Oldham Athletic have sold just 1,800 tickets thus far ahead of their clash with Rochdale this Saturday.
Saturday 29th November 2014 saw the meeting of Rochdale and Oldham Athletic at Spotland. Sitting pretty in the higher echelons of the table, both sides had made an impressive start to the season and were neck and neck just two points outside the play-off places. While calling the two clubs ‘rivals’ would be a bit of a stretch, with just six miles and a six goal difference separating them, it was an encounter that certainly whetted the appetite. Indeed this was reflective of the travelling Oldham faithful. Latics sold out their 3,200 allocation a month before the game and with Rochdale allowing ‘pay-on-the-day’, some Oldham fans made base in the home end likely pushing the real figure closer to 3,500. The short journey north was certainly made worth it for the travelling fans as Oldham won 3-0 to ensure that they’d enter December in the play-off spots. Fast forward 11 months and the story is somewhat bleaker for League One’s longest inhabitants.
What was meant to be a result that rubber-stamped Oldham’s play-off credentials turned into the beginning of a nightmare. A 1-0 defeat to Doncaster Rovers in the FA Cup was soon followed by a 4-0 home thrashing by basement side Yeovil Town and a humiliating 7-0 demolition at the hands of MK Dons. A series of topsy-turvy results ensued before the unthinkable happened and manager Lee Johnson left for Barnsley. Refusing to capitalise on a decent league position for the first time in years, the club’s board chose not to replace Johnson, instead handing the reigns to assistant manager Dean Holden. A series of rather lifeless performances followed as the season meandered to an all too predictable 15th placed finish. Tie all this up with the rumoured signing of Ched Evans and the media circus which developed and it’s not hard to see why frustrations were building amongst fans at Boundary Park.
The end of the season came as a relief to many and with the new stand set to open in August and chairman Simon Corney boasting about the strength of applicants for the vacant managerial postion, there appeared to be reasons to be positive. So when the opening of the North Stand was delayed and little-known rookie Darren Kelly was appointed manager, frustration turned into anger at a perceived lack of ambition and ability by the board to run a football club. The predictable soon happened and Kelly was relieved of his duties after just one win in nine games. Up stepped ready-made replacement David Dunn to a somewhat mixed reception. Six games later and Dunn is still searching for his first win as manager after five draws and one loss.
Latics currently sit 21st in the League One table with just one solitary win. Indeed, that win remains Oldham’s only three points in their last 23 games since they, rather ironically, beat Rochdale 3-0 at home. However, on Saturday the new stand was finally given the green light and housed fans for the first time. Tonight Latics travel to manager-less Swindon Town in a game which at least a point should be very achievable. There are small positives finally beginning to emerge and a result at the County Ground tomorrow could set the wheels in motion for an early season renaissance beginning at Spotland on Saturday.
11 months ago away at Rochdale, Oldham seemed to be heading in the right direction for the first time in many years. Disappointment, disillusionment and, for some, disinterest have followed, evidenced by the huge drop in ticket sales for that same fixture this coming week. Only the hardcore remain at Boundary Park and it will be sorely hoped that a win on Saturday can symbolise the end of an awful period and the start of more positive times.
