MORE DETAILS OF ALDRIDGE'S ACCIDENT
More details have emerged of the tragic car accident which killed former U's striker, Martin Aldridge. He had been travelling home in his BMW after being an unused substitute in Rushden's home victory on Saturday afternoon. He was involved in a head-on collision on the A45 near Northampton that evening. He was then taken by ambulance to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, where he died from his injuries on Sunday morning.
Rushden secretary, Dave Joyce said, "Everybody is devastated here, regardless of whether he was our player or not. We first heard the news on Saturday evening from other players who had been travelling along the same stretch of road and saw the accident, although by that time the ambulance was already there."
Players will wear black armbands for both the home match against Preston tomorrow, and the home match against Blackpool (Aldridge's club) on Saturday, when a miniute's silence will be held before the match.
WATSON LINKED WITH WATFORD
Mark Watson, who is out of contract at the end of the season, is currently being linked with Watford, according to rumours. He has admitted that he's talked to a "Premiership club", with a move (for free) most likely in the summer. Scary.
JOEY WAS INJURED
The reason Joey didn't feature against Oldham was that he picked up an ankle injury in training on Friday. Bizarre rumours are floating about that he did not play because he refused to play with Jemmo. I doubt very much that there is any truth in these rumours though.
THAT TANNER INTERVIEW IN FULL
Thanks to the OUFC forum, I have a transcript of the full Thames Valley FM (or Radio Oxford, or whatever they are these days) interview with John Tanner for you to read. It does seem that if the deal is not signed this week, it will end up being rather embarrassing for Mr Tanner.
MARTIN ALDRIDGE KILLED IN CAR CRASH
Terrible news received today - former Oxford striker Martin Aldridge was killed in a car crash. The crash was in Northamptonshire last night, and Aldridge died from his injuries in hospital this morning. Aldridge, 25, who was on loan at Rushden & Diamonds from Blackpool, was at Oxford from December 1995 until the summer of 1998. His goals were instrumental in Oxford's 1995/96 promotion season, and the following season he scored a memorable hat-trick against Sheffield United (and was then equally memorably dropped by Denis two matches later).
I'm sure you will all join me in empathising with his family at this terrible time. You can leave a message of condolence on the Blackpool message board.
Oxford play Blackpool on Saturday - I hope a fitting tribute is arranged.
MORE TANNER SOUNDBITES
Here's some more interesting stuff from yesterday's Radio Oxford interview with John Tanner:
OXFORD MISS LOADS OF CHANCES
(OLDHAM 2 OXFORD 0)
The name of this game was missed chances by the U's. Oxford more than matched the Latics, but a catalogue of misses and goal-line clearances prevented the ending of Oxford's terrible record at Boundary Park. Bizarrely starting without Joey Beauchamp even on the bench, and with a three man front line of Nigel Jemson, Derek Lilley and the undeserving (and crap yet again) Steve Anthrobus, Oxford had all the early chances but feel behind to a deflected free-kick from Steve Whitehall. Oxford missed loads more chances in the second half before Whitehall wrapped it up after a mistake by Mark Watson. Neil McGowan was worryingly stretchered off with a suspected broken leg.
Why can we not score even when we create chances? Where the hell was Joey Beauchamp? And why-oh-why couldn't Boundary Park have failed the noon inspection?
TANNER - DEAL WILL BE SIGNED SOON
In an interview on Radio Oxford, John Tanner said that he would not
describe the delays on the signing of the land deal as "huge", and that
he hoped to have the deal signed early next week. Where have we heard that
one before? He also said that he didn't consider the size of the Thames
Water settlement to be a problem.
WATSON NOT YET OFFERED DEAL
Mark Watson has not yet been offered a new contract, and he thus admits that he thinks he will be leaving Oxford at the end of the season, when his current contract lapses. Nine other professionals are out of contract in July, and none of them has yet been spoken to about new terms.
Yet Watson is keen to stay. "I'd like to stay because I enjoy it at Oxford, but the fact that Mr Kassam hasn't even talked to me about a new contract suggests he is not desperate to keep me. If I got offered what the other players at the club are on I think I'd stay."
He does admit he has been in contact with a Premiership club and a couple of other "higher" clubs. Hopefully our club will see sense and Watson will stay at Oxford. He would be an excellent choice for club captain next season.
LAND DEAL STILL NOT SIGNED
As we approach the end of yet another week, still the land deal between the Council and Firoz Kassam remains unsigned. The hold-up is thought to be the fact that the Council cannot afford the payment to Thames Water (about half a million) in return for the lifting of their restrictive covenant on the land. This affair could run and run. I just wish that all parties would come out and give honest appraisals of the situation, rather than pretend each week that the signature on the deal is imminent.
ROSS OUT FOR SIX MONTHS
The news from Ross Weatherstone's scan is not good. He has suffered cruciate ligament damage and will be out until the end of the season, and probably for at least six months. This is a real pity for a young player of such promise.
ANDRE'S ABSENCE EXTENDED
South Africa yesterday qualified for the quarterfinals of the African Nations Cup, with a 1-0 win over DR Congo. Oxford's Andre Arendse made a crucial save with his leg in the second half to prevent a Congolese equaliser. South Africa were unconvincing, but they do now stay in the competition until at least 6 February (the quarterfinal date).
TIMES ARTICLE
There is a short article in today's edition of The Times about the CVA. It is a bit more optimistic than I am about the restarting of vuilding work!
As reported in this article, the construction firm chosen by Kassam for the building work is Barr Construction. (More investigative readers would have known that by now, as Barr are the only company of the four to be based in Scotland, where Kassam want to tie up the deal.)
OLDHAM PREVIEW
Nigel Jemson is likely to step straight into the starting eleven tomorrow in Oxford's match at Boundary Park. Jemson will be playing his first match in almost exactly two years for Oxford - his previous match being that memorable win at Forest in the early days under Shotton. Peter Fear serves the second and last match of his suspension, and both Ross and Simon Weatherstone are out with injury. But Mark Watson and Paul Powell could return after coming through the midweek reserve match.
