piled up at the side of the road outside Boundary Park was their senses.

After seeing out a professional home victory against a struggling team, the boys in blue travelled to Deepdale ready to entertain. Half an hour into the game one could question exactly who they were trying to entertain. It certainly wasn’t the travelling 1,310 Latics fans as Preston raced into a two goal lead with both goals scored within four minutes. By half time however the away following were much happier when their side emulated Preston’s lightning quick double salvo to make the score 2-2.

There were rapidly increased heart rates, profuse sweating & raucous renditions of numerous Latics chants at half time. And that just from me in my front room.

Forty-five minutes later, after a comical goal put Latics behind again & a thunderous late strike from James Wesolowski salvaged a point the Oldham fans went home delighted, convinced they’d witnessed the thriller of the season.

That was until Saturday anyway. Carlisle versus Oldham at Brunton Park. Now I don’t think in my decade following Latics I’ve ever known them to beat Carlisle, particularly in Cumbria. So you can imagine the surprise when the away team race into a three goal lead. The Cumbrians pulled a goal back before half time but it was still just a simple job to keep hold of the lead and take the points in the second half.

Apparently not. In a carbon copy of last season’s corresponding fixture Ivorian Francois Zoko popped up to snatch a draw deep into injury time. 3-3. Again.

This time the 3-3 felt like a defeat. If you’ll forgive the use of a tired platitude it was two points lost rather than two gained.

November, though, is a new month. A month that starts with a Lancashire ding-dong when Bury visit Boundary Park on Saturday. The Shakers have been in indifferent form of late and their struggle to keep clean sheets combined with Latics’ eight goals in three games might fool you into thinking this could be a goal-fest.

You’d be wrong though. And not only because I’ll be attending. This Latics team – indeed any Latics team since the early days of John Sheridan’s reign, if not the height of Iain Dowie’s tenure – simply do not seem to enjoy playing at home.

Home wins in recent years have invariably been hard earned and workmanlike, with a number of surprising away results coming from a team playing with a distinctly superior sense of freedom. The last week has shown this, with a comfortable yet somewhat flat home victory being followed by two exciting games yielding six goals. Admittedly the defence hasn’t been too solid and the whole team collapsed at Brunton Park, but despite this the team still appear to be more comfortable away from the OL postcode.

The reasons for this division are debatable. Some might argue that a three sided ground isn’t the most welcoming environment to play in. However I see that as the exact reason Boundary Park should be a fortress that visiting teams should dread and be keen to get away from as quickly as possible. Others, including myself, argue that there is a negative atmosphere that emanates from the home support, with more angry cat-calling than encouraging chanting & singing. There’s nothing wrong with negativity per se, but it is to see how a blizzard of boos & cries of  “get on with it you dozy sod” can motivate a set of grown men into playing at a higher level.

Maybe it will just take one performance. Maybe an early goal, followed by another couple to round off a comprehensive win complete with a clean sheet would satisfy those fans with a penchant for negativity and make them think twice before they next tell a player just how his grandmother could tackle better. Only time will tell.

This is certainly the right time to tell, as the Latics embark on a sequence of four consecutive winnable home games. Bury, Crewe, Burton Albion & Chesterfield will all come to Boundary Park with the belief that a point would be a decent result and in turn Paul Dickov will tell his team that each of them are beatable.

A win in all four is slightly unrealistic. However four points and a place in the draw for both the FA Cup 2nd round and the Johnstones Paint Trophy Northern Semi-Final is surely not. I’m convinced that is the least Dickov will demand, however it will take an improvement in home form for that target to be realised.

Written by Christopher Platt, We Are Going Up’s Oldham Athletic Blogger

Chris tweets at @chrisbradman

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Wembley Calling or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying & Love the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy

Saturday, October 1st, 2011

Gift Horses. A wise man once said you should never look one in the mouth. It’s hard to ascertain where this unusual idiom originated, though a quick internet search suggests it stems from the theory that you can tell a lot about a horse from the condition of its teeth. It doesn’t matter. What does matter is that I believe I have found the ideal use for the phrase, and that is when referring to the chance to lift a trophy in a Wembley cup final by playing just seven games against teams of a standard no higher than League One.

