Oldham Athletic: Heading to Heaven

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When he was appointed as the manager of Oldham Athletic back in March 2013, many fans of the League One side were hopeful that the former Kilmarnock footballer could lead the club to a better standing than they had when Paul Dickov was leading the club, despite the Oldham role being his first in professional management.

At the age of 31, Lee Johnson became the youngest manager in the Football League and meant that he would manage in the same league as his father Gary who is the manager of Yeovil Town. His first game in charge was a 3–0 victory against Hartlepool United on 19 March, which lifted Oldham out of the relegation zone. He led the club to safety from relegation in the 2012–13, with notable vital wins in the run – in to the end of the season against Bury and automatic promotion chasing Yeovil Town who were then managed by his father.

In the pre-season of the 2013–14 season, Johnson vowed to make changes to the squad and thus changing the way in which his team went out to play football, fan favourite Robbie Simpson headed the list of players that were released. And fast, energetic players such as James Dayton and Sidney Schmeltz were amongst the players to be signed, including making Korey Smith loan into a permanent deal, with Johnson also making the former Norwich player Oldham's Captain.

Oldham started the season as the manager intended, playing fast, high tempo and expansive football, winning 4–3 away at Stevenage in a thriller of a game. This theme continued throughout the season, with Oldham playing high quality football, receiving many plaudits from opposition managers and pundits alike. However, the Latics acquired the knack of being admirable losers and not getting the results they felt that they sometimes deserved.

In January, various changes were made, notably losing the services of James Tarkowksi to Brentford for an undisclosed fee. But, signing players that would go on to make a large impact to Oldham's second-half of the season, most notably the loan deal of Gary Harkins from St. Mirren, who would go on to a catalyst for the form shown by the Latics in the second half of the season.

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Lee Johnson became League One's youngest manager when he joined Oldham.

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After various excellent performances throughout the first-half of the season, and with the vast majority of the fans on his side and supporting the way his side were playing, Johnson was rewarded with a new three – year contract, extending his contract till the Summer of 2018. Johnson stated that
"I love the club, the new contract extension makes me feel valued by the owner and the board. I know I will get it right and that I will be given time to do that, at what is a fantastic club".

In the second half of the season, the Latics not only produced the same excellent performances that had gone unrewarded at times in the first half of the season, but they were also getting the results to match, ending the season on a 10 match unbeaten run. Finishing 15th in League One, two points off the top – half of the table, the best finish for the side since the end of the 2008–09 season under John Sheridan.

Lee Johnson will now hope to better the position he left Oldham in last season, and although he has limited financial help available to him, many fans of the club believe that he has the capability to get the job done.

Good Luck

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Oldham Athletic have formally released an official statement about their choice to not sign convicted rapist Ched Evans, following a large media backlash and fan anger.

Chedwyn Michael "Ched" Evans, born 28 December 1988, is a Welsh footballer. Born in St Asaph, Denbighshire, Evans was signed by Manchester City from Chester City's youth set up in 2002 and he subsequently progressed through the ranks. Evans was loaned to Norwich City in 2007, where he scored 10 goals in 28 league appearances, before returning to his parent club. With first team opportunities at City limited he was subsequently sold to Sheffield United for £3 million in 2009. After an unspectacular first two seasons at Bramall Lane he scored 35 goals during the 2011–12 season. Evans also represented Wales at Wales under-21 and senior level, scoring on his debut for the national side in 2008, and making a total of 13 appearances.

Evans was convicted of rape in April 2012 and sentenced to five years in prison. He has not played professional football since his release from Sheffield United in October 2014.

It was reported that Evans had been in discussion with League One club Oldham Athletic and was expected to sign for them in a deal which may be worth as little as £400 per week. The club's manager Lee Johnson was reported to have expressed "grave reservations" about the signing, but was overruled by the club's owner Simon Corney. A petition against the signing gathered 19,000 signatures within a few hours and over 30,000 by the next day, while politicians such as Labour Party leader Ed Miliband voiced their opposition to the move.