Oxford have never won at Boundary Park in any competition, and have
gained just four draws in twelve appearances there. I would be surprised,
given current form, if they managed their first win tomorrow.
JEMMO RETURNS!
Nigel Jemson has rejoined Oxford on a free transfer until the end of the season. Jemson left Oxford in January 1998 after a successful season and a half with the U's. Jemson has joined from Ayr United, where he was playing on a contract that guaranteed his release if he wanted to move to another club. He had recently made plain his wishes to return to English football, and had mentioned Oxford in particular.
Some supporters will be sceptical about this signing, as Jemmo always had plenty of critics on the terraces. But Jemmo scored goals, held up play well, and can surely only be better than the members of our current forward line. He certainly has "attitude", and it is rumoured that he was not popular in the dressing room and that he did not like training. How exaggerated these rumours became is not known. Mickey Lewis commented, though, "He will work hard, he is a good trainer and at the end of the day he is a good player who will get us a few goals. The better players have all got a bit of arrogance, Jemmo has that arrogance, believes he is a good player and that is what makes him a good player. He is very hungry, is desperate to play and with that ability he will do well."
Jemmo is now 30, but as speed has never exactly been an integral part of his game (!), I don't think his age should affect his level of play too much. He has scored five goals in nine league starts for Ayr this season. He last played for Ayr in late December, and had fallen out of favour in recent weeks.
OFFICIAL - OXFORD NOW SOLVENT
FK has confirmed that the CVA (Company Voluntary Agreement) is now unconditional - and thus binding - and that the creditors involved will now be paid 10% of their debts. This will clear £9 million of debt with an outlay of just £900,000. Buchler Phillips (the club accountants) will be writing to each creditor to confirm the payment. FK commented, "The club is no longer threatened with bankruptcy and can move forward without the onerous legacy of the past."
RESERVES THRASHED TOO
0-5. The first team knows this scoreline. Now the reserves do too. They lost 5-0 at QPR yesterday afternoon. Even Ian Dowie managed to score. At least Mark Watson and Paul Powell came through the match unscathed. Derby trialist, Sinclair Le Geyt, played his second match for the reserves. His trial had been extended to a second week.
ARENDSE IN ACTION TONIGHT
Andre Arendse plays in South Africa's second African Nations Cup match tonight, against the Democratic Republic of Congo (which used to be known as Zaire). For those of you with cable TV, the match is to be shown live on Eurosport, kick-off 6.30pm.
BANGER DIVES
News from north of the border is that everyone's favourite sunbed-lover, Nicky Banger, was sent off playing for Dundee last night. He was booked twice, the first for handball, the second time for diving. (The referee obviously didn't realise that Nicky just falls over a lot because he's not much cop.) Banger has now been sent off twice for Dundee in just six matches.
BRYAN OUT FOR A YEAR
Brentford player, Derek Bryan, who injured himself whilst scoring against
Oxford on Tuesday, has had his injury confirmed as damaged cruciate ligaments.
He faces a minimum of a year out of the game, and possibly the end of his
career. I'm sure all U's fans would join me in wishing him a full and speedy
recovery. You can mail him your
sympathies courtesy of Brentford site, Thorne
in The Side.
SEASON IN RUINS
You know your club's not having a good season when getting knocked out of the Auto Windscreen Shield represents the end of all your dreams for the season. But (on the pitch) Oxford are now left only with the nightmare prospect of successive relegations. Kassam has said that he does not see the point of third division football in a brand new stadium, but the way we are playing it has got to be a real possibility. (That is, of course, if the stadium ever gets restarted!)
Mickey Lewis has said he will hopefully bring in a striker on loan before Saturday. This is the kind of statement I remember Shotton making week after week. Each Saturday it was the same old faces. We shall have to see whether Lewis is any different. I appreciate it may be difficult to bring in the perfect loan striker, but he has to do something, and fast. A centre back to cover for Mark Watson's absence would be useful too.
One possible striker is Birmingham's Dele Adebloa, who has asked manager Trevor Francis if he can be loaned out in order to get first team football. Adebloa is probably just the sort of striker we need, though we probably couldn't afford his wages. Portsmouth are known to be interested.
HARFORD - MONEY NO OBJECT
In a clear jibe at Firoz Kassam and Oxford, Ray Harford made it clear that it was not the fact that he was unpaid at Oxford that was the problem. The reason he left was that he did not feel he had a well-defined role. He said of his new post as coach of Millwall, "I would have done this for nothing. I got sucked into the job at Oxford. I never got a job description. I have come to Millwall to coach and that's probably what I am best at. I want to coach because I just want to be involved in football. It is not about the money, this is a bit of therapy for me."
ROSS BADLY INJURED?
Ross Weatherstone was stretchered off last night with suspected ligament damage, although the details of his injury will not be known until he has had a scan today. Certainly he will be out for a while.
RESERVES AT QPR
Mark Watson makes his comeback from his hamstring injury in the reserve
match at QPR this afternoon. The match is being played behing closed doors.
No, I don't know why that is.
LATEST NEWS - OXFORD BOW OUT OF AWS
(BRENTFORD 2 OXFORD
0)
Oxford unsurprisingly said goodbye to their Auto Windscreen Shield hopes, losing 2-0 to Brentford in a repeat of this season's previous Griffin Park scoreline. Goals from Derek Bryan (who damaged knee ligaments in a collision with Lundin while scoring the goal) and Andy Scott in the second half did for the U's, who failed to score yet again.
KASSAM IN GLASGOW
Firoz Kassam was in Glasgow yesterday to attempt to tie up a deal with the building contractors who will be working on the new ground. He says that he has been assured by the City Council that the land deal will be completed this week. Here's hoping...
FK was obviously busy yesterday as he also had time set aside to discuss incoming players with Mickey Lewis. Apparently FK is open to the idea of letting Lewis sign a couple if he has specific players in mind. Lewis has been attempting to bring in a striker on loan, but has so far been rebuffed by the clubs involved.
