Get the lowdown on the U’s next opponents: Oldham Athletic

The Opposition

The U’s head to Oldham Athletic on Saturday, are will be looking to close the gap on the play-off places against a Latics side who currently occupy fourth place in the Vanarama National League.

The Latics have enjoyed a steady rise up the fifth tier since becoming the first former Premier League side to fall into non-league, with two mid-table finishes preceding an extremely positive run of form at the start of the current campaign, and has been a streak which they have largely maintained. Micky Mellon’s side have lost just five times this season, and have impressed with their dangerous frontline blending with solidity in defence, with just five sides conceding less goals than the Latics this season.

The Greater Manchester-based outfit had remained in the EFL for over a century, and it seemed as if they would be one of the numerous clubs who have been sucked into the fifth tier with little hope of a return to the promised land, with a tenth place finish last season. However, their quest has seen an improvement during the current campaign, with Mellon adding a whole host of quality to his ranks in an attempt to mount a serious promotion push this season, especially after the departures of Liam Hogan, Nathan Sheron and Mark Shelton. Highly rated wing-back Reagan Ogle arrived from Scunthorpe United to add reinforcements out wide along with Jake Caprice, while Manny Monthe is an experienced head at the heart of their defence.

The Latics have subsequently enjoyed a busy winter window as they looked to solidify their place in the top seven and even close the gap on top spot. Billy Waters, Joe Pritchard, Corry Evans, Jordan Rossiter, Tom Pett and Vimal Yognathan have joined from EFL sides, along with experienced National League winger Matt Worthington arriving from Yeovil Town, and should add additional firepower up top alongside top scorer Mike Fondop.

Recent Form

Oldham Athletic 2-2 Altrincham

Solihull Moors 0-1 Oldham Athletic

Rochdale 0-1 Oldham Athletic

AFC Fylde 1-2 Oldham Athletic

Oldham Athletic 0-5 Manchester United

Gateshead 1-1 Oldham Athletic

The Manager

Micky Mellon

Experienced manager Micky Mellon took the reins at Boundary Park last year following the departure of David Unsworth in September 2023, and has overseen a steady rise up the National League.

The former midfielder, who notably turned out for Blackpool, Tranmere Rovers and Burnley, began his coaching career with stints as assistant manager at Lancaster City and youth coach at Burnley, before taking over at Fleetwood Town. He would lead them to their first FA Cup Second Round appearance and guided them from the bottom of the Conference North to an eighth place finish in his first season, and later established them as promotion contenders, with the Fisherman going on to defeat Alfreton Town in the play-off final.

Mellon continued to oversee a fine rise up the divisions, with a fifth place finish being followed by over a century of points the following season to win the Conference, as well as an appearance in the FA Cup Third Round, before Mellon was dismissed midway through the 2012/13 season.

A caretaker stint at Barnsley followed before further spells at Shrewsbury Town and Tranmere Rovers, guiding the latter to back-to-back promotions from the Conference to League One. He would depart Prenton Park in 2020 and returned to his homeland for the first time as a player or a coach with a spell at Dundee United, before returning to Tranmere in 2021. A further two years in Birkenhead preceded a move to Oldham in 2023.

One to Watch

Mike Fondop

Nicknamed ‘God’s number nine’, fan favourite Mike Fondop has proved himself to be a lethal weapon for the Latics ever since arriving at Boundary Park, and has continued his fine form in front of goal during the current campaign.

After moving to England at the age of 20, Fondop began his career in the Eastern Counties League with Stanway Rovers, before scoring eight goals in six games for Billericay Town, and later enjoyed stints at Oxford City and Guiseley. He would join FC Halifax Town on loan midway through the 2017/18 season and scored four goals in 12 outings to help the Shaymen avoid relegation, before continuing his goalscoring form into the following season after to Wrexham AFC, with five goals in his first nine games. His form would eventually dry up though, and he found himself out on loan midway through the campaign once again when he joined Maidenhead United.

After departing Wales, the Cameroon-born striker made the switch to Chesterfield, and despite a curtailed season, managed to rediscover his form as he finished the 2019/20 campaign as the Spireites top scorer with 11 goals in all competitions. The forward would later briefly move to Aldershot Town before making the jump into the EFL, with a move to League One side Burton Albion. He made his Football League debut as a substitute in a 3-0 defeat to Sunderland, but scored on his first start soon after to help the Brewers seal a 2-1 victory over Charlton Athletic.