After weeks of speculation, Oldham Athletic ended their interest in signing Evans, citing that proceeding could have resulted in "significant financial pressure" and would have "continued to be a divisive influence", while condemning the "vile and abusive threats, some including death threats, which have been made to our fans, sponsors and staff". BBC Sport reported that a named relative of a staff member was threatened with rape, and that one sponsor already having ended their association with Oldham in protest and another saying that it would follow suit if Evans signed. The petition against Evans signing had reached over 60,000 signatures. Meanwhile, a total of ten other clubs (other than Oldham and Sheffield United) from League One and League Two told BBC Sport that they would not sign Evans.

Evans stated that he withdrew from the deal due to "mob rule", and that he was concerned the building of Oldham's new stand would be adversely affected by his signing. He also apologized for any grievances he had caused due to his rape case, but maintained his innocence. Journalist Henry Winter, writing for The Daily Telegraph, refuted Evans' claims, instead saying that:
"It was people’s disgust that a convicted rapist felt he could swan back into a high-profile job after revealing no remorse for a crime that would preclude re-employment for many", while criticizing Evans for making "his statement of contrition ... on the offensive, legally questionable website that continues to make life miserable for his victim".

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Barnsley have appointed Oldham manager Lee Johnson as their new head coach on a three-and-a-half-year contract.

The clubs have agreed an undisclosed compensation deal for the 33-year-old and his assistant Tommy Wright. The Oakwell side have been without a manager since sacking their former manager Danny Wilson due to the side's poor performances in the league.

Johnson told BBC Radio Sheffield:
"I had two really positive conversations with the owner and I really felt the passion and belief he has. It wasn't a case of wanting to leave Oldham because I loved my time there, but I wanted to progress and give myself the best opportunity to achieve. It is a great time for me to come here and hopefully achieve something special."

Johnson became the Football League's youngest manager when he took over at Boundary Park in March 2013 aged 31, and guided the Latics to League One safety in his first season.
He helped them to a 15th-place finish last campaign and has an overall record of 36 wins, 35 losses and 32 draws from his time in charge.

He was reluctantly embroiled in the Ched Evans controversy earlier this season when Oldham considered signing the convicted rapist before being forced to back down. He will no such problems at Oakwell and Barnsley hope he can get them into the play-offs following relegation from the Championship last season. Barnsley sacked Danny Wilson nearly two weeks ago and have won their last two games under caretaker bosses Mark Burton and Paul Heckingbottom.

Lee Johnson won’t have far to look if he needs some advice in his job as Barnsley’s new head coach. And although he has stressed he will be his own man at Oakwell, trying to implement a philoshopy that will guide the club back to the Championship, the 33-year-old knows his dad Gary is always on hand to help if needed. Johnson played under his dad at Yeovil before getting his first managerial break at Oldham in March 2013. But now the tough challenge of trying to get the Reds promoted to the second tier awaits – and that’s bound to test the Football League’s third youngest manager.

“My dad has been a manager for 20-odd years, so he’s always there to lean on,”
Admitted Johnson Junior. “He’s certainly a good tool for me, someone to lean on if I need too. It was massive decision for me to come here after all the due diligence. But you believe you’re going to be the person who breaks the mould and achieves something fantastic. If we can all pull in the right direction we’ve got a great chance of being successful here.”

Johnson beat off some stiff competition for the job, most notably Swindon manager Mark Cooper, who was the Reds’ first-choice for the job. But alongside his assistant coach Tommy Wright, Johnson is quietly-confident the Reds can build for the future and get back to where the club’s chief executive, Ben Mansford, believes they “rightfully” belong.

"What we’ve wanted to do from the start of the season is to build from the bottom up so, when we get back into the Championship – and that’s what we all want to do – we get back to where we rightfully belong,” said Mansford. “Our ultimate target is building from the bottom and, although we’ve had to make a very difficult decision with Danny Wilson, we believe we’re not a million miles away from really kicking on with that process.”

Oldham Athletic will now be searching for a new manager, with speculation and rumours circling round that the Lactics want to place Manchester United and Oldham fan Paul Scholes onto the managerial hotseat.

