It’s reasonable to say that, nine games into the new National League season, things at Oldham haven’t exactly gone according to plan, despite preseason hopes that this would finally be the year that saw promotion back to the EFL.
The Latics are currently in a dismal 22nd place in the division after only one league victory, which came in the second game of the season against Aldershot. This weekend’s dismal 3-0 loss to Bromley also resulted in David Unsworth’s dismissal from the Greater Manchester team.
To get back on track, the Latics are in serious need of a new manager who can make the most of players like James Norwood, Charlie Raglan, and Brennan Dickenson, who all left the EFL to join Oldham this summer.
Could the decision-makers at Boundary Park employ similar strategy for their upcoming managerial hire, luring a manager who is more accustomed to managing in League Two or League One to move down to non-league? Who is being considered as the replacement for departing Unsworth?
Theodore Clemence
Stephen Clemence is an outsider who has unexpectedly emerged as the front-runner for this position. He would be a surprising choice from the Oldham leadership as their new leader.
After retiring from playing in 2010, Clemence joined the coaching ranks under former Newcastle manager Steve Bruce, who had previously coached him at Birmingham City. Clemence and Bruce afterwards worked together at Hull City, Sunderland, Sheffield Wednesday, Aston Villa, and finally the Magpies.
After Bruce left Hillsborough in 2019, he even served for a brief period as Sheffield Wednesday’s interim manager.
Since leaving Newcastle, Oldham has stated that he now wants to prove himself as a first-team manager rather than just coaching. It will be interesting to watch if or not Oldham move for
Micky Mellon Oldham might choose Mellon as their next manager as well. The seasoned Scottish manager is now without a job after his second stint with Tranmere didn’t go as planned, which resulted in his firing in March.
He has success as a manager at the National League level, which would please the Latics. During his first season at Tranmere, Rovers won a tense 2-1 Playoff Final victory over Boreham Wood, securing promotion to League Two.
The following year, Tranmere had the advantage as they won back-to-back promotions and the League Two playoffs, making Mellon a hero for the Birkenhead-based team at the time.
The Scotsman has two additional managerial promotions to his name from Fleetwood Town.
Clarke, Darrell
Another candidate being mentioned for the position of manager for Oldham is Darrell Clarke, who left Port Vale in April of this year and is currently jobless.
The decision to fire Clarke at Port Vale caused a stir among the Valiants fan base because the 45-year-old managed 52 victories in 124 games while serving as manager at Vale, where he also oversaw Vale’s promotion to League One via the playoffs in 2022.
He continues to be well-liked at his former club Bristol Rovers, having led the Gas to back-to-back promotions all the way to League One in his capacity as manager after the team dropped into non-league in 2014 under Clarke.
Darrell Artell
David Artell, the former manager of Crewe Alexandra, is another manager without a job that is linked to the Oldham position. He has been devoid of a job since the Railwaymen released him of his duties in 2022.
On a recent episode of TheRealEFL’s podcast, Artell opened up about his desire to join a club where he can envision a long-term project taking off.
The former Crewe resident may consider Oldham as a worthwhile endeavor for reviving a downtrodden giant.
Along with giving youth a chance to succeed at the Greater Manchester club, Artell would guarantee that his Latics team played attractive football.
Could Artell return to management with Oldham, where there is always a lot of interest when a managerial position opens up?
Richardson, Leam
It would be a major victory for the Latics if they were able to hire Leam Richardson, the former Wigan manager who has been connected to the Oldham opening.
Richardson has only ever held the position of manager at Accrington Stanley and Wigan Athletic, taking over the club’s operations in 2012 after his playing career came to an end.
He is more known for his tenure as Wigan’s manager, filling in admirably for Paul Cook after the latter left the DW to join Ipswich Town.
Due to financial difficulties, he prevented the Tics from being relegated to League Two in his first season with the team. The following year, he inspired the Wigan squad to win the Championship.
Richardson was fired after a terrible start to the subsequent Championship season, but DW fans still think highly of him.
Oldham will try to persuade the 43-year-old to accept his first non-league managerial appointment at Boundary Park in order to make a statement. He has recently been linked with the position at Charlton Athletic.
