English Football League: Oldham fans protest about their owners
Oldham Athletic fans have been protesting about the running of their club. Pity so many within the media ignored it.
A recent article in The Guardian mentions: "Late payments of salaries, threats of player strikes and threats of administration have punctuated Abdallah Lemsagam’s reign."
After weeks and months of anger, they have organised a huge protest outside the ground ahead of their League Two match v Hartlepool.
(A distant look at the Boundary Park ground back in 2014
Social media posts about the protests
Throughout the protest, many Oldham fans have taken to social media to show the scale of the event taking place outside their stadium. One fan posted a heartfelt thread detailing his love of the club despite its problems. The thread starts with this tweet: "Tomorrow, I'm attending my first ever protest. I'm protesting against the current owners of my football club, Oldham Athletic, who might yet oversee the club dropping out of the EFL or worse.
If you think it's a trivial issue to protest against, let me explain why it's not #oafc. Read the rest of the thread below.
...or even worse - taking it away altogether, would be too cruel and destructive a blow. Especially to a town that has already endured so much in recent years.
— Macca IV (@MaccaTheFourth) September 17, 2021
So, I'm not just protesting because I want to protect a football club, it runs much, much deeper than that. #SaveOAFC
Outside the ground, some fans are dressed up as clowns, some are dressed all in black. There's even a coffin being carried around. Many Oldham fans already believe their club is died. Some of those believe in the resurrection, an Oldham contributor for Greater Manchester Football added: "We're fighting for the soul of our club!"
Good luck to Oldham fans today https://t.co/l5OkHURgxe
— Greater Manchester Football (@_GMCRFootball) September 18, 2021
There's an old statement that says "football without fans is nothing." That is so true. The games played behind closed doors throughout 2020 and 2021 just didn't feel the same. Football needs fans but it also needs those fans to be listened to.
Good luck to all Oldham fans. We hope you get your club back.
