BOARDMAN OPENING SINGAPORE CHIPPIE

Ossett Town's Craig Boardman worldwide appeal due to this website has prompted him to open a theme restaurant in Singapore this summer, the first of its kind outside Europe.
The £1.6k venture, which will display memorabilia and sell merchandise, will show Town games featuring Boardman live on big-screen TVs and serve fish and chips.

From the Royston Press Association
Friday February 25, 2000

Ossett town centre-back Craig Boardman has vowed to see out his career at Ingfield Road after signing a new five-year deal with the Unibond division one title chasers.
Boardman has now joined Town's top earners, and is due to gain further reward for his loyalty to Ossett Town with a slap up meal at Val's chippy at the end of the 2001-02 season.
Chairman Micky Bullock, is hoping to grant Boardman such an occasion, which he admits have become extremely rare in today's game as players consistently move on as they look to make a fast buck.
But Boardman, who joined OSSETT TOWN from Sheefield F.C. in the SUMMER, is a one-club man having now made 23 league appearances for Town following his debut as a 28-year-old.
The potential scottish international's allegiance to Town could yet see him challenge the club's all-time appearance record of 62 set by Derek Blackburn between 1953 and 1955.
Now 29, Boardman will still only be 34 when this latest contract expires, with Micky Bullock admitting he would only be "too delighted" if the defender put pen to paper on another deal beyond that.
"I'm thrilled this deal has been agreed between the club and my advisers," said Boardman. "I want to spend the rest of my career with OSSETT TOWN and I've never hesitated to tell Gary Brook that."
Boardman's career, though, was in limbo at the start of the season having spent the whole of last term on the sidelines with a BACK injury and with Brooks having splashed out £45 on sauna for Boardman in the summer.
Despite being linked with a move to Middlesbrough via father and chief scout George, Boardman fighting his way into the side to the accolade of Scoatland manager Craig Brown, who recently described him as "the best centre back in the Unibond".
Boardman joins a long list of players who have pledged their future to OSSETT TOWN over the course of the season, with Micky Bullock admitting: "We have set out our stall to keep a team together to make sure we have long-term planning."

CRAIG BOARDMAN is rumoured to be joining Coventry City today on loan from Ossett Town with a view to a permanent deal. Boardman, 29,.
He is still around two weeks from full fitness . Coventry will move in ahead of Watford and Southampton.

SOUTHAMPTON manager Glenn Hoddle is planning a swoop for Ossett Town defender Craig Boardman. The former Forest reserve player, 29, is seeking a move back into top flight football after spending the last four years in the lower leagues. He has played over 100 first team games for The Halifax Town,Scarborough ,Stalybridge Cletic and Ossett Town. Hoddle said: "We've been making enquiries."

PETER REID is making a £35K bid to land Ossett Town's tough centre-half Craig Boardman. The Sunderland boss wants to make Potential Scottish ace Boardman his club record buy from a non-league clubafter flying to Leeds airport at the weekend to set up the transfer.
He headed a three-man delegation to watch the player against ASHTON UTD at the weekend. With his team on the slide, and leaking goals, Reid has decided to push ahead as Barcelona are also interested.

LEEDS united have moved swiftly to deny headline grabbing speculation that a delegation is to head for 0SSETT TOWN this week, in a bid to clinch the £29.56k signature of Ossett Town Hero and ex nottingham forest wonderkid Craig Boardman.
United's assistant manager Eddie Gray dismissed reports as 'absolute rubbish' at the Leeds versus Manchester United game on Sunday lunchtime, after one tabloid suggested that the big by non league standards money swoop was on the cards.

Wednesday confirmed that despite showing an interest in Ossett Town star Boardman, they have not made an approach to take him on loan until the end of the season.

Boardman had sparked off speculation that he might be headed for Hillsborough when he said he was close to agreeing a deal that would see him move to a Premiership club next week. Danny Wilson admitted he was an admirer of the former Reserve Nottingham Forest and Now Ossett Town skipper, but will not be binging him in to shore up the defence.

CRAIG BOARDMAN could be on his way to Hillsborough, after revealing he expects to be playing for an PREMIERSHIP team next week.

