IT isn't often that we are able t o give pride of place in the Boundary

News t o our Cheshire League team but their recent feats have certainly
earned special accolades.
At the moment the team are ong the leading group in the Cheshire
League and pushing for the c h ~ ,lionship. We all believe that they can
win it and, when you consider the relative youth of the side, that would
indeed be a tremendous achievement.
They have won four of their five league matches to date and have also
p
progressed to the second round of the Cheshire League Cup.
And the lads could so easily have been top of the table by now. They
are held in third place only because Burscough and Droylsden have played
an additional game although both have lost one. OLDHAM ATHLETIC
And the quality of Reserve team football at Boundary Park is catching A.F.C. LIMITED
the imagination of our supporters. Gates for all Cheshire League matches Boundary Park, Oldham
rhis season have considerably increased on last term and that, in itself, is Tel. 061-624 4972
most encouraging.
Under the guidance of team boss Ken Branagan, the Reserves have
emerged as a bright enterprising side that looks full of potential. Chairman:
They could well be the Oldham Athletic stars of the future and, if that W. SHORE
is the case, our future will clearly be in good hands. Well done lads, Vice-Chairman:
keep u p the good work and let's bring that Cheshire League Champion- G. A. HUDSON
ship Trophy to Boundary Park.
One young man who was a regular member of our Cheshire League
side until a couple of weeks ago, GRAHAM BELL deserves a special men- Directors:
tion in today's News. J. KERSHAW, R. SCHOFIELD.
Graham was offered the chance of first team football a fortnight ago I. H. STOTT,
and snatched it with both hands. We are sure that you would all like t o F. D. WHITEHEAD, H. WILDE
juin us i n offering congratulations to Graham on his first team success.
Two other young men who deserve special mention are PHlL MUL-
LINGTON and A W N TAYLOR who, having completed t w o years General Manager & Secretary:
W. GRlFFlTHS
apprenticeship have been offered full time terms with the club.
Both are products of the club's youth policy and have now joined the Team Manager:
J. FRIZZELL
likes of Chris Ogden, lan Wood, Keith Hicks, lan Robins and, of course
Graham Bell, in the professional ranks. Assistant Secretary:
We wish both youngsters all the best for the future and look forward T. FISHER
t o the day when they are challenging for a place in the first team. Physiotherapist:
A t the other end of the scale, we would like to send our best wishes J. McGREGOR
for a speedy recovery to club chairman Mr. BILL SHORE who has re- Club Physician:
cently been in hospital at Lytham. R. B. HOLLOS
Mr. Shore is back home now but will not be able to come to Boundary Promotions Manager:

