Fans Pledge Support to Buy the Kassam

Nick Merry has for a long while now been seeking to buy the Kassam Stadium from present owner Firoz Kassam and recently announced that he’d be grateful of any backing that could be provided. Supporters have backed this, and it has been suggested by some that fans could put money towards the stadium cost in order to allow Woodstock Partners Ltd. to buy it from businessman Firoz Kassam.

This sounds to me like it could be an incredibly good plan indeed; we need to own the stadium in order to generate revenue from it. At current the only funds that are being raised are from ticket sales, and of that ticket sales money much of that is being paid back to Kassam in order for Oxford United to rent out the stadium. The fact of Oxford United not owning their own ground therefore leaves money very tight and the sooner the stadium is bought from the club; the better.

So let us unite, put our funds together, and let’s obtain ownership of our stadium. Once we own the stadium then we can move onwards and upwards; at current however, Kassam is merely crushing the club further and further into the ground. Never a great chairman; Oxford suffered nothing but relegation under the reign of Kassam, and even now that he’s no longer chairman he continues to harm the club further still. Oxford United need to own their stadium and we as fans need to make sure this happens.

United Finally Beat the Setanta Curse

With a 3-1 win over Cambridge United; Oxford have finally defeated the Setanta curse with goals from Jamie Guy, Adam Murray, and Lewis Haldane. Jamie Guy and Lewis Haldane have both been threatening all season; finally they’ve managed a breakthrough however and finally Oxford United have won on Setanta.

It was a much needed win for the yellows, and amongst talk of bailiffs, administration, and relegation; Oxford must now push on from this victory and climb a little further up the Blue Square Premier league (in which they currently sit 19th).

It’s not been a particularly good season for Oxford so far, could this potentially be the turning point that Oxford required however? I sure hope so.

Non League Football Paper Fantasy Football Update

Just a quick post today to tell you all to take a look at the Non League Football Paper Fantasy Football League Table. My team ‘Oxford All Stars’ is currently 390th with 624 points. For the past couple of weeks my team name has been printed within the pages of the Sunday edition of the Non League Football Paper; quite possibly my greatest ever claim to fame!

Currently 139 points off of the top spot, still doing pretty good however and given that there are 1674 people in it I don’t think 390th is too bad at all! 59 points outside the top 100 at current but all could easily change; I’ll keep updating as and when the table is brought up to speed and I’ll let you all know how I’m getting on with this fantastic Fantasy Football League!

Wish me luck, and let’s hope that Oxford United can start winning a few games and take me a little further up the Fantasy Football Table!

Jamie Guy Injured Again

Further hurt for Oxford United today as it’s announced that Jamie Guy has once more been ruled out with injury. Having been out at the start of the season due to a hamstring injury picked up in a Friendly game against Portsmouth; Jamie Guy now has a swollen ankle having turned awkwardly on it during training.

Jamie Guy has commented the following regarding his injury: "There are two options. One is that it's a minor thing, which is what I'm hoping for, but the other is that it's fairly extensive and I'd be out for a while. We won't know until the scan but I'm prepared for the worst and gutted if it does mean a while out of contention."

Let’s hope for the best then, there’s a chance that it’s nothing serious and that Jamie Guy will soon be back in action in an Oxford United shirt. On the flip side of this however it could be something more serious leaving Oxford a little limited up front given the injury of James Constable also.

Fingers crossed, and hopefully I shall be able to shed some further light on the injury tomorrow.

Oxford United Reach the Third Round of the FA Cup

It’s that time of the day people; it’s time for another Football Manager 2008 update! A further seven Oxford Untied games have been played since yesterday whilst Manchester United have played just six. First things first then: how are my Oxford United team doing now? Well, we’re still 7th in the league and since yesterday have managed one league win and three draws. Three of our seven games have been in the cup however and it is there that we have had the success.

A 2-0 away win over League 2 high-fliers Bury (currently 4th) and we’re into the third round of the FA Cup. We now need to face Southend, the side Oxford actually did play in the FA Cup last year. I doubt we’ll win against Southend, at least it’s at home however so we’ll have that advantage on our side. We’ve also had the pleasure of playing Newport County twice; once in the FA Trophy 1st Round, and once in the 4th Round of the Setanta Shield. In the FA Trophy we comfortably smashed them 4-0 at home; Yemi Odubade scored himself a hat-trick, and Robert Duffy got on the scoresheet also (who now funnily enough is actually now a Newport County player in real life). Duffy could have had a few more, wasted his chances however and therefore had to remain content with just the one goal.

