Bill Quinn here for the long ride, so get behind him, support the club and let’s see how far we can go

CLUB chairman Bill Quinn, the man whose purse pushes our great club forward time and again, has made it clear that he would like to see 'more bums on seats'; that Nigel Wood is the man to lead reform at the top level; that promotion and relegation should apply at ALL levels and that change is on its way.

Fears that Bill might pull out, however, if these things don't happen look to have been dispelled.

He has said publicly:

"I don't intend to see this club ever take a backward step again." And when I asked him personally how he would react if things did not go Oldham's way, he said: "It would make me all the more determined to dig in."

Key to this seems to be the relationship with Oldham Athletic and Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council and the club's third-party involvement with the ambitious 'Sportstown" project to say nothing of the club's big developments at the newly-named Netpar Training Centre (Melrose) in Chadderton.

The Oldham club and it's go-ahead chairman and board, to say nothing of the club's active Foundation, now under the guidance of its new chief executive Chris Chamberlain, is dedicated and determined to involve the whole community at Netpar Melrose and to particularly involve the young people of the borough.

Another major project is the development with local business under the work of David Bottomley, another community project. You don't appoint experienced men like Chamberlain and Bottomley into senior positions at the club and/or its Foundation unless you have long-term ambitions for the future.

In addition, Bill Quinn had this to say in one of his interviews with the hugely-professional George Riley:

"We have a ten-year lease to play at BP, but I am more interested in being a stakeholder in SportsTown with Oldham Athletic and with Oldham Council so that we know for certain we will be playing for ever at Boundary Park and not merely for ten years.

Talks and negotiations are ongoing but if it doesn't happen, for whatever reason, I will make sure we have our own ground one way or the other. I am in touch with investors and it WILL happen . . .either at Boundary Park as stake holders or elsewhere."

Bill was even quoted in the original press release put out by Athletica and including, among others, quotes from the Leader of Oldham Council and the owner and chairman of the football club, Frank Rothwell, who has often been seen at Roughyeds' games.

Bill said in that high-powered company:

"Next year marks 150 years of Oldham RLFC — a huge milestone for our club and for our town. Having a permanent home is a game-changer, giving our players, fans and community a place to be proud of. SportsTown is exactly what Oldham needs, bringing in investment, creating opportunities and making sure Oldham will be a powerhouse in rugby and beyond."

So there you have it — and I submit that's not the stance of a man who will walk away at the drop of a hat.

Elsewhere, might I say how much I am enjoying the business networking sessions conducted by David Bottomley. The club's recently-appointed head of Operations is a very experienced campaigner in this sort of job, albeit in soccer, and in Chris Chamberlain he has a colleague of polished professionalism who has also been round the block with St Helens and Bradford.

I didn't see the Kevin Fitzpatrick presentation because of a previous commitment, but the previous one with snooker star Mark Farrimond, from Blackburn, went down particularly well.

Liam Grady, a coach in the club's Pathway programme, was outstandingly enthusiastic when talking about all that was going on with the kids at Melrose and he revealed that there were now more than 200 youngsters at various age groups on the scheme. Different groups had undergone physical tests under the watchful eye of FIFA's Callum irving --an indication of the lengths the club would go to in order to develop the boys to the highest levels. More on Melrose in future articles. Suffice to say here, this unique training centre,, for Oldham RLFC and the community, could easily become the jewel in our ambitious club's development crown, such is the credence given to kids, community, Pathway.

Back at the Network meeting, club captain Jordan Turner told us all about his counselling business, in partnership with a former team mate at Huddersfield, Adam Walne, and I had the pleasure of meeting the presenter, local man Ian Taylor.

Not to be confused with our former front-row forward or the supporter from Shaw with connections to our Supporters' Trust, both of the same name, Ian is a local man with a penchant for doing this sort of thing. He's got a passion for the club, the gift of the gab — and the personality to match — and he knows his onion.