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Today's Edition for
 
    7th January 2002 
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 Oldham Evening Chronicle (www.oldham-chronicle.co.uk) Reeves on verge of Latics switch ATHLETIC are on the verge of completing a permanent deal for striker David Reeves. They have agreed terms with the veteran, whose loan spell has brought three goals in three games, and should sign him tomorrow. At the same time, Mark Innes is poised to join Chesterfield after making a big impact on loan. Innes (23) has been with Athletic since his mid-teens, but he started only two games this season and has been told he can leave Boundary Park. Mark Allott, the third loan-link between the clubs, will stay in Derbyshire for another month and has the option of joining full-time. He was one of several men made available by Athletic last month but wants to think over a permanent move. Reeves, Innes and Allott are due to meet on Saturday in a fascinating division-two clash at Saltergate. Even if the transfers are held up, there is no clause saying the loan players can’t face their current clubs. The hectic activity shows that coach Mick Wadsworth – whose side were dumped out of the FA Cup by Cheltenham yesterday – hasn’t yet finished his wheeler-dealing. But he is delighted to land Reeves (34), a player he has rated highly since their days at Carlisle. Reeves is still Chesterfield’s captain and top scorer, but he is also a high-earner at a club with well-known financial problems. He will sign for Athletic in a two-and-half-year deal, making them the ninth port of call in his long career. Innes, meanwhile, was due out of contract in the summer and is leaving in a free transfer, with Athletic taking a big percentage of any sell-on fee. His Boundary Park career featured 73 league appearances, many of them at left-back, and one goal. But he has slotted into Chesterfield’s midfield and scored in both matches to date. The Innes move is set to go through despite Spireites manager Nicky Law quitting to take over at Bradford. Of Chesterfield’s four goals since Innes and Allott arrived, they have scored three and made the other. Athletic are at home to Blackpool on Wednesday night in the LDV Vans Trophy northern semi-finals. They are only two rounds from a final at the Millennium Stadium and have cut admission prices to £8 for adults and £4 for juniors and OAPs. Yesterday’s FA Cup defeat cost Athletic a big pay-day as they would have been at home to Burnley in round four. Second best ATHLETIC were beaten fair and square at Cheltenham yesterday, stumbling out of the FA Cup after their weakest display under Mick Wadsworth. They never came to terms with the third division side, who, to huge celebration, reached round four for the first time in their history. Cheltenham played the best football, ignoring their underdogs tag with a vibrant 90 minutes which had Athletic on the rack. The visitors — unable to compensate for several players being absent — had their misery rubbed in when Darren Sheridan was controversially sent off for the second time this season. The chief executioner was Tony Naylor, a two-goal bundle of energy and regular scorer against Athletic in the past. But Cheltenham were no one-man band. On a day when cup shocks were the norm, no surprise can have been more deserved than this one. Naylor’s opener ended a five-and-a-half hour clean sheet from Athletic, yet their much-changed backline was way behind recent form. While forward play wasn’t bad, it’s hard to build a solid performance on rickety foundations. Finding individuals who played well is also difficult, though winger David Eyres continued his hot streak with a fifth goal in eight games. The big plus for Wadsworth was that his second defeat in charge, although rather embarrassing, didn’t damage the push for a play-off spot. Athletic came across the same phenomenon as at Barrow in round one, that of a lower-division team raising themselves for the big occasion. Whaddon Road, a small but tidy stadium, was packed to the rafters in anticipation of an upset — and Cheltenham rose to the challenge. They were relentlessly high-tempo, often pinning Athletic back in their own half and forcing mistakes. The Robins also had plenty of variety up front, with Julian Alsop winning most things in the air and his sidekick, Naylor, providing another outlet with his trickery. The match programme pleaded that 6ft 5ins Alsop “isn’t just a big bloke who heads it”, and he proved there is more than one string to his bow. With Naylor playing so well and two wide men giving the full-backs a torrid time, Cheltenham handed Athletic one of their stiffest tests for weeks. And they failed it. Though there were five changes to Athletic’s line-up, it was pretty much as expected. Gary Kelly, Scott McNiven, John Eyre, Lee Duxbury and Stuart Balmer — in place of the unlucky Julien Baudet — all returned, with the only surprise a positional one as Paul Murray played at left-back, where he looked uncertain. Athletic could have altered the course of the afternoon within six minutes as Eyres blasted at the ’keeper after peeling away at a free-kick. But Cheltenham were already lively and a bad defensive header by Murray gave them an opportunity which Alsop put wide. Alsop threatened again following fine work by Naylor, his far-post header having to be scrambled away with Kelly stranded. Athletic were stretched by the home side’s sheer exuberance, and there could have been a penalty for handball when Allan Smart led with his arm — always a risky business — in trying to clear a corner. It was one-way traffic for much of the first half-hour, so Cheltenham warranted their breakthrough in the 25th minute. A lofted ball reached Naylor deep in the box and, after a neat turn inside, he fired low into the corner from 10 yards. Athletic roused themselves, but they still couldn’t match the pace or imagination of their opponents’ passing. One particularly slick move ended at the feet of Russell Milton, whose wickedly swerving shot forced Kelly to adjust quickly and save. Yet the visitors equalised two minutes before half-time with one of few examples of their smoothest attacking play. Darren Sheridan chipped a pass over the top to reward Eyre’s well-timed run. And the striker picked out Eyres, who stuck out a boot and bundled the ball home off ’keeper Steve Book for his eighth goal of the season. If Athletic thought they had weathered the storm without much damage, Cheltenham’s forceful start to the second half made them reconsider. The hosts made good chances for Naylor and Michael Duff before Eyres fired just wide in the 55th minute. Naylor’s winner, however, owed more to woeful defending than the quality of the move which preceded it. When Lee Williams crossed from the right, Athletic had two centre-halves, a full-back and a goalkeeper standing by. None of them took responsibility and the smallest man on the pitch headed in via Balmer’s deflection. With his side still under the cosh, Wadsworth changed both defence and attack and used Craig Dudley to lead a three-man front-line. He was banking on Cheltenham legs being tired from their mammoth effort, making them susceptible to quick breaks. Nothing wrong with the theory, then. But it doesn’t help when you have to execute it with 10 men. Darren Sheridan’s second yellow card, given for a high tackle, was fair enough. The mystery surrounded his first as he was booked despite being the victim of a foul, presumably for mild retaliation. The visitors did have a couple of half-chances, with Duxbury just missing a cross and Eyres shooting over when he should have passed. But only a great save denied Naylor his hat-trick and, as they fell victim to Cheltenham’s greatest FA Cup victory, Athletic could have few complaints at their exit.