When it came to the Setanta Shield against Newport County it was a completely different story. Newport made it very difficult for us and although they went behind twice; the game eventually ended level at 2-2. It was dragged out into extra-time, and then went to penalties also. To make matters worse; Matt Green got injured in the 90th minute and he was the scorer of both our two goals. It was actually his first start of the season, he’s smashed 8 goals in 12 for the reserves however and I therefore decided he was worth a shot and gave him his chance in the first team for the Setanta Shield game. I’ll definitely be using him again in the future, he’s out for 3 weeks now though so it’ll be a while yet before he’s fully fit and ready to once more put on the shirt. The penalty shoot-out went to plan; Oxford United won the game and progressed into the Setanta Shield 5th round. It took nine penalties to win it, we did it though and here’s the screen shot to prove it:




Yemi Odubade is now the teams top scorer by far, 15 goals in 23 games leaves him a whopping seven goals ahead of the competition, and hat-tricks against Harrow and Newport County have most definitely helped his cause. He’s only scored 7 league goals which leaves him level with Robert Duffy and Justin Richards; overall he’s flying away however and always an absolute threat in the Oxford United leading line.

Man Utd have won three of their last six, drawn two, and lost just the one; the game we lost was against Olympiakos however, and knowing that a win for them would knock Lazio out of the competition; I happily fielded a weakened side. Having lost 5-3 to Lazio away, we got our revenge in the home game with a 4-0 win against them. Huntelaar had a hat-trick, Rooney getting in on the action also. Huntelaar’s goal tally is now coming along quite nicely, he’s nearly caught up with Tevez now and in a lot less minutes of football also. Man Utd are 5th in the league and far from perfect, making progress however and next season I hope to have the side completely as I want it and capable of winning the league, the Champions League, and perhaps even the FA Cup also. We shan’t shy away from any competitions, we’ll be out to win it all and next season I’m confident that we shall. Rooney is still the team’s top scorer with 13 goals in 16 appearances; when Rooney is present in the squad we fear no one and are incredibly consistent; onwards and upwards, that’s what I say; as long as Rooney stays fit then there’s always a great chance that we’ll win games and go on to take the title. We’re a long way off at the moment; watch out though Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Man City; we’re looking to take points left, right, and centre and we most definitely mean business.

With Oxford I’m aiming for a place in the play-offs, and with Man Utd my aim is to reach the Champions League and finish the season as high up as possible. I’m not overly confident that I’ll win the Premier League, I do however believe that we’ll sneak second, and with Oxford playing as well as they are at current; both of my teams are looking very good right now. Richie Leigh is not the best in the business, he’s not bad though and with a few astute January transfer signings; both teams could well take their respective leagues by storm in the second half of the season. Watch this space, and expect the unexpected.

Jeannin the Hat-Trick Hero

I promised a Football Manager update and here it is; I’m keeping to my word and providing you with all the information about what’s going on at the moment with my Oxford United team in Football Manager 2008. It's not particularly pretty, it's better than reality however and right nw that's all that really matters.

We’re now into November and Oxford United has recently progressed into the second round of the FA Cup with a 3-2 win over Tooting and Mitcham. In a bizarre series of events; all three Oxford goals came from penalties, two of which were scored and one of which was scored from the rebound; Jeannin bagged all three and grabbed his first goals of the season in absolutely spectacular fashion. Jeannin had a cracking game and was rated 10/10 for his performance; a fine bit of form for the Oxford man that no longer really is (in reality the Frenchman now plays for Mansfield Town).

Oxford United currently sit 7th in the Blue Square Premier with 32 points from 20 games played; Yemi Odubade the side’s top scorer with 8 goals, and Justin Richards following behind in a close second with six. It’s not been a great season for the Yellows so far; the side still stands a chance of reaching the play-offs however, and that’s a lot more than can be said of the real Oxford United at current.

