Oldham Athletic Odds

Oldham Athletic Odds

A with all League Two sides, Oldham Athletic betting odds have become more popular amongst bettors in recent years. League Two has gained a reputation for being a tough division to bet on, with its history of unpredictability and shock results. As such, odds on Oldham Athletic to get promoted are just as popular as Oldham Athletic relegation odds.

High profile matches in League Two, such as a playoff clash or a relegation six pointer, can be subject to bookmaker promotions. Oldham Athletic odds are no exception, with odds on Oldham Athletic v Bury being one such occasion when bookmakers can enhance match odds or, with a bookmaker such as bet365, offer a variety of inplay specials.

Oldham Athletic odds on ‘on the pitch’ affairs are popular, and many bookmakers also offer odds on what happens ‘off the pitch’ at the club. Oldham Athletic manager odds or transfer odds can be offered and provide more opportunities for bettors to profit from football betting.

History

Oldham Athletic are a professional football club located in the town of Oldham in Greater Manchester. One of a number of clubs to have played in each of England’s top four divisions, Oldham Athletic are currently members of the English fourth tier, League Two.

The history of Oldham Athletic starts in 1895. The club were formed as Pine Villa FC, and soon joined the Manchester and Lancashire Combination divisions. Fellow Oldham club Oldham County became defunct in 1899, and so Pine Villa moved to their facilities, changing the club name to Oldham Athletic at the same time.

In 1907, Oldham Athletic were offered a place in the Football League. The offer was duly accepted and Oldham Athletic joined the Football League Second Division for the 1907/1908 season.

Two seasons later, Oldham Athletic finished in the Second Division runners up spot and with it earned promotion to the First Division. The club took to life in the English top tier very well, with a series of title challenges, although none were successful. Oldham Athletic also enjoyed two good FA Cup runs, reaching the semi final and quarter final before the start of the First World War halted the Football League calendar.

When the Football League resumed following the ending of the war, Oldham Athletic struggled to replicate their pre war form. After three seasons of relegation battles, the club finally succumbed to the drop in the 1923/1924 season and returned to the Second Division.

Oldham Athletic spent thirteen consecutive seasons in the Second Division. This was an inconsistent time for the club, finishing as high as third and as low as 18th during this period. However, in the 1934/1935 season, Oldham Athletic suffered another relegation, starting the following season in the Third Division North for the first time in Oldham Athletic history.

The club launched a number of promotion challenges, with three consecutive top five finishes, before the Second World War again caused the suspension of the Football League schedule. In the first season after the war, Oldham began to struggle but soon found some form in the subsequent campaigns.

In the 1952/1953 campaign, Oldham Athletic won the Third Division North title. Promoted back to the Second Division, the club suffered an instant relegation after finishing 22nd in the table. 

Oldham Athletic’s league form continued to suffer. For the 1958/1959 season, the Football League divisions were reorganised, with the Third Division North and Third Division South becoming a Third Division and Fourth Division not dependant on its member clubs’ geographical location. Because of Oldham Athletic’s poor recent form, they were given a place in the Fourth rather than Third Division.

The club struggled in its first two seasons in the Fourth Division. Following a 21st place finish, Oldham Athletic finished 23rd and had to apply to be re-elected to the Football League, an application that was successful.

Following this, the club’s performances in the fourth tier began to improve. Two mid table finishes preceded a Fourth Division runners up place, which sealed the club’s promotion to the Third Division.

Oldham Athletic’s reputation for being an inconsistent side continued, with safe mid table finishes interspersed with close relegation battles. In the 1968/1969 season, the club lost its battle with demotion, finishing bottom of the Third Division table.

Jimmy Frizzell became Oldham Athletic manager, and went on to become one of the most famous in Oldham Athletic manager history. Frizzell led the club to promotion from the Fourth Division in the 1970/1971 campaign and three years later Oldham Athletic sealed a return to the Second Division after winning the third tier title.

Oldham Athletic spent the following 16 seasons in the Second Division. During this time, the club had appointed Joe Royle as manager who led the club to their first League Cup Final, which they ultimately lost, and the semi finals of the FA Cup.

In the 1990/1991 season, Oldham Athletic won the Second Division title and returned to the top flight of English football for the first time since 1923.  This led to Oldham Athletic becoming one of the founder members of the Premier League which was introduced in time for the 1992/1993 season.

The club spent just two seasons in the Premier League before they suffered relegation in the 1993/1994 season. Graeme Sharp took over as manager but couldn’t lead his club back to the Premier League. Instead, three seasons later, the club suffered a further relegation and returned to the third tier of English football, now renamed as Division Two.

The club began to struggle financially, and were the subject of a number of takeovers. A variety of Oldham Athletic managers were hired and fired, but none could lead the club to promotion.

Oldham Athletic spent 21 consecutive in the third tier of English football, in 2004 renamed as League One, from 1997 to 2018. However, the club had a poor 2017/2018 season, and a 21st place finish meant the club started the following season back in the fourth tier.

Crest

The first Oldham Athletic crest was the town of Oldham coat of arms, which featured an image of an owl and three Lancashire red roses. It also included the motto ‘Sapere Aude’ which means ‘Dare to be wise’.

An image of an owl has been a regular feature of the Oldham Athletic football badge. Three of the Oldham Athletic football crests have featured an owl sat on top of a football with the club name featured in a banner underneath.

In 2011, the Oldham Athletic badge was changed. This new Oldham Athletic crest features as shield shape containing an image of an owl, without the football, with the club name and the club’s year of formation placed on a blue and white background.

Colours

The Oldham Athletic colours are traditionally blue and white. These have been the Oldham Athletic kit colours since 1910, although worn in a variety of styles.

