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Today's Edition for
 
    26th February 2002 
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 Oldham Evening Chronicle (www.oldham-chronicle.co.uk) Kelly returns GARY KELLY starts his first league game for nearly three months tonight when Athletic entertain promotion hopefuls Brentford. The veteran goalkeeper replaces Paul Rachubka, who has yet to finalise a permanent move. Rachubka’s loan spell is up, making him unavailable until the last details of his transfer are ironed out. He is expected to join from Manchester United later this week for a fee of around £300,000 – Athletic’s biggest since Lee Duxbury arrived in March, 1997. In the meantime, Kelly is recalled to the side after playing only a handful of games since he was injured before Christmas. The 35-year-old had minor knee surgery and has been restricted to the reserves apart from two first-team appearances, in the FA Cup and LDV Vans Trophy. Kelly, a Republic of Ireland ‘B’ international, had his contract extended to June 2004 just before the injury struck. As David Miskelly may not play again this season following a shoulder operation, Kelly is the only goalkeeper Athletic can call upon. Boss Mick Wadsworth could give a full debut to Michael Clegg, signed last week from Manchester United. The 24-year-old, who was a substitute at Peterborough on Saturday, is favourite to play at right-back instead of Scott McNiven. The Athletic coach admits three points are vital against the high-flying Bees and has brought Darren Sheridan back into his plans. Sheridan missed 10 matches through injury and suspension but has recovered from a thigh problem. Although he is short of match practice, the midfielder’s work rate could earn a place in the starting XI at Boundary Park. David Beharall, who has been troubled by a knee injury, hopes to return in the centre of defence. ATHLETIC (from): Kelly, Clegg, Baudet, Beharall, Balmer, Armstrong, Murray, Appleby, Eyres, Smart, Corazzin, Reeves, McNiven, Holden, Colusso, D Sheridan, Rickers. Brentford may be without midfield man Gavin Mahon, who is close to joining Norwich for £150,000. BRENTFORD (from): Smith, Dobson, Ingimarsson, Powell, Anderson, Sidwell, Evans, Mahon, Hunt, Owusu, Burgess, Rowlands, Gibbs, O’Connor, Julian, McCammon, Williams. Travel sickness STEVE COPPELL’S Brentford will complete the dirty dozen tonight if they fail to take three points at Boundary Park. Surprisingly for a team with realistic hopes of going up automatically, they have gone 11 away games without a win. Travel sickness hasn’t stopped the London club climbing into third place, a feat few people expected at the start of the season. They have won 42 points at home and 17 on the road, which should give Athletic encouragement in the quest for a crucial victory. Coppell, who earned a great reputation when manager of Crystal Palace – less so during his 33 days at Man City – is performing wonders at Griffin Park. Since he took over in the summer, a near-identical squad has been transformed from mid-table mediocrity's into serious contenders. There were concerns the bubble had burst last month when a run of five straight defeats appeared to leave Brentford looking at a play-off place at best. But they have hit back strongly and are just six points behind Brighton, who are currently without talismanic striker Bobby Zamora. Goals aren’t a problem at Brentford, nor at Athletic for that matter – tonight’s teams are well clear in the divisional scoring charts. While Mick Wadsworth’s side have shared the honours around, Coppell is heavily reliant on three star players. Leading marksman is giant 20-year-old Ben Burgess, demonstrating how valuable the loan system can be for lower-league clubs in search of young talent. Burgess, a muscular, bustling 6ft 3ins, was borrowed from Blackburn at the start of the season and has responded with 16 goals. If Big Ben doesn’t get you, there’s a pretty good chance his strike partner will do some damage instead. Fellow six-footer Lloyd Owusu, who was a bargain buy from Slough four years ago, is only one goal behind Burgess after feeling the benefits of a regular partner to ease his target-man burden. Brentford have another player in double figures as, courtesy of his deadball skills, midfield driving force Paul Evans has already clocked up 13 goals. Other players to watch are Ireland under-21 forward Steve Hunt and Coppell’s second long-term loan, young Arsenal midfielder Steve Sidwell. If tonight’s match is as entertaining as the clash in London, it will be one of the best seen at Boundary Park all season. Athletic and Brentford drew 2-2 in September, with Carlo Corazzin setting up a goal for Paul Rickers and later claiming the 73rd-minute equaliser. Arguably, the Canadian is Athletic’s most in-form striker as his all-round play over the last month has overshadowed that of David Reeves. Allan Smart has started only