Green at the Gills - Drummond lawyer’s claims don’t reflect well on the club

Latics travel to Kent today for the first time since 2017.

This correspondent was recovering from a broken leg at the time. Navigating Gillingham’s 20-year-old temporary stand on crutches was interesting but not fatal.

Football-wise, tomorrow is one of the least anticipated fixtures in the calendar. There are replacement buses from Manchester to Euston, and even Oldham Athletic Supporters in the South (OASIS), the club’s most loyal and committed supporters, are weighing up the pros and cons. There could be a sub-200 away following for the first time since the unlamented Lemsagam-Owen years.

Both sides are struggling for form and are suffering crises of purpose. Gillingham made the early running in the division and have fallen away to mid-table, whereas Latics have occupied mid-table almost from the first whistle. For some unknown reason, the game was not selected for coverage on Sky+.

I predict it’ll finish 5-5 with both sides down to nine men because of over-zealous tackling late in the game.

Drummond’s lawyer poses big questions for Latics

In May 2025, Kane Drummond was convicted of assault causing grievous bodily harm. The assault took place on Berry Street, Liverpool, on 12 December 2022. Drummond was given a 20-month custodial sentence, suspended for 18 months. In addition, he was ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and to complete 20 days of rehabilitation activities.

Yesterday – Thursday 19 February – Drummond appeared again at Liverpool Crown Court, where Olivia Bell, for the prosecution, painted a very unflattering picture of Drummond’s approach to his obligations, describing it as “wilful non-compliance”. Drummond admitted failure to turn up to unpaid work appointments and to complete even one rehabilitation activity day.

That’s all court stuff – people can and do take views on what should happen to people who break the law and don’t pay their dues afterwards – but the troubling thing from a Latics point of view was Drummond’s defence. Paul Becker, Drummond’s lawyer, said that Drummond was concerned that “if he failed to attend training, he would be in trouble with the club” and “dropped from the team”.

Latics signed Drummond in the summer knowing (one hopes) about his conviction and the terms of his suspended sentence. The fact that they have not actively ensured his participation in unpaid work and rehabilitation activities is bad enough, but Becker’s insinuation that the club has either explicitly or implicitly encouraged his non-compliance with the court is somewhat troubling.

Football people take the game far too seriously at times. It’s not as if Drummond’s obligations have ever been secret, even if Drummond himself has not been open about them with the club. Micky Mellon is a champion of second chances, but this comes at a price. Training and even games are far less important than someone repaying their debt to society.

Oldham Athletic were approached for comment and, once again, as usual, failed to respond to my phone call and emails. I’m coming to the conclusion – hear me out – that they don’t like it when people write things about Latics and adjacent matters without their approval.

I like providing impartial news for Latics fans and other readers much more than I like the approval of Oldham Athletic Football Club.