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List of Oldham Athletic A.F.C. managers

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David Ashworth, Oldham's first manager

The following is a list of managers of Oldham Athletic A.F.C. and all honours won by the club since 1906. Up to September 2022, the club has had 47 different managers, and has not won any major competitions in its history.

Joe Royle is the longest serving in Oldham's history, managing 608 games. Royle was manager of the club between 1982 and 1994 in which time he led the club to promotion from the Football League Second Division to the First Division while accumulating 225 total competitive wins—the most by any manager in Oldham's history. He also led the club to two semi-final appearances in the FA Cup and a runners up spot in the 1989–90 Football League Cup as his side lost 1–0 to Nottingham Forest. On 15 March 2009, Royle returned to the club as manager following John Sheridan's departure from the club, before leaving the club a second time at the end of the season.

Jimmy Frizzell is the second longest serving manager in the club's history, holding the position from 1970 until 1982 (544 games). Both he and Royle are the only managers in Oldham's history with over 500 games and 200 or more competitive victories. Sheridan has had the most spells (six) as Oldham manager, totalling 240 games, and is one of six to manage over 200 first team games.

History

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Oldham Athletic in 1905 with David Ashworth (far left)

In 1906, Oldham Athletic appointed their first manager in club history as David Ashworth came to the club.[1] In his first season, Ashworth led the club to a third-place finish in the Lancashire Combination Second Division, gaining promotion to the First Division. Two years later, Ashworth once again led the club to victory as it finished in first place in the 1906–07 season, the final season of the Lancashire Combination. After the league disbanded, Oldham Athletic joined the Football League in the Second Division as they finished in third place their first season. In the following season, David Ashworth won his second trophy at Oldham Athletic as the club won the Lancashire Senior Cup—a local tournament for clubs in and around Lancashire. In 1909–10, Ashworth led the club to another promotion as they reached the Football League First Division. After several top-half finishes, Ashworth left the club to manage at Stockport County.

In 1914–15, Herbert Bamlett became Oldham Athletic's second manager and found success with the club in his first season. Oldham finished in second place in the First Division, as well as reaching the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. As competitive football returned to England following the end of the First World War, Bamlett returned as manager. Many of Oldham's original players were killed during the war or retired from football as the club found little success. Charle Roberts took over the club for the 1921–22 season, though only served as manager for one season.

David Ashworth returned to Oldham after having served at both Stockport County and Liverpool, though also struggled as Oldham were relegated back to the Second Division. For the next 11 seasons, Oldham failed to reach the First Division again as the club averaged a mid-table finish under managers Robert Mellor, Andrew Wilson, and Jimmy McMullan. During 1934–35, Robert Mellor—in his second stint with the club since leaving in 1927—returned to the club as Oldham were relegated once more, finishing in twenty-second, and placed in Football League Third Division North. Oldham and Mellor found relative success in Third Division North, but never gained promotion back to the Second Division before the Second World War once again interrupted football in England.

After the return of competitive football once more, Oldham failed to regain promotion under Frank Womack and Billy Wootton. George Hardwick became manager in 1950–51 and led the club to promotion in 1952–53 by winning the league, but were relegated once more as they finished in last place the following season. After little success following the promotion, Oldham went through two managers during the 1950s including Ted Goodier and Norman Dodgin. In 1958–59, Oldham became part of Football League Fourth Division as Division Third North and South disbanded for separate divisions.

In the early 1960s, both manager Jack Rowley and owner Ken Bates entered Oldham Athletic. With Bates's money, Oldham Athletic's fortunes turned for the better as the club once again reached Football League Third Division with the club finishing in second place, though Rowley left the club in April of the same year. The club finished with mid-table results under managers Les McDowall, Gordon Hurst, and Jimmy McIlroy—with McIlroy winning the only trophy, by way the Lancashire Senior Cup. Rowley returned midway through the 1968–69 season as the club was relegated back to Division Four. Midway through the 1969–70 season, both Rowley and owner Ken Bates exited the club[2] as Jimmy Frizzell became manager.

Jimmy Frizzell, a Scottish-born defender, was appointed as Oldham's player-manager during the 1969–70 season. In the 1970–71 season, Oldham earned their best finish since 1962–63, finishing in third and gaining promotion back into the Third Division. After a midtable result in their first season, the club missed out on promotion—finishing in fourth place, seven points behind league champions Bolton Wanderers. In the 1973–74 season, the club finished in first place and returned to the Second Division for the first time in 21 years. Oldham's trip back to the Second Division was more successful than their previous appearance. During Frizzell's remaining time at the club, the club remained in Division Two and little FA Cup and Football League Cup success.

