21st November 2000  

Tipton to be loaned?

ATHLETIC boss Andy Ritchie has identified his transfer targets as he bids to replace crocked winger Neil Adams. There are no guarantees that Athletic will make a new signing, but Ritchie knows who he wants if money is made available. Adams will be out for at least two months after injuring knee ligaments. And Athletic, who have a tough game against Millwall on Saturday, have little cover on the right wing. They stretched themselves with a double swoop for Tony Carss and David Eyres last month, but Ritchie hopes to bring in an extra player on loan. “We are monitoring the situation closely,” the manager revealed. “And there is a possibility of something happening. If that’s the case, we do have one or two people in mind for that sort of position. “Nothing is concrete, though - it’s just names at the moment. We will be dictated by finance. so we’ll have to see what develops.”

Apart from Adams, Athletic should soon have a clean bill of health as their other injuries are clearing up well. Though Carss is still playing with a slight groin strain, he will be fit to face the highly-rated Londoners on Saturday. Athletic’s LDV Vans Trophy match at home to Wigan is likely to be played on Tuesday, December 5, not as stated last night. 

DON’T be fooled by Athletic’s lowly league position — they can still win promotion. That’s the view of boss Andy Ritchie who, after guiding his side to five wins out of seven in league and cup, insists they can rise all the way to the play-off zone. Athletic are currently 19th in division two, with a modest total of 19 points from 17 games. But they have embarked on a stirring run and have plenty of time to make up for another atrocious start to the season. Before the big kick-off, Ritchie made a bold public statement, saying: “We are making no secret of our aim — we’ll be going for promotion.” And, after a roller-coaster three-month ride, he is surveying the scene with confidence.

Ritchie proclaimed: “We can still make it — definitely. We have become more consistent and I’m hoping we are on our way. “We didn’t start well, but if you look at the league table it is very tightly packed. “If we had won against Swansea a couple of weeks ago instead of letting them score near the end, we would already be looking much better off. “It will take a long run and it’s consistency we have to strive for, but we do have a chance of getting up there. “The gap between ourselves and the top sides isn’t too big. With a lot of hard work, it can still be bridged.” A place in the top two looks out of the question as Athletic are already 16 points behind schedule for automatic promotion. But sixth-placed Wycombe, who have played one game more, are a more manageable 10 points ahead. This season is uncannily similar to the last one, with Athletic needing a strong recovery after losing early ground. Having begun with all guns blazing against Port Vale, they suffered a truly awful sequence of three points from 10 games. Since the nadir — a 3-0 stuffing at Rotherham — a transformation has seen them produce results which are, indeed, worthy of the play-offs.

And they are better off than at the same stage last year in what is arguably a weaker division. There certainly isn’t a side of Preston’s class to contend with this time. Ritchie said: “I don’t like to compare because this is a different season, but we know what we have to do. “It’s true that most sides have a bad run at some stage and hopefully we have got ours out of the way. “We won’t look any further than the next game because otherwise you can get ahead of yourself and lose focus. “Our form has been quite pleasing for the last few games. And the test of how far we have come will be whether we can keep it up. “We haven’t been scoring a lot but, on the other hand, we have stopped conceding as many after a disappointing start. “That has been very important and although we could probably do with a few more goals, we are making up for it at the other end.” 

It was an encouraging sign that both Carlo Corazzin and Craig Dudley, the first-choice front pairing at the moment, were back among the goals at Hednesford on Saturday. If the strikers keep that up and the other departments maintain recent standards, Athletic can work from a position of strength. Ritchie added: “There is nothing to fear because the division is much of a muchness. A lot of teams are capable of beating each other. “Rotherham have surprised me a bit and Millwall, Wigan and Walsall are all strong. “But you look around at the other teams and wonder who are the ones to beat. “Northampton are doing well, but we played them a few weeks ago at their place and we should have won the game. “It shows that we can perform to quite a high level. It isn’t just a matter of thinking that, though — we have to go out and prove it.” 

ATHLETIC made excellent progress into round three of the FA Youth Cup with a 4-1 victory over Port Vale. After putting five goals past Crook Town in the first round, the Boundary Park side again relished their chance to play on the club’s main pitch. The Axa-sponsored competition is the most prestigious in junior football and Athletic’s next tie is at either Brighton or Brentford. Coach David Cross said: “It’s great experience for the lads to raise their game for certain occasions. They are enjoying it and it will help with their development.” Against Vale, Athletic were two up after 10 minutes thanks to Will Haining and Scott Vernon. Vernon and Mark Donnelly made it four after the break, with the visitors scoring near the end.

ATHLETIC’S win at Hednesford Town was achieved with their first four-goal away day for almost a decade. The feat was last completed on January 12, 1991, when Portsmouth were hammered during the second division championship season. The first round of the FA Cup is a happy hunting ground for Athletic strikers as it also provided the only other four-goal display of Andy Ritchie’s reign. That came last year against Chelmsford, another part-time team whose unstinting effort wasn’t enough to topple league opponents. Saturday’s match brought welcome relief for Carlo Corazzin, who finally broke his Athletic goal drought after almost 15-and-a-half hours of trying.

Teamtalk Oldham

Neil Adams' long-term knee ligament damage could force the Latics into the transfer market for a right-sided player on loan. Adams is out for two months after picking up the problem in a recent game against Stoke City. Since the Latics switched to a 4-4-2 formation the veteran midfielder has played a key role in a revival that has seen them climb out of the relegation zone. They have won five of the last seven games and Andy Ritchie wants to keep his winning shape with two attacking players out wide on each wing. Mark Allott filled in at Stoke when he came on as a substitute and against non-league Hednesford in the FA Cup. Although he did well in both of those games, Allott's preferred position is as an out-and-out striker and is not considered to be a long-term solution.

David Eyres says he is happy with life at Boundary Park after Andy Ritchie brought him into the club from Preston. The 36-year-old has slotted into the side on the left-hand side and his arrival has coincided with the recent good run. Eyres said: "I knew I wasn't going to get many first team chances at Preston and I needed to get away. I am thankful to Andy Ritchie for showing so much faith in me. "I am happy here and I am feeling pretty sharp. In fact, the more I see of the ball the better I manage to play."

Matthew Tipton will be allowed to go out on loan if any club comes in for him and a deal can be agreed. The Welsh U-21 striker has spent much of this season on the bench and is on the Boundary Park transfer list. Andy Ritchie confirmed: "We have had a couple of inquiries but nothing has cone of them. We will have to wait and see what happens and make a decision then."