il Park for a couple of weeks. B. JOYCE

Better news on the casuality front comes from winger GEORGE
McVITIE who has been having a lean time so far this season since suffer- Cover Design by
ing from a virus infection in August. Comprehensive Art Services
with ~ i c t u r e ssupplied by
George who played a major part in Athletic's championship winning Oldham Chronicle"
run last season is now back in training and he too could be bidding for Printed by L V Lawlor, Oldhem
a first team recall very soon.
W e will finish this particular Boundary News with two reminders.
First don't forget our Texaco Cup match with Hearts at Boundary
Park on Tuesday night. Hearts, one of the premier teams in Scottish
football are most attractive opposition and we shall be hoping to beat
them, and beat them well, in the first leg of the competition.
Secondly don't forget that you too can air your views through the
columns of Boundary News. We already have a steady stream of letters
but we do like to keep in touch with what you, the supporters, are
thinking.
Page 1
 Front Row: P. Hart, J. Evanson, K. Dyson, G. James, T. Alcock, K. Bentley.
w p v p w ~
welcome to Blackpool
& A
BLACKPOOL, victims of our pre-season assault on
Texaco cup honours come t o Boundary Park today
after a pretty useful start t o the season. And, after
just missing promotion t o Division One last year,
they are all hoping at Bloomfield Road that they
can make it this time around.
Not until Blackpool make it back t o me First
Division will they truly be able t o claim that they
have laid the ghost of a brilliant past which has
haunted them since the late, great days when they
had four players in the England team.
were S t a n l eMatthews,
~ Ernie
and and centre half Harry
Johnston' The name of is' in fact'
synonymous with Blackpool football but is from
an era when the club sampled greatness.
Blackpool's best ever season in the Football
League came in 1955-56 when they were runners
up in the First Division. That was only a couple
of years after that never-to-be-forgotten Wembley
final when they beat Bolton Wanderers in a game
that goes down as the Matthews final.
More recently-and perhaps a sign that Black-
pool are not far from finding the formula that could
win them national recognition again - was the
d
I Road and BILL BENTLEY who was formerly with
I
team's 1971 triumph in the notorious Anglo Italian
I Cup. They were runners-up in the same compe-
tition the following year.
Manager Harry Potts has got together a strong
, and effective side that is littered with players who
I have great individual skill and flair.
Perhaps foremost among them is the brilliant
ALAN SUDDICK who was signed from Newcastle
1
Page 3
- z - F
A
in December 1966 and is now Blackpool's second
longest serving player. A former under-23 inter-
national, Suddick scored his 100th League goal
during East season.
Another player in the squad with under-23
honours is KElTH DYSON who, ironically, was
also signed from Newcastle and, of course the
name Welsh internatonal wYN DAVlES-for-
merly with Manchester United - is nationally
known.
In defence Blackpool have GLYN JAMES who
joined the club as a boy in December 1957 and is
now their longest serving player and skipper with
over 300 League appearances behind him. -He too
is a full Welsh international.
Former Bolton skipper DAVE HATTON is also
included in the defence alongside the experienced
IERRY ALCOCK who joined Blackpool from Port
Vale in 1967.
Others t o look out for are goalkeeper JOHN
BURRIDGE, signed from Workington in 1971, in-
side forward ALAN AINSCOW who has pro-
gressed through the junior ranks at Bloomfield
Stoke City and is a schoolboy and youth inter-
national.
Those then, are some of our visitors this after-
noon and we take this opportunity of welcoming
all the players, officials and supporters of
Blackpool and look forward to an enjoyable game.
Certainly if it is as good as our Texaco Cup meet-
ing last month it will be a match t o remember

Despite the fact that we lost against Oxford
United on Saturday, 1 was far from displeased
with the overall performance of the side. And,
although defeat was disappointing, it did have its
more encouraging side.
For viewed logically, a 1 - 4 defeat at the
hands of a Second Division team that is unbeaten
this season does not cast too long a shadow over
the future.
In fact my immediate reaction after the match
was that if this was Second Division football then
we have nothing t o fear.
We accept that there is a need to improve our
first team pool but the quality of our football at
Oxford was such that the future looks bright
indeed.
A t Notts County we lost by the only goal of the
game after putting up a brave defensive display
which had looked likely t o earn a point.
A t Oxford we outplayed the home side for
much of the game and produced several magni-
ficent individual performances before falling
victim t o a solitary goal.
I would be the first to admit that results are
vital; that winning is what the game is all about.
1 p.;
But I would like to say that from our t w o away
games so far, I believe it cannot be long before we
achieve our first away win of the season.
And once we have overcome that barrier we
will, I bel.ieve, go from strength t o strength.
Remember that Oxford are unbeaten in the
League this se.ason and remember too that they
came closer t o losing against us than they had in
any of their previous matches
We suffered from a failure t o take our chances
and also because three of our players were not
up to their usual form. But despite that we did
play some excellent football and I was especially
impressed with the form of young Graham Bell
who w,as having only his second senior match but
performed like a veteran.
Graham has got a tremendous degree of skill
and the performance he turned in on Saturday
must have done wonders for his confidence.
He looks to have a tremendous f u t i r e in the
game and is yet further proof that the youth
policy we have at Boundary Park really works.
And so to today's game against Blackpool. We
met and overcame the seasiders in a Texaco Cup
match before the League season started in what
was a memorable and truly entertaining game.
If today's match is as good you will all leave
Boundary Park feeling that you have had good
value for money. In fact, in all our matches this
season, we have been praised for our entertaining
qualities.
Even after last Saturday's match at Oxford we
were openly and warmly congratulated for our
contribution to the game.
Everyone agreed that we had the right attitude
and approach to the game and the general feeling
was that we had nothing at all t o fear from Divi-
sion Two.
It was, of course, a great pity that only just
over 6,000 people turned out t o watch this match.
It was the sort of game that deserved a bigger and
better crowd and, perhaps when our reputation
for attacking and entertaining football really
grows, we will start t o draw more supporters to
opponents' grounds as well as t o our own.
The home gate for our last home game-against
Bristol City-was most disappointing as we had
expected at least as many as turned up for the
match with Sheffield Wednesday.
And yet somewhere along the line we lost
5,000 supporters despite the fact that we had
beaten Wednesday and were bringing t o Boun
dary Park a Bristol City side which captured a lo
of headl-ines last season.
The simple truth is that we need more thah,
9,000 supporters to give us backing f.or our future
plans and I hope that we will get them today.
Here's hoping that you~enjoytoday's game and
will return to Boundary Park on Tuesday for our
Texaco Cup match with Hearts.
 ERVATIONS OUR 'BOOKING OFI

