Oldham Athletic was one of the founder members of the Premier League but the days of Andy Ritchie and Ian Marshall banging in the goals seem more than a distant memory with the club currently sitting twenty-second in League Two.
After only one win in their opening seven league fixtures, it appears that controversial owner Abdallah Lemsagam felt the need to lift spirits amongst the Latics long-suffering fanbase and released a statement on the club’s official website yesterday to try and engendered a bit of a feelgood factor.
In a bid to be transparent, the statement touched on everything from the state of the team to the recruitment of office staff, gave fans an update on the ongoing dispute over the North Stand and moved to assure supporters that the club was financially stable and not on the verge of doing another ‘Bury’ despite considerable challenges. It also criticised a culture of nepotism at the club under previous regimes which they had now banished.
It s fair to say Abdallah is not popular amongst many Latics supporters and the reaction to the statement on social media will not make great reading for the Oldham hierarchy. Rumours persist that the owner and his sporting director brother Mohamed Lemsagam meddle in team affairs and many feel he is leading the club headlong into the National League. Some fans even pointed out how the statement was similar to those issued by Ken Anderson during his disastrous tenure as chairman of Lancashire rivals Bolton Wanderers.
A further very similar statement was released today by managing director Natalie Atkinson which suffered a similar fate in terms of negative reaction from many fans.
Here is a selection of responses to both announcements on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/m00resy/status/1172187028328452096?s=20
https://twitter.com/Jimbobbooth1/status/1172182238538141709?s=20
https://twitter.com/philhurst55/status/1172183912724029443?s=20
https://twitter.com/jimmyelstub/status/1172201773345492992?s=20
https://twitter.com/Miss_Husky/status/1172437578043101184?s=20
https://twitter.com/VVonkyPete/status/1172192085614759942?s=20
https://twitter.com/Tommy_Bostock/status/1172190848731230208?s=20
https://twitter.com/PaulP_1983/status/1172274223106134016?s=20
https://twitter.com/Italia90Dan/status/1172188985260748806?s=20
https://twitter.com/oafcmemories/status/1172450215049093121?s=20
https://twitter.com/PaulHulley34/status/1172466150372007936?s=20
