Tuesday 30th December 2003
After the players were told that they were to get a free holiday to Las Vegas if they won the 3rd Division title, I have decided to give them a taster of where they could be going......
They are really being taken to the arcades in Southend as we were there Sunday and witnessed it for ourselves, there is even a Lapdancing club behind it, so they will be well catered for. hehehe.
Monday 29th December 2003
The script was written for this game well before the kick off yesterday, but how often does the script go to plan, The funniest thing yesterday was Tony Ashley at half time saying to me, "Give it 15-20 mins in the 2nd half and if there is no goals, put Rawle on and he will bring the goods", Well what more can you say, Rawle came on 15 mins after the break and took just 8 mins to score the winner.
He had been heckled and booed for the whole of the first half when he warmed up down the touchline, what a way to shut them all up, though when he got the goal and duly celebrated in front of me with skipper Andy Crosby, next thing the Southend fans behind me sing " Stick the F*****g camera up your arse-Sideways".
After that goal the Oxford penalty area was very busy, Oxford did very well to stay in front and only bad finishing from the shrimpers frontline to thank.
At the final whistle the team yet again did their huddle in the middle of the pitch, then split and showed the gratitude to the 1191 U's fans behind the goal, they were again superb and out sang the Southend fans for the whole game.
After the match the real Southend fans stayed behind to see Mark Rawle outside and wish him luck for the future, one said they hope to play us again in about 7 years time....lol....and Rawly gladly posed for a picture with a young disabled Southend fan who had waited out in the cold for 40 minutes after the game just to see him, how nice was that, me being the kind person I am decided to stay there with them until he came out of the ground just to see the smile on his face, it was priceless, so everyone was happy and the journey home was made even better by the huge amount of U's fans that rang five live to cheer about the U's being top of the league, between them though we had to put up with a Hull fan who said that Hull were going to win the championship after beating Doncaster 3-1 in front of 23,000 fans at the Kingston communications stadium, whoopee, one win doesn't win you the title matey, one loss out of 24 games should do, So come on you yellows and show the Northern lot chasing us that they don't have a hope or a prayer of catching us.
Dancers at Southend.................
Robbo Hunt and Deano mob Rawle after the winning goal
Crosby grabs Rawle to come celebrate in front of me
They both duly oblige
Ashton joins the party
Wanless and Alsop now join in the fun
3 hero's do a huddle of their own
U's players after the final whistle
Section of U's fans celebrating
U's fans jubilantly leaving the ground
Michelle and Becka are all smiles after the match
Mark Rawle and a young Southend fan, Made his day..Very nice.
Saturday 27th December 2003
Oxford continued to give the fans a brilliant Christmas yesterday at a rain swept Kassam Stadium, The U's went One down in the first half again like last week, But equalized before half time with an Andy Crosby Penalty, after Steve Basham had been trip just inside the area, With the rain flowing and surface getting very slippery, decent tackles were very rare, especially in the 2nd half, although there were no mass bundles like at Huddersfield, tempers were kept under wraps, probably too wet through to even contemplate doing anything, but then for the 2nd game on the trot there was a sending off, this time though it wasn't the U's but the O's having an early bath, no need as on the field Newey was getting a shower, He got injured going through Basham and it took forever to be sent off, Rawle then came on to try and continue his super sub fame, this time though he ended up getting a yellow card for his services as he went one on one with the keeper, the keeper went to the deck and that is where he stayed
until the ref had given Rawle is first booking at the club, right in front of the Mail stand.
Over the tannoy Nathan announced that the Sponsor Man of the Match was Julian Alsop, that was greeted with boo's all around the ground which I thought was very harsh as he had won everything in the air, but big jules had the last laugh, breaking through after he and Lee Steele both went for the same ball, skipping the ball over the advancing keeper and into the net, right on 90 minutes too, the stadium erupted and the soaking I was getting no longer bothered me, even I was jumping for joy and trying to take pictures at the same time, the celebrations after that were something else and when the referee had blown the whistle to end the game I saw something that I have
never seen before, all the Oxford players headed for the centre circle and joined together in a huddle, showing all at the club just how together they are as a unit, that was very special to see and after the game Ian Atkins was delighted with the way the players came through, he even thought the way the players showed their feelings at the end was extra special, He wants the picture printed and put on the dressing room wall to remind the players of that moment every time they play at home, "They need to be reminded of that moment over and over again, So that moment never ends until the end of this season when we have won promotion" Atkins said.
Firoz Kassam entered the dressing room after the game with a bottle of Champagne for all the players and management, then he dropped the best present of all, "Win me the Division 3 title this season and I will take all of you to Las Vegas or Dubai on holiday" He said, Talk about an incentive, if they don't win it now they will kick themselves big time.
Alsop lifts the ball over the keeper to win the match
Alsop is mobbed by his team mates
Alsop salutes the fans who had barracked him 2 minutes earlier
Alsop salutes the mainstand after goal
All the players huddle in the centre circle-a momentous occasion.
Players turn to salute the fans after the huddle in the middle
Thursday 25th December 2003
Merry Christmas to you all from United We Stand, Hope you all
have a very good festive period, I went to see the Big Guy yesterday
at the Cemetery in Bicester, Always an emotional occasion, but
when you lose someone like Nappy you never forget, not just at
Christmas but all year round.
Merry Christmas again to you all and see you all at Pitchside tomorrow.
Darrell
Tuesday 23rd December 2003
Oxford are hopeful that Big Striker Julian Alsop will escape his
latest sending off at Huddersfield after video evidence shows that
he made no contact with Terriers player Efe Sodje, If fact calls
are being made to turn the tables and make sure that Sodje should
infact take the punishment dished out to the big guy,
Ian Atkins has shown his disgust at the way Sodje reacted and
cheated to get a fellow pro sent off, He said that none of his players
would ever do that, this guy went down like he had been hit in the
boat race with a cricket bat, when the video shows that no
contact was made with his face, lets hope that the FA and the
Referee watch the video and get to the true outcome, Alsop off
the hook and Sodje in the dock.
Thank you to Mr Williams over at the official site for my subtle
mention in his on the road to Huddersfield report, hehehe.
On the Julian Alsop sending off decision he wrote:-
"For a change I could ask someone what happened,
as photographer Darrell Fisher had flatly refused to go back
out into the rain for the second half and sat stubbornly in the
nice dry press seats"
And how nice and dry they were, Roll on Boxing day,
when I will be pitch side to take the club photo's,
Julian will be starring on the Scoreboard for that match,
unless it pours down, I could be back up in my box to take
over for the 2nd half..........
Look how clever I am everyone- Says Paul Wanless
Deano lies flat out after Fowler(Left on knees) went through him
Players disagree over the Alsop-Sodje incident
James Hunt and Julian Alsop exchange words
View of the away end from my seat in the 2nd half.