Oldham Fan's view of the season so far

[Oldham Valderama]

Just noticed some of the results from this weekend's championship fixtures and they are quite surprising and started to make me think about how Oldham are doing back in the Championship, its had its ups and downs, a lot of fans have positive views, others not so positive therefore I thought I'd share my opinions and see if others agree or disagree. None of us are right or wrong, its all just opinions so for what its worth here's mine on the season so far.

Last year in League 1 we pretty much walked it. Investment had been made in the playing squad and around 80% were Championship quality players and with the greatest respect to the other teams in League 1 if we had not won the title there would have been serious questions asked. In the end it was a pretty straight forward campaign and we won promotion at a canter with little fuss and with games to spare.

We are now in the Championship which again with respect to other teams in League 1 is a whole different ball game. Oldham recruited well with experienced Super League players although the caveat to this was that they were with respect later in their careers (Adam Milner, Iain Thornley, Matty Ashurst, Gil Dudson & Josh Drinkwater), all cracking players although I think brought in more for their experience and game management skills. To this add a couple of younger additions in Lewis Baxter & Ben Forber, good players although i think we are yet to see the best out of these two. We therefore enter the season with a really good squad and hopes are high however expectations need to be realistic, yes we have spent a few quid and are there to be shot at but we along with Hunslet are the new boys so are both entering into the unknown.

We start of the campaign proper against Barrow in the cup and blow them away, next up York, one of the fancied teams in the Championship and we again absolutely blow them out of the water, they just could not cope with an Oldham team who were on fire. At this point it is pretty clear that if Oldham have no injuries or suspensions (this comes to bite us on the a**e soon enough) then we are a match for anyone. We then play Batley in atrocious conditions, free flowing rugby was not on the agenda that day but we still came away with a draw thanks to JD's fantastic last minute goal kick. We then get back to winning ways at home in the next couple of games against Rochdale in the cup and then London in the league, both getting a good spanking by Oldham then a good hard fought away win at Sheffield. Mixed in with this was the defeat in the cup at Hull KR, admirable and hard working performance however this was against the current best team in Super League so not exactly unexpected. What was unexpected though was the defeat at Barrow, we'd already given them a pasting at BP however for some reason this game something felt odd about it with team selection, it was not a recognised first 1-17 and it showed with a totally disjointed performance and the only one this season where I voice criticism towards the team and coaching staff, was i justified in my criticism well that's down to others opinion but for some reason that game just did not sit well with me.

Then at this point in the season (still early days) injuries and suspension seems to kick in and kick in BIG STYLE!!!!!! Every game since Sheffield away it seems Oldham have had to put out a make shift team with players playing out of position to cover gaps, dual registered from Wigan being parachuted in who have no idea how Oldham have trained and new signings again coming into a team that at the moment they have no idea how they play, what set moves they practised and so on. It feels that since Sheffield Sean Long has had one hand tied behind his back regarding team selection and has to just basically go with what he has got. Saying that though even with a nightmare injury list we have done pretty well:-

Cup game against Barrow at BP - Barrow came with an air of confidence after a great start to the league campaign, they'd stuffed us at their place however Oldham prevailed and with a gutsy performance come away with a 38-24 victory

League game against Featherstone at BP - yes you could argue we got out of jail in this one as Featherstone could not kick a goal for toffee but again with a make shift team Oldham came away with a 30-28 win. Featherstone are no pushovers, they are a decent Championship team who's current league position does not give a true reflection of how good they are. Putting it into context they gave Widnes at Widnes a damn good spanking today beating them 38-16 so they cant be that bad.

League game against Widnes away - alright I'll concede this was not Oldham at their best but again with a make shift team they eke out a 10-10 draw, a point is a point at the end of the day so better than nothing

League game against Bradford at BP - to say the side put out against the best side in the league was "make shift" would be an understatement!! The number of fans I spoke to in the bar before the game were very pessimistic. Those Oldham players out there though that night gave it their all and even though we lost 42-12 there was no shame and was very proud of Oldham's performance 

League game against Doncaster away - again not a classic but again a make shift Oldham team who put in a massive effort to come away with a 30-26 win (JD masterclass did help i admit!!). Like with Featherstone impressive performance today Doncaster totally stuffed Halifax at their place today 30-6 so again Doncaster were no pushovers and are a good team but Oldham prevailed and won a hard fought game. 