I hope you continue this story as it has huge potential to be good.

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Oldham Athletic will speak to Paul Scholes about their vacant manager's position later this week but are not hopeful the Manchester United legend will take the job.

The League One club are interested in a shock move for Scholes, who is a lifelong fan and who lives in the town. They have already spoken to the 40-year-old and will do so again over the coming days.

As reported by Sportsmail last week, timing may be an issue for Scholes who has a wide range of media commitments.And in a BBC Radio Manchester phone-in, Oldham chairman Simon Corney confirmed that to be the case.

'We speak on a regular basis,' he said. 'Occasionally he comes to training sessions. He's a friend of the club. We know what Paul's all about, he's very low key, he doesn't make a big deal about things. He turns up at the games - never turns up at the directors' box - he turns up with his two lads, flat cap down and you wouldn't even know he was there. I would love to have him on board. It's difficult again you have to ask would Oldham be right for Paul. I think one day he will come and manage the club but it's all about timing for him.'

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Iain Dowie is a fans' favourite to take the Oldham Role

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Former manager Iain Dowie is a fans' favourite for the role, vacated by Lee Johnson who left to join League One rivals Barnsley.

'He would be fantastic for us,' said Corney. 'We have spoken and we will chat next week. Can we provide him what he needs? Somebody like Iain Dowie would have to think long and hard about us but it's certainly not out of the question.'

Others to have been linked with the post are former Manchester City coaches Scott Sellars and Steve Eyre and ex-West Bromwich Albion manager Alan Irvine.

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Oldham Athletic have today announced that they have found a replacement to 33 year-old Lee Johnson as former Notts County and QPR man Shaun Derry takes over as permanent manager at the club.

Born in Nottingham, Derry started his career at Notts County as a trainee, before being bought by Sheffield United in 1998 for a fee of £700,000. He scored once during his spell at Sheffield United, his goal coming in the FA Cup against Rushden & Diamonds.

Derry was sold to Portsmouth in 2000 for £300,000. He was a regular in the side under both Tony Pulis and Steve Claridge before being made team captain by Graham Rix. After Rix's departure, Derry was amongst the many players deemed surplus to requirements by new manager Harry Redknapp in summer 2002 rebuilding and was sold to Crystal Palace for £400,001. He scored only once during his spell at Portsmouth, his goal coming in a crucial win over against West Bromwich Albion.

Derry helped Crystal Palace in their return to the Premier League in 2004, making 44 appearances including an appearance in the 2004 First Division play-off final. It was his corner that led to Darren Powell scoring a 90th minute header to send the Eagles to extra-time in the semi-final, which they would win on penalties. He struggled to get into the team during the 2004–05 season and, after a loan spell at Nottingham Forest, Leeds signed him for an undisclosed amount in February 2005.

Derry's first goal for Leeds United came on his home debut against West Ham United, sealing a 2–1 victory against the Hammers. Derry was a regular in the Leeds starting eleven in season 2005–06, becoming a vital part of the squad as they pushed for promotion back into the Premier League and a cult hero with the Leeds fans for his passionate displays. Derry was part of the Leeds team which reached the Championship Playoff finals, but Leeds ended up on the wrong end of a 3–0 defeat to confine them to another season in the Championship. In August 2006 he pledged his future to the club, signing a contract extension until July 2009.

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Derry's first goal for Leeds United came on his home debut against West Ham United, sealing a 2–1 victory against the Hammers. Derry was a regular in the Leeds starting eleven in season 2005–06, becoming a vital part of the squad as they pushed for promotion back into the Premier League and a cult hero with the Leeds fans for his passionate displays. Derry was part of the Leeds team which reached the Championship Playoff finals, but Leeds ended up on the wrong end of a 3–0 defeat to confine them to another season in the Championship. In August 2006 he pledged his future to the club, signing a contract extension until July 2009.

