So, the next step in the planning application for the multiplex is the County Council's public meeting on Monday. The County Council will decide whether the application should be passed on to central government, a step which would lead to a long delay in the decision, and which could well lead to Kassam walking out on the club. The Director of Environmental Services at the County is David Young, and he has recommended that the application should be opposed and that it should be "called in" by John Prescott. Those present at the Monday meeting will be entitled to overturn Young's decision. Three councillors will be present at that meeting, one from each of the three main parties. The Conservative councillor has already indicated support for the application. The question is whether one of the other two councillors can be convinced...
The last day of June - the day contracts officially run out if you're
a player or manager in English football. For Oxford, this affects Matt
Murphy and Nicky Banger, who will both become free agents from today. Murphy
is still mulling over whether to accept Oxford's new contract offer, whilst
I'm not even sure if Banger has been offered a new contract. He seems to
be eager to leave anyhow, with Man City and Stockport both interested earlier
in the month. But with Stockport installing a new manager this week, and
Man City linked with about fifteen other players (all of whom seem better
bets than Banger), Nicky could well have to look elsewehere for a move.
OPEN MEETING COMMENTS
According to those who were there, last night's Open Meeting reached a successful conclusion. Only 104 people turned up, of which just 2 were in any way "against" the planning application - both had concerns about traffic problems, which should hopefully be addressed. There were no objections to the multiplex per se. So, the City Council Open Meetings have been a success - now it's over to the County...
The next step in the planning appeal is an emergency sub-committee meeting at the County Council. This is a public meeting at 2pm on July 5th.
RAMAGE TO JOIN?
That bastion of truth, TeamTalk,
say that Craig Ramage is currently in talks with Oxford over a propsed
free trasnfer from Bradford. Notts County are also interested, but allegedly
"Oxford are poised to acquire his services". But could he be more of a
liability than an asset? Taken from the Watford FC Bible, here's the Parable
of Craig Ramage.
OPEN MEETING TONIGHT
The second of the latest round of City Council Open Meetings takes place tonight, and the stakes couldn't be higher for Oxford United. The meeting is at 7.30 pm in the Town Hall. Whether Firoz Kassam stays at Oxford or walks away could ultimately be determined by what happens at tonight's meeting. Kassam would likely walk away from the club were his application for a multiplex to be rejected, or even deferred to central government. The greater the number of Oxford fans who make the effort to attend, the greater the chance of the multiplex application being approved quickly at a local level.
The City Council's decision on the multiplex will be made in mid-July at a full council meeting. The County Council will also have a large say in the result, and if either council is even uncertain about the application, it is likely to be "called in" to central government. The delay would probably then be too much for Kassam. Indications are that if both the City and County Councils support the planning application, it is very unlikely to be called in.
On a more traditional topic - football - it has been reported (in the
News
of the World, so grab a salt cellar) that Oxford are vying with Notts
County for the signature of 29 year old freed Bradford midfielder, Craig
Ramage. Read
here
what a Watford fan has to say about this former Hornets player. Apparently
former Derby manager, Arthur Cox, once labelled Craig Ramage as "the next
Kenny Dalglish". Perhaps he speaks unintelligibly...
According to Teletext, Matt Murphy is still considering his options, and has not yet signed the contract offered to him by Oxford. He says that one or two other clubs are interested in him, and that he'll decide in the next few days on where his future lies.
According to the GOSE (Government Office of the South East), they have received a request for the multiplex planning application to be "called in" (which would mean that local government alone could not make the planning decision). Note that a request to have an application called in does not necessarily imply that it will be. A significant delay to the application would result if the decision did get called in. It is not known who is behind the request.
Released Tranmere goalie, Danny Coyne, who was linked to Oxford a few
weeks ago, is having talks with Portsmouth.
The league fixtures for next season have been published. I believe they are still subject to change (at the discretion of the police), but they can be found at the official Oxford web site. We start with a match away at Stoke, and complete the season away at Millwall. Both sound like tough games.
Further news on Barnet comes from Football 365. It involves ground
development being blocked by central government (relevant to us?) and a
planned demo outside Downing Street. Read about it here.
(Thanks to Steve Merritt for all this info.)
