The Third Degree - 19th January 2004

WEEK ENDING JANUARY 19 2004

Boston = Boston United defender Graham Potter is delighted by his new role as left wing-back and hopes to finally prove to the club's fans that manager Neil Thompson was right to sign him. "I have found it difficult to settle at the club and the supporters haven't been shy to tell me what they think of me." Boston chairman Des Wood is hopeful that a deal to sell the club to Jon Sotnick can be completed before the end of the week. Wood, who recently lost his option to buy the club after the deadline passed, has been in talks with Sotnick all week. Boston United manager Neil Thompson refused to criticise his players after they slumped to a 2-0 defeat at promotion-chasing Huddersfield Town. "I'm proud of my players, they gave everything," he said. "For a small club like us to come here and play against a big club like Huddersfield deserves a lot of credit. They worked hard and defended well for the most part, but at times we gave the ball away too cheaply and that's something we must work on."Bristol Rovers = Bristol Rovers defender Anwar Uddin will remain on loan with Hereford United for another month. Bristol Rovers have confirmed first-team coach Phil Bater will be in charge for the game against Carlisle with Ray Graydon's future uncertain. Rumours are circulating that Steve Cotterill will take over as Rovers manager later this week. Bristol Rovers' stand-in boss Phil Bater was delighted with his side's recovery to draw 2-2 at Rochdale after a terrible first-half display. But he changed things round for the second half and salvaged an unlikely point thanks to substitute Junior Agogo's header seven minutes from time. Bater said: "I was delighted with Junior, who responded the right way after being dropped. We thought we were Real Madrid in the first half, but once we got our tempo sorted out I think we deserved something from the game."Bury = Graham Barrow has been handed the Bury manager's job until the end of the season. He has appointed former Preston assistant Kelham O'Hanlon as his number-two. Barrow was happy with the standard of his side's performance after they left Scunthorpe with a point after a 0-0 draw. "It proved last week's win over Swansea was not a flash in the pan. There was a lot of passion and spirit, we were well organised and I'm pleased with the point."

