Oldham Athletic have confirmed that they have parted company with manager Harry Kewell following their goalless draw at home to Southend United this weekend.
The stalemate meant the Latics had won just three out of their previous ten matches and it saw them slip further into a growing pack of teams nervously looking over their shoulder at the League Two relegation zone.
Kewell’s assistant, Alan Maybury, has also left the club.
Oldham Athletic Sack Harry Kewell
Club Statement: Harry Kewell #oafc https://t.co/mwqY1QOs6a
— Oldham Athletic (@OfficialOAFC) March 7, 2021
Statements
In a short statement on their website, Oldham said: “Harry Kewell has today been relieved of his duties as Head Coach of Oldham Athletic.
“Arriving in August 2020 he now leaves along with his assistant, Alan Maybury.
“We would like to thank both for their efforts this season and wish them well in the future.
Firstly I’d like to thank the fans for their support through my short spell at Oldham FC. All of the staff who have worked tirelessly throughout hectic schedule during a global pandemic making things tick behind the scenes.
1/2
— Harry Kewell (@HarryKewell) March 7, 2021
Underwhelming Results
While there have been some convincing and entertaining successes for Oldham in this League Two campaign, Kewell’s tenure overall was one of inconsistency more than anything.
For every success against the likes of Cambridge United and Newport County, there were losses to fellow strugglers Scunthorpe United and Walsall.
More recently, having lost at home to relegation-threatened Barrow on February 23, they won 3-1 away at Carlisle United four days later – Chris Beech’s side had once been the runaway leaders in the division before the patch of poor weather saw a host of their games called off.
Defeat to Bolton Wanderers earlier this month could perhaps have been expected given the form Ian Evatt’s side are in, but even with the resurgence Southend have undergone recently, the Latics will feel that their goalless draw this weekend was certainly a missed opportunity to put more points on the board.
Chopping and Changing
Whether, though, this should have resulted in Kewell’s departure is another question.
Oldham are prone to swift changes when it comes to management. This is the 14th consecutive Latics boss to not have completed a full season in charge of the club. The last was current Sunderland manager Lee Johnson, who was in charge from March 2013 to February 2015.
The trend continues
No Oldham manager has seen out an entire season since 2014
They’ve had 14 managers since then
There’s a reason this club is where it is#oafc https://t.co/NuEliiXXq0
— D3D4Football (@d3d4football) March 7, 2021
Even though results were underwhelming, a lot can be said for consistency. Given how tight things are in League Two, had Harry Kewell been able to put a little run of results together, the standings would have looked far more favourable in just a short space of time.
Instead, he leaves his third job in charge of a League Two side, having previously been in charge of Crawley Town and Notts County in his managerial career.
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