Andy b Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 May be I am stating the obvious but what is so depressing about our situation is that none of the teams which have fallen out of the football league and with which are increasing comparing ourselves (York, tranmere, stockport, Grimsby, Wrexham, Chester etc) have anything like our recent history. These have allways been lower league teams and have hit hard times, dropping a down a level or so from their 'natural' position in terms of league, crowds, finance etc. For us it isn't just a case of taking one or two steps down but a fundamental contraction in the size and status of this football club, potentially to the point of no return. We are no longer a decent sized club currently dormant. No other club has contracted to our size over bearly 20 years from our starting point, though Coventry may be on the way to doing so. Yet we are increasingly aligning ourselves with teams outside the football league with whom we have no history and can only dream of competing financially with the likes of....Rotherham, Oxford, Peterborough, gillingham, Walsall and the like. Of course history is always being created and I am very much coming at this from a perspective of someone who started supporting oafc in 1990. Someone will tell me that our average position historically actually puts us in league 1 in any case but our collapse and contraction over 20 years is unprecedented in modern football. Sad times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magister Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 (edited) You are obviously a young man Andy.....there are a few on here who have spent a major portion of our time watching Latics in the 3rd and 4 th tier. You say our collapse within 20 years is unprecedented ....Northampton managed it in 4 Wimbledon in about 3 years, Swindon quicker than us, Stockport went from league 2 and out in less than 20 years, Burnley went from first division Giants to almost out of league, Oxford went from tier one to non league, Lincoln were in second tier People on here will know more and better than me Our current position to me just feels slightly on the down side of normal What do others think Edited January 6, 2017 by Magister Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OAFCinWolves Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 I'm 40 I only ever new Latics in the top 2 divisions.I hoped for an immediate return to the premier league, then I hoped for an immediate return to the championship. I hoped it would be a breif stay in the 3rd league but 20 years later here we are. I never felt we was fighting above our weight in the old 2nd division so don't understand really why we should be struggling season in season out in the 3rd we should at very least be a stable league 1 team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy b Posted January 6, 2017 Author Share Posted January 6, 2017 Well yes, very true about Wimbledon. Our fall is more about the size and status of the club than its league position for me. Teams fall down the leagues temporarily but unless they contract substantially in size, it's usually a blip (even if one that lasts ten years or so) and they come back. Burnley were a sleeping giant during their period in the lower league, still getting good crowds and having a presence in the town. They didn't massively contract and it was inevitable that they would get back to their natural level. Ditto Bradford. Lincoln are not a non league club in stature and will be back. Stockport's period in the second tier was a blip in an otherwise lower league existence. It's the extent to which we have shrunk as a club which gets me. 2007 was key. Ten years in league 1 at that point and we started to really lose fans but they could have returned had we gone up and we would have pushed on. I fear that even if we got promoted now the lost fans wouldn't return. They don't associate with the club anymore. We are a small club with few fans. We are no longer a medium sized club having a hard time with a potentially good fan base. We are a badly run Rochdale! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forte_Baby Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 In the 90's and early 00's Grimaby, Stockport and Tranmere have all played in what is now the Championship same can be said for Gillingham, Posh and Oxford. Chester and Wrexham your right only ever known Chester to be in what is League 1 now for one season first year j really got into football Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy b Posted January 7, 2017 Author Share Posted January 7, 2017 Forte, none of which were established champ clubs though were they. There is a difference between having a purple patch where you punch above your weight for a couple of years and actually being established at that level. For so long we were an established 2nd tier club. Part of the furniture at thay level much like say Ipswich. The same does not apply to gillingham who merely flirted with the champ. That is my point here and illustrates have far we have fallen in stature, status, finance, fan base etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deyres42 Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 We never had any money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laticsmarra Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 Well yes, very true about Wimbledon. Our fall is more about the size and status of the club than its league position for me. Teams fall down the leagues temporarily but unless they contract substantially in size, it's usually a blip (even if one that lasts ten years or so) and they come back. Burnley were a sleeping giant during their period in the lower league, still getting good crowds and having a presence in the town. They didn't massively contract and it was inevitable that they would get back to their natural level. Ditto Bradford. Lincoln are not a non league club in stature and will be back. Stockport's period in the second tier was a blip in an otherwise lower league existence. It's the extent to which we have shrunk as a club which gets me. 2007 was key. Ten years in league 1 at that point and we started to really lose fans but they could have returned had we gone up and we would have pushed on. I fear that even if we got promoted now the lost fans wouldn't return. They don't associate with the club anymore. We are a small club with few fans. We are no longer a medium sized club having a hard time with a potentially good fan base. We are a badly run Rochdale! I agree. For me it is the shrinking fanbase,apathy and lack of empathy between the club and fans that is eroding our status more than the lower league status. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy b Posted January 7, 2017 Author Share Posted January 7, 2017 No one did. Damage was done in the early to mid 90s when we failed to put proper plans in place re stadium development. Hudds, midds, Bolton for their :censored: together didn't they. