On The Boundary

Oldham Athletic have admitted that they are under a transfer embargo after several years of financial struggle at the League One club. While the club did not disclose the reason why initially, they later admitted they had not handed over money from a recent away match at Rochdale that the club sold tickets for.

12 months ago the club admitted it was late with wages for the third month running and it was hauled in front of the judge by HMRC in June for unpaid taxes, but the problems have gone on for longer. Back in the late spring of 2012 the club admitted it stopped playing defender Zander Diamond as they could not afford to meet the terms of his contract and trigger a new deal due to budget cuts due to be implemented for the following season.

In 2010 they warned they were just two postponements away from financial catastrophe, just weeks after posting a £1.5million loss for the previous season, yet land around the club's Boundary Park home has been quietly squirreled away from the club and redeveloped including a housing estate and a car park housing 1,000 cars daily.

A lengthy article in the Independent claims that a separate company called Brass Bank now owned the land. Companies House shows that Brass Bank is run by two former Oldham Athletic directors that arrived at the club with chairman Simon Corney, who is listed as owning all the shares in the club save for the 3% owned by the Supporters Trust. All of their shares are non-voting, with Corney's 97% all voting.

Corney says he is owed £6million in loans into the club, adding that he won't ask for repayment unless the club reaches the Premier League. As it stands, the club is facing relegation to League Two, having last scored five League games ago before Tuesday's draw with Port Vale, and just eleven times in nineteen League matches in total. Gates are down 20% from last season, and nearly 50% on ten years ago when they were seeking a League One exit through the top door rather than the bottom.

Last season, they were struggling to appoint a first team coach on just £18,000 a year, with the prime candidate turning the job down as it was not 'financially viable' for him to travel the 120 mile round trip each day on such sums. Players are reported to be paid a top end of £2,000 at the club, which is a median figure for players in the division overall.

In a video interview Corney, sitting in a knackered looking chair, noted that the club were to face paying out a combined £300,000 over the next week in wages and a HMRC bill, calling the cashflow at the club 'tough' and that they had higher priorities than paying Rochdale. He went on to name a series of message board users, after accusations that some people were being 'negative', calling on them to meet him in person for a recorded interview.

The likelihood of Oldham slipping out of League One after a 20 year stay is increasing by the day.