rick holden & dave moore

It’s hard to believe that it is a quarter of a century since little Oldham Athletic shook up the football world with an amazing period of success that made them the whole country’s favourite ‘second’ team. They took on the might of Leeds United, Arsenal, Southampton, Everton, West Ham, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Ipswich and Sheffield Wednesday... and they wiped the floor with them all in their quest to reach the holy grail of the First Division of English football. These matches along with with two FA Cup Semi-Finals against Manchester United, a League Cup Final against Nottingham Forest and other memorable matches are covered in this nostalgic look back at the incredible achievements accomplished by the club.

This is not a play-by-play account of the action in the games – those are well documented enough – this is a more of an in-depth look at what it was like to actually be involved in the games, both from the players’ perspective and from the fans’ point of view. Rick Holden has all the inside information about the tactics of the matches and there are many quotes from his playing colleagues who all became houshold names in the world of football. Dave Moore gives his outlook of what it was like as a fan to experience the build up to the games, to witness the matches and to savour the enjoyment after the final whistles were blown. Dave has collected and shared memories from many Oldham fans who were fortunate enough to have been there when Joe Royle took a collection of last-chance footballers and converted them into a team that every opposing team in England were afraid of playing. It’s an amazing story which is peppered with many amusing anecdotes, both from the playing and spectator sides.