OPEN MEETING NEXT WEEK

Firoz Kassam is to hold an open meeting on December 8th (Wednesday next week) at 7.30pm in the Oxford United Social Club. Doors open at 7pm. get there early, as it's likely to be well attended. You can ask FK all those burning questions such as:

• How much money do Harford and Mad Dog get to spend?
• Do you really expect the stadium to be ready for the start of next season?
• Is it really true that asylum seekers in your hotel are responsible for global warming, the nuclear arms race, and Third World Debt?

Oxford have their second (and final) chance to get through to the third round of the Cup when they take on Shrewsbury in a replay tonight. It is the first match in his new post for Ray Harford, but Mickey Lewis will get to make all the big decisions - such as whether to start with Steve Anthrobus. Neil McGowan limped off with a groin injury on Saturday, and is doubtful. He may be replaced by Paul Powell, rested in recent weeks.

Shrewsbury are without Steve Kerrigan, double goalscorer in the original match. Recent signing, striker John Gayle, is cup-tied, despite not actually playing in an FA Cup match this season. He was on the bench for former club Scunthorpe's defeat against Rushden.

Mickey Lewis commented on the importance of tonight's match, "It's very important for us to get a result, especially with the money aspect. Forest are a big club and hopefully they would have a big crowd."

ARENDSE KEEPS CLEAN SHEET

Andre Arendse kept a clean sheet as South Africa beat Sweden 1-0 on Sunday. I guess we're lucky Lundin isn't an international - otherwise  both might have been unavailable for recent matches. Still, Andre can probably rib Porn Star about the result...

COLD BORE DRAW
(CHESTERFIELD 0 OXFORD 0)

It was cold and windswept. The canteen closed at half-time, leaving us with a second half without hot chocolate. The football was mainly dire. The crowd was low. Even a weekend in Derbyshire was scant consolation for this battle of cloggers. Still, Oxford stayed unbeaten under Mad Dog, finished the stronger side, and moved up to 15th in the table. Even so, it can only get better.

FOREST MATCH SWITCHED

If we beat Shrewsbury on Tuesday evening, our third round match at Nottingham Forest will take place on Friday 11 December, 7.45pm kick-off. This is apparently because Notts County have a home match on the Saturday. Fair enough, but could they not have switched our match to the Sunday? Friday is a work-day, the traffic in the evening is horrendous, and I suspect the away crowd will be much reduced. Or maybe that's why they've switched it to Friday...?

HARFORD STARTS WORK TODAY

Ray Harford officially starts in his post as Technical Director today. He has reassured Mickey Lewis that he is not after the manager's job. "I'm looking forward to meeting Mickey. I haven't even spoken to him yet. And I want to reassure him that I'm not a threat to him." It has been confirmed that Harford will NOT join the board as a director of the club.

DAILY MAIL ATTACKS KASSAM

Those right-wingers at The Daily Mail  are pursuing one of their favourite agendas once more. Yes it's immigration. Yes they're having another go at asylum seekers. You might ask why I'm bothering to include any of this here. It's because this time they have an article about Firoz Kassam and his London Park Hotel, which houses people seeking asylum in the UK.

Basically the article lists a series of incidents supposedly involving asylum seekers housed at the hotel, including such disgusting offences as "whistling and shouting", "pointing a gun" (which turns out to be a cigarette lighter) and "playing loud music". There are also complaints of vice girls, littering and stalking, but the article itself admits that police say that figures do not back up claims of a crimewave by the refugees.

The article says nothing about the problems asylum seekers face when arriving in a strange (and often hostile) country [the UK], having lived through what have often been horrifying conditions in their own countries. But then this is The Daily Mail. For them, this is actually a more balanced article than usual, as it does end with the police defending the majority of refugees, and disclaiming the stories of crimewaves.

But the tagline on the story gives away the real Daily Mail attitude : "Colour TV in every room and programmes beamed in from Kosovo for high-life refugees." Of course these foreign scroungers don't deserve that. They are only asylum seekers. Why should the honest British taxpayer help them out? (Well, that's the attitude of the Daily Mail, and increasingly of the government.)

I say well done to Firoz Kassam for not bowing to pressure, and for continuing to house asylum seekers in his hotel. People who have been through hell deserve a little bit of help and sympathy.

POINTS OF INTEREST

So much has happened over the past few days that inevitably some details have escaped me. Here are some seemingly random and unrelated points that have not yet been mentioned on this site:

• The actual land agreement (as opposed to the Heads of Terms which were signed yesterday) will be signed in three weeks time;
• The land for the multiplex development will only be handed over after the stadium has been completed. This means that development on the multiplex cannot start until the stadium is built and ready. Excellent.
• It is not known what effect Taylor Woodrow's lack of involvement in the stadium development will have on the CVA of which they are the major creditor. The club has until 27 January (6 months after the CVA was agreed) to come to terms with creditors in order for the CVA to become legally binding.

