Oldham Athletic

Rumors are flying that 2nd-division club Oldham Athletic could be as little as 48 hours away from total liquidation and closure. Soccernet, and the BBC are reporting this, and the club has issued statements similar to that on their website, with manager Iain Dowie quoted as saying "Let no one be under any misapprehensions, this is almost the endgame now." The club statement says that it is a "virtual certainty" that they will miss payroll at the end of the month, rendering all of the players free agents.

With the league schedule due to come out next week, it is obvious that this will have to be resolved soon. My question, to those with more knowledge of this than I, is if Oldham are forced to shut their doors, who plays in the 2nd division in their place next year. Would it be the losing 3rd division playoff finalists, Lincoln City, the highest-placed 3rd division team to not win promotion, Scunthorpe, or the highest-placed 2nd division team to be relegated, Cheltenham Town? If any of these options happen, who fills the now-open space in the 3rd Division? Exeter, who were the highest-placed relegated team? What then happens in the conference? Or does the 2nd division just play a club short this season? Any insight on this matter would be appreciated.

 

The latest takeover deal for Oldahm Athletic was rejected by owner Chris Moore, and it looks like Friday (payday) is d-day for the Latics. If a deal can't be reached before Friday, liquidation will be the only option. Should Athletic remain in business, but not pay their players on Friday as scheduled, the players, after 2 weeks notice, will be free to go to other clubs. The Oldham Chronicle has an article on the dire situation at http://www.oldham-chronicle.co.uk/SPORTM01.html

In what could be a sign of things to come, the club shop closed "until further notice".

 

The latest on the Oldham saga...

A takeover deal had apparently been aggreed to on Friday, July 11, where some of the higher-ups in the club, marketing director Sean Jarvis, and accountant Neil Joy would have purchased owner Chris Moore's stake in the club. That stake would have been divided between a suporters trust and other private investors. According to today's (July 15) Oldham Chronicle (www.oldham-chronicle.co.uk), that deal is "on the verge of collapse" because Chris Moore tried to add on 11th-hour provisions to the deal. Apparently the dispute focuses on approximately £160,000 , which the new owners would use to pay off the staff, who haven't been paid in 6 weeks. Moore apparently demands that the money go toward paying off a PFA loan. Chris Moore is denying the allegations, however, Oldham Athletic non-playing staff planned to confront Moore at his Oxford business.

Meanwhile, the playing staff, or what is left of it (12 or 13 players) have gone with Iain Dowie to Northern Ireland to prepare for the coming season. Dowie is furious with Moore for continuing to sell players, which could possibly leave Athletic financially solvent, but with no one to play. Jarvis and Joy are furious with Moore for these supposed 11th-hour amendments that threaten their takeover bid, Moore is furious over the allegations, and the non-playing staff is furious that they haven't been paid in a month and a half. In a statement on the club website, Neil Joy claims that the club has "effectively 2 weeks to convince the Football League that it is able to fufill fixture commitments for the 2003/04 season." So, the Latics spin closer and closer to the brink. Meanwhile, a special fund-rasing match over the weekend, drew over 9,000 to Boundary Park, and raised £100,000 for the Oldham Supporters Trust.

Not a good situation for Oldham, and should they survive, they would certainly be everyone's pre-season relegation favoirites, due to all the drama surrounding the club, and the reduction in the playing staff.

 

It looks like Oldham will be saved from closure. Today's Oldham Chronicle is reporting that owner Chris Moore will sell his stake in the club, for a sum of £1, to either a Norweigan group, or to Neil Joy and Sean Jarvis. Money earned from the sale of players will be used to pay staff today, and while 6 players have left the squad, they should proceed as scheduled this season.

 

You know, if there wasn't a real danger of Oldham ceasing to exist, and soon, the whole situation could easily be described as comical.

Yet another takeover deal has fallen through, as the Norweigan man who had closed, in principle, a deal to buy Chris Moore's stake in the club, has been forced to abandon the deal upon losing his financial backer. Looking at statements from the official club website (www.oldhamathletic.co.uk), it looks like this may just be the final straw for the Latics, as this deal fell apart very late in the process, and many staff had been feeling relieved when the statement was made that there was a Norwegian deal that had been initially accepted.

The Oldham Chronicle had been reporting on Friday that the club would be sold to Neil Joy and Sean Jarvis, should the Norweigan deal fall through, may have been premature, as no such transaction has gone through yet, and the phrase "this is our darkest hour" can be seen in statements on the official club website.

I can't see how there can be any more 11th-hour attempts to save this club.