Leeds' manager Kevin Blackwell was sacked after a poor start to the 2006–07 season. In October 2006, new Leeds manager Dennis Wise revealed Derry as the new vice captain of the club, with Kevin Nicholls made captain. Derry was once again a regular in the Leeds team in the 2006–07 season. A hernia and Achilles tendon injury in January 2007 saw Derry being ruled out for the rest of the season. Derry's fitness returned the following season as Leeds prepared for life in League One. However, he did not feature for the club again and returned to former club Palace on loan in November 2007.

Further doubts about the midfielder's future at the Elland Road club arose when it was reported that Derry had declined Wise's offer to return and feature in the home tie against Oldham Athletic on New Year's Day 2008 with Leeds' missing midfielders due to injuries. It was later revealed that it was actually manager Neil Warnock who blocked Derry's return to Leeds rather than Derry himself.

Shortly after his loan spell concluded, Derry made his move back to Palace a permanent one, signing for the club on a three-year deal for £150,000. In his second season back at the club he was named club captain after the departure of former captain Mark Hudson to Charlton. He held the position for the next two seasons.

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In the 2009–10 season, Derry played every minute of every match for Crystal Palace. The season was an eventful one during which Palace were placed into administration, leading to the departure of Neil Warnock to Queens Park Rangers and a fight to avoid relegation to League One. This was finally achieved on the last day of the season, 2 May 2010 after an away 2–2 draw against Sheffield Wednesday.

Derry departed from Selhurst Park at the end of the season to reunite with Warnock at his new club Queens Park Rangers signing a two-year contract, on a free transfer, after his contract at Palace had expired. On 21 March 2012 Derry scored his first league goal for the club, and his only in the Premier League, in the 3–2 win over Liverpool. Derry, alongside his former Crystal Palace teammate Clint Hill, won much respect from QPR fans for his tireless work ethic and leadership on the pitch throughout the Championship title-winning season and the subsequent 2 years in the Premier League.
On 21 January 2013, Derry signed a one-year contract extension with QPR, keeping him at the club until 2014. On 8 August 2013, Derry joined Millwall on a 28 day loan.

Derry was appointed manager at Notts County on 6 November 2013. Despite looking destined for relegation, Derry secured Notts's League One status with six wins from the last nine games, a draw on last day of season kept County up by three points.

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Today, Shaun Derry took his first official press conference as the brand new manager of Oldham Athletic, after he replaced Lee Johnson in the role, who left for Barnsley a few weeks earlier.

10:45 AM: Press agents from many different newspapers and other British media take their seats in the press room at Boundary Park.

10:55 AM: Shaun Derry, Ian Hill and Adam Lockwood take their seats at their press booth in front of the press.

11:00 AM: Ian Hill: Good morning everyone, we would like to formerly welcome you to this morning's press conference here at Boundary Park, and we would also like to introduce to you the chairman of Oldham Athletic: Mr. Simon Corney.

11:00 AM: Simon Corney: Hello everyone. On behalf of the Board of Directors here at Oldham Athletic, it is my extreme pleasure to be here today and introduce to you the brand new manager of Oldham, who I think can turn is into a better club, Shaun Derry. Of course, we know that Shaun has a vast footballing background and is coming into Oldham as his second job in professional footballing management, but we at Oldham believe he will do a fine job. We would like to openly thank Lee Johnson for his time at the club and the progress he made in the league and with the players, and wish him the best of luck at Barnsley and beyond.

Carl Shaw (Football League Paper): Do you feel that your ambitions for the club are matched by the chairman's?

Shaun Derry: I do, yes. Our discussions are often creative and there a lot of good ideas traded which promise good things for Oldham's future.

Shaun Oates (BBC Radio Manchester): Do you feel that the expectations asked of you are fair and realistic?

Shaun Derry: If Oldham is to really progress towards the higher reaches of the modern game and improve it's reputation, everyone at the club has to have an ambitious mindset and want to aim high. That's what we're doing at the moment, aiming high.

Carl Shaw (Football League Paper): What made you take the Oldham job?

Shaun Derry: Here at Oldham, they have certain philosophies about football that I agree with and I feel that this is the ideal place to take my career in management to the next level and allow Oldham to gain the recognition it deserves.

Matty Wallace: (The Manchester Evening News): New Managers often bring in their own people and the current backroom staff may be wondering about their futures at the club. Will there be many changes on that front?