Yes, the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy is here again. ‘Isn’t it a little late?’ I hear you cry. Well yes, that is because a first round bye has put Oldham Athletic into the second round for the first time since 2007.

That’s a long time, and its been a long time because the JPT is treated as something of a Mickey Mouse cup. It should really be to League One clubs what the FA Cup is to Premier League clubs. Clubs such as Oldham should be desperately trying to win this competition just as clubs such as Sunderland, Everton, Stoke & Newcastle should be gunning for the FA Cup, yet they don’t seem to bother.

So why is this?

The answer is fairly obvious & is the same as that cited by Sir Alex Ferguson & his fellow Premier League managers: there are simply too many games to play a first choice team in every game in every competition. Now this is a fair point, but why, in that case, do League One managers insist on putting out first choice teams in the early rounds of a competition they have little chance of winning: The FA Cup ?

The answer to that question is just as easy to come by, and it’s one that answers all too many questions in football: money. An FA Cup run is seen as more profitable – and certainly more prestigious - than a JPT triumph

The financial argument is a sound one. The winners of the Johnst0ne’s Paint Trophy can expect to receive somewhere in the region of £75,000 prize money plus gate receipts. Nothing to be sniffed at, you might say. That is until you take a look at the FA Cup pot. Last season a League One club reaching the third round would have pocketed £45,000 in a prize money, with the potential cash jackpot of a tie at a Premier League club bringing a further quarter of a million in TV money & upto £400,000 in gate receipts. Not a bad return for two victories.

However as John Lennon & his scouse pals sang: money can’t buy you love. And I can’t be the only man who, after watching their team trudge around in the lower leagues for fifteen years, would love a trip to Wembley. A trip to Wembley to see my team represent my town at the national stadium. Surely that would beat a fairytale cup adventure, regardless of what the media will have you believe.

Since relegation to the third tier in 1997 Latics have had their share of memorable cup runs. A win at Goodison Park sticks in the memory, as do the visits of pre-oil Chelsea & Manchester City to Boundary Park, the latter being sent packing by a solitary Scott Vernon goal.

Look where they got us. Those ties undoubtedly brought in a small fortune, yet still the Oldham fans have seen no silverware, no promotion & no big day out.

It’s worth pointing out that I adore the FA Cup. It is without doubt the greatest domestic cup competition in the world, consistently throwing up new tales of triumph over adversity, David vs Goliath battles & redemption. But for all the romance it just doesn’t provide us lower league fans with anything tangible. Giant killings of the past may live long in the memory on DVDs & on YouTube, but that’s all. The trophy cupboard remains bare. I am convinced that even the most sceptical of fans would be jumping with delight if they saw their team lift that big trophy at Wembley.

For all my eulogising about this potential trip to Wembley I could be accused of avoiding the elephant in the room. There is another trip to Wembley up for grabs. League One alone will have around 10-12 clubs clamouring for a play-off spot come May, each hopeful of not only seeing their club lift silverware but also to gain promotion out of this God-forsaken division. The hard facts though are that this is a very difficult task: it takes consistency. To achieve promotion via the play-offs a club must consistently be amongst the best six teams in the league for forty-six games over nine months, before then winning a three-match, four-team cup competition in May. That is forty-nine games! All the JPT asks is seven games, with no prospect of extra time or replays.

Its fair to say then that I consider the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy a worthy constituent of the domestic calender. I fear however that as usual the team selections, attendances & results this week will cast me in a minority. Still one hopes that at least one manager & his team from a windy corner of Lancashire see the light as they travel to Lincolnshire to take on Scunthorpe United this Tuesday evening. After all, those gift horses don’t come along too often.

Written by Christopher Platt, We Are Going Up’s Oldham Athletic Blogger

Chris tweets at @chrisbradman

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Kuqi Coup

Monday, September 5th, 2011


At six minutes past three on Saturday Boundary Park witnessed the infamous Shefki Kuqi ‘swallow dive’ goal celebration for what will hopefully be the first of many times. Although his early header was not enough to win the game, it did go towards securing a very respectable draw with Trans Pennine rivals Huddersfield Town, who extended their unbeaten league run (minus the play-off final) to an impressive 31 games dating back to December last year. The Latics had been at something of a low ebb in the past week, the 4-1 hammering at Colchester last Saturday taking the wind out of the sails of the club’s recent resurgence. However the late arrival of Kuqi on deadline day has caught the imagination of the Boundary Park faithful.

