1993–94 Oldham Athletic A.F.C. season

Oldham Athletic
1993–94 season
Chairman Ian Stott
Manager Joe Royle
Stadium Boundary Park
Premier League 21st (relegated)
FA Cup Semi–finals
Coca–Cola Cup Fourth round
Top goalscorer League:
Graeme Sharp (9)

All:
Graeme Sharp (11)
Highest home attendance 16,708 vs. Manchester United
Lowest home attendance 10,633 vs. Wimbledon
Average home league attendance 12,563

During the 1993–94 English football season, Oldham Athletic competed in the FA Premier League.

Season summary

Oldham Athletic's luck finally ran out on the final day of the season as their failure to beat Norwich City condemned them to relegation after three years in the top flight. A year earlier, they had won their final three games of the season to stay up on goal difference and, this time round, they had looked more than capable of beating the drop without needing any last-gasp "Houdini" survival acts. They even looked on course for their first-ever FA Cup final as they entered the final minute of the semi-final beating Manchester United 1–0.

But Mark Hughes then equalised for United and forced a replay, in which the Latics were crushed 4–1 at Maine Road. The team seemed to lose its fighting spirit in the final weeks of the season that followed this defeat, and the results of other relegation-threatened teams would have sent them down even if they had managed to beat Norwich on that final day.

Yet there was no pressure for manager Joe Royle, the longest-serving manager in any division, to be removed from his position. The board kept faith in him and he kept faith in his players, with Mike Milligan (to Norwich) being the only significant departure of the close season.

The season had started dismally with a 3–0 home defeat to Ipswich Town, who would only narrowly avoid relegation at the end of the season after a decent start was followed by a slump. The next game saw Oldham win 1–0 at newly promoted Swindon Town, but then came a 10-match winless run which included five draws. The winless run ended on 30 October when a Darren Beckford goal gave them a 1–0 win at Chelsea. Three successive defeats followed before Oldham recorded their third league win of the campaign, a 2–1 home win over high flying Norwich City. There were some decent results after the turn of 1994, including two successive 2–1 home wins followed by a point at home to Leeds United. On 2 April, a 4–1 home win over Queen's Park Rangers suggested that the Latics were more than capable of survival. And they also had an FA Cup semi-final clash with Manchester United at Wembley to look forward to. First they had to meet United in the league at Old Trafford, and gave them a serious run for their money as the table-leading hosts managed a narrow 3–2 win. However, then came the semi-final, which went to a replay which the Latics lost, leaving them with Premier League survival to focus on. Three successive defeats did them no favours (a narrow 2-1 home loss to West Ham United, a narrow 3-2 defeat at in-form Newcastle United - including two Oldham equalizers - and a 3-0 defeat at Wimbledon), and draws against the two Sheffield teams and a defeat at home to Tottenham Hotspur left them needing to beat Norwich City at Carrow Road on the final day of the season to stand any chance of survival. A 1–1 draw was not enough, and Oldham's three-year stay in the top flight was over.[1]

Final league table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Notes
1Manchester United (C) 42271148038+42921994–95 UEFA Champions League Group stage
2Blackburn Rovers 4225986336+27841994–95 UEFA Cup First round
3Newcastle United 42238118241+4177
4Arsenal 42181775328+25711994–95 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup First round1
5Leeds United 42181686539+2670
6Wimbledon 421811135653+365
7Sheffield Wednesday 421616107654+2264
8Liverpool 42179165955+460
9Queens Park Rangers 421612146261+160
10Aston Villa 4215121546504571994–95 UEFA Cup First round2
11Coventry City 421414144345256
12Norwich City 421217136561+453
13West Ham United 4213131647581152
14Chelsea 4213121749534511994–95 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup First round3
15Tottenham Hotspur 421112195459545
16Manchester City 429181538491145
17Everton 421282242632144
18Southampton 421272349661743
19Ipswich Town 429161735582343
20Sheffield United (R) 428181642601842Relegated to 1994–95 Football League First Division
21Oldham Athletic (R) 429132042682640
22Swindon Town (R) 4251522471005330

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

1 Arsenal qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup as defending champions

2 Aston Villa qualified for the UEFA Cup as League Cup winners

3 Chelsea qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup as FA Cup runners-up

P = Games Played; W = Games Won; D = Games Drawn; L = Games Lost; F = Goals For; A = Goals Against; Pts = Points

Results

Oldham Athletic's score comes first[2]