MANAGER'S VIEW: 
MICK WADSWORTH made no excuses for a surprise defeat in the FA Cup third round. The head coach said Athletic must get over the setback quickly after becoming only the third Football League club to a lose a tie against Cheltenham. Wadsworth admitted: “The best team won and they are rightly delighted because they deserve it. “We’ve had a wonderful run since I came to the club, but you will always lose games — we can deal with it. “Recovering from disappointment is the sign of a good team, so that’s what we have to do before the LDV game with Blackpool on Wednesday. “Nobody had a God-given right to win, and the big fish for us to fry is getting out of the second division. “We went to Hull in the last round and won a tight game which, on the face of it, was probably tougher than this one. “There were some good moments for us, but we were poor around both penalty areas and I’ll be giving that some thought. “Our ball retention was poor, as well. There were times when a bit more class and style would have meant a better end. “We could have been brighter, a bit more clever, and losing Darren Sheridan put the tin hat on a disappointing day. “The sending off was surprising because both players went in fairly high to protect themselves and maybe get their retaliation in first. “The challenge looked like six of one and half a dozen of the other and I actually thought it was the Cheltenham player who got the red card. “We have to stay strong and positive, though, and the players will pick themselves up from this. “They should be desperate to do well in the next game and if they don’t have that within them, they don’t need me they need a magician. “The one criticism I would never level at them is a lack of effort because they worked very hard. “But we didn’t play particularly well and the fact we had to make changes doesn’t come into it — we have to cope with these things and some of our poorer performances came from established players anyway.” Jubilant Cheltenham manager Steve Cotterill said: “Oldham had a few players missing, so I thought this was our chance to get the win. And you could see from the way we played that we didn’t want a replay. “Oldham are a good side who will go from strength to strength. But we didn’t have one bad player and we could have scored three or four in the first half alone.” 

