Following on from one of the most turbulent and uncertain summers in recent times, Oldham Athletic have made a solid start to their 2016/2017 campaign. Things were looking very desperate for the club in July. Only a handful of players reported back for pre-season training, there was no manager in place and the club had recently been issued with, and resolved, a winding-up order. Fans had many reasons to be anxious about the forthcoming season, with some turning on owner Simon Corney, partaking in protests against his ownership of the club. However since then, things have looked up. The appointment of former Northern Ireland first-team coach Steve Robinson, as manager, kick-started a very busy month and a half for the club and now at the end of August, optimism is high. Although nineteen players have left the club over the summer, Robinson has recruited twenty players of his own and so-far, most have looked to be coups in their own right. Now, Oldham have got to build on a solid first month of the season and look to push up the League One table.
The month started with a disappointing 3-0 defeat at the hands of Millwall, however, this was quickly put behind them as the team ran out 2-1 winners against Championship side Wigan Athletic in the EFL cup, a win that was enough to give Latics’ fans an ounce of optimism about the team and their chances for the forthcoming campaign. This win was followed up by two very hard-fought home draws against Walsall and Northampton, which provided the most promising signs about the defensive side of the team. Peter Clarke, Connor Ripley and Ousmane Fane were the stand-out performers, providing a very strong core through the team. Attacking wise, however, the team were looking short and were still looking for their first league goal of the campaign. A 1-0 away win at local-rivals Bury still failed to provide this as Leon Barnett’s own goal provided Oldham’s winner. An EFL cup defeat at the hands of Preston was disappointing, yet somewhat expected.
However, this was dispelled by another hard-fought draw away at Bradford, where Peter Clarke’s close-range header provided Latics with their first; and only, league goal of the month. The signing of striker Freddie Ladapo from Crystal Palace will hopefully put an end to the lack of goals; however, it was Darius Osie who stole the show in the 5-4 defeat to Carlisle in the last game of the month, scoring two goals in the second half of the game. Fans can definitely be optimistic about the team’s chances following the first month of the season. Defensively the team looks very solid, and this will hopefully provide a good foundation in which the strikers can build on to start moving up with League-One table.
Player of the Month…
August provided some very good team performances; however, there is one player that has stood out above the rest. Peter Clarke. The veteran defender needs no introduction to any football-league fan, despite being 35 years-old and, some would argue, past his prime, Clarke has been the stand-out performer in every game he’s played for Oldham Athletic. Three clean sheets, only four goals conceded and one goal from Clarke makes him my player of the month and judging by his performances so far, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in contention again next month.
MawerOAFC's Blog 