When Oldham Athletic beat Southend United in the National League playoffs in June, it was about more than just promotion for them. It was the culmination of a journey that brought them back from the brink. After 115 years in the EFL, Oldham were the first former Premier League club to fall out of it. They had endured years of troubles on and off the pitch, and only looked to be going in one direction – down.
But three factors saved Oldham and got them back into the EFL. I’ll go through each of them below.
Change Of Ownership
The Latics’ troubles started when they were bought by former football agent Abdallah Lemsagam in 2018. The Moroccan swept in on a wave of cautious optimism, promising success, but on a budget.
‘The immediate priority is to go step-by-step in the league,’ he told the BBC. ‘We’re not dishing out cash left and right. We’re here to do good work for the future. I don’t want to promise to say I can do things straight away. I’m happy to be here, I think I can do something good.’
For the fans, anything was better than the status quo. Oldham had been hit by a number of winding-up orders in the previous couple of years before the takeover, and their ground was raided by HMRC in November 2017.
However, Lemsagam’s reign didn’t get off to a good start. Oldham were relegated to League Two at the end of his first season in charge. Things didn’t get any better over the next few years. Relegation exacerbated the club’s financial issues, and they had the lowest budget in League Two. They also received a transfer embargo and were late paying staff and bills. This caused ructions with the players, resulting in some being frozen out and made to train with the youth team.
Lemsagam went through a string of managers. When he sacked his ninth manager, Keith Curle in November 2021, the fans had had enough. To try and force Lemsagam to sell the club they organised protests,which included pitch invasions, throwing tennis balls on to the pitch during matches, and even a mock funeral. Finally, Lemsagam put the club up for sale both as a result of the protests, and after he and his brother Mohamed, the sporting director, received death threats and a bullet in the post.
He sold the club in July 2022 to Frank Rothwell, a local businessman. The Latics were in a terrible state. They had been relegated to the National League the previous season, but Rothwell bought some hope back. Not only did he buy the club, but also the stadium, Boundary Park, which was owned by previous Latics owner Simon Blitz. This action prevented the club going bust. He appointed Darren Royle – son of club legend Joe Royle – as CEO.
Rothwell started his tenure in spectacular fashion, leading a brass band to the stadium before the club’s first home game of the season. He was determined to bring the good times back to Oldham, and with the Latics’ promotion, he has certainly done that.
Appointing Micky Mellon
Oldham got off to a bumpy start under Rothwell. Their manager was John Sheridan, a club legend in his fourth spell as manager. Sheridan was in charge when they were relegated, and Oldham started the season poorly. He left the club by mutual consent in September 2022, and David Unsworth was appointed that same month.He took the club to a 12th place finish, but it didn’t last. He was sacked early the next season, after a run of one win in nine league games. But Rothwell never stopped believing that Oldham could get promoted. All they needed was the right manager.
Rothwell appointed Micky Mellon, the former Fleetwood and Tranmere boss, in October. This turned out to be a masterstroke. The Scot was a promotion specialist, having been promoted five times with three different clubs, including back-to-back promotions with Tranmere.
He transformed Oldham’s playing style, making them hard to beat and defensively disciplined, and added pace to their attack by bringing in the likes of full back Jake Caprice.
Mellon said: ‘I wanted to try and get some pace into the wide areas and build it around what we believed would help us to try to win games from the group that we inherited.’
His philosophy paid off, as Oldham finished tenth in 2023/24, before going on to beat Southend 3-2 in thatthrilling play-off final last season.
Fan Power
Its no exaggeration to say that Oldham wouldn’t be where they are today without their fans. As well as supporting their team through the dark times, they also worked to publicise Oldham’s plight during the Lemsagam years.
This was done by three supporters groups: the Oldham Athletic Supporters Foundation (OASF), Push the Boundary, and the Athleticos.
The OASF own a 3% stake in the club, and they worked to bring fans together to try and launch a takeover of the club. Some fans were a little sceptical, given the OASF’s role on the board, but the group worked to gain support and, as a Football Supporters Association member, they were able to put pressure on Lemsagam to sell up.
Push The Boundary were formed in October 2019 and were the first supporters group to publicly call for Lemsagam to sell up, and to organise protests. At first, their views were in the minority and they had to canvass their fellow fans to gain support. But the publicity that the protests gained drew attention to the club’s plight,ultimately bringing about change.
The Athleticos, made up mainly of the younger sections of the Latics support, were responsible for the disruptive protests, like pitch invasions and boycotts. The frequency of these protests, and the attention they drew,played a role in persuading Lemsagam to sell. The Athleticos are credited with keeping morale high in the stadium with their use of tifos and flags, which encouraged fans to keep attending matches during the bad times.
Rothwell understands the importance of the supporters and has forged a connection with them, watching games in the stands alongside them and appearing on fan podcasts.
