Challenging times ahead for Oldham

Oldham darts team

THE FUTURE of Oldham's darts team could lie exclusively with home-grown players, as the cream of the side head towards the bright lights of the Professional Darts Corporation.

Oldham rounded off their campaign with an 8-2 defeat at Stockport at Chadderton's Blue Club in the Lancashire GMC Super Eights Elite division.

The defeat means the team have finished as runners-up ­- but manager Graham Anderson fears it could take some time to hit those heights again.

A host of players were missing the game due to Bank Holiday weekend commitments and for Anderson, forced to field a team of relative rookies, a lack of experience is likely to be an ongoing problem.

Stockport-based Mark McGeeney, who lost in the last 16 of the BDO World Championship to Scott Mitchell, has hardly played for Oldham this year due to his other commitments.

And for many aspiring players in the side, the chance to win PDC tour cards and compete for cash has proven alluring.

Qualifying school, run over four days in Wigan, costs £250 to enter, but players can win that cash straight back by getting into the first round of full events on the PDC circuit.

Anderson says that his team are "the victims of our own success"..

"If they get a PDC tour card, they can compete for cash," said Anderson. "With the BDO, you have to earn ranking points through county matches.

"In the bottom divisions, players aren't too bothered.

"But we have had a lot asking, why spend three hours up in Lancaster on a Sunday to play one match, when you could be at a four-day knockout playing a number of matches with a chance to play for cash at the end of it?

"We are going to lose players and have six weeks left to sort a team out for next season. It will be extremely hard."

Funding is also a battle. While there is support for transportation to away games, an additional £500 has to be found from other sources for registration fees.

"I just don't want the team to fold," Anderson, a non-playing manager, added. "If someone comes in with better ideas than I have, then I'm prepared to step aside. It is really up to the lads who sign on ­- it's their team."

Gary Jackson was Oldham's man-of-the-match in their Stockport defeat, with an 85.25 three-darts average.