Come the end of the campaign, Fondop would be on the move once more, with a brief switch to Hartlepool United preceding a move to Boundary Park in January 2022, and he has enjoyed the best form of his career thus far since making the move to Greater Manchester, with 39 goals in 100 appearances for the Latics including 14 already this season, already bettering his entire tally during the 2023/24 campaign.

Last Time We Met

Goals from Mike Fondop, Charlie Raglan and James Norwood were enough to condemn Sutton United to defeat against play-off rivals Oldham Athletic.

Fondop gave Oldham the lead after 18 minutes when his header from a Mark Kitching cross somehow escaped the grip of Steve Arnold, but Will Davies levelled the score at the start of the second half when he converted the rebound from his initial effort following Josh Coley’s free kick.

Raglan restored the Latics’ lead moments later when he met Tom Conlon’s free kick, and former U’s loanee Norwood would come off the bench to secure the victory when he met fellow substitute Jake Caprice’s cross.

Head-to-Head

Sutton United 1-3 Oldham Athletic (20/10/2024)

Oldham Athletic 1-3 Sutton United (22/03/2022)

Sutton United 1-2 Oldham Athletic (28/08/21

Played for Both

James Norwood

Experienced striker James Norwood has become one of the most reliable figures throughout non-league and has continued his goalscoring form since joining Oldham in 2023. However, a loan stint at Gander Green Lane at the start of his career kick-started what has become a fruitful 17-year spell in senior football.

Born in Eastbourne, Norwood was spotted playing for local club Old Town Boys by Brighton & Hove Albion, spending two years at the AMEX Stadium before moving north to arch-rivals Crystal Palace. A year in the Eagles’ youth system preceded a return to the South Coast, moving to Eastbourne Town in 2005. He subsequently represented Eastbourne, St Bede’s School and England Schools as a youth player in the 2008/09 season, and later played 18 times for Eastbourne Town’s senior side despite still being at school, scoring ten goals in the Isthmian League Division One South.

His form at youth level saw him offered a trial by Exeter City, and he joined the League One side in 2008 before making his senior debut for the Grecians in a 2-1 defeat away at Leeds United. Norwood then linked up with the U’s when he joined the then-Isthmian League Premier Division side on a one-month loan deal, which was extended for another month. He went on to score three goals in 12 appearances for Sutton, and subsequently jumped up to the Conference Premier the following season when he joined Forest Green Rovers on loan at the start of the 2010/11 campaign, before returning home with a loan move to Eastbourne Borough for the second half of the same season.

After being released by Exeter, Norwood rejoined Forest Green on a permanent deal and went on to spend a further four years at The New Lawn. He racked up almost 200 appearances for the club, winning Players’ Player of the Year at the end of the 2012/13 season and eventually became Forest Green’s all-time top Conference Premier goalscorer. His time in Gloucestershire would come to an end after helping the Greens to the Conference Premier play-offs for the first time in the club’s history, with Norwood departing a day after they lost to Bristol Rovers in the semi-final.

A move to Tranmere Rovers followed for the England C international and he enjoyed four years at Prenton Park, notably scoring the matchwinner in the 2018 play-off final against Boreham Wood, helping the Rovers make amends on their defeat at the same stage the previous year and end a three-year absence from the EFL.  His excellent form continued into the following campaign in League Two, with Norwood finishing as the joint-top goal scorer in English football with 32 goals in all competitions along with Manchester City’s Sergio Agüero, helping Tranmere win back-to-back promotions to League One. His excellent form also saw him win the League Two Player of the Year award at the EFL Awards, as well as winning a place in the PFA League Two Team of the Year, and he subsequently moved to recently relegated Ipswich Town.

Three years at Portman Road followed and proved to be another fruitful long-term stint, before moving to Barnsley for a brief spell in 2022/23. This was preceded by a return to non-league, moving to Boundary Park where he currently resides, and he has added 26 goals in 61 appearances to his career tally.

Photo Credit: Paul Loughlin