League game against Tolouse at BP - could not attend this one due to other commitments but from what i can gather, some players back but still nowhere near what the ideal Sean Long first 17 would be and they put in a spirited performance but were beaten by the better (full time) team.

I think therefore from my perspective as an Oldham fan of 40+ years man and boy I'm more than happy with where we currently sit in the table (if I'm correct around 5th place with 12 points after 10 games - feel free anyone to correct me if i am wrong). If in an ideal world we had not suffered the horrific injury list that we have and also Jamah Sambu's suspension I personally think we could have been sitting pretty at the top (or very near) of the league, I feel that we are that good on our day. The real world however (and i appreciate it is the same for all teams in the Championship) can be cruel and the past 5 or so games have been pretty tough for Oldham but to be where we currently are is a testament to how good a job the players and the coaching staff are performing in the face of adversity. Yes before anyone from other clubs point it out I appreciate we have a wonderful chairman in BQ who at the moment will get the cheque book out to add reinforcements (Ben Davies, Ryan Lannon, Eloi Pelissier in the past couple of weeks) but any new players including dual reg will take time to bed in. With the best will in the world no newbie can work wonders in their first couple of games.

If i had to field any criticism it would only be for two instances:-

1) The away game at Barrow, still think there was something more to this than what we were told but I'm probably reading too much into it and it was just a bad day at the office

2) The signing of Nene Macdonald - I initially thought it was fantastic however even though a really good player I felt his presence totally disjointed the team for the two games he played, no one knew what he was going to do and in the end I feel it just came across as a vanity signing. IF we though sign him when he comes back from Australia for the rest of the season I'll more than probably change my opinion 

Apart from that I feel everyone connected with Oldham, BQ / MF, the coaching and back room staff, the squad, George and the social media team and also the fans can be proud of where we currently are and what we have achieved this year so far. Yes as i say there have been bumps along the road and no doubt will be others as the season progresses but the squad that has been assembled, when all are fit and available and Sean Long is able to pick his best 1-17 then we are a match for anyone even Bradford & Tolouse so well done one and all, I'm massively proud to be an Oldham fan!!!

Roll on Sunday and bring on Featherstone - you boys can do it I know you can, make Oldham proud and let us sing our famous song under the arch at Wembley

GIVE US A "T" etc 

Edited May 11 by Oldham Valderama

[fiftiesremembered]

Brilliant summary of the season so far OV.I feel some supporters, after all the rubbish we have suffered over recent years, are expecting too much too quickly.

As you say, a full strength squad would be a match for anyone, and in my mind a decent mid-table finish would be a success this season.

[Tim G]

7 hours ago, Oldham Valderama said:

Just noticed some of the results from this weekend's championship fixtures and they are quite surprising and started to make me think about how Oldham are doing back in the Championship, its had its ups and downs, a lot of fans have positive views, others not so positive therefore I thought I'd share my opinions and see if others agree or disagree. None of us are right or wrong, its all just opinions so for what its worth here's mine on the season so far.

Last year in League 1 we pretty much walked it. Investment had been made in the playing squad and around 80% were Championship quality players and with the greatest respect to the other teams in League 1 if we had not won the title there would have been serious questions asked. In the end it was a pretty straight forward campaign and we won promotion at a canter with little fuss and with games to spare.

We are now in the Championship which again with respect to other teams in League 1 is a whole different ball game. Oldham recruited well with experienced Super League players although the caveat to this was that they were with respect later in their careers (Adam Milner, Iain Thornley, Matty Ashurst, Gil Dudson & Josh Drinkwater), all cracking players although I think brought in more for their experience and game management skills. To this add a couple of younger additions in Lewis Baxter & Ben Forber, good players although i think we are yet to see the best out of these two. We therefore enter the season with a really good squad and hopes are high however expectations need to be realistic, yes we have spent a few quid and are there to be shot at but we along with Hunslet are the new boys so are both entering into the unknown.

