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Today's Edition for
 
    8th January 2002 
The logo's are used with the permission of Oldham Athletic Football Club
 Oldham Evening Chronicle (www.oldham-chronicle.co.uk) Sheridan doubt for Trophy tie DARREN SHERIDAN was injured in the tackle which got him sent off on Sunday and could miss Athletic’s match against Blackpool. The midfield scrapper earned his second yellow card at Cheltenham when contesting a 50-50 ball – and the challenge also led to a bruised shin and swollen ankle. Sheridan is doubtful for tomorrow’s LDV Vans Trophy tie and will serve a one-match ban, which takes effect against Port Vale on January 22. It is his third suspension of the season as he was also sent off at Blackburn in September and has been booked another eight times. David Beharall was a further casualty of Athletic’s FA Cup loss, with the defender suffering a knock to his ankle. Beharall and Sheridan are both having intensive treatment as coach Mick Wadsworth, who has enjoyed plenty of success in the LDV Vans Trophy, plans to field a team which is either at, or close to, full strength. Experienced players such as David Eyres and John Sheridan may be rested, while David Reeves is cup-tied. But goalkeeper Paul Rachubka – ineligible on Sunday – and full-backs Chris Armstrong and Dean Holden are all available again. Reeves was due to complete his move from Chesterfield today after ironing out the final details. The Spireites didn’t want to lose their captain and top scorer, but they were struggling to pay his wages. Mark Innes should also finalise his transfer to Chesterfield in the next 24 hours as he was undergoing a routine medical this morning. The Scot may be followed by Mark Allott, who has initially agreed a second month on loan at Saltergate. Meanwhile, goalkeeping coach Jon Hallworth has left Athletic after less than a season in the job. Hallworth, who worked on a part-time basis with ’keepers from the first team to the School of Excellence, is pursuing his business interests. Athletic have appointed an immediate replacement in David Watson, the former England under-21 star who had to retire through injury. Watson, still only 28, is a friend of Wadsworth, who helped to bring him through at Barnsley. Chairman Moore’s Latics revolution IN the decades to come, when future generations look back on the history of Oldham Athletic, 2001 will be viewed as one of their most turbulent years. It’s no exaggeration to say the club has changed forever, turned upside down by a one-man whirlwind. The entrance of chairman/owner Chris Moore – his personal helicopter the modern version of a white charger – means Athletic are among the well-off in their division. At whatever level, it’s a long time since you could say that. Athletic’s status and outlook are very different to 12 months ago, when they began 2001 in symbolic condition. JANUARYBoth on and off the pitch, Athletic were looking a bit sickly – there was still no money to spend and the relegation zone was worryingly close. The situation was reflected by a bug which swept through the camp so quickly that only three players were fully fit for the match at Port Vale. Athletic eked out a draw, but the crisis was bad enough for Andy Ritchie to dust off his boots one last time and play in the LDV Vans Trophy. Only three older men had ever represented the club.FEBRUARY 
Athletic had scrapped their way up to mid-table, but a group of fans decided urgent action was needed to revive their overall fortunes. SAFE (Secure Athletic’s Future Existence) was born, its founders warning that the club wouldn’t survive if it went on haemorrhaging cash at the current rate. Everyone at Boundary Park, however, got a big lift when Carlo Corazzin scored four quality goals in a 5-1 win against Wrexham. It was his first hat-trick in English football (though he had achieved the feat for Canada) and turned out to be almost half his tally for the season. 
MARCH 
The ownership saga really took off, with an advert appearing in the Times newspaper business section: Football League Club For Sale. Majority shareholders David Brierley, Derek Taylor and Peter Chadwick had decided to take affirmative action and tell the world they were seeking an investor. Speculation and rumour dominated events on the field, where Athletic’s slim play-off hopes were blown out of the water by a four-match losing streak. Their heartening FA Youth Cup run was ended by multi-national Arsenal, while Andrew Holt joined Hull on loan and transfer deadline day brought new recruits in Sam Parkin and Neville Roach.APRIL 
An average season drifted towards its low-key end, although Athletic became the Albert Pierrepoints of division two by dooming Oxford and Swansea to the drop. There was more activity on the shares front as chairman Brierley revealed he had held talks with three interested parties. Matthew Tipton and Mark Innes were taken off the transfer list, John Sheridan signed for another year and Ryan Sugden went on loan to Burton Albion. SAFE Day was a big success on Easter Monday, but Athletic were hit by a £200,000 bill for the league pension fund. 
MAY 
Chris Moore, the 46-year-old executive chairman of Torex plc, bought 53 per cent of the club. He invested an initial £1.5million to secure the future and made it clear there was more where that came from. Ritchie’s lengthy contract talks, which began under the old board, ended when he signed for another 12 months – effectively giving him a trial period. And the massive turnover of players began to kick in, with departures including Holt (£150,000 to Hull) and popular servant Neil Adams, who decided to retire. 