During the mid-1980s, the club ushered in a new era under manager Joe Royle—who became one of the most successful in Oldham's history. Royle and Oldham reached Wembley Stadium in the 1990 Football League Cup Final as the club lost 1–0 in the final. The next season, Royle led the club to the First Division for the first time in 68 years. In their first season back in the top flight, the club finished in 17th and became one of the founding members of the newly formed Premier League.[3] Though after two more seasons at the top level, Oldham faced relegation yet again[3] and during the following season, the Joe Royle era at Oldham Athletic came to an end, as he left the club for Everton.[4]

In the mid-1990s, Oldham began to falter as they were relegated back to the Second Division under manager Neil Warnock following two lower-half finishes under Graeme Sharp. Warnock departed by mutual consent in May 1998[5] and was replaced by his former assistant and fans' favourite Andy Ritchie.

In 2001, Oldham Athletic was purchased by Oxford-based businessman Chris Moore who sacked Ritchie as part of a restructuring of the club's coaching set-up.[6] Mick Wadsworth was appointed to replace Ritchie. However, Wadsworth lasted only 18 months before being replaced by Iain Dowie.[7] Moore pulled out of the club in the summer of 2003,[8] followed by Dowie in December of that year.[9] Following a brief period when David Eyres and John Sheridan acted as joint caretaker managers, Brian Talbot was appointed as manager by new owners Simon Blitz, Simon Corney and Danny Gazal.[10] Ronnie Moore replaced Talbot in March 2005 and managed Oldham until June 2006, winning another Lancashire Senior Cup for the club in the process.

On 1 June 2006, Sheridan again became Oldham's manager.[11] His first season was relatively successful as the club reached the League One play-offs, though lost 5–2 to Blackpool on aggregate.[12] On 15 March 2009, Sheridan left Oldham,[13] and was immediately replaced by former manager Joe Royle.[14] However, in late April 2009, Royle rejected an offer to extend his stay as manager,[15] before ultimately being replaced by Darlington boss Dave Penney on 30 April.[16] Penney parted company with Oldham on 6 May 2010 with the club 16th in League One. Penney was succeeded for the final game of the 2009–10 season by his assistant Martin Gray.[17]

Paul Dickov signed a one-year contract as player/manager on 9 June 2010.[18] Dickov retired from playing following the final game of the 2010–11 season before signing a new contract to remain at Oldham into the 2011–12 season.[19] Dickov resigned on 3 February 2013 following a poor run of league form, despite having led Oldham to victory over Liverpool in the FA Cup 4th round.[20] Dickov's replacement was named on 18 March 2013 as Lee Johnson who, at 31, was then the youngest manager in the English football league.[21] He managed 103 games before joining Barnsley in February 2015 (since then, no Oldham manager has lasted more than 41 games).

From 2018 to 2022, under the troubled ownership of Abdallah Lemsagam, Oldham appointed a succession of short-lived managers. On 11 February 2019, the club announced they had appointed former Manchester United player Paul Scholes as their manager on a one-and-a-half-year contract.[22][23] Scholes, who had spent his entire career at United, resigned after seven matches (one win, three draws, three defeats),[24] following Lemsagam's attempted interference in team selection.[25] On 22 March 2019, Pete Wild was named head coach on interim basis until the end of the season (his second spell in charge).[26] He was followed in quick succession by Frenchman Laurent Banide, Oldham's first manager from outside the British Isles, then Dino Maamria from Tunisia and Australian Harry Kewell, the club's first non-European managers. Keith Curle occupied the role for eight months in 2021, before a nine-match caretaker spell by another Tunisian, Selim Benachour. Sheridan succeeded him for a sixth spell in charge before stepping down in September 2022 after the club had dropped into the National League,[27] to be replaced by David Unsworth.[28] Steve Thompson took over on an interim basis in September 2023 after Unsworth was dismissed, almost a year to the day since his appointment.[29]

