Film-star looks to left-wing swagger
Reporter: Matthew Chambers
Date published: 11 October 2013
ATHLETIC officials have picked nine legends of the club for special recognition within the new North Stand - and want fans to select a 10th.
The names already picked to become part of the new structure — details of how haven’t yet been made public - are Joe Royle, Andy Ritchie, Roger Palmer, Bert Lister, Bobby Johnstone, Eric Gemmell, Ian Wood, David Eyres and Jimmy Frizzell.
Who should be 10th?
There are a host of possibilities: here we offer a few:
Rick Holden
The swaggering left-winger used to tie full-backs in knots. Nowadays, he undoes the knots at his physio practice on the Isle of Man.
Holden joined Athletic ahead of the ‘pinch-me’ season, joining Joe Royle’s men from Watford and putting the spark into a campaign to remember. He later joined Manchester City before returning to Boundary Park, cementing his status as a club hero.
Richard Jobson
Signing for the club for a record £460,000 in 1990, the elegant centre-back played a major role as Athletic claimed the glory of the Second Division title.
His efforts were even recognised internationally — Jobson was called up to the England squad by Graham Taylor and became a ‘B’ international.
Alan Groves
A true football entertainer who died, tragically, at the age of 29 in 1978, Groves will be remembered as one of the most skilful players ever to pull on an Athletic shirt.
His background was low-key — Groves started out in a team of lorry drivers in his native Southport.
Groves was a renowned character off the field — a crowd-pleaser in every sense.
George Hardwick
One of the game’s visionaries, Hardwick the player was a left-sided defender for Middlesbrough before his arrival at OIdham in 1950.
Aged 30, the dashing former RAF sergeant was made player-manager at Boundary Park and took to it with relish, making 190 appearances over six years before joining PSV Eindhoven as manager in 1957. He went on to be named Netherlands national team manager.
Alan Hardy
Despite officially ending his role as Athletic chief executive last year, Alan can still be seen at Boundary Park most matchdays. The club remains in his blood.
Hardy (63) was part of Mossley’s glory days, graduating to a full-time job at Seel Park before being recruited by chairman Harry Wilde to step in at Boundary Park as lottery manager and eventually chief executive. He worked tirelessly for the club for 31 years before ill health prompted retirement.
Tony Philliskirk
Reluctantly thrust into the first-team spotlight last season, the Athletic Academy manager has brought through a host of talented players over his 15 years in Oldham, from Chris Taylor and Neal Eardley to James Tarkowski.
His association with the club goes back to 1998 and despite the challenges that new youth regulations have brought, Philliskirk seems set to stay a while longer yet.
John Sheridan
One of those rare players who can dictate a game despite barely moving out of the centre circle, ‘Shez’ is credited with almost single-handedly saving the club from relegation in 1998-99, after stepping back into the Football League fray from non-league Doncaster at the age of 34.
Named player of the year in his first two seasons at Boundary Park and later manager, the current Plymouth boss came closer than anyone in recent years to getting the club back to the second tier.
Jack Rowley
A renowned centre-forward who made his name at Manchester United, scoring 182 goals in 380 appearances. Capped six times by England, Rowley left to become player-manager of Plymouth, then moved to Athletic in 1960, gaining promotion to Division Three three years later. Rowley was also responsible for signing the great Bobby Johnstone. Rowley returned for a second spell at Boundary Park before retiring to run a newsagents in Shaw.
Earl Barrett
Defenders rarely make the game look as easy as Barrett did in his prime. Born in Rochdale, the swift right-back became an integral part of the Athletic side which achieved giddy heights under the guidance of Joe Royle. Originally a graduate of the youth system at Manchester City, Barrett made 217 appearances for Athletic and gained three England caps.
