Allott picks off Cherries
Pointon released

Incredibly, the 20-goal marksman has been dropped by Wigan boss John Benson, whose side have been top of the second division all season. The other Latics boast the only unbeaten record among all 132 English and Scottish League clubs. Their success is based on prolific scoring _ yet Barlow has spent the last month on the substitutes' bench. Only Alan Shearer has hit the net more times in league and cup games this term than the 31-year-old striker, who left Athletic for a cut-price £50,000. Since that move in March, 1998, he has bettered a goal every other game and become one of the most feared forwards around. 

A slight foot injury saw Barlow drop out of the Wigan team at the start of December and now he can't force his way back in. Currently in favour are 15-goal Simon Haworth and the creative Andy Liddell, both of whom showed prime form as Benson's side took maximum points over Christmas. Barlow recently put in a transfer request after failing to agree personal terms for a new contract. His present deal runs out at the end of the season, but moneybags chairman Dave Whelan is unwilling to match his demands. The Lancashire derby, which is being shown live on Sky, launches a tough run of fixtures for an Athletic team revitalised in recent weeks. Yesterday's home win against Bournemouth meant they were unbeaten over the holiday period. Draws with Scunthorpe and Stoke were preceded by victory at Cambridge, allowing them to build an eight-point gap above the relegation places. But, over the next few weeks, Athletic must tackle six of the sides who are currently in division two's top nine. They are at home to Brentford, Gillingham and Bristol Rovers, as well as away at Wigan, Burnley and Millwall. See tomorrow night's Chronicle for a chance to win tickets for the Brentford clash. 

Allott the hero as Latics give home fans a taste of victory

THERE was no millennium spectacular at Boundary Park. In fact, the football on show was much more brown ale than champagne. Athletic, however, will be delighted to launch the 21st century with a win which was rarely in doubt once Mark Allott had struck in style. It wasn’t the most lively of performances and nor will they face many more sides with as little presence as disappointing Bournemouth. But there was a job to be done and they did it efficiently. Home wins have been elusive and this, their fourth in 12 attempts, was a satisfying way to enter the second half of the season. Away results have been encouraging for some time, leading to frustration that form at Boundary Park was scuppering Athletic’s hopes of a big leap up the table. Manager Andy Ritchie will be hoping this is the launchpad for that surge although, if it is, the rocket took off with something of a low-key splutter. In a game of few chances, it took Athletic a good while to ease themselves into a pattern. One of their early failings was that they didn’t see, or they chose not to use, the men who had found space on the wings. Too many passes went backwards, while lapses in concentration saw others go astray. Before long, unrest among the crowd began to build and, inevitably, that transmitted itself to a fretful set of players. Until they went in front after 27 minutes, Athletic were again gripped by that familiar fear of failure.

They were hardly oozing confidence afterwards, but the goal made them a far busier and more purposeful outfit. The key to it all was in defence where, for virtually all of the afternoon, they were supremely comfortable — probably more so than in any other league game so far. Playing at the heart of a flat back four, both Mark Hotte and Shaun Garnett were in commanding form. Their contrasting styles complemented each other superbly and Garnett had the time and awareness to add weight to the attack from open play, as well as the usual set-pieces. Full-backs Andrew Holt and Scott McNiven were also unruffled, with Holt another man to get forward to good effect. Yet Athletic’s celebrations need to be tempered, for they had precious little with which to cope. The Cherries were neat and tidy, created some pretty patterns and, in Mark Stein, have a forward whose clever running will always make him a pest. That, though, was pretty much it. They were brushed aside physically and, thanks to the home defence, showed all the punching power of a group of girl guides. One shot on target says it all, with Athletic only looking in trouble for the final few minutes. Even then, the problems were self-inflicted as — betraying the uneasiness of a team not used to winning at home — they began to defend deeper and deeper. Athletic, who have made minimal changes during a run of three defeats in 15 games, fielded the side which drew at Stoke. Injury-hit Bournemouth suffered another blow in the warm-up when defender Karl Broadhurst strained a muscle, resulting in a re-organisation and the naming of only four substitutes.

