Where Are They Now? (K-Z)

Player Profile

• Name
• Played from.............to...............
• Claim to fame
• Most memorable moment/incident
• Where are they now?

Ryszard Kowenicki (1979-81) was Athletic's first overseas signing and will always be remembered for his spectacular throw-ins. His technique left him lying face down on the field with his toes still behind the touchline! An experience never seen since. Unfortunately Ryszard died last decade.

Frank Large (1965-66) was an enthusiastic goalscorer for the Latics. The much travelled player scored 11 goals in 16 matches and his transfer fee of £ 7,500 was almost doubled when he eventually moved on to Northampton. Frank and his wife, Aileen, are now the owners of a bed and breakfast establishment in Co.Mayo, Republic of Ireland.

Bert Lister (1960-65) was one of the best goalscorers ever to put on an Oldham shirt. As a centre-forward he would have gone through a brick wall to score with one of his brilliant diving headers. In 1963 he almost broke the all time record for goals in a season and his six goals against Southport on Boxing Day 1962 will always be remembered. Bert is now a taxi-driver in Blackpool

Andy Lochhead (1973-79) who once devastated the Latics with an illustrious performance at Boundary Park for Aston Villa, and then won a third division championship medal with them in 1974 is now Project Director for New Earth Water Services.

Billy McGlen (1953-56) was a player with great experience, and was renown as a utility player who always gave 100%. His contribution was instrumental in Athletic winning the Third Division North title. He went on to train at Lincoln City and was player coach/manager of Skegness Town in 1967. In his career for Oldham he used to catch the bus from outside the Smutt Inn on match days. Billy passed away in 1999.

Mick McGuire (1985-87) was an experienced midfielder when he helped to guide Oldham out of the relegation area. Illness and injury forced him to retire in his second campaign with the Latics. He now has a full-time job with the PFA.

Peter McKennan (1951-54) was a powerful forward and an inspirational leader for Athletic. He won a Third Division N. championship medal with the club in 1953 but unfortunately, he recently passed away.

Ian McMahon (1980-1984) made his debut against Burnley on 12th. April 83. He only made two appearances for Oldham before being released on a free transfer to Rochdale who were then managed by Vic Halom, another former Oldham player. He was generally a first teamer at Rochdale and made 91 appearances (8 goals) before injury ended his career. He is now the Chief Executive at Doncaster Rovers.

Jimmy Munro (1950-53) was a popular player at Boundary Park who was renown for being a quick and tricky player. He won a Third Division N. championship medal with the club in 1953 and made a total of 346 appearances with the four clubs which he represented. He recently passed away.

Billy Ormond (1949-54) played on the wing for Athletic after his demob from the services and won a Third Division N. championship medal with the club in 1953. Billy recently passed away.

Roger Palmer (1980-94) became the Latics all time record goalscorer before his retirement from the game. A great favourite of the fans who endeared the now famous chant of "Oooooohhhhhh!!! Roger Palmer". A great opportunist who will always be remembered fondly as he helped the Latics return to the First Division after their long absence. Rumours abounded that Roger was the proprietor of a fish & chip shop in Bacup but Roger is actually a recluse and difficult to trace. Tony Bugby (Oldham Chronicle) is trying to trace him and we will inform you when we finally know of his whereabouts. He always was famous for his chips though!

Peter Phoenix (1958-62) was a versatile player who was the Latics leading scorer in 58-59 with 13 goals. Not bad for a wing-half! Recent information suggests that Peter has passed away. Any confirmation would be appreciated.

John Platt (1971-81) was a brave goalkeeper who had to retire from the game due to injury. He is now in charge of the Latics "Football in the Community" scheme.

Andy Rhodes (1988-90) was a spectacular goalie who adapted well to playing on Athletic’s artificial surface. Andy is now goalkeeping coach at Barnsley and still turns out for Emley Town in the Unibond Northern League.

Jack Rowley (1960-63 & 1968-69) was appointed manager of Oldham on August 2nd. 1960 and the rejuvination of the Latics began. He brought in players of the calibre of Colquhoun, Williams, Greaves, Scott and Johnston. Remembered as one of the best forwards ever for Manchester United, Jack guided the Latics to promotion in 1962-63, which included the 11-0 hammering of Southport on Boxing Day when Bert Lister scored six goals. A crowd of 41,733 also saw the Latics play Liverpool in the ever to be remembered F.A. cup game in the 4th. Round in January. Jack died at the age of 79 in 1998.

Joe Royle (1982-94) was surely Oldham's most successful manager, taking them to the F.A. Cup semi-finals and to their first ever appearance at Wembley in the L.C. final. When Joe resigned as Everton manager, he accepted the same post at Manchester City. He was also commentating on football matches for Channel Five and did reports on the opposition for England manager Glen Hoddle.

Matthew Rush (1997-98) was an experienced, natural wide-player who was forced to retire through injury. His loss was a huge blow to Athletic as he looked to have a bright future in the game. Since his retirement, Matthew is concentrating on taking up a career as a Physical Education teacher.