One of the remaining stumbling blocks in the quest to build the Minchery Farm stadium (et al) is the covenant that Thames Water hold on the land. This covenant restricted the land to leisure use only - apparently football is not classified as leisure. Effectively the Council needed to meet with Thames Water to agree compensation for the lifting of this covenant. Now it seems that Richard Giles (Head of Estates at the City Council) has publicly announced that the Club, the Council and Thames Water have reached a provisional agreement over this sum. More good news.

Previously Thames Water had been offered 35% of what the Council receive for the land (about £300,000) plus a 7% stake in the Stadium Company. I'm not sure if this is still the agreed amount.

RAY HERTFORD?

If football has passed you by during the last few years, you might be wondering who this Ray Harford geezer is. All questions are answered in this comprehensive look at the man and his management history, courtesy of B.O.I.N.G.

HARFORD REACTION

There was not nearly as much interest from the papers in Harford's appointment as I imagined there might have been. I guess Oxford are small fry, even if Harford has in the past been a "name" manager. Ironically, since coaching is the one thing Harford will not be responsible for, his strength has always lain on the coaching field. Whilst coaching under Dalglish at Blackburn, they were ultra-successful. When he took over as manager, their fortunes nosedived. For those who are interested, Harford's previous managerial career is here. This includes a spell at Luton where he alienated most of their squad members. But don't let that put you off.

It will be interesting to see who is considered to be the real manager at Oxford. I presume it will be Mickey Lewis, and that Harford will be given a seat on the board, and will advise Kassam on the playing side of the club. Officially he is responsible for "signing new players and negotiating contracts".

Interestingly Kassam has said that he will "make money available" to Harford and Lewis. We shall have to wait and see exactly what this means.

LAND DEAL UPDATE

The full City Council press statement on the signing of the land agreement is as follows:

FULL STEAM AHEAD FOR NEW STADIUM
The heads of terms for Oxford City Council's land deal with Oxford United were signed today at the Manor Ground.
The document is a frame work agreement which sets out the position of Firoz Kassam and Oxford City Council for the proposed land transaction.
The transaction would involve the sale of land currently owned by Oxford City Council at Minchery Farm. This would allow the completion of the new football stadium and car park as well as the creation of a new hotel and leisure facilities.
It is envisaged that the land deal would be sold in three separate tranches following completion of various elements of the development.
John Tanner, Leader of Oxford City Council, said "This is a good deal for Oxford taxpayers, football supporters and cinema- goers. I wish Firoz Kassam all the best in getting this project off the ground as soon as possible".
End

It seems that the full agreement will need to be signed before FK will organise the recommencement of building work at Minchery Farm. He has stated that within 7 days of the full deal being signed, work will be restarted.

GRIM BARNET NEWS

Just as things are looking positive for Oxford, elsewhere events are turning pear-shaped. I received this update on the Barnet situation from Elaine Graham-Leigh of the KBA (Keep Barnet Alive). They sound very negative and depressed about the whole situation. We need to let them know that other fans will not let Barnet die without a fight. Send messages of support to bee-friends@egroups.com.

LAND DEAL SIGNED

A framework agreement between Oxford City Council and Oxford United has today been signed. This agreement is over the land deal between the Club and the Council for Minchery Farm land currently owned by the Council. The land will be sold in three separate sections, as required for the continuing development of the site. Kassam was quoted as saying, "We are not quite there yet, but this is a big step forward." He stated that builders will restart on the stadium before Christmas, and that Taylor Woodrow would not be the developer. Kassam is speaking to three contracting companies over the stadium development work.

John Tanner, Council Leader, said, "It is a great day for football supporters, for cinema goers and taxpayers." Well a politician has to come out with this guff, but it does look like being a day to remember in the struggle to save Oxford United.

LEWIS APPOINTED COACH, HARFORD AS TECHNICAL DIRECTOR

Oxford have gone for one of those "European" style management innovations, with the appointment of Ray Harford as Technical Director, whilst Mickey Lewis remains as First Team Coach. Both appointments run until the end of this season. Les Taylor will remain as Mad Dog's assistant. Mickey claims to be "delighted" with his appointment, and sees the arrival of Harford as a positive move for the club.

SMEG

Gary Megson is the latest out-of-work manager to be linked to the Oxford post. The former Norwich and Blackpool manager was sacked by Stoke in the past week after a takeover by an Icelandic consortium, despite leading the club to third in the table. However his record at Norwich and Blackpool was less impressive, and judging by what some Norwich fans I know thought of Megson, he would not be that great a prospect.