 Official Oldham Athletic Web Site (www.oldhamathletic.co.uk)Content from the Oldham Athletic Web Site is used with permission of Oldham Athletic Football Club Hallworth Leaves the Club

Goalkeeping Coach John Hallworth has decided to leave the Club due to having further business commitments.  The former Latics stopper was employed at the Club as the Goalkeeping Coach, overseeing keepers from the first team right through to the Centre of Excellence. The good news is that the Latics have found an immediate replacement in ex-Barnsley and England Under 21 International, Dave Watson.  Watson sprung to prominence as Barnsley's goalkeeper when they reached the Premiership in 1997 but had to retire from playing due to a serious injury.  He will take over from John Hallworth, who the Club wish a fond farewell to.

Injuries & Bruises

Latics Physio Paul Caton was in early this morning tending to a couple of players who picked up a few knocks and bruises.  First on the casualty list was Darren Sheridan, who was sent off for two yellow cards.  In the challenge that led to his second yellow card, he picked up a bruised shin and swollen ankle. That added injury to insult for Darren and his dismissal will lead to an automatic suspension for one game, that will be the Port Vale game on January 22nd. David Beharall also picked up a swollen ankle yesterday at Whaddon Road.  They were both on the treatment table today but are both expected to recover in time to feature on Wednesday. Upbeat Latics

After the huge disappointment of the F.A. Cup exit yesterday at the hands of third division Cheltenham Town, the Latics are remaining upbeat and looking forward to the LDV Northern Semi-final on Wednesday night. On Wednesday, Mick Wadsworth will be able to welcome back three players who were unavailable yesterday.  Goalkeeper Paul Rachubka will be available again and full backs Dean Holden and Chris Armstrong have served their suspensions for 5 yellow cards. David Reeves is cup tied after appearing for Chesterfield earlier in the competition. On another positive note, the Latics took 1358 fans to Whaddon Road yesterday and hopefully those fans will have something to cheer about on Wednesday when Blackpool are the visitors in the LDV Northern Semi Final at Boundary Park. 

 TEAMtalk (www.teamtalk.co.uk) Striker gives boss what he wants 
Mick Wadsworth has made David Reeves's on-loan deal a permanent one and described the veteran as one of the best players he has ever worked with. Reeves, who at 34 is coming to the end of his career, has signed a two-and-a-half-year contract after impressing during his recent loan spell at Boundary Park. The Latics are the ninth club for the Birkenhead-born striker who started his career at Sheffield Wednesday. He has since made over 500 appearances, scoring more than 150 goals. During his loan spell from Chesterfield he has found the net three times in as many games, and Wadsworth knows all about the player's abilities - he signed him when he was in charge at Carlisle. Ironically, Reeves will make his debut as a Latics player on Saturday against old club Chesterfield, and Wadsworth knows exactly what he will get from Reeves. He said: "David is as good a player as I have ever had, and he will always give you everything." Meanwhile, talented youngster Mark Innes has decided to kick-start his career with Chesterfield after a successful spell on loan - and this was the key to Reeves's move to The Latics. It enabled Wadsworth to hammer out a straight swap deal to make on-loan Reeves move to Boundary Park on a permanent basis, but they also insisted on a clause which will give them a big percentage of any future transfer fee should the highly talented Innes move on. The 23-year-old Scot had been with The Latics since leaving school, but found himself frozen out of the first-team picture with the arrival of several new signings.

Wadsworth slams Sunday shocker 
Mick Wadsworth has slammed his side's defending for the defeat at Cheltenham and also criticised the referee for sending off Darren Sheridan. Wadsworth was extremely disappointed with The Latics's performance at Whaddon Road on Sunday and was not happy with his older players who did not stand up to the challenge.
He said: "We didn't defend our box at Cheltenham and weren't very creative at the other end. Generally, we didn't play as well as we can. "We had to make four changes, but you can't use that as an excuse because players should be able to come in and do a job. "Some of our poorer performances were from our more established players. But lots of good teams go out of the FA Cup and that was proved over the weekend." The Boundary Park boss was also not happy with the referee's performance and his part in Darren Sheridan's dismissal. He explained: "He should never have been sent off for his tackle and I was disappointed with the referee. Both players went in and neither shirked, but Darren came off worst." Well, The Latics players have an opportunity to get over their disappointment of being knocked out of the FA Cup, by preparing for another competition. They take on Blackpool on Wednesday night at Boundary Park in the semi-final of the Northern Section of the LDV Vans Trophy, and Wadsworth will be hoping for a much-improved display from his players. 
Latics suffer double injury blow 
Darren Sheridan and David Beharall are nursing ankle injuries from Sunday's game, and are now doubtful for Wednesday's visit of Blackpool. The tackle which ended with his red card left the combative midfielder nursing shin and ankle injuries, while defender Beharall also picked up a similar knock. The 22-year-old, who is on loan from Newcastle until the end of the season, got a whack on an ankle and is also under treatment. But The Latics will be boosted by the return of full Dean Holden and Chris Armstrong after their one-match suspensions.

