THE THIRD DEGREE - Week Ending 8th December

WEEK ENDING DECEMBER 08 2003

Boston = Boston United striker Richard Logan, who is nearing the end of a three-month loan at Second Division Peterborough, is still in the dark about where his future may lie. "I've enjoyed my time with Peterborough, and have got on well with the lads, but I don't know which way things will turn, I'd like to stay here because it is Second Division football, but I wouldn't have a problem with returning to York Street either." "The situation is really down to finances and whichever club sorts that out then that is probably where I will end up." Boston United manager Neil Thompson has ruled out making an approach for former loan striker Adebayo Akinfenwa.Bristol Rovers = Peter Taylor says that nothing has changed despite Ryan Williams' performance against Hull. The winger - who is a month into a 3-month loan deal with Bristol Rovers - put in a match-winning performance against City "If Bristol want him, then I won't stand in their way. They know exactly what the situation is." Bristol Rovers top scorer Paul Tait could face up to six weeks on the sidelines after his knee operation. But the Pirates have been boosted by news that the damage is not worse.Bury = Bury teenager Simon Whaley could be back in first-team contention in several weeks after having a successful knee operation. The 18-year-old had surgery on Friday after tearing cartilage in his left knee. As Bury were not in the FA Cup on Saturday they played Hull City in the league and lost 2-0. Boss Andy Preece said "We had better chances than they had in the first half, we were getting on top of the game towards half time, they hardly had a clear cut chance apart from the goal." "I told them to keep it tight and to give ourselves a chance for as long as possible. I said that and then we went and conceded within two minutes. We could have stopped the goals. After they got the goal we looked on top a little bit. If we had got one goal it would have made a difference."Cambridge = Cambridge United manager John Taylor has decided not to extend Gareth Williams' loan spell at the Abbey Stadium and he has returned to Crystal Palace. In the FA Cup Cambridge took on Macclesfield and it was an eventful cup tie in which there were two missed penalties, a sending off and Cambridge hitting the post late on. Manager John Taylor said "We played ever so well for long periods of the game. I know in the second half they went down to ten men and they had a little spell for five minutes, but this is the first time we've really been patient with the ball against ten men - kept it, moved it and created numerous chances."Carlisle = Everton midfielder Steven Schumacher has returned to Goodison Park after his loan spell at Carlisle ended. Carlisle United player-manager Paul Simpson is confident that his side can still avoid relegation to the Nationwide Conference, despite their woeful form during the first four months of the campaign. "It's important we start winning as soon as possible and get a few results to give everybody a better Christmas, There are definitely enough games left, that's not in question, but the sooner we get a result it will give everybody a real lift and we can move on from there. "There is a big gap and we know we have to get a run of ten or 12 games unbeaten. But there's no reason why we can't. We have the ability. It's a matter of putting it into practice."Cheltenham = Cheltenham's FA Cup match against Orient was full of controversy after referee Mark Warren gave a debatable penalty and sent Orient's keeper off and then gave an indirect free-kick in the box which Cheltenham scored from. Cheltenham boss John Ward said: "We showed good power and pace today and I'm pleased to get into the hat for the third round. It helps my team to progress and helps the chairman to sleep at night. I thought it was a penalty and the sending off was the decision the referee made on it. We were perhaps a bit fortunate to get the free-kick for the second goal but we still had to take advantage of it."Darlington = Darlington's Barry Conlon is hoping that Darlington boss David Hodgson can find him a regular strike partner. "If he can bring a new player in, it will be good for everyone, it's difficult when you have to play with different players because you can't always get that understanding straight away." Ryan Valentine has decided that he will appeal against his sending off during the Scunthorpe match. Darlington moved out of the relegation zone after a 3-0 win over York at home.Doncaster = John Doolan has signed a 12-month extension to his existing contract to keep him at Doncaster until June 2005. Doncaster Rovers have taken Chris Brown back