ATHLETIC ;
Colours:
-a

'l Blue Shirts, Blue Shorts, White stockings

I CHRIS OGDEN
.,-
. . I,.I Oldham
1 2 IAN WOOD
I
:d..
-.. r

,
I
. - Chro

4 R O N N I E BLAlR ' '. .' Referee:

CHRO
5 KElTH HICKS
l.
l '.
6 T O N Y BAILEY
Kick-off 3-00
7 COLlN GARWOOD .-
8 G R A H A M BELL '':

9 GEORGE Reserves v Marine Sat.,

10 I A N ROBINS '-
-
~andbach ~ u e s d i y24th

ATHLETIC 1
I I A L A N GROVES
Saturday, 28th Septer
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FROM 9-30a.m TO 1lp.m.
GEORGE HILL'
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R688
TIMBER MERCHANTS*&
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Imported softwoods,hardwoods
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D, ROGERS 4 HART L*.
NlCLE DERBY
FIIII1m\ Red 5 DAVE H A r r o N . >,fa-Y
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Yellow Flag
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1 1 1
----
1 L.-- L

DATE FIXTURE RES

Aug. 17-SHEFF WED. W 2-1

24-~otts County L 0-1
31-BRISTOL C. W 2-3
Sept. 7-Oxford U.
L 0-1
IGBLACKPOOL
17-NOTTS C.
21-Hull City
24-Portsmouth
28-FULHAM
Oct. 5-ASTON V.
12-Orient
19-YORK ClTY
22-Bolton W.
26-Cardiff C.
NOV., 2-MILLWALL
&BOLTON W.
9-Notts. Forest
I G N O R W I C H C.
23-Southampton . ,
30--West Brom
Dec. 7-BRISTOL R.
14-Sheffield W.
21-S'NDERLAND
26-Blackpool . .
28-MAN. UTD.
Jan. Il-Bristol R.
18-WEST BROM '

Feb. 1-NOTTS. F.
8-Millwall
15-S'TH'MBTON
22-Norwich C.
Mar. l-Bristol City
GPORTSM'TH
15-Fulham
22-OXFORD U.
25-Sunderland
2&HULL ClTY
31-Man. United
Apr. 5-CARDIFF C.
12-Aston Villa
19-ORIENT
26-York Cky
Texaco Cup
Aug. 3-Sheff. U. ...H
6-Blackpool ...A
10-Man. City ...A
Sept. 17-Hearts ...H
Oct. &Hearts .....A
League Cup
Aug.
F.A.
Nov.
Dec.
Jan.