From 1895 to 1907, the Oldham Athletic strip featured red and white stripes, worn with dark blue shorts and dark blue socks. In 1910, the club colours changed from blue to red, and the Oldham Athletic kit featured blue and white stripes worn with white shorts and blue socks.

Red and white hoops were worn between 1946 and 1948, before returning to blue and white for the 1948/1949 season. In 1957, the Oldham Athletic strip featured blue shirts with white sleeves, worn with white shorts and blue and white hooped socks.

A brief change to an orange shirt occurred between 1966 and 1972 before blue and white were reintroduced once again. Blue shirts, white shorts and blue socks have been worn ever since, although the shorts and socks colours have alternated between blue and white.

For the 2018/2019 season, the Oldham Athletic players wear a blue shirt, white shorts and white socks.

Oldham Athletic Stadium

The first Oldham Athletic stadium was the Athletic Ground, before the club moved to Boundary Park in 1899. This has been the Oldham Athletic stadium ever since. The Oldham Athletic stadium capacity currently stands at 16,700 following a stadium renovation in 2014, making it one of the largest ground in League Two.

The Oldham Athletic stadium layout features the Chadderton Road End, the Rochdale Road End, the Main Stand and the North Stand.

There were plans for a new Oldham Athletic stadium, but these have been put on hold, with the club instead choosing to renovate their current home.

Supporters

The majority of Oldham Athletic supporters hail from the town of Oldham and other areas in Greater Manchester. There are a number of Oldham Athletic supporters clubs throughout the country, including Trust Oldham, the Oldham Athletic Supporters Trust.

Oldham Athletic also have a number of celebrity fans. These include the comedians Cannon and Ball, professor Brian Cox and comedian Eric Sykes.

Oldham Athletic supporters enjoy a rivalry with a number of local clubs. Manchester City, Manchester United and Stockport County are all known rivals, but in recent years meetings between Oldham Athletic and these clubs have been rare due to the clubs playing in different divisions. 

There are also Oldham Athletic supporters rivalries with Bury, Rochdale, Blackburn Rovers and Bolton Wanderers. There are also Lancashire/Yorkshire rivalries between Oldham Athletic and Huddersfield Town, Leeds United and Bradford City.

Ownership

The current Oldham Athletic owner is Simon Corney. Corney was part of a group along with Simon Blitz and Danny Gazal who bought the club in 2004, saving the club from liquidation. 

Gazal and Blitz left the club in 2010, but Corney continued and currently holds the position of chairman.

Stats

The list of Oldham Athletic stats begins with their all time record league appearance maker. Ian Wood holds that record, making 525 appearances for the club between 1966 and 1980.

The Oldham Athletic all time league record goalscorer is Roger Palmer. Palmer scored 141 goals for the club from 1980 and 1992. Tom Davis hold the Oldham Athletic record for most goals scored in a single season, after netting 33 goals in the Second Division in the 1936/1937 campaign.

The club’s all time record win is 11-0. This scoreline occurred in 1962, with Oldham Athletic beating Southport in the Fourth Divisino.

The club’s record defeat is 13-4, a scoreline Tranmere Rovers beat Oldham Athletic by in the Third Division North in 1935.

Oldham Athletic’s record transfer signing is Ian Olney. Olney cost the club £750,000 from Aston Villa in 1992. The highest transfer fee the club have ever received is £1.7 million, a fee paid by Aston Villa for Earl Barrett in 1992.

The club’s all time record home attendance is 46,471, a crowd figure achieved in 1930 when Oldham Athletic took on Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup.

Oldham Athletic Players

The current Oldham Athletic players list consists of 25 members of the first team squad, supported by the Oldham Athletic youth and academy squads.

Notable ex Oldham Athletic players include Andy Ritchie, Roger Palmer, Bobby Johnstone, Eric Gemmell and Andy Goram. 

The Oldham Athletic player who won the most number of international caps is Gunnar Halle. Halle won 51 caps for Norway whilst playing his club football at Oldham Athletic.

Eric Gemmell holds the record for most goals scored in a single game. Gemmell scored seven goals in Oldham Athletic’s 11-2 win over Chester City in 1952.

Oldham Athletic Manager

The current Oldham Athletic manager is former player Frankie Bunn. Bunn took over in 2018, and became the club's 15th manager in ten years

In total, Oldham Athletic have had 42 managers in their history.

The longest serving man in Oldham Athletic manager history is Joe Royle. Royle managed the club for 608 matches between 1982 and 1994, and returned the club for a nine game spell in 2009. In total, Royle won 225 of his matches in charge, the most by any Oldham Athletic manager.

Joe Royle and his predecessor Jimmy Frizzell are the only two managers who have led the club to 200 victories or more in competitive fixtures.

In terms of win percentage, the most successful Oldham Athletic manager is David Ashworth, who was also the club’s first ever manager. Between 1906 and 1914, Ashworth led his club to victory 126 times in 283 matches, giving him a win percentage of 44.52%.

Ashworth returned to the club in 1923, and managed the club for a further 63 matches, winning 20 of them.

Only three managers have won a league title whilst managing Oldham Athletic. These are George Hardwick, who led the club to the Third Division North title in 1953; Jimmy Frizzell who won the Third Division title in 1974 and Joe Royle, who led the club to win the Second Division title in 1991.

Honours

The Oldham Athletic honours list consists of one second tier title (1991); one third tier title (1974); one Third Division North title (1953); one Lancashire Combination title (1907); one top tier runners up position (1915); one Football League Cup runner up place (1990); three FA Cup semi final appearances (1913, 1990 and 1994);  three Lancashire Senior Cup wins (1908, 1967 and 2006); and one Anglo-Scottish Cup runner up place (1979).