ANOTHER TOUGH TEST TONIGHT
Oxford go to Brentford in the third round of the Auto Windscreen Shield tonight, knowing that the much derided trophy is fast becoming the only hope in a season that lurches from bad to worse. With many of the top teams already eliminated in the Southern section, Oxford know that getting past Brentford tonight could be a major step towards a Wembley appearance. The Bees have slid down the table in recent weeks, but are still, at 9th, the highest placed team left in the Southern section.
Brentford have won just two (and lost eight) of their last eleven league matches, but will still be a tough team to beat at Griffin Park, especially given Oxford's appalling current form. Indeed Ron Noades is probably licking his lips at the prospect of resurrecting his side's season against such no-hopers as the Mighty U's.
Brentford will hand their new loan signing, Bristol City striker Steve Jones, his second start in the absence of their top scorer Lloyd Owusu through injury. But the imminent signing of Tommy Black from Arsenal is likely to come too late for tonight's match. Oxford lose Peter Fear for his first match of a two match suspension, but Pål Lundin returns in goal. Paul Powell is ruled out after the injury (thankfully not a broken rib) incurred during Saturday's match, whilst Mark Watson is also still sidelined through injury. Youngsters Dean Whitehead and Jon Shepheard could both play some part in the match.
Watch out for traffic chaos in London tonight, as Connex Train strikes
take effect. Here, taken from Brentford site Thorne
in the Side, are directions on how
to get to Griffin Park.
HARFORD MOVES TO MILLWALL
Ray Harford has been appointed first team coach at Millwall, replacing David Kemp, who left Millwall for Portsmouth last week. Harford left Oxford claiming he missed the day to day involvement with players. Millwall seemingly have the sense to realise that they can tap Harford's knowledge to assist their young management team, whilst also allowing him to utilise his coaching skills.
LAND DEAL PROGRESS THIS WEEK?
It is to be hoped that the optimism supposedly shown at the end of last week by both Kassam and the Council is translated into hard fact this week. Both parties seemed to feel that progress was being made with the land deal, and that resolution could occur this week. Let's hope so. Ground rebuilding will not start until the deal is signed. If we are to have any hope of starting next season at the new stadium (and I personally believe it is now already too late), then rebuilding must start very soon.
KASSAM - HARFORD DEPARTURE NOT MY FAULT
Firoz Kassam was quick to absolve himself of any blame over the Ray Harford fiasco. FK commented, "He was never supposed to be paid - that was the arrangement we had. As for all this about expenses, this is something he should have talked to me about, but he was never there. Every time I tried to arrange a meeting, he had other business. I don't see why I should be blamed for this when it was his mistake, not mine."
Yes, FK, but why appoint an experienced former top coach and manager in an unpaid role amidst a blaze of such publicity at the time? Why were the fans not told then that Harford was in an unpaid role, and thus unlikely to be in the job for long? Unless of course, you wanted to pretend that you were doing more than simply appoint an untried and inexperienced manager when the fans were expecting Spackman or Todd.
And surely it is the responsibility of an employer to ensure that an employee knows that travel expenses can be claimed!? Hopefully FK will now compensate Harford for any expenses incurred on Oxford's behalf. If indeed there ever were any. It is not believed that Harford spent much time in the three-person office that he had boasted about sharing with Lewis and Taylor.
One thing is clear - neither the club nor Harford emerges from this with reputation enhanced.
CVA SETTLED
At the end of last week, the six month deadline for the settling of the CVA passed, seemingly uneventfully. With no objections having been heard, the CVA (Company Voluntary Arrangement) now becomes unconditional. Kassam had already lodged £900,000 with a solicitor, and this will be used to pay off unsecured creditors at the rate of 10p in the pound. This means that Kassam will effectively have wiped out £9 million of debt in a stroke. Whatever else Kassam does, this will have been a worthwhile legacy.
Oxford still has debts of £5.5 million, but they are secured against the value of the Manor. So technically the club is now solvent for the first time in many years.
HIGHEST WAGE BILL?
According to FK, the club has the highest wage bill in the division, at £1.7 million. He blames previous incumbents for this state of affairs. It is also his given reason as to why it is not easy for him to justify adding new players to the squad. I would hope, though, that he would see that relegation would not aid affairs, and that it would be worth bringing in one or two new faces (a striker plus central defender?) in order to avert this very real threat.
I'd also love to know from where he gets this "highest wage bill in the division" story. Clubs like Wigan and Bristol City must surely have fairly high wage bills, bankrolled as they are by rich owners. I'd like to see the wage figures for all the clubs in the division before I'm prepared to believe Kassam on this one.
In the same interview on Thames Valley FM, Kassam denied he was trying to make a quick profit out of Oxford United, and said that he given the Minchery Farm development to OUFC for a minimum of twenty-five years.
SOUTH AFRICA BEAT GABON
Andre Arendse helped South Africa to a 3-1
victory over Gabon in their first group match of the African
Nations Cup (or GhanaNigeria 2000 to give it its snappy title). Their
next fixture is against DR Congo (formerly Zaire) on Thursday.
THRASHED
(OXFORD 0 BRISTOL
ROVERS 5)
Remember that Bristol Rovers were without their top scorer and main man, Jason Roberts, for this match. Jamie Cureton thought to himself, "Excellent. I've got a chance to catch Jason whilst playing against this dodgy lot." He scored a hat-trick. The lively Ellington, playing in Roberts' absence, helped himself to one. So did Robbie Pethick. It could have been eight or nine. Richard Knight made several excellent saves to keep the score down. Make no mistake, he is no Mike Salmon. He was not to blame for this result. Step forward Steve Davis, Steve Anthrobus, and many others in the team. Step forward, and keep walking. Don't stop when you reach the sea.
Oxford are still three points above the relegation places. Those three points could be precious. We have had many terrible performances under Lewis (much like under Shotton). At first Lewis got away with it - a long unbeaten run masked the fact that we were crap. We played badly against bad teams and didn't lose. Now we're playing some competent teams. And losing.
Quite frankly, I'm not the biggest fan of Ray Harford. But I'd far rather he was in charge of the team than Mad Dog. It's nothing personal against Lewis, but he is without clue or tactical nous. Our strength is in our wingers (especially Powell and Beauchamp). Do we play to our strength? No. Instead the players dance about cluelessly, hardly getting a shot near the target. If we stay up, it will only be because other teams are equally abject.