Graeme Sharp (1991-97) joined Athletic as a pedigree striker and was made manager when Joe Royle left for Everton during the 1994-95 season. When he left the hot seat in 1997 he had a short spell in charge at Bangor City. Sharp now works for the local press and radio in Liverpool and enjoys his media work so much that he has no ambitions of returning to the competitive world of football management.

David Shaw (1969-73 & 1975-78) was a firm favourite with the Boundary Park faithful. He had tremendous pace and had a knack for scoring spectacular and important goals. He forged a magnificent partnership with Jim Fryatt and help the Latics to promotion as well as winning the Ford Sporting League outright in the 1970-71 season. He was last heard of as a licensee at a pub on Rochdale Road, Newhey.

Nick Sinclair (1978-84) had a good turn of speed and was best remembered as an overlapping full back.
His autobiography for the LSC: “I made 76 appearances which was restricted due to many injuries. Most memorable and important games included playing at Newcastle to a capacity crowd against Keegan and Waddle, and also playing against Manchester City again to a capacity crowd at Maine road in a local derby. Whilst at Oldham I had a spell at Wolves for three months but this was also interrupted by injury. I left Oldham in 1984 and joined Tranmere and played at Prenton Park for two seasons under Brian Hamilton and Frank Worthington. I unfortunately finished my playing days in 1986 due to a Pelvic injury related to a Knee ligament injury experienced years before. Since my footballing days I have worked for several companies including The BBC in Manchester where I was involved in programme research. I joined EDS (a computer services company, Stockport) in 1998”.

Simon Stainrod (1979-80) was a classy player with lots of individual flair. He was well liked by the Oldham fans and Athletic made a £ 190,000 profit when they sold him on to QPR. Simon recently departing from the hot seat at Ayr United and is now believed to be a player's agent.

Peter Thompson (1983) only made four appearances on loan for Athletic near the end of his career. A former England international, he was the first Third Division player for 15 years to be capped when he made his full debut. His debut for Athletic at Rotherham coincided with the first win in eight games in Joe Royle’s first season as manager. Peter is now manager of Gillingham.

Carl Valentine (1976-80) was the first Englishman to qualify for the 1986 World Cup Finals due to his dual-nationality (British/Canadian). He was recently sacked as player/coach and V.P. Soccer Operations of the Vancouver 86'ers who play in the 'A' League.

Colin Whitaker (1962-64) scored 29 goals in 72 league appearances for Latics. He was a true ‘wizard of the wing’ who scored over one hundred goals, including eight hat-tricks. A wonderful trapper of the ball, Colin played for Sheffield Wednesday, Shrewsbury Town, QPR and Rochdale, before moving to Oldham. After leaving the Latics he played at Barrow and became player-manager at Stalybridge Celtic. A strange tale from Colin, “I was playing at Oldham in 1964 when I damaged my cartilage and I ended up going to Old Trafford for treatment where I got to know Sir Matt Busby. I got up off a treatment table and started to hobble on one leg, so Sir Matt told me to take the crutches he'd used when he left hospital in Munich. I used them for about a month before putting them in my garage. It never entered my head how important they might be until the 40th. anniversary of the Munich crash, when I offered the crutches to United for a display in the club museum.” Now retired, Colin spends six months of the year on Spain's Costa Del Sol

Alan Williams (1961-65) was fearless and resolute and was remembered as Athletic’s best centre-half of the 60’s. He was an ever present in the promotion year of 62-63 and was team captain. Williams made over 550 league appearances in his 18 years in the game and was a great servant to all his clubs. Alan is now working as a caretaker in a complex of flats in Bristol and also helps out behind his son’s bar when needed (see below).

Gary Williams (1985-91) son of Alan (see above) was a cultured midfielder who made a century of league appearances. He was an unused substitute in the 1990 Littlewoods Cup final. Gary later had spells with Hearts, Bristol Rovers and Swansea and ended his career in Hong Kong. Gary runs a pub and a shop in Bristol city centre.

Ray Wilson (1969-70) was a member of Englands world cup winning team of 1966 and was remembered as one of the best full backs of his time. When he signed for Athletic he was immediately made team captain but injury eventually meant that he would lose his place to Maurice Whittle. He was granted a free transfer to Bradford City but retired the same season. Ray is now an undertaker!

Rodger Wylde (1980-83) was signed to replace Vic Halom as Athletic’s main striker and he didn’t let the team down as he finished leading goalscorer in each of his three seasons at Boundary Park. Good on the floor as well as in the air, Rodger had a knack of breaking through even the most tight of defences. When he qualified as a physiotherapist around 1990 he opened his own treatment centre/gymnasium near Sheffield. He is now the physiotherapist for Stockport County.

Alan Young (1974-79) will be remembered as a gutsy, detemined and sometimes classy striker in his time at Boundary Park. The hat-trick he scored against Leicester City in the FA Cup in 1979 tempted the Foxes to buy him. He went on to gain a Second Division Championship medal with Leicester and was an ever present in their promotion season. He is now the Youth Development Officer at Chesterfield FC.

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