Honest endeavour......

‘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. His body found floating in the Atlantic Ocean off the Canary Islands. He fell overboard from his luxury yacht, Lady Ghislaine.

And Oxford United was, until 1960, Headington United. A club founded in 1893. The name change a matter of profile, and 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’ took Oxford 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 and the Club started to slide…..

So it is somewhat reassuring to find the ‘bouncing Czech’s’ arrogance still pervading the club.

Always beware when someone warns….‘Condescending comment alert’….yes page 50 of the Oxford United v Aldershot Town programme carried a piece under the title, ‘On the road - Altrincham’

‘The thing is, Altrincham still are plucky non-leaguers, and last Saturday they were as plucky as a chicken on the run from Bernard Matthews.’

Mmmmm nice writing….not quite George Eliot, but then she was good.

Oh and then with just a hint of Cap’n Bob…..’we venture into the main stand at Moss Lane and survey the land. It’s not the most graceful of grounds……’

Graceful……

Now did the author hold a vision in his head of a graceful Kassam Stadium, Oxford?

I took a bit of time out on Saturday to have a look at the Kassam, before heading for the Priory pub to meet my brothers. The Priory, a sanctuary fighting to keep at bay the sea of concrete, tin and tarmac that out of town developments create.

But not even the brilliant late summer sunshine could bring me to love the Kassam.

The floodlights strung along the leading edge of the main stand like pigeons roosting on a redundant building….repeated on the north stand? No of course not. The stand being slightly smaller, required the lanterns to be fixed to small columns.

And so lacking in emotion. Concrete and cheap tin doesn’t evoke images of Firenze or Provence. In fact it evokes memories of tin and concrete….

The completed Kassam’s ‘architecture’ just 6 years old. …. .a case study for any aspiring designer……firmitas, utilitas, venustas (Vitruvious).

But the game was brilliant. Aldershot Town bursting with invention and energy. Oxford pedestrian and predictable during a first half that saw the Shots go in 2v0 to the good.

The half time team talk will be reviewed by Gary Waddock this week, in preparation for Tuesday’s fixture with York City. He got the early second half tactics wrong, and as an intelligent young manager he knows what he should have done.

Oxford came out for the second half with more pace and soon got the game back to 2v2.

But the game was won by Aldershot. A team that was not prepared to give Oxford the satisfaction of one point, let alone three. The effort and combined purpose was too much for Oxford. The winning goal coming from a corner….


I’m sorry Oxford but this is non-league football. It’s not easy. And I have a feeling , you haven’t visited Moss Lane for the last time (subject to Altrincham ‘staying up’)