Oldham Story — The End of Season #3

Hello everyone, welcome back to another update ofmy Oldham story! At the end of March we were still in third place, and with just 4 games left we were close to a Champions League place. We had 4 difficult games to finish though, and we had Tottenham, Everton and Chelsea all breathing down our necks. So, can we do it? Let’s find out.

The first game of April was a very difficult one, we had to travel to Arsenal, who were second and desperately needing to win to stay in touch with Liverpool at the top. It was a typical Arsenal game, they had lots of possession in front of our back four, but didn’t really create any clear chances. We looked quite dangerous on the break, but we went in at half time at 0-0. The match continued the same way after the break until in the 53rd minute we got our first proper chance and Guilherme gratefully tucked it away, we were ahead! After that it was all Arsenal, I thought a goal was coming, but not for us! It did though, Guilherme grabbed his second goal and we could almost touch a Champions League place. The game wasn’t over though and just 6 minutes later Kieran Gibbs nicked a goal for the Gunners. We spent the last minute under huge pressure, I was confident we could hold out, but we cracked in the last minute, Gael Clichy hammered in to earn a point for them. It was still a decent result, so I couldn’t really complain, but it was disappointing that we couldn’t get all 3 points.

We were back at home for the next game, against Newcastle, and a win would all but seal a Champions League spot. We dominated the game and were the better side, and we hit the post through Jo on the half hour mark. After that it was a very frustrating day, we just couldn’t force the ball into the net and Newcastle defended resolutely. It was a disappointing result, the 0-0 draw meant that we slipped to 5th with both Everton and Chelsea winning.

We had to win the next game to keep any hopes of the top 4 alive, and it wasn’t an easy game, away at Aston Villa. The players seemed to realise the importance of the game and produced a fantastic performance. We dominated the game, after going ahead in the 5th minute through Guilherme there was no looking back. The fabulous Brazilian got his second on the stroke of half time and Pablo Hernandez sealed the win near the end. It was a good win and kept us 1 point behind both Chelsea and Everton.

So, like I said we were still 1 point behind both Chelsea and Everton going into the final game against Liverpool. We had 2 major advantages over the other two though. The first one was that they were playing each other, so a win would guarantee us Champions League football next season. The second was that Liverpool had already sealed the Premier League crown, so rested the likes of Torres, Gerrard, Dzudskasz, and Mascherano. That meant that they stared with Gerardo Bruna and a 32 year old Yossi Benayoun in midfield, and Kristizan Nemeth up front.

The match got off to a nightmare start for us, in the 6th minute the visitors were ahead thanks to some sloppy marking. That seemed to wake the players up, and just 3 minutes later Guilherme charged down the right and crossed to Andrew Driver, who applied the finish, 1-1! We then got a great slice of luck, Pepe Reina who had already made a couple of good saves, went off injured. He was replaced by the backup keeper and he immediately gifted us a goal, rashly coming out and getting beaten to it by Guilherme, who dosen’t miss open goals. Things got even better for us before half time, Phillip Degen picked up his second booking, he was off! We now had a great chance to get into the top 4, and Guilherme seemed determined to do that, he got his second, then his third, we were demolishing the league champions! It finished 4-1, Chelsea and Everton drew 0-0, we are in the Champions League!

So then, a fantastic way to end a great season, we stayed 3rd after all that! It was a wonderful season for us, we didn’t make it easy for ourselves towards the end, but that doesn’t matter, I’m really pleased with how we’ve done this campaign.

Here are the player stats for our excellent season:

 Of course, Guilherme was the standout, his 31 goals fully justifying the money paid for him. I was also really pleased by how quickly Micah Richards settled in, whilst Marco Verratti and Nicolas Otamendi continue to get better and better. Pablo Hernandez and Driver have added flair on the wings, which is also pleasing. At the other end of the scale Michael Woods, Chris Taylor and Kieran Lee have all disappointed, and are likely to leave the club. Of the other two, Matias Suarez needs more time to settle, and Graham Jordan is only 18.

3 Oldham players were named in the team of the year, with Marco Verratti on the bench. Guilherme was named as Footballer of the Year and was the top scorer in the league with his 30 goals. What a signing he’s been.

That concludes our first season in the Premier League then folks. We have 5 games to play with Nigeria in the off season, all of them are World Cup Qualifiers. I guess we will be looking to build on this fantastic season and challenge for the title next year, we’ll have to see how ambitious the board are.

Thanks for reading everybody, the World Cup has started so to everybody, enjoy!