Latics round up

Oldham have more injury worries as they prepare to take on Bristol City on Tuesday night.

The most serious is John Eyre. The midfielder picked up a hamstring injury during the defeat to Swindon, but had to continue playing because Brian Talbot had already used his three substitutions. Eyre had to continue playing, and Latics’ appalling record of just two away goals and two away points this season was not improved upon. John has appeared in every Latics game this season to date. It seems certain he will lose this record, as his hamstring will keep him out of the Bristol City game. Eyre will also miss Athletic’s outing against AFC Bournemouth next Saturday. Against Swindon Eyre received his fifth yellow card of the season, and is therefore suspended for the Boundary Park encounter.

Mark Bonner is expected to recover from his foot injury, which was why he didn’t feature Saturday. Danny Boshell is the likeliest to replace Eyre in midfield, after being dropped by Talbot for the trip to Swindon, although David Lee may partner Bonner in central midfield instead.

Rodney Jack is also sidelined for the moment. He represented St. Vincent in their recent World Cup qualifiers, and damaged his knee in the process. The medical staff on the island advised him not to travel until Sunday, by which time Oldham had lost and were in the relegation zone. Jack reported in for training on Monday and was assessed by the physio Lee Nobes. As yet there is no word on the severity of the injury.

JJ is back in England now as well. Technical problems delayed his return from international duty for the Reggae Boyz. They did mean he missed the 1-0 loss, and 17-year old Matty Barlow had to play alongside Vernon up front instead. JJ will play against City, but Talbot is expected to discipline the player for arriving late. Because the technical problems were all his fault, of course….

Bristol City make a stern task for Oldham today. They were my title favourites at the start of the season, and they reside currently in, ahem, 13^th place. They have been displaying title form recently though. After an indifferent beginning to Brian Tinnion’s reign as player-manager, City have only lost once in their last 7 league outings. Mind you, that was a 4-1 hammering by Bradford City. Bristol City do tend to score goals – a 3-1 win against Hull last Saturday, and in the recent good run there are 5-0 and 4-1 wins against Stockport and Brentford respectively. However, a 3-3 draw with Huddersfield and a 2-2 versus Chesterfield shows that they are also accustomed to leaking goals.

Leaking goals brings us nicely onto Oldham’s form. I bet you cannot remember the last time Oldham won. Didn’t think you could – the 3-2 victory over Hartlepool on September 11^th was the last time the Boys in Blue won. Since then, there have been two draws and five defeats in League and Cup games. Which means I cannot possibly bring myself to predict an Oldham win. A 3-1 reverse is my tip, but no copying on Beat the Manager!