To make things interesting I’m also manager of Manchester United; it fleshes the seasons out a little and gives me something to aim for with two teams of completely different levels. At the start of the season I controversially sold Rio Ferdinand in order to bring in a new striker; the board had given me a transfer budget of £10 million, and with the real Man Utd having just splashed out £30.75 million on Dimitar Berbatov; I felt the need to do some spending of my own and also sought the signature of Mr Berbatov. I didn’t quite manage Berbatov, what I did do however was sign Klaas-Jan Huntelaar from Ajax for £15.25 million. So far he’s made 7 appearances and scored 2 goals, the last of which in our 5-0 demolition of Fulham at Craven Cottage. He seems to be settling in nicely in our squad, it was well worth selling Rio in my humble opinion (even if our back four is suffering quite considerably as a result). Andre Bikey is arriving for us in January; Rooney wasn’t happy when I sold Ferdinand, I told him I’d replace him however, and remaining true to my word; Andre Bikey is on his way to Old Trafford to try and fill Rio’s boots. Needless to say there wasn’t much money left over after I signed Huntelaar.... ah well.... who needs defence when you’ve got three amazing strikers in your squad?!

Manchester United currently sit 6th in the Premier League table... perhaps we did need Rio Ferdinand after all then; my bad. We’re 13 games into the season and already United are out of the League Cup after losing to Manchester City as well, we didn’t really want that useless cup anyway though and are instead focussing our efforts on the UEFA Champions League. We’ve been drawn in Group E along with Olympiakos, Lazio, and Olympique Lyonnais; things didn’t start too well in the Champions League actually as we got off to a 5-3 defeat against Lazio, from there we’ve grown, built, and developed however, and after a 0-0 bore draw with Olympiakos; we then went on to beat Olympique Lyonnais both home and away. 3-1 at home, 2-1 away; we now sit top of the group, panic over.

Oxford travel to Grays next, Man Utd face Bolton at home; Oxford are currently undefeated in five, Man Utd on the other hand don’t have quite such a great record but on the plus side won the last game 5-0. The future could be bright for both clubs; I’ll post another update tomorrow and let you know how things are moving along for my two teams. I’m confident of achieving trophies this season, not too sure which ones yet; perhaps the FA Trophy or even the FA Cup; maybe even both, only time shall tell however and you people will of course be amongst the very first to find out.

I shall end this post with a song.... altogether now:

We love you Oxford, we do.
We love you Oxford, we do.
We love you Oxford, WE DO.
OHHH Oxford we love you!
UNITED! UNITED! UNITED!

Day and Curruthers Transfer Listed

Oxford United have placed Matt Day and Chris Carruthers on the transfer list, it’s expected that Luke Foster is to join Rushden on loan also and be sold to them in the January transfer window. Should all three of these players leave the club then this will leave the Oxford backline incredibly bare.

Oxford have had a poor start to the season and currently only have 9 points from 9 games, leaving the club placed 19th in the division out of a possible 24; if Oxford are to sell their defenders then this could leave the club in yet further turmoil. Just ten years ago; Oxford United was a team in the Championship, in 2008 Oxford is a struggling Blue Square Premier side however and every passing week things just seem to be getting worse for the club.

There was an expectation that the club may achieve promotion in the 2008/09 season, as it stands however; a more realistic task for Oxford United will be that of avoiding relegation to the Blue Square South.

Introducing Oxford Manager

As a great fan of Oxford United and also Football Manager; I’ve set up this blog in order to combine these two interests of mine. I love Oxford United Football Club, and I also love to play Football Manager as Oxford United. I shall here be sharing with you my in game progress in Football Manager, the real life goings on of Oxford United, and generally just sharing all things to do with the great club that is Oxford United, the fantastic football game that is Football Manager, and all things in between.

Keep checking back for further updates, to see how Oxford United is progressing in real life, but also within the game. Hopefully things will go well for the club in both; don’t get your hopes up too high however as at the time of writing this the real-life Oxford United F.C. currently has just 9 points from 9 games and sits 19th in the Blue Square Premier League out of a possible 24; not too good then really.

Keep checking back for further updates, keep following the fantastic game that is football, and most importantly of all; never give up on the great football club that is Oxford United. Oxford United has seen better days, I’m still Oxford till I die however and proud to call myself an Oxford United fan.

I’ve recently started a game in Football Manager 2008 with Oxford United and Manchester United; tune in tomorrow when I reveal as to how the two clubs are doing and what has been going on transfer-wise, and also results-wise.

See you tomorrow!