one game up front in that time and could be worth a run. But it would be rough on Corazzin if he were again the man to drop out. Athletic agree Rachubka fee ATHLETIC have agreed a fee with Manchester United and are poised to sign up-and-coming goalkeeper Paul Rachubka. Only personal terms have yet to be settled after the Premiership giants said their young reserve could leave. Though no figures are being revealed at present, Athletic were willing to spend big money for the ex-England Youth ’keeper. They are a long way from tying up the deal with Rachubka’s agent but expect to reach agreement later this week. The 20-year-old was well thought of at Old Trafford, but Sir Alex Ferguson has a wealth of goalkeepers in his multi-national squad. United may insist on a sell-on clause in case Rachubka develops quickly at Boundary Park and is sold for a massive profit. The six-foot Californian, who grew up in Stockport, was signed during an injury crisis at Athletic and made 17 appearances during his time on loan. That spell ran out after Saturday’s draw at Peterborough and, as the deadline has passed, he will be unavailable for the Brentford match tomorrow. Rachubka had brief tastes of senior action at United, playing one game each in the Premiership, Worthington Cup and World Club Championship. He hoped to become their number one but recently told the Chronicle that leaving Athletic, in the midst of a push for the play-offs, would be difficult. Tomorrow’s home game is crucial for the Boundary Park side as they are now four points adrift of the play-off zone. It is a clash of the top-scoring teams in division two and Brentford have their sights on automatic promotion. Athletic didn’t pick up any injuries at Peterborough but none of their crocked players are likely to return. Lee Duxbury and John Sheridan are still missing, while defender David Beharall continues to struggle with a knee problem. Midfielder Paul Murray was booked on Saturday for the fifth time in his 16 appearances for the club and must serve a one-match ban. He misses the derby game with Wigan on March 9. Latics let it slip 
THE reaction of Athletic's players when the final whistle blew at London Road spoke volumes about this result. It may have been a point away from home, but the overwhelming mood was one of huge disappointment. If Athletic are to rise into the top six, they need to take full advantage of trips like the one to Peterborough.They have now gone three games without a win as the countdown gathers pace and have deserved nothing more from those fixtures. The unavoidable feeling on Saturday was that Athletic were more interested in escaping defeat than securing a valuable victory. There's something to be said for such an approach — discretion being the better part of valour, and all that — but those cautious thoughts could well have cost two points. After falling behind to a highly dubious goal, Mick Wadsworth's men stung Peterborough with a quickfire double and were comfortably the superior team. Then they allowed Posh to chip away at their lead, eventually having to hold on as the home side pressed for a late winner. Wadsworth sprung a surprise in his line-up, replacing a midfielder, Cristian Colusso, with centre-forward Carlo Corazzin. It meant there were three strikers — Corazzin, David Reeves and Allan Smart — and no orthodox wide men to supply them. As the only grass on London Road's sticky pitch was down the wings, early impressions were that Athletic were planning a more direct game than usual. But Smart spent most of his time on the right and, with Paul Murray scampering through the middle, the first-half display featured plenty of attacking options. Peterborough were far less positive, though that was due more to a lack of conviction than any shortage of intent. Severely weakened by injuries and with a paltry two wins since October, the hosts looked fragile in the extreme. Posh were surely there for the beating if Athletic had stuck to their original plan. Before half-time, the defence was rarely troubled. Instead they drifted deeper and deeper, midfielders sat back and, with Corazzin and the out-of-form Reeves hopelessly isolated, keeping possession was a major problem. Most of the second half was one-way traffic in Peterborough's favour and the pattern hardly changed when they drew level. Athletic still didn't push hard for victory despite two key factors: they could have done so without being kamikaze and were involved in one of their few remaining games against a struggler. There was a banner in the away end pleading with Paul Rachubka to stay with the club. And in the last match of his three-month loan spell, the young ’keeper again looked assured — Peterborough's first goal should have been ruled out for a foul on him. Elsewhere, Murray and Chris Armstrong were solid, while Smart's presence made him the main offensive threat from an unaccustomed role. Rachubka made a fine save the first