KASSAM LOOKS TO THE LONG TERM
Firoz Kassam has warned fans not to expect overnight success from his ownership of Oxford United, stating that he has a five year plan for creating a financially stable club. Speaking to the Oxford Mail, he made the following points:
The draw for the first round of the Worthington Cup has been made today,
and Oxford are up against Southend United, with the first leg in
Southend. The two legs will be on the weeks commencing August 9 and 23
respectively.
Simoin Weatherstone has signed an improved deal after rejecting the original deal that the club had offered him. Weatherstone has signed a two year contract, and is another name to be added to our slowly growing squad for next season. I certainly feel Weatherstone is a good prospect, and am pleased he will be playing for Oxford next season.
Last night's open meeting in Blackbird Leys went well, according to those who were there. It seemed traffic issues were of greatest concern, with hardly anyone opposed to the multiplex per se. Local residents were concerned about potential traffic, and certainly some traffic measures need to be put in place. Even former bete noire, Labour councillor Tony Stockford, was not oppposed to the multiplex in principle. One announcement that came out of the meeting was that if the multiplex is approved, work would start on both the stadium and the multiplex at the same time. The stadium does not have to be completed before other work can commence, but the stadium must be completed before other developments can be "occupied". Next Monday's meeting at the Town Hall is described by FOUL as "the big one".
Chester City (currently in administration) look likely to put the worst of their troubles behind them as American Terry Smith looks set to conclude a deal to buy the club on Thursday. Smith's deal is being backed by the club's Independent Supporters' Association and also by Chester-based businesses. Smith has apparently said that he wants to bring "international stars" to the Deva Stadium. (Why do prospective owners always seem to make this sort of announcement? They seldom deliver on it. I'm pleased Kassam didn't go down that route...)
Barnet have had an application to develop a former athletics stadium
turned down by the government, because the stadium is (bizarrely?) on Green
Belt land.(And I thought Green Belt meant undeveloped!?) Read this
letter from a Barnet fan to Football
365 describing the situation and how people can help.
MULTIPLEX MEETING TONIGHT
The first of the two (further) open meetings to discuss the proposed Minchery Farm developments - including, of course, that multiplex cinema application - is tonight. It is at Blackbird Leys Leisure Centre, starting at 7.30pm. The two June meetings were announced by the City Council at the end of May. The second is at the Town Hall next Monday. FOUL has asked as many Oxford supporters as possible to attend either (or both!)
PRICES ANNOUNCED
Oxford today announced their ticket prices for next season. A terrace
ticket for an adult rises from £11 to £12, whilst seats rise
from £14 to £15. The club blamed its current finacial situation
for the rise (of roughly 10% overall) in ticket prices. See the club's
official website for details.
Steve Anthrobus has officially joined Oxford on a free transfer from
Crewe. He signed a two year contract after passing a medical yesterday.
Steve "Throb" Anthrobus is likely to join Oxford today. Two other clubs have offered the striker deals, but by all accounts Oxford's package is the best. Shrewbury have offered Anthrobus a three year deal plus a coaching post, whilst York have also offered a three year deal. Shrewsbury manager, Jake King, said, "My gut feeling is that Steve will say yes to Oxford. It was clear from the start that he desperately wanted to sign for Shrewsbury, but we understand he has a family and he's been made better offers elsewhere. If he went elsewhere we would understand and he will always be welcome at Shrewsbury."
Rotherham United have completed the signing of Brian Wilsterman, who has signed a two year contract with the third division side. Rotherham also signed a second central defender yesterday, Will Varty of Carlisle. This probably means that they are no longer interested in signing Phil Whelan. We could be stuck with him for a while longer.
I enjoyed today's TeamTalk news which stated that Nicky Banger has been
connected with Man City "for some so far unexplained reason". Quite.
OXFORD TO SIGN A PLAYER!
Shotts is on the verge of making his first signing of the summer, namely
Steve Anthrobus (right) of Crewe. Anthrobus is a 30 year old striker, who
has previously played in the top flight for Wimbledon. In his two seasons
at Crewe he scored only 9 goals in 52 league starts, but was valuable for
his aerial ability and his ability to hold up the ball. A Crewe site provides
an excellently detailed profile
of Anthrobus. Apparently Oxford beat York, Wycombe, Shrewsbury and
Blackpool to his signature.
