Its been a couple of weeks since we have been to a match so I was looking forward to today's outing. The weather played its part and we were full of the misguided optimism of the true football fan as we arrived at the ground. Every time we approach I annoy my son by pointing to the stadium and calling it the 'field of dreams'. Simple stuff but it makes an old fool and an 8 year old laugh...
The game didn't disappoint and the superlatives are running thin again. This was a polished performance against a side which once again didn't really threaten but that shouldn't detract from the effort the Oxford players put in throughout. The captain always stands out for his determination but almost any player in a yellow shirt could be praised for that most simple of talents, teamwork.
The referee deserves a mention as he got it spot on today, as demonstrated by the fact that no one was screaming blue murder at him, not even Lady Orgasm behind me. In fact the crowd was quite quiet around me. The miserable old sod who sits in front was notable by his absence and our other neighbours tend not to get too enthusiastic. The man in front brings his son just before the game starts and always leaves about 10 minutes from the end. Why bother?
My son remains blissfully ignorant of the 22 men running about on the pitch but he loves going and enjoys the whole event. He's Daddy's little decoy, allowing me to go to the match while his mum thinks I'm being a new man. Is this wrong?
Super stuff all round and the only disappointment is that we've got three weeks until the next game (two if we are allowed to go to the FA Cup qualifier).
Saturday 10 October 2009
Saturday 19 September 2009
DAY 11: OXFORD 4, EASTBOURNE BOROUGH 0
Time to reach for the big book of superlatives as Oxford put four past Eastbourne. This is the first game I have seen where Oxford were clearly better and on track to win from quite early on. Mind you, all that said, Eastbourne significantly upped their game in the second half and had some excellent chances, including one which was only kept out by the goalpost so I don't want to take too much away from them.
Plus they definitely had the best fans of any game this season. There were only about 40 of them and they enjoyed themselves regardless of what was happening on the pitch. Any group of away fans which starts a conga is okay by me. Champion!
We met a couple of them at the train station as they got our bus to the ground and they were great company, so Amanda and whoever that man was (not a boyfriend, I think), you're welcome any time.
Goal of the game was Cook's simply perfect header at the end of the first half but I'd mtake any combination of the four any time.
This game was so good that even the miserable old git in front of me smiled and Lady Orgasm kept her bizarre screams to a minimum as the result was increasingly certain.
Plus they definitely had the best fans of any game this season. There were only about 40 of them and they enjoyed themselves regardless of what was happening on the pitch. Any group of away fans which starts a conga is okay by me. Champion!
We met a couple of them at the train station as they got our bus to the ground and they were great company, so Amanda and whoever that man was (not a boyfriend, I think), you're welcome any time.
Goal of the game was Cook's simply perfect header at the end of the first half but I'd mtake any combination of the four any time.
This game was so good that even the miserable old git in front of me smiled and Lady Orgasm kept her bizarre screams to a minimum as the result was increasingly certain.
Tuesday 8 September 2009
DAY 9: OXFORD UNITED 2, LUTON TOWN 0
Tonight's game was a bit lonely as my son did not join me. We decided to be good parents and keep him home as it was a late night. Given the trafffic for this game with the record gate of over 10,000 this turned out to be a good decision. I was glad of my fold-up bike in the boot which allowed me to park away from the stadium and still get there comfortably. I did miss my pre-match pint which I normally enjoy with my son as he sups his Lemonade.
It was certainly a fascinating game and very illuminating. For the most fancied team in the Blue Square, Luton were pretty dirty. The red card in the second half was deserved and there could have been more for countless cynical fouls from a team which apparently could not accept losing.
Their fans did them proud as well, picking a fight with the Oxford fans in the north stand and then going outside to take on the police. I hope something happens to Luton: they deserve a hefty fine at least.
