26th April 2000
26th April 2000 ANDY RITCHIE has turned to the Scottish leagues in his never-ending search for a new striker. The Athletic boss missed Saturday's home game against Cardiff and it emerged today that his personal scouting mission had taken him north of the border. No more details are available but, for Ritchie to miss a first-team game, his target must have come highly recommended and he is expected to have the player watched again before the end of the season. It is an open secret that players will need to leave Boundary Park if Ritchie is to enter the market as a buyer. As well as raising money from transfer fees, they also want to ease a wage bill which has a major bearing on their annual loss.
The transfer-listed trio of Paul Beavers, Mark Innes and Matthew Tipton could all be on the move in the close season. But the Boundary Park club are most likely to finance new signings by cashing in on their top scorer, Mark Allott, or versatile defender, Scott McNiven. Both players are out of contract in the summer. The prospect of taking Athletic to a tribunal over fees will be a tempting one for any interested party.
Oldham
Athletic Supporters' Association are offering tickets in the Boundary Park
sponsors' lounge, with supper included, for the Manchester Senior Cup final.
The reserves face Manchester United next Tuesday and admission prices have
been set at £6 for adults and £3 for juniors and OAPs. But
the OASA event costs only £4. Tickets from Dave Cunningham on 665
1815.
The largest home crowd of the season, 782, came to see City crowned Pontins League champions for the first time in 13 years. Instead, they had to settle for City’s only victory in four attempts over neighbours Oldham. Victory at Grimsby last week ensured Asa Hartford’s team of the silverware and it was expected the trophy would be presented. However, the spoils of victory weren’t on show much to the disappointment of the supporters. They, at least, had another win to cheer with youngsters Chris Killen and Chris Shuker scoring in each half.
Killen, a New Zealand Under 23 international, opened the Blues’ account on the half hour. Shuker, who came on for Terry Dunfield, added the second after 47 minutes. City’s win finally ended their jinx against a Latics team that had previously registered two wins against them in the Manchester Senior Cup. In the reverse league fixture at Boundary Park, the match finished at 2-2. Bolton assistant boss Phil Brown was again among the talent spotters at Hyde though with the title already won, Hartford fielded a relatively young side. Matthew Tipton, who scored a late winner at Notts County on Easter Monday, came closest to opening Oldham’s account with a shot that hit the woodwork.
First
all I would like to introduce myself, my name is James “Crusoe” Weldon
and I am unfortunately marooned on a far-flung South Pacific Island and
all I have is a video recorder and a few videos of Oldham Athletic (The
Littlewoods Cup Story) and Season 94.
Anyway
the point of this letter is that the local tribes people are amazed by
the skill and power of this player called Andy Ritchie, who keeps appearing
on the videos scoring loads of goals, they think your full name is “Andy,
Andyy Ritchie- he hit’s the ball- scores a goal- Andy, Andyy Ritchie”.
I have tried to explain that this is not your real name and is only what
the local fans like to sing. But on an Island where the shortest name is
wo-tu-th-k-arr-man-cis-tr-un-tid? You can see that I may have a problem!
The
locals have gone Ritchie mad and have started to cut down coconut trees
for goal posts and thatch pandaues leaves for nets. They are wrapping coconuts
in sharks bladders for balls, they have also crushed tonnes of coral to
a pulp with a tool called a-bu-n-ly-faan to form a pitch
They
have all shaved their nappers and are constantly running around trying
to copy the feats of the one they call the e-matang (translated means “The
man with the special balls”) don’t be offended by this but they think that
the only way that you would be able to score all those fantastic goals
is with the involvement of a black magic spell on the ball!
Well,
as nobody has been able to repeat your feats of sheer unrivalled skill,
even when they put a black magic spell on the sharks balder! They have
now come to the conclusion that it’s your special BLUE
SHIRT and shorts that is making you so brill.
As
they have to play in the nod because they have no “KIT” they
are planning to invade Oldham by coming up the Manchester Ship Canal in
their ocean going canoes and pillage the streets of Oldham (and Shaw, especially
the posh bit) until they are given the special shirts.
This
is the reason why I am writing, to stop this disaster. I have told them
that as it is coming to the end of the season and they have just signed
a new shirt deal, if asked polity he might donate a strip!The
End ……………
Ok
hope you enjoyed the “Story”
I am obviously from Oldham and admit to being a life long supporter (even when Sharp was the boss) I am working for VSO (Voluntary Services Overseas) in The Republic of Kiribati, which is about 1700 miles north of Fiji and 2000 miles west of Australia smack bang in the middle The Pacific Ocean.
I
am working as an advisor for an aid development project and have got involved
with playing football with the local Technical School. The video story
is true and they were truly in ore of your skill, they all kept laughing
(in appreciation) because“Mr Ritchie”
kept scoring so many spectacular goals.
Rubee
“The Math Teacher”
Well Rubee the Maths and Science teacher is having a right toil having to “hand wash” fifteen thread bear, thick heavy cotton bright YELLOW shirts twice a week (with drawn well water)
If
you would consider donating any KIT it would be honestly well appreciated,
basically the kids on the Island are football mad, they do play on coral
and “bear footed” but not with coconuts and shark bladder balls!
This
would mean a lot to them especially as you are now part of the local folk
law!
I
would incur all shipping costs if you were able to donate ( you will need
it for a striker next season!)
The
Oldham Chronicle are following my travels and I am sure this would be a
good story for print. (Less the long and tool names of course!)
OK
I will stop now (or you wont be able to get your head through the door)
I
can be contacted on this e-mail for your reply. [email protected]
Good luck for the rest of the season & all the best for next, and goodbye from the lads!
James Weldon
VSO
Kiribati
BLACKPOOL are braced for a brush with the kids at Oldham on Saturday in their dramatic last-ditch bid for Second Division survival. Oldham’s crippling injury list could throw the Seasiders a further lifeline after Monday’s shock home win over promotion-chasing Bristol Rovers raised hopes of defying the drop. While fifth-bottom Oxford face Scunthorpe in a relegation dogfight, Pool tackle their win-or-bust trip to Boundary Park boosted by their opponents being minus no less than EIGHT first-teamers.
An horrendous casualty count means mid-table Oldham are set to pitch in at least seven players aged 21 or under. One of them, St Anne's-based Scott McNiven, is a comparative veteran a month short of his 22nd birthday having made his League debut six years ago. Transfer-listed after rejecting a new deal, McNiven was among a dozen 21 or unders in the squad of 16 at Notts County on Monday, when Oldham won 1-0. Three days earlier, most of those youngsters were booed off when Pool’s rivals-in-distress Cardiff became the 10th visiting team to win at Boundary Park this season.
Should Pool follow right behind Cardiff and doomed Chesterfield in taking all three points, Oldham will match last season’s worst-ever record for home defeats. Experienced right wingback Neil Adams has been out since the end of February with a foot injury. Left wingback Andrew Holt, 21, limped out of the Notts County match with tendon damage. Skipper Lee Duxbury has a knee problem and is rated only 50-50. Paul Rickers is laid up after a hernia operation. His season finished three games ago. Another absentee is former Leeds man John Sheridan, who has a damaged ankle Richard Graham slid into the advertising boards against Cardiff and is rated 50-50 to play Blackpool. Mark Innes, also midfield, is doubtful with damaged ribs. Eleven-goal joint top scorer Mark Allott (hamstring) hasn’t played this year. Oldham’s crisis has forced manager Andy Ritchie to use McNiven at left midfield after the one-time Lytham St Anne's YMCA junior switched with impressive effect from fullback to centre defence.