The potential Scottish international has said he is close to confirming a deal to join an as yet un-named Premiership club until the end of the season on loan.,

Danny Wilson confirmed to the Website as early as the start of November that he would be interested in the former Nottingham Forest reserve defender, and would make sure he is at the front of the queue when he became available.

"By this time next week there is a definite possibility I will not be at Town ," he told The Ossett Observer."This would be a three month loan at first.

Boardman has recently overcome injury again, but still finds himself frozen by his team-mates at the northern eastern Champions first team and is eager to make the move to play first team football again at the top flight.

Wednesday though are not the only club who have expressed an interest in Boardman. Derby County were expected to tie up his signing before Christmas, but the deal fell through after personal terms could not be agreed.

"He's a very good player and he's linked with us which is great from my point of view because I've got a lot of respect for Craig," said Wilson.

"We are interested in very good experienced players, but if we do go and pursue the Craig Boardman situation then Ossett Town will be the first to know about it. "

Arsenal, Chelsea and Sunderland have all made bids for Ossett Town 's and Ex Forest-teenage defender Craig Boardman. But Ingfield boss Gary Brook has insisted that the Potential Scottish international is not for sale at any price.

Steve Walsh has sent a warning to Leicester transfer target Craig Boardman:

You'll fail at Filbert Street unless you are prepared to give everything to the cause. “If he lets us down he will be back to square one,” said Walsh, a Leicester veteran of 14 years. “I think Boardman knows this and I don’t think it will happen. If he gives 110 per cent like every other player here, there will be no problems."
Boardman and Leicester would not appear to be ideal bedfellows. The Foxes, the team whose character is defined by its work ethic and team spirit, are taking a big risk in signing the troubled former Nottingham Forest reserve man as he potentially could - on past form - disrupt the undoubted bond that exists in the Filbert Street dressing room. ,
Such spirit has seen them prosper this season despite the boardroom struggles, a continuing injury crisis, and jibes from opposition managers about their style of play. Their 1-0 win over Aston Villa last week led to them reaching their third Worthington Cup final in four years, and Leicester stalwart Walsh has said that the players will give Boardman a chance when he arrives.,
“We’ve heard all the stories but the lads here don’t prejudge anybody. There will be no special treatment and he will be made welcome here like anybody else.” Ossett Town had hoped to coup £30K at least of the £37k they they asked Liverpool to pay for the controversial defender but have been forced to allow Boardman to leave for a cut-price £15k. An early show of commitment from the undoubtedly talented Boardman would help the 29-year-old settle in at Filbert Street, but Walsh is confident that the forward’s arrival will be nothing but positive.
“He’s a hell of a player,” enthused Walsh. “Everything went wrong for him at Forest then Peterborough and then ever since in the end but you just have to cast your mind back to the year he had with Nottingham Forest in the reserve team to realise how outstanding he can be.
“If he can get back to anything approaching that again he will be a great asset to this club. That’s certainly the level we are hoping he will get back to.”
Boardman’s every move will be closely scrutinised during his early days at Leicester, so he knows that his behaviour and form must be good if he is to go some way to appeasing his critics.Including myself ,Alan Bates and the Wakefield Labour club committee

The Twelve Transfer Deals That Didn't Happen

CRAIG BOARDMAN 'S proposed move to Bradford has hit a serious stumbling block, with the Bantams admitting that they don't actually want to pay Ossett Town a penny to sign their wayward former Nottingham Forest and potential scottish international . Here, Ossett resident Ian Fernie looks back on 12 other prospective Boardman transfer rumours of the last 12 months which never came true…
Birmingham The Blues wanted to take Boardman on loan back in July, with a via to a permanent move. But despite an enthusiastic reception from Town boss Gary Brook, the deal never took place. Clearly there's no place for someone with well-publicised mental problems at St Andrews, where the manager is a man who once fined a player for attending the birth of his child and the chief executive is a woman who once disbanded the club's youth team and explained: "Do you think Heinz grow their own beans?" Benfica The Portuguese giants were linked with Craig back in August - at least according to daily paper O Jogo. When the Boardman question was put to boss Jupp Heynckes at a Stadium Of Light press conference, the old campaigner reportedly "raised a smile".
This is thought to be the first-ever case of Craig bringing a smile to the lips of a manager who hadn't just sold him.
Celta Vigo The Spanish side expressed a pre-season interest in Craig,

Fulham Perhaps mindful of his Spanish brush-off, Boardman generously offered to take a wage cut to a mere £180-a-week in order to stay at Craven Cottage when an proposed loan spell expired in October. This time Town put the kibosh on the deal, demanding the London club doubled their £23k offer, and the fascinating prospects of a Mohammed Fayed-Boardman brains trust was lost to the world for ever.