JUNE AND JULY 
Invited to spend significantly for the first time in his reign, Ritchie attended the summer sales. He snapped up Darren Sheridan, Stuart Balmer and John Eyre, who all joined earlier signing Lee Hardy. AUGUST 
New hope, new expectation and a new sensation for Athletic fans – their team got off to a good start. Mr Moore, having been brave (or daft) enough to say he could GUARANTEE promotion within three years, put his money where his mouth was and backed a club-record £750,000 approach for Sunderland winger John Oster.It failed, but the scale of his ambition was more obvious than ever. Horizons were expanding, including for goalkeeper Gary Kelly, who scored the winning penalty in a shoot-out at Stoke. 
SEPTEMBER Athletic went top of division two thanks to their longest unbeaten start since the promotion year of 1990/91. They tried to strike while the iron was hot, only to be foiled in inquiries for Craig Faulconbridge, Paul Dickov, Terry Cooke and Jason McAteer. Even so, goals were flying in from all angles and Athletic were loving their unfamiliar taste of the high life. Little did they know what lay around the corner . . . 
OCTOBER Four consecutive defeats, including a terrible display at Brighton, dropped Athletic to eighth place. All of a sudden, question marks were raised against Ritchie – and it would soon come to a head. Dean Holden, Julien Baudet, Marc Richards, Wayne Gill and Chris Armstrong were all signed as Ritchie tried to halt the slide. He did so at the end of the month. But it was too late and, despite the offer of a different job, his number was up. 
NOVEMBER 
As Ritchie admitted he was “devastated and shocked”, the usual suspects cropped up in connection with Athletic’s vacancy. Though Mick Wadsworth, known as a meticulous man with a great reputation for coaching, was mentioned, many thought a more famous name would be appointed. It was Wadsworth, however, who moved in to complete the job of winning promotion which Ritchie had, to an extent, started. Iain Dowie soon joined him, followed by David Beharall, Paul Rachubka and Allan Smart. On the negative side, Athletic took plenty of stick for their stance on Oldham Roughyeds and the ground-sharing deal. 
DECEMBER 
After a defeat at Cardiff on December 1, Athletic’s record for the month read: won, won, drew, won, won, won. The incoming flood continued with David Reeves and Paul Murray, and it meant the squad had to be trimmed – hence 13 players being told they could leave. First to go were Ben Futcher and Chesterfield-bound Mark Allott and Mark Innes. And it isn’t over by a long chalk. After a year of dizzying activity, stand by for a repeat. Athletic's youth-link scheme scrapped REVOLUTIONARY plans for Athletic and Leeds to link up at youth level are officially dead and buried. Almost two years after unveiling their blueprint, Athletic have been given a final thumbs-down from the Football League. The proposals would have seen Leeds pay half the costs of the Boundary Park School of Excellence, ploughing in around £1million over five years. In return, they would have had first pick of the under-16 players it produced and been able to widen their net. But a series of meetings failed to persuade League officials that a joint-venture was acceptable. They said an official link would be in breach of rules as it compromised the independence of both clubs. “It’s very disappointing,” admitted Athletic chief executive Alan Hardy. “We’ve been unable to overcome the problems. “But we have an excellent youth development system in place and will continue to work very hard on it.” The plan was hatched when Andy Ritchie was Athletic manager – a fact which was instrumental in him being appointed head of the Leeds Youth Academy last week. Ritchie will now be competing with his old club to find the best young talent on either side of the Pennines. Though the League’s verdict was a setback to Athletic, they could still have an informal link with one of the top Premiership teams. There is now a proposal to change the loan system and allow more players aged 23 or under to move temporarily. Leeds, for instance, could send out six youngsters for a full season, while Athletic could make up to nine short-term signings. That would open the way for agreements between clubs and make the rules – which have seen Athletic sign five loan players already this term – even more flexible. BEN FUTCHER has completed his move to Stalybridge Celtic and hopes to kick-start his career in the Nationwide Conference. Futcher (20), the 6ft 5ins defender and son of Celtic manager Paul, signed a contract to the end of the season. He made 11 league and cup appearances for Athletic, including starts against Colchester and Millwall, to continue the Futcher tradition. Paul played for Athletic from 1980-83, while Ben’s uncle Ron (Paul’s twin brother) was at Boundary Park from 1985-87. Ben hadn’t featured this season and was one of the players told he could leave if an offer came along. He impressed Stalybridge in a three-month loan spell and the Bower Fold side, who are battling against relegation, wasted little time in signing him permanently. 
ATHLETIC have rearranged two of their reserve-team games. They will play Burnley on February 13 and Rotherham on March 27, both at Boundary Park. ATHLETIC are producing a special match programme for tomorrow’s LDV Vans Trophy tie with Blackpool. It will open out into a giant poster. 
 Dave at the Bookies                          Latics       Draw         B'pool