time Peterborough attacked, diving to his right to tip away Howard Forinton's shot. And he could have done little more to deny Posh their early opener. Rachubka seemed to have the ball in his hands when a corner was helped on, only for referee Mark Warren to decide Forinton's headed challenge, which sent it squirming from his grasp, was legal. Athletic were furious, understandably so, and decided the best way to right a perceived wrong was by going for the throat. It worked a treat. After 11 minutes, Smart crossed from the right and Murray, arriving late in the box without a marker, controlled before squeezing home a low close-range shot. Four minutes later, scorer and creator swopped roles. Murray chipped a delightful pass from the centre-circle, giving Smart the chance to calmly lob advancing ’keeper Mark Tyler from 20 yards and register his second goal for the club. After a whirlwind quarter-hour (appropriate given the swirling gale), Athletic had already shown excellent spirit. At the same time, they had exposed serious flaws at the heart of Peterborough's backline. Rachubka had to keep out Neale Fenn's piledriver, but more panicky defending saw David Eyres go within inches of a third goal. Slowly but surely, Posh dragged themselves off the floor to ensure Athletic had slightly more to think about at the back. The visitors still went closer to scoring, though, when Corazzin headed a good chance wide from Eyres' deep cross. Peterborough made a double change around half-time which, as so often happens, gave their play fresh impetus. Midfielder Jimmy Bullard twice went close from distance, with his second effort forcing Rachubka into a fingertip save. But they were being invited to attack as Athletic retreated into defence and attempted to spend the whole second half soaking up pressure. It was a hazardous tactic which backfired in the 65th minute. A miscued shot by Tom Williams bobbled straight to Fenn, who fired home from 12 yards to make it 2-2. Peterborough should have gone in front shortly after, only to be denied by Rachubka's alert block from sub Francis Green. And, though Julien Baudet had an opening as he charged into the box, Athletic had badly lost their way at both ends. Wadsworth sent on Colusso for Corazzin and tried to shore up midfield by using debutant Michael Clegg, usually a defender, on the right. But they had to survive another scare before the end and were lucky to leave with a point after Bullard's free-kick crashed back off the bar and rebounded to safety. We paid the price for conceding bad goals — Murray PAUL MURRAY admitted promotion-chasing Athletic were unhappy with a draw at Peterborough. The midfield man scored one goal and made another but said losing a 2-1 lead was a setback to their hopes. Though Murray has struck four times in the last 10 matches, Athletic are in the same position (eighth) as they were at the start of his run. And the 25-year-old said: “That wasn't the result we wanted. We needed to take three points if we want to go for the play-offs. “I thought this was a great chance to win because Peterborough were poor in the first half, but we let ourselves down. “We didn't go for it like we should have done and we let them put us under pressure with long balls. “It's frustrating. We paid for conceding bad goals again and we haven't kept enough clean sheets in our last few games.” Coach Mick Wadsworth was more upbeat, insisting: “There's no reason not to be positive. We are still in the pack and we are still in contention. “We are a good team with good players and it's not as if we are having a dismal run at the moment. “We could have been a lot better in the second half in terms of getting up the pitch, but that's a hard surface to play on if you want to play passing football. “Once you get your nose in front, it's about keeping the opposition out. Unfortunately we didn't do it and the second goal was a poor one to concede. “The first should never have been allowed because our ’keeper had the ball in his hands. It was a foul. “We came back well after going behind and playing three strikers paid off for us in the first half.” Peterborough boss Barry Fry added: “For a team that was thrown together against a team which cost a lot of money and is very ambitious, we matched them very well. “We are nervous at the moment, but we had a couple of chances to go 3-2 up and Oldham couldn't get out of their own half.” 
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Midfielder Paul Murray has picked up five quick bookings since his arrival at Boundary Park from Southampton at the beginning of December. His fifth caution of the season on Saturday at Peterborough will mean that Murray misses the away game at Wigan Athletic on the 9th March. Murray certainly makes his presence felt on the field, even though he is slight of stature and his no-nonsense game will always mean that he will collect bookings. 
Officials And Police Meet....

