The 2011–12 season was Oldham Athletic's 15th consecutive season in the third tier of the English football league system. The team was managed by Paul Dickov and captained by Dean Furman following the departure of the previous captain, Reuben Hazell after the 2010–11 season.

As well as Hazell's departure, a number of other players, including goalkeeper Dean Brill, former youth team players Lewis Alessandra and Deane Smalley and highly rated midfielder Dale Stephens left the Latics before the start of the season. In their place, Dickov signed goalkeeper Alex Cisak from Accrington Stanley and Zander Diamond from Aberdeen. Jean-Yves Mvoto, who had been on loan at Oldham during the 2010–11 season was also signed on a permanent contract. Dickov made his highest profile signing of the summer on transfer deadline day, 31 August 2011, when he signed Finnish forward Shefki Kuqi following his release by Newcastle United. Kuqi became an immediate success, scoring 11 goals in his first 15 games for Oldham.

The Latics struggled with inconsistency in the league for the first half of the season, ending 2011 in 14th place in League One. However, propelled by Kuqi's goals and the form of loan signings Luca Scapuzzi and Robbie Simpson, Oldham progressed to the Northern Section Final of the Football League Trophy and the third round of the FA Cup, eventually losing over two legs to Chesterfield in the Football League Trophy and going down 5–1 to Premier League Liverpool in the FA Cup after a creditable display at Anfield.

The end of Oldham's cup runs coincided with a loss of form in the league and the end of Kuqi's goalscoring run. After starting 2012 eight points from the play-offs in 14th place, the Latics slipped into a relegation battle, winning only 5 of their next 20 matches before their League One status was guaranteed by a 1–1 draw at home with Preston North End. The season ended with a 2–1 victory at home to Carlisle, following which Oldham prepared for a summer of change, with a total of 18 first-team players out of contract for the 2012–13 season.

League table

Squad statistics First-team squad Includes all players who were awarded squad numbers during the season.

(Captain)

(Player/Coach)

Appearances, goals & disciplinary record

NoNatPosNameTotalLeagueFA CupLeague CupJP TrophyAppsAppsAppsAppsApps1GKAlex Cisak47 (0)011 38 (0)011 4 (0)000 1 (0)000 4 (0)0002DFJean-Yves Mvoto43 (1)132 35 (1)122 3 (0)000 1 (0)000 4 (0)0103DFPaul Black18 (1)020 13 (0)020 2 (1)000 1 (0)000 2 (0)0004MFJames Wesolowski31 (0)460 21 (0)330 4 (0)110 1 (0)000 5 (0)0206DFReece Brown15 (0)030 15 (0)030 0 (0)000 0 (0)000 0 (0)0007MFFilipe Morais26 (19)550 23 (13)540 0 (4)010 1 (0)000 2 (2)0008MFDean Furman27 (2)260 21 (2)140 4 (0)110 1 (0)010 1 (0)0009FWReuben Reid19 (3)620 17 (3)520 0 (0)000 1 (0)100 1 (0)00010FWRobbie Simpson33 (3)960 26 (3)650 3 (0)200 0 (0)000 4 (0)11012DFBradley Diallo13 (3)031 12 (3)031 0 (0)000 0 (0)000 1 (0)00013GKDean Bouzanis8 (1)000 8 (1)000 0 (0)000 0 (0)000 0 (0)00014FWMatt Smith4 (31)310 3 (25)310 0 (2)000 1 (0)000 0 (4)00016DFJames Tarkowski14 (4)101 13 (3)101 0 (0)000 0 (0)000 1 (1)00017FWJosh Parker9 (9)010 7 (6)010 0 (2)000 0 (1)000 2 (0)00018MFChris Taylor46 (0)360 38 (0)240 3 (0)110 1 (0)010 4 (0)00019DFKieran Lee53 (0)250 43 (0)240 4 (0)000 1 (0)000 5 (0)01020MFYoussouf M'Changama8 (2)000 8 (2)000 0 (0)000 0 (0)000 0 (0)00021MFKirk Millar2 (3)000 2 (2)000 0 (0)000 0 (0)000 0 (1)00024MFConnor Hughes0 (4)000 0 (4)000 0 (0)000 0 (0)000 0 (0)00026DFCarl Winchester9 (4)000 9 (3)000 0 (0)000 0 (1)000 0 (0)00028GKPaul Gerrard1 (1)000 0 (1)000 0 (0)000 0 (0)000 1 (0)00029DFDavid Mellor20 (4)120 19 (2)100 1 (0)010 0 (1)000 0 (1)01030MFKeanu Marsh-Brown5 (7)111 5 (6)111 0 (0)000 0 (0)000 0 (1)00032FWShefki Kuqi48 (1)1680 39 (1)1170 4 (0)110 0 (0)000 5 (0)40036FWOumare Tounkara3 (5)110 3 (5)110 0 (0)000 0 (0)000 0 (0)00039FWHarry Bunn8 (3)000 8 (3)000 0 (0)000 0 (0)000 0 (0)00041DFGlenn Belezika0 (1)000 0 (1)000 0 (0)000 0 (0)000 0 (0)000Players appeared for Oldham this season on loan who have returned to their parent club:6DFNathan Clarke19 (1)150 16 (0)140 1 (1)000 0 (0)000 2 (0)01011MFTom Adeyemi41 (4)340 33 (3)230 3 (1)010 0 (0)000 5 (0)10020MFMatthew Lund2 (1)010 2 (1)010 0 (0)000 0 (0)000 0 (0)00020FWLuca Scapuzzi15 (2)210 8 (2)110 4 (0)000 0 (0)000 3 (0)10030MFAndreas Mancini0 (2)000 0 (1)000 0 (0)000 0 (0)000 0 (1)000Players released or transferred out during the season:5DFZander Diamond29 (2)220 21 (2)220 4 (0)000 1 (0)000 3 (0)000TOTALS6475650596670120770