As to the game, it rocked. I criticised Oxford at the start of the season for a certain lack of organisation but they have established a great team ethos which sees them running for 90 minutes and looking to win. The players have so much ambition they are a pleaseure to watch. Both the goal scorers deserve plaudits but the real anchor for the team seems to be the captain Adam Murray and his 180 degree turn and pass across the field to the feet of another player was 'Brazilian' in its sheer perfection
When Luton were playing they were superficially threatening but I didn't count many shots on goal. Their strikers seem to have come over from Rugby quite recently as they put the ball into the stand more than towards the net.
I had the Miserable Old Git in front to amuse me once more. He took umbrage at the referee coming from Swindon and spent the game abusing him loudly. This man never smiles and really needs to get an allotment to be foul-tempered alone, or perhaps a column in the Daily Mail to fill with his bile. Lady Orgasm was a bit more muted as well, apparently confident with the 2-0 scoreline being established so early in the first half.
It was certainly a fascinating game and very illuminating. For the most fancied team in the Blue Square, Luton were pretty dirty. The red card in the second half was deserved and there could have been more for countless cynical fouls from a team which apparently could not accept losing.
Their fans did them proud as well, picking a fight with the Oxford fans in the north stand and then going outside to take on the police. I hope something happens to Luton: they deserve a hefty fine at least.
As to the game, it rocked. I criticised Oxford at the start of the season for a certain lack of organisation but they have established a great team ethos which sees them running for 90 minutes and looking to win. The players have so much ambition they are a pleaseure to watch. Both the goal scorers deserve plaudits but the real anchor for the team seems to be the captain Adam Murray and his 180 degree turn and pass across the field to the feet of another player was 'Brazilian' in its sheer perfection
When Luton were playing they were superficially threatening but I didn't count many shots on goal. Their strikers seem to have come over from Rugby quite recently as they put the ball into the stand more than towards the net.
I had the Miserable Old Git in front to amuse me once more. He took umbrage at the referee coming from Swindon and spent the game abusing him loudly. This man never smiles and really needs to get an allotment to be foul-tempered alone, or perhaps a column in the Daily Mail to fill with his bile. Lady Orgasm was a bit more muted as well, apparently confident with the 2-0 scoreline being established so early in the first half.
Friday 4 September 2009
DAY SIX: OXFORD 0, FOREST GREEN ROVERS 0
I lent my ticket to someone else for this one as we were away. The match was a 0-0 draw so I'm actually quite pleased that they couldn't get along. My first 'proper' football game was a 4-3 thriller between Spurs and Sheffield Wednesday, the first English appearance of a German player named Jurgen Klinsmann who blew the opposition away then got carried off on a stretcher with a head injury...My first Oxford United game was a 3-2 classic against Histon where Billy Turley saved two penalties.
This unbeaten run might merit the word 'unprecedented' soon.
This unbeaten run might merit the word 'unprecedented' soon.
Saturday 22 August 2009
DAY FIVE: OXFORD 2, STEVENAGE BOROUGH 1
Another cracking match and another 3 points for Oxford. I always warn my son before the matches we have been to that teams don't always win but I am beginning to sound like a bit of a broken record.
I took two more children today and this was their first time at a football match. The older one enjoyed it immensely but the younger one didn't really get as much from it. Her mum had been taken ill, which is why she as with me, so she might be forgiven for that. However, both professed to have had fun and I hope they will go away as committed Yellows fans. The celebratory milkshake afterwards certainly helped their mood.
I have discovered that I am doomed to sit next to Chewing Man for the rest of the season. This man clearly takes his football so seriously that he seeks to emulate the admirable but annoying Alex Ferguson in furiously chewing throughout the match.
I also have Lady Orgasm behind me, a woman of a certain age who is clearly well brought up but who spends the entire game screaming lurid insults at the opposition players and insisting that any tackle by the opposing team or foul awarded by the ref should result in a red card for the unfortunate opposition player. In doing this she rises to levels surely only matched in the bedroom. Her husband is indeed a lucky man but I do wish he would shut her up somehow. Quite how, the mind boggles over...
