Autumn Update from Bill & Mike
Oldham chairman Bill Quinn and managing director Mike Ford have issued a comprehensive update to fans, as the 2025 Betfred Championship season reaches its conclusion.
A fourth-placed finish in the championship represents the club's most successful season in 21 years, as Oldham RLFC continues its exciting upward trajectory under Quinn and Ford's guidance.
A playoff defeat to Halifax was a painful end to the campaign for everyone at the club, but both Ford and Quinn have outlined huge reasons for optimism on a brand new episode of The Boundary Line - out now exclusively on our fast-growing YouTube channel Roughyeds TV.
"The disappointment is there and it hurts. But these things happen and we will learn from it and be better next season," Quinn tells host George Riley.
We put a Super League bid in the other week - look at where we have come as a club in two-and-a-half years, recruiting off the field, the management structure of the club has totally changed, the people we are employing, the pathways, the women's team, the education side of it, the training facilities at Netpar - everything we have done you can't help but think to yourself 'wow'. We won't go backwards, we will go forwards."
Quinn and Ford discuss that playoff defeat, the Super League bid, the imminent launch of 2026 Season Tickets, plans for 2026, IMG plus recruitment and retention - with 13 players leaving the club this week.
"We would like to thank all the lads who have served us mostly for two seasons," said Ford.
They have done the job, got us promoted and got us to fourth in the Championship. Recruitment and getting better never stops. I can honestly say that I don't think any player was shocked. We are constantly talking to the player as we go along so there was nobody shocked about next season - we knew where we were. But we have to get better and within that recruitment is number one."
With Oldham having submitted an application to be part of an expanded 14-team Super League in 2026 Ford and Quinn explain what that means for new signings - with recruitment "paused" while awaiting the outcome of that process.
"With the Super League bid being put in we have actually paused recruitment until we know which league we are in," Ford added.
It is a bit of a risk, but a calculated risk and we are confident that once we are in the league we can start putting the final stages to the squad and all the fans then will know the new players that might be coming in.
From a football point of view we can go even better next year, whatever league we are in".
IMG and the Super League bid are both discussed on this latest episode, with Ford confirming the club is likely to be one of the few to see their IMG score go up this year.
"Our score is not going to jump massively but it is going forward," said Ford.
They have changed some of the criteria and standards so although we have doubled our media engagements for example our score has gone down a little bit so you can imagine what that has done to the other clubs. Speaking to the IMG people we are one of a few clubs to go up - we have gone up a bit but the others have come down."
On Super League, Quinn gives a passionate rallying cry to Oldham fans to get behind the team on its exciting upward journey, regardless of the outcome of this season's Super League application.
"If we don't get in this year, there is a good chance next year and if not next year then the year after without a shadow of a doubt," said Quinn.
It is not now or never and I don't see it as the door being shut. I think they will leave it slightly ajar, and you have to push it maybe a bit harder to get in. That doesn't faze us. We have started with nothing and we will keep going until we kick the door in - and I'm quite good at that, so we will keeping doing that!"
There is a lively debate too on promotion and relegation which "has got to stay" according to Quinn and Ford.
"There has always been promotion and relegation," added Quinn. "Imagine taking it out of football, it's just crazy. There has to be that tangible situation, not just for the winning but for the investment in the game. As an investment you have to be able to see there are going to be fruits of your labour and investment.
It is about being able to climb the divisions and being able to do what Leigh has done. Look at where they are now - I would be so proud to be in that position."
Catch up with the exclusive update on The Boundary Line now, where there is also news of a new weekly draw, a special anniversary kit and the latest ahead of our pre-season fixture in Benidorm.