Oldham Athletic fans invade the pitch at Boundary Park after watching their side’s defeat against Colchester United on Saturday.
Supporters of the Latics legged it past the less than bothered stewards in protest towards their owner, then chants broke out of “We want Abdallah out”.
This was always planned due to the ownership and running of the club that even saw one player recently describe his time there as the most stressful of his career. More on that further down in the article.
The club now sit bottom of the League Two table, losing all four league games played so far.
#OAFC fans invade the pitch after Latics’ 2-1 loss to #ColU. Chants of “We want Abdallah out” around Boundary Park. pic.twitter.com/xn0WlOS47C
— Adam Millington (@AdamGMillington) August 21, 2021
Oldham stated overnight that ‘actions of a small group have the potential to ruin matchdays for others throughout the season after a number of breaches of safety regulations were apparent in recent home fixtures. Confrontation of away supporters outside Boundary Park and pitch incursions, are not acceptable.
‘The club continue to work closely with Greater Manchester Police on these matters and recent actions are deemed as criminal offences and can have severe consequences with the authorities in future cases.
‘As always, the club would like to thank the vast majority for their support in adhering to the safety guidelines and for co-operating with the matchday stewards on a regular basis.’
A mini protest at Boundary Park at the final whistle as Latics suffer a fourth straight league defeat, losing 2-1 at home to previously winless Colchester. Fans chant “We want Abdallah out” #oafc pic.twitter.com/C4frPYs4Z2
— Suzanne Geldard (@SuzanneNQNW) August 21, 2021
On the 9th of August, a proposed boycott of Oldham Athletic home games had been postponed due to a lack of clarity about away day numbers.
Fans group Push The Boundary encouraged fans to support them in a Boundary Park no-show this season, and instead follow the club away in a protest against owner Abdallah Lemsagam.
But there was a mixed response to the proposal with fans feeling starved of football after a full season played behind closed doors, and a 525-day wait to be able to watch a competitive football match because of the Covid pandemic. A crowd of over 4,000 came out for Latics’ opening day game at home to Newport County on Saturday.
So in addition to restrictions being imposed by opposition clubs on the number of tickets allocated to away fans, a decision has been taken by PTB to postpone the boycott.
Ahead of Latics hosting Tranmere Rovers in the Carabao Cup clash, and their first away game of the season at Bradford City, where 1,000 tickets were allocated, PTB released the following statement: “Following on from the (Saturday’s) game we thought it was right to reach out to supporters.
“Supporters have spoken out over numerous platforms since the build up to the season advising why they support asking for the owner to leave but cannot support the home boycott that we announced back in June.
“Fans having not been able to step foot in grounds for near on 18 months has been difficult and becoming an armchair supporter was not something fans were wanting to continue! So attending home games at our beloved Boundary Park for a number of supporters has been too much and something they couldn’t pass up on.
“We respect everyone’s opinion on whether you attend games or not as every supporter’s personal circumstance is different.
“At the time when we announced the boycott very little push back was received from supporters but when the real test of questioning your loyalty to the club by attending games or not, it becomes real and very hard to separate.
“We doubt that attendances will remain as they were (on Saturday), given the starvation of football for fans in recent times we expected an inflated attendance and the first game of the season always draws a larger crowd. The acid test will most certainly be in the forthcoming games and that is what we will treat as a barometer for the mood of supporters.
“Having seen the government guidance around attendances and the lifting of restrictions we were desperately hoping that all restrictions would be lifted which is why the call for an away day only and boycotting home games was announced.
“However, we have received a call from West Yorkshire Police to advise us that the Bradford game has been made all ticket on Covid grounds along with a lowly allocation of 1,000 fans. This is obviously very disappointing considering this is going against government guidelines but appreciate the seriousness of what Covid has done to the country over the last 18 months. Given this is unlikely to be the last ground with restrictions we feel this leaves us in a difficult position and one that we have to react to. After taking fan concerns on board we therefore feel we are left in the difficult position of putting the boycott on hold until we can be given more certainty around availability of pay on the day in away stadiums.
“To run with this when it won’t get maximum impact, would dilute its intention.
“By taking the decision to postpone the boycott, it leaves the door open for when more certain times arrive, but to call this off completely, it then becomes an irreversible decision for what is an unforeseen circumstance.
“As you can imagine this has not been an easy decision to make but your opinion as a supporter counts. We have listened to your thoughts and opinions on the matter and believe in the short term, until things return to “normal”, this is the right thing to do. Should this situation change, you will obviously be the first to know.
“As a supporter of the club, we want you to assess and decide whether you want to attend home and/or away games. As a group, we have taken a collective decision not to fund the current regime, and any fan that currently takes this stance, or chooses to take this stance in future has our full support. We spoke about whether it’s appropriate to encourage fans to attend away games if tickets had to be bought in advance (and therefore the club getting a small percentage of this income). We felt by encouraging this, it’s a half measure and could send mixed messages.
“We made it clear when we announced our plans to attend pay on the gate away days only, that it would be one of many steps take to put pressure on the current owners. That remains true and these plans will have to be implemented sooner than we originally intended, but alas, taking on a project like PTB, and given the events of the last 18 months we have learnt that it’s often a bumpy and unpredictable road that we have to be adapt to.
“We will continue to push the club towards engagement and a change in their behaviour towards supporters while the current owners remain. We want change, we NEED change and we will continue to strive for this however we can.
“Ultimately, we are four fans that want the best for the long term future of the club and it’s amazing fans, and we want to be driven by your opinions and want your voices to be heard loud and clear.
“This isn’t the first hurdle we have faced and we are certain it won’t be the last. We have therefore decided to react as quickly as possible and we will be setting up another focus group of supporters so we can reach a decision over next steps. If you’d like to form part of this, let us know and we will set something up as soon as possible.