A meeting was held at Boundary Park today to discuss the Stoke City fixture. Whilst details cannot be published at the moment it is envisaged an announcement on match arrangements will be made in the next few days. 
World Cup Winner At Boundary Park Tonight

The website can reveal that England World Cup Winner Roger Hunt is at tonight's game. Hunt who was a key figure in England's finest footballing moment in 1966 will be involved in the Strike It Lucky draw and introduced to the Latics faithful at half time.

Clegg Set To Debut

Right-back Michael Clegg will make his home debut in tonight's crucial clash with Brentford at Boundary Park. Clegg, 24, was signed from Manchester Utd last Tuesday and made a scoring debut in the Reserves 3-0 win over Preston the day after. Last Saturday at Peterborough, Clegg was a second half substitute replacing Allan Smart who had taken an elbow to the nose in the first half, and had trouble stopping the bleeding. Clegg told the website "I am really looking forward to my home debut, I saw last week's game against Tranmere in atrocious conditions and I hope the weather is kinder to us tonight". 
Mick gives his thoughts on the Peterborough clash 
Mick, it was a bold decision to play three main strikers from the start? Well it paid off in the first half! We got a couple of good goals –and they were good goals- Smarty getting a hand in both with the first one, a good cross and Murray returning the compliment, playing a good ball for Smart to get the second. It’s very difficult, I mean I’m not happy with the players because I felt they could have been a lot better in the second half in terms of getting up the pitch and trying to do something but I have to say it was a damned hard pitch to play on and I think Barry would concede that. It’s very difficult to play if you want to play passing football. Would you view this as two points lost? I never do that, I think you want to win every game but if you don’t win then make sure you don’t lose. Obviously you want to win every game and when you get your nose in front it’s a case of defending and keeping them out. It was a very poor goal I felt we conceded, the second one. The pressure, you know from Carlo at the edge of the box could have been better and Scott McNiven’s come off his man you know and he should know not to really. I thought the first goal was a foul against the keeper for sure- he had it in his hands. He made no contact with the ball whatsoever but you know, you have to put up with that. Talking about goalkeepers, you’re looking to sign Paul Rachubka permanently at Boundary Park. He was instrumental in actually earning a point today wasn’t he? Well he was. He made a marvellous save in the first half and his handling’s been good in the second half. He’s a very good keeper, we like him very much. You know, whether we can do anything remains to be seen. We’re working hard at it but it remains to be seen. Without wanting to sound too negative, that’s two points out of the last nine so a win at home to Brentford on Tuesday is absolutely essential. Oh absolutely we’ve got two home games we need to win them both to get us back in the hunt. Some results have gone against us, some are not so bad. I think it’s going to be like that now right through until it all settles itself, the last week of the season. The trick is not to be too far behind or to be in the pack and we’re still in contention. We’ve got to beat Brentford on Tuesday, that’s very important. You still sound remarkably upbeat... Well why shouldn’t I be? There’s no reason why not. We’re not in the middle of a dismal run where we lose, lose, lose so you have to be upbeat. We’ve got a very good team here, some good players so you know, ever since we’ve come to the club you have to hit the ground running in a sense because we’ve had no preparation and you’re changing things as you go along so… we’re introducing players, we know in time those players are going to be very good players but it’s not always easy to introduce players without the preparation that a pre-season gives you so I think that is an issue and so you have to balanced on how you introduce them. Yes I’d love Cristian to be playing, yes I’d like to play Clegg and so on…but I think it is difficult to change, change, change but we’ve changed a lot and I’m sure we’re changing for the better. 

