Browse Sections

• Oldham Athletic FC
• Oldham Roughyeds'
• Local football
• Local cricket

So where did it go wrong?

Gavin Browne
8/10/2008

SO THE name of Steve Deakin can now be added to those of Paddy Kirwan, Mick Coates, Mike Ford, John Harbin, Steve Molloy, Gary Mercer and John Pendlebury in the list of former Roughyeds coaches.

Coming 48 hours after Oldham’s second consecutive National League Two Grand Final defeat, Deakin’s departure did not come as much of a surprise.

With sport essentially being about winners and losers, Deakin’s inability to lead Oldham to automatic promotion or Grand Final victory always left him in the firing line once everyone had cooled down.

As Oldham chief executive Chris Hamilton admitted on the day of Deakin’s exit, telling the coach he was no longer wanted was a difficult task given his admiration for Deakin.

That admiration would have been forged from the moment Deakin took the Oldham job in March, 2006.

John Pendlebury had stunned the club by walking out, citing off-field issues, later to surface at Wigan Warriors.

Within 24 hours, Deakin – having just returned from helping set up Catalans Dragons’ entry into Super League – was appointed as first-team coach.

At the time of his appointment on March 7, 2006, Deakin said: "It’s a club with outstanding potential, the ambition and potential matches that of myself.

"I want to coach in Super League and the opportunity to do that at my home club is the best prize I could possibly get – it will be a dream realised.

"Getting into Super League would be my desire and what I want to do but every other coach has similar ambitions. We all need a little element of luck to be able to do that.

"I’m just really proud and honoured to be a part of a club, my first recollection of which was being beaten 12-2 by the Australians in 1963.

"I feel very proud, honoured and privileged to be following the footsteps of so many Oldham people who had a similar honour, people like Mike Ford, Steve Molloy, Paddy Kirwan and Mick Coates who did a great job in taking the club forward.

"If I can take it forward as far as they did, then we’ll be in a healthy shape."

A ‘healthy shape’ was the last thing the club was in during 2006 as Deakin inherited Pendlebury’s playing squad and had no room to manoeuvre given a £250,000 VAT bill that the club had to pay.

Consequently, Oldham managed one win all season – coming against Saddleworth Rangers in the Challenge Cup – and were promptly relegated from National League One.

With the club somehow having paid off their debt, there was the hope that plans could be put in place for a happier season in 2007.

What was to happen early in the year would mean Deakin had the tools to try and make an immediate return to National League One.

The following year brought new developments in the life of the Roughyeds with Bill Quinn taking a majority shareholding in the club.

For the first time in a while, the club had money to spend and could bring in players able to sustain a promotion charge.

Richard Mervill, Simeon Hoyle, Adam Hughes, Paul O’Connor and Rob Roberts quickly became fans’ favourites as Oldham took the hard route to the 2007 Grand Final against Featherstone Rovers at Headingley Carnegie.

Deakin’s friendship with Hull KR boss Justin Morgan allowed the Roughyeds to bring in Byron Ford, Matty Brooks and Gareth Morton for the end-of-season run-in.

However, a gamble on Ford’s fitness failed within 10 minutes of the kick-off against Featherstone as they went down 24-4.

So rewind to the start of this year then and the news that Oldham had been installed as favourites to lift the 2008 National League Two title.

That seemed well justified given they had retained the likes of James Coyle, Brooks, O’Connor, Mervill, Hoyle and Roberts, as well as bringing in points machine Mick Nanyn, Phil Joseph and Marcus St Hilaire.

The Northern Rail Cup campaign saw the Roughyeds stun Salford City Reds at Boundary Park on their way to a first quarter-final, while there was also an appearance in the last eight of the Challenge Cup.

Nevertheless, promotion was the buzzword in the Roughyeds’ camp with everyone determined to return to National League One.

Although injuries were to take their toll over the campaign, the straw that broke the camel’s back was the bonus point system.

True, Oldham lost only five games over the season, but one bonus point from those defeats was to prove costly as they missed out on the second automatic promotion spot to Barrow Raiders.

Rubbing further salt into the Oldham wounds was the fact that the title winners were Gateshead Thunder, the 250/1 outsiders at the start of the season.

Still, third spot brought home advantage for the play-offs, only for Oldham to surrender their unbeaten home record in 2008 with a limp performance against Doncaster.

That meant a sudden-death game against Rochdale Hornets which saw Oldham progress into the final courtesy of a strong second-half showing which saw them beat their derby rivals 38-14.

Seven days later brought the Grand Final defeat against Doncaster where Oldham, for all their possession, lacked any imagination in the attacking zone and were made to pay – albeit with a little help from the video referee who allowed Luke Gale’s second-half try to stand.

The television cameras had panned to Deakin with five minutes left and Doncaster 18-10 ahead, depicting an Oldham coach seemingly unable to comprehend what was happening in front of him at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.

It would have taken someone with a heart of stone not feel some sympathy for Deakin afterwards, particularly as he looked like a broken man at the post-match press conference.

Despite reiterating his desire to come back refreshed and in charge of Oldham in 2009, he found the decision made for him within 48 hours.

Summing up, Mr Hamilton said: "Deaks reiterated that it had been a pleasure and an honour to coach his hometown team, while myself and Sean Whitehead will be grateful for the way he stepped into the breach.

"Most people would look at it (the season) as a success but if we’re being honest, we shouldn’t have been in the play-offs with the squad we had.

"Promotion was what we wanted, it didn’t particularly matter if it was through the play-offs, although automatic was the preferred route, but we fell short.

"We’ve fallen short for two years because we haven’t been good enough for whatever reason."