We start of the campaign proper against Barrow in the cup and blow them away, next up York, one of the fancied teams in the Championship and we again absolutely blow them out of the water, they just could not cope with an Oldham team who were on fire. At this point it is pretty clear that if Oldham have no injuries or suspensions (this comes to bite us on the a**e soon enough) then we are a match for anyone. We then play Batley in atrocious conditions, free flowing rugby was not on the agenda that day but we still came away with a draw thanks to JD's fantastic last minute goal kick. We then get back to winning ways at home in the next couple of games against Rochdale in the cup and then London in the league, both getting a good spanking by Oldham then a good hard fought away win at Sheffield. Mixed in with this was the defeat in the cup at Hull KR, admirable and hard working performance however this was against the current best team in Super League so not exactly unexpected. What was unexpected though was the defeat at Barrow, we'd already given them a pasting at BP however for some reason this game something felt odd about it with team selection, it was not a recognised first 1-17 and it showed with a totally disjointed performance and the only one this season where I voice criticism towards the team and coaching staff, was i justified in my criticism well that's down to others opinion but for some reason that game just did not sit well with me.

Then at this point in the season (still early days) injuries and suspension seems to kick in and kick in BIG STYLE!!!!!! Every game since Sheffield away it seems Oldham have had to put out a make shift team with players playing out of position to cover gaps, dual registered from Wigan being parachuted in who have no idea how Oldham have trained and new signings again coming into a team that at the moment they have no idea how they play, what set moves they practised and so on. It feels that since Sheffield Sean Long has had one hand tied behind his back regarding team selection and has to just basically go with what he has got. Saying that though even with a nightmare injury list we have done pretty well:-

Cup game against Barrow at BP - Barrow came with an air of confidence after a great start to the league campaign, they'd stuffed us at their place however Oldham prevailed and with a gutsy performance come away with a 38-24 victory

League game against Featherstone at BP - yes you could argue we got out of jail in this one as Featherstone could not kick a goal for toffee but again with a make shift team Oldham came away with a 30-28 win. Featherstone are no pushovers, they are a decent Championship team who's current league position does not give a true reflection of how good they are. Putting it into context they gave Widnes at Widnes a damn good spanking today beating them 38-16 so they cant be that bad.

League game against Widnes away - alright I'll concede this was not Oldham at their best but again with a make shift team they eke out a 10-10 draw, a point is a point at the end of the day so better than nothing

League game against Bradford at BP - to say the side put out against the best side in the league was "make shift" would be an understatement!! The number of fans I spoke to in the bar before the game were very pessimistic. Those Oldham players out there though that night gave it their all and even though we lost 42-12 there was no shame and was very proud of Oldham's performance 

League game against Doncaster away - again not a classic but again a make shift Oldham team who put in a massive effort to come away with a 30-26 win (JD masterclass did help i admit!!). Like with Featherstone impressive performance today Doncaster totally stuffed Halifax at their place today 30-6 so again Doncaster were no pushovers and are a good team but Oldham prevailed and won a hard fought game. 

League game against Tolouse at BP - could not attend this one due to other commitments but from what i can gather, some players back but still nowhere near what the ideal Sean Long first 17 would be and they put in a spirited performance but were beaten by the better (full time) team.

I think therefore from my perspective as an Oldham fan of 40+ years man and boy I'm more than happy with where we currently sit in the table (if I'm correct around 5th place with 12 points after 10 games - feel free anyone to correct me if i am wrong). If in an ideal world we had not suffered the horrific injury list that we have and also Jamah Sambu's suspension I personally think we could have been sitting pretty at the top (or very near) of the league, I feel that we are that good on our day. The real world however (and i appreciate it is the same for all teams in the Championship) can be cruel and the past 5 or so games have been pretty tough for Oldham but to be where we currently are is a testament to how good a job the players and the coaching staff are performing in the face of adversity. Yes before anyone from other clubs point it out I appreciate we have a wonderful chairman in BQ who at the moment will get the cheque book out to add reinforcements (Ben Davies, Ryan Lannon, Eloi Pelissier in the past couple of weeks) but any new players including dual reg will take time to bed in. With the best will in the world no newbie can work wonders in their first couple of games.