“As always, if you have any other suggestions then we are always open to hearing them.”
David Wheater spoke about how stressful it was being at Oldham, before departing the club.
“I got warned not to go [to Oldham] but in my head I was a Premier League and Championship player all my life so I thought ‘it won’t happen to me’ but it did,” he told BBC Radio Manchester.
“When I got there it seemed alright. The day before the first pay day, I asked a few lads if they were getting paid on time and they all said different things.
“We were due to get paid on the Friday, there was a game on the Saturday and it still wasn’t there in the morning so I texted and said ‘look, I’m thinking about quitting already’ and then it finally went in just before I set off for the game.”
Wheater went on to make 35 appearances in his first season with the club, meaning a further year’s option in his contract was taken up.
Relations between the board and the playing squad were strained when, in March 2020, the season was suspended as cases and deaths during the coronavirus pandemic began to rise sharply.
“We had a Zoom meeting and the club said they’re not paying a penny on top [of furlough]. For me it was around a 70.1% pay cut, for some of the lads it was a 65% pay cut,” he added.
“We were not going to do that. Who would take a 70% pay cut? We got told that was until fans come back or we go back to football. At the end of the Zoom meeting I asked if it was a deferral and they just said no.”
Wheater was told to train with the youth team and left out of the senior squad.
“I played the first couple of behind-closed-doors friendlies [in pre-season] then I think it was Nottingham Forest away. The manager pulled me aside and he said he’s not allowed to pick me, it’s come from the top. I told him I guessed that would probably happen,” Wheater continued.
“I was annoyed as I’d been training every day. You’ll find no one who loves kicking footballs more than me. I’m the first one out at training and last one in.
“I was fit. People said I wasn’t but I was. I was there on the first day of pre-season running about.
“The second time he told me I wasn’t allowed to play again, he said they’re making it impossible for him to pick me and it’s their choice to put me in the youth team.
“When I was training there I couldn’t care less as I was playing football and the lads were decent. But I was nearly a foot taller than them all, they’re 15 years old and it was just embarrassing.”
A lengthy statement outlining their position, stating the player’s recent health and injury record.
One of the reasons given in the statement for why he was not playing was due to a back injury from “lifting his dog”.
“I wasn’t lifting my dog as in doing daft things, I just pulled it out of the car and hurt my back. I’ve had back problems before so I didn’t cause it doing that. I was out for two months,” he responded.
“I have got horrendous sciatica and couldn’t do anything other than going on the bike at the training ground.”
Kewell was sacked by the club on 7 March – a year to the day after Wheater’s most recent senior game for Oldham – after just over seven months in charge with the club 16th in the table.
Wheater was released five days later and he says his experience with the club affected his mental health.
“I had to go and get tablets off the doctor. I wasn’t sleeping. I was just thinking about stuff. The club were putting out statements but I kept quiet,” he said.
“My wife used to work in the NHS and she was brilliant. My dad said it was affecting him and my mum. I didn’t think it would but they said they were thinking of me all the time and were worried.”
When asked what was worse, his time with Bolton Wanderers as the club went through administration or his time with Oldham, Wheater said: “We didn’t get paid at Bolton for about eight months but it was nowhere near as bad as what was going on here [at Oldham].”
Fans have given their reaction as Oldham fans invade the pitch after defeat against Colchester…
@steveparker007: This season’s Southend United
@tashkentterror: Keith Curle up against it.
@hewi1989: Absolutely brilliant. The sooner them cunts get out the better we will be 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
@GaryJamesWriter: Football’s back! I feel for @OfficialOAFC fans. It’s a great club.
@Y2Craig: Have they considered hiring a plane?
@Y2Craig: These fans not thought about tweeting their MP, hiring a coach to London or shouting at some shops? Amateurs.
@Stever62Roberts: Quite like a pitch invasion do Oldham.
@samholdaway01: What a club
@CromTheOne: Thought they’d beaten Tranmere again for a minute!
@ActiveArron: League 2 fans taking action against poor owners … fair play
@ColUBryn: I understand the #OAFC fans aren’t happy with the current owner. They don’t hang about in Oldham considering it’s only August.
@aaronoafc: Get out of our club!!! Nothing positive will happen under this regime. Bring on the fines!! #oafc
@samuelgill25: Hopefully today is the start of something, no longer want to accept mediocrity, crook owners who are taking us to our lowest ebb and local/national news not doing anything to highlight the issues! Our club is dying and it needs saving! #oafc
@TheLatestColU: From a U’s fan I hope your issues are resolved soon. People will say how it’s illegal and yes it is, but I also think it shows your passion. Too many owners running our clubs terribly and being stubborn – sometimes we think we are run poorly, but we forget it could be a lot worse
@marland_james: The change will happen @OfficialOAFC
@simotrfc: Haha brilliant.
@joerobbo_: Every game until they go boys #oafc #Abdallahout
@Mick_Mack_78: This is a club with serious issues.
@andyhusky: Not a fan of the pitch invasion but loving the Abdallah out chants
@LJA_53: Hahaha steward going for that kid in the blue and him still getting away
@PhilipE01353369: Kids being kids i see. Not helping our cause to rid us of the brothers grime sadly. Just another fine, maybe points deduction, players and staff wont get paid because we have no money. Its only going one way. No winners here.
@afrancis_oafc: It’s not a good time to be an Oldham Athletic fan, is it?
@sleepysilvery: Good for them – hope more join in!
@andydearden1964: That’s the trouble only a mini protest, should have been half way through the second half to halt the game then it would be national news
@cleggyswa: Kids are the futures of your clubs 👍 regardless of who it was protesting they are unhappy at the way its run…
— pork pie (@73pie) August 21, 2021
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