24th March 2000     

Preview's of the Iron game
another youngster leaves

TOP scorer Mark Allott will be pushing for a recall tomorrow when Athletic go in search of their second away success of the week. No club moved in for the contract rebel before yesterday's transfer deadline and the 22-year-old is now aiming to win back his place. Allott notched 11 goals before being hit by a hamstring pull at the end of January. He has been on the bench for the last two games and did well in a 45-minute appearance for the reserves last night. After Tuesday's 1-0 win at Colchester, Athletic will be bidding to follow up at struggling Scunthorpe United. But, despite his standing as the club's leading marksman, it will be hard for Allott to break into the starting line-up. Manager Andy Ritchie could be reluctant to leave out either of his current front pairing, Craig Dudley and Steve Whitehall. Dudley's pace is especially useful away from home, while Whitehall has hit five goals in the last nine games. The only injury doubt surrounds midfielder Paul Rickers, who took a painful kick on the foot at Colchester. Ritchie may consider a change in defence, with Scott McNiven and Richard Graham both possible to play in the centre.

ATHLETIC (from): Kelly, Jones, Garnett, Hotte, S McNiven, Holt, Rickers, Duxbury, Sheridan, Dudley, Whitehall, Graham, Innes, Boshell, Allott, Sugden, Miskelly, Thom.

Scunthorpe, who are one place above the relegation zone, are without two key forwards for the match at Glanford Park. Lee Hodges has an ankle-ligament injury, while Spaniard Alex Calvo-Garcia is out for the season with a broken leg.

SCUNTHORPE (from): Evans, Logan, Hope, Stanton, Harsley, Dawson, Walker, Jackson, Graves, Torpey, Quailey, Sheldon, Clarke, Sparrow, Fickling, Ipoua, Turner.

Hartlepool completed the loan signing of Athletic striker Paul Beavers yesterday. David McNiven and Darren Wardle have another week to make temporary moves to Southport and Stalybridge, respectively, as the non-league transfer deadline is at the end of the month. 

RELEGATION-HAUNTED Scunthorpe’s hopes of Stayin’ Alive are under threat from a chronic case of Saturday Fright Fever. Last year’s play-off winners could be heading for a quick return to division three after developing a blind spot for weekend matches. Amazingly, they have won only one Saturday game in 19 attempts, stretching all the way back to September. And if The Iron fail to break that duck against Athletic at Glanford Park tomorrow, they may well be dragged into the bottom four with only eight fixtures left to play. Dire home form has been the key to Scunthorpe’s slide, which has been gathering pace for several, worrying weeks. They were as high as 14th at one point in the season and all was looking well as they battled to retain their new status.

Manager Brian Laws made no secret of his ambition for the campaign — fifth from bottom would be a job well done. Most strugglers use their own ground as the basis for a safety push. But Scunthorpe haven’t won at home for six games. Not only that, but they have failed to score on five of those occasions. The other result wasn’t much better, either. They led Reading 2-0, only to be pegged back and forced to settle for a point. Overall, the North Lincolnshire side have lost nine times in front of their own fans. Defeat tomorrow, against opponents who are unbeaten in four away from home, would set a new club record. History and the odds are certainly ganging up against Laws, the former Grimsby boss who has now been in charge for three years. Scunthorpe have dragged themselves out of the basement division only twice before since 1968 — and both times they headed straight back down the following season. In a bid to avoid the unwanted hat-trick, Laws has spent all season dashing around the transfer market.