Statistics

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Information correct as at 13 October 2024.
Name Nationality From To P W D L Win % Honours Note(s)
David Ashworth  Ireland 1 August 1906 1 April 1914 283 126 67 90 44.52 1 Lancashire Combination title (1906–07)
1 Lancashire Senior Cup title (1907–08)
1 Football League Second Division runner-up (1909–10) 		[30]
Herbert Bamlett  England 1 June 1914 1 May 1921 127 44 35 48 34.65 [31]
Charlie Roberts  England 1 July 1921 31 January 1922 27 9 7 11 33.33 [32]
David Ashworth  Ireland 1 January 1923 1 July 1924 63 20 22 21 31.75 [30]
Robert Mellor  England 1 July 1924 1 July 1927 132 52 26 54 39.39 [33]
Andrew Wilson  Scotland 1 July 1927 1 July 1932 218 87 45 86 39.91 [34]
Jimmy McMullan  Scotland 1 May 1933 1 May 1934 45 18 11 16 40.00 [35]
Robert Mellor  England 1 May 1934 1 February 1945 221 93 46 82 42.08 [33]
Frank Womack  England 1 February 1945 1 April 1947 38 14 7 17 36.84 [36]
Billy Wootton  England 1 June 1947 1 September 1950 141 54 36 51 38.28 [37]
George Hardwick  England 1 November 1950 1 May 1956 271 101 69 101 37.27 1 Football League Third Division North title (1952–53) [38]
Ted Goodier  England 1 May 1956 30 June 1958 96 28 36 32 29.17 [39]
Norman Dodgin  England 1 July 1958 1 May 1960 97 27 17 53 27.84 [40]
Jack Rowley  England 1 June 1960 31 May 1963 151 66 33 52 43.71 1 Football League Fourth Division runner-up (1962–63) [41]
Les McDowall  Scotland 1 June 1963 1 March 1965 86 33 15 38 38.37 [42]
Gordon Hurst  England 1 April 1965 1 January 1966 19 3 5 11 15.79 [43]
Jimmy McIlroy  Northern Ireland 1 January 1966 1 August 1968 121 46 26 49 38.01 1 Lancashire Senior Cup title (1966–67) [44]
Jack Rowley  England 1 October 1968 1 December 1969 57 16 14 27 28.07 [41]
Jimmy Frizzell  Scotland 1 March 1970 12 June 1982 544 200 160 184 36.76 1 Football League Fourth Division promotion (1970–71)
1 Football League Third Division title (1973–74)
1 Anglo-Scottish Cup runner-up (1978–79)
1 Lancashire Senior Cup runner-up (1978–79) 		[45]
Joe Royle  England 14 July 1982 10 November 1994 608 225 165 218 37.01 1 Football League Cup runner-up (1989–90)
1 Football League Second Division title (1990–91) 		[46]
Graeme Sharp  Scotland 16 November 1994 11 February 1997 117 35 34 48 29.91 [47]
Neil Warnock  England 21 February 1997 7 April 1998 69 22 20 27 31.88 [48]
Andy Ritchie  England 7 May 1998 31 October 2001 179 59 45 75 32.96 [49]
Billy Urmson &
John Sheridan 		 England
 Ireland 		31 October 2001 7 November 2001 1 0 1 0 0.00 [50][51][52]
Mick Wadsworth  England 7 November 2001 31 May 2002 35 15 9 11 42.86 [53]