 TEAMtalk (www.teamtalk.co.uk) Kelly back for Bees test 
Oldham will have veteran Gary Kelly back in goal for tonight's clash against Brentford after on-loan Paul Rachubka returned to Manchester United. Rachubka, who looks set to seal a permanent deal at Boundary Park before the weekend clash against Colchester United, has been The Latics' number one since the end of November but has returned to Old Trafford for now, paving the way for Kelly to make his 19th start of the season. Elsewhere, full-back Michael Clegg, who signed last week on a free transfer from Manchester United, will make his home debut while Argentinian midfielder Cristian Colusso is also set for a return to the starting line-up after being on the bench last Saturday. Striker Allan Smart will play despite a broken nose although top-scorer David Eyres faces a late fitness test on a groin injury. The Latics have dropped off the play-off pace with just two points from the last nine, but boss Mick Wadsworth insisted: "It is not over yet. We have to play other sides who are chasing the same goal and if we take points off them we are right back in it. "It is going to develop into a very interesting race and we are still very much in there with a chance."
Wadsworth's side are up against the best strike pairing in the Second Division in the shape of Bees' duo Ben Bridges and Lloyd Owusu, who have bagged 31 goals between them so far. And Wadsworth admitted: "They will be a real handful. It will certainly be a game of contrasting styles because they are a big, strong side and it is going to be very tough and physical. "This is another must-win game for us and it is vital we keep picking up three points at home," he added. Oldham (from): Kelly, Clegg, Balmer, Baudet, Armstrong, Murray, Appleby, Colusso, Eyres, Smart, Reeves, Corazzin, McNiven, Rickers, Holden and Hardy.

Rowlands set for Latics start 
Martin Rowlands will get a first start of the season as The Bees travel to face Oldham Athletic tonight. It means the side which made the last-gasp recovery against Notts County on Saturday will continue from the start at Boundary Park as Watford-bound Gavin Mahon will be left on the bench. Coppell fears Mahon may not be right mentally for tonight's tough game against the in-form Latics, who are pressing for a place in the play-offs. He substituted him with 25 minutes left against Notts County on Saturday after a disappointing game. He said: "It's been a difficult week for Gavin with all the Watford situation going on, so we will have to see how things go for tonight." Rowlands made a big impression when he came on against County and has waited patiently for his chance this season. Coppell has no injury worries for the trip to Boundary Park, and will also name an unchanged substitutes bench. That will mean new signing Mark Peters will have to wait for his first-team debut.

Bees' pitch battle 
Brentford's groundsmen face a race against time to repair the Griffin Park pitch in time for The Bees next home clash with Swindon. The London Broncos game against Castleford caused severe damage to the surface, which had been one of the best in the division prior to Sunday. Large areas were submerged under large pools of water caused by the torrential downpour in west London on Sunday morning. The 13 man code’s players dug up large chunks of the pitch and the damage was not helped when a mob of about 30 visiting fans ran on at the end to celebrate their side's win. Bees chairman Ron Noades's decision to allow the rugby league side to play on the surface has been criticised because it could affect The Bees promotion push. But he has been swayed by the promise of a much needed £100,000 for the cash strapped Bees. The groundsmen spent most of yesterday replacing divots and will insist that no activity takes place on the pitch for at least the next week.

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.Boundary Bullet-zine Message Board can be found at http://boards.rivals.net/default.asp?sid=939&p=16&forumid=5973The 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.