In a first half of the season which has seen Oldham Athletic save their best form for the cup competitions, Lee Johnson and his players occupy 18th place in the League One table.
Johnson has said more than once in the past four months that there is nothing like being ‘in the hat’ and therefore it is his team’s ongoing presence in the FA Cup that will have him smiling this Christmas.
The Latics have conquered Wolverhampton Wanderers and Mansfield Town so far to keep them in the draw for when the Premier League and Championship clubs join the fray.
It was before the trip to Bristol City at the beginning of November that Johnson issued his players with a school report-style verdict of ‘C. Could do better’.
In this spirit, MM are giving our own assessment of each month from the first half of the 32-year-old’s first full season in charge, from the opening day seven-goal thriller to the busy Christmas period.
Pre-season
Athletic kicked off with five friendlies, in which they were unbeaten, following a turbulent summer of upheaval in personnel.
The Latics released a number of their first-team stars, including goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis and fan’s player of the season Lee Croft both on free transfers.
FA Cup hero Matt Smith finally ended months of speculation over his future as he crossed the Pennines to join Leeds United in the Championship.
They did, however, replace the out-goers with several names that have come to be regular starters in Johnson’s side, including James Dayton and new club captain Korey Smith from Norwich.
The 22-year-old midfielder spent the latter part of last season on-loan at Boundary Park, but made the move permanent upon his contract expiring in Norfolk.
Among the customary friendlies against local outfits such as Curzon Ashton and lower-league teams Accrington Stanley and Macclesfield Town was a tie with European champions.
Dinamo Bucaresti, 18 times holders of the Romanian first division title, came to town, where they were restricted to a 2-2 draw.
Grade: B+ – solid pre-season friendly results will have had their fans relishing the prospect of a new League Two campaign but allowing too many players to leave and not signing enough replacements toed the line of bravery.
August
The new League Two season kicked off with the Latics making the trip to Hertfordshire where they took on Stevenage in a memorable goal-filled encounter.
Jose Baxter secured the points when he scored a late penalty, his second of the game, to end proceedings at 4-3.
Oldham would then have to wait until the back-end of November for their next away league victory.
They followed up their successful trip to Stevenage when they experienced their first sniff of knockout action – namely, the Capital One Cup.
A return to league action saw no improvement in fortunes either as they lost back-to-back games to Walsall and Peterborough, where they scuppered their chances to get something each time.
Two goals from new striker Adam Rooney sunk Port Vale and take Oldham to an impressive eighth place in the table after four games.
The month ended on a sour note, however, as a home defeat against Tranmere was added to by the departure of the influential Baxter who transferred to divisional rivals Sheffield United.
League form: won two, drawn none, lost three
Grade: B- – a steady start to the new season, where the Latics experienced both sides of Lady Luck’s schizophrenia. The encouraging form of Cristian Montano and academy graduate James Tarkowski were enough to help the fans overlook the League Cup dismay.
September
Oldham started the ninth month of the year glad to take a break from league competition, as another cup game beckoned – this time a Johnstone’s Paint Trophy trip to Shrewsbury.
In only their third away game of the season, Johnson’s men tore through their tame opposition to advance with a comfortable 4-1 win.
Two goals from Danny Philliskirk, added to by Adam Rooney and Sidney Schmeltz, gave hope to fans for a return to winning ways in League One that never materialised.
Taking just one point from their four divisional games in September, the Latics slid down the table to 16th position thanks to defeats at the hands of Preston, Rotherham and Crawley.
Of those defeats, it was the 3-2 reverse dished out at Rotherham’s New York Stadium that will have hurt the most.
Reduced to ten men after David Mellor’s first-half dismissal, the Latics only relinquished their impressive lead in the closing moments when former Oldham loanee Daniel Nardiello scored his second of the game.
Their lone point of the month came through a 1-1 draw against Crewe Alexandra, incidentally also their only home game of the period, as pressure began to grow on Johnson’s young squad.
League form: won none, drawn one, lost three
Grade: D – the successful first step on the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy ladder about the only positive to be taken from a September to forget.
October
Following the disaster that was September, Oldham needed to start picking up the pace, and the points, as they felt the relegation zone ominously close by.
Beginning the month with a draw at home to league leaders Leyton Orient, the Latics’ winless run was extended to six games.
Once again, a return to cup action was welcome and once again, the young squad passed with flying colours, this time away to Preston, coming away with a 2-0 win.
The Johnstone’s Paint result seemed to lift the team as their momentum spilled over into the league – an Adam Rooney penalty against Carlisle was the only goal in the Latics’ first league win in almost two months.
A pattern emerged from the remaining four games of October – two home games, two wins; two away games, two defeats.
At least they were back to winning ways in the league, albeit only at the Mecca of Boundary Park, but they could have taken have taken something from the trip to Notts County.
Managerless County climbed off the foot of the table with the 3-2 win, in which they were made to soak up late pressure that never materialised into anything more.
Whatever the opening day of the season might suggest, any team will find it difficult to win after conceding three goals.
League form: won two, lost two, drawn one
Grade: B – an improvement in league form and another good showing in the trophy, but without results on the road, there is a glass ceiling for how high a team can go.
November
The best month of the campaign so far, as the Latics embarked on an unbeaten run that had Lee Johnson eyeing a playoff place.
Starting the month off with a tame draw at basement club Bristol City, Oldham were then faced with three cup games in a row as they took two attempts to defeat Wolves in the first round of the FA Cup.
No such drama in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy, however, as they came from behind to smash Notts County 5-1 at Boundary Park and stamp their ticket for the Northern Area Semi Final.
With all their exploits in knockout tournaments, twinned with an unfortunate international break, the Latics finished the month having only played three league games.
In the final week of November, they were able to pick up two rare away wins at Gillingham and Shrewsbury, the former of which had Canadian winger Mike Petrasso, on loan from QPR, score the game’s only goal in his first senior appearance.
League form: won two, drawn one, lost none.
Grade: A – arguably the turning point of the season as the team started to gel and keep themselves in two cup competitions. Going unbeaten in the league did them a lot of favours also.
December
Oldham faced Bradford on the first day of December, bringing their unbeaten league run with them.
Jonson Clarke-Harris got the equalising goal for the home side, where a 1-1 draw ended their four-game winning streak, but not their hopes of a playoff place.
The second round of the FA Cup was next on the agenda for Johnson’s men, where they hosted, but were unable to beat, League Two Mansfield Town – the 1-1 tie means the fixture will now go to a replay at Field Mill on December 17.
As the temperature dropped, so did Athletic’s fortunes as on- and off-the-field, problems were beginning to rear their festive heads.
In a matter of days, Montano was arrested on charges of match-fixing – alleged to have taken a bribe of £70,000 to get sent off in October’s game against Wolves – and they were knocked out of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy.
When the Northern Area semi-final against League Two Chesterfield went to the ‘lottery’ of penalties, the Latics were beaten 6-5, which Johnson would describe as gut-wrenching.
If that was gut-wrenching, the stoppage-time defeat at Brentford, their first in the league for six games, couldn’t be much more than sickening.
The Bees were in their first game under new manager Mark Warburton, when Jonathan Douglas’ last-minute header, his first goal in over a year, sank Oldham hearts.
League form: won none, drawn one, lost one
Grade: C+ – the busiest month of the year and so far, one to put behind them. The Latics need to re-find their momentum in both league and cups, proving that, as a team, they have moved on from Montano-gate.
Image courtesy of Sky Sports via YouTube, with thanks.
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