on loan - a week after sending him back to Sunderland. Tamworth have beaten several clubs to the signature of Doncaster Rovers striker Paul Barnes. He was in demand after being told by Rovers that he can leave Belle Vue. Doncaster Rovers defender Tim Ryan has also signed a new contract, which will keep him at the club until June 2006.Huddersfield = Defender Efe Sodje has missed out on a place in Nigeria's African Nations Cup squad. The Terriers have agreed extended contracts with another three of their talented youngsters, which will keep them at the club till Summer 2006. Along with Jon Worthington put pen to paper on the same length of deal, his fellow midfielder Andy Holdsworth and defenders Anthony Lloyd and David Mirfin also signed up. defender Nathan Clarke has started talks with the Division Three side about extending his contract at the McAlpine Stadium.Hull = Hull City manager Peter Taylor has cleared the way for Ryan Williams, on loan at Bristol Rovers, to sever all links with the Tigers. Hull City manager Peter Taylor has said that he is not interested in signing Boston United striker Richard Logan. Richie Appleby has now been paid to leave the club after enduring an injury nightmare during his spell at the Tigers. Goalkeeper Alan Fettis has gone to Sheffield United on loan for a month. Hull moved up to second place in the table with a 2-0 win over Bury. : Hull boss Peter Taylor was a relieved man and said "We all know that the last few games haven't gone to plan, and we were desperate to get back to winning ways and cheer everyone up. I met with the players earlier in the week and I always knew we would bounce back - I have tremendous confidence in them."Kidderminster = Matt Lewis has been sold for £5000 to Dr Martens Western side Hinckley United. Burton Albion have extended the loan stay of Kidderminster Harriers defender Adam Willis to a second month. Kidderminster Harriers will have to wait until the New Year to complete the signing of OB Odense striker Jesper Christiansen after discovering that the deal falls under the transfer window regulations. "We've agreed a deal, but he won't be here until January 1 because of the transfer window," Molby said. "We have tried, but it was impossible as we do come under the transfer window when we take players from foreign FA's."Leyton O = Leyton Orient have released striker Adebayo Akinfenwa after his one month contract with the club came to an end. Leyton Orient's caretaker manager Martin Ling was frustrated by a 3-1 FA Cup second round defeat at Cheltenham Town. "It's frustrating because we didn't lose the game, the referee lost it for us. I'm not sure about the penalty decision, I'd need to see the video, but I don't know how the goalkeeper got sent off when we had two defenders back on the line." "I cannot fault my players for effort although we should have had more shots in the second half from the possession we had."Lincoln = Lincoln City's manager Keith Alexander is now well on the road to recovery following his recent serious illness. Lincoln's acting manager Gary Simpson admitted his side had been "sloppy" following the 3-0 FA Cup defeat against Southend. We were not as mentally alert as we should have been and paid the price for some sloppy work," he said. "Having said that, however, full marks for Southend's finishing. They took their goals well and finished up getting the victory they deserved." "But we were not as outplayed as the scoreline suggests. People looking at it will think we were battered but in truth our keeper did not have a great deal of work to do."Macclesfield =Stockport County defender Rob Jones has agreed to extend his loan spell with Macclesfield Town until the end of December. John Askey was full of praise for Steve Wilson after he pulled off two breathtaking penalty saves to keep his Macclesfield side in the FA Cup. The shot-stopper first saved Andy Duncan's drive from the spot after George Abbey had brought down Luke Guttridge then kept out player-manager John Taylor's effort in the 75th minute. Askey said: "I was disappointed with our display and we have Steve Wilson to thank for keeping us in the cup." Swansea await the winners of the replay.Mansfield =Stags boss Keith Curle has been awarded the third division Manager of the Month for November. The award comes after the Stags won 3 out of 4 league games, drew one and won 6-0 in the cup.Northampton = Goalkeeper Luke Weaver has joined Ryman League side Billericay Town on a month's loan and young Striker Steve Morison has joined Bishops Stortford on a month's loan. The Cobblers eased through in the FA Cup beating Western Super Mare 4-1. They now face 1st Division Rotherham in the next round.Oxford = Oxford United