Football Season Guide

Oldham Athletic head into the new season with a sense of uncertainty following relegation from League One. They will be competing in the fourth tier of English football for the first time since the 1970/71 season. John Sheridan left the Latics by mutual consent less than two months into the last campaign and first-team coach Richie Wellens was handed the task of keeping the side in League One. He wasn’t helped by off-field problems but they fought hard and were only relegated on the final day of the season. January saw a takeover of the club by Moroccan football agent Abdallah Lemsagam and his short reign has already been controversial with striker Craig Davies criticising his treatment of both players and staff following his sale to Mansfield Town for an undisclosed fee this summer. Lemsagam sacked Wellens as manager in June and has appointed former fans favourite Frankie Bunn as his successor on a one-year deal. Bunn is something of a rookie and has a real task on his hands to rebuild the squad as they look to compete in League Two this season. He has lost all three of the leading goalscorers from last season with striker Eoin Doyle and Duckens Nazon having both returned to their parent clubs following the end of their respective loans, in addition to the departure of Davies. Striker Aaron Amadi-Holloway has also been sold to Shrewsbury Town. Influential midfielder Ousmane Fane faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines through injury but Bunn has at least held on to the likes of defender Rob Hunt and midfielder Dan Gardner. The return of midfield playmaker Jose Baxter from Everton will certainly appease disgruntled supporters but the arrivals of unknown quantities in the likes of Christopher Missilou and John Branger-Engone suggest Lemsagam is as having a say in recruitment and the Latics face an rather uncertain future.