BANGER LATEST
Manchester City are now described as "favourites" to sign Nicky Banger (on a free transfer). Banger joins a list of City targets which includes Danny Murphy, David Johnson, Stan Lazaridis and Scott Sellars - talented players all. So where does our Nicky fit in?
SPURIOUS TRANSFER RUMOURS
Oxford are being linked with Tranmere's out of contract goalkeeper, Danny Coyne. The 25 year old Welsh international is also being linked with Crewe, Stockport, Port Vale and Grimsby - all clubs a division higher than Oxford. Bradford are also said to be interested in Coyne. (source : TeamTalk)
The Oxford Mail reports that Rotherham - formerly after Phil Whelan - are now talking to Brian Wilsterman who was released by Oxford at the end of last season. If he signed for Rotherham, Wiiill would become the first of Oxford's free-transfered players to find a new club.
DON'T BET ON IT
The bookmakers have quoted Oxford as joint 12-1 fifth favourites for
the second division title next season. They obviously haven't been looking
at the current size of our squad. Wigan are favourites (9-2), followed
by Bristol City, Stoke and Bury. Gillingham and Preston are given the same
odds as Oxford.
STILL NO MONEY
According to Thames Valley FM, Shotton has been given no money to spend on players. This is after Firoz Kassam had last week seemingly promised him some money. Quoted in the Oxford Mail, Kassam had said, "When he (Shotton) comes back, we will sit down and plan how we will spend the money. The money is available to him now and we must plan for next season." That was just eight days ago, and most would agree that this statement suggested there would be money to spend. A day later, David Bower's "Gang of Four" consortium withdrew their bid. Now it seems Kassam won't give Shotton any money to spend. Shotts is, however, allowed to look for players on free transfers, up to a maximum squad size of just 20 players. Wow.
Shotts managed to put a brave face on, describing his meeting with Kassam as "positive", and managing a smile with, "It's true the squad will have to be smaller than I thought. I'll probably end up with a maximum of 20, so it'll be a case of bring your boots whenever you can!"
Intriguingly Shotton also said, "One of the players I'm after would, if we can get him, be very influential in our side, I believe."
WANTED : MAN WITH A TAN
Nicky Banger is attracting the attention of a couple of first division
clubs, and they're not merely looking for an expert on sun-beds. Apparently
both Manchester City and Stockport are being linked with Banger, who is
out of contract at Oxford. Banger confirmed: "I need to sort myself out
and I've got a couple of clubs in the first division interested in me.
I think I will be leaving and I'm very disappointed with the way things
have gone at Oxford - the club's got no money and I've got to look after
myself."
SCARY CONTRACT NEWS
1. Simon Weatherstone has reportedly turned down his contract offer (which contained higher wgaes than his current deal) and will thus be out of contract at the end of the month. This means he can sign for another club in the UK and a tribunal would set the fee. If he signed for a club outside the UK, he would move on a free transfer. It is not known whether Malcolm will offer him an even better deal.
2. Nicky Banger has not been freed - that was a vicious rumour. He has merely not yet been offered a contract. With a bit of luck he'll want more money than we can offer him...
MALCOLM STARTS PLAYER SEARCH
Now that Shotton is back from his course at Lilleshall, he will start his search for new players. He will meet with Kassam this afternoon to agree on his budget for player fees and wages. SHotts claims already to have spoken to "two or three" who he has no doubt would already have signed if he'd had the money. Hopefully Kassam's cash injection will prove real, and Shotton will be able to get on with increasing the squad size from its current paltry size. Worryingly perhaps, Malcolm claimed to have played against some of these potential signings. A return for Gary Bannister and Imre Varadi?
LITTLEMORE PARISH COUNCIL AGM
Many of the members of the FOUL committee will be attending this
AGM to take questions and discuss issues surrounding the Minchery Farm
plans. If you want to go along, it is at 7.30pm tomorrow evening at the
Community Centre in Giles Road. (This meeting should not be confused with
the two further public meetings which the City Council has scheduled. These
are to be held on 21 and 28 June.)