Iain Dowie  Northern Ireland 31 May 2002 19 December 2003 82 31 28 23 37.80 [54]
David Eyres &
John Sheridan 		 England
 Ireland 		20 December 2003 10 March 2004 12 2 6 4 16.67 [55][52]
Brian Talbot  England 10 March 2004 25 February 2005 55 20 14 21 36.36 [56]
Tony Philliskirk  England 25 February 2005 1 March 2005 1 0 0 1 0.00 [57]
Ronnie Moore  England 1 March 2005 1 June 2006 65 23 18 24 35.38 1 Lancashire Senior Cup title (2005–06) [58]
John Sheridan  Ireland 1 June 2006 15 March 2009 151 61 47 43 40.39 [11][13][52]
Joe Royle  England 15 March 2009 2 May 2009 9 1 4 4 11.11 [14][46]
Dave Penney  England 30 April 2009 6 May 2010 48 13 13 22 27.08 [59]
Martin Gray  England 6 May 2010 2 June 2010 1 0 0 1 0.00 [60]
Paul Dickov  Scotland 9 June 2010 3 February 2013 141 43 37 61 30.50 [61]
Tony Philliskirk  England 4 February 2013 18 March 2013 8 3 1 4 37.50 [57]
Lee Johnson  England 18 March 2013 25 February 2015 103 36 32 35 34.95 [62]
Dean Holden  England 25 February 2015 6 May 2015 15 3 5 7 20.00 [63]
Darren Kelly  Northern Ireland 6 May 2015 12 September 2015 9 1 4 4 11.11 [64]
David Dunn  England 13 September 2015 12 January 2016 20 3 9 8 15.00 [65]
John Sheridan  Ireland 13 January 2016 27 May 2016 22 9 6 7 40.91 [52]
Stephen Robinson  Northern Ireland 9 July 2016 12 January 2017 33 7 11 5 21.21 [66]
John Sheridan  Ireland 12 January 2017 25 September 2017 33 10 9 14 30.33 [52]
Richie Wellens  England 25 September 2017 8 June 2018 40 12 16 12 30.00 [67]
Frankie Bunn  England 13 June 2018 27 December 2018 30 12 8 10 40.00 [68]
Pete Wild  England 27 December 2018 11 February 2019 8 4 1 3 50.00 [69]
Paul Scholes  England 11 February 2019 14 March 2019 7 1 3 3 14.29 [23][70]
Pete Wild  England 22 March 2019 7 May 2019 8 4 1 3 50.00 [69]
Laurent Banide  France 11 June 2019 19 September 2019 11 2 4 5 18.18 [71]
First manager from outside the British Isles
Dino Maamria  Tunisia 19 September 2019 31 July 2020 32 9 10 13 28.13 [72]
First non-European manager
Harry Kewell  Australia 1 August 2020 7 March 2021 41 17 6 18 41.46 [73]
Keith Curle  England 8 March 2021 24 November 2021 40 9 9 22 22.50 [74]
Selim Benachour  Tunisia 24 November 2021 22 January 2022 9 1 3 5 11.11 [75]
John Sheridan  Ireland 22 January 2022 17 September 2022 30 8 7 15 26.66 [52]
David Unsworth  England 20 September 2022 17 September 2023 51 14 16 19 31.37 [76]
Steve Thompson  England 17 September 2023 13 October 2023 6 3 3 0 50.00 [77]
Paul Murray  England 14 October 2023 14 October 2023 1 1 0 0 100.00 [78]
Micky Mellon  Scotland 15 October 2023 47 17 17 13 36.17 [79]

