Fans seek answers from ownership as Latics gear up for Sutton trip

As Latics gear up to make their first-ever trip to EFL new boys Sutton United tomorrow (Saturday), two fans groups have requested meetings with the club's ownership as they fear a catastrophic exit from the league for the first time ever.

Members of Oldham Athletic Supporters Foundation and Push The Boundary called an emergency meeting earlier this week to discuss the club's plight and the best way forward for fans to take action.

This follows final whistle pitch invasions following last weekend's home league defeat by Colchester and then the Carabao Cup penalty shoot-out success against Accrington.

In the fourth minute of the midweek game fans threw tennis balls onto the field in protest, leading to the game being halted for around 60 seconds.

The Foundation and PTB released a joint statement calling for showdown talks in a bid to address "the very serious concerns of the fans directly", with a written request sent to the club and a deadline for a response set at 5pm on August 31.

Part of the statement read: "We jointly feel that communication from and with both (Latics owner) Abdallah and Mohamed Lemsagam directly to fans group representatives and most importantly, the fans generally, has been insufficient.

"Therefore, we must stress that a failure to take this final opportunity will inevitably result in action appropriate to their constitution and obligations.

"We will be submitting this request in writing as two separate entities, placing the deadline for a response by the club at 5pm on Tuesday 31st August 2021, in the expectation that a meeting will be held by no later than the second week in September 2021.

"Given the trajectory of our club under the custodianship of Mr Abdallah and Mohamed Lemsagam, it is now up to them to openly discuss the very serious concerns of the fans directly.

"We legitimately fear that the next phase for the football club is likely to be administration and relegation from the EFL, for the first time in our history.

"As fans, we cannot allow this to happen unchallenged and must insist that if you cannot immediately demonstrate a sufficient plan of action, that you must officially put the football club up for sale with immediate effect.

"OASF and Push The Boundary will continue to cooperate with each other, whilst functioning as separate entities, taking actions appropriate to our responsibilities, but sharing a very clear, common goal - the survival of Oldham Athletic."

On the field, Latics have lost their first four League Two games so far this term, meaning they currently prop up the table.

Sutton, meanwhile, have made a steady start to life in the EFL, drawing two of their first three games.

Latics' reward for their spot-kicks win against Accrington on Tuesday is a trip to Premier League new boys Brentford in the third round.

The fixture is planned to take place during the week commencing September 20.

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