Oldham chairman issues fresh statement after Halifax Panthers liquidation and makes vow

Chairman Bill Quinn has stressed that Oldham will never follow Halifax Panthers and Salford Red Devils into liquidation.

That’s despite being issued with a winding up order by HMRC last month due to unpaid debts.

Over the last few months, rugby league has seen two clubs liquidated, in Halifax and Salford, and Featherstone Rovers enter voluntary administration before being denied a spot in the league for the 2026 season.

The latest liquidation came on Monday night, when Halifax appeared to lose their battle with HMRC and enter what they described as ‘compulsory liquidation’. The Panthers also claimed that the decision might not spell the end of the club, but their next moves are unknown at present, with so much uncertainty.

The situation across the Pennines might have led Oldham fans to worry about the future of their own club moving forward given their HMRC standing.

However, Quinn has taken the opportunity to clear up the club’s situation and make a vow that his club will not go the same way as those mentioned above.

“We’ve got it in writing that it will be withdrawn,” Quinn said on the winding up order in his latest video posted on Oldham channels. “David Bottomley (Head of Operations) has been doing a fantastic job negotiating with everybody.

“We got a lot of bills coming in that we weren’t aware of, some we were, but we weren’t aware of some and there has been some money spent that should never have been spent at this club.

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“This is not my club, I’ve never said it is my club… The bottom line is it’s club first, fans first and that’s the ethos we need to carry on.

“We are not going to end up going the way of Halifax, we’re not going to end up being a Salford, we are going to carry on going, no matter what.

“But I need everybody to get behind us and if that’s at Bower Fold, that’s at Bower Fold. I’m already being told players like it, people like it, do I wish we were at Boundary Park? Of course, but sometimes you don’t get what you want.

“For me, if Bill Quinn is prepared to put his money in, put his time in, put his effort in, and the good people that work and volunteer are prepared to put it in, then why can’t the people of Oldham just stop talking about where we’re playing and come and support us?”

Oldham chairman on Halifax Panthers

On the developing situation at The Shay, Quinn added: “It’s a really, really sad day to learn about Halifax. Although they did beat us last season in the play-offs, Halifax have been a really well-run outfit.

“I know Damian over there has done a fantastic job and worked so hard with the rest of his team, so it’s really sad we’ve got this situation.

“What we’ve got to realise and I did touch on this at the weekend is that the fans of these clubs, the fans of Oldham, have got to get behind the club.

“You can’t run at this or a lower level on gates of 1,000, 1,200, or even 1,400. It just doesn’t work. For us, we certainly couldn’t be at Boundary Park on those kinds of attendances.

“You talk about where the club is going and you all want Super League but there’s no way that our club can even look at Super League on attendances of 1,400. We’ve done lots of things, we’ve been in the schools, we’ve done pathways, we’ve been to the amateur clubs, we’ve done tickets for schools to try and attract more but I don’t know what people need me to say anymore.

“It’s almost like Bill Quinn and the Bill Quinns throughout rugby league are going to prop up these clubs and put all their money in until it runs out, but that’s not what I ever came in here to do. I came in here to try and lift Oldham up and to end up with a sustainable club.

“You see what has happened with Featherstone and Halifax and from top to bottom, the whole of rugby league, which I know those at the top are trying to address, but it needs looking at.

“It’s just not sustainable for anybody and it’s such a shame to lose any club.

“Nobody that runs a club hopes or pushes the club the way it goes but sometimes you end up with injuries, medical bills, you end up having to bring in more players and your budget goes out of the window. You have to try and find it from somewhere, you expect crowds of a certain size and they don’t come.”

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