Legend

Win Draw Loss

FA Premier League

DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
14 August 1993 Ipswich TownH0–312,182
18 August 1993 Swindon TownA1–011,970Bernard
21 August 1993 Blackburn RoversA0–113,731
24 August 1993 Coventry CityH3–310,817Ritchie (pen), Bernard, Olney
28 August 1993 WimbledonH1–110,633Bernard
30 August 1993 Leeds UnitedA0–128,717
11 September 1993 EvertonH0–113,666
18 September 1993 Tottenham HotspurA0–524,614
25 September 1993 Aston VillaH1–112,836Halle
4 October 1993 Manchester CityA1–121,401Sharp
16 October 1993 LiverpoolA1–232,661Beckford
23 October 1993 ArsenalH0–012,105
30 October 1993 ChelseaA1–015,372Beckford
8 November 1993 Newcastle UnitedH1–313,821Jobson
20 November 1993 West Ham UnitedA0–217,251
24 November 1993 Sheffield WednesdayA0–318,509
27 November 1993 Norwich CityH2–110,198Sharp, Makin
4 December 1993 Ipswich TownA0–012,004
7 December 1993 Swindon TownH2–110,771Holden, Halle
11 December 1993 Blackburn RoversH1–213,887Holden
18 December 1993 Coventry CityA1–111,800Bernard
27 December 1993 Queens Park RangersA0–213,218
29 December 1993 Manchester UnitedH2–516,708Sharp, Holden
1 January 1994 Sheffield UnitedA1–217,066Jobson
15 January 1994 LiverpoolH0–314,573
22 January 1994 ArsenalA1–126,524Sharp
5 February 1994 SouthamptonH2–19,982McCarthy, Bernard
12 February 1994 ChelseaH2–112,022Jobson, Sharp
28 February 1994 Leeds UnitedH1–111,136Beckford
5 March 1994 EvertonA1–218,837Sharp
19 March 1994 Aston VillaA2–121,214Beckford, Holden
26 March 1994 Manchester CityH0–016,464
30 March 1994 SouthamptonA3–114,101Benali (own goal), Sharp, Holden
2 April 1994 Queens Park RangersH4–110,440Jobson, McCarthy, Beckford, A McCarthy (own goal)
4 April 1994 Manchester UnitedA2–344,686McCarthy, Sharp
16 April 1994 West Ham UnitedH1–211,669Holden (pen)
23 April 1994 Newcastle UnitedA2–332,216Jobson, Sharp
26 April 1994 WimbledonA0–36,766
30 April 1994 Sheffield WednesdayH0–012,967
3 May 1994 Sheffield UnitedH1–114,779Beckford
5 May 1994 Tottenham HotspurH0–214,283
7 May 1994 Norwich CityA1–120,394McCarthy

FA Cup

Main article: 1993–94 FA Cup
RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R38 January 1994 Derby CountyH2–112,810Beckford, Holden
R429 January 1994 Stoke CityH0–014,465
R4R9 February 1994 Stoke CityA1–019,871Beckford
R519 February 1994 BarnsleyH1–015,685Ritchie
QF12 March 1994 Bolton WanderersA1–020,321Beckford
SF9 April 1994 Manchester UnitedN[3]1–1 (a.e.t.)56,399Pointon
SFR13 April 1994 Manchester UnitedN[4]1–432,311Pointon

League Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R2 1st leg21 September 1993 Swansea CityA1–25,056Sharp
R2 2nd leg6 October 1993 Swansea CityH2–0 (won 3–2 on agg)6,433Bernard, Halle
R326 October 1993 Coventry CityH2–010,071Beckford, Sharp
R430 November 1993 Tranmere RoversA0–39,477

First-team squad

Squad at end of season[5]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
1 England GK Paul Gerrard
2 England DF Craig Fleming
3 England DF Neil Pointon
4 England MF Nick Henry
5 England DF Richard Jobson
6 England DF Steve Redmond
7 Norway DF Gunnar Halle
8 England MF Andy Ritchie
9 England FW Ian Olney
10 Republic of Ireland MF Mike Milligan (captain)
11 Scotland MF Paul Bernard
13 England GK Jon Hallworth
14 Scotland FW Graeme Sharp
15 England DF Andy Barlow
No. Position Player
16 Norway DF Tore Pedersen
17 England FW Darren Beckford
18 England DF Neil McDonald
19 England FW Roger Palmer
20 England MF Mark Brennan
21 Wales FW Sean McCarthy
22 England DF Chris Makin
23 England DF Richard Graham
24 England GK Andy Woods
25 England MF Rick Holden
27 England MF David Beresford
28 England FW John Eyre
29 England MF Stephen Price

Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
12 England MF Neil Adams (to Norwich City)
21 England FW Neil Tolson (to Bradford City)
No. Position Player
26 England GK Lance Key (on loan from Sheffield Wednesday)
30 England GK Gary Walsh (on loan from Manchester United)

References

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