14th December 2000   

Posh replay in doubt?

ATHLETIC are involved in a race against time to get their problem pitch repaired in time for next Tuesday’s FA Cup tie against Peterborough. Work on the £24,000 project is already behind schedule after only one day. Torrential rain yesterday meant that only one of the 24 new gravel-slit drains could be laid. The contractors, who have assured Athletic the work will be completed in time for Tuesday’s second-round replay, were today trying to make up lost time by capitalising on the drier conditions. The Boundary Park pitch remains sodden, however, with workers mindful of the damage the heavy machinery causes. To minimise this boards have been placed on the ground. Apart from the gravel-slit drains, the work entails laying 280 square metres of fibre-enforced turf on troublesome parts of the pitch. Athletic called in the experts, Ormskirk-based Mallinsons and Professional Sportsturf Design, from Preston, because of worries about the alarming deterioration in the surface. Athletic have already lost two first-team fixtures while Oldham Roughyeds’ opening home league game last Sunday was also a victim. 

Meanwhile, on the playing front there was further disappointment with last night’s reserve-team match at Port Vale called off. Tonight’s Manchester Senior Cup tie against Manchester City cannot be played because of the pitch repair work. This has left Athletic’s fringe players again kicking their heels - they have played only twice in the laast seven weeks. Andy Ritchie had wanted to give a run out to the likes of John Sheridan, who is returning from a lengthy lay-off and who is badly in need of match practice. The Athletic manager remains hopeful that captain Lee Duxbury could return at Gigg Lane only a fortnight after sustaining a hamstring injury against Oxford. 

TEAMtalk Oldham

The Latics could be boosted by the surprise return of influential skipper Lee Duxbury for Saturday's derby game at Bury. The 31-year-old midfielder grafter is making excellent progress from a hamstring injury. Duxbury had to limp out of the action after just 22 minutes in the game against Oxford United earlier this month. He missed the second round FA Cup tie at Peterborough on Sunday and was expected to be sidelined for about three weeks. However, Duxbury has stepped up his training in one-to-one sessions with the physio and is expected to re-join the first team squad on Friday morning. Boss Andy Ritchie said: "He is definitely in with a chance of making the Bury game. "We are not sure exactly what the injury was but Lee has made better than expected progress. "The hamstring could have just tightened or it could have been a spasm or even cramp. "But it has responded well to treatment and he has been working hard and going well. "It would certainly be a tremendous boost to have him back in the reckoning, especially with a busy spell of games coming up."

The Latics reserve team game against Port Vale, called of on Wednesday night because of a waterlogged pitch, has been re-arranged. It will now be played at Vale Park on Wednesday, February, 28. The weather has played havoc with training plans and boss Andy Ritchie admitted: "It is a nightmare. "We have players who desperately need games to maintain their sharpness, but we can't even get out on grass often enough. "We have even tried to arrange practice games, but there has been nowhere fit enough to play them." The Latics have been using the JJB Soccer Dome which, although it has excellent facilities, isn't big enough to work on moves needed in games. It has meant that first team substitutes Andy Holt, Matthew Tipton, Phil Salt and Ryan Sugden haven't been getting the full 90 minutes needed to keep at peak performance. And, with the Latics starting a run of six first team games in 17 days come Saturday, they could all be needed.

The continuing wet weather isn't helping repair work on the Boundary Park pitch problems. Contractors are to work throughout the weekend to have the playing surface ready in time for next Tuesday night's second round FA Cup replay against Peterborough.
The problem area is just outside the centre circle at the Lookers Stand side of the ground. Water has been trapped in a "dip" rendering it unable to drain away and when there is a downpour it causes the waterlogging. It is being raised and returfed while drainage is to be improved with new gravel slits, running for 25 metres through and beyond the problem patch. Latics officials are hopeful the Peterborough game will go ahead but Chief Executive Alan Hardy said: "Like every other club in the land, our prospects will depend on the weather. "But the work will be completed and we will have done all we possibly can."

Teamtalk Bury

Andy Preece reckons that players who impressed in Wednesday's 5-0 reserve victory could have forced their way into Saturday's derby side. Preece must have been impressed by Bury's winning effort in the 5-0 reserve romp over Scarborough at Gigg Lane yesterday. And, for once, the Shakers' boss has some nice selection headaches ahead of Saturday's big derby visit of Oldham.
Preece picked 11 different players to the ones who beat Mansfield on Saturday in an effort to give as many people as possible the chance to stake a claim for the big Gigg Lane clash. Preece said: "I was looking at a new system and at different players because there are still places up for grabs. "There are still things I'm not 100 per cent happy about and the chance is there for players to force their way in and to make it difficult for me to leave them out." Basically, the Bury chief has to decide whether to stick with the youngsters who helped end a depressing run of 10 games without a win in the LDV Vans Trophy against Mansfield on Saturday - the likes of Jason Jarrett and Chris Armstrong. Old stagers like Darren Bullock and Chris Billy are among the players pressuring the kids for their places.

Chairman Terry Robinson has painted a picture of a doomsday scenario should the club fail to find a buyer before the end of the season. The offer for £1 million initially made by Norton Lea has not been followed through because the businessman still has money tied up in Chesterfield. There appear to be problems at Saltergate that may yet prevent Lea taking over Bury at all - a depressing prospect given the Shakers' much-publicised financial problems - but it is a prospect Robinson has already mapped out. He explained: "If we don't find a buyer I will have to find a way to keep the club in business until June when most of the players' contracts run out. "If we get to that point, I will have no alternative but to make the necessary cuts to the wage bill so that, from there, we are living within our means. All I need to do between now and June is raise around £700,000 to cover the shortfall in our expenditure over the next six months." However, it is not all doom and gloom and the long-suffering chairman remains optimistic of finding a buyer. He said: "There must be other individuals or groups out there who are interested in buying a Football League club. We are a good proposition. We don't have any debts. Our one and only problem is our cash flow. We don't generate enough revenue to cover our costs."

Fit again midfielder Darren Bullock has admitted he is desperate to be involved in Saturday's local derby with Oldham at Gigg Lane. Bullock, who has been dogged by a calf problem since the end of September, has returned to Andy Preece's line-up in recent weeks and added some much needed grit to the Bury midfield. His combative qualities will be needed for the visit of Andy Ritchie's side and Bullock is hopeful that Preece will give him the nod for the game. Bullock said: "Hopefully, I'll be involved on Saturday. It'll be a tough one because Oldham have been going well in recent weeks. League form goes out of the window in a derby game, though. It's just a case of who wants it more."