But the south coast side, bidding to end a terrible record of away goals conceded, still managed to settle well. Although Athletic had the better of it, the opening salvos were all from long range, Bournemouth’s Steve Robinson going the closest. All that changed when Athletic grabbed their winner following a left-wing raid by Holt. The cross went behind Steve Whitehall and was just out of reach for Neil Adams. But Allott, charging in from deep, hammered a low drive beyond goalkeeper Mark Ovendale from 12 yards. Allott took his ninth goal of the season with a real flourish, defying the critics who claim he doesn’t go in where it hurts. He had to crunch into a 50-50 challenge to get in his shot, but there was never any question where his intentions lay. The goal breathed life into Athletic’s attack and it needed a brave challenge to prevent Lee Duxbury’s header doubling the lead. Garnett also tried his luck, while Allott — comforted by his first home goal for nearly three months — began to find better touch. All the visitors could offer was Stein’s work rate and Robinson’s prompting from midfield. And it was a similar story after the break, with the hosts dominating possession without cutting through. Bournemouth themselves began to look at ease, gradually coming more into the game as they chased an equaliser. James Hayter had an effort ruled out for a clear offside before, in the 65th minute, Gary Kelly had to be quick off his line to close down Stein. Holding a one-goal advantage, Athletic started to concentrate more on defence, with the result that they lost much of their impetus. Craig Dudley’s arrival, in place of Whitehall, livened up the closing minutes and it didn’t take him long to make an impact. The substitute’s 20-yard shot almost caught Ovendale by surprise but, as the ball speared towards the top corner, the ’keeper just managed to tip it away. The save kept Athletic on edge right to the death. In truth, though, the nerves were frayed more by their own insecurity than any realistic chance of victory being snatched away.

Ritchie tells his players to show ruthless streak

ATHLETIC boss Andy Ritchie was still demanding more from his players, despite their winning start to the New Year. Ritchie wants Athletic to take the next step in the great revival which has seen them climb the table — and that means grinding their opponents into the dirt. “We need to start trampling all over the teams we play,” he said. “When a side like Manchester United get on top, they make the most of it. “We have to show that same ruthlessness ourselves. Some of the players don’t have it at the moment. “Doing that is the sign of a good team and we need to learn it to keep moving up. I want to see us taking more people to the cleaners. “I thought we were excellent in the first half and should have scored one or two more. “We still have to be more positive around the box, because there were a few balls flashing across goal and we didn’t get a touch. “Then, in the second half, there were times when we got forward in too many numbers.

“We didn’t have people to cover when it broke down and it allowed Bournemouth to come at us. “They didn’t really cause us any problems, but we need to start attacking with one eye on defence.” Ritchie thought all four of his defenders played key roles in the second successive clean sheet — the first time Athletic had achieved that double since the final two games of last season. “It’s nice to go one up and hold on to it,” he said. “Mark Hotte was magnificent and, although we went a bit deep towards the end, we defended well overall. “Bournemouth were only going to trouble us from corners and free-kicks, but we defended well against them as well. “Shaun Garnett did well helping out up front until we told him to stay back a bit more. And both the full-backs got forward. “We kept telling the lads that Scott McNiven was their outlet in the second half, because when one route is blocked the other becomes free. “It was Andrew Holt in the first half and then it changed around in the second.” Despondent Bournemouth manager Mel Machin left Boundary Park without comment.

 There are some good vibes around Boundary Park as well as a feeling that there is a lot more to come from Ritchie's revival side. The win over Bournemouth means that the Latics have now lost just three in the last fifteen and the boss commented: "We know we should be taking more teams to the cleaners. It's not happening for some reason and I don't know why, I just can't put my finger on it. "However, we need to be more ruthless and start trampling on side. We have been threatening to do that. Once we score we have to start going for the second and then third to really kill off sides, but we don't seem to have that streak at the moment." Teamtalk Walsall

 Ray Graydon has tried to spark a clear out at Bescot by announcing that five members of his squad can leave the club on free transfers. Heading the list is the team's former skipper, veteran left-back Neil Pointon, who has lost his place in the side to recent signing Gino Padula. At this stage of his career, Pointon needs to be playing football and Graydon has decided that he can leave on a free if he can get himself fixed up. Pointon is keen to eventually make a move into coaching and has done some work on that side of the game at Bescot. But he is keen to play on at the moment before hanging up his boots and knows that his chances of getting much first-team action at Walsall are looking slim. The other four players who can leave on free transfers are midfielders John Keister and Wayne Thomas, central defender Richard Green and winger Darko Mavrak. Green has been on the transfer list since last summer when Graydon decided to put him up for sale after signing Tony Barras for £20,000 from Reading. He has recently turned down moves to Colchester United and Cambridge United.
Graydon will be hoping that his decision to make the five available on frees will help to ease the wage bill at Bescot. The Saddlers have just added to that rather considerably by bringing in striker Jamie Forrester and midfielders Tom Bennett and Kevin Harper.