Ahead of the Oldham v Southend playoff final, we check out the latest ticket sales, odds, and what both clubs have said.
Oldham secured their spot with a 4-0 win over Halifax and a 3-0 victory against York, led by in-form striker Joe Garner and 20-goal scorer Mike Fondop-Talum.
Southend, who dropped to the National League in 2021, earned their place with a dramatic seven-goal win over Rochdale and a penalty shootout victory against Forest Green, despite a poor away record. Gus Scott-Morriss, Southend’s top scorer with 15 goals, is currently on a 10-game goal drought.
HOW MANY TICKETS HAVE BEEN SOLD?
Oldham have sold nearly 21,000 while Southend United were given another 600 tickets, selling close to 29,000, but like many, Shrimpers boss Kevin Maher still felt frustrated by the way the ticketing situation has been handled.
“You’ve got the fifth tier of English football being hosted in the national stadium and they can’t get enough people in,” said Maher, per Southend Echo.
“That’s the nuts and bolts of it.
“It’s madness.
“This would’ve been in place a long time ago I’m guessing so I’m guessing us and Oldham put a spanner in the works with number of people who want to come.
“We have family and friends who all want tickets and from talking to the club we would’ve taken close to 40,000.”
Southend were initially handed just 17,500 tickets due to planned engineering works on the railway.
However, Maher said Oldham could also have sold more tickets for the game.
“Oldham are a huge, huge club who would take 20,000 to 30,000 as well,” he continued.
“You could’ve had 60,000 or 70,000 in for the fifth tier final which would have been unbelievable but something has gone on that’s probably not right if I’m being honest.
“I’m just gutted for the fans who have missed out because of the situation and it always seems to be the fans who suffer when there’s bureaucracy or anything else going on.
“I know you can do it by booking coaches but that has it’s on logistical things to sort.
“The club have got to fork out for the coaches before they receive anything themselves.
“I always think if you want to find a way you can but it won’t deter from what will be a great occasion for both clubs.”
✊ Thank you for brilliant support – let’s make it one to remember! #oafc pic.twitter.com/abUhqOkL4a
— Oldham Athletic (@OfficialOAFC) May 30, 2025
Your support is everything 🫡 pic.twitter.com/CI07MIIblF
— Southend United FC (@SUFCRootsHall) May 31, 2025
WHO ARE THE BOOKIES FAVOURITES?
Sky Bet – 31st May
Oldham – 7/5
Southend – 7/4
BetVictor – 31st May
Oldham – 29/20
Southend – 7/4
Paddy Power – 31st May
Oldham – 7/5
Southend – 17/10
Bet365 – 31st May
Oldham – 3/4
Southend – 1/1
Ladbrokes – 31st May
Oldham – 13/10
Southend – 7/4
William Hill – 31st May
Oldham – 4/5
Southend – 10/11
WHAT HAVE BOTH CLUBS SAID?
Southend boss Kevin Maher told BBC Look East: “It’s huge – what’s gone on here the last few years means that this seemed a long way off not so long ago but that’s what happens in football, things change very easily.
“It’s a credit to everyone involved in the club that we’ve managed to take it to this stage but obviously we want more.
“It’s been a slow burner.
“There have been bumps along the road and setbacks that we’ve overcome but we’ve got a group of players that have given everything for the football club and given themselves an opportunity to finish the job off.
“When we spoke to the people at the top of the club, they knew it would be a transitional season because there was so much behind the scenes that needed to be done.
“But when opportunities come you’ve got to be ready for them and we feel like we’ve been ready.
“We’re building momentum and have been getting stronger as the season has gone on and we kept saying to the players we’re not yet ready to finish our season and it’s felt that way the last four or five weeks.”
Maher says both clubs will feel they deserve to be back in League Two.
“They’ve had a tough couple of years as well. But when you look at Southend and what we’ve had to do, what the club’s been through, the fans stood by the team and the club, I think they deserve this and we want to get it over the line,” he said.
Micky Mellon said, per Oldham Times: “There’s no getting away from it, it’s huge. It’s a huge opportunity.
“We’ve done unbelievably well to get into his situation and it’s about us going down there and giving a good version of ourselves and going fighting for that big prize,” said Mellon, for whom this is his fourth Wembley play-off final as a manager.
“I don’t want to say it fazes me because I try to practice what I preach, I go and play the game.
“It’s a game of football and you’ve got to go and perform in it, but you should enjoy going there. You should accept that, yes, it’s going to be a nervous occasion because you’re playing at the national stadium, of course it is. There’s not a human being that won’t be nervous going there, trust me. Accept that but go and focus on doing the things you do well for us and fill your mind with that rather than anything that’s not helpful.
“Play the game, realise you’ve got a game, you’ve got jobs to do, don’t get affected by the occasion. Just go and play the game and do your jobs and try to play well, and the team that plays well will get the result.”
“This club’s never not been ready for the EFL.
“Things over the last however many years have put us in the position we’re in now, but it’s about trying to turn that around and move it forward again and get it back up the divisions and back to where it undoubtedly belongs.
“You’ve still got to go and win games of football, and we’ve got a big one on Sunday.
“Southend have had the same as us. I’m a football man so I understand that as well, and they’ll probably be saying the same things as I’m saying now. But we’ve got to concentrate on Oldham and try to go down there and play well.
“We know that we’ve got enough to give a really good account of ourselves, there’s no doubt about that. We’ll go down there and try to do that, and it should be a cracking game.
“I’m looking forward to a big crowd and all the rest of it so it should be a great event, we’ve just got to go there and try to win a game of football.”
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