And as for those who believe the problem is Kassam's failure to produce
his check-book, I would reply that in this division there are quite a few
sides with very little money. Many are doing better than we are. Maybe
these sides are well-managed. Who knows?
HARFORD LEAVES
In a surprise development, it has been announced that Ray Harford has left Oxford United after under three months in his post as Technical Director. Apparently he was never paid for his services, so really this departure should not be a surprise. Was it all a PR stunt so that Kassam could get away with appointing an inexperienced (and cheap) manager in Mickey Lewis? Was it just the usual Oxford cock-up?
I could never understand why the club would appoint a man who made his name as a coach, and not allow him to become involved in the coaching of players. Instead Harford's role seemed to be a cross between contract negotiator and chief scout. All for no money, not even travel expenses. Utterly bizarre.
Harford said it best himself. "My forte is to be on the training pitch and to be working with players but I was never invited out there and have never even been in the dressing room. In addition to that, I wasn't getting any money at all. I felt out of place. It was not the role I wanted."
He went on, "I just felt Mr Kassam issued the press release about me very hurriedly and got me sucked into a situation where we hadn't got the job properly defined. I was going from a position of weakness. The appointment was rushed and I found out very quickly that it was not what I wanted. I thought I could be a general manager, but at the turn of the year, I made up my mind that I'm too young to be 'upstairs' because I love to be out on the training ground."
It has to be said that Harford must be at least partly to blame for
getting sucked into this farcical situation. A man of his age (54) and
experience should have known better. But what it says about Oxford United
is that the club still knows better than any how to shoot itself in the
foot at every opportunity.
LAND DEAL DELAY TO BE RESOLVED?
There are reports that the Council are meeting with FK at the moment in a bid to get the land deal sorted out. Council leader, John Tanner, reportedly gave a public apology for the delay on local radio this morning. He also said that he hoped rebuilding work would start later this month (very optimistic given that first the land deal needs to be signed, then the building contract, etc.)
WATSON CALLED UP
Mark Watson has now officially been called up as part of the Canada squad for the Football Confederation (formerly CONCACAF) Gold Cup. This is the equivalent of Euro 2000 for the nations of North and Central America (and bizarrely South Korea!?) As a regular in the Canadian national team for eight years, we always knew that Watson would be required for the tournament, which starts on February 12. Canada are grouped with Costa Rica (whom they play on 13 Feb) and South Korea (15 Feb). If they avoid finishing bottom of the three teams, they will proceed to the quarterfinals. The final is on 27 February, but Canada are thought unlikely to make it that far.
So Watson will definitely miss the match at Wycombe, and, depending on Canada's progress, possibly one or both of the matches at home to Chesterfield and Wrexham. There could be some scary defending going on...
FEAR BANNED FOR TWO MATCHES
It has been confirmed that Peter Fear, wrongly sent off for a supposed professional foul, will be banned for two matches for the offence. Fear has no right to appeal the sending off. He will miss the AWS match at Brentford and the following league match at Oldham.
LE GEYT DETAILS
I emailed Derby County's press office for information about trialist, Sinclair Le Geyt. Here's their reply :
Sinclair is 19-years-old and came to the club from Repton School, after we saw him play in a game for the England Independent Schools side. Last season was his first full season as a pro with the club. He is from Port Elizabeth in South Africa, although he also qualifies to play for England, France, Scotland and Wales through various relatives!LAMBERT LEAVES VALE
According to TeamTalk, Jamie Lambert has been released by Port Vale
after just over a week on trial at Vale Park. Apparently he failed to impress
Brian Horton in last night's reserve match, his second match for Vale reserves.
PENTITH HEARING LENGTHENED
The court hearing for Nick Pentith's Judicial Review appeal on March 13 has been extended from a token 20 minutes to a large proportion of that day. This means that the hearing might actually decide the issue, rather than just being an initial hearing. Both sides (Pentith and the Council) will have an opportunity to present their respective cases. The hearing has a good chance of being made open to the general public (i.e. us) - this will be decided on 10 March.
I believe that this is good news. The sooner the Pentith issue can be settled the better. As I said before, though, the important issue is not so much Pentith as the signing of the land deal.
For those of you who have lost track, in September last year Nick Pentith originally applied for a Judicial Review (JR) into the Council's decision to grant planning permission for a multiplex cinema at Micnhery Farm. This application was rejected on 26 October, but Pentith was given leave to appeal. Unsurprisingly on 4 November he did appeal. That is what this hearing is about. If the hearing finds in Pentith's favour, he gets his JR. If not, then that is hopefully the end of our problems from Pentith and his friends.
LE GEYT IMPRESSES LEWIS
Sinclair Le Geyt, the wing-back cum midfielder on trial from Derby,
impressed Mickey Lewis in Monday's reserve match. Le Geyt looked lively
and scored a goal in the 4-3 defeat. "He did very well but it's only one
game," said Lewis. "But we're not going to get carried away, the lad's
only 19." (I'm not quite sure what he means by this second remark. If he's
good now, then surely his youth counts in his favour?) Le Geyt is under
contract at Derby until the summer, but would probably be available on
a free transfer were Oxford to attempt to sign him.
PENTITH MEETS WITH COUNCIL
Word has it that Nick Pentith yesterday met with the City Council to discuss the Minchery Farm multiplex plans and his objections to them, which have led to his calling for a Judicial Review. No news on how this went. Currently Pentith has a court date of Monday March 13th to appeal against a decision not to grant him a Judicial Review.
To be honest, Pentith is not the main threat to Oxford United at the moment. The main threat is the fact that the land deal has not yet been signed. If the land deal is signed and building begins, there is probably little effect that Pentith can have on proceedings.
JEMMO COMEBACK?