His two most recent purchases were strikers, with Brian Quailey and Steve Torpey the men designed to spearhead survival. Quailey (21) was with West Brom before dropping down a division on a free transfer. He has so far scored three times in nine games. Torpey (29) was a bigger risk as the £200,000 fee needed to prise him away from Bristol City smashed Scunthorpe’s club record, which previously stood at a modest £80,000. But it is the manager’s temporary signings which have really caught the eye. Clubs are allowed eight loan players per season, and Laws has already used up seven. Among them were big earners such as Sheffield Wednesday’s Ritchie Humphreys, Barnsley’s Clint Marcelle and two Premiership goalkeepers, Lionel Perez, of Newcastle, and Morten Hyldgaard, of Coventry. He also took on Manny Omoyimni, who made his debut at Boundary Park after receiving death threats from West Ham fans over the debacle of him being cup-tied and costing The Hammers a place in the Worthington Cup semi-final. Yet the most controversial capture was probably Notts Forest forward Steve Guinan, who was involved in a bizarre incident shortly after signing. Guinan told his new boss he didn’t want to play for him, at which point Laws ordered him to surrender his club tracksuit. That left the player standing semi-naked in the Scunthorpe car park. Guinan later moved to Cambridge, from where he was sacked this week for alleged gross misconduct at an official sportsman’s dinner. It is the survival of the fittest for Laws and his squad, which has been beset by an untimely rush of injuries. The most damaging absence is that of playmaker Lee Hodges, who is easily the biggest influence but is now struggling with damaged ankle ligaments. There couldn’t be a much better time for Athletic to pay their first-ever visit to Glanford Park, the stadium to which Scunthorpe moved after the demise of The Old Showground. After emphasising at Colchester that their away form is back on track, they are sure to do so with plenty of confidence.

GUNNAR HALLE is drawing inspiration from Athletic’s ‘Great Escape’ of 1993 as Bradford battle against relegation from the Premiership. The former Boundary Park favourite believes Bradford, who entertain mighty Manchester United tomorrow, can defy the odds and beat the drop. Norwegian Halle (34) declared: “When I was at Oldham we were in desperate trouble, but we still had the belief that we could win the last three games to stay up. “There is no reason why we cannot put a run together, and I know from my experience with Oldham that it is not impossible, though last Saturday’s 4-0 defeat at Coventry was a big setback. “We still have a chance, especially as we have to play Derby, Southampton and Wimbledon at home.”

While it would be a major upset for league leaders United to come unstuck at Valley Parade, Halle believes the Reds cannot take winning three points as a formality. He said: “Until we lost 2-1 to Leeds in our last home game — and they were fortunate to win — we had not lost in nine Premiership matches at Valley Parade. “We have beaten Arsenal and drawn against Chelsea and Aston Villa, so our home form has not been bad.” Bradford have, in fact, lost only three of their 14 home league matches. It is away from home where Bradford have toiled, collecting only seven points on their travels. They won at Middlesbrough on the opening day of the campaign and at Derby not long after. But in the last nine away games they have picked up only one point from a draw at Tottenham.

Halle derives encouragement from Bradford’s display at Old Trafford, even though they lost 4-0. He said: “We did not do too badly. When the game was still scoreless with 15 minutes to go we thought we might nick a point. “Obviously we had to defend for long periods, but when United brought on Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke that made the difference.” Halle admits the Reds are a formidable side, even when manager Sir Alex Ferguson rotates his squad. “We know it will be tough whoever plays as they have such strength in depth. “When other teams are beginning to look jaded United can simply bring in players to freshen things up. That is why they always finish the season so strongly. “There is a big difference between the top and bottom in terms of money and resources. “We have spent money, but obviously we are not in the same league as United.”

There is no person better qualified to assess the potential of United’s main challengers for the title, Leeds. Halle was at Elland Road until last summer when he completed a £200,000 transfer and signed a three-year deal at Bradford. Halle believes Leeds, only four points adrift of the Reds, can push United to the wire. He said: “Leeds have played well throughout the season and I believe they can go all the way. “Everybody keeps talking about the youngsters not lasting the pace, but people forget there is also a lot of experience in the side.“When you look at the likes of Nigel Martyn and Lucas Radebe, they also have experience. I think they have a good mixture and are capable of winning the title.”

Teamtalk Scunthorpe United

Lee Hodges could be on the subs' bench for the home game against Oldham Athletic tomorrow. It has even been suggested in some quarters that the former West Ham man may start after his layoff with ankle ligament damage, in which case, in-form Wayne Graves would be the likely one to drop out. Mark Jackson looks like retaining his place in the side despite poor performances recently following his move from Leeds. United will be looking to build on their 1-1 draw against Oldham earlier on in the season at Boundary Park. Incidentally, former Scunthorpe striker Jamie Forrester has signed for Northampton Town from Utrecht. Likely starting line-up: Evans, Harsley, Dawson, Logan, Stanton, Hope, Jackson, Walker, Graves, Quailey and Torpey with Ipoua, Hodges, Sheldon, Clarke and Turner on the bench.

