Cooksey loses cancer battle

ERNIE COOKSEY: brave fight

ATHLETIC manager John Sheridan led the tributes to former player Ernie Cooksey who last night lost his battle against cancer at the age of 28.

Cooksey died late last night in his sleep at hospital in London after his condition rapidly deteriorated in recent days.

Though Cooksey only spent one season with Athletic, he quickly became a crowd favourite having turned professional belatedly aged 23 having worked as a dry liner in the building industry.

Sheridan, who this morning broke the news of Cooksey’s death to the Athletic players, said: “Everybody at the club is devastated. Ernie was a great lad and a great person who was always full of life.

“And his death comes at an age when he ought to be enjoying life, especially as his girlfriend Louise is expecting their first baby in the next few weeks.

“I will always remember Ernie as a great character an personality and also a good footballer. He is probably the best header of a football for a player of his size that I have ever seen.

“I remember him joining us pre-season on trial and you would have thought he had been here 10 years.

“He played in a friendly at Rochdale and worked his socks off - and from that moment on the fans took to him.”

That was underlined by the way in which the public of Oldham helped raise the bulk of £60,000 which had been intended to fund treatment for Cooksey in America.

Meanwhile, Athletic are hoping injury-jinxed John Thompson will be able to resume full training in a fortnight’s time.

The 26-year-old defender is the only senior player missing from pre-season training as he recovers from knee surgery.

Thompson, who arrived at Boundary Park from Nottingham Forest, managed only 12 appearances in his first season after being bedevilled by injury and disappointing form.

He had a succession of knee problems as well as breaking his nose three times in quick succession.

Thompson, who spent eight seasons at Forest, will be hoping for a change of fortune in the coming campaign.

Athletic are giving trials to a number of players as Sheridan looks to put the final pieces into the jigsaw for the 2008/09 season.

One of the players Athletic are running the rule over is 17-year-old defender Craig Dawson.

Athletic kept tabs on Dawson last season when he played for Radcliffe Borough against Hyde United in the final of the Manchester Premier Cup..