Nigel Jemson is reportedly keen to return to Oxford, where he enjoyed a love-hate relationship with the crowd (some loved him, some hated him) for a season and a half. Since leaving Oxford for Bury almost two years ago, Jemson (30) has found himself effectively frozen out of English football. Unsurprisingly he did not play a large role in Bury's direct brand of football, and he left the Shakers last summer. After failing to find an English club in the close season, Jemmo had a trial at Ayr United, where he scored 5 goals in just 9 starts. He has signed a contract with Ayr until the end of the season, but can leave with one week's notice if another club is prepared to offer him a longer contract. He is known to be keen to return to England.
Personally I'd welcome him back with open arms, but I know some fans are more critical of him. But, just think, would you rather see Jemmo or the Bus up front? It's got to be Jemson every time.
RESERVES LOSE, LE GEYT SCORES
The reserves lost 4-3 at home to Brighton last night. Adam Hamp
put Oxford ahead in the 22nd minute, a lead which was held until the stroke
of half-time, when Scott Ramsay equalised. An eventful second half saw
five further goals. Trialist Sinclair Le Geyt put Oxford 2-1 up
before Ramsay again equalised. The Seagulls went ahead for the first time
through Dave Cameron, but Ross Weatherstone then levelled. The winner
for Brighton came in the 70th minute from Danny Arkwright.
TANNER IN THE DARK
The leader of Oxford City Council, John Tanner, now claims "not to know" the current status of the Minchery Farm land deal, but at the request of FOUL he said that he would "find out". The land deal must be signed before Kassam can sensibly pay the contractors to start building work on the new ground. It is slightly disconcerting that Tanner has lost track of a deal in which he has been personally involved, which is politically important, and which he had said would be signed and sealed in mid-December.
WATCH THE GOALS
Cardiff City Online has a page of match video clippings, including both goals from Saturday's match. See Matt Murphy's scorching volley from two different angles. If you're a bit of a masochist, you can also see Kevin Nugent's less spectacular equaliser.
For both of the above goals, you'll need a RealPlayer 7 Basic (available free).
AWS DATE ANNOUNCED
The away Auto Windscreen Shield match at Brentford will take place on Tuesday 25 January, kick-off at 7.45pm.
NO FEAR APPEAL
Oxford have no leave to appeal against Peter Fear's sending off in the AWS match against Wycombe last Tuesday. Replays have shown that Fear had played the ball in the challenge on Andrew Baird that led to his sending off for a professional foul. Unfortunately this will make nod difference as red cards can only be rescinded in cases of violent conduct or mistaken identity. Fear will now miss the next round at Brentford (not because it is the next round of the AWS, but because it is the match that falls two weeks after his offence).
RESERVES AT HOME TONIGHT
The reserves take on Brighton at the Manor tonight, kick-off 7.30pm.
The trialist from Derby, Sinclair Le Geyt, is included in the squad.
KNIGHT ARRIVES
Derby's young goalie, Richard Knight, has completed the deal which brings
him to Oxford on a month's loan. He will be second choice keeper behind
Pål Lundin whilst Andre Arendse is away on African Nations' Cup duty
for South Africa. Knight is almost certain to start next weekend against
Bristol Rovers as Lundin is suspended. The only other backup is youth keeper,
Phil Wilson, who has been on the bench for the last two matches.
AWAY DRAW
(CARDIFF 1 OXFORD 1)
Oxford drew 1-1 in Cardiff this afternoon. Matt Murphy put the Us ahead with his 14th (!) goal of the season shortly before half-time. But almost immediately after the restart Kevin Nugent equalised for the Bluebirds, taking advantage of one of Andy Legg's legendary (and record-breaking) long throws.. The two sides started the afternoon equal on points, and that was how they ended it. Mark Watson failed his fitness test, and did not play.
More details tomorrow.
TOUGH AWS DRAW
Oxford were handed a tough draw in the 3rd round of the Auto Windscreen
Shield. They are away to Ron Noades' high-flying Brentford
side. It is the third successive round in which Oxford have been drawn
against second division opposition. This time we're away as well, so it
will be tough.
ABBEY IN SQUAD AT LAST
Ben Abbey has been included in the squad to travel to Cardiff tomorrow, after scoring yet again for the reserves in midweek. Oxford's main doubt is Mark Watson, who will have a late fitness test - the problem is not his back this time, but a hamstring. Kevin Francis has (surprise, surprise) not recovered from Tuesday's injury, and it is though he could be out for a couple of weeks, rather than the "few days" that was earlier forecast. 17 year old Phil Wilson will once again take a place on the bench as substitute keeper.
Former Oxford captain, Mike Ford, is doubtful for Cardiff after getting a back injury during training. Fordy summed up Cardiff's current problem (sliding down the table), saying, "Goalscoring is a problem for us. We've scored only three goals in ten games." Fordy may be forced into action as Cardiff have three defenders suspended, casualties of their recent match in Cambridge, when they has three players sent off.
MORE INFO ON SINCLAIR LE GEYT
I've found some more information on the trialist from Derby, Sinclair
Le Geyt, who will supposedly be on a week's trial from Monday. He started
as a midfielder, but has played at left wing-back for Derby reserves this
season. He is 19, and was born in South Africa. Le Geyt was actually on
the bench when Oxford beat Derby 1-0 in pre-season.
STADIUM MAY NOT BE READY FOR START OF SEASON - KASSAM
Firoz Kassam has for the first time admitted that delays in restarting building work on the new stadium could prevent its readiness for the start of next season. FK said, "We are waiting for Oxford City Council to sign a legal agreement [the land deal] and there are a couple of other issues that need to be addressed. I am still confident that Oxford United will be using the stadium in the next football season. It may not be at the start of the season but it will be at some stage during that season."
Meanwhile, Kassam was given permission to build a five storey hotel next to the stadium. It will include a restaurant and function rooms, along with parking for 197 cars. Kassam said, "It's a good step but the stadium comes first." Let's hope the stadium hurries up!
LOAN-LY KNIGHT
(Ok, the above is a terrible pun, but I'm allowed one of those every once in a while. At least I'm not as bad as Rage Online!)