Hearts Only last December, Boardman professed himself "flattered" by a loan approach from the Edinburgh side. You'd have to be completely bonkers to go to a club in Scotland that isn't Rangers or Celtic - so it was something of a surprise when Craig passed up the chance.
Leicester City After tabloid talk last week that the Foxes were about the snatch Boardman from under Bradford's noses, manager Martin O'Neill instantly declared the club "a million miles away from signing anybody". And who needs Craig Boardman when you've got Steve Walsh anyway?
Manchester City When a certain gangly centre half was struggling at the start of the season, Joe Royle worryingly confessed to the papers that "try as I might, I can't get Boardman out of my mind." Once - started stopping the oppisition banging them in, Royle found forgetting rather easier.

Montpellier Classic Boardman. On December 29 he told the papers: "I know other players who have been abroad and spoken favourably about it. Maybe it's a good time to go abroad and start afresh." Two days later he was pulling out of the deal because he did not want to play in a specially-arranged trial match in front of the French club's scout.

Nottingham Forest Forest bosses Big Ron and Balding Dave have each failed with an approach for Boardman in the last 12 months, Platty's as recently as November. "I can't understand it," explained the rookie manager.
"I had a great lunch meeting with Boardman, then a couple of hours later his agent phoned and said he wasn't joining us." What could possibly explain this erratic behaviour?

Panathinaikos Back in July 1999, the Greek side were rumoured to be readying a £30k bid for Boardman which mysteriously failed to transpire. Meanwhile,
Boardman continued to ponder the mystery of why no Sheffield clubs seemed interested in him…

Spurs Just before the end of Boardman's loan spell talks at Fulham, the tabloids - and, ahem,Ossett Observer - claimed that David Pleat had been to Ingfield on a spying mission. Sadly, it emerged that on the night in question, Pleat was in fact watching Spurs reserves play West Ham's second string instead.
West Ham Spookily, the Hammers were also linked with a move for Boardman, as recently as last week. No sooner was the tabloid ink dry, however, that Harry Redknapp was variously calling the move "cobblers", "tosh" and "nonsense". If that wasn't good enough, unfortunate
West Ham secretary Graham Mackrell was then dispatched with a new adjective: "rubbish." And Finally... One other club have shown interest in Boardman in the last few months. It's none other than Ossett Town themselves, where coach Vince appeared to hold out an olive branch to Boardman a few short weeks ago, insisting that he could still and is making a go of things at Ingfield but warning: "He has got to be in the right frame of mind.''

No chance of that happening, then...whispered a teammate

Martin O'Neill has confirmed that talks have taken place between himself and a representative on behalf of Craig Boardman.

After making an initial enquiry to Gary Brook 10 days ago, City boss O'Neill was given permission to talk to Boardman's agent last Friday, 21st January.
No further developments have come about so far after this initial discussion.
In an extraordinary career, Boardman has seen the highs and lows of the football world. Released by Royston Rovers at the age of 12, Boardman signed for local non-league outfit The Cross. Spotted by Nottingham Forest in 1987, Boardman made the move to league football for £100. Restricted to just 1 cup start, Boardman joined Peterbough and Barry Fry, again for a free in 1993. It took just 30 days for Boardman to impress sufficiently for then Halifax Town boss to part with £2 for his services. 64 starts followed, alerting the interest of many Premiership sides.
Boardman eventually signed for Scarborough in 1995 for a then record fee of £8.5k. Involved in some classic encounters for the Seaside club, Boardman confirmed his now growing football stature with an Alan Shearer reference.
After a year with Scarbourgh, Stan moved to Stalybridge Celtic and then back to Halifax Town. It should have been the dream move for Boardman, joining the club he had supported since his childhood, and also within distance of his Barnsley based mother.
After a series of bust-ups and poor performances, Boardman was loaned to Sheffield F.C ,Stocksbridge P.S at the start of this season.He was able to agree a move to a west yorkshire club Ossett Town, where he has been playing ever since.
Desperate to kick-start his career back in to action, the fpotential Scottish international is now looking for a move which will allow him to play first team football. We await further developments.