Crystal Palace have been told by the board of the Football League that they must sort out their financial troubles by the end of July or they will not be allowed to start next season in the League. The announcement comes after a meeting of the chairmen of the league clubs ratified the decision. Palace are currently involved in takeover talks with a consortium backed by an Asian bank. The club says it will use legal action (funded by player sales) to fight the expulsion if necessary.
The Rob Folland "mystery" has been cleared up. He is still at the club,
with another year to run on his contract. So he hasn't disappeared! Thanks
to Dave Crabtree at the club for this information.
BANGER FREED
Nicky Banger has returned from holiday to discover that his newly updated tan will not be paraded at the Manor next season (unless he gets a job as a ballboy). Thames Valley FM reports that the "winger", whose contract expires at the end of this month, has been told that his services are no longer required at Oxford. That does however leave us with a first team squad of just 14 players, including Kevin Francis (long term injury) and Phil Whelan (likely to leave soon).
CROSBY LEAVES DENIS'S SIDE
Former Oxford assistant manager (and briefly manager) Malcolm Crosby
has been appointed as Jim Smith's number two at Derby County. This means
he leaves behind perennial partner Denis Smith at West Brom. Crosby was
recommended to Jim Smith by his former assistant Steve McClaren, who used
to be youth coach at the Manor. Jim Smith said, "[Steve] had worked with
him at Oxford and told me not only what a good coach he was but also how
good he was with the players."
Rotherham manager Ronnie Moore is said to be "desperate" to sign Phil Whelan. Whelan is still considering two offers from second division clubs though. It seems certain that Whelan will not be at Oxford next season though - "I don't figure in their plans and, really, I'm available," quoth Whelan. Phew.
Remember London Irish? Back in December they looked like the
most likely saviours of Oxford United when they considered sharing Minchery
Farm and helping us to build the stadium there. Well now they're poised
to merge with both London Scottish and Richmond to form a "super"club based
in South West London. This has apparently shafted Reading, as they relied
upon income from Richmond sharing their new Madejski Stadium.
COX WANTS £250,000
It has been revealed that on the list of Oxford United's creditors is
one K. Cox. Amount in credit : a cool £250,000. I guess
all that hard work at £67 an hour starts to add up. The FOUL committee
have now made public this information after gaining it from :
1) David Bower - when FOUL asked him which creditors woudl be affected
by the CVA, and how much they were owed (27 May).
2) Hamish Dewar (member of Bower's group) - when FOUL put the same
question to him (3 June).
The above makes me hope very much that Kassam's proposed CVA does happen, and that thus Cox receives closer to what he deserves (which is nothing). The possibility of Bower not being as independent ("just a fan") as he has tried to make out now occurs to the more cynically minded amongst us. After all Bower was appointed by Herd. Cox was also a Herd appointee. Bower seems awfully keen on the creditors not being "ripped off" by the CVA. Is Bower acting on Cox's behalf? It's just a theory, but it's certainly possible.
"GANG OF FOUR" DROP OFFER
David Bower's "Gang of Four" consortium has accepted FOUL's request for them to withdraw their offer to buy Firoz Kassam's majority shareholding in the club. Member of the consortium, Hamish Dewar, said, "We have no intention of causing trouble. We just wanted to highlight the problems that the club were facing which were not being addressed. I hope that, if nothing else, we have achieved something by prompting Mr Kassam to put this money Shotton's way now rather than later. It's probably a lot sooner than if we hadn't got involved. We are all mad-keen Oxford United supporters and we wouldn't have done this if we hadn't had the club's best interests at heart. I expect we will now just disappear from the scene."
Dewar evinced disappointment that FOUL had not spoken to the consortium
personally, but rather announced their request for Bower's offer to be
withdrawn via a Press Release.
Fox FM has reported this morning that Shotton has £2 million to spend on players. The veracity of this statement has not been confirmed, but if true it would constitute a major development in Kassam's level of commitment to the club. If he is prepared to make this amount of money available, he must be serious about Oxford. Of course if the amount is simply a loan, it could shove us further into the shit...
