Welcome
to today's issue of
BOUNDARY
BULLET-zine
The
Daily On-line e-zine for 122Oldham
Athletic Supporters Worldwide
Today's
Edition for
22nd December 1999
Today's
Headlines
Barrett
retires
Word
awaited from Bury
Oldham
Evening Chronicle
Shakers
consider Athletic bid for Lawson
ATHLETIC
are playing a waiting game in their hunt for Bury hitman Ian Lawson. Having
found around £60,000 to launch a bid for the 22-year-old, they must
now bide their time while The Shakers weigh up the offer. Athletic are
hoping the money problems which have gripped Gigg Lane will work in their
favour. Lawson only joined Bury at the start of the season —choosing them
ahead of Athletic at the last minute —and the bid is their chance to make
a quick profit. But caretaker-boss Andy Preece wants to hold on to the
former Huddersfield man, who is high up in the second division scoring
charts. Lawson's 10-goal haul has made him a crowd favourite and Bury could
well demand that Athletic increase their offer — something the Boundary
Park club would struggle to do.
Meanwhile,
Athletic will come up against one of the most controversial players of
the moment when they entertain Scunthorpe United on Boxing Day. West Ham
striker Manny Omoyimni has been sent out on loan to Glanford Park —to protect
him from the Hammers' furious fans. Omoyimni was the man who forgot to
tell West Ham he was cup-tied for their Worthington Cup quarter-final clash
with Aston Villa. His arrival as a late sub sparked a row which ended when
West Ham were ordered to replay the tie, having already won on penalties.
Many supporters blame the entire fiasco on the 22-year-old Nigerian, who
is now set to make his Scunthorpe debut at Boundary Park. It won't be the
first time Athletic have met Omoyimni this season. He played — and scored
—against them for Gillingham during the loan spell which caused all his
embarrassment.
Teamtalk
Oldham
Former
Latics star retires
Former Oldham defender
Earl Barrett has been forced to retire from the game at the age of 32 after
a serious knee injury. The England international picked up the injury playing
for Sheffield Wednesday against Middlesbrough a few seasons back, and has
now been forced to call it a day. The Rochdale-born defender made 181 appearances
for Oldham between 1987 and 1991 and as such was a central figure in one
of the most successful periods of Oldham's history. He eventually left
Oldham for Aston Villa in February 1992.
Press
Association Sheffield
Wednesday defender Earl Barrett has been forced to quit football with a
serious knee injury after receiving advice from three specialists. Barrett
has finally had to call it quits after damaging his left knee in a 4-0
defeat at Middlesbrough on October 3 last year, bringing the curtain down
on his 15-year career. After starting out at Manchester City, right-back
Barrett then played with Oldham, Aston Villa and Everton, before former
Owls boss Ron Atkinson took him to Hillsborough in January 1998 as cover
for the injured Ian Nolan. The 32-year-old managed just 15 appearances
for Wednesday before suffering the injury, ironically after being plagued
with problems to his right knee in recent seasons. But after being told
by Wednesday physio Dave Galley and two independent specialists to retire,
Barrett said: "I came on as a sub against Boro and twisted my left knee.
I felt it straight away. "A chunk has gone from the articular cartilage
and it has just not healed. I went through the process of rehabilitation
but broke down, had a complete stop and started again, but it just didn't
work out. "I was told to be under no illusions that I was ever going to
recover enough to continue playing football, and when three qualified people
tell you your career is finished, you have to listen. "Obviously I'm disappointed.
I've played football for the last 16 years and I was thoroughly enjoying
my life at Sheffield Wednesday. "The club is a very impressive set-up and
I wish them every success for the future." Owls manager Danny Wilson added:
"It's always sad to see a player's career finished through injury. Earl
enjoyed his football and played well for Sheffield Wednesday. We all wish
him well for the future."
Contributions
and letters should be sent to Gary
Davies by e-mail at [email protected]The
views expressed on this e-zine are not the views of Oldham Athletic
F.C. nor necessarily the views of the EditorThe editor will not publish
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