Feb.
Mar.
Apr.
-
May
 v OXFORD UNITED
Pictures by Martin Smith.
Oldham Evening Chronicle

Colin Garwood (above) off target when,

after reaching a centre from Alan Groves
he steered his header over the empty
goal.

Alan Groves (right) also got in on the

missed chances act when he hoisted a
shot over the bar from six ya

Page 13

1
 away
How .I endorse the comments made on football
hooliganism in your Boundary News for the
we
match with Bristol City.
When you po~ntedout that the louts and thugs
that infest our football grounds are keeping gen-
uine supporters away, I reckon you brought out a
point which is not generally considered. HULC CITY
A t a time when football is crying out for sup-
port - w e are told that 500,000 less people 21st September 1974
watched League football last season-the game
can.ill afford to have anvone driven away by fear
of being beaten up. A627 ( M ) to M62 .................. . 5 miles
One immediate ans r to the problem-actually M62 eastbound to present terminal at
it is as much a socia ckness as a football dis-
ease-is to ensure that no football grounds have Eggborough junction with A19/A645.. .53 miles
any standing accommodation. A645'/A614 via Goole to Howden
It is difficult if not impossible to strike an
aggressive pose while sitting down and the junction A63 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 miles
money spent on fitting stadia with seats would A63 to l<ingston-upon-~ull ....... 93 miles
surely be recouped with more people coming to
watch in both comfort and, most important, Hull City ground (Boothferry Park) is to the right
safety. off the A63 in North Road, t w o miles before the
Anti-Vandal
town centre.

MICHAEL LOWE (Sheffield). A former part-

time professional with Scunthorpe United whose
playing career was ended by a motor bike
accident. Began refereeing in local Sheffield
leagues and graduated through the Central League VAN AND TRUCK RENTAL
on the The League line and into the middle in -17 c w t . to 32 ton
1972. Was on the line for the 1970 F.A. Amateur
Cup Final and had a line appointment In a
European Cup tie in Sweden in 1973. Married THE
with three children, he is a newsagent. Played
for Bomber Command during national service in GENERAL MOTOR
the R.A.F. and enjoys playing tennis during the COMPANY (OLDHAM) LTD.
summer.

I half-time scoreboard l
BIRMINGHAM v. DERBY ..........................................
YOUR LOCAL AUSTIN
DEALER
BURNLEY v. LEEDS UNITED ....................................
CHELSEA v. ARSENAL .............................................
EVERTON V . ,WOLVERHAMPTON .............................. Telephones:
LUTON TOWN v. IPSWICH TOWN .........................
MANCHESTER CITY v. LIVERPOOL .... ..'?I.:-.~j ........ 061 -624 2404/5/6 061-652 1241/2
NEWCASTLE UNITED v. CARLISLE UNITED ...............
SHEFFIELD UNITED v. MIDDLESBRDUGH ..................
STOKE CITY v. COVENTRY CITY ..............................
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR v. WEST H A M ..................... AUSTIN, BRITISH LEYLAND
BOLTON V. SHEFFIELD WEDS. .................................
BRISTOL ROVERS v. ASTON VILLA ...........................
SERVICE - SALES SPARES -
CARDIFF CITY v. BRISTOL CITY ..............................
MILLWALL v. OXFORD UNITED .................................
NORWICH CITY v. NOTTS COUNTY .......................... ROCHDALE ROAD
NOTTS FOREST v. HULL CITY .................................
ORIENT v. FULHAM .r .............................................. 0 L D H,A M
SOUTHAMPTON v. PORTSMOUTH ..........................
W E T BROM. ALBION v. MANCHESTER UTD. ?.-I .....
YOR 'CITY v. SUNDERLAND ....................... ...
Page 15