The Oxford Mail has confirmed Kassam's cash offer to Malcolm, putting
the amount at £1-2 million. Kassam said, "When he (Shotton) comes
back, we will sit down and plan how we will spend the money. The money
is available to him now and we must plan for next season."
FOUL MEDIA RELEASE - OXFORD - 7th JUNE 1999 - NO EMBARGO
FOUL has waited until it had all the facts before commenting publicly on recent developments at Oxford United. Having met with all of the main parties involved we now believe we have a balanced understanding of the situation as a whole. FOUL is an independent supporters organisation and as such we do not believe it is appropriate for us to announce support for a particular individual or consortium. The football club is the only thing that has our total support and we will continue to campaign for its survival. Having said that FOUL is perfectly happy to voice concerns over any actions, from wherever they may come, that we believe threaten the survival of Oxford United.OTHER NEWSFOUL believes it is now time for David Bower's consortium to withdraw their offer to buy Firoz Kassam's majority share holding in Oxford United FC.
We appreciate that they mounted their campaign with the good of Oxford United at heart but believe their continued presence can only be harmful to the football club under the current circumstances.
FOUL's only objective since we were formed last November has been the long term survival of Oxford United. It soon became clear that for this to happen the club's massive debts needed to be cleared and the new stadium must be completed. David Bower's consortium have not been able to adequately explain to us how they would achieve either of these two requirements.
We share their concerns, and those of many supporters about Firoz Kassam providing immediate financial support to the football club. We urge Mr. Kassam to immediately release sufficient funds to remove the short term financial uncertainty and allow Malcolm Shotton to strengthen the playing staff. Particularly now that we believe he has the financial security he requires for this to happen.
FOUL believes it is essential that everybody refocuses on the long term future of the club by supporting the application for a multiplex cinema at Minchery Farm that will allow the stadium to be completed. We believe the City Council and local MP's are fully aware of the need for this application to succeed but are concerned that Oxfordshire County Council may not share this understanding. It is very important that we ensure that Oxfordshire County Council are fully aware of all of the information and background to the multiplex application and the strength of public opinion, throughout the county, in favour of the plan.
FOUL are urgently seeking meetings with the officers and members of the County Council to this end. We firmly believe that the County Council's support alongside that of the City Council and all of Oxfordshire's Members of Parliament will mean that John Prescott will not stand in the way of the application and the future of Oxford United Football Club.
Malcolm Shotton has been given an indication that he can bring some players to the Manor (if only on free transfers). Shotton said, "I have been able to speak to players and hopefully from now on, I might be able to take steps forward. It has been difficult to talk to people with the knowledge that we couldn't sign them. Hopefully, in the near future we can get ready to sign players." Apparently new director, Fenton Higgins, has given Shotton the green light to proceed with player enquiries.
David Bower (leader of what the Oxford Mail is inventively terming the Gang Of Four consortium) has said he is not surprised that the three pre-Kassam directors of Oxford had resigned. He said, "We are sad for the directors that they felt it was necessary to go because I know they have devoted a lot of time and effort to Oxford United. We may have had minor differences with them, but they have genuinely got the interests of Oxford United at heart. What we have got now is a board of two directors who have never seen Oxford United play, and don't live within 50 miles of Oxford." These two directors are both Kassam appointees, namely Fenton Higgins and even more recent appointment, Ashwini Tawakley. Both are accountants by trade.
If anyobdy is interested in Buchler Phillips, the corporate recovery
company which Kassam brought in to advise the club on its future strategy
and to help set up the CVA, I have done a web search for them. For a company
who are described as "the UK's leading independent financial recovery and
restructuring group" (by Two-Ten News Network), they are seemingly loathe
to embrace new technology such as their own website. The best I could find
is the entry in the web directory set up by the SPI
(Society of Practioners of Insolvency) - view the listing for Buchler
Phillips . Interesting stuff, huh?
BARROW BOOTED OUT OF CONFERENCE
Barrow AFC's future is in doubt after they were today excluded from
the Football Conference for next season, despite narrowly winning their
relegation fight. The expulsion comes just days after FA chiefs refused
to recognise Barrow as members of the Association. Barrow recently reformed
as Barrow AFC (1999) Ltd after the former company went into liquidation,
but the new company/club was refused permission by the FA to take up the
old club's membership. Read full details at this
Barrow site. They're bitter, and I don't blame them...