Anyway, these minor irritations aside, the game was another cracker, made all the more enjoyable by the rage the Stevenage manager got into throughout the second half as he jumped around in his 'technical area' hurling abuse at all and sundry. He didn't really think this act through as he was backed by a few thousand Yellows fans who encouraged him all the way and relished his every tantrum. We may not see his like again.
We unfortunately will have to miss the next home game as we will be away but I shall do my best to follow it on the internet. Our tickets have been entrusted to friends and I hope they have as much luck as we have. Come on you Yellows.
I took two more children today and this was their first time at a football match. The older one enjoyed it immensely but the younger one didn't really get as much from it. Her mum had been taken ill, which is why she as with me, so she might be forgiven for that. However, both professed to have had fun and I hope they will go away as committed Yellows fans. The celebratory milkshake afterwards certainly helped their mood.
I have discovered that I am doomed to sit next to Chewing Man for the rest of the season. This man clearly takes his football so seriously that he seeks to emulate the admirable but annoying Alex Ferguson in furiously chewing throughout the match.
I also have Lady Orgasm behind me, a woman of a certain age who is clearly well brought up but who spends the entire game screaming lurid insults at the opposition players and insisting that any tackle by the opposing team or foul awarded by the ref should result in a red card for the unfortunate opposition player. In doing this she rises to levels surely only matched in the bedroom. Her husband is indeed a lucky man but I do wish he would shut her up somehow. Quite how, the mind boggles over...
Anyway, these minor irritations aside, the game was another cracker, made all the more enjoyable by the rage the Stevenage manager got into throughout the second half as he jumped around in his 'technical area' hurling abuse at all and sundry. He didn't really think this act through as he was backed by a few thousand Yellows fans who encouraged him all the way and relished his every tantrum. We may not see his like again.
We unfortunately will have to miss the next home game as we will be away but I shall do my best to follow it on the internet. Our tickets have been entrusted to friends and I hope they have as much luck as we have. Come on you Yellows.
Tuesday 18 August 2009
DAY FOUR: OXFORD 4, CHESTER CITY 0
This is getting serious. Oxford played like a team possessed with the spirit of Boca Juniors. This was a polished display with a load of scoring chances. Oxford were poor at finishing in the first half but come the second session Chester had to chase for a result and Oxford took them apart.
The goals were proper shots in the area, all coming from team play across the pitch and all the kind of strikes any player would be proud of. James Constable was the hero of the game with his three but Alfie Potter must get a mention for his constant work and Matt Green for working hard despite the Chester players pulling him down at every opportunity.
Even Old Misery Guts in front of us was much quieter as he could find nothing to complain about. He paid grudging respect to the ref who let the game play on rather than stopping it for every 'spirited challenge'. That said, the game was well played by both sides with little foul play.
My son sat through the whole match, as ever blissfully unaware of the rules of association football but he has a whale of a time enjoying the atmosphere and wheedling sweets out of his grumpy dad. Even the two youths behind us swearing like a couple of grown ups couldn't dampen the atmosphere.
This is developing into a sensational season, although I always caution my son as we approach the stadium that no club wins every match so we need to be prepared. I would love to be wrong and with Oxford top of the Blue Square it's time to be cautiously optimistic...isn't it?
Dangerous words in the topsy turvy world of football.
The goals were proper shots in the area, all coming from team play across the pitch and all the kind of strikes any player would be proud of. James Constable was the hero of the game with his three but Alfie Potter must get a mention for his constant work and Matt Green for working hard despite the Chester players pulling him down at every opportunity.
Even Old Misery Guts in front of us was much quieter as he could find nothing to complain about. He paid grudging respect to the ref who let the game play on rather than stopping it for every 'spirited challenge'. That said, the game was well played by both sides with little foul play.