WARNOCK DENIES OXFORD LINK

Thankfully Neil Warnock has for the second time issued a denial that he has had any contact with oxford over the manager's job. That will please U's fans, though probably not Bury fans. Warnock is now being linked with the Sheffield United vacancy - apparently he is a Blades fan.

The Blackburn and Sheffield United vacancies are having an effect on the stated candidates for the Oxford job. Colin Todd is one of the favourites to take over at Ewood Park, whilst Nigel Spackman is a fans' favourite for a return to Bramall Lane, where he enjoyed success before clashing with the chairman over player sales.

Mickey Lewis, though, is doing his best to become a viable candidate for the U's post, and few people would now begrudge him further time to make his case. He has done well - unbeaten in 6 matches, including two away league victories.

PLAY AWAY

For what must be the first time in living memory (or something), Oxford have gained more points away from home than at the Manor. Fortress Manor is no more - just 9 points from the 9 home games testify to that - but a pleasing development is the 10 points that the U's have gained from their 9 away games. Could it be we've gone from being good at home and crap away to being just plain inconsistent?

I BET THE JOEY LINKS START AGAIN

Birmingham City were linked with Joey Beauchamp a few weeks back, presumably by reporters who are still prepared to believe Joey is willing to leave Oxford. For a non-Premiership side. Well, in last night's match, both Birmingham's wingers got injured. Jon McCarthy is likely to be out until the end of the season, and Stan Lazaridis requires a scan to determine the extent of his injury. So expect the "Joey off to Brum" rumours to start again soon.

FINAL SCORE - NOTTS COUNTY 0 OXFORD 1

Wow! What was described on Ceefax as a "freak" goal gave Oxford a 1-0 win at fourth-placed Notts County. Former Oxford loanee, Mark Warren, played a routine backpass to his keeper, Darren Ward, but the ball bobbled past Ward into the net. Now I wish I'd been there. Otherwise Ceefax described Oxford as the "livelier side", but apparently County had the "better chances". So now you know.

Excellent result whatever the quality of the goal!

NOTTS COUNTY TONIGHT

The U's take on Notts County at Meadow Lane tonight. Steve Anthrobus will be pushing for a full recall after his impressive substitute appearance which turned the match on Saturday. Otherwise the team is likely to remain unchanged, though Paul Powell must be hoping to start again soon after being rested in recent matches. No goalkeeper will feature on the Oxford bench as Andre Arendse is away on international duty for South Africa.

Former Oxford loan player, Mark Warren, is likely to feature in the Notts County defence, where he has been impressive since signing last season. We couldn't afford him at the time. County started the season in fine form, but are now on a bad run, having won only one of their last six matches (in all competitions).

IDLE SPECULATION

There's nothing like a bit of rumour to get the day started. Apparently the Bury mailing list has been filled with rumours that Neil Warnock is about to move to Oxford (a rumour that's been doing the rounds for a while) and that they will get Brian McClair as replacement. I think a better bet would be for us to get Brian McClair. No fool he - mathematics graduate that he is. Of course that wouldn't necessarily make him a good manager.

Bury fans are eager to see the back of Warnock - he is a hated figure at Gigg Lane. I suspect the fans here would not take kindly to his appointment, which seems unlikely to me.

BANGER NEWS

According to a Scottish correspondent, Nicky Banger actually impressed for Dundee until his sending off on Saturday. A match report contained such installments as :

• "Banger almost had Dundee level...he cleverly side-stepped a defender inside the Motherwell box before firing a shot low to Woods' left, but was denied by a fine diving save"
• "In the 50th minute, the lively Banger sent Annand clear"
• "Pandemonium then erupted when Banger needlessly got himself sent off...he seemed to aim an off the ball kick at Doesburg after the

pair had clashed, and there was a big delay while the referee sorted out the resulting melee"

LATEST FOUL NEWS

For an update straight from FOUL on all the burning issues (Pentith, CVA, stadium, etc.), visit the latest news page from FOUL. This will fill you in on everything you need to know. It also saves me what is currently precious time, in that I don't have to type it all out!

LEWIS DENIES PERMANENCE

Mickey Lewis has denied the Sport First story that he has been offered the manager's job until the end of the season. Kassam might well appoint someone else this week. More likely he won't.

FOREST (OR JUST MAYBE VILLA) AWAY

If the U's overcome Shrewsbury in the 2nd round replay, they wil be away to first division Nottingham Forest in the third round. Even if Oxford lose to Shrewsbury there is a small chance that they will play in the third round, away to Aston Villa. The Birmingham side were drawn at home to the AXA Wildcard - meaning that one side beaten in the second round will play at Villa Park in the third round. A very small chance, but it's there.