If i had to field any criticism it would only be for two instances:-

1) The away game at Barrow, still think there was something more to this than what we were told but I'm probably reading too much into it and it was just a bad day at the office

2) The signing of Nene Macdonald - I initially thought it was fantastic however even though a really good player I felt his presence totally disjointed the team for the two games he played, no one knew what he was going to do and in the end I feel it just came across as a vanity signing. IF we though sign him when he comes back from Australia for the rest of the season I'll more than probably change my opinion 

Apart from that I feel everyone connected with Oldham, BQ / MF, the coaching and back room staff, the squad, George and the social media team and also the fans can be proud of where we currently are and what we have achieved this year so far. Yes as i say there have been bumps along the road and no doubt will be others as the season progresses but the squad that has been assembled, when all are fit and available and Sean Long is able to pick his best 1-17 then we are a match for anyone even Bradford & Tolouse so well done one and all, I'm massively proud to be an Oldham fan!!!

Roll on Sunday and bring on Featherstone - you boys can do it I know you can, make Oldham proud and let us sing our famous song under the arch at Wembley

GIVE US A "T" etc 

 

[Tim G]

I totally agree to this well thought out description of the season so far.  

Just keep backing the team 

Edited May 12 by Tim G

[bosman69]

An excellent post and well-thought out. It does look like the teams identified as the main players are gradually getting better - Bradford York and Toulouse.  We caught York early and beat them well but they are often slow starters.

I agree that injuries have materially impacted us. Our game plan relys on the back 5 making yards early in the tackle count.. then we turn the ball back inside and kick. We are not alone in this but is it any wonder that we are chewing up backs? 

Combinations are key out wide both in attack bur more importantly in defence and this has been exposed at times as well as struggling to combat kicks.

Games are not won on paper but I was chatting to a pal at Doncaster who is a keen student of the game.. his son was playing for the Dons.. and was amazed at how strong our squad was. We looked great for a time then lost our way and squeaking the win.. Dons hammering Halifax at the shay does put that into context of course. 

Here's hoping for a proper 80 minute performance this weekend!

[Jimmy DoNut]

4 hours ago, fiftiesremembered said:

Brilliant summary of the season so far OV.I feel some supporters, after all the rubbish we have suffered over recent years, are expecting too much too quickly.

As you say, a full strength squad would be a match for anyone, and in my mind a decent mid-table finish would be a success this season.

Even more so if we go to Wembley as well !

[mahdlo]

Great post and woudnt argue with any of what you have said, found it a little frustrating at some games thie season, Mainly Doncaster away and a little but on Saturday how some people have been having a go in game at the players, I get emotions run high but not on one occasion this season have i left the game thinking the 17 that have played have let Oldham down in terms of work rate or playing for the badge. Been a great season so far enjoyed watching all the games including the defeats. 

[LittleboroRoughyed]

Overall season has been brilliant so far. No shame in losing to Bradford & Toulouse, we fought hard to snatch a draw against Batley who played the conditions far better than us & good wins against London & Fev.
 

Slightly disappointed with Barrow away due to selection, which appeared to prioritise the Hull KR game & the way we almost lost the match at Widnes but great away wins at Sheffield & Doncaster whilst we played York at the right time early on.

Injuries to the back line & Wildie have been cruel & dependent on timescales for them to come back will probably mean a tight finish for 4 - 6th (Toulouse, Bradford & York top 3 for me).

[TBozz]

12 hours ago, Oldham Valderama said:

Just noticed some of the results from this weekend's championship fixtures and they are quite surprising and started to make me think about how Oldham are doing back in the Championship, its had its ups and downs, a lot of fans have positive views, others not so positive therefore I thought I'd share my opinions and see if others agree or disagree. None of us are right or wrong, its all just opinions so for what its worth here's mine on the season so far.

