What happened when ex-boss David Oldfield left Weymouth?

Weymouth had just gone an eighth game without victory in the National League South, having been relegated three months prior.

Wherever you turned to there seemed to be a feeling of impending doom and gloom among Terras fans.

Their mood was not lifted when Bath City took a 2-0 lead inside nine minutes.

To their credit, Weymouth rallied and scored through Brad Ash after his penalty was saved and Tom Bearwish was incredibly denied by a spectacular full-stretch dive from Joe Wright.

READ MORE: David Oldfield exits Weymouth by mutual consent

However, Bath were awarded a late penalty and all hope of getting a result appeared over. The winless stretch looked destined to extend to nine.

Weymouth relied on a quite miraculous multi-save from Ryan Sandford, footage of which went viral with millions of views, to keep it at 2-1.

His heroics were not enough to prevent Weymouth from defeat, or manager David Oldfield from losing his job.

When Oldfield appeared for his post-match media duties, rain continued to bucket down on the fabled Twerton Park pitch.

He might not have showed it, indeed he might not have known it, but there seemed something poetic about the heavens opening on a man whose time was almost up.

David Oldfield, left, exited Weymouth by mutual consent after the 2-1 loss at Bath (Image: MARK PROBIN)

There was no talk of his future, but the normally mild Oldfield gave way to more expansive language that hinted at the stresses he was under.

Oldfield would normally stick to a playbook of phrases when facing the media, rarely straying into hyperbole or emotion.

However, he admitted to being “distraught” following this game and called being 2-0 down so early “bordering on reckless and scandalous”.

Interviews done and dusted, everyone headed to find cover from the incessant rain at this atmospheric old non-League ground.

Among those hiding from the downpour and lurking in the dark were four Weymouth directors, unusually so for such a late time of the evening.

Their presence outside the players’ entrance left little to the imagination. Putting two and two together, it was clear that they were about to give Oldfield the bad news.

Weymouth announced the following morning that Oldfield had departed by “mutual consent” and 36 hours after his departure they had all but sealed a move for Bobby Wilkinson.

But how did things come to a head for Oldfield, a man with a glowing reputation?

Oldfield had enjoyed a stellar spell with Oxford City prior to becoming Brian Stock’s successor at Weymouth in January 2022.

He had led the Hoops to the National League South play-off positions before taking over at the Bob Lucas Stadium.

It took a while for his first win, coming in February against Eastleigh, but with the club mired in the lower reaches of the National League his task to avoid relegation became ever harder.

And their fate was confirmed when Wrexham, fresh in a redevelopment at the hands of Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, came back from 1-0 down to thrash the Terras 6-1.

Weymouth did manage to sign off the season with a 2-1 victory at Dover Athletic on the final day but that positivity was overshadowed by a tumultuous summer.

It emerged the club was in serious financial bother and, by August, it needed rescuing.

The fiscal frenzy had impacted Oldfield’s ability to conclude player dealings as swiftly as he would have liked over the summer.

And the circumstances also visibly affected the players as Weymouth made a sluggish start to the season.

Only two draws came before that fateful night in Bath, after which Oldfield is said to have accepted his situation with great dignity.

And his professionalism and classiness in such a negative outcome won him great admiration at Weymouth, as chairman Paul Maitland recalls.

He told Echosport: “He did handle himself with so much class when he lost his job, my respect for him grew.

“I thought that he got dealt a poor show and he could’ve come out and really had a go, but he didn’t.

“For me, that was when I thought: ‘You’re a very classy guy.’”

Echosport did contact Oldfield for the chance to give his side of the story.

He never was given the platform to express his gratitude to the fans for their support during his tenure.

However, he declined the opportunity to speak to us on the record given the amount of time that had elapsed since leaving.

By the time September 14th comes around, it will have been one year since his exit.

Oldfield has since landed a job at Premier League club Crystal Palace working in the Eagles’ academy.

Few could argue the esteem of working at such a big club is undeserved for the former Manchester City star, given his endeavours under such trying circumstances at Weymouth.

What a difference a year makes.