Sport First newspaper reported that Mickey Lewis had been assured of the manager's job until the end of the season. Not sure where they got this from, but I don't think there's yet any indication that it's true.

BANGER OFF

Nicky Banger got his new career off to a memorable start for Dundee yesterday. He came on as a second half substitute, but was then sent off nine minutes from time. "He's got to learn to control his fiery temper," said Dundee's manager Jocky Scott. We at Oxford know the real reason - Nicky would do anything to be first in the queue for the sunbed...

COME BACK
(SHREWSBURY 2 OXFORD 2)

Oxford came back from 2-0 down to squeak into the draw for the third round. Matt Murphy and Rob Folland scored second half goals to save Oxford's blushes and Mad Dog's unbeaten run. The catalyst was apparently the arrival as substitute of Steve Anthrobus, whilst earlier Lundin kept Oxford in the match with superb saves.

LUTON AGAIN

Oxford were drawn at home to Luton in the first round of the Auto Wiundscreen Shield. They knocked us out of the League Cup last season, and have beaten us home and away already this season. So no trip to Wembley, unless things change. The match will be played in the week beginning 6 December.

UNRESOLVED

The issue that needs to be resolved is "Can the Council sign the land deal (to transfer multiplex land to Firoz Kassam) before the JR situation has been completely resolved?" The answer to this question is still unknown, but the Council's legal department have been asked, and FOUL should hear something on this soon. Hopefully.

Everything depends on the answer to this question. FK is extremely unlikely to proceed in any way at Minchery unless the answer is "Yes". This begs the worrying follow-up question of what will happen if the answer is negative. It hardly bears thinking about.

SHREWSBURY PREVIEW

Oxford travel to Shrewbury Town (bottom of the Football League) tomorrow in a bid to reach the third round of the FA Cup. The squad (and probably team) is likely to be unchanged from last week, although Steve Davis came through a reserve match in midweek - gifting the opposition two goals in the process apparently! Peter Fear will also be hopeful of regaining his place in the squad. He has apparently reported for extra training this week after his poor form led to his being dropped from the first 16.

Shrewsbury are known to be a hard-working team (just the sort Oxford don't enjoy facing), and will be boosted by the arrival of new manager Kevin Ratcliffe in midweek. This isn't going to be an easy match for the U's, whatever the league tables might suggest.

Mickey Lewis is hopeful of signing Jamie Lambert on a longer term contract next week. "It's something we're looking to sort out and I imagine there's a good chance it will be at the start of next week", said Mad Dog. Of course next week lewis may well find he is no longer in the job. The whole club is in flux at the moment.

PENTITH - I MIGHT LOSE MONEY

In an interview with today's Oxford Mail (which I haven't seen, so this is second hand news), Nick Pentith has apparently said that he is attempting the JR against the decision to allow a multiplex at Minchery Farm because it may reduce the value of the Oxpens land that he himself owns. This fails to take into account two points:

• He has already had planning permission for a cinema on his Oxpens land turned down;
• The Oxpens enquiry had concluded that Oxford could support a further 16 cinema screens, only 9 of which will be provided at Minchery Farm. This leaves a vacancy for about 7 screens if he were to achieve planning permission in the future.

Members of the FOUL Committee will meet with Labour council leader John Tanner tonight. Basically they will be asking him whether the Council will sign the deal to hand over the land before the JR question has been settled. A non-affirmative answer could spell real problems...

WARNOCK DENIES OXFORD LINK

According to a correspondent in the Manchester area, Neil Warnock is strongly denying any link with Oxford. He said yesterday that he has no intention of leaving Bury and that he "enjoys the love/hate relationship he has with the fans". Apparently most Bury fans know about the "hate" side, but not the "love" side! But it does seem that Warnock is unlikely to end up at the Manor. Thankfully.

LINCOLN IN IMMINENT CRISIS

Financially troubled Lincoln City are on the brink of administration unless they attract investement before the end of the year (that's just six weeks). Chairman John Reames, who has been single-handedly propping up the club since its previous period of administration last year, says that this time the future of the club could be on the line. "Unless we get some sort of investment within the next six weeks we are looking at going into administration. People say the club will never go under, but I am telling them that is what could happen. I made it clear a year ago that we needed an injection of cash, that has not happened and as a result the situation has worsened."

HIGH COURT WAITS ON PENTITH

Apparently the High Court listing office is waiting for Pentith to phone them to arrange a date for the JR hearing. They cannot fix a date until Pentith has phoned them. They are apparently too snowed under to phone him themselves. Oh dear. What a joke.

