20 Questions: Oldham Athletic

With Oldham back in the Football League after three seasons away, Will Holdaway gives us the lowdown on the Latics

Jun 23, 2025

Monday 23 June 2025

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THE SCARF MY FATHER WORE 2025-26 CALENDAR: Having been to all 56 County games this season, I’ve taken thousands of photos. I’ve put together calendars for next season, featuring some of my favourite photos from the last year, plus some other County bits and bobs. £10 each. Get in touch if you’d like one.

Dear County fans, Stopfordians, Oldham supporters, and anyone else from The Football Family joining us today, a very warm welcome to your Monday edition of The Scarf My Father Wore.

After three seasons in the National League, Oldham Athletic are back in League Two, with Frank Rothwell steering the Latics ship into calmer waters. Will Holdaway relives Oldham’s Wembley win for us, along with loads of other Boundary Park bits and bobs.

Today’s edition is sponsored by Impact Gardens & Driveways. A big thank you to Carl, Fiona and Lee.

Thanks also to Steven from Eezi Cuesports who sponsors our Oldham Athletic content on the website.

Finally, I’m currently walking every street in Stockport to raise money for mental health charity Mentell. If you’d like to make a donation to help me reach my target, please click here.

Total distance so far: 253.75 miles

Total steps so far: 418,084

Total raised so far: £2,312

Total completed streets so far: 474 (Click here for the full list, which includes reports and photos from every day of the walk.)

Further information on the walk can be found by clicking here.

Des Junior

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Photo credit: Oldham Athletic FC

Oldham currently play in League Two, which is the fourth tier of English football. What’s that like as a division?

Better than the National League! Dean Brennan, boss of last season’s National League champions Barnet, says that every game in League Two is like playing a top seven side in the National League. He talks a lot of crap but that seems about right to me.

Describe a typical matchday for yourself in Oldham.

I live in London so my visits to Boundary Park are rare. The last game I was – the play-off eliminator against Halifax – was very atypical. I drove up on the day, had a few cans at a mate’s house on arrival. I edit the match programme and wanted to see the sales bit of the operation, so I went to the ground and picked up 100 programmes to sell to the Halifax fans, who did not buy 100 programmes despite my promises that it contained plenty of pictures for people who can’t read.

Just before kick-off, I went to the portacabin where they do the reckonings. I was still in there when we went 3-0 up 12 minutes later. That’s typical. I’ve not seen a Latics goal at Boundary Park for decades, but I have heard the crowd celebrating from the comfort of the programme portacabin, the bar, the toilets and the multi-faith prayer room.

Who are your club’s biggest rivals?

York City think they are. We couldn’t care less about them. It’s probably Rochdale. The buzz of beating Rochdale is better than the buzz of beating anyone else.

What’s your best memory following Oldham?

Wembley, 2025. Norwood’s goal, Harratt’s goal, singing “Boys In Blue” at the end – an execrable song in every setting but that one. I had glandular fever in 1991, which is the only other time we’ve been promoted in my lifetime. Missed my GCSE exams too. A fair exchange is no robbery.

What’s your worst memory following Oldham?

Relegation to the National League. The lowest point in our history.

If Oldham Athletic was a TV show, which one would it be?

Tough one. Until recently, we channelled the farce of It’s a Knockout (ask your parents’ parents). Lately we’ve been boring with flashes of pure class. There’s no end in sight, so Coronation Street.

What’s your ground called, and how would you describe it for someone who’s never visited before?

Boundary Park. It’s on the boundary of Werneth, Chadderton and Royton, which are former administrative districts of Oldham. For someone who’s never visited before, it’s a traditional football ground. Nothing fancy. A beautiful place to watch the beautiful game.

What’s your thoughts on Stockport County?

Gone off the radar with your recent successes haven’t you? You’ll be back in our sights soon enough, one way or the other…

Have you ever visited the town of Stockport before?

Yes, but only for work, specifically as a driver’s mate for Holroyd Meek, which changed to 3663 and then Bidvest. I humped about a million boxes of frozen food from the back of the lorry into the cold storage areas of Burger King and a couple of pubs. This was in the mid 90s. They’ve got AI robots to do that sort of thing now.

What colours do you play in, and what’s the best ever kit Oldham have had?

Opinions vary. I like tangerine shirts, blue shorts and blue stockings. We usually have an all blue or blue-and-white kit at home. Our second and third strips are less straightforward. Tangerine features quite a lot. We had white-with-a-blue-and-tangerine sash number last season, in which even our fat fans looked great.

If Oldham were playing in the next FA Cup final, who’d be at Wembley as your celebrity fan?

