Memorize The City
There is something about April & May in a football that seems to herald disaster. From Bradford to Heysel to Hillsborough, every fan knows the routine macabre order. Well another one can be added to the list after Tuesday night: Oxford United failed to get back into the Football League.
Yes, no-one was killed this time, and that's something to be thankful for, but the mental scars in Headington could take a long time to heal. If the city hadn't suffered enough after Inspector Morse died and the rowers came second, losing to Exeter on penalties was a low blow in anyone's book.
Why, it is only a few months since we met our comrades from across the border in the FA Cup and their friendly and enthusiastic chatter about returning to the League was one of the highlights of the season for many Wycombe fans. I know because I asked them. Oxford are a great example of a community club who pull together and value their place at the community table of football and it will be sad to see such a giant slumming it in the non-league for another season.
Their kindness even extended to thinking of building a temporary fourth stand at their ground to house the travelling Grecian fans, but the home faithful managed to find enough people to not go to the second leg so that the City followers could be housed in one of the three permanent stands. This attitude is sadly missing at Wycombe, where Adams Park was sold out in minutes for the visit of Premiership champions Chelsea in January. We could certainly learn from Oxford: the biggest game of the season doesn't have to turn into an ugly bunfight for tickets.
Frankly, the thought of former winners of the Milk Cup being in the fifth tier is hard for us at the Meat Clinic to stomach and we will certainly be backing the mighty U's in their trips to Histon and Droylsden next season. At least their league will be called "The Premier League" next season, and in these dark times that could well be a crumb of comfort for the passionate and loyal fans of Oxford United. Good luck!
Yes, no-one was killed this time, and that's something to be thankful for, but the mental scars in Headington could take a long time to heal. If the city hadn't suffered enough after Inspector Morse died and the rowers came second, losing to Exeter on penalties was a low blow in anyone's book.
Why, it is only a few months since we met our comrades from across the border in the FA Cup and their friendly and enthusiastic chatter about returning to the League was one of the highlights of the season for many Wycombe fans. I know because I asked them. Oxford are a great example of a community club who pull together and value their place at the community table of football and it will be sad to see such a giant slumming it in the non-league for another season.
Their kindness even extended to thinking of building a temporary fourth stand at their ground to house the travelling Grecian fans, but the home faithful managed to find enough people to not go to the second leg so that the City followers could be housed in one of the three permanent stands. This attitude is sadly missing at Wycombe, where Adams Park was sold out in minutes for the visit of Premiership champions Chelsea in January. We could certainly learn from Oxford: the biggest game of the season doesn't have to turn into an ugly bunfight for tickets.
Frankly, the thought of former winners of the Milk Cup being in the fifth tier is hard for us at the Meat Clinic to stomach and we will certainly be backing the mighty U's in their trips to Histon and Droylsden next season. At least their league will be called "The Premier League" next season, and in these dark times that could well be a crumb of comfort for the passionate and loyal fans of Oxford United. Good luck!
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