My son sat through the whole match, as ever blissfully unaware of the rules of association football but he has a whale of a time enjoying the atmosphere and wheedling sweets out of his grumpy dad. Even the two youths behind us swearing like a couple of grown ups couldn't dampen the atmosphere.
This is developing into a sensational season, although I always caution my son as we approach the stadium that no club wins every match so we need to be prepared. I would love to be wrong and with Oxford top of the Blue Square it's time to be cautiously optimistic...isn't it?
Dangerous words in the topsy turvy world of football.
Wednesday 12 August 2009
DAY TWO: KETTERING TOWN 1, OXFORD UNITED 1
I struggled to keep up with the match yesterday evening, having to deal with two exhausted children arriving home from a day out in London, a cat angry at not having been fed all day and irate at the sheer cheek of a slug having crawled into his food bowl which we placed outside for him, as well as a radio which refused to properly pick up either BBC Oxford or Jack FM. What I heard was reasonably encouraging but it did hint at some issues in the Oxford United team.
A draw away from home is never a bad thing but playing against ten men for a good portion of the game should have given a team challenging for promotion the opportunity to take all three points. Oxford seem to have ambition and spirit in bucket loads but there still seems to be a gap in organisation which other teams could expose.
I'm never one to whip the manager as that is the kind of childish nonsense the Premiership indulges in to no great effect - as any Geordie can attest - and all the attendant speculation about their future damages the whole team. However, it does seem to me that Chris Wilder is singularly in the frame in this instance as his players are doing their best. Let's hope he can settle the team down into a clear formation soon.
But then again, a draw away from home is fine and the Us are 6th in the league so what do I know?
A draw away from home is never a bad thing but playing against ten men for a good portion of the game should have given a team challenging for promotion the opportunity to take all three points. Oxford seem to have ambition and spirit in bucket loads but there still seems to be a gap in organisation which other teams could expose.
I'm never one to whip the manager as that is the kind of childish nonsense the Premiership indulges in to no great effect - as any Geordie can attest - and all the attendant speculation about their future damages the whole team. However, it does seem to me that Chris Wilder is singularly in the frame in this instance as his players are doing their best. Let's hope he can settle the team down into a clear formation soon.
But then again, a draw away from home is fine and the Us are 6th in the league so what do I know?
Saturday 8 August 2009
DAY ONE: 2-1 AGAINST YORK CITY
Blimey, what a start that was. Today's first game had everything you would expect from football, including the full range of emotions ranging from despair to elation. The second half was a roller coaster ride for everyone as Oxford struggled to come back from a goal behind. My son was the calmest person in the stadium as he sat there blissfully ignorant of what was going on. He has much to learn about football and his dad's faltering attempts to explain the offside rule [seriously, does anyone really know what it is?] don't help him much. However, he greatly enjoys the spectacle and I am hoping a love of the beautiful game will seep in somehow.
When the late equaliser went in we went mad along with everyone else and the winner almost caused me to have a coronary. It was a brilliant finish to our first 'proper' game and we cheered the team off the pitch before retiring to a nearby bar. Even a cooling beer and milkshake followed by Queen at full volume in the car on the way home couldn't really calm our nerves and we were buzzing for a good few hours afterwards - just the way it should be!
The best aspect of the game for Oxford must surely be that they fought back and got the result after a less than convincing start. York looked the more likely team for much of the game but Oxford workd hard throughout.
At the bar we enjoyed reflecting on all the miserable sods who had left before the last three minutes had turned the match around. I hope they all got home in good time to learn that they had missed all the fun. You have to wonder what the point of turning up was.
The other thing which riled me was the half wit in front of us who spent the whole game screaming hideous abuse at the ref and getting angry about the slightest thing. Sheesh, the ref has an impossible job and the personal abuse he was subject to, which I'm sure he could hear at some points, just can't be worth the money he gets. I'm new to being a 'proper' fan but it seems to me that if you are going along to enjoy a good game of football it would be a lot better if you got all your angst out of your system beforehand and gave the poor sod in the black a break, accepting that he isn't going to get it right all the time and a fair share of bad decisions are likely to go your team's way.