BOSS Andy Ritchie has the luxury of a full squad to choose from and was delaying selection. Only midfield veteran Neil Adams is missing through injury leaving Ritchie with several options to think about. Relegation threatened Scunthorpe have the worst home record in the division and have managed only 13 goals in 19 games. But Ritchie insisted: ‘‘Sides are never more dangerous than when they have their backs to the wall. They are fighting for their lives and the lads know they will have a battle on their hands.’’ The Latics however have an impressive away record having lost just two of their last nine games on their travels.

HARTLEPOOL United yesterday swapped one striker for another as boss Chris Turner searches for the front-line partnership to maintain their promotion push. Former Sunderland striker Paul Beavers arrived on loan from Oldham, while Gary Jones has moved to Halifax for a month. Jones has been a regular since moving from Notts County 12 months ago, but has come under fire for only netting six times this season and Turner has left his biggest buy out of the squad since the 1-1 draw with Brighton on March 7. Beavers exchanged Sunderland for Oldham last year without appearing for Peter Reid's side, but has only figured six times this season without scoring after being troubled by injury.

Last season he appeared seven times, scoring twice. With Graeme Lee suffering damaged ankle ligaments in Tuesday's draw at Chester, the 21-year-old, 6ft 3in front-runner could make his debut at York tomorrow. "I have been keeping tabs on him since I came here,'' revealed Turner. "He is a good striker and gives us the height we are needing up front.'' There was also interest in Jones from Second Division Scunthorpe, but they failed to make a bid for their former striker and instead he moved to The Shay, where he bagged his last goal for Pool in a 1-1 draw on January 15. Since then Mark Lillis' side have plunged out of the play-off reckoning and are now stuck in the lower reaches of the table. Turner, who has also this week completed a one-year deal for Newcastle's Paul Arnison and extended the loan deal of St James' compatriot James Coppinger to the end of the season, also has Sam Shilton back in contention after the wing back appeared in a 4-3 behind closed doors friendly with Carlisle.

Manager Brian Laws is likely to keep faith with the same line-up that earned a point in Tuesday night's goal-less draw at home to Brentford. That will mean a vote of confidence to striker Brian Quailey who missed two good chances against the London side before being taken off in the second half. Quailey has notched three times in nine games since joining the Iron from West Brom and that is enough to already propel him to joint third in the club's scoring charts this season. Only Guy Ipoua with nine and Lee Hodges (six) have netted more - and neither of them is likely to be in the starting line-up tomorrow. Hodges is still recovering from his ankle injury while Ipoua will probably have to settle for his now usual place on the substitutes' bench. That leaves young Quailey shouldering much of the responsibility as Scunthorpe seek to end their chronic shortage of goals this term. They have drawn a blank in five of their last six home games. The exception was the 2-2 draw with Reading when both Quailey and Torpey netted their first goals for the club. But it wasn't for lack of trying that they failed to open their account in midweek against Brentford and manager Laws will be looking for a similar performance against Oldham.

Oldham arrive for their first ever visit to Glanford Park fresh from a 1-0 victory at Colchester on Tuesday night. That was their sixth away win of the season and means they have taken more points on their travels than they have back at Boundary Park where they too have struggled. Manager Andy Ritchie's side are in the 'comfort zone' of mid-table. They did two bits of business just before yesterday's transfer deadline, taking over the contract of teenage defender Richard Dunning from Blackburn Rovers and snapping up Danish striker Wasim El Bonna. Dunning (19) has been on trial at Boundary Park for the last fortnight and has done enough to persuade Ritchie to offer him a contract. Palestine-born El Bonna (20) is a Danish under 21 international and has joined the Latics on a short term contract from Danish side FC Dalum. Both players could figure at some stage in tomorrow's clash.