Last year in League 1 we pretty much walked it. Investment had been made in the playing squad and around 80% were Championship quality players and with the greatest respect to the other teams in League 1 if we had not won the title there would have been serious questions asked. In the end it was a pretty straight forward campaign and we won promotion at a canter with little fuss and with games to spare.

We are now in the Championship which again with respect to other teams in League 1 is a whole different ball game. Oldham recruited well with experienced Super League players although the caveat to this was that they were with respect later in their careers (Adam Milner, Iain Thornley, Matty Ashurst, Gil Dudson & Josh Drinkwater), all cracking players although I think brought in more for their experience and game management skills. To this add a couple of younger additions in Lewis Baxter & Ben Forber, good players although i think we are yet to see the best out of these two. We therefore enter the season with a really good squad and hopes are high however expectations need to be realistic, yes we have spent a few quid and are there to be shot at but we along with Hunslet are the new boys so are both entering into the unknown.

We start of the campaign proper against Barrow in the cup and blow them away, next up York, one of the fancied teams in the Championship and we again absolutely blow them out of the water, they just could not cope with an Oldham team who were on fire. At this point it is pretty clear that if Oldham have no injuries or suspensions (this comes to bite us on the a**e soon enough) then we are a match for anyone. We then play Batley in atrocious conditions, free flowing rugby was not on the agenda that day but we still came away with a draw thanks to JD's fantastic last minute goal kick. We then get back to winning ways at home in the next couple of games against Rochdale in the cup and then London in the league, both getting a good spanking by Oldham then a good hard fought away win at Sheffield. Mixed in with this was the defeat in the cup at Hull KR, admirable and hard working performance however this was against the current best team in Super League so not exactly unexpected. What was unexpected though was the defeat at Barrow, we'd already given them a pasting at BP however for some reason this game something felt odd about it with team selection, it was not a recognised first 1-17 and it showed with a totally disjointed performance and the only one this season where I voice criticism towards the team and coaching staff, was i justified in my criticism well that's down to others opinion but for some reason that game just did not sit well with me.

Then at this point in the season (still early days) injuries and suspension seems to kick in and kick in BIG STYLE!!!!!! Every game since Sheffield away it seems Oldham have had to put out a make shift team with players playing out of position to cover gaps, dual registered from Wigan being parachuted in who have no idea how Oldham have trained and new signings again coming into a team that at the moment they have no idea how they play, what set moves they practised and so on. It feels that since Sheffield Sean Long has had one hand tied behind his back regarding team selection and has to just basically go with what he has got. Saying that though even with a nightmare injury list we have done pretty well:-

Cup game against Barrow at BP - Barrow came with an air of confidence after a great start to the league campaign, they'd stuffed us at their place however Oldham prevailed and with a gutsy performance come away with a 38-24 victory

League game against Featherstone at BP - yes you could argue we got out of jail in this one as Featherstone could not kick a goal for toffee but again with a make shift team Oldham came away with a 30-28 win. Featherstone are no pushovers, they are a decent Championship team who's current league position does not give a true reflection of how good they are. Putting it into context they gave Widnes at Widnes a damn good spanking today beating them 38-16 so they cant be that bad.

League game against Widnes away - alright I'll concede this was not Oldham at their best but again with a make shift team they eke out a 10-10 draw, a point is a point at the end of the day so better than nothing

League game against Bradford at BP - to say the side put out against the best side in the league was "make shift" would be an understatement!! The number of fans I spoke to in the bar before the game were very pessimistic. Those Oldham players out there though that night gave it their all and even though we lost 42-12 there was no shame and was very proud of Oldham's performance 

League game against Doncaster away - again not a classic but again a make shift Oldham team who put in a massive effort to come away with a 30-26 win (JD masterclass did help i admit!!). Like with Featherstone impressive performance today Doncaster totally stuffed Halifax at their place today 30-6 so again Doncaster were no pushovers and are a good team but Oldham prevailed and won a hard fought game. 

League game against Tolouse at BP - could not attend this one due to other commitments but from what i can gather, some players back but still nowhere near what the ideal Sean Long first 17 would be and they put in a spirited performance but were beaten by the better (full time) team.