Kuqi’s arrival is certainly something of a coup. The experienced front man was plying his trade in the Premier League with Newcastle United last season, after previously speaking to Dickov about a move to Oldham during the January transfer window. When the Toon’s interest became clear Kuqi gave Dickov his word that should he later drop into the lower divisions Boundary Park would be his first port of call. He proved true to his word as despite better offers from Championship and League One clubs, he joined up with his old Blackburn team mate to try to provide the firepower that has been sorely missed in Oldham since the departure of Pawel Abbott at the end of the 2009/10 season.

It is not just goals that Kuqi will bring to the club. He is a respected professional who is willing to give all he can to the game. Despite having no club Kuqi has done a full pre-season at former club Crystal Palace and, upon confirming his move to Oldham on Wednesday evening, he immediately set off up north, driving through the night in order to train on Thursday morning ahead of Saturday’s game. It is this professionalism that Dickov hopes will rub off on his young squad, who have until now been lacking a more experienced figure to look up to.

It is the forward line that one hopes Kuqi can contribute to most. The young strikers that have started the season as the first choice pairing, Reuben Reid and Matt Smith, are both lads of a similar build to Kuqi who will surely benefit from training with someone who can pass on the dark arts of the bustling centre forward.

The next challenge for Dickov’s men is the visit of Stevenage to Boundary Park for the inaugural meeting of the two clubs. In their adopted role of League One gate-keeper Latics have an impressive history of acting the jolly hostess; Yeovil Town, Rushden & Dagenham all leaving Boundary Park with points on their first visit  in recent years.

With this idiosyncrasy discounted however, Latics must surely be confident of a win as Dickov’s team gradually takes shape. Under his stewardship chances have always been created, so with Kuqi now on board some of those chances should lead to goals. The defence, having looked shaky during the first few games, also now appears to have settled, with summer signing Zander Diamond leading from the back having taken the captaincy in the absence of Dean Furman. The midfield is the main unknown for now, with loan signing Tom Adeyemi looking to make Furman’s position his own. Having performed solidly against Huddersfield on Saturday he will be looking to grow in influence over the coming weeks as Latics face clubs expected to occupy a similar position to themselves come the end of the season.

Written by Christopher Platt, We Are Going Up’s Oldham Athletic Blogger

Chris tweets at @chrisbradman

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A Rivalry Rekindled

Wednesday, August 17th, 2011

Finally we can breath a sigh of relief. After returning from Somerset having suffered a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Yeovil Town, Latics travelled over to Lincolnshire, where a spectacular goal from David Mellor (not that one) on his full debut laid the foundations of a 2-1 win over Scunthorpe United.

Athletic will now look to put a sluggish first week of the season behind them and kick on with a derby win against Rochdale on Saturday.

Last season the two teams’ first league meetings for thirty-six years resulted in Rochdale, the minnows in this part of Lancashire for so many years, taking the bragging rights with a win at Boundary Park after a 1-1 draw at Spotland. I was told recently that Dale’s big derby this year will in fact be against Bury, but I defy any Rochdale supporter to claim a win against Oldham would be just another three points. After all, January’s 2-1 victory at Boundary Park was their first League win over Latics since 1962.

Maybe this perceived indifference is as a result of the rivalry laying dormant for years, until a Carling Cup tie in August 2008 was won on penalties by Athletic. This game was a poignant occasion as it came just a month after Ernie Cooksey, a favourite of both sets of fans, passed away having been diagnosed with malignant melanoma. This emotionally charged event seemed to rekindle a friendly rivalry between the two clubs which had been restricted to meaningless pre-season friendlies for the previous thirty-four years.

In the intervening years the Boundary Park faithful have been forced to look elsewhere for somewhere to direct their rancour. Huddersfield Town & Leeds United have been the most recent targets due to the traditional trans-Pennine hostility, with some feisty clashes adding to the allure. A manufactured rivalry with Tranmere has also persisted in recent years, with little reason other than former Latics manager Ronnie Moore’s spell at Prenton Park. Delving further back in time, to the early 1990s in fact, Athletic were at a level where they could conceivably claim a rivalry with Manchester United. A long held distaste (and dare I say jealousy) of our more illustrious neighbours was combined with a series of Premier League meetings – and defeats – topped off with not one but two contentious FA Cup Semi Finals, both of which ended in defeat, heartbreak & bitterness for Latics.

