Forever Blue With Ian Cheeseman

With no Premier League action taking place over the weekend, I’m going to devote this week’s column to two other clubs who will be forever blue, Stockport County and Oldham Athletic.

I was at Edgeley Park on Tuesday evening when County beat Maidenhead United 3-0 in the National League. If you weren’t aware, the National League is the fifth tier of English football. You wouldn’t necessarily have known that if you’d been sat next to me at the game.

The quality of the two teams I watched was excellent. The passing was crisp and there was good movement off the ball. The away team were the better of the two in the first half, with more clear cut chances in front of goal, but County were much better in the second half and were deserved 3-0 winners, to go top of the League.

Off the field, County have been revitalised by owner Mark Stott who has invested in the stadium, which has been upgraded significantly. The Railway End has new seating and an impressive scoreboard/video screen which would be the envy of many Premier League clubs. United and Liverpool don’t even have scoreboards of that type.

I passed near the dressing room area as I left the ground and that, too, looks refreshed and professional.

I’ve been told, by a few different people, that the difference on the field between clubs in the top half of the National League and the bottom half of League Two is massive. Word was that the standard in the National League was much higher, but I needed to be convinced. On Tuesday night I was converted and that opinion was further cemented when I visited Boundary Park on Saturday.

I’ve watched Oldham Athletic a lot during the last 18 months and sadly their decline has been there for everyone to see. I was there to watch their local derby with Rochdale. It was great to see so many fans there and the passion, both on and off the field, was clear for all to see, but it wasn’t a game overflowing with quality on the field.

At County, on Tuesday, there was a crowd of over 5,000, with just 22 shouting for Maidenhead. At Oldham there were around 8,000 in attendance with the support more evenly split for the two teams, with just over 2,000 being from Rochdale. It was great to see the former Premier League ground so full again. I even read a tweet from someone in Tesco Car Park, three quarters of a mile away, saying he could hear the crowd. There’s no doubt that if Oldham Athletic mount a resurgence similar to that of Stockport County, there’ll be plenty of locals to fill the stands again. Sadly the mood around Oldham is despondency. John Sheridan’s return as manager has certainly lifted spirits. The packed Rochdale Road end sang his name with gusto on more that one occasion and that in itself might resurrect hopes that the Latics, who are second bottom in League Two, might yet escape the drop.

I’ve attended Oldham games in the Premier League, indeed they were founder members when the renamed top flight was launched in 1992. I’ve also attended Stockport games when they were rubbing shoulders with, and beating, Manchester City when in the division below. They’re both fantastic clubs with a rich history and fantastic supporters, but right now they appear to be going in opposite directions.

County had their own financial and ownership difficulties after overstretching themselves under a previous regime, but now appear to be back on track. I’m just hoping that the Latics don’t have to sink two divisions below the Football League before they get back on track.

Whatever the immediate and long term future has in store for Stockport County and Oldham Athletic, the one thing I’m certain of is that their supporters will be Forever Blue too.