WARNOCK LINKED

Long ball nightmare alert. Bury boss Neil Warnock is said to be among the twelve interviewed by FK for the post of next Oxford manager. Remember Bury? We played them last weekend. Did they play an attractive style of football? I think not.

LET'S HEAR FROM THE COUNCIL

There are real fears that the City Council will not allow the transfer of land for the multiplex to go through until the Judicial Review situation has been resolved. The timescale of any possible resolution is scary - some FOUL committee members fear this may be as late as July. That would mean another season at the Manor unless :

• Firoz Kassam goes ahead with the building of Minchery Farm before the land has been transferred for the multiplex. He is unlikely to do this as he could end up losing everything if the JR decision goes the wrong way.
• The Council shows that it is behind the club, and that it believes in its own planning powers, by releasing the land before the whole JR business is fully resolved.

Pentith really is causing us a great deal of trouble. It could be time for a Bill Archer style anti-Pentith campaign from Us fans.

GROUND SWAP LEADS TO DOUBLE DEFEAT

Oxford United reserves and Oxford City both lost yesterday after swapping grounds for the day. Over 4000 attended the Manor last night for Oxford City's 1-0 defeat by Wycombe. United get 10% of the gate receipts for this. A Times report on the City v. Wycombe tie can be found here.

Meanwhile, a Ben Abbey goal was the only highlight (a Steve Davis conceded penalty being the lowlight) of a 3-1 defeat for the United reserves against Bristol City in a match switched to Court Place Farm, home of Oxford City.

PLAY TO FEET

Paul Tait has made it evident that there has been a change of style under Mickey Lewis with his post-match quote, saying, "It's called football and it's got to be played with the feet." He was pleased with the new approach, after Malcolm Shotton's management had begun to lead to route one football being played. Certainly the team has learnt how to pass. If only they could do it for more than half a match though.

YET ANOTHER "FAVOURITE"

TeamTalk have now decided that Ray Harford is the favourite for the Oxford manager's job. He succeeds Mickey Lewis, Ray Houghton and Mark Wright in the coveted position of TeamTalk's Shot in the Dark. Seriously though, this Ray Harford rumour is building up too much momentum for my liking.

OXFORD CITY TONIGHT

Don't forget Oxford City's bid to reach the FA Cup second round continues tonight at the Manor, kickoff at 7.45pm. United have never beaten Wycombe at the Manor, but maybe City can! If City do progress to the next round, they will use the Manor once more to host Wigan on Saturday.
[Note: Just heard from Steve Merritt (he of Information Centre fame) that the Us have in fact beaten Wycombe at the Manor, but never in the Football League, and not in recent memory either!]

QUESTIONS AND RUMOURS

Not much is really yet known about what effect Pentith's JR appeal will have. However there are some scary rumours and questions:

• The appeal may not be heard until June next year;
• The Council may not release funds for the development until the Pentith issue is setlled;
• Taylor Woodrow may be replaced as builders for the new ground. What does this mean for the CVA?

KASSAM TO APPOINT MANAGER?

Firoz Kassam interviewed 12 candidates for the management post last week, and is thought to be ready to make an appointment. It is not known who the candidates are, but they are thought to include Nigel Spackman, Ray Harford, Mark McGhee, Ian Atkins and Mad Dog himself. Personally I feel we need to make a new start, with a new man at the helm, hopefully including Mickey Lewis in the management team. I'd really prefer one of Nigel Spackman and Colin Todd.

Mark McGhee, who had earlier said he was prepared to work on a trial basis without pay, has again indicated his interest in the Oxford vacancy. He said, "The Oxford job is available, and close to where I live, so a lot would be right about it for me."

The players would prefer Mickey Lewis to be appointed. This is hardly unexpected. They know where they stand with him, evidently like him, and would not feel their places were under as much threat as if a new manager arrived. But this does not necessarily mean Lewis is the right choice. We shall have to wait and see.

Oxford United is currently a club living in "interesting times". This could be an especially interesting week.

DAVIS BACK FOR RESERVES

Steve Davis will make his return after a hamstring injury to play in the reserves against Bristol City tomorrow. The match has been moved to Court Place Farm in Marston (Oxford City's ground) as City are now playing their FA Cup replay against Wycombe at the Manor tomorrow evening. The reserve match kicks off at 1pm.

OXFORD AGAIN FAIL TO BEAT BURY
(OXFORD 1 BURY 1)

We just knew it. Bury cannot be beaten. 1-0 up against ten dispirited men, cruising, and then we let slip a goal out of the blue. Another defensive error. This time Les Robinson. For so long it looked as if we 'd win. The crowd felt it, the team felt it. That was the problem.