   BananaBet            8/11         5/2            3/1

   Bet365                4/6        12/5            7/2

   BetDirect            8/11        11/5           10/3

   Betinternet          7/10        12/5           10/3

   Betzone.com          8/11         9/4           11/4

   Cash Point           7/10         2/1           10/3

   Ladbrokes.com        8/13         5/2            7/2

   Lion Bets            7/10        12/5            3/1

   OddsAlive             5/6         9/4           11/4

   Playit.com           7/10        12/5           10/3

   Sportfanatik         7/10         2/1           11/4

   Sportingbet          8/11         9/4           10/3

   Sports.com           8/11         9/4            7/2

   Stanleybet           8/11         9/4           10/3

   UK Betting           8/11         9/4           10/3

   VIP Sports           7/10         2/1           11/4

   William Hill          5/7        13/5           11/4 

 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 Moore Expresses Desire To Buy Back The Ground

Yesterday evening, Latics's Chairman Chris Moore along with Director Alan Hardy and Head Coach, Mick Wadsworth met with the Club's Shareholders in a question and answer session. In what proved to be a popular and successful event, the panel spoken openly and candidly about a number of issues surrounding the Club. One of the most debated topics was that of the purchase of Boundary Park. Chris Moore was quick to point out that, whilst he could not put timescales on it, he was very interested in buying Boundary Park. He also elaborated and talked about possible plans to develop the stadium and eventually increase capacity in tandem with success of the Club. Racism, in particular incidents at away grounds, was also mentioned. Whilst the Club was commended for its proactive activities at home, the audience was interested to find out what officials were doing to try and eliminate the problem for our travelling fans. Alan Hardy was quick to reply stating that the Club was in conversations with the Police and actively looking to address the problem. He commented that a press release was due to be released shortly calling for genuine Latics fans to try and do their bit and should they witness racism at away games they should report the incident to a steward or the Police at the game. He reassured the audience the Club would not rest on its laurels and will continue its fight against racism. Building on this point the audience then posed the question as to what the Club is doing to try and integrate people form ethnic minorities. Alan Hardy stated that through its 'Unity in the Community' scheme, every effort was underway and this was a gradual process, for example the donation of 1500 tickets to the multi-cultural initiative - 'Give Children a Chance' run by Oldham Athletic, the Police and OMBC. Mick Wadsworth, did not escape questions from the Shareholders. He was asked on his opinions on youth development and formations of play. The Head Coach insisted that his strategy was to build for long term. He quoted that the likes of Murray, at 25, were the future of the Club. He also commented that the youth set up at Boundary Park was vital and he was working closely with the coaches on developing this area. The event finished on a positive note when a member of the audience welcomed Chris Moore to the Club and praised the Chairman's efforts, endeavours and aspirations in trying to improve the success of Oldham Athletic 
Reeves Completes his Move

David Reeves finally completed his permanent move to Boundary Park this afternoon. The 6'2" striker, who made an instant impact with 3 goals in 3 games at the start of his loan period, finally sorted out a minor contractual problem with Chesterfield which allowed him to put pen to paper for Latics. Latics have taken over his Chesterfield contract which means that Reeves will be at Boundary Park until the end of the 2003/2004 season. He will be 35 years old at the start of his final season with Latics.
 