I think therefore from my perspective as an Oldham fan of 40+ years man and boy I'm more than happy with where we currently sit in the table (if I'm correct around 5th place with 12 points after 10 games - feel free anyone to correct me if i am wrong). If in an ideal world we had not suffered the horrific injury list that we have and also Jamah Sambu's suspension I personally think we could have been sitting pretty at the top (or very near) of the league, I feel that we are that good on our day. The real world however (and i appreciate it is the same for all teams in the Championship) can be cruel and the past 5 or so games have been pretty tough for Oldham but to be where we currently are is a testament to how good a job the players and the coaching staff are performing in the face of adversity. Yes before anyone from other clubs point it out I appreciate we have a wonderful chairman in BQ who at the moment will get the cheque book out to add reinforcements (Ben Davies, Ryan Lannon, Eloi Pelissier in the past couple of weeks) but any new players including dual reg will take time to bed in. With the best will in the world no newbie can work wonders in their first couple of games.

If i had to field any criticism it would only be for two instances:-

1) The away game at Barrow, still think there was something more to this than what we were told but I'm probably reading too much into it and it was just a bad day at the office

2) The signing of Nene Macdonald - I initially thought it was fantastic however even though a really good player I felt his presence totally disjointed the team for the two games he played, no one knew what he was going to do and in the end I feel it just came across as a vanity signing. IF we though sign him when he comes back from Australia for the rest of the season I'll more than probably change my opinion 

Apart from that I feel everyone connected with Oldham, BQ / MF, the coaching and back room staff, the squad, George and the social media team and also the fans can be proud of where we currently are and what we have achieved this year so far. Yes as i say there have been bumps along the road and no doubt will be others as the season progresses but the squad that has been assembled, when all are fit and available and Sean Long is able to pick his best 1-17 then we are a match for anyone even Bradford & Tolouse so well done one and all, I'm massively proud to be an Oldham fan!!!

Roll on Sunday and bring on Featherstone - you boys can do it I know you can, make Oldham proud and let us sing our famous song under the arch at Wembley

GIVE US A "T" etc 

A brilliant post - been a fan since 1953 - sat on my dads shoulders aged 4 - hooked for life - I too am proud to be a Roughyed. 

[m brooksy]

Agree with all of the above. Very happy so far with our performances across the whole season. Our pack are tremendous every week and are led superbly by Drinky at scrum half. The injuries to the backs have been a nightmare especially with Mo and Dixon who are normally two of our best every game.

I think we are a level below Toulouse, York and Bradford even when we have our best 17 out. If I was being hyper critical I do think we went a bit too old with some of our signings but individually they have all played decently. 

[jroyales]

The resume by OV is nothing less than brilliant.

OV has been very diplomatic throughout the piece by not mentioning the impact the referees have had on our losses. Talking to some speccies after the Toulouse game they were all saying the same thing, " when are we going to have a referee who looks both ways!"

[Stevos Barber]

Really well put. Personally I will be happy if we finish where we are now, very happy if we finish in the top four and ecstatic if we make it to the W word

[RoytonRoughyed83]

To be honest my expectations are pretty modest, If we finish top 8 and avoid the relegation fight I'll be quite happy. 

[Enk27]

Great post OV. I think a few of us may have got a little giddy and thought it was “same again” after the early Barrow and York results.

So the thump down to earth as the season has progressed may have been unwelcome.

But had we been offered this start before a ball was kicked we’d have taken it.

Lets keep getting behind the lads, you could see from the heartbreak of letting that last try in vs Toulouse how much it means.

More importantly, let’s do our best to improve attendance. Be that through promoting the club everywhere or via bringing people to the games. We need to make Bill and Mike aware that if they do their part, we will do ours.

[ArthurO]

On 12/05/2025 at 11:28, TBozz said:

been a fan since 1953 - sat on my dads shoulders aged 4 - hooked for life - I too am proud to be a Roughyed. 

That makes two of us.

Did I sit on my dad's shoulders next to you, on your dad's shoulders ? ?