In the first half we played as well as we'd done all season, passed it around, did clever runs and moves. Even Phil Whelan looked a decent player. The goal came early (Jamie Lambert with a superb turn and shot) and we then dominated the game. But in the second half, we did too little. Forgot how to play. And let slip the inevitable equaliser where none was deserved.

And for the second game running we had a terrible referee. Just as I was beginning to feel they weren't so bad this season.

HARFORD FAVOURITE?

According to the Oxford Mail, Ray "Personality" Harford is the frontrunner for the Oxford hotseat. The dullest post match interviews in the business? Well they were when he was at Blackburn...

BURY KICKS OFF AT 5pm

Oxford are at home to Bury tomorrow, with the kick-off moved back to 5pm so that punters can get pissed up watching the Scotland v England match in the pub beforehand. Team news is that Paul Tait is pressing for a recall after suspension, but he may have to make do with a place on the bench. Otherwise the team should be unchanged from the one that played against Reading (deservedly - apart from Phil Whelan). Steve Davis has still not fully recovered from a hamstring injury and will not be risked.

TAYLOR WOODROW DEPART?

There is a rumour that Taylor Woodrow have abandoned the Minchery Farm building project, and that we are looking for new builders. Note that this is completely unconfirmed...

PENTITH DELAYS

Apparently our "friend" Nick Pentith is using delaying tactics on the JR appeal. He has allegedly objected to the first date offered, but left his objection until now - the latest date possible to object. It is thought that the appeal may not be heard until well into next year. If his JR application appeal eventually fails, he then still has the right to go to the Court of Appeal.

LITTLE DOES HE KNOW*

Either the standard of the Scottish Premier League is very low, or these words will come back to haunt Dundee manager Jocky Scott.

"I am delighted that Nicky has decided to come up and join us after all."

"One of the especially good things about Nicky is his versatility. He can play up front as a traditional striker but he can also do well on the wing."

"He’s played to a good standard down south, and I am hopeful he can do a good job."

*Please Note: The above story is a gratuitous attempt to retain the standard level of Nicky Banger abuse even after he has left the club.

LATEST - CITY REPLAY AT THE MANOR

Oxford City won the drawing of lots with Wycombe to decide the venue for the replayed match. They have decided to play the match at the Manor on 16 November (next Tuesday) at 7.45pm. Hopefully loads of Us fans will turn up for this one. The home reserve match (Bristol City) scheduled for that night has now been postponed.

FOUL's FIRST BIRTHDAY

If you look back to the November 1998 news section of my site, you will find the following entry for the 10th:

Reminder :  There is a meeting tonight in the social club of the Manor at about 7pm. This is a meeting for Oxford fans to discuss the latest devlopments, and is organised by Martin Brodetsky, one of the editors of Rage On.

Happy birthday! (Well it would be happier if Pentith would get off Oxford's back...)

BANGER GOES TO DUNDEE

Nicky Banger has finally disappeared (with his tan) to the east coast of Scotland. Last night he signed a two and a half year contract with Dundee. He will mark his debut as a Dundee player in tomorrow's friendly against Aris Salonkia, a match which celebrates the opening of the revamped Dens Park. Banger said: "I would love to be involved at some stage because I desperately need to improve my match fitness. I'm looking forward to the challenge of playing in the Scottish Premier League." And quite a challenge it might turn out to be for a man of Nicky's talent.

CITY MATCH ABANDONED

Oxford City again held Wycombe to a 1-1 draw, in the replay of their first round FA Cup tie. After extra time, with the penalty shootout about to begin, the match was abandoned because of a small fire (or was it just the fire alarm?) in one of the stands. So they have to do it all over again. Can City really overturn the odds for a third time? Should they have to? And who the hell set the fire alarm off if there wasn't a fire?

With a bit of luck the replayed replay will be held at the Manor, where if there is a fire alarm, it probably won't be working. (A joke - okay?) The Us have offered assistance to City for the match - it would surely be sensible for this offer to be taken up by the City powers that be.

MAD DOG THE FAVOURITE

Mickey Lewis has been installed as favourite for the manager post after the victory in Reading on Sunday. He has overtaken previous favourite Mark Wright. Others who feature highly in the odds are Ray Houghton and Denis Smith.

Meanwhile, Maurice Evans, who returned to Reading from Oxford after 15 years has said he will not reveal the full reason that he left, commenting only, "I just find it very sad what's happening there [Oxford]." For some reason hee obviously does not like the Kassam regime.

NOT DENIS PLEASE...

The Sunday People reported yesterday that Denis Smith would be our new manager with Mark Wright as his assistant. In the words of 2 Unlimited : "No no, no no no no, no no no no, ..."