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Manager profile – David Ashworth". LFChistory.net. Retrieved 10 August 2008.
  2. ^ Conn, David (23 November 2005). "How watchdog inquiry left Bates unruffled". Guardian. London. Retrieved 10 August 2008.
  3. ^ a b "Oldham's fall from grace". BBC Sport. 27 June 2003. Retrieved 17 July 2008.
  4. ^ "Joe Royle". BBC Sport. 24 May 2002. Retrieved 17 July 2008.
  5. ^ "Warnock and Bonds lose jobs". Independent. 8 May 1998. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
  6. ^ "Oldham sack Ritchie". BBC Sport. 31 October 2001. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
  7. ^ "Oldham sack Wadsworth". BBC Sport. 31 May 2002. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
  8. ^ "Moore: I made Oldham stronger". Manchester Evening News. 14 August 2003. Retrieved 17 July 2008.
  9. ^ "Dowie takes Palace reins". BBC Sport. 22 December 2003. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
  10. ^ "Latics takeover approved". BBC Sport. 3 February 2004. Retrieved 17 July 2008.
  11. ^ a b "Sheridan replaces Moore at Oldham". BBC Sport. 1 June 2006. Retrieved 17 July 2008.
  12. ^ "Blackpool 3–1 Oldham (agg 5–2)". BBC Sport. 19 May 2007. Retrieved 10 August 2008.
  13. ^ a b "Oldham boss Sheridan leaves club". BBC Sport. 15 March 2009. Retrieved 15 March 2009.
  14. ^ a b "Royle replaces Sheridan at Oldham". BBC Sport. 15 March 2009. Retrieved 15 March 2009.
  15. ^ "Manager Royle set to leave Oldham". BBC Sport. 28 April 2009. Retrieved 30 April 2009.
  16. ^ "Oldham confirm Penney as manager". BBC Sport. 30 April 2009. Retrieved 30 April 2009.
  17. ^ "Manager Dave Penney parts company with Oldham". BBC Sport. 6 May 2010. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
  18. ^ "Paul Dickov unveiled as Oldham Athletic manager". BBC Sport. 9 June 2010. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
  19. ^ "BDickov retired from playing". scunthorpe-united.co.uk. 20 June 2011.[permanent dead link]
  20. ^ "Paul Dickov: Oldham Athletic manager steps aside". BC Sport. 3 February 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  21. ^ "Lee Johnson: Oldham appoint youngest Football League boss". BBC Sport. 18 March 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  22. ^ "Latics Appoint Paul Scholes As New Manager". www.oldhamathletic.co.uk. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  23. ^ a b "Paul Scholes: Oldham Athletic name ex-Man Utd midfielder as manager". BBC Sport. 1 February 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  24. ^ "Scholes resigns as Oldham manager". BBC Sport.
  25. ^ "Paul Scholes 'will never manage again' as he explains nightmare stint at Oldham". FanBanter. 30 September 2022. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
  26. ^ "Wild appointed Oldham boss until summer". BBC Sport.
  27. ^ "John Sheridan: Oldham Athletic boss to leave after farewell game against Eastleigh". BBC Sport. 15 September 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  28. ^ "Unsworth Appointed Latics Manager". www.oldhamathletic.co.uk. 20 September 2022. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  29. ^ "David Unsworth: Oldham Athletic sack boss after seven-game winless run". BBC Sport. 17 September 2023. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  30. ^ a b David Ashworth management career statistics at Soccerbase
  31. ^ Herbert Bamlett management career statistics at Soccerbase
  32. ^ Charlie Roberts management career statistics at Soccerbase
  33. ^ a b Bob Mellor management career statistics at Soccerbase
  34. ^ Andy Wilson management career statistics at Soccerbase
  35. ^ Jimmy McMullan management career statistics at Soccerbase
  36. ^ Frank Womack management career statistics at Soccerbase
  37. ^ Billy Wootton management career statistics at Soccerbase
  38. ^ George Hardwick management career statistics at Soccerbase
  39. ^ Ted Goodier management career statistics at Soccerbase
  40. ^ Norman Dodgin management career statistics at Soccerbase
  41. ^ a b Jack Rowley management career statistics at Soccerbase
  42. ^ Les McDowall management career statistics at Soccerbase
  43. ^ Gordon Hurst management career statistics at Soccerbase
  44. ^ Jimmy McIlroy management career statistics at Soccerbase
  45. ^ Jimmy Frizzell management career statistics at Soccerbase
  46. ^ a b Joe Royle management career statistics at Soccerbase
  47. ^ Graeme Sharp management career statistics at Soccerbase
  48. ^ Neil Warnock management career statistics at Soccerbase
  49. ^ Andy Ritchie management career statistics at Soccerbase
  50. ^ "Duo wait to show hand". BBC Sport. 1 November 2001. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
  51. ^ "Billy Urmson Remembered". Oldham Athletic Mad. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  52. ^ a b c d e f John Sheridan (footballer) management career statistics at Soccerbase
  53. ^ Mick Wadsworth management career statistics at Soccerbase
  54. ^ Iain Dowie management career statistics at Soccerbase
  55. ^ "Sheridan and Eyres step up". MEN Media. 20 December 2003. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
  56. ^ Brian Talbot management career statistics at Soccerbase
  57. ^ a b Tony Philliskirk management career statistics at Soccerbase
  58. ^ Ronnie Moore management career statistics at Soccerbase
  59. ^ Dave Penney management career statistics at Soccerbase
  60. ^ "Oldham Athletic rule out caretaker boss Martin Gray". BBC Sport. 2 June 2010. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
  61. ^ Paul Dickov management career statistics at Soccerbase
  62. ^ Lee Johnson (footballer) management career statistics at Soccerbase
  63. ^ Dean Holden (footballer) management career statistics at Soccerbase
  64. ^ Darren Kelly management career statistics at Soccerbase
  65. ^ David Dunn management career statistics at Soccerbase
  66. ^ Steve Robinson (Northern Ireland footballer management career statistics at Soccerbase
  67. ^ Richie Wellens management career statistics at Soccerbase
  68. ^ Frankie Bunn management career statistics at Soccerbase
  69. ^ a b Pete Wild management career statistics at Soccerbase
  70. ^ Paul Scholes management career statistics at Soccerbase
  71. ^ Laurent Banide management career statistics at Soccerbase
  72. ^ Noureddine Maamria management career statistics at Soccerbase
  73. ^ Harry Kewell management career statistics at Soccerbase
  74. ^ Keith Curle management career statistics at Soccerbase
  75. ^ Selim Benachour management career statistics at Soccerbase
  76. ^ David Unsworth management career statistics at Soccerbase
  77. ^ Steve Thompson management career statistics at Soccerbase
  78. ^ Paul Murray management career statistics at Soccerbase
  79. ^ Micky Mellon management career statistics at Soccerbase
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