Oxford have moved to bring in a goalkeeper on loan, with Derby's Richard Knight being recommended to Oxford by Derby assistant Malcolm Crosby. Oxford were unsurprisingly refused permission to bring Andre Arendse back for the Bristol Rovers match on the 22nd, when Pål Lundin is suspended. So Lewis had to act, and Knight should sign for a month's loan on Monday. Knight, 20 and 6'1", has played on loan for Birmingham, Hull and Macclesfield this season. He also played on loan for Carlisle towards the end of last season (presumably just before the Jimmy Glass era!) Knight is fourth choice keeper at Derby (often sub for reserves) behind Mart Poom, Russell Hoult and Andy Oakes. But apparently he did at one time play for England Youth.
According to Derby's official website, left-sided defender/wing-back Sinclair Le Geyt will be on a week's trial with Oxford from Monday too. I can't find any info on this player, except that he regularly plays for Derby reserves, normally as substitute. He does not have a Derby squad number.
RESERVES LOSE
Yesterday's reserve match at Wycombe did indeed take place, but the reserve team could not emulate the first team's efforts of the day before. They went down 4-2 at Adams Park. A young side scored first through Sam Ricketts, but conceded three goals in five second half minutes, before Ben Abbey pulled one back. It wasn't enough, and Wycombe scored again before the end.
AWS DRAW
The draw for the third round of the Auto Windscreen Shield will take place on Saturday at about 10.45am. Bristol City were the seventh club definitely through in the Southern Section after they beat Cheltenham last night. Looks like if we want a third division side we'll have to hope for Exeter or Plymouth (though Barnet may yet have something to say about that).
LAMBERT'S VALE TRIAL
Jamie Lambert, on trial at Brian Horton's Port Vale after his wage demands
were rejected by Oxford, played his first football for the Potteries club
yesterday. He played 75 minutes of Vale's reserve match against Oldham.
Horton is known to be keen to sign Lambert if the winger impresses whilst
on trial.
PENALTY VICTORY
(OXFORD 1 WYCOMBE
1 [5-3 pens])
Oxford failed yet again to beat Wycombe at home by the normal means, but after a 1-1 draw the Us triumphed in a penalty shoot-out. Oxford were down to ten men for almost 90 minutes of the 120, with Peter Fear sent off for a professional foul (tackling Andrew Baird who was clean through). Most observers believed that Fear had in fact played the ball. Earlier Paul Powell had scored his third consecutive penalty goal in this competition. Former Oxford City striker, Jermaine McSporran, equalised for Wycombe shortly after Fear's dismissal.
Pål Lundin was the hero of the penalty contest, as he saved Baird's penalty and then scored the clinching penalty himself. No Oxford penalty was missed, with Beauchamp, Cook, Powell and Murphy also finding the net.
Paul Tait returned to the midfield after injury, and was very impressive, dominating the midfield with a man of the match performance. But substitute Kevin Francis continued his injury-jinxed Oxford career, leaving the field with what looked like a hamstring injury early in extra time. Even more worryingly, Mark Watson left the field early on and did not return - whether his back has really been fit for action in recent games is a moot point. More positively, it was a night to remember for Jon Shepheard, who made his first team debut in defence.
So we're into the third round of the Southern Section of the AWS. The other five teams who have made it through so far are Bournemouth, Exeter, Bristol Rovers, Brentford and Torquay. The other two places will be taken by the winners of Bristol City v Cheltenham (tonight) and Barnet v Reading (next week).
It has since been learned that Kevin Francis' injury is not as bad as first thought - just a minor calf strain - and that he should only require a few days to recover. No news as yet on Watson.
RESERVES AT WYCOMBE
Oxford reserves continue the Wycombe theme with an away match against
the Chairboys this afternoon (kick-off 2pm). No news on this match though,
so maybe it is not taking place!?
SIGN THAT DEAL
Having thought about the Tanner - Kassam - Minchery Farm situation, the important aspect is that the land deal gets signed as soon as possible. It is obvious that Kassam will not proceed (for obvious reasons) until it is signed. Would you hand over £10 million to build on land that you still did not own? For some reason, John Tanner is not bothering to mention the land deal at all. We were assured that the deal would be signed imminently, and that was last month.
The Council was yesterday supposedly meeting with Thames Water to discuss a compensation deal for the breaking of the covenant on the Minchery Farm land. Tanner claims this has nothing to do with Kassam, and that it is between the Council and Thames Water. Clearly, though, if it affects the signing of the land deal then to deny that it has any impact on Kassam is specious.
ONE MATCH BAN FOR LUNDIN
Pål Lundin has thankfully been handed just a one match ban for his sending off on Saturday. As bans start two weeks after the offence, he will miss the home match with Bristol Rovers on January 22. Hopefully Lewis will manage to organise a loan keeper for that match. It won't be easy though. How many players would want to go on loan simply to play in a single match?
Andre Arendse has said he would like to return just for this match against Rovers, if he can get permission from the South African FA. Mickey Lewis and the South African FA are now in discussion over this possibility. It seems unlikely though, as South Africa play their opening match (against Gabon) in the Africa Cup of Nations on January 23, just a day after the Rovers match.
Another possibility would be to bring back Arjan van Heusden, now out of favour at Cambridge, who enjoyed a successful loan spell at Oxford two seasons ago.
WYCOMBE TONIGHT
Tonight Oxford take on Wycombe Wanderers at the Manor, in the second round of the Auto Windscreen Shield. The Us have still not beaten Wycombe at home since the Chairboys entered the league, and now would be a good time to start. Mickey Lewis is taking the competition seriously, and will field virtually a full-strength side. Rob Folland will be rested though, and Jon Shepheard could be handed his first-team debut. Paul Tait is likely to return to midfield after his knee injury problems. In the absence of Arendse, youth keeper Phil Wilson will be on the bench as cover for Lundin.
SWINDON GROUND SHARE? - I DOUBT IT
The Oxford Mail published a crazy story yesterday about how we have had talks about groundsharing with Swindon. At Minchery Farm of all places. Despite the fact that it looks more likely, given current developments, that we would have to share the County Ground with them! Nope, I think this is one of those stories that can be disregarded.
Unsurprisingly Swindon have denied that any groundsharing talks have taken place. Rumours had been circulated that directors of Oxford and Swindon had met last Friday to discuss the issue. A Swindon spokesperson said, ""There is definitely no way we would even contemplate doing something like this." Firoz Kassam was more guarded, saying, "Everything that you are saying is pure speculation."