Top scorers PlacePositionNationNameLeague OneFA CupLeague CupJP TrophyTotal 1 FW Shefki Kuqi 11 1 0 4 16 2 FW Robbie Simpson 6 2 0 1 9 3 FW Reuben Reid 5 0 1 0 6 4 MF Filipe Morais 5 0 0 0 5 5 MF James Wesolowski 3 1 0 0 4 6 MF Tom Adeyemi 2 0 0 1 3 = FW Matt Smith 3 0 0 0 3 = MF Chris Taylor 2 1 0 0 3 7 DF Zander Diamond 2 0 0 0 2 = MF Dean Furman 1 1 0 0 2 = DF Kieran Lee 2 0 0 0 2 = MF Luca Scapuzzi 1 0 0 1 2 8 DF Nathan Clarke 1 0 0 0 1 = MF Keanu Marsh-Brown 1 0 0 0 1 = MF David Mellor 1 0 0 0 1 = DF Jean-Yves Mvoto 1 0 0 0 1 = DF James Tarkowski 1 0 0 0 1 = FW Oumare Tounkara 1 0 0 0 1TOTALS5061764

Transfers Players transferred inDatePos.NamePrevious clubFeeRef.30 June 2011DF Jean-Yves Mvoto SunderlandFree6 July 2011GK Alex Cisak Accrington StanleyFree14 July 2011DF Zander Diamond AberdeenFree5 August 2011MF Josh Parker Queens Park RangersFree8 August 2011MF James Wesolowski Peterborough UnitedFree19 August 2011DF Bradley Diallo Olympique MarseilleFree31 August 2011FW Shefki KuqiUnattachedFree26 November 2011GK Dean BouzanisUnattachedFree30 January 2012FW Robbie Simpson Huddersfield TownFree30 January 2012FW Keanu Marsh-BrownUnattachedFree5 March 2012MF Youssouf M'ChangamaUnattachedFreePlayers transferred outDatePos.NameToFeeRef.21 June 2011DF Cedric Evina Charlton AthleticFree23 June 2011FW Lewis Alessandra MorecambeFree29 June 2011MF Dale Stephens Charlton AthleticUndisclosed1 May 2012DF Zander DiamondReleasedFreePlayers loaned inDate fromPos.NameFromDate toRef.28 July 2011MF Matthew Lund Stoke CityOctober 201119 August 2011DF Nathan Clarke Huddersfield TownJanuary 201231 August 2011MF Tom Adeyemi Norwich City9 April 20129 September 2011FW Robbie Simpson Huddersfield Town9 December 20113 November 2011FW Luca Scapuzzi Manchester City29 January 20123 November 2011FW Andreas Mancini Manchester City3 January 20122 January 2012FW Robbie Simpson Huddersfield Town2 February 20122 March 2012DF Reece Brown Manchester United6 May 201216 March 2012FW Harry Bunn Manchester City6 May 201223 March 2012FW Oumare Tounkara Sunderland6 May 2012Players loaned outDate fromPos.NameToDate toRef.10 September 2011FW Ryan Brooke Barrow9 October 201131 January 2012FW Ryan Brooke AFC Telford United29 April 20126 March 2012DF Matthew D Carr Woodley Sports22 April 20128 March 2012MF Josh Parker Dagenham & Redbridge6 May 201214 March 2012FW Matt Smith Macclesfield Town6 May 2012

Results & fixtures Pre-season friendlies

League One

FA Cup

League Cup

Football League Trophy

References