THE THIRD DEGREE - Week Ending 16th November

WEEK ENDING NOVEMBER 16 2003

Boston = Boston boss Neil Thompson has placed striker Stuart Douglas and left-sided player Graham Potter on the transfer-list. Neil Thompson has signed young Hartlepool striker Adam Boyd on a month's loan. Boston United are locked in a cash row with Chester City over the transfer of former striker, Daryl Clare. The Pilgrims say the Conference high-flyers owe them £20,000, a payment triggered when the former Republic of Ireland under-21 international played his 30th game for Chester following his move just over a year ago. The 25-year-old has now passed that milestone, but Boston say they have not received any further payment.BristolRovers = Hull City's out-of-favour winger Ryan Williams said this week he would love the chance to secure a permanent move to Bristol Rovers. He said: "There's no reason why I wouldn't stay here. I came to play first-team football, I've been made to feel very welcome and I'm enjoying it so far." Manager Ray Graydon is back at work after recovering from flu. Kevin Austin has been given a one-match ban after his sending off against Bournemouth. Boss Ray Graydon has said he will be looking to reduce the number of his professionals in his playing squad in the coming weeks and months. Bristol Rovers boss Ray Graydon warned his side they must improve after a morale-sapping defeat against Bury. "Our defending from set plays was very poor, we've worked very hard in our last three away games at being tight and solid but we didn't do that today. We must learn to concentrate for 90 minutes and stoppage time and not just 80 minutes. We deserved to win that game."Bury = Bury have extended the loan spell of Leeds United starlet Harpal Singh for the rest of the season but his has dislocated his shoulder and could be out for six weeks.Cambridge = Boss John Taylor was disappointed to lose two points in injury time in their 1-1 draw with Oxford, but was delighted with many aspects of the performance. "I'm delighted, I thought we played ever so well." "We closed down the space, worked hard, got into some good positions, had all the real decent chances in the game and we paid the price towards the end for a little bit of inexperience." "Obviously we're disappointed that we haven't won because we deserved to win, but I'm delighted that we've put in a good performance at home."Carlisle = Carlisle have parted company with chief scout Barry Robinson. Carlisle's Mark Summerbell is in line to make his long-awaited comeback from injury next weekend. The midfielder underwent shoulder surgery last month in a bid to rectify the tendon problem, which has kept him out of action since September. Two second-half goals for Mansfield condemned bottom club Carlisle to a club record ninth successive league defeat.Cheltenham = Cheltenham manager John Ward admitted his side had been second best in the 3-1 defeat against Torquay at Plainmoor. He said: "I was happy at half-time but the players weren't as satisfied as I was. But if we had kept doing what we were doing we could have got a result. But I thought Torquay deserved to win in the end. They had the legs and a bit more flair than us in the last 25 minutes." "After equalising, instead of pressing on perhaps we sat back and defended even deeper than we had been. That's not something I enjoy watching."Darlington = Glen Robson has been released and will join Albany Northern League Division One side Durham City, Mark Sheeran has joined Whitby on loan, Alan Morgan has returned to Blackburn following his loan spell, and Mark Kilty has been released. David Hodgson has signed three players on loan, Craig James has joined on a month's loan from Sunderland, Goalkeeper Ross Turnbull has also joined and loan and Andrew Kelly has joined on a non-contract deal.Doncaster = Dagenham & Redbridge boss Garry Hill has completed the signings of Doncaster Rovers strike duo Tristram Whitman and Robert Gill. Doncaster chairman John Ryan has dismissed speculation that former Liverpool striker Stan Collymore is set for a shock move to Belle Vue. "I know he's planning a comeback but I think it's highly unlikely he will be coming to Doncaster. It's the first I've heard of it." Wolves young midfielder JJ Melligan, previously with Kidderminster earlier in the season, has joined Doncaster on a month's loan.Huddersfield = Huddersfield goalkeeper Ian Gray will not play again this year after breaking a hand and dislocating two fingers in the Terriers' shock FA Cup defeat to Accrington Stanley. Huddersfield have completed the permanent signing of Coventry City midfielder Lee Fowler. The 20-year-old has agreed a deal until June 2006 after joining the Terriers on loan at the start of the season. Huddersfield beat table topping Hull 3-1 on Saturday and Town Boss Peter Jackson praised his young side. "I'm very proud as we had 17 fit players for the game and the amount of youngsters that were playing today. They were a credit to the shirt. I am more than pleased with them."Hull = Hull City centre-back John Anderson moved a step closer to a first-team return by making his comeback in the reserves on Tuesday, after recovering from a broken foot, . The former Livingston star, who was the Tigers' Player of the Year last season, has been sidelined for the whole of the current campaign with the injury. Peter Taylor says he's "not interested" in becoming the new Crystal Palace manager. "'Someone rang me and said that according to the papers I was about to offered the Palace job. Well, that's news to me. I haven't spoken to anyone and I've no plans to. "As far as I'm concerned, I'm not interested. Nothing has changed since the Reading thing came out."Kidderminster = Jan Molby has admitted defeat in his bid to bring striker Duane Darby to Aggborough - but has refused to rule out a move for former Harriers favourite Richie Appleby.LeytonO = The Football Association has found Orient striker Lee Thorpe not guilty of misconduct. "We feel that Lee's decision to appeal the charge has been vindicated," Orient manager Martin Ling said "We didn't really think lee had a case to answer and we argued that successfully." Matt Lockwood has backed Gary Alexander to fire Orient to promotion now he has found his scoring touch. Alexander has hit five goals in the last seven games as the O's have climbed the third division and progressed to the second round of the FA Cup. Boss Martin Ling said he was "extremely disappointed" by his sides 3-0 defeat to lowly Boston. "We started well and had a lot of possession