Third Degree – 17th Sept

THE THIRD DEGREE – Week Ending 14th September

WEEK ENDING SEPTEMBER 14 2003

Boston = Striker Graeme Jones will discover this week what the extent of his knee injury is. Boston have signed Mansfield Town striker Andy White on a months loan, also former Barry Town striker Bayo Akenfenwa made a goal scoring appearance for Boston reserves against Lincoln. The Pilgrims have confirmed that midfielder Alex Higgins is to be released. Boston manager Neil Thompson slammed his side’s second-half defending after they were beaten 2-0 by Bristol Rovers. “Rovers scored two easy goals that they should never have had the opportunity to score,” he said. “This isn’t good enough and we should have had at least a 0-0 out of this game.”BristolRovers = A quiet week in Bristol this week except for the Pirates have taken former Shrewsbury striker Nigel Jemson on trial and Paul Tait and Julian Agogo scored Rover’s goals in a 2-0 win against Boston.Bury = Huddersfield striker Jon Newby has admitted he did not want to leave Bury. "I didn’t want to leave if the truth be told," Newby told the club’s official website. "Hopefully at the end of the season both Huddersfield and Bury will be going up. Meanwhile Bury midfielder Martyn Forrest has joined Leigh RMI on a three-month loan.

Cambridge = Manager John Taylor admitted to being frustrated by yet another draw a the Abbey Stadium. Cambridge ended their five and a half hour goal drought when Luke Guttridge scored on ten minutes against Torquay.Carlisle = Hartlepool striker Kevin Henderson has joined Carlisle on a one-month loan. Carlisle United owner John Courtenay said he sacked Roddy Collins as boss for trying to sign a 37-year-old former player. Courtenay told a fans’ forum that it was Collins’ intention to bring back Ian Stevens that led to his dismissal.Cheltenham = Grant McCann won his eighth full international cap on Wednesday for Northern Ireland against Armenia. Defender Richard Walker has been forced to leave the Robins after failing to overcome a knee injury.Darlington = The Quakers have decided not to appeal against Gary Pearson’s dismissal against Carlisle despite manager Mick Tait branding the referee’s decision “ridiculous.” Darlington have denied suggestions they are set to sign former Middlesbrough midfielder Keith O’Halloran. Former Bolton manager Colin Todd could return to management at Darlington after it emerged Mick Tait could leave the Quakers.Doncaster = Justin Jackson could leave Doncaster Rovers by the weekend after three clubs expressed an interest in the transfer-listed striker.Huddersfield = Manager Peter Jackson is to appeal against the red card shown to Nigerian World Cup defender Efe Sodje. If the appeal is successful then he will play against Swansea at the Vetch on Saturday. American Jon Thorrington is set to undergo an exploratory operation on an ankle and could be out for several weeks. Huddersfield youngster Jon Stead showed why he is Division Three’s hottest property with a brilliant first-half double to help sink big-spending Northampton 3-0. Stead impressed scouts from Manchester United, Everton and Leeds United with two classic strikes and has now scored seven in eight league and cup games.Hull = Hull City boss Peter Taylor has warned his side they must ‘improve’ if they are to challenge for the title this season. “Southend showed a lot of spirit considering their poor run away from home,” said Taylor. “I’m delighted with the three points but there were a number of poor areas we must learn and improve from.”Kidderminster = Andy Bishop has had his loan deal extended for another two months. Kidderminster manager Ian Britton has sent striker Matt Lewis to Hinckley for one month. They have also signed midfielder Robert Betts for 12-months since his departure from Rochdale.LeytonO = Orient will appeal against the red cards picked up by Gary Alexander and Matt Lockwood in their game against Torquay. The O’s have signed Mark Peters from Rushden.Lincoln = On loan striker Marcus Richardson is keen to stay at Sincil Bank permanently after spending a month on loan with Lincoln. Lincoln City boss Keith Alexander has laughed off claims by Peterborough United boss Barry Fry that he is interested in signing Red Imps defender Ben Futcher. “Ben is not for sale and that’s the top and bottom of it.” Keith Alexander defended his Lincoln players after some sections of the Sincil Bank crowd showed their disapproval at the dour goalless draw with Orient. “We were poor today but sometimes you have days like this,” he said. “We’ve gone three games unbeaten and I find it incredible that people are booing.”Macclesfield = Manager David Moss hailed substitute striker Colin Little after he earned Macclesfield a point in a 1-1 draw at home to Kidderminster. Moss said, “I suppose the hindsight merchants will say I made a mistake [in not playing Little from the start] but you’ve got to try things. Little is a classy player and he deserved his goal.”Mansfield = Mansfield defenders Dave Artell and Luke Dimech have lapsed out of contract but player-manager Keith Curle is poised for more talks aimed at keeping the pair on board at Field Mill. Mansfield’s appeal against Iyseden Christie’s dismissal at Swansea last month has failed, meaning he has been given a three-game suspension. Keith Curle was pleased with the fighting spirit of his Mansfield side after Neil MacKenzie’s late equaliser earned them a 1-1 draw at Oxford. “There’s a belief within the squad now that we’re not beaten until the final whistle,” the Stags boss said.Northampton = Martin Wilkinson blasted Northampton after the 3-0 Huddersfield loss and revealed they will miss out on big bonuses if results do not improve. “We’ve not spent millions and no player at this club earns more than £1,000 per week,” the Northampton boss said.Oxford = Leicester City defender Jon Ashton has signed for Oxford United on a free transfer. Manny Omoyinmi has gone on loan to Conference side Margate. Ex-Swan Julian Alsop was banned for two matches following his dismissal for his former club Cheltenham at Brentford last season. Oxford United chief Ian Atkins was realistic about his team’s performance in the 1-1 draw against Mansfield Town at the Kassam Stadium. “It was disappointing to lose two points having taken the lead.”Rochdale = Rochdale winger Patrick McCourt has joined first division Norwich City for a week’s trial. Wigan midfielder Ged Brannan has joined Rochdale on a month loan deal. Rochdale boss Alan Buckley claimed his side were ”third best”, following the 3-2 defeat against Carlisle. “The ladies in the function room did better than us. We never competed – we never got stuck in.”Scunthorpe = Midfielder Alex Calvo-Garcia has announced he will retire at the end of the season. Scunthorpe boss Brian Laws was bitterly disappointed after watching his side “throw away” three points after bossing the game for long periods against ten-man Swansea.Southend = Striker Luke Nightingale has been released after failing to impress during his month trial. Boss Steve Wignall is disappointed after missing out on signing Colchester striker Dean Morgan.Torquay = Torquay defender David Woozley looks set to undergo a knee operation this week. The gulls have handed a trial to defender Scott Cousins, Cousins, who began his career at Chelsea now plays for Hendon. They also have brought two players on loan, Plymouth left back Brian McGinchey and Southampton and ex-Gulls trainee Mike WilliamsonYeovil = Gary Johnson was pleased with Yeovil’s work-rate in the 3-0 win against York but said their first-half showing had been better than the second. Johnson said, “The quality dipped a bit in the second half but it was another good result for us and now we are up there with them.”York = Defender Richard Hope has been offered a new deal after he joined the Minstermen on a one-month deal at the start of the season. Player-boss Chris Brass insists he can turn around York’s fortunes after watching them slip to a third consecutive loss 3-0 at Yeovil. “We knew Yeovil were a high-tempo team and we thought we were also. But on the day, especially in the first half, they were much more high-tempo than us.”

THE THIRD DEGREE IS COMPILED BY MATTHEW PHILLIPS

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