 TEAMtalk (www.teamtalk.co.uk) Reeves delighted with move 
David Reeves has expressed his delight at completing a permanent move to Boundary Park and is looking forward to the new challenge. The veteran 34-year-old striker joined The Latics in a swap deal, with Scottish midfielder Mark Innes moving in the opposite direction. Reeves said: "The North-West has always been a good place for me to play and it is nice to be back. "I have scored goals with teams here in the past and, hopefully, I can do it again. "I enjoyed my time on loan and I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Mick Wadsworth. I also know a few of the lads and that helps a lot when you move to a new club. "Oldham are ambitious and I am looking forward to the challenge." Unfortunately Reeves will not be eligible to play against Blackpool in the LDV Vans semi-final on tomorrow night because he has already featured in the competition. Meanwhile, The Spireites have also secured Latics striker Mark Allott on loan for a second month, up until February 19. 
Eyre linked with Latics move 
Macclesfield winger Richard Eyre is being linked with a move to Oldham after being told he can leave Moss Rose when his contract expires. The 25-year-old's current deal lasts until the end of the month and Town boss David Moss has told him that he will not be offered a new contract. The former Port Vale youngster joined Macc in the summer when Gil Prescott handed him a six-month deal but he has failed to impress. Eyre has made 14 appearances for The Silkmen but has yet to play under new boss Moss. But he could now be handed a lifeline at Boundary Park where he played in a trial match last week. If he did sign he would provide a commentators nightmare, with John Eyre (no relation) and David Eyre's already at the club. 
Duo doubtful for Trophy clash 
The Latics have doubts over David Beharall (ankle) and Darren Sheridan (shin and ankle) ahead of the LDV Trophy clash with Blackpool tomorrow. Boss Mick Wadsworth won't make a decision until the day of the game, however, both Chris Armstrong and Dean Holden are expected to return from suspension. Wadsworth is also facing a goalkeeping dilemma, as he must decide whether to recall the on-loan Paul Rachubka or stick with veteran Gary Kelly. The 34-year-old played in Sunday's 2-1 FA Cup defeat at Cheltenham and in the previous round at Hull City, after undergoing surgery on an old knee injury, but is expected to give way to the Manchester United youngster. 
Watson named goalkeeping coach Former Barnsley star Dave Watson has been named as the new goalkeeping coach at Oldham, following a spell in a similar role at Northampton. Watson's switch to Boundary Park sees him link-up with ex-Reds coach Mick Wadsworth who took charge of The Latics earlier this season. Watson was forced to quit playing following an unsuccessful two-and-a-half-year battle to overcome a knee injury. He made just over 200 appearances for Barnsley and was capped by England at Under-21 level.
Watson's final appearance came against Norwich in September 1998. He suffered the injury which eventually brought his career to a premature end in that match.

Booth strike sends Town through Andy Booth secured a 1-0 win for Town at Hull to set up a northern final clash with either Blackpool or Oldham in the LDV Vans trophy. Booth pounced on 39 minutes after Chris Hay's original effort had been saved to end Hull's interest in the competition. 

 Planet Football (www.planetfootball.com) LATICS EYE PORTADOWN STRIKER

PORTADOWN manager Ronnie McFall admits the club have yet to receive an approach from Oldham Athletic for highly-rated striker Gary Hamilton. The Northern Ireland Under-21 international has been watched by Latics scouts recently, and McFall has admitted he would not stand in the way of a return to England for the prolific marksman. Hamilton has previously had a spell with Blackburn Rovers, but he moved back to his homeland last summer and has formed a potent partnership with Vinny Arkins, which has produced 33 goals for the Smirnoff Irish League outfit. His prowess has alerted Oldham boss Mick Wadsworth (pictured), and handing Hamilton a second crack at professional football would not be a major gamble because under an agreement with Portadown, he would not command a fee. McFall told planetfootball.com: "We have had no approaches as yet, but Oldham have been looking at him recently. "We have an agreement with Gary, whereby I would not stand in his way if he had the chance to return to full-time football, and there would also be no fee involved. "He has played at international level all the way up to the Under-21s, and he could earn himself a good living in England, but whatever level that would be, it's hard to know." The Portadown chief also believes that Hamilton would not be deterred from having another stab at the big time, despite his previous experience with Blackburn. "When lads come back home, they are sometimes a bit disappointed, and it takes them a while to settle again. "But Gary has got his head down and settled back in very well." 

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.