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Come back - legend Earl's plea to fans (first published 31 Oct 2002)

31/10/2002

FORMER idol Earl Barrett has appealed to the club's stayaway fans to return to Boundary Park or risk seeing their club die.

The most expensive player ever to leave Athletic - moving to Aston Villa for £1.7m in 1992 - was speaking ahead of Tuesday's match against Northampton Town.

Earl, who scored Latics' first goal back in the top flight in 1991, lent his support to the Advertiser's 'I'm Backing Latics' campaign to bring fans back to Boundary Park. Crowds have halved in the eight years since Latics were in the Premiership.

He said: "We were averaging about 11 or 12,000 and these days it's 6,500. All right, the club had great times and the fans did come out for the most part. They were there all the time but now where have the other 5,000, 6,000 fans gone? They can't just have disappeared from the early 90s.

"We are asking these fans to come out and support the team - God help the club if it has to go into administration. Let's get money into the club so they can carry on. They are doing well so get behind them. The campaign's a great idea. I'm still a big supporter of Oldham, I still look for their results. I still go every now and then and I'll do anything I can to support the club."

Earl presently divides his time between studying for a sports science degree, covering matches for the Press Association and assisting at Manchester City's Academy. He said that his time at Boundary Park was the most memorable of a career which also took in Aston Villa, Everton, Sheffield Wednesday and England.

He said: "I look at two seasons - the first was the League Cup Final where we got to Wembley and the FA Cup semi-finals against Man United. The following season we got promoted to the then First Division - they were just unbelievable times and we were riding so high on the crest of a wave."