MASS RESIGNATION FROM BOARD
Reports are coming in that Nick Harris, Geoff Coppock and Maurice Evans have all resigned from the Oxford United Board this morning. They released a press statement as follows:
The time has come to step down as directors because we feel we have done all we can to secure the future of the Club. We are not comfortable about certain aspects of proposed new plans, including the CVA. Consequently, in fairness to the shareholders, fans and the owner of the Club, Firoz Kassam, we felt we had no option but to resign from the Board.Maurice Evans will remain as "General Manager" of the club, hopefully meaning that his superb scouting skills will not be lost to the club. As for Coppock and Harris, will their absence be felt? I doubt it.We are proud that as directors we have managed to keep the Club alive through some very hard times during the last couple of years. Also, we would like to pay tribute to the staff and management for their loyalty when the going really got tough.
Finally, a big thank you to the incredible fans who have supported the Club through thick and thin. We are confident there is a future for the Club and will continue to support it in every way possible.
The three directors represented the main opposition to Kassam's plan for the CVA (Creditors' Voluntary Agreement). Now that they have resigned, Kassam should have little trouble in getting his wish, despite the vocal opposition of David Bower (who is not on the board, but is merely acting MD). The sole remaining director of Oxford United is Firoz Kassam's recent appointee to the board, chartered accountant Fenton Higgins.
BOWER SPEAKS OUT AGAIN
David Bower has again spoken out against club owner, Firoz Kassam, in what is fast degenerating into an unsavoury rivalry for control of the club. Bower stated that Kassam would walk away if he was not granted the multiplex planning permission he desired. Whilst this is probably true, I still feel that Bower has failed to demonstrate a viable alternative to Kassam's plans. The £1.5 million he keeps saying is available would merely be a drop in the ocean, especially as he is opposed to the CVA as a means of reducing the club's debts of £12.5 million.
Bower also claimed that Kassam has banned him from the Manor Ground "for life", which (if true) seems to indicate that Kassam is not the most pleasant man to walk the earth. Bower is after all a fan of the club, and noone seems to doubt that he has the best interests of the club at heart, even if his plans seem a bit naive.
Finally, Bower called for support from FOUL, saying, "I am a
bit surprised that FOUL have not been more supportive. If everyone one
comes out against Kassam, he will go. He would not stand the heat in the
kitchen, and the council would not do the deal if he had lost the support
of the people because the council hold the key to all this."
ROSENTHAL URGES KASSAM TO WALK AWAY
ITV presenter Jim Rosenthal (a member of David Bower's consortium) has urged Firoz Kassam to walk away from Oxford United. Rosenthal said, "What we have done is provide an alternative. One of Mr Kassam's major things is that there is no alternative to what he wants to do, but if he is not going to offer 100 per cent or 110 per cent, then he should walk away." The consortium has offered an immediate £1.5 million to help Malcolm Shotton prepare for next season. (They haven't explained why the bank wouldn't simply suck up this money, as they did the Windass fee.)
Rosenthal also warned that there was a time limit on the consortium's offer. "The four of us have got other lives. The offer is still there, but it won't be there forever", he said. "I don't think we will be waiting more than a couple of weeks because three clubs - Luton, Crystal Palace and Portsmouth - have already been warned by the League, and I don't think our situation is a lot better than them as regards next season."
Rosenthal also claimed that Kassam (an Arsenal fan) is not a football man. "I sat behind him and he got up and left ten minutes before the end of the Chelsea game, so need I say more? My massive concern now is that he has no intention of looking after the football club and he is using it as a vehicle."
MEETING DATES
The dates and venues for the two further public meetings for discussion on Oxford United and Firoz Kassam's multiplex plans are as follows :
Mon 21 June at 7.30 in the Community Hall, Blackbird Leys Leisure Centre. Mon 28 June at 7.30 at the Oxford Town Hall.
Firoz Kassam today released a press statement outlining his plans for Oxford United. If you want to see the full text of the statement, it can be found at the Offiical Club Website. In summary, what Kassam said in his statement (if I can remember from school how to do a precis...) is as follows :
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