Latics round up

DADDY’S GIRLS . . . it was a special day for Athletic striker Lee Hughes at Leicester City on Saturday when his daughters Mia and Alana were the Latics mascots proudly leading out the team at the Walkers Stadium.

ATHLETIC chairman Simon Blitz aborted a Trans-Atlantic trip to last week’s Coca-Cola League One game against Bristol Rovers after it was postponed.

Mr Blitz had been due to travel from New York to take in the match and also deal with other club business during a two-day stay.

But after being alerted to the postponement by chief executive Alan Hardy, Mr Blitz cancelled his flight.

His next trip will be later this month when he will take in the rescheduled game against Rovers on Tuesday, February 24.


ATHLETIC’S rescheduling of the Bristol Rovers game has caused disruption in the club’s commercial department.

The club had arranged a night at Belle Vue greyhound stadium and had already taken 100 bookings and arranged two coaches.

Mike Platt, from the commercial department, has reorganised the event for the following Tuesday, March 3.

All existing bookings will be valid for the new date, but anybody who cannot go can collect a refund from the club shop.




LEICESTER City, runaway leaders of Coca-Cola League One, are relying on borrowed talent in their push for promotion.



The starting line up which played Athletic on Saturday contained four loan players - goalkeeper David Martin and central defender Jack Hobbs (both Liverpool), right-back Kerrea Gilbert (Arsenal) and midfield man Tom Cleverley (Manchester United).

The Foxes also had a further loanee on the substitutes’ bench, central defender Wayne Brown, who has been recruited from Hull City.




ATHLETIC’S match against Wigan Athletic in the North-West Conference of the Puma Youth Alliance was postponed on Saturday despite late efforts to switch the fixture.



The match, which was scheduled for Chapel Road on Saturday, had been in doubt all week because of the cold snap.

Youth-team coach Tony Philliskirk was prepared to switch the fixture to Wigan’s Christopher Park training ground, which was playable on Friday.

A heavy overnight frost, with temperatures tumbling to minus five, left that pitch frozen.




ATHLETIC paid their first-ever trip to the Walkers Stadium on Saturday as the Foxes were still at Filbert Street for their previous visit in 1996.



Leicester were delighted with the crowd of 22,328, which included 784 Athletic fans, as the match was being televised live and travel conditions were far from ideal.