LAMBERT AT VALE
Jamie Lambert has now started a trial at Port Vale, according to TeamTalk.
Last month Lambert left Oxford after very publicly ridiculing the terms
that were offered him. It is sad that we have missed out on such a talented
player, but we also have to be careful not to pay players over the odds.
TANNER URGES KASSAM TO GET MOVING
The 11am news bulletin on Thames Valley FM featured Council leader John Tanner urging Kassam to get moving on the signing of the cheque (presumably the cheque is to hand over the money to the new building contractors). Apparently Tanner claimed that all projects have risks, but that risks need to be taken. However should FK really be expected to hand over the money until the land deal has actually been signed? The suggestion originally was that the land deal would be signed in December, and only then would FK pay the contractors to restart work (in early January). Tanner cannot expect FK to pay such a large amount of money before the deal is signed. Tanner's statement managed to completely ignore the issue of the land deal.
What is going on? Why have things changed when they seemed so settled? The deal was about to be signed. The stadium work was about to recommence. What has gone wrong? We need to know.
EARLIER NEWS - COUNCIL/STADIUM UPDATE
John Tanner spoke on Thames Valley FM news this morning (8am), and said that the main hold-up at the moment is for Kassam to write the cheque. Then the stadium building can go ahead. Tanner also claimed that both Les Wells (who claims there is a right of way across Minchery Farm land) and Nick Pentith (of Judicial Review fame) do not present a problem to Kassam's developments. The Council is meeting Thames Water this afternoon to attempt to finalise the issue of the covenant on the land.
To be fair to FK, the cheque that Tanner says needs to be written is for a large amount - somewhere around £10 million. If Kassam is uncertain, you can understand why he is unwilling to sign. But this means that we the fans continue to fret about the future after being given assurances that it was all worked out now.
"MILLENNIUM BUG" HITS OXFORD
Tickets for the Forest match were dated "08 January 192000". Well, at
least the ticket office computer doesn't think it's 1900...
FOREST LATE SHOW
(OXFORD 1 FOREST 3)
Nottingham Forest scored three times in the last ten minutes to overturn a 1-0 lead that had briefly given Oxford real hope of reaching the fourth round and a rematch against Chelsea. Paul Powell had put the Us in front with a superb dribble and shot from distance, and Forest looked down and out. But a long range blast from Chris Bart-Williams hit the post and went in, and just a few minutes later Pål Lundin conceded a penalty with a clumsy foul on Dougie Freedman. Lundin was then sent off, not for the foul itself, but for his reaction, which apparently fitted into the "foul and abusive" category. 2-1 to Forest, and despite Oxford still having chances, the inevitable third Forest goal followed late on courtesy of full-back Alan Rogers.
The scariest aspect of this result might be the ban that Lundin receives for his sending off. Andre Arendse (who came on when Lundin was sent off) jets off to be with the South African squad today, and Lundin's suspension will leave Oxford only with youth team keeper, Phil Wilson. Just days after Mickey Lewis had said he wouldn't be bringing in loan cover for Lundin, circumstance seems to dictate that he will have to do just that. Does anyone know how long the ban for foul and abusive language is?
Mark Watson was passed fit to play in the match - it is pleasing to
see that he really wanted to play for Oxford rather than Canada, as that
is what his decision basically boiled down to.
STADIUM DELAY
Bad news on the stadium front. BBC Thames Valley FM has this evening reported that work is not expected to restart on the stadium on Monday (January 10) as promised by FK recently. Surprise, surprise. Apparently Kassam was in locked in talks with the City Council this afternoon. Ulp.
WATSON TOUCH-AND-GO
Mark Watson's chances of playing against Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup 3rd round replay tomorrow are being described as "touch-and-go". Watson pulled out of friendly matches for Canada as a result of his back injury, but would still be available to play for the Us if the injury recovers in time. His presence will be much needed against a Forest side who are starting to pick up their form (slightly). Neil McGowan sits out his second match of four, but Paul Tait could be in line for a recall (hint: drop Robbo) after a successful return for the reserves at Didcot. In-form Andre Arendse will compete with Pål Lundin - now recovered from flu - for the goalkeeping spot. According to Les Taylor, "We'll pick the goalkeeper we think is right." There's an insight for you.
Forest will be without teenage Scottish defender, Chris Doig, who has twisted an ankle in training. They should otherwise be unchanged from recent matches.
Remember that extra time and penalties will be used if the tie is not settled in 90 minutes.
CONTRACT EXPIRY
There is a scary list of United players who are out of contract this summer, including arguably our two most valuable, namely Mark Watson and Joey Beauchamp. Eight others will also be free to leave for nothing unless they renew their contracts with the club. The full list of players is:
I note with wry humour that the Oxford Mail believes it would be "unthinkable" for the club not to offer Robbo (amongst others) a new contract. Scary.
SHOTTON LOSES OUT
Malcolm Shotton has lost out in his bid to become Blackpool manager.
Former Swindon boss, Steve McMahon (cue rude chants), has been appointed
as manager of theTangerines.
MCGOWAN SUSPENDED AGAIN
Neil McGowan, who is currently one match into a three match ban for his sending off for violent conduct against Bournemouth, has been hit further with the news that his last minute yellow card at Burnley was his fifth booking of the season. (He was also booked against Oldham, Gillingham, Wrexham and Luton (AWS).) He will thus miss a further match on top of his current ban. By my calculations this means he will miss the matches against Forest, Wycombe and Cardiff. He would be back in time to face Chelsea if the Us were to beat Forest and reach the FA Cup fourth round.
SHOTTON APPLIES FOR BLACKPOOL JOB
Rumour has it that Malcolm Shotton has joined the list of out-of-work managers who have applied for the job as Blackpool manager. He joins former Swindon manager Steve McMahon on the list of hopefuls for the post.