without creating clear cut chances and their keeper had no saves to make."Lincoln = Lincoln City have allowed striker Dene Cropper to join UniBond League side Gainsborough Trinity on a month's loan. Manager Keith Alexander is in a stable condition after surgery to relieve the pressure on his brain, he was rushed to hospital earlier in the week after collapsing in his house. The Imps drew 0-0 with Darlington at the weekend and assistant boss Gary Simpson said, "We've had a difficult week and I can't say that we fired on all cylinders but sometimes you have to come to these places, get a clean sheet and get a point. It would have been nice to have got a win for the gaffer. The lads wanted it so much it was untrue."Macclesfield = Macclesfield have failed in their appeal to have Colin Little's red-card at Hull rescinded. Little now faces a three-match suspension following his dismissal for an off-the-ball incident involving Marc Joseph. Macclesfield Town have signed experienced goalkeeper Nathan Abbey on a non-contract basis. Caretaker boss John Askey isn't rushing to stake his claim to the full-time vacancy at Macclesfield. Honest John, who stepped into the breach after Dave Moss was sacked last month, said: "If I feel I can do the job I will let the board know. And if I feel I am not up to the task then similarly I will let the board know. Then it will be up to them to make the decision."Mansfield = Rotherham have made a new bid for Mansfield midfielder Liam Lawrence. The Millers recently had a £125,000 bid rejected by the Stags but manager Ronnie Moore has not given up hope and has made another offer for the 21-year-old. Mansfield boss Keith Curle and chairman Keith Haslam will go before a Football Association panel next week to answer charges of failing to control their players. The panel is due to meet on Wednesday after referee Lee Probert reported a mass brawl breaking out in the Stags' 4-1 defeat at Swansea in August. Read more at the linkNorthampton = Northampton have appointed former Barnsley and England Under-21 goalkeeper Dave Watson as their new goalkeeping coach. Northampton have signed former West Brom and Nottingham Forest defender Des Lyttle on a three-month contract. Northampton are without Paul Trollope for their televised clash against Swansea at Sixfields. The midfielder is preparing for the second leg of Wales' Euro 2004 qualifier against Russia, although he is unlikely to play a part in the game. Paul Reid, Tom Youngs, Jerry Gill (all knee), Peter Clark (foot) and Ashley Westwood (shoulder) are all sidelined.Oxford = Oxford United forward Lee Steele is nearing a return to action after spending the last eight months on the sidelines with a cruciate ligament injury. The 29-year-old is back in light training and hopes to make his comeback in the soon. Oxford boss Ian Atkins felt his side deserved a point for their second-half performance at Cambridge. Atkins said: "I had a real go at the players (at half-time) because that wasn't the kind of performance which has made us one of the top teams." "I was worried about the law of averages because Cambridge hadn't won at home since mid-August and it looked as though it was just going to be their day."Rochdale = Former Rochdale captain Gary Jones is going back to Spotland. The Barnsley midfielder, who was recently placed on the transfer-list at Oakwell, has agreed a month's loan with Dale boss Alan Buckley. Rochdale manager Alan Buckley was understandably disappointed after his side's 1-0 defeat at home to Kidderminster. "After they scored we looked like we'd thrown in the towel. From a good start it got worse and it was probably our worst home performance of the season."Scunthorpe = Manager Brian Laws slammed the referee in his side's 2-2 draw with Macclesfield. Referee Kevin Friend waved play on and all Laws' players stopped, with John Miles picking out Mathew Tipton to flick the ball over Scunthorpe goalkeeper Tom Evans for a bizarre equaliser. Law said: "I'm speechless. The ball had gone out of play and the linesman flagged vigorously, and I mean vigorously, to alert the referee." "I stopped, my players stopped but the referee deliberated and said 'ooh, let's play on'. I mean it's human nature to stop playing. The referee got every decision wrong. The only one he got right was to send me off for being out of my technical area - I will agree to that because I was 50 yards away from it." "I'll have to be careful about what I say because they all tend to stick together and I'm sure they'll come up with some garbage to explain their performance."Southend = Southend United have been boosted by the news that Kevin Maher could be ready for a first-team return within two weeks. Maher sustained a knee injury during Sunday's FA Cup first round clash with Canvey Island but an X-ray has shown that there is no ligament damage as was originally feared. Southend caretaker boss David Webb admitted it was "damage limitation" in the second half of the 4-0 defeat against former club Yeovil. "We were doing quite well until Yeovil got their first goal and that was a bit unfortunate as it took a deflection." said Webb.Torquay = Torquay United striker David Graham's proposed transfer to Plymouth Argyle has fallen through over personal terms. But Reading's transfer-listed 21-year-old target man Nathan Tyson could complete a loan move to Home Park next week. Torquay manager Leroy Rosenior saluted striker David Graham after his two brilliant goals lit up a deserved 3-1 home win over Cheltenham. Rosenior said: "In the circumstances they weren't just good goals by David, they were fantastic ones. His confidence had been a bit low lately and to perform like that was terrific." "We've had a blip recently. Some people were waiting for us to make a mistake and in that atmosphere the players were a credit to the club. It's only three points, but it's nice to get the winning feeling again and it will boost the players' confidence."Yeovil = Yeovil Town are willing to let Andy Lindegaard go on loan to boost his match fitness. Yeovil manager Gary Johnson was understandably delighted following his side's 4-0 romp against struggling Southend. Johnson said: "It was another great performance and I'm sure our 5,000 fans went home happy." York = The Minstermen have boosted their attacking options with the signing of Northern Ireland under-21 international striker Gary Browne. The former Manchester City player has penned a one-month deal.

THE THIRD DEGREE IS COMPILED BY MATTHEW PHILLIPS

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