Welcome
to today's issue of
BOUNDARY
BULLET-zine
The
Daily On-line e-zine for 122
Oldham Athletic Supporters
Worldwide
Today's
Edition for
30th December 1999
Today's
Headlines
Latics
axe prices
Listen
to Cherries game on WWW
Oldham
Evening Chronicle
Athletic
cut prices for Shield match
ATHLETIC
have slashed admission prices for their Auto Windscreens Shield match against
Stoke City on Tuesday week. It will cost £5 for adults to watch the
game, with juniors and pensioners able to go along for just £1. The
Shield has the lowest profile of the senior competitions and often brings
in crowds which are just a fraction of the home team's average. Athletic,
who had an attendance of just over 2,000 in last year's tournament, are
aiming to avoid that drawback.
At
the same time, they want to make a gesture to their die-hard supporters.
Chief executive Alan Hardy said: "It's a competition where we can go all
the way to Wembley and we are taking it very seriously. "It's also an opportunity
to earn some extra money, but you only really do that by reaching the final.
We want as many fans as possible to come along to Boundary Park. Having
a good crowd raises the atmosphere. "Christmas is an expensive time of
year, so cutting prices just after the holidays will be a big help to our
supporters." Athletic received a bye in the first round, while Stoke _
with whom they drew 0-0 on Tuesday afternoon _ beat Darlington 3-2.
The
competition is split into northern and southern sections until the final
and, should they win on January 11, Athletic will be only three rounds
from Wembley. Club officials are still waiting to hear whether they will
face punishment for holding up the game at Stoke. Kick-off was delayed
45 minutes because of the their late arrival, but they are hoping the Football
League will accept that accidents on the motorway had made it unavoidable.
Latique and the Boundary Park offices close tonight at 5pm and will not
reopen until 10am on Monday, the day of the home game against Bournemouth.
Teamtalk
Oldham
Double
message of hope
The Latics
go into the new year with a double message of hope from chairman David
Brierely and boss Andy Ritchie. Brierely, who bought the club with two
fellow directors and wiped out £3m of debt said: "We are very positive
about the future." And Ritchie agreed, saying: "If we can get our home
form right in the new year, and there is no reason why we can't, then there
should be plenty to look forward to." After a disastrous start to the season,
Oldham are now one of the form sides in the Second Division with just three
defeats in 14 league games. Ritchie added: "We have put some daylight between
us and the relegation places by beating teams below us. Now we need to
go out and do the same to the teams above us if we are to continue our
climb up the table." While, Ritchie is now happier with the progress on
the playing side, Brierely is also upbeat about the Latics changes of staying
on a healthy financial footing. He explained: "There are areas we need
to look at and we certainly aren't lying on our backs, sticking our feet
up in the air and giving up. "I know our financial position hasn't been
good in the past and the future isn't going to be easy, not by any stretch
of the imagination. But I must stress that we have reason to look on the
bright side. "Our intentions are positive and we really can get ourselves
on an even keel." Teamtalk
Bournemouth
Fletcher
joins injury list
Steve
Fletcher has been ruled out of Bournemouth's first game of the New Year
at Oldham next Monday after joining the growing injury list at Dean Court.
The centre
forward limped out of the 1-0 win against Wrexham on Tuesday after just
26 minutes with a hamstring injury. It's not quite clear how the tall striker
suffered the injury but Fletcher was certainly in no condition to continue
and he has now been told by the Cherries physio that he has no chance of
recovering in time for the game at Boundary Park. But he has been told
that the earliest he can expect to return is the home game against Notts
County a week on Saturday. Fletcher said: "I felt a twinge at Wycombe but,
because I hadn't done myself any damage, I decided to declare myself fit
for Wrexham but it popped out as I chased a Steve Robinson pass and knew
I couldn't continue. "The physio is working on the injury all the time
but fortunately I haven't torn anything and, although it is very tight
at the moment, I'm hoping it is just a slight pull and I will be okay."
From the
Press Association
| OLDHAM
LOOK TO PICK OFF CHERRIES |
Oldham
Athletic manager Andy Ritchie looks likely to name an unchanged side for
the visit of Bournemouth after a creditable draw at Stoke last Tuesday.
Ritchie
will be looking at the Latics to make a winning start to the new Millennium
with Steve Whitehall and Mark Allott favourites to lead the line at Boundary
Park. Youngster Paul Jones will have to make do with a place on the bench
alongside young striking duo Craig Dudley and Matthew Tipton. Athletic
have struggled this season and three points would pull them away from the
relegation zone. Bournemouth will be looking to build on their 1-0 win
over lowly Wrexham as they look to get their promotion challenge on track
in the New Year, for the long trip north to Boundary Park. Boss Mel Machin's
injury-hit side sit in 10th place in Division Two and will be looking to
kick-start a run of winning form. Neil Young should be available again
after injury but Machin is likely to still be without Eddie Howe, Richard
Hughes and John Bailey. Defender John O'Shea, on loan from Manchester United,
will be looking to force his way into Machin's plans. |
If you
want to listen to the Bournemouth match you can on Real Audio via the Bournemouth
Web Site. For information see http://www.afcb.co.uk/
Contributions
and letters should be sent to Gary
Davies by e-mail at [email protected]The
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