Sheridan Returns: Irrational Hope
Yesterday, my team, Oldham Athletic, fell to yet another defeat. Their 15th of the season, in 25 matches. At Harrogate, and 3–0, it was a particularly miserable defeat. The 589 fans that made the 62-mile journey to Harrogate gave a fairly clear indication that this was a woeful, inept performance.
And it was at Harrogate Town, clearly a fantastically well run club and a credit to the game, but one that, in the early 1990s when Oldham were in the Premier League, were themselves in the Northern Premier League Division 1 — the seventh division of English football.
Four and a half hours later, though, and just as I was heading to bed off the back of five days of Covid, the news broke that John Sheridan was returning. Suddenly, everything changed.
This is a man whose name is indelibly associated with Oldham Athletic, as the responses to this tweet make clear. And here’s to you, Johny Sheridan, Oldham loves you more than you will know. A genuine feel-good moment after all too many feel-bad moments.
But why? Well, it is a manager with a record of over 200 matches in charge of the club, and well over 100 league appearances for the club. But it’s only partly that. It’s a man who, for whatever reason, seems to live and breathe the club.
A man who returned (his fourth tenure at the club) to manage the club on January 13 2016 when it was 5 points adrift at the bottom of League One (soon to become 8 points). He then masterminded a remarkable turnaround, keeping the team up with games to spare, amassing 33 points in 18 games. He then left to go to Notts County, which I remember feeling very disappointed about.
A man who returned (fifth time) to manage the club on January 12 2017 again when rock bottom, 3 points adrift, and having scored just 12 goals in 24 matches. Masterminding another remarkable turnaround, or Shezzurection, this time securing 34 points and safety once again. This time he stuck around, but the next season didn’t start well, and after just 5 points in 11 games, he was sacked.
A man who offered his services to the club for free to try and keep them up when observing the current situation in League Two of the club. An unparalleled sixth appointment as manager at a team (according to Soccerbase — Martin Allen at Barnet also has been appointed five times).
And for all that, a coach with limited success elsewhere. Whilst he has a win percentage of about 40% at Latics, he only bettered that at Carlisle in 2018 (47%), and matched it in his first stint at Chesterfield (39%). So, the bookies haven’t moved much (well, at all) in response to Sheridan’s announcement as head coach. In fact, William Hill and Smarkets think it makes relegation more likely.
Huge barriers remain. The club is seven points from safety, and under a Football League embargo. It has a hugely unpopular owner who has made seemingly endless bad decisions. It hasn’t won a game since mid-November, and hasn’t scored a goal for over 344 minutes of play.
But Oldham fans, judging by Twitter, are delirious — and that so soon after being so abjectly despondent. I’m hopeful, much more hope than is warranted given the predicament. I’m actually looking forward to attending matches, starting with Rochdale on Saturday (two negative lateral flows permitting). The promise is a team that plays for the team, for the club, for the shirt, motivated by a manager who so very clearly loves the club and is willing to give his all to get us out of this mess.
Come on Oldham!