The one with Dale, however, is a classic football rivalry. A rivalry between two teams from bordering mill towns, where opposition fans work side by side, hoping for the bragging rights come Monday morning. Both clubs now work with similar resources towards the same aim: firstly to stay in the division, then to exit it in an upwards trajectory. This is a rivalry where the only way to claim superiority is by beating the other; firstly over ninety minutes & secondly over the course of forty-six league games.

The first of those ninety minutes could tell a lot about Latics’ coming season. The rustiness of the first three games should hopefully be shaken off after the win at Glanford Park, and with Rochdale seemingly struggling to get into a rhythm this looks to be an ideal opportunity to grab back to back league wins and surge ever closer to that magical fifty points mark.

Written by Christopher Platt, We Are Going Up’s Oldham Athletic Blogger

Chris tweets at @chrisbradman

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Half-Time Nap-Time

Thursday, August 11th, 2011

So after four days of the 2011/12 season, what have we learnt? Unsurprisingly, not a great deal. League One seasons invariably take time to take shape as we have little idea who will be fighting to leave & stay in the division until closer to Christmas. It is a relatively safe bet, however, that Sheffield United will be one of Latics’ sterner tests at Boundary Park this season.

On the face of it it was a test they failed. Having remained toe to toe with the Blades for the first half, Athletic’s perennial weakness at set pieces saw them fall behind shortly after the break when Harry McGuire headed home from a corner. From that point on the team lost their shape and to the ire of Paul Dickov several heads dropped, resulting in a second goal being scrambled six minutes later by Richard Cresswell.

However Dickov was keen not to linger on the negatives, pointing out that Latics had the better chances, simply failing to make the most of them – a feature of the 2010/11 season lingering on into 2011/12. Whilst rumours abound that a striker will be signed to remedy this problem the only new arrival this week was James Wesolowski, signed on a free from Peterborough having made 39 appearances in midfield as the Posh were promoted to the Championship via the play-offs in May.

Wesolowski was thrown straight into the team to play Carlisle in the League Cup first round as Zander Diamond issued a rallying cry for Latics to end their terrible run in cup games, having not won a cup tie since the FA Cup win at Goodison Park in 2007. This rallying cry fell on deaf ears as the public of Oldham seemingly eshewed the opportunity to watch live cup football in favour of kicking over bins & shouting at police, with a crowd of just 1,786 witnessing yet another cup run end before the pies got cold.

The game seemed to follow an all too familiar pattern, as Latics edged the first half, going ahead through Reuben Reid’s penalty, only for all their hard work to be discarded with the orange peel at half time as the Cumbrians were allowed to play their way back into the second half. Jon-Paul McGovern’s well taken free kick shortly before the hour was enough to take the game to extra-time, although Matty Smith almost put Athletic through late on as he hit the bar from a Taylor cross. Both sides then had their chances to win the tie in extra time before Carlisle prevailed in the penalty shootout.

The exit, although disappointing, is no great catastrophe. More concerning is the manner of the defeat as a solid first half that should have laid the foundations of a win was allowed to drift into a draw and ultimately a penalty shoot-out defeat. All too often Dickov’s side have performed well in the first half, only to stink the place out in the second forty-five.

It’s hard to put your finger on the reason for this, though the lack of experience in the side may have something to do with it. Alternatively one might argue that it is simply because the players are not good enough to put two good halves together, but surely the squad (and that of previous seasons) is no worse than the majority of the rest of the league, and they seem to manage it.

If Dickov does find the solution a fruitful season could be ahead, as his team has shown before that when they play well, they are a match for the best in the league. However like the little girl with a curl, when they are bad they are horrid.

Huish Park will be the next place for Dickov to find that elusive second half performance as his team take on Yeovil Town. The trip to the Glovers, who Latics haven’t beaten in their last six attempts, signals the start of a testing week for Latics in which they face another away trip to face Scunthorpe United & the much anticipated home derby against Rochdale.