Shaun Derry: I feel that Oldham's backroom staff have a great chemistry and have in-depth histories at the club, so I believe it would be foolish of me to come in and disrupt that. However, everyone will have the chance to prove to me that they are worthy of working with the expectations I have set for the club and changes will be made if I feel some people are not at the standard that I want them to be at.

Shaun Oates (BBC Radio Manchester): On the off-chance that any agents read your comments today, is there a particular area of the squad that you are looking to strengthen in the near future?

Shaun Derry: I am not prepared, nor do I wish, to talk about transfer policy in this press conference, but I will say that I have my own shortlist of players that I am looking at, but I am happy with the squad that Lee Johnson has left for me.

Good luck! I'll follow it!

Good luck

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New Oldham Manager Shaun Derry has officially made his first foray into the transfer market with his new club, utilizing the affiliation deals that Oldham has in place to create a new strike partnership of two young stars.

The First player officially announced to be heading to Boundary Park is José Ángel Pozo from Manchester City. Born in Málaga, Pozo moved to Madrid at the age of 11 to play for Real Madrid as part of their youth set-up. He played for Real Madrid for five years before Manchester City paid £2.4 million to sign him in early 2012.

Playing for the English club's under-18s side, his first full season in England was impressive, netting him a nomination for Academy Player of the Year, but his second season was cut short early by an ankle injury which limited him to just nine appearances for 2013–14. Nevertheless he made a strong recovery and rejoined the Elite Development Side under Patrick Vieira, where he rapidly drew attention, earning himself the label of "Mini-Messi".

Oldham Supporters have welcomed the new signings with broad, open arms and are delighted to have gained such a talented performer and brilliant young star for the club.

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But Pozo isn't the only striker heading to Boundary Park, as Shaun Derry's second summer signing, 20 year-old Adam Campbell from Newcastle, will be Pozo's strike partner for the new season, with both striker confirmed in the starting line-up for the Pre-season.

Campbell was born in North Shields and attended St Bernadette's R.C Primary School in Wallsend as well as St Thomas More R.C High School in North Shields from 2006 to 2011. He is a product of Wallsend Boys Club. He is also a practising Roman Catholic.

Campbell won the Most Valuable Player award at the 2010 Nike Cup at Old Trafford. In addition, Campbell was awarded Premier Player of the Tournament at the 2012 Milk Cup.

He made his competitive debut against Atromitos in the UEFA Europa League on 23 August 2012, becoming the youngest player to play for Newcastle in European competitions. Campbell made his Premier League debut for Newcastle United on 10 March 2013, taking up a position on the left wing. He came off the bench late in the second half in a 2–1 win against Stoke City, making a pass to Sylvain Marveaux who assisted Papiss Cissé for the winner.

On 2 August 2013, Campbell scored a brace in a pre-season friendly against Gateshead, the end result finishing 2–1. Later in August, Campbell joined Carlisle United on a one-month loan deal. He made his debut for Carlisle on 17 August 2013, coming on at half-time in a 4–0 loss to Coventry City. Later that month, he was recalled from his loan.

It was announced on 26 December 2013, that Campbell had agreed a loan deal with Scottish Premiership side St. Mirren, which would start on 1 January 2014 and run until the end of the season. He scored on his St Mirren debut, in a 2–1 defeat against Kilmarnock in a Scottish Premiership match at Rugby Park, on 2 January 2014. Campbell ended his loan spell with 12 appearances and two goals.

With strikers like Dominic Poleon, Jonathan Forte and the extremely talented Danny Philliskirk, son of Oldham coach Tony Philliskirk, Campbell and Pozo will have to work hard to keep their places in the starting line-up during the 2014/15 season.

One of the only stories on the site I currently find fascinating enough to keep me reading all the way through, you definetly have a refined writing ability which you put to good use. Hopefully you continue both your stories, as they look amazingly written!

A great choice of club; I thoroughly enjoyed managing them on my own save. Adam Campbell is a great youngster who can hopefully fire you to success. Good luck.