The last time The Imps played Oldham Athletic at Sincil Bank Stadium, it turned out to be a very special night for Lincoln City Football Club. It was in the Second Round of The Emirates FA Cup. In front of a crowd of 7,012, The Imps, who were in the Conference at the time, managed to beat the League One side 3-2. The goalscorers for The Imps that night were Theo Robinson (22′ and 47′) and Terry Hawkridge (24′) and the Oldham Athletic goalscorers were Peter Clarke (70′) and Billy McKay (73′).
Fast forward to this season and the meeting between the two sides at Boundary Park, which was played on Tuesday 27th November in front of a crowd of 3,597. This match finished 1-1, with the Latics heading into half time with 10 men, following the red card for Ishmael Miller in the third minute of stoppage time. Mohammed Maouche put Oldham ahead in the 49th minute, but 5 minutes later Michael O’Connor made it 1-1.
Anyway, time for the Q&As!
Thank you to Oldham Athletic supporters Paddy and Sam for answering our questions! The answers have been published on two pages. To get the second set of answers, click “click here for the second set of answers!” at the bottom right of the page!
First up, the answers provided by Paddy:
How long have you supported Oldham Athletic?
I have been an Oldham fan all of my life – my earliest memories are from the season we were relegated from the Premier League (93/94).
Where did you finish last season?
21st in League One and relegated. An absolute disaster of a season.
What do you think of your Manager?
As a footballer, he won everything there is to win. As a manager, he won’t really be judged until next season. He’s come in after the transfer window had closed and this season has pretty much been tossed off. Hopefully, a good summer and decent recruitment will help us push for promotion next season. Assuming, that is, that he is still our manager.
What were your hopes and expectations at the start of the season?
I was expecting us to just consolidate this season but, after seeing the horrific standard of football in this League, I am very disappointed that we aren’t pushing for the playoffs at the very least.
One(s) to watch?
Jose Baxter is finding some form again, but he went off early at Cambridge and is probably a doubt for the game on Tuesday. Callum Lang is also a very good footballer on his day.
Who do you think will finish in the top 7?
Looks like you guys and Bury are as good as up. Milton Keynes Dons, Mansfield Town, Colchester United, Forest Green Rovers and Tranmere Rovers to make up the rest of the top 7.
Who do you think will finish in the bottom 2?
Notts County and Macclesfield Town look doomed. I can’t see them getting out of it now.
What are your thoughts on Lincoln City?
You’ve had a brilliant few years with the cup run, promotion into the EFL and now it looks like you’re going up again.
What do you think the score will be?
I can’t see anything other than a routine 2-0 home win.
Random fact about your Club?
Bit of a strange link – but your current keeper was once a match mascot for Latics when he was younger.
If you could steal one Lincoln City player for your own team, who would it be and why?
Akinde. He knows where the back of the net is and would be a much better option than Chris O’Grady.
What are your proudest and most embarrassing moments as an Oldham Athletic Supporter?
I would say the proudest moment was beating Fulham this season in the cup. We were in turmoil, we had just sacked our manager and appointed our youth team manager as caretaker and nobody really gave us a chance. We fell behind, equalised through Sam Surridge, then Fulham got the most contentious of penalties, which was saved by Daniel Iversen before Callum Lang scored the winner in the last couple of minutes.
The most embarrassing would probably be losing against the likes of Morecambe and Macclesfield this season.
Who would you say is your most underrated player?
I wouldn’t say underrated, but we usually do well if Lang has a good game.
Do you have a Supporters Trust and what role do they play at the Club?
We do. They aren’t really much use, there are still a lot of unanswered questions from them and these are questions that have been asked in public to them and we rarely get answers. They are trying to buy the ground though, apparently.
Which was your favourite match involving Oldham Athletic?
Fulham 1-2 Oldham – January 2019.
Which was your least favourite match involving Oldham Athletic?
Macclesfield away this season. We lost 2-1 and it could have been 4 or 5. Absolutely dreadful.
Do you have a Former Players Association at Oldham Athletic?
Not that I am aware of.
What’s the best thing about Oldham?
Christ. Over the last couple of years, there have been a couple of nice places built in the town centre – a new cinema, a new bar (Molino Lounge) and a couple of nice restaurants. But it hasn’t really changed much about the town, to be honest.
Have you officially been renamed Paul Scholes Oldham Athletic yet or is that planned for the end of the season?
Yeah, I think that’s a name that has been given to us by the majority of the footballing world already.
Are Bury your main rivals and are you hoping they do not go up?
I hope they don’t go up simply because I want us to have as many local games next season as possible. I wouldn’t class them as “rivals” as such. Tranmere are the team I can’t stand in our League.
The infamous Daily Mail article last summer was far from complementary and depicted a club on its knees. How much truth do you think was in it? Do some of those issues still exist?
The article was pretty much bang on the money and, from what I have been told, there have been a few things that the journalist responsible could have published, but chose not to. There are major issues at our club at the moment and they stem much deeper than on the football pitch.
Frankie Bunn seemed a curious appointment, especially as successor to another managerial rookie in Richie Wellens. Did you expect to see a more experienced manager appointed this time, rather than Paul Scholes?
Hmmm probably, but once someone like Paul Scholes shows an interest in the job, we aren’t really in a position to be turning him down.
Oldham have enjoyed some real highs during the last 30 years or so: do you think the club overachieved during those great years, and do you think they raised expectation levels too high?
They overachieved in the late 80’s/early 90’s but we are massively underachieving at the moment. There is no way on this earth we should be languishing in 13th place in League 2. It’s very sad to see how far we have fallen.
Given the proximity and continued success of the Manchester clubs, is there realistically much Oldham can do to attract many more fans to BP?
Quite simple really. Win football matches and the fans will come flocking back.
Would you welcome John Sheridan back again?
Not at the moment, but I certainly wouldn’t rule it out in the long term.
"Hopefully, a good summer and decent recruitment will help us push for promotion next season."https://t.co/xkOlIoPs9X#ImpsAsOne #OAFC #Oldham
— Vital Lincoln City (@VitalLincoln) March 12, 2019
https://www.facebook.com/VitalLincolnCity/posts/2096933160342918