It will be crucial for Latics to get their first points of the season on the board from those two away games in order to settle the nerves for what is sure to be an engaging derby. Dale took all three points at Boundary Park last term, ultimately finishing nine places and twelve points ahead of Oldham. Little short of an embarrassment for a club competing in the Premier League just 17 -years ago whilst their neighbours languished in Division Three. Dickov will be keen to get a result to placate the fans and restore the natural order in this small corner of Lancashire.

Written by Christopher Platt, We Are Going Up’s Oldham Athletic Blogger

Chris tweets at @chrisbradman

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Can You Win Anything With Kids?

Saturday, July 30th, 2011


So here we are, a new season is creeping up on us and it’s time to asses our clubs’ chances of success in the coming nine months. Over the summer players have come and gone, in some cases managers have trodden the same path, and the twenty four League One squads are beginning to take shape. Down at Boundary Park these changes have given the supporters little cause for excitement, though at the same time no evident reason to panic.

We have an energetic and enthusiastic young manager in Paul Dickov, who has maintained the support of the vast majority of the fans even in the throes of last season’s dire February and March which saw four points picked up in twelve games, with just three goals scored. However we have a team that echoes Dickov’s inexperience, and this inexperience could well be the defining factor in Latics season.

This inexperience is demonstrated by the fact that the senior member of the team expected to start the league opener against Sheffield United on August 6th will be 26-year-old new boy Zander Diamond – whilst the eldest member, by some distance, of the whole first team squad is 30-year old Warren Feeney.

As we learnt last season, a young squad such as this has the potential to provide us with moments of brilliance inspired by their youthful exuberance, exemplified by Dean Furman’s crashing drive finishing off a scintilating spell of one & two touch passing at home to Notts County that won the midfielder the Football League Goal of the Year Award.

However when the going gets tough they can struggle, as we saw during last year’s 12 game barren run when the whole team (particularly the rookie strikeforce) simply did not know how to deal with such poor form as more experienced heads may have.

That’s not to say, however, that this Oldham team lacks experience in terms of league appearances. Mercurial winger Chris Taylor has made 204 league appearances for the club, becoming an indispensible member of the team in the five years since he inspired an unlikely 3-0 home victory against Nottingham Forest on his debut as a 19 year old. Indeed Taylor has taken the captaincy on a number of occasions, an honour which some would argue has brought his game to another level.

The man with the armband this season will be Dean Furman, having been given the responsibility following Reuben Hazell’s departure over the summer. South African Furman is a fine example of a lower league phenomenom: the former trainee of a ‘big club’ who leaves for first team football and more responsibility at an early age. In Furman’s case the big club was Rangers, and the added responsibility the captaincy after just two full seasons at the age of 23. At the back is another former ‘big club’ trainee in 23 year old Kieran Lee: former Manchester United reserve team captain & one of the first names on the team sheet having started all but three games last season.

The team has the ability, on their day, to rip apart any League One team with the crisp passing ethic that Dickov has impressed upon them. However when things aren’t going their way we’ve seen that they have the mental fragility to crumble, as evidenced in 0-6 & 0-5 home defeats to Southampton and Peterborough respectively in 2010/11.

I refer back to last season repeatedly as unusually in our time at this level we look likely to start the season fielding much the same team as ended the last. So far the only notable additions are 22-year-old ‘keeper Alex Cisak, 21-year-old towering striker Matt Smith (who spent last season combining studying for his degree with bagging 12 goals in 14 appearances for Solihull Moors) and the aforementioned Zander Diamond. All three will be expected to make a significant contribution in their first season.

This method of incrementally building a squad is not a luxury often afforded to lower league managers –  who simply aren’t given enough time, but that’s a subject for another day -  so it remains to be seen whether the addition of just two promising youngsters and a proven SPL centre-half will be enough to keep Athletic away from the drop zone, never mind propel them towards the outskirts of the play-offs.

One thing is for sure: the few hardy souls who regularly make the trip down Sheepfoot Lane to Boundary Park will be entertained, frustrated and angered in equal measure over the next 9 months… and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Written by Christopher Platt, We Are Going Up’s Oldham Athletic Blogger

Chris tweets at @chrisbradman

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