RIVALS IN TROUBLE
Talking of our esteemed Wiltshire rivals, they are currently in deep financial trouble of the kind we were in just over a year ago. They have just laid off 15 backroom staff to trim £300,000 off their wages bill, and have been regularly selling players from an ever shrinking (and weakening) squad. Manager Jimmy Quinn is now forced to start up front for some matches, and he's 40 years old.
Now much as one might wish relegation on Swindon (and it looks likely), I hope that all Oxford fans would shrink from wishing them extinction. Personally I hope that their search for local business support ends in success. For the good of football all clubs must survive, and that includes local rivals.
HOTEL PLANS TO BE HEARD
The Oxford City Council planning committee meets next Wednesday to discuss
the planning permission for a 136 bedroom hotel at Minchery Farm. The committee
will be told that the hotel meets the requirements of the Oxford local
plan. Thankfully, unlike the multiplex planning permission eventually granted
last year, the building of the new stadium does not hinge on permission
being granted for the hotel. It is expected that permission will be granted.
PENTITH APPEAL DATE
The date for Nick Pentith's appeal against the decision to refuse him a Judicial Review against the planning permission for the Minchery Farm multiplex has now been set. It is Monday March 13th. If of course the land deal is agreed anyway, this appeal could be of fairly academic interest to Oxford fans by then.
STADIUM FUNDING TO BE FINALISED?
It has been reported that FK announced on TVFM that he was yesterday talking to constructors to finalise the financial side of the building of the new ground. He said he would make a further announcement yesterday, but none came. This is perhaps not surprising as the land deal and Thames Water payments have not yet been finalised. What is going on? It's starting to get rather worrying again.
Apparently Thames Valley FM have now been saying that FK will announce a deal today. Rumour has it that a construction company has been chosen (Mowlem according to the completely unsubstantiated rumour mill).
Kassam has said that this year should see quick developments in the situation at the club, saying, "Things should start happening very quickly in the year 2000."
NOGAN WANTS CARDIFF MOVE
Kurt Nogan, who has been linked with Oxford in recent weeks, has said he'd like to move to Cardiff. The Preston striker, out of contract at the end of the season and available for a "cut-price" £100,000, is keen to return home to Cardiff. “It would take a special club to make me leave Preston, and Cardiff are special. It is my home city club, I was born and bred there and I would love to play for them ? if I am not wanted at Deepdale", said Nogan, who scored against Cardiff on Monday.
From what I've heard, we were never seriously in line to sign Nogan anyway, but it seems that if Cardiff want him (and I believe they do), he will move there.
LETTER FROM LES WELLS
You may remember that recently an Oxford United supporting site was found to contain racist comments about so-called "gypsies" living on the Minchery Farm site. Les Wells is the man who has represented the "travelling" community in Oxford, and is also the man who claims to have a right of way across the stadium site. He emailed me recently with his comments on the situation.
WATSON MISSES CANADA FRIENDLIES
Mark Watson has decided that the back injury (I thought it was illness) that has kept him out of some recent matches has not healed sufficiently for him to link up with the Canada squad for the friendlies against Trinidad (8 Jan) and Bermuda (11 Jan). This is despite his playing for Oxford on Monday - did we play him whilst injured, or did he only realise he was still injured once he had played the game? Anyway, what this means is that if Watson has recovered sufficiently by Saturday he will be available for the Forest match. In his own words, "If I'm fit, I'll be playing against Forest. This is my own decision, I've not been pressurised into it by anyone." We'll need him.
Meanwhile Watson is on of the list of players who will be out of contract at the end of the season, and Firoz Kassam is keen to get these players signed up for further seasons. Watson, as a key player, is top of the priority list.
RESERVES PLAY DIDCOT
A strong reserve side (including Paul Tait, who needs match practice following his knee operation, Ben Abbey and Kev Francis) will play against Didcot Town tonight to mark the official opening of Didcot's new stadium. Kick-off is at 7.30pm, with admission just £1.
ROBINSON STILL DREADFUL
After a letter of "complaint", I have reconsidered my comment about
Les Robinson's performance against Wigan. Whilst I feel that Robbo had
a slightly better game than recently, he was still as far from being an
effective midfielder as ever. I agree that Peter Fear must feel the club
has a very low opinion of him indeed if Robbo can keep him out of midfield.
Thankfully Paul Tait is due back from injury soon.
NICE PERFORMANCE, SHAME ABOUT THE SCORE
(OXFORD 1 WIGAN 2)
Oh dear. We've gone from being a side playing badly but picking up points to a side playing much better but losing. For the second successive match we've played a lot more incisively, established a lead, yet eventually lost to a late goal. Maybe this is the difference now that we're playing the better teams in the division. We play up to their standard, but they raise their game late on and beat us. If we can keep up the attacking football, there's a strong chance we can get something against Forest. Fingers crossed.
The game itself saw Jamie Cook cap a fine performance with a confidently
taken goal after being left in space from a terrible Wigan back-pass. Another
outstanding performer for Oxford was Andre Arendse, who made two spectacular
saves, and didn't put a foot (or a hand) wrong all afternoon. He suddenly
looks a confident keeper. Typically, he is soon on his way to play for
South Africa. A strange yet effective 4-3-3 (or something) formation saw
virtually everybody playing well, though the Bus still seems hardly to
try at times. But even Les Robinson had a half-decent game, and that's
saying something these days.
UNBEATEN WIGAN UP NEXT
Tomorrow at 3pm (rumours of 7.45 are wrong), Oxford start the new year with the visit of top of the table Wigan Athletic. Hot favourites for the title, and bankrolled by multi-millionaire Dave Whelan, Wigan are unbeaten in the league and are sure to be a tough test. The Us will desperately hope that Mark Watson is fit again, and if so he will play his last match before joining Canada for their build-up to the CONCACAF Championships. Also hopefully fit and rested after the holiday period are Pål Lundin (sickness) and Paul Tait (knee). Whether they will wrest back places in the side is debatable after an impressive (though losing) away performance at Burnley. Neil McGowan is unavailable, as he starts his three match suspension for elbowing a Bournemouth player.
But there are some burning questions for tomorrow and the rest of the season. (Clue: all questions demand the answer YES).
This page is maintained by James Beard.