22nd September 2000   

Ridsdale baffled

MIDFIELDER Paul Smith is poised to make his debut for Athletic tomorrow after signing on a one-month loan from Burnley. The 24-year-old, who was a long-standing target of Andy Ritchie, has been pencilled in at left wing-back for the league match at Bournemouth. Smith was tipped for stardom as a youngster, but his career has been interrupted by knee and foot injuries. He is now fully fit and, when the deal was rushed through this morning, he became Athletic's fourth new signing in a fortnight. Their patched-up squad also includes Barry Prenderville, loan player Chris Lightfoot and Canadian Mark Watson, who is on extended trial.

Lowly Athletic without five regulars through injury or suspension _ are in dire need of a victory after taking only two points from seven games. Manager Ritchie had been trying to recruit Smith since spotting him during this year's Isle of Man Festival. He would like to sign him permanently, although it is unclear whether any fee would be involved. Ritchie said: "We needed someone who can play on the left because Mark Innes and Andrew Holt are the only ones here who do that naturally. "Paul hasn't been getting a chance at Burnley, so he is delighted to come here and show people what he can do. "Having so many new faces at once can lead to difficulties, but hopefully they will integrate quickly. "It has been particularly hard for Mark Watson because he had two days' travelling, one training session and then a game in the reserves."

Watson, a 30-year-old defender, will probably win a place on the bench at Dean Court as Mark Hotte is suspended and Shaun Garnett is both injured and banned. Paul Rickers and John Sheridan are still out, while Matthew Tipton hasn't recovered from a sore pelvis. But Neil Adams returns for Athletic, who could well switch Andrew Holt from wing-back to centre-half.

ATHLETIC (from): Kelly, McNiven, Lightfoot, Holt, Adams, Smith, Duxbury, Boshell, Innes, Allott, Corazzin, Watson, Prenderville, Jones, Salt, Dudley, Miskelly. 

Bournemouth, who are 17th in the table but unbeaten at home, have Danish midfield man Claus Jorgensen suspended.

BOURNEMOUTH (from): Stewart, Young, Woozley, Tindall, Purches, Hughes, Elliott, Grant, C Fletcher, S Fletcher, Hayter, Angus, Smith, Eribenne, O'Connor, Day, Huck, Menetrier. 

LATICS trainee Mark Donnelly was more than twice the alcohol limit when he decided to drive 400 yards rather than walk. In that distance, the 18-year-old footballer from Derbyshire ploughed into two gardens, demolishing trees and a fence and writing off his Ford Escort. Oldham magistrates heard yesterday that the third year trainee was treated at the Royal Oldham Hospital for a cut to his head after the incident early on Sunday morning. He was banned from driving for two years and ordered to pay £269 after pleading guilty to drink-driving and careless driving. Ms Julie Nash, prosecuting, said that Donnelly had failed to negotiate a right-hand bend on Harewood Drive, Royton, just before 3 am.

He then crashed into a garden wall before demolishing the fence with a neighbouring garden, causing extensive damage to both gardens. A breath test showed he had 76mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35. Mr Michael Cheetham, defending, said his client was a respectable young man who had acted extremely foolishly on one occasion. He had made the sensible decision of getting a taxi to a friend's house after having five or six pints during a night out, but then drove to near-by Denby Dale Way where he lives during the week. After the incident, Donnelly, who is studying for his A-levels at Hopwood Hall, apologised for the damage. "He has held his licence for six months and this is not a very auspicious start," said Mr Cheetham. "He would be the first person to admit that was the case and that he was extremely foolish to attempt to drive." 

Leeds United chairman Peter Ridsdale last night accused the Nationwide League of hindering the development of English players by opposing his club's attempts to take a 9.9 per cent stake in Oldham Athletic. The League has resisted Leeds' efforts to link up with the struggling Division Two club, who were more than £700,000 in the red at the end of the last financial year despite selling their Boundary Park ground and surrounding land to property developers for over £3million. Under the agreement drawn up by the two clubs, the Premiership outfit would help to fund Oldham's youth academy. It would also enable Leeds to extend their scouting system, as clubs can currently only sign youngsters on scholarship forms if they live within 90 minutes of their academy. But while Ridsdale insists that the Football Association and Premier League would like Leeds to succeed in their plans, he believes the Football League has adopted an intransigent stance ever since news of the proposed partnership emerged in April.

Now the Elland Road supremo, who is still confident that his club will get their way, has revealed the depth of his anger at being prevented from concluding the deal. 'Every time I pick up a newspaper I see people criticising the number of foreign players that clubs are having to buy because there are not enough locally-bred players,' he said. 'I have a problem with that when we're trying to take an initiative that will encourage more opportunities for local players but the Football League are stifling us. I'm trying to help the English game and not be parochial. 'I sincerely believe that the FA and Premier League agree with our stance but the Football League would appear to think it's inappropriate that a small number of clubs might get an opportunity like this and not all of them. I find that baffling. The excuses put up to date seem to be lacking in credibility. 'They started by throwing up the problem of what would happen if Oldham and Leeds met in the FA Cup but that's a nonsense, because we're talking about Under-16 players. The other objection was that we would object if, for instance, Arsenal took a stake in Halifax. But I wouldn't, because if Leeds could do it, I wouldn't mind it if everyone else could do it.'

The Football League last night refused to budge, though they did offer Leeds a glimmer of hope that the rules could be amended. Spokesman Dennis Signy said: 'What Leeds and Oldham are contemplating is not allowed by the current regulations but they may be changed eventually.'

Lee's move to Rotherham may be a longer one, however, as the Second Division side are keen to recruit the former Aston Villa striker on a permanent basis. "I hope to agree a fee over the weekend and hopefully he will come in and set things on fire for us," said Millers' boss Ronnie Moore, who will hand Lee a debut at Stoke tomorrow. Things may not be that far progressed though, with Clarets boss Stan Ternent saying: "I've loaned him out and if he does well we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Just because I have sent them out on loan doesn't mean I have washed my hands of them."

Scott and Devenney have joined Conference club Leigh RMI and Ternent believes all will benefit from a taste of first-team football. "Teams are playing a couple of times a week and I can't offer them that with the way the reserve fixtures are. It will do them good," he added. Lee, Brass and Smith, who is set to make his Latics debut at Bournemouth tomorrow, haven't figured in the Clarets' first-team this season with the latter pair, two of Burnley's longest serving players, also suffering with injury problems during the first few weeks of the campaign. Their departures, for the time being at least, leaves squad numbers down at Turf Moor, but suggestions that the young Leeds United pair of Kevin Dixon and Tony Hackworth will bolster numbers appear to be wide of the mark.