Rome was not built in a day. I was reminded of this timeless idiom as we drove back to Oldham after thoroughly disappointing night in West London. Events during the earlier parts day weren’t much of an improvement. Yet again southern chippies prove they cannot meet the standards of the curry sauce that their northern counterparts regularly serve up, leaving me a little worse for wear (the idioms will henceforth cease).
Oldham Athletic are in wretched form. Seven defeats – the latest a 2-0 loss against Brentford – in their last nine outings have resulted in plummeting confidence amongst the players, and the fans are uneasy and downbeat. Relegation from League One is still highly unlikely owing to two priceless wins against Hartlepool and Bournemouth before this latest set of poor results, but Athletic apparently want to test how close they can come to it.
Athletic never looked like leaving Griffin Park with victory, and after exactly one minute of the match played a point looked a distant possibility after some shoddy defending (and according to Paul Dickov some questionable refereeing decisions) allowed the home side to take the lead.
In truth, if it wasn’t for Dean Bouzanis’s superb goalkeeping performance during the opening half hour the score-line could have been an embarrassment. Sections of fans think others are over-reacting, that Tuesday night’s performance was not all negative, that there is a flicker of light in view. For the life of me I can’t see it.
It was a night of poor football. The first half was as torrid as Latics have possibly played all season. It was aimless, hesitant, and lacked fluidity. To be perfectly blunt, it lacked leadership, both on the field and on the touchline, and passion. Dickov at the moment cuts the figure of a clueless man.
Excuses galore litter his post-match interviews. He will begin by blaming rotten luck. It appears the whole of the world is against Oldham Athletic. Dickov needs to quickly shake such false pretences (that’s another idiom, right?). Many clubs beside this one have been torn apart by injuries this season and they have got on with the job.
However, something needs spark inside the Scot’s head because this was as strong a side as he has been able to field for several months. It lacked James Wesolowski, who would stamp his authority on the game and revitalise a weak middle. Tom Adeyemi, who is affectively playing because of Wesowloski’s injury, was a ghost on Tuesday, leaving an unfit Dean Furman to fight a tough Brentford side. In terms of attacking options, it was as close to fully fit as he is likely to get this season.
A bit of cruel luck did hit Latics early in the second half after Chris Taylor, who is reportedly leaving his boyhood club in search of new and improved horizons, was stretchered off suffering suspected ankle ligament damage. It mattered little in honesty as the home side continued in pursuit of a second goal to kill off any faint hopes of an equaliser from this weak opposition.
The bees were halted for 20 minutes during which Latics dominated without creating anything spectacular, but soon asserted their authority when they scored for a second set piece. From then on they coasted.
Not only does Dickov have issues in midfield, but seeing his side attempt to defend a corner or long throw must ignite further concerns. The defenders simply cannot defend them. It is a very young defence but with absolutely no support from experienced professionals such as Shefki Kuqi – who worked but found few scraps in the final third – their uphill struggles are set to continue.
Before this defeat, a third consecutively, Oldham endured successive 1-0 losses – the first against a struggling Leyton Orient side. They entered Boundary Park, performed a notorious smash and grab, and were on their way again. It is as easy as that when it concerns Oldham at home.
Athletic were then harshly beaten by Notts County. An Alan Sheehan cracker settled a tight affair, in which Latics would have scored if only they possessed a sufficient threat inside the opposition’s box. Kuqi, scorer of 16 goals this season, is a wonderfully gifted striker. He can brilliant score goals, but Dickov will find, if he could pair him up with Rueben Reid, that he is a provider of the basic ones.
Little can be changed so late in the season. All that can be hoped for is rewards for continuous endeavour, but with the eminent arrival of league leaders Charlton, before they visit Hillsborough, home to a Sheffield Wednesday side still unbeaten under Dave Jones, will Athletic rue the nights when even Leyton Orient and Brentford looked too difficult to beat?
You can follow me on Twitter @CraigOAFC for even more Oldham discussion.
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