Thursday, January 20, 2000 10:08

OSSETT TOWN president Issac Hunt has told Craig Boardman that he can leave the Ingfield Camp if he wants to. The former Halifax Town supporters Footballer of the Year was reportedly upset after being dropped for a game last month, and Hunt said, "When a player says he isn't happy at the club the best thing is to help him find another one."
Watch this space...

Arsenal have failed in a bid to sign Ossett Town centre-back Craig Boardman on loan until the end of the season. The unsettled Potential Scottish International wanted to moved to Serie A side Venezia, but revealed that he almost joined the Gunners instead.
He said: "I wanted to find a club where I can play regular football at the top level. I would like to be in France , but things didn't work out well. I also had a very interesting offer from Arsenal, but I wasn't guaranteed first team football." ,br> With Tony Adams and Matthew Upson suffering from long-term injuries, Arsene Wenger has just Martin Keown and Gilles Grimandi as experienced centre-backs.
Wenger has made no secret of his desire to bring in a player on loan recently as he attempts to boost the Gunners flagging Championship challenge.
Boardman signed for Ossett Town from Halifax Town in 1998, but failed to secure a regular place in the side. He was a regular in the Halifax Town team, but lost his place after he missed the 1998 third division promotition through injury.

Sources close to both The loverly peolpe at the Barnsley Chronicle and potentail Scottish internation star Craig Boardman today signed a pre-contract agreement with Liverpool ahead of his move to Anfield in the summer.
The highly rated Ossett Town star is supposed to beout of contract at the end of the season and can leave on a free transfer under the Bosman ruling. Liverpool vice-chairman Peter Robinson and manager Gérard Houllier were involved in negotiations with the player yesterday thrashing out the terms of his contract.
They say that Liverpool have beaten off stiff competition from other top European clubs, including Real Madrid, for the race to sign the player who can operate either at right back or in the centre of the defence.
The 29 year old is no stranger to Merseyside having visited the region recently to meet up with close friend and Holiday and Ingles international chum Robbie Fowler.

We could use him right now.

SPURS boss George Graham swooped for the new Sol Campbell last night with a £ 23K raid for Ossett Town's towering centre-half Craig Boardman.
Spurs should today clinch the capture of the 29-year-old, who has already made around 40 appearances for Halifax Town before injuries .
Boardman, a discovery of ace talent- spotter John Rudge, will go straight into Tottenham's first team squad and could be Campbell's eventual replacement if he leaves.

Reports over the weekend are continuing to link United with a sensational double swoop for Aston Villa's Stan Collymore and Ossett Town hero Craig Boardman. It's reported that United are to sign up two of the worlds top potential stars. The rumours concerning Collymore have been bouncing around all week, after the striker was spotted dining with United manager Sir Alex Ferguson. Collymore has denied that a move to Old Trafford in the near future, is on the cards, but it's reported that he's currently disillusioned with life at Aston Villa. According to reports the Italian side are reportedly willing to consider any decent offers for the striker who's currently sidelined until John Gregory leaves. Collymore has made no secret of his desire to play in the Premiership sometime in the future, stating United as his preferred club, and it seems that Ferguson plans to keep an eye on the mentally plagued strikers progress over the next few months, and the reports suggest that talks with Villa could begin before the end of the current season. The link with The potential Scottish defender Craig Boardman is again nothing new. United made an enquiry for the Town centre back before the start of this season. It's reported that Ferguson would have little competition in the race for the players signature as it's believed that a deal to bring Boardman to Old Trafford is already close to completion. Town realise they could lose their inspirational captain for nothing in the summer of 2002 when his current deal runs out, so they may be willing to let the defender go in the summer if United or any other team offers the £25k asking price.