Apparently there have now been more than sixty applications for the job. No doubt some of these have been Danny Baker inspired prank applications, but there does seem to be considerable interest.

Mad Dog is still very much in the running, and his chances won't have been hindered by yesterday's result. He is very keen to get the job, and said after the match, "I hope this helps me to get the manager's job on a permanent basis." Can't get plainer than that.

OXFORD WIN AWAY!
(READING 1 OXFORD 2)

Oxford beat fellow relegation strugglers, Reading, in a hard fought battle (literally at times) at the Madejski Stadium. An early solo goal from Rob Folland gave Oxford the lead, held until deep into the second half. Then one of Phil Whelan's many errors proved costly as sub Jim McIntyre equalised for Reading. Just as it looked as if the home side might get on top, Joey crossed and Murphy lashed in a volley. 2-1 to the Oxford boys, etc., etc.

Ross Weatherstone made his first start (in the back three) and did impressively well. Neil McGowan also had a rare start, with a solid game at left back. Phil Whelan, though, MUST be dropped.

By the way the referee was terrible...

MAURICE EVANS RETURNS TO READING

Oxford's Chief Scout/General Manager (and former team manager), Maurice Evans has resigned and returned to Reading, where he was manager for seven years in the late 70s and early 80s. He has been at Oxford in one capacity or another since the 1984/85 season. He will take up a similar "General Manager" role at Reading. Evans described it as "the right time to leave Oxford".

PENTITH NEWS

Most people, including Oxford City Council, appear to think that Nick Pentith has little or no chance of succeeding with his appeal over his failed JR application. Apparently the Council are quite willing for building to commence on the new ground anyway. The important thing is whether Kassam sees it this way. If he is unwilling to commence building on the Minchery Farm site until Pentith is properly defeated, then we could be in for another few months' delay. Certainly no new ground for the start of next season - though that was already starting to look unlikely.

Pentith's appeal is for a JR into Oxford City Council's approval of the planning application, and not into the GOSE's decision not to take it beyond local level. His original JR application had been against both the Council and the GOSE.

He has applied using Form 86B - "Renewal application for permission to apply for judicial review". More details on the Judicial Review process including renewal can be found here and here.

BEAUCHAMP TO BRUM?

TeamTalk has filled its space with a report that Birmingham are after Joey, with a quoted fee of £650,000. Probably nothing in this. It's not even a Premiership club, so why would he want to go, given his obvious fondness for Oxford?

Rumours of a Watson move to Millwall are also refusing to disappear...

OXFORD CITY APPEAL

The Oxford City website has appealed to Us fans to go along to Wycombe on Tuesday to cheer them on. I know United fans have contrasting views on City, but I'm sure some will be interested in trooping to Adams Park for the match. Pity it isn't at the Manor.

LATEST - PENTITH APPEALS

Yes, it's bad news, I'm afraid. Pentith has renewed his application for a Judicial Review. He has apparently only renewed his application in relation to Oxford City Council. He has dropped the application relating to Prescott and the GOSE. Not sure what this means though...

DUNDEE STILL TRYING TO SIGN BANGER

Nicky Banger returned to Oxford to discover that the club are still willing (keen?) to release him on a free transfer. This has led Dundee into a second attempt to sign the player after his trial there last month. Dundee manager Jocky Scott said, "I am still talking to the player's agent and trying to sort out a deal which would be acceptable. Nicky turned down one offer from us and let us know what kind of money he wanted to come here. There was a considerable gap between that and what we put on the table but I will be discussing our position with my chairman and putting together a package which we can offer the player. That will definitely be our final say on the matter. We have to work within our wage structure and our second offer will be as far as we can go."

At least it seems Oxford still don't want him.

HOUGHTON RESIGNS AT STEVENAGE

Ray Houghton has resigned from his coaching position at Stevenage because he needs more time for his media commitments. At least that's what he said. Maybe it's because he's on his way to Oxford? Probably not.

IAN ATKINS LINKED WITH JOB

TeamTalk have reported that former Northampton and Cambridge manager, Ian Atkins, has become the latest person to be linked with the Oxford job. Atkins left Northampton "by mutual consent" last month after 4 years (inclduing a promotion and subsequent relegation) with the Cobblers. He has apparently been in touch with Oxford's board. Atkins does have a bit of a reputation as a long-ball merchant - though not in say the John Beck class. But I think Oxford can do better than appoint him.

Garry Parker, born and still resident in Oxford, has also been added to the now overlong list of candidates. I just hope Kassam appoints someone soon. Nothing against Mad Dog (he could make a great assistant), but I think we need a new broom.

