Oldham Athletic is proud to announce the appointment of Jim Gannon as Manager of the Football Education Program in partnership with Tameside College.
The new FE program will be launched for the first time this summer and will host its first cohort of students who will study and play at Avro FC’s Vestacare Stadium. The new FE program offers young people the opportunity, in addition to studying with a highly acclaimed and recognized academic, to receive professional football training qualification.
With the new manager spearheading the program in terms of on-court contact time and youth development, he comes to the club with a great deal of management experience starting at Dundalk in 2004 before having a largely successful time at the hotseat on the local Stockport County page.
The former Hatters player led the club through the play-offs for promotion from Sky Bet League Two and defeated the local team Rochdale in the final at Wembley.
After three years in the Edgeley Park dugout, Gannon moved north of the board to become the gaffer on SPFL side Motherwell. He then spent time at Peterborough United and Port Vale.
In November 2011, the 52-year-old returned to Stockport with the club under difficult circumstances before starting the job at Northwich Victoria. Gannon led the Vics to success, winning the Cheshire Senior Cup in the 2013-14 season.
Gannon arrived at the hatters once again for a third responsible spell, and it turned out to be a wise choice. He won the Cheshire Senior Cup for the second time before moving up to the Vanarama National League, becoming National League North Manager of the Year.
In addition, in addition to his certificates of good conduct, he has a 19-year playing career behind him, made over 400 appearances for Stockport, won two promotions and served with Notts County, Crewe Alexandra and Shelbourne.
With most of his career as a high profile manager in the spotlight, Gannon has also spent much of his career coaching young players and for the past five years he has combined his two roles at Stockport to create a similar role in terms of to take over the coaching of FE program students as part of a BTEC Academy.
Commenting on his new role, the highly regarded player, coach and manager said; “I’m very excited to be part of this new journey the academy is taking and to continue helping young footballers.
“I come into this role with a lot of player development experience and throughout my career I have championed exceptional talent who have thrived on the biggest stage on many occasions.
“Our goal is for them to learn the principles of the game while studying and to become better people on and off the pitch. The committed players will also see a real path to the academy and will be able to make their dreams come true with hard work . ” .
“I’m here to lead them, but also to make sure we play attractive football as a team that reflects the academy’s philosophy in a structured format of competitive matches against like-minded programs.”
Meanwhile, education director Phil Arbelo-Dolan added; “In addition to Avro’s excellent facilities both on and off the field for the students, we are excited to work with Tameside College, which will ensure that we provide an academic path of the highest quality to the young people who are offered admission Offer.
“Jim rounds off the program with his extensive knowledge and experience to give the players the best possible chance on the pitch. It’s a big name and a real coup for the training program and the conversations we had together, it will really benefit everyone who joins us on this journey. “
The college program was created to create yet another pathway into the academy structure alongside the development center, ultimately adding to the pool of local players who have the opportunity to represent Oldham Athletic and receive a potential scholarship.
For more information and to find out how to register your interest, please email football.programme@oldhamathletic.co.uk