Cambridge = Daniel Chillingworth could return for Cambridge at the end of February. The 22-year-old striker has had a load of injury problems since September and has made just eight appearances for the Division Three side this season. Cambridge United have played down reports that playmaker Luke Guttridge is on his way out of the club. Reports had hinted Guttridge was set to be snapped up by Cardiff. But Taylor added: "I'm a friend of Cardiff boss Lennie Lawrence from our Luton days, and he hasn't spoken to me about Luke." John Taylor described his side's 1-0 victory against Macclesfield as a "massive boost" for the club. Taylor said: "What pleased me most was that we played well and won the game without Luke Guttridge performing to his normal standards. He scored the goal but otherwise he wasn't at his best and in the past it has been his influence that has won us games."Carlisle = Carlisle United are set to extend the loan stay of Walsall striker Matty Fryatt by another month. Carlisle United player-boss Paul Simpson picked out defensive duo Lee Andrews and Kevin Gray for special praise after Saturday's battling 2-0 victory over Yeovil Town. "They were awesome," Simpson said of his central defensive pairing. "I made the decision a couple of weeks ago to bring Andrews back into the side for this game because I knew his pace would give us something different at the back. That win was just what we needed. We gave ourselves a few scares, but our work-rate, enthusiasm and energy were just right."Cheltenham = Cheltenham Town have signed Karl Henry on loan from Stoke City. Manager John Ward could not hide his delight after the Robins snatched a point from a goalless draw with Swansea. Ward said: "I'm really pleased with the point. We could have won or lost so I can't grumble with the result. As an away team near the bottom of the table we've got to be happy."Darlington = Darlington's controversial chairman George Reynolds has resigned and severed all ties with the club. The Quakers are currently in administration, with supporters groups pointing to the building of the 25,000-capacity Reynolds Arena as the main reason for the club's problems, prompting Reynolds to quit as a director. Darlington manager David Hodgson expressed his relief after his side found their goalscoring touch during the 1-1 draw with Kidderminster. Hodgson said: "We have had five recent 1-0 defeats and we wanted to try and break the run. At one stage we had five or six strikers out there so you could see what we were trying to do. The good thing is that we got the goal and hopefully we can build on that."Doncaster = Doncaster Rovers boss Dave Penney has reluctantly allowed loanee Peter Hynes to return to Aston Villa. The 20-year-old midfielder has spent the last month at Belle Vue and made five appearances from the substitute's bench. Assistant manager Micky Walker admits Doncaster are eyeing the Third Division title following their latest victory at Southend. "All in all we turned in a thoroughly professional performance," Walker said following the 2-0 success. "Obviously we'll be very disappointed if we don't at least secure a play-off place at the end of the season but our aim is to win the title."Huddersfield = Goalkeeper Phil Senior has signed a new two-and-a-half year deal with Huddersfield Town. Talented Huddersfield Town midfielder Danny Schofield has signed a two-year extension to his current Terriers contract. Boss Peter Jackson has described his players as "awesome" following their fifth successive win. The Terriers climbed into a play-off spot after securing a 2-0 home victory over Boston. "I knew it was going to be a difficult game and with the run we have been on everybody expected us to turn up and win easily, we had two 19-year-olds, two 20-year-olds, Danny (Schofield) who is 23 and the two old men, (Efe) Sodje and (Steve) Yatesy at the back. I thought they were all awesome throughout the match."Hull = Hull stay top of the 3rd division after beating Oxford 4-2 at the weekend. Boss Peter Taylor singled out strikers Ben Burgess and Danny Allsopp for extra praise following the club's 4-2 win over Oxford. Taylor said: "I think that Ben and Danny have shown that they're a great partnership and they must be good players for me to leave Jamie Forrester out. They look for each other all the time, and for Danny's two goals that's exactly what they have done."Kidderminster = Harriers boss Jan Molby blasted his side as "naïve" after they conceded a last-minute goal to hand lowly Darlington a 1-1 draw. David McGurk pounced with a header from substitute Mark Sheeran's cross to cancel out a seventh-minute goal by Adam Murray, and Molby said: "We thought we were going to get away with it but we were naive in trying to win a ball that wasn't there to be won. We gave away a needless free-kick and then after we dealt with the first header there was no pressure on the second ball in. However, the way Darlington played they probably deserved to get something out of the game."Leyton Orient = Striker Lee Thorpe has been placed on the transfer list and told that he will not be offered a contract next season. Leyton Orient have completed the signing of Reading centre-back John Mackie on a deal running until the summer of 2006. Martin Ling admitted Orient had played some of the best football he had seen since taking charge as they beat Mansfield 3-1 at Brisbane Road. "The second half was probably the best performance I've had. It was the first time we've had a complete performance for 45 minutes. I wasn't overly impressed with the first half when I thought Mansfield were the better side."Lincoln = Lincoln's caretaker-manager Gary Simpson admitted the Imps had been second best after they crashed to a 3-1 defeat against Torquay. "I thought they played well," said Simpson. "We conceded a sloppy goal which gave them the impetus. For the first 20 minutes we were not at the races. We got back into it and it was a good goal from Mayo but then we went and conceded another poor goal by our standards. The third