PENTITH - ONE DAY LEFT TO APPEAL

Pentith (and friends British Rail Properties) had ten days in which to appeal against the rejection of their judicial review application. As the application was rejected on 26 October, even the weakest mathematician can work out that tomorrow marks the tenth day. Before we get too excited tomorrow though, the ten day period is the time given to appeal to the judge, Justice Jowett. Pentith would still have a further seven days (until 12 November) to take his case to the court of appeal (House of Lords!?)

All indications though are that Pentith is no longer part of the equation. Now if we can just iron out the problems with Taylor Woodrow (thought to be over the sale of the Manor rather than the building at Minchery Farm), we will have reached the end of the long struggle.

RESERVES WIN

The reserves beat Fulham 2-1 (away) yesterday, with goals from Simon Weatherstone and Adam Hamp. Trialist Carl Henry (Witney Town) did not particularly impress, and was subbed early in the second half.

OXFORD 1 COLCHESTER 1

Oxford produced another in their season-long story of dire performances last night, despite getting off to the dream start of a Jamie Lambert goal after just 17 seconds. Another poorly defended corner gave Colchester their equaliser, and then the match degenerated into a battle of ineptitude. Matt Murphy hitting the bar from a penalty just about summed it up. I'm not sure I've ever seen Oxford play so poorly and yet not lose. I think Kassam needs to act decisively and appoint a manager very soon.

CORRECTION

Two days ago I reported that Oxford City were denied the opportunity to play their FA Cup replay at the Manor because of United's request for £6000 for use of the ground. A City spokesperson has now denied this story, and although I thought I'd got this on good advice, it would appear I was wrong. Sorry to all concerned. City's stated reasons for switching to Wycombe are that Wycombe is not a long trip for their fans, and that they did not want to needlessly involve a third party [United].

However I still feel that it would have been a good idea for City to have played the match in Oxford, at the Manor. They would probably have got a large crowd, mainly in their favour. A pity.

DERBY CHASE WATSON

Teletext have now reported on the rumour that has been doing the rounds - Derby County are very interested in Mark Watson. What would our defence be like without him? I dread to think.

HENRY TO PLAY IN RESERVES

Witney Town striker, Carl Henry, on trial at the Manor, is set to play against Fulham in this afternoon's reserve match.

COLCHESTER TONIGHT

Oxford take on bottom placed Colchester at the Manor tonight. We should be able to judge how good we are in this division by looking at how we do tonight. Struggle against Col U and we are very likely to continue to struggle in the division itself. However this may be a simplistic argument - Colchester are clearly capable of good results. Their last match was a 2-2 draw against big-spending Wigan, who only got their equaliser in injury time. So we certainly can't take anything for granted.

The team should be much the same as for Saturday's match. Mickey Lewis is likely to stick by his rather scary 5-3-2 formation. Steve Davis is available again after suspension, and will hopefully replace Phil Whelan. I wouldn't bet on it though.

My feeling on Mickey Lewis that he is right in two respects:

1. The players should be made to fit the system rather than the other way around. This means each player knows what he has to do, and gets used to playing in a certain way with hopefully much the same personnel each match.
2. Each team from youth level to the first team should play the same system. Again this will help every player to move from one team to another without culture shock.

BANGER TURNS DOWN DUNDEE

Nicky Banger has turned down Dundee's offer of a contract. He had talks with manager Jocky Scott yesterday, but could not agree personal terms. He has now made his threatened return south to haunt the Manor once more. (Makes the Blair Witch Project seem like a picnic.) Banger said, "I'm disappointed because I've enjoyed my time at the club [Dundee] and was hoping we could come to an agreement."

WATSON BID

Supposedly, Millwall have made a five figure offer for Mark Watson, out of contract at the end of the season. Not sure where this originated, but I can't find any such rumour on any Millwall sites (or message boards).

UNITED GREED MEANS CITY REPLAY AT WYCOMBE

Oxford City were forced to agree to play their "home" replay against Wycombe at Adams Park, after their request to use the Manor was apparently met with "It'll cost you £6,000" from the United moneymen. As that kind of fee is beyond the non-leaguers, and their own Marston ground was ruled out by the police, this means that City cannot stage the tie in Oxford.

This meanness by the United hierarchy is nothing short of a disgrace. We should have offered City the use of our ground for nothing with the agreement that we keep the money made from catering, etc. I am sure that many Us fans would have joined City fans in the Manor for what would have been a very interesting match. If it is not yet too late, I would urge United to reconsider and help out a fellow Oxford side.

I'd love to know who was responsible for this decision.

HENRY BRACE

Witney Town's prolific striker, Carl Henry, scored both goals in their 5-2 home defeat by Fisher Athletic. Henry is currently on trial at Oxford, and is likely to play in the reserve match this week.

This page is maintained by James Beard.