CRAIG DUDLEY will miss Athletic's home match against Brentford tomorrow after picking up an injury in midweek. Dudley, who was recalled at right wing-back for the Auto Windscreens Shield tie against Stoke, suffered a painful kick on the foot. Manager Andy Ritchie said: "There was so much swelling that he had to go for an X-ray.

"The foot is badly bruised and swollen —nothing more than that — and it will take about a week to settle down. "He didn't play all that well at wing-back the other night, but it's still a blow because he offers something different to anyone else in the squad." The injury will also rule Dudley out of Tuesday's rematch with Stoke, which was forced by the midweek power failure at Boundary Park. But it means Paul Beavers, who earned his first call-up for four months in the original Shield match, will keep his place among the substitutes.

The 21-year-old striker has recovered fully from the Achilles problem which flared up in early September. He played for the reserves on Wednesday and, although Athletic will be without Dudley's pace tomorrow, they can now call on Beavers' power. Fit-again Shaun Garnett returns in defence at the expense of Paul Jones, while John Sheridan — who was rested on Tuesday — will play in midfield, with Neil Adams moving to wing-back. Brentford's form has slumped recently and, last week, they lost against bottom-club Chesterfield. But Ritchie says complacency must not creep in as Athletic bid to extend a run which currently stands at three defeats in 16 games. "Brentford are a good, hard-working side," he explained. "They had a bad result last week so they'll want to get back on track.

"At the same time, we want to keep our run going. We know it will be a hard battle."

ATHLETIC (probable): Kelly, S McNiven, Garnett, Hotte, Holt, Adams, Rickers, Duxbury, Sheridan, Allott, Whitehall. Subs (from): Miskelly, Jones, Innes, Tipton, Beavers, Futcher. Brentford full-back Danny Boxall, a popular figure at Boundary Park while on loan from Crystal Palace, is hopeful of playing after recovering from injury.

BRENTFORD (from): Woodman, Theobald, Anderson, Quinn, Powell, Rowlands, Mahon, Kennedy, Partridge, Owusu, Ingimarsson, Boxall, Clement, Bryan, Agyemang, Warner, Pearcey, Evans, Marshall.

Athletic's home match against table-topping Wigan, which was postponed last month due to FA Cup commitments, will now be played on Tuesday, February 22.

THERE is a special kind of democracy at work in West London as Brentford, who visit Boundary Park tomorrow, bid to earn their second successive promotion. Rather than the set-up of manager and assistant which most clubs are happy to settle for, The Bees have what boils down to a three-tier system of coaching — and all of it for the first team. Ron Noades doubles up as chairman and manager, with Ray Lewington as number two in all footballing matters. Then come Terry Bullivant and Brian Sparrow, both of whom bring their training-pitch experience to bear in different areas of the game. At some clubs, that delicate balancing act of egos, personalities and demarcation lines would be a recipe for trouble. Sparrow, however, insists that team-work is the key to a regime which usually runs like clockwork.

“We must be doing something right because we’ve had plenty of success,” said Sparrow, whom Noades also employed as a coach at Crystal Palace. “Ron picks the team and decides the formation, then Ray is the right-hand man who does team-play, tactics and takes over whenever the boss is away. “Myself and Terry do the rest of the coaching between us and we all work pretty closely together. “We discuss everything and have regular meetings, with Ron telling the others what they’re doing wrong! “We’ve all known each other for many years, so we don’t feel we have to hold back with anything we think is important. “It probably works better with four people because, when there are just two of you, there are times when one is right and one is wrong. “With our way, there are more opinions to listen to and, in the end, the majority usually wins.” That unusual structure, which was introduced at the start of last season, helped Brentford to lift the third division championship in May. The Noades bank account was pretty handy as well, but the former Palace chairman decided to stand by his players after promotion had been achieved. Brentford went on to vindicate his faith, storming straight into the play-off places as their unbeaten run spilled over from the previous season. That sequence was stretched to 26 league games — including a 2-0 August stroll against an abysmal Athletic — before Gillingham brought it to a halt.

Form has slipped alarmingly in the last few weeks and the Griffin Park side have managed only one win in their last nine league fixtures. The most painful defeats have come since Christmas, with Millwall scoring twice in the last minute to win 3-2 at the New Den and Chesterfield — who were without a victory since September 4 — also striking at the death last weekend. Said Sparrow: “Having that long run was fantastic. We just didn’t think we were going to get beaten. It was great in the dressing room and two lads who signed in February, Scott Partridge and Paul Evans, didn’t know what it was like to lose. "But we’ve had a lot of injuries. Eight first-team players have been unavailable and, when you run a tight squad, that’s bound to hit you hard. “If we had a little run — and it wouldn’t have to be anything major — we would be right back in the pack for the play-offs.” The start of the problems also coincided with the sale of top-class defender Herman Hreidarsson to Wimbledon for £2.5million. Young striker Patrick Agyemang has since moved in the opposite direction for a loan spell, while Ivan Ingimarsson was bought from Iceland to bolster the midfield.

Brentford’s main attacking threat still comes from the powerful and pacy Lloyd Owusu. Signed from non-league Slough, Owusu hit 25 goals in his first season of professional football and is already up to 11 for the current campaign. Despite being impressed by Athletic’s win at Wigan last week, Sparrow revealed that he had no fears for his out-of-form team. “Most of our injured players are beginning to come back,” he added. “We expect to have a reasonably strong squad. “And we don’t really worry about the opposition. If we are playing well, it will be Oldham who have the problems.”

A COMPANY has been formed to take charge of Oldham's massive Sports Park 2000 stadium as the final go-ahead draws near. Oldham Council and Oldham Athletic will appoint three directors each to the stadium company, which has been formed to do the groundwork, before the development takes shape. When plans are finalised it will run the 15,000-seater stadium. The football stadium, which could also be used jointly by the rugby club, was granted planning permission nearly a year ago. But plans cannot be finalised until the Charity Commission has agreed to a land-swop with Clayton Playing Fields — a decision is expected in the next month. Council leader John Battye and his deputy, Councillor John Johnson, have already been appointed directors of the Sports Park 2000 Stadium Company. A Liberal Democrat representative has yet to be named and the three directors from Athletic will be decided soon. Provision has also been made for involvement by Oldham Rugby League Football Club at a later stage. Mr Keith Coates, Director of Economic Development at Oldham Council, said that the company had always been planned and was only looking at options for the Chadderton Way stadium, until the go-ahead was given. The multi-million-pound stadium has courted controversy since plans were first laid down.

The Clayton Action Group has battled against the development, claiming the land was the legacy of benefactor Ina Clayton and should not be developed. Wider plans include further development linked to the B and Q Warehouse, including a petrol station, car showroom, take-aways and a family pub. The stadium development was granted planning permission for a motel, health and fitness club and restaurant.

Defender Ian McLean has failed to win a permanent move to Rochdale. The 21 year old left-back had two games on trial at Spotland but the Millers manager Steve Parkin decided not to follow up his initial interest. Mclean, who has been given a free transfer, now looks set to join Conference side Southport on loan.
McLean, who signed for the Latics from Bradford fifteen months ago, played in five consecutive games at the start of the season, but has since dropped out of contention Teamtalk Brentford