Oldham..,

[Eddie]

10 hours ago, The Art of Hand and Foot said:

Can't believe it's been 16 months since I made that first post. It was based on rumours, whispers and conjecture.  Can't believe I added 2+2 and actually came up with 4. There is one thing that I, and many yeds fans, are excited about, and it's not superleague but the fact that the club is now interacting with and increasing the fan base and working with the local grass roots set up.

If you live in Oldham, have you noticed a change in general interest in the club around town? 

[sheddingswasus]

Definitely. So many people who fell out with the previous regime are back again. There’s still a lot of lapsed fans to return though. But they are coming bit by bit. 

[Hello]

2 hours ago, LeeF said:

So 2 out of 12. Less than 25% turnover. It’s almost like the existing structure is delivering what everyone is scared of

 

Edited July 19, 2024 by Hello

[Roughyed Rats]

12 hours ago, Eddie said:

If you live in Oldham, have you noticed a change in general interest in the club around town? 

Massively but it takes time to arrest a 25 year managed decline. 

[sheddingswasus]

We have started seeing people walking around in Roughyeds shirts. Never seen that in 25 years 

[audois]

When they where in the SL along with Workington !

[The Art of Hand and Foot]

The under 16's pathway team beat Halifax this past week. Young lads are now wanting to play for the yeds instead of going elsewhere. The buzz about town is electric!

Edited July 20, 2024 by The Art of Hand and Foot

[LeeF]

15 hours ago, Hopie said:

Very few ever presents in the Super League era. Think you are considering too small an amount of time.

The comment relates to the initial point about the current IMG era. The 25% is more than the equivalent non IMG turnover. 

[Whippet13]

Biggest home crowd for 16 years at Oldham today:

 

Edited July 21, 2024 by Whippet13

[eal]

Great to see Oldham doing well! Bring back the Bears!

[roughyed8]

7 hours ago, eal said:

Great to see Oldham doing well! Bring back the Bears!

Wont be as the Bears, that is pretty much a toxic brand to Oldham fans that were screwd over and let down by the owners back in 97!

[eal]

14 hours ago, roughyed8 said:

Wont be as the Bears, that is pretty much a toxic brand to Oldham fans that were screwd over and let down by the owners back in 97!

I got carried away by my love of the North Sydney Bears!

[Eddie]

3 hours ago, eal said:

I got carried away by my love of the North Sydney Bears!

Do you also like the Chicago Bears?  

[RayCee]

On 22/07/2024 at 11:30, Whippet13 said:

Biggest home crowd for 16 years at Oldham today:

 

Smart looking stadium.

[Gav Wilson]

On 20/07/2024 at 11:51, sheddingswasus said:

We have started seeing people walking around in Roughyeds shirts. Never seen that in 25 years 

I spotted an Oldham shirt at the Shed Seven gig in York last Friday night! 

[binosh]

Well done Oldham, great to see them put a plan into place and finally get some rewards for their hard work, unfortunately according to some on here they are too close to the M62. 

Edited July 23, 2024 by binosh

[Fevrover]

32 minutes ago, binosh said:

Well done Oldham, great to see them put a plan into place and finally get some rewards for their hard work, unfortunately according to some on here they are too close to the M62. 

The more the merrier . 

Edited July 23, 2024 by Fevrover

[The Art of Hand and Foot]

Tbh, I can't wait to be playing in the championship against the likes of Featherstone,  Halifax, widnes et al. Really missed that. But first things first, we need to win the league.

[RoughyedsFan_merged]

You would think Bounday Park is a prime location for CC semis being on the Lancs/Yorks border.

[Bull Mania]

Absolutely fantastic watching highlights and seeing that main stand full. 

When we talk expansion we always talk about cities, or a big money man backs an area where there's little RL footprint. Then we wonder why it fails. But Oldham's been an area left to rot in RL terms despite producing some of the best RL players out there. A man with money has come in, backed them, got them back in Oldham in a great stadium and we're seeing new fans being brought into the game. It's  "expansion" on a lesser scale, than a Toronto, but new fans are new fans and it's great to see. This is how we grow the game. 

[Gooleboy]

4 hours ago, Fevrover said:

The more the merrier . 

Absolutely, let's widen it as well!

[Eddie]

5 hours ago, binosh said:

Well done Oldham, great to see them put a plan into place and finally get some rewards for their hard work, unfortunately according to some on here they are too close to the M62. 

Who has ever said that? 

[Eddie]

2 hours ago, RoughyedsFan_merged said:

You would think Bounday Park is a prime location for CC semis being on the Lancs/Yorks border.

Its not close enough to the M62 for that, Spotlands would be better. 

[Anita Bath]

30 minutes ago, Eddie said:

Its not close enough to the M62 for that, Spotlands would be better. 

Ironic that to access the M62 Oldham fans have to drive to Rochdale

[Toby Chopra]

3 hours ago, Bull Mania said:

Absolutely fantastic watching highlights and seeing that main stand full. 

When we talk expansion we always talk about cities, or a big money man backs an area where there's little RL footprint. Then we wonder why it fails. But Oldham's been an area left to rot in RL terms despite producing some of the best RL players out there. A man with money has come in, backed them, got them back in Oldham in a great stadium and we're seeing new fans being brought into the game. It's  "expansion" on a lesser scale, than a Toronto, but new fans are new fans and it's great to see. This is how we grow the game. 

I mean, it's not "expansion" - let's not stretch the meaning of that word so much it becomes meaningless. Oldham are nearly 150 years old, were a founder club of the Northern Union and have been in the league ever since, but have recently fallen on hard times. Whether/how we expand RL's footprint is a separate vital question, and we don't need to blur the two.

None of that takes away from how fantastic it is to see Oldham get some proper financial backing, and the town getting behind it in good numbers. I hope this means they can take their place as one of the prominent championship clubs, alongside Fev, Fax, Widnes etc, flying the flag of rugby league in their town and the town being proud of it.

And, if local interest continues to grow and more financial backers come on board, then maybe in time there's a case for seeing if a place in an full-time top flight is viable. But that's for the future, for now we can all celebrate the good things that are happening here and now.

 

Edited July 23, 2024 by Toby Chopra