Brian Talbot talks

Last updated : 11 December 2004 By Cory Hazlehurst
On the subject of Chris Killen, Talbot really has laid down the gauntlet. He wants him to become the next Andy Richie (with more hair, presumably).

Despite calls for people to only start to judge Chris at Christmas, Talbot said "Can he be that 20-goal man that we want? Can he be the next Andy Richie?...let's wait and see." He continued that Killen was proving he was not an overpaid "prima-donna". Now that Killen's playing he can let his football, not his hamstrings, do the talking.

I am sure we are all hoping that some more of Killen's goals will take Latics up the league table. Though when asked whether Latics were pushing for the playoffs or still in a relegation scrap, Talbot was undecided. He said that Oldham "were not out of the woods yet". Talbot continued, saying that injuries and loan situations aside, we will have a better idea of the direction the club are heading around the 3rd January, just before Oldham play Manchester City in the FA Cup. Well, if Athletic keep on winning, get injured players back, and manage to get Lee Croft and Neil Kilkenny on loan for the rest of the season, playoffs rather than League Two should be a more likely possibility.

Oldham are currently in 17th place, and today's visitors Huddersfield Town reside in 10th place. Despite that, if Oldham continue their 6 game winning streak they will only be one point behind the Terriers. Brian Talbot watched Huddersfield play Brentford on Sunday as well as Swindon on Wednesday, and thought they were a "decent" side.

"I came back from the Brentford game and said, 'the disappointing thing is that there are two teams better than us.' I went the other night and said, 'there's no teams better than us.' So we've improved or they've got worse. I don't know which!" Let's hope it's both!

Huddersfield's manager Peter Jackson employs an unusual 3-4-1-2 formation, which is similar to how many Spanish sides play. The main idea is to break quickly to create chances for Pawel Abbott. He is League One's joint top scorer, with 13 goals in the division. Talbot said 'Town play "three tight centre halfs, and it will be interesting to see how my midfielders - who hadn't played League football before they came here - cope with it."

My prediction - 1-0 to the Latics. Partly because of Oldham's marvellous run and Huddersfield's indifferent run. Mainly though because I attend college in Huddersfield and can't move for Huddersfield season ticket holders. To lose to Huddersfield in would be a nightmare for me!