this week:
There could be no better way t o kick off our
News Profile series than with the club's longest
sewing player, I A N WOOD. Woody seems t o
have been around for ever but, in fact, he is still
only 26.
He joined Latics as an amateur at the start of
the 1965-66 season after being spotted scoring a
lot of goals in junior football in Radcliffe.
And during his early days at Boundary Park,
Woody was recognised as a striker with a great
future. He allied a powerful shot m either foot to
tremendous pace and a hunger for goals that
really caught the management's eyes.
He made his debut with Athletic on May 25 in
a Division Three match against Queens Park
Rangers. Needless to say he played centre for-
ward.
The next date in the Wood diary was December
26, 1966 when he made his second appearance
~ u December
t 28 was a real red-letter-day as lan
;cored his first League goal for the club on that
date against Workington Town.
It wasn't until the following season that lan
played his first match at full-back.
Ironically he wore the number t w o shirt for the
first time at Oxford-we were there last Saturday
--on Wednesday, October 4, 1967.
Since then he has played more games at centre
forward and has also appeared at right half, left
half, left back and i n both inside forward positions.
Obviously versatility is very much a part of lan
Wood's game.
And today lan makes his 310th Football League
appearance for the Latics and looks a pretty safe
Det to establish new appearance records at
Boundary Park.
A t the moment the record stands at 369 and is
obviously well within lan's sights. It was set, for
the historically minded, between 1907 and 192'1
by David Wilson and has been unchallenged ever
since.
Present manager Jimmy Frizzell at one time
looked likely to break it but he was still 40 games
short when he retired from playing.
And so now it is up to lan . . . will he break the
record or won't he? W e will just have t o wait and
see but his remarkable consistency has been such
over the past few seasons that our betting would
be that he will pass the 53-year record sometime
during the course of next season.
lan's career at Boundary Park, has not, of
course been without its distractions. Newspaper
stories have linked his name, at various times,
with Liverpool, Manchester City and several other
First Division clubs.
And, as a young man with high ambitions he
has always fancied life in Division One with all
the glamour and excitement that g q ~ withs it.
But lan is first and foremost a good club man
and all the rumours and stories have never had
IAN
WOOD
the unsettling ~nrluenceupon him that they do on
some players.
And now it looks as though his patience may
be rewarded for it is not beyond the bounds of
possibility that he could be playing First Division
football with Athletic in the not too distant future.
What a fairy tale ending that would be t o a re-
markable football story.
If lan has one small crib-a secret wish h&-
haps-it must be that his career did not develop
as a striker.
For even though his duties now are mainly
defensive he still has the same old hunger for
goals; the same love of sudden, swift bursts into
offensive positions.
There are not many finer sights at Boundary
Park than watching Woody break on a devasta-
ting run down the right flank.. . the aggression,
the spirit and the enthusiasm are all still there.
An honest and dedicated professional lan puts
as much effort into his training as he does into
matches and we are sure that we speak for all
Athletic supporters everywhere when we say:
"WELL DONE WOODY.. . HERE'S TO THE NEXT
THREE HUNDRED GAMES."
PERSONAL FILE
NAME-IAN WOOD.
BIRTHDAY-1 5 January, 1948.
WIFE'S NAME-Brenda.
CHILDREN-Gary (7), Clark (4).
PREVIOUS CLUBS-None.
FOOTBALL AMBITION-To play in the First
Division.
FAVOURITE PLAYER-Norman Hunter of Leeds
United or Tommy Smith of Liverpool.
FAVOURITE CLUB-Manchester United.
HOBBIES-Golf and a boutique business.
FAVOURITE FOOD-Fish and chips.
FAVOURITE DRINK-Lager.
FAVOURITE COLOUR-Blue.
FOOTBALL DISLIKE-The press and TV who stir
up a lot of trouble by giving too much pub-
licity to the bad minority of people in football.
Basically there i~snothing wrong with the
game.
BEST MOMENT I N FOOTBALL-Our Third Divi-
sion promotion clincher. To come back after
being relegated was tremendous and that
was a really great side t o play in.
M Y HOPES FOR LATlCS-To see them consoli-
date in the Second Division for a couple of
seasons and then make a bid for p r o m o t i o ~
t o the First Division.
IF NOT I N FOOTBALL-I would be a central
heating engineer.
'1'I.,