goal was a good piece of skill from their lad."Macclesfield = Midfielder David Flitcroft has been released by Macclesfield Town just six months after signing on at Moss Rose. Port Vale boss Brian Horton has recalled goalkeeper Dean Delaney from his loan spell at Macclesfield Town. Chris Priest has been handed the captain's armband by Macclesfield Town manager John Askey. Town have signed defender Jon Beswetherick and goalkeeper David Miskelly. Macclesfield manager John Askey was disappointed after his side surrendered their eight-game unbeaten run at home against Cambridge. "I am very disappointed, particularly that we can play so well in the first half and create so many chances but then hardly put up a fight in the second half."Mansfield = Alex John-Baptiste has ended his loan spell with Tamworth and is back with Mansfield. Manager Keith Curle admitted his side had been punished for a poor second-half performance during their 3-1 defeat to Leyton Orient. "To use an old cliche, it was a game of two halves. In the first half we acquitted ourselves well, but in the second we didn't have the urgency about us to win the battle." Rotherham boss Ronnie Moore hopes to sign Mansfield winger Liam Lawrence this week after putting in a new bid.Northampton = Northampton Town have signed Magno Vieira from Wigan and Ipswich Town's Dutch midfielder Nabil Abidallah. Boss Colin Calderwood praised an all-round team performance after his side's 2-1 victory over York. "It was a solid performance from everyone and overall I'm delighted with our performance. It was a big step forward for the players."Oxford = Oxford United have allowed midfielder Derek Townsley to leave the club after only six months at the Kassam Stadium. Oxford striker Manny Omoyinmi has returned to Margate on a month's loan. Oxford manager Ian Atkins claimed the 4-2 defeat to Hull at The KC Stadium did an injustice to his side's performance. Atkins said: "It was a very good performance and it was no way a 4-2 scoreline. We hit the crossbar, had one cleared off the line, so it was just those 10 minutes of madness, in an area that has been very strong for us this year. They took their chances well, and that's life."Rochdale = Barnsley midfielder Gary Jones has agreed to extend his loan spell at Rochdale by a further month. Manager Steve Parkin claimed his side's 'Premiership' goals had been ruined by poor defending during the 2-2 draw with Bristol Rovers. "It's disappointing after the way we played in the first half. We scored two goals that would have graced the Premiership but didn't defend two crosses properly and have come away with a point when we should have had all three." Rochdale's Neil Edwards remains on course to break Mike Poole's record number of appearances for a goalkeeper at the club. The 33-year-old Welshman made his 205th appearance in the weekend draw with Bristol Rovers and is now 14 short of Poole's tally. Also Accrington are set to sign Rochdale's Lee McEvilly on a month's loan.Scunthorpe = Scunthorpe boss Brian Laws has swooped quickly to sign three players from Premiership clubs in a bid to solve his squad's current injury crisis. Defender Phil Gulliver (Middlesbrough), midfielder Jeff Smith (Bolton) and striker Cleveland Taylor (Bolton) have all joined Laws' men. United expect to be without loan striker Steve MacLean for up to a month after he picked up a groin injury in the FA Cup reply match earlier in the week. Brian Laws was left to rue another two points dropped as his side lost further ground on the play-off places following a 0-0 draw with Bury. Laws said: "We now need a hell of a run of winning games to get back into the play-offs - draws are no good to us."Southend = Southend have completed the signing of 26-year-old midfielder Mark Bentley from Dagenham & Redbridge. Bentley can play wide right or in the centre of the park and has netted nine goals already this season for the Daggers. Acting manager Steve Tilson claimed his side's 2-0 defeat to Doncaster proved they have the ability to avoid relegation. He said: "The important thing is we are creating chances and that the spirit in the side is still good. We may be lacking a bit of confidence but we showed there's plenty of fight in the ranks."Torquay = Torquay United have broken the Football Leagues newly imposed wage cap and are currently hoping that they won't be to harsh with their punishment. Torquay United chairman Mike Bateson says that this week's signing of left-back Brian McGlinchey has pushed the Gulls' wage-bill through the Football League's experimental wage-cap barrier for the season. "I think that's our £33,000 gone," said Bateson Leroy Rosenior believed his side were worth their victory after watching his side beat Lincoln 3-1 to keep up their promotion challenge. "I thought we played well and we deserved it. Our decision-making was great and we got it down and played."Yeovil = Yeovil boss Gary Johnson admitted his side never got going during their 2-0 defeat to Third Division strugglers Carlisle. "We didn't show our real quality. We worked hard enough, but their goals came at the wrong times for us. Credit to Carlisle. On current form they are in the top six teams in the division and we knew that they would be dangerous opponents." Keeper Chris Weale is to have a trial with West Ham, as the Hammers seek a replacement for the departed David James.York = York City have released striker Gary Browne, who had been on a short-term deal at Bootham Crescent. First Division Cardiff City are poised to boost their promotion challenge with a bid for much coveted York City midfielder Lee Bullock. player-boss Chris Brass admitted Jon Parkin's own goal on the stroke of half-time had cost his side the chance of a result at Northampton. "If we could have gone in at half-time only 1-0 down, I felt the outcome would have been different. It was a typical game of two halves, but Northampton took their chances and we didn't."

THE THIRD DEGREE IS COMPILED BY MATTHEW PHILLIPS

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