“The King is dead, long live the King”. Oldham Athletic have announced Harry Kewell as their new Head Coach following the dismissal of Dino Maamria. As the Latics merry-go-round continues to run, Oldham fans are left despairing once more.

Before any official communication from the club, Oldham Athletic owner Abdallah Lemsagam gave an exclusive interview this morning to “The World Game” in which he has stated:

“this is a chance at Oldham for Harry to accomplish something again (after his previous spells in charge of Crawley Town and Notts County).

“I know where I want to go with this club. I have a vision and we will take it step by step.

“I also know Harry’s mentality and his character, and I know how hungry he is to succeed.”

So, there it is. Dino Maamria has been dismissed by the club and has been immediately replaced. It is anyone’s guess as to when he was interviewed for the position. Nevertheless, Oldham Athletic have yet another new Head Coach.

This communication with an Australian site, but not with fans via official club channels for several hours, furthers the feeling that the club holds the fans in contempt. Indeed, the dismissal of Dino Maamria was not announced on the club’s website until three hours after it was reported by local news organisations. Lemsagam has claimed he wishes to be “more transparent” with the fans but this has not yet been seen in action. I tend to write impartially in my articles for D3D4 Football but today I am writing as a concerned fan that is sick of the turmoil at the club, both on and off the pitch.

To say that this club means the world to me is an understatement. I have regularly watched the club for 13 years, five of which I was a club ballboy. Attending Boundary Park has been a labour of love: a source of hope, joy and frustration and the place I have many happy memories with my late father. Like many others, I find that football is an opportunity to escape the daily stresses of everyday life. To quote Bill Shankly, “Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it’s much more serious than that”. I am, however, not alone in feeling a deep sense of loss at the moment – many fellow Latics fans also feel they have lost an important part of their life as they have witnessed the club fall down the league tables and lose its sense of character.

In recent years, it has become more and more difficult to watch Oldham. Since Mr Lemsagam took over in January 2018, the club has gone from League One to the bottom half of League Two – we finished 19th in the 2019/20 season. The appointment of Harry Kewell will mark his eighth managerial appointment, ninth if you include Richie Wellens.

It is this ridiculous turnover of managers and Head Coaches that has sparked such anger at Maamria’s dismissal. On the face of it, Maamria had not blown anyone away at Latics – his 28% win record is certainly nothing to shout about – but most fans were content with letting him build a new squad. In truth, his dismissal is neither here nor there. What is causing such anger is the fact that once again a Head Coach has been dismissed citing a “different vision” between management and ownership. This breakdown of trust between management and the directors is a recurring theme: Frankie Bunn, Paul Scholes and Pete Wild all looked frustrated on the sidelines and left the club under a cloud of reports about unpaid wages and owner interference.

Since Lemsagam officially took over the club in January 2018 this is the list of managers and Head Coaches and their time in charge:

Richie Wellens – in charge upon takeover – 134 days from takeover to dismissal

Frankie Bunn – 197 days

Pete Wild (caretaker) – 46 days

Paul Scholes – 31 days

Pete Wild – 46 days

Laurent Banide – 100 days

Dino Maamria – 316 days

Maamria’s replacement is the former Crawley and Notts County boss Harry Kewell. As fans, we will support him. We hope he can bring us entertaining football and some relative success, but we also feel a degree of cynicism; other managers have tried and failed to operate in the way they wish and I see no reason as to why this appointee will fare any differently. I hope I am wrong.

These off-the-field issues have been well documented, I won’t go into them in further detail here. Frankly, I am exhausted at having to explain to friends and family the state of the club. It feels that every month there is something new, be it reports of late-wages, winding up petitions or disgruntled former players. This all, ultimately, results in disgruntled and disinterested fans that are simply exhausted.

Whilst it is relatively easy to quantify financial gains and losses, league positions and transfer fees, it is more difficult to quantify the deep sadness and anger of fans as we watch our club fall down the leagues. What hurts more than the fall in league position is the damage that has been to the relationship between club and fan and the perceived destruction of the reputation of a famous, historic club.

It does not take a genius to understand why less than ¼ of existing season tickets are set to renew for the 2020/21 season. Their support and loyalty is truly admirable, but from a personal perspective, the act of renewing my season ticket would be an act of self-flagellation. I spent last season watching games on my own. I cannot watch games with my dad, his final game was that fateful day away at Northampton – when we were relegated less than six months after Lesmagam took over. Nor do I attend with my friends anymore, they already refuse to give the club any more money. I refuse to pay for the privilege to sit alone in the Rochdale Road End and financially support an ownership structure that no longer appears to care about me or any other fan.

Today, I implore Mr Lemsagam and the rest of the Board of Directors to stand aside and let a new owner take the reigns. In our 125th season, he could give no greater gift to the fans.

As always, keep the faith.

words by Chris Stringer (@stringer_oafc)