A couple of days ago Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking and other offences connected with the dead financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein - no further comment in respect of the jury trial and verdict is of course necessary.
But the events from across the ocean did cause me to revisit something that I wrote over ten years ago. A report of a game played between Oxford Utd and Aldershot on 9 October 2010, words written with the historical backdrop of deceit and abuse. And a result sealed with the uplifting memory of a winning goal scored by Marvin Morgan.
''He was
like a cock who thought the sun had risen to hear him crow’ - (George Eliot)
Jan Ludvik Hoch was born in the small town of Slatinske Doly in the Carpathian
Mountains of Czechoslovakia in 1923.
He died Ian Robert Maxwell on November 5th 1991.
He fell overboard from his luxury yacht, Lady Ghislaine and his body was found
floating in the Atlantic Ocean off the Canary Islands.
And Oxford United was, until 1960, Headington United. A club founded in 1893.
The name change no more than a matter of profile, driven by the desire to gain
entry to the Football League….
And in 1962 their wish came true, when they were elected to join the League
following the demise of Accrington Stanley.
Early success was followed by a period of mediocrity - and then along came
Robert Maxwell. A man whose business empire was built on heavy indebtedness and
dishonest practices. His arrogance was such that he ‘borrowed’ millions of
pounds from his companies’ pension funds to prop up his group of companies.
Yes, in 1982 Cap’n Bob, the man lampooned by the satirical magazine Private Eye
as the ‘bouncing Czech’, took over Oxford United. His ‘money’ saw Oxford climb into
the top flight and subsequently they experienced success at Wembley, a 3v0 win
over Queens Park Rangers in the Milk Cup Final of 1986.
Then Bob was off to Derby County, and the Club started to slide, finally losing
their League status when Accrington Stanley achieved promotion from the
‘Conference’.
(Oxford were
relegated at the end of the 2005/06 season but regained their League status
following a play-off final victory against York City on 16 May 2010.)
So it is somewhat ‘reassuring’ to find the ‘bouncing Czech’s’ arrogance still
pervading the club……and it makes the 1v0 win last Saturday, courtesy
of a brilliant Marvin Morgan goal, so much the sweeter.'' (A Shot from Wales - October 15th 2010)
Marvin Morgan, former Shots striker turned entrepreneur and campaigner died on December 6th 2021, aged only 38.
Marvin played for five Football League clubs during his playing career after moving up from non-League football; he also founded the clothing brand Fresh Ego Kid and Fresh Ego FC, which raised awareness of the need to tackle racism in football.
Marvin was a charismatic figure both on and off the pitch – he will be sadly missed by all who knew him.
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