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest nonaenever Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 It's a point already well made but, for me, its the disassociation with the "borough of Oldham" that worries me most. I look at the likes of Huddersfield. A very partisan town - just walking around you realise they are proud of "Town" - shops have posters in featuring their games - many pubs have scarves and flags. Everyone you speak to seems to be a Huddersfield Town fan and they have a shop in the centre. The club and the place itself are conjoined, with a very supportive local authority. You would struggle to know there was even a football team in Oldham to be honest. I went to the initial meeting about the proposed move to Failsworth. I was critical of that and said then that if we move it should be to a more central area e.g. the large area around the old railway line near Mumps. A centrally located ground would have created a town centre buzz on match days, been easier for away fans to get to and brought much needed money into town centre pubs etc. More importantly, it would have planted us right in the heart of the town. We really need to get that link back between the town and its club, otherwise we are in danger of just being seen as an outlying district of Manchester (and therein lies another story i.e. Manchester's politicians have been trying to swallow up the outlying towns for years - hence the real reason Metrolink happened and we now have their amazing vision called the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework - dark forces are at work - we have to stop them). Now that Mr McMahon has gone from the council, our local authority interest in Latics is as bad as it ever was - that's something the club and/or the trust should be working on tirelessly; building links and involving the local authority as much as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave_Og Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 . Football is screwed due to Bosman It was ceetainly a game changer but it isn't possible to put up a credible argument against it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kowenicki Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 We batted above our average for a long time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laticsmarra Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 Re Council lack of engagement; the council have electronic signs on Manchester Road and near Elk Mill Roundabout that put various messages out about events happening in the Town Centre (this festival and that festival) Never a mention of a football match happening a hundred yards away. Oldham as a town is like Latics, in need of some good news stories to counterbalance the murders and drive offs that hit the national and regional news all too frequently. The Council's best bet for a good news story in the town is Latics,its' as bad as that. Perhaps co-operation with and support from the Council may help both to move forward more positively. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave_Og Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 Luton a pretty close comparison. Top flight to non league. Tried many times to move to a new build stadium but still in a decrepit ground Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewBlue Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 Luton a pretty close comparison. Top flight to non league. Tried many times to move to a new build stadium but still in a decrepit ground Is BP decrepit? I don't think so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick_Valentine Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 Luton a pretty close comparison. Top flight to non league. Tried many times to move to a new build stadium but still in a decrepit ground Not many, I take it you've been to Kenilworth Road? That away end is one of if not the worst I've been to and that's well over 70 grounds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy b Posted January 7, 2017 Author Share Posted January 7, 2017 We batted above our average for a long time. You cannot bat above your average for a long time unless you were absolutely terrible for the rest of the time. That is how averages work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy b Posted January 7, 2017 Author Share Posted January 7, 2017 Luton - good shout. We will however be the first ex prem club to drop out of the football league. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BP1960 Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 Is BP decrepit? I don't think so. I thought you meant me, I am getting on bit its true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deyres42 Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 Luton - good shout. We will however be the first ex prem club to drop out of the football league. Cheer up pal, it's Saturday night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave_Og Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 (edited) Is BP decrepit? I don't think so. Well I do! have you been in the main stand lately? The last time I was in there the seat I paid for was hanging on with one nail. It is one of the least developed/renovated ground in the league Edited January 7, 2017 by Dave_Og Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy b Posted January 7, 2017 Author Share Posted January 7, 2017 Am in the angry stage. Denial next Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kowenicki Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 You cannot bat above your average for a long time unless you were absolutely terrible for the rest of the time. That is how averages work. Yes you can. Our average position is 42. We batted above that for a long time didn't we? Yes... we definitely did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy b Posted January 7, 2017 Author Share Posted January 7, 2017 42 is a champ position. We did not bat above that for a long time did we? We batted at or around that level for a significant period of time with 4 or 5 years (not a 'long time') being above that. Bear in mind that before the premier league formed that average position wouldn't have resulted in relegation. We are now a world away from 42nd position on so many levels. Point being that despite being :censored: for 20 years (1/6 of our existence as a club) we still manage an average of 42nd position in the football league. Can the teams which we now compare ourselves with and who are genuinely a similar size to us (Crewe, fleetwood, dale, bury, fleetwood) compete with that? No. Can the teams sitting above us with bigger attendances, better budgets etc (walsalls, gills etc) compete with that? No. Illustrates the magnitude of our collapse. Ah well.... Stalybridge won today Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kowenicki Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 (edited) 42 is a champ position. We did not bat above that for a long time did we? We batted at or around that level for a significant period of time with 4 or 5 years (not a 'long time') being above that. Bear in mind that before the premier league formed that average position wouldn't have resulted in relegation. We are now a world away from 42nd position on so many levels. Point being that despite being :censored: for 20 years (1/6 of our existence as a club) we still manage an average of 42nd position in the football league. Can the teams which we now compare ourselves with and who are genuinely a similar size to us (Crewe, fleetwood, dale, bury, fleetwood) compete with that? No. Can the teams sitting above us with bigger attendances, better budgets etc (walsalls, gills etc) compete with that? No. Illustrates the magnitude of our collapse. Ah well.... Stalybridge won today Are you drunk? We spent many years above that league position. 22 consecutive years. 22 years is a long time. If you want to argue it isn't please don't bother. Ps. Bury's is 43. I'd call that competing. Edited January 7, 2017 by kowenicki Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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