Swap deal complete 
Mark Innes has joined The Spirietes and David Reeves has completed his switch to Oldham in a straight swap deal after successful loan spells. But The Latics insisted on a sell-on clause for 23-year-old Innes which will give them a substantial percentage of a future sale should the Scot move on. The defender, who was one of 14 players Oldham boss Mick Wadsworth made available for loan or permanent moves, has scored in both of his games for Chesterfield after netting a solitary goal in five seasons at Boundary Park. And former Spireites skipper Reeves has been the subject of fulsome praise from Wadsworth after the 34-year-old signed a two-and-a-half year deal with Oldham. Wadsworth said: "David is as good a player I have ever had and he will always give you everything." Like Innes, Reeves has averaged a goal a game in his loan stint and the former Sheffield Wednesday forward, who captained The Spireites to promotion last year, netted 46 goals in his 160 league games for Chesterfield, taking his tally of league goals past 150. But he had proved less prolific this year, netting just four times in 22 league goals for Chesterfield. Despite that, the strike partnership of departed duo Reeves and Luke Beckett were still responsible for a third of the Spireites' Second Division goals. Ironically, Innes and Reeves could make their first appearances since signing permanent deals on Saturday when Chesterfield host Oldham. 
Former stars apply for manager's job Five former Spireites stars are among 35 applicants to succeed Nicky Law as boss, with 11 former league managers also interested in the job. The club have not revealed the identities of the 35, though Nigel Clough, Chris Waddle, Nigel Spackman and Mark Lillis are believed to be among the contenders. And physio Dave Rushbury will again be in charge for Saturday's game against Oldham. Perhaps because of The Spireites' current financial problems, not one of the applicants is a current league manager. Besides the 11 former managers, there are five other former players with coaching experience at league clubs, three current and five former non-league managers and one current player. The most optimistic applications so far have come from eight individuals with no relevant experience at all. The club expect to receive more applications before making their decision.

 From Clive of Oldbury What a disappointment!! - I didn't think they were that good but we just did not compete , too may players not playing well, in fact it was not possible to name a man of the match. Darren Sheridan got sent off for what for me seemed to be a 50:50 ball, possible M o M, but you can't give it to some one who has been sent off can you? Baudet looked a class above everyone else on the pitch but I can't give it to him since he played less than a quarter of the match - why wasn't he on from the start? and Eyres who looked they only player likely to score, and indeed did score albeit against the run of the play!. Smart again didn't do anything and I fear we are still be looking short of someone who can score goals.  To be fair to the strikers  they ain't going to score goals if we don't create any chances! - which we didn't do on Sunday!. In short we let them win the game we fell for the team with the big bloke who hustled and bustled  and blew the team down. For my money a poor team selection from the choices Wadsworth had. Baudet on from the start Tipton and Dudley showed good pace but did not have long enough to make an impression, Van Nistelroy they are not!. The comments from the good travelling throng as we left the seats were - well we can now concentrate on the league, but for me that's a poor statement because I would have liked to have had to concentrate on both! 
Contributions and letters should be sent to Gary Davies by e-mail at LaticsGary@ntlworld.comor at Boundary Bullet-zine,41 Verney Road,Royton,Oldham,United Kingdom.OL2 6AZ07786 928689Or in the Setons Chaddy end Row R Seats 67 & 68Boundary Bullet-zine Archive can be found at http://www.oocities.org/laticsgary.geo.The views expressed on this e-zine are not the views of Oldham Athletic F.C. nor necessarily the views of the Editor.This e-zine is a unofficial publication NOT sanctioned by Oldham Athletic Football Club.The editor will not publish any letters containing bad language.This e-zine is written using Microsoft Outlook Express and is best viewed with the HTML (rich) text option enabled.