have handed a trial to centre-back Craig Thompson after the youngster was released by Peterborough United. Jamie Brooks is set to sign a one-year extension to his contract at Oxford United. Oxford United chairman Firoz Kassam has pledged his future to the Us - bringing to an end months of speculation that he was about to walk away. "I was very serious about selling and either getting my money back or even losing some if needs be and just walking away from it. It hasn't happened. the football club has not been sold. I had one serious offer from an outside source and one discussion with a local consortium but nothing came from those."Rochdale = Rochdale manager Alan Buckley has extended the loan spell of Barnsley midfielder Gary Jones for a second month. Rochdale manager Alan Buckley was clearly frustrated after another home defeat for his struggling side in the FA Cup on Saturday. They lost 2-0 to Luton. "There was nothing in the game but after 20 minutes, we found ourselves having to work very hard to come back into it," said Buckley. "If you hang your foot out in the box, you pay the price and I'm just wondering who's going to make the mistake next week."Scunthorpe = Steven MacLean, the Rangers striker who is on loan at Scunthorpe United, will snub the Scotland Future squad to play in an LDV Vans Trophy tie. MacLean has scored 17 goals for the English Division 3 side this season and was called up by Berti Vogts to face Turkey next week. Laws said: "It is a sign of how Steve is developing with us that he has been chosen for the Scotland Future squad. But Berti Vogts knows we have a very important game 24 hours earlier and so, too, does Steve. The player is more than happy to pull out of that Scottish squad. He wants to play for Scunthorpe United." Scunthorpe boss Brian Laws felt his side deserved to win their entertaining 2-2 home draw with Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup second round. Laws said: "I'm shell-shocked, happy, dejected and have gone through every emotion. We were excellent. Every player performed to his capabilities and for 70 minutes we were awesome. We should have won. We gave them two scrappy goals, but if we can put in a performance like this at Hillsborough on a big pitch in front of a big crowd we should be all right."Southend = Southend United's caretaker manager Steve Tilson was already looking to improved league form after the Shrimpers saw off Lincoln City 3-0 in the FA Cup second round. He said after the game: "It is great getting these results, but the bread and butter is the League. We have got to focus on getting us up the league table and not just winning the FA Cup matches." "I think we thoroughly deserved to win today. We played the better football and scored three good goals. It was a pretty even first half but the first goal came a good time. I thought that after the break we completely dominated the second half apart from a ten-minute spell."Torquay = Long-term knee injury victim David Woozley has been handed a boost by Torquay boss Leroy Rosenior. Woozley has been out of action since August but Rosenior is keen to get the 23-year-old in the first team as soon as possible. Torquay United boss Leroy Rosenior is looking forward to next Saturday's home league match against York after the 1-0 friendly win at Plymouth. He said: "It was a good performance and a good work-out, much better than training. I am not going to get carried away with it because there were a lot of changes, a lot of substitutions." "The result did not matter. I know the fans will be happy with it but what was more important was that the performance was there and they worked on what I asked them."Yeovil = Stevenage Borough are taking a look at Yeovil Town duo Abdou El Kholti and Chris Giles with a view to a double loan deal. Yeovil have agreed an undisclosed fee with Halifax for midfielder Lee Elam. The 27-year-old is expected to sign an 18-month contract at Huish Park before the end of the week. Yeovil now play Liverpool at home in the FA Cup after their 5-1 win over Barnet.York = Paul Barnes could be set for a return to Bootham Crescent after he held talks with York City player-boss Chris Brass. The 36-year-old is available after bring granted a free transfer by Doncaster Rovers and Brass has immediately made a move for the former City favourite. York player-manager Chris Brass refused to be too critical of his side despite the scoreline at Darlington. "The score looks bad for us but I think our performance was better than it suggests," he said. "Our approach play was good but we didn't trouble them enough at the back."

THE THIRD DEGREE IS COMPILED BY MATTHEW PHILLIPS

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