However, all told it was a truly superb day and a really inspiring start to the season.
When the late equaliser went in we went mad along with everyone else and the winner almost caused me to have a coronary. It was a brilliant finish to our first 'proper' game and we cheered the team off the pitch before retiring to a nearby bar. Even a cooling beer and milkshake followed by Queen at full volume in the car on the way home couldn't really calm our nerves and we were buzzing for a good few hours afterwards - just the way it should be!
The best aspect of the game for Oxford must surely be that they fought back and got the result after a less than convincing start. York looked the more likely team for much of the game but Oxford workd hard throughout.
At the bar we enjoyed reflecting on all the miserable sods who had left before the last three minutes had turned the match around. I hope they all got home in good time to learn that they had missed all the fun. You have to wonder what the point of turning up was.
The other thing which riled me was the half wit in front of us who spent the whole game screaming hideous abuse at the ref and getting angry about the slightest thing. Sheesh, the ref has an impossible job and the personal abuse he was subject to, which I'm sure he could hear at some points, just can't be worth the money he gets. I'm new to being a 'proper' fan but it seems to me that if you are going along to enjoy a good game of football it would be a lot better if you got all your angst out of your system beforehand and gave the poor sod in the black a break, accepting that he isn't going to get it right all the time and a fair share of bad decisions are likely to go your team's way.
However, all told it was a truly superb day and a really inspiring start to the season.
THE BEST AND WORST OF FOOTBALL
Having moved to Oxfordshire in 2002, I finally persuaded my wife to let me and my son go to Oxford United a couple of times in 2007-8. What I saw impressed me. Here was football in the raw and at a pace I could understand. Premiership football has got so deathly dull as the superstars preen, charge about for a few minutes, fall over and get all antsy with the referee.
Not so at Oxford United, where things are enjoyably more rough and ready. The two games we saw were crackers, with the lunatic goalkeeper Billy Turley impressing above all as he bellowed abuse at his defenders but also saved a brace of penalties in some style. In both games Oxford had to battle for a result which they eventually got, all of which made for a very enjoyable experience.
[I realise this goes against the grain if you have been following your team for years as suffering is an essential part of the experience but there we are. I did enjoy it.]
We somehow missed out on the 2008-9 season, which I tried to follow on the local radio but two young children who haven't seen their dad all week don't readily allow you to wander around with the radio pressed to your ear. I was determined to get to some matches this time around and when I absentmindedly looked up the season ticket prices they were not as bad as I imagined so I put in a request for permission from my darling wife, laced with a range of caveats about how much cheaper it is to go to football this way. I can still remember where I was when she said yes!
So here we were today, brim full of optimism as everyone is on day one. I am still very much a newcomer to this whole business but I have been lucky with my football over the years. Lets hope this rubs off on to Oxford United.
Not so at Oxford United, where things are enjoyably more rough and ready. The two games we saw were crackers, with the lunatic goalkeeper Billy Turley impressing above all as he bellowed abuse at his defenders but also saved a brace of penalties in some style. In both games Oxford had to battle for a result which they eventually got, all of which made for a very enjoyable experience.
[I realise this goes against the grain if you have been following your team for years as suffering is an essential part of the experience but there we are. I did enjoy it.]
We somehow missed out on the 2008-9 season, which I tried to follow on the local radio but two young children who haven't seen their dad all week don't readily allow you to wander around with the radio pressed to your ear. I was determined to get to some matches this time around and when I absentmindedly looked up the season ticket prices they were not as bad as I imagined so I put in a request for permission from my darling wife, laced with a range of caveats about how much cheaper it is to go to football this way. I can still remember where I was when she said yes!
So here we were today, brim full of optimism as everyone is on day one. I am still very much a newcomer to this whole business but I have been lucky with my football over the years. Lets hope this rubs off on to Oxford United.
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