TV’s Professor Brian Cox. He recently came out of the woodwork as an Oldham fan when we were nearing success for the first time in 34 years. No shame in that… but there are unkind judgments to make about it. He went to the local paid-for school, Hulme Grammar, where he contrived to squander all the advantages he was given by getting a D in his maths A-level. Look at him now, reading words off a card to explain the workings of the universe to a specialist audience of people who, like him, spend a lot of time on Wikipedia.

What’s the most interesting fact about Oldham Athletic we might not know?

Founder members of the… everyone knows that.

Boundary Park is the only ground in the country where the players enter the field by going down steps. Rangers is (or was) the only one in Scotland.

Who’s your all time Oldham hero?

Playing: Roger Palmer, record goalscorer.

Non-playing: Frank Rothwell.

What sort of attendances do you get, and how would you describe Oldham’s fanbase?

We’ll probably average about 7,000 in League Two. We’ve played every team in the league fairly recently, which puts a dent in the away followings.

The fanbase is very likeable just now. We took more than 20,000 to Wembley for the play-off final, which is a fairly good barometer of the size of our fanbase. Everyone was there: men, women, children… of all ages, all colours and all creeds. The atmosphere was brilliant.

What’s your manager like?

Micky Mellon looks like a 1,000 metre granite cliff when we win and a 1,000 metre granite cliff with a dog pissing on it when we lose.

He’s a huge moralist of the suffering Jesus variety: there can be no redemption unless you’ve undergone some serious hurt. Happiness is when they take the thumb screws off and you’re merely hanging upside down from the ceiling.

What are your owners like?

The Rothwell family. Frank Rothwell OBE is the spiritual leader; his children Luke and Su do the books. That might sound disparaging, but if you haven’t got serious people doing the books at a football club, you’re going down the tubes sooner rather than later. That’s not to say that Frank isn’t a serious person. He’s a serious person who’s deservedly having the time of his life after buying a football club.

What’s it like for a night out in Oldham?

Dire by all accounts. It used to be one of the most buzzing towns in the north. The police and council didn’t like it, and one by one the licensed premises went by the wayside. There might be a similar story in Stockport. With the change to late opening, lots of the district towns now have their own nightlife, so there’s no need to go up town to a club for a late drink. Young people (let’s say 18 to 30) don’t go out anyway because they’re skint and getting shafted for all they’ve got by the taxman, the Student Loans Company, car insurers, landlords, banks, mortgage lenders and so on.

What’s the best thing about being an Oldham fan?

The fans, the shared experience (unique in English football and probably world football) of not winning anything or being promoted or even so much as being in a final for 34 years. And when we did it felt like the wait was worth it.

What’s the worst thing about being an Oldham fan?

I’ve heard people doing racisms too many times to think the next one’s never far away. I’m of an age where I don’t care if I get lamped for calling it out.

What are your hopes for this season?

Lots of Oldham fans would say consolidation. From February last year, the title was out of reach, so Micky Mellon built a squad to win three play-off games against all and any comers. It worked, but we need to be better and more consistent in League Two. We might even need to get some younger players in with an eye on future transfer profits. We’ve done next to no transfer business as of this minute, so my hopes this season are we win the league at a canter. That’s how I start every season.

➡️ Enjoyed today’s article? Click here for all of the other ‘20 Questions’ features we’ve published.

A few words from Impact Gardens & Driveways

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Photo of the day

Boundary Park, Oldham

Rickie Lambert on the ball for John Hollins’ men during County’s 2-0 defeat at Oldham in September 2003.

5 questions with Steven from Eezi Cuesports

What’s been the best moment with your business so far?

Having only just launched, it has to be getting online and up and running.

What’s your plans for the business in the future?

To get the business making a profit within two years.

What would you like to promote to The Scarf My Father Wore readers?

Our very personal customer service.

What are you best at – snooker, pool or football?

Snooker. I play with my son three times a week. I’m not that good but I’m enjoying the game again at 60 years old!

What’s your favourite memory as an Oldham fan?

Standing on the town hall steps at the age of 8 or 9 with the players after winning the Third Division in 1973-74. The photo was on the front of the Oldham Chronicle.

➡️ Visit eezi.store to browse the full range of snooker cues, pool cues and Oldham Athletic merch.

Today in SK

🎬 Cinema

Two films at The Savoy Cinema (SK4) today. The Salt Path (12A) at 6.15pm, followed by An Unfinished Film (12A) at 8.30pm. Click here for tickets.

🍺 Food and drink

Bitter £2.30 a pint all day at The Cross Keys (SK8). Plus, discounts on certain lagers till 6pm.

If you’re heading out for a few beers today, pop into one of our featured venues such as The Crown (SK2), The Dog & Partridge (SK2), The Crown Inn (SK6), The Three Tunnes (SK7) and Flute & Firkin (SK12).