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Oldham bid to heal thirty years worth of scars with victory in the National League Play-off final
1992 was the year Linford Christie triumphed at the Barcelona Olympics, the year Bill Clinton became US president, and Disney’s Aladdin topped the box office.
It also signalled the birth of English football’s new dawn, with the inaugural season of the Premier League. The new all-singing, all-dancing behemoth came alive and kicked its way into the footballing landscape and life was never the same again.
Backed by Sky Sports, with an iconic advert featuring a member from each club, the ‘whole new ball game’ featured twenty-two of the game’s leading names, who made up the newly branded top flight.
One of those clubs was Oldham Athletic. Managed by Joe Royle and represented by Andy Ritchie in that famous ad, the Latics played a huge part in the infancy of the Premier League during its first two campaigns.
However, the following three decades haven’t been as kind to the Greater Manchester club. Relegation from the Premier League was, unfortunately, just the start, as they tumbled down the football pyramid and eventually out of the Football League altogether in 2022. Setting an unwanted record as the first former Premier League team to drop into non-league.
As bad as the struggles were on the pitch, the club is fortunate to have even survived some of the turmoil off the pitch, with a series of misguided takeovers almost leading to the club going out of existence on more than one occasion.
Finally, though, there’s light at the end of the football tunnel for Oldham fans as they step out at Wembley this weekend in a bid to make a first step back up the football ladder in the National League Play-off final.
One win would see the Latics return to the Football League and begin to heal the scars that manager Micky Mellon believes still plague the club after a turbulent time at Boundary Park.
“Oh, the scars are still here now and were there when I came into the club and I keep saying that,” the current boss tells DAZN News ahead of the clash with Southend United.
“I haven't volunteered this, I didn't come in because we were top of the league, I came in because it's unfortunately going to a situation where people believe there needed to be a change and when I came in, we've had to make a lot of changes.
“We sort of looked at the situation and had to fix an awful lot of stuff that you'll never know about, you'll never know some of the stuff that's going on behind the scenes underneath and the calmness, if you like, that we tried to create, but we have set about getting on with that.
“I've had great support from the board above, who knew and recognised that things had to change. We've had to sort of get on with an awful lot of stuff and fix an awful lot of stuff and take an awful lot of stuff. But we've had to take it, we accept that that's what goes with the territory, but we never lost our focus and what had to be done to try and get this club into the right place with the right people in the right positions.
“It's definitely improved, but still an awful lot of work to be done, but definitely heading in the right direction.”
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That direction is now back into the Football League with a victory on Sunday, something Oldham have been diligently working on all season before exploding into action during the end-of-season eliminator and semi-final.
Mellon’s side remained in the top seven all season before blasting their way past first Halifax with a 4-0 win in the eliminator, before seeing off favourites York City with a resounding 3-0 win. Now Mellon believes the club are ready to become a Football League side again.
“This club's never not been ready for the EFL,” he states.
“It's never been in doubt, but things over the last however many years have put us in the position that we're in now. But it's about trying to turn that around and move it forward again and get it back up the divisions and back to where it undoubtedly belongs.
“But you've still got to go and win games of football, and we've got a big one on Sunday. The same could be said of both sides, can't it? They've had their own issues.
“They've had it exactly the same as us. I'm a football man, so I understand that as well, and they'll probably be saying the same things as what I'm saying now.
“We've got to concentrate on Oldham and trying to get good in there and play well.”
It’s true that Oldham’s opponents in the final, Southend, have their own tale of woe to tell and it’s a clash of two big former football league clubs who are looking to bounce back from years of fear and disappointment. Getty Images
However, having been part of the Premier League’s somewhat humble beginnings, there has been a massive expectation on the Latics ever since they dropped into the fifth tier three years ago.
It’s something the players have learnt to deal with, and defender Charlie Raglan admits this year they’ve managed to handle both that expectation and still perform on the pitch.
"The expectation is always there," Raglan exclusively told DAZN News.
"Ever since I've been here and obviously, not really the time to touch on last year, but last year was a tough environment to be in because it was maybe new in terms of the expectation was so big.
"But you just knew that there was something not right in terms of, well, obviously, the performances on a Saturday weren't up to scratch. So, as I've said before, it doesn't always matter the badge on the chest or the ground you're playing on, because the performances have to be up to standard. And we've worked hard to improve that.
"I think this year, obviously, being in this position for starters has shown how much work we've put in.”
Raglan will be in no doubt ready to etch his name into club folklore alongside his manager, as they look to start to heal thirty years’ worth of wounds and put their places alongside those of Royle, Ritchie and the rest of the Oldham class of ’92. DAZN
But, first and foremost, it’s just nice for there to be something to be excited about again, says Mellon.
“I’ve just got to make sure that they're ready when they cross that line and encourage them to go and perform.
“But still it's exciting and it's a great thing to be a part of and it's a great honour to stand there and be involved with your team playing at Wembley, it's fantastic.”
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