Ray Spence...

When the club decided upon the best course of action it could take with regards to Ray Spence, we knew it would be hard and probably quite painful.
One thing we were all in agreement about was the need to take the action in the best interests of all concerned.

On a personal level, i had always admired Ray's pace and skill when watching him, hence i decided, despite all the warnings of baggage etc, to bring him to the City. It is my belief, that by and large he has proven well worth that gamble.

As a player he lives right on the edge and that's what makes him the player he is. I still believe that on the field of play he is more sinned against than sinner and that if more referees really understood what goes on, then he would have received better protection.
Unfortunately Ray, who is a quiet guy off the park, is quite the opposite on it and if he feels there is an injustice he makes that known.

As you step up a level everything improves, from the opposition to the referees etc and you have to adjust yourself if you are to progress.

Justin is building a new team, his own team, as indeed i did when i took over. That's the way of management and he knows he needs to improve the squad all the time if the club is to move forward. Sometimes that will involve supporters seeing their favourites leave the club and i know that is a difficult experience to take onboard in the short term. Trust me it is not easy for a manager either when a player has done well for them.

We all have our own opinions on who should and shouldn't play and that's what makes the game so great but at the end of the day its the manager who picks the team and we all accept that we will live or die by our results. The manager, if he is to be successful, has to be his own man and we as a club have to support him in all he does.

There will be good weeks and bad weeks as Justin sets about getting it how he wants it and its important that the supporters get behind him and the team during the rebuilding process.
The league is so tight, with results fluctuating week by week, that the play offs are still well achievable.

For the record, several clubs have, prior to this week made offers for Ray but they have not matched our valuation of the player, thus we decided to go down the official line.
I have spoken with Ray, only yesterday and he agrees, that its best for everyone that there is an amicable parting of the ways.

It is my job to try and get both Oxford City and the player the best deal i can.

As i said on my posting yesterday Ray scored a lot of goals for us last season and he excited us all with his pace and skill. What happens behind the scenes at any club remains there.
Obviously a lot of issues get clouded when you are winning and people can be very forgiving of misdemeanours.

At the end of the day most will choose to reflect upon the good times!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to all those involved in local non league football and on a more personal note, lets hope that 2007 sees the City build on what has been a promising end to 2006.

The Chesham game apart there have been some very encouraging performances and more importantly some critical points posted on the league table. The Division is so tight that all of a sudden we are potentially within reach of the play off's. With so many teams promoted from the level below i guess it was always going to be tight, with everyone pretty much capable of beating each other on their day. One thing is for certain, the restructure has been a great success and produced an exciting season, that will go right to the wire, without doubt.

As you know we always try and keep you abreast of all matters relating to player movement etc but, as i'm sure you can well appreciate, some times you have to keep quiet so as not to alert other clubs to player availability when you are chasing them! It has been decided that Danny Keen needs some regular first team football so he will be going out to Wantage Town for a spell.
Keeno lives and works in the area so its a logical move. I know he's a player that the supporters think the world of and in return he has been very loyal this season when faced with options to move on. His attitude and application are first class and he has been unfortunate that he is competing with the likes of Anthony Alleyne, Ray Spence, Billy Beechers and Alex Stewart for a starting place.

The next week or so could well see the return of two former City favourites but things are still in the negotiating stage and im sure Justin will let you know when things are concluded. I am also pleased to be able to report that Darren Davies is back as part of the Nomads management team. Darren is a great club man and we felt it only logical that he return in order to ensure that the links between the youth structure and the Nomads are maintained and indeed progressed.
There has been quite a bit of movement on the Nomads front over the holiday period and the side has or soon will be considerably strengthened. Its also good to see the likes of Lewis, Davis and Bell coming through the ranks so well.

Another player who has returned, albeit back from a lengthy injury, is Liam Illsley. We believe Liam has a big future and we want that to be at City. He is strong in the air and in the tackle and very comfortable on the ball for a big lad.

If ever any of our younger players needed any incentive they need only look to Lee Rendell who has come of age over the last month or so. Last season and early this season, Lee was coming off the bench and doing well but when we started him he struggled.

He has now come to terms with Southern League football and shown that it can take time to adjust to the pace and physical/mental demands of first team football. These things do not happen overnight and it has taken a great deal of hard work both from the player and the coaching team to achieve this.

I noticed that yesterday there was an adverse posting on the message board relating to new Years Day, that really we do need to put straight. Ray Spence was suffering from a heavy cold and Harry Burnley broke down whilst driving back from the south coast-their problems were not as suggested!!

Finally thanks to all who organised the club's Family New Years eve party, it was a good night, as my head well testified on New Years day!!

Nomads update

Although the score line was disappointing, the overall performance from the Nomads on Saturday was encouraging to say the least. Credit to Penn and Tylers they moved the ball quickly and took their chances well.

The timing of their goals were critical to the shape of the game. All but one of them were preventable though, as they emanated from errors that we made. We changed the shape at half time in an effort to get back into the game but the fourth goal coming so soon after the break killed us off. We played some really good football in the second half, once we got it down and started to pass the ball and could have scored at least another goal ourselves but in general our final ball let us down and we just could not get men forward into their box often enough.

On the plus side big Milan Barisic gave an almost faultless display in the home goal, making good saves, handling well and getting his angles spot on. There were some sublime glimpses of skill from young Aaron Williams, who was again the victim of some very close marking and Jon Hawkins made some fine attacking forays. Jon has a good size and is a good athlete. He is well balanced and has that change of pace and foot that enables him to go past people at will. I have spoken to Justin about a few of these lads and we intend giving them a run against the Japanese touring side that is visiting us next week, hopefully along with one or two of Duncan's talented youth squad. They will be supplemented by several first team players.

Tomorrow night the Nomads face the midweek journey to Stroud to take on Premier Division Shortwood United in the floodlight Cup. It's never easy to assemble players for midweek games and tomorrow has proved no different but we are confident that whoever pulls on the shirt will do so with pride and give a good account of themselves.

This weekend Justin and the boys travel to in form Bracknell and will be looking to get back amongst the points. There is no doubt that everyone in the division can pretty much beat anyone on their day and apart from the top two and bottom two the points are going to be very evenly shared.

The Nomads do have a game on Saturday after all, a rearranged fixture with Marlow United.
If you are not making the relatively short trip to Bracknell, try and get down and give them a cheer (at least it will get you away from the Christmas shopping!) the crowd was very sparse last weekend and this set of young players could really do with your support.

Pre-Taunton Match

Thankfully Justin and Fordy are back this week!! (so away with the coat and clipboard again)

This Saturday the lads travel to Taunton and must be in with a really good chance of getting something from the game. When we played them at our place they were very effective but this week they've lost striker Steve Cook to Chippenham. He did most of the damage when they came to us, so he will be a big loss to them.

I enjoyed being back amongst the lads again last week, they responded well and we were all disappointed not to win but that said we would have all taken the draw as the clock approached 89 minutes!

Dave Matzen, who has been managing the Nomads and running the social club at the same time, has found that a difficult juggling act and wants to now concentrate on building the social side of our business up. He has done a great job for the club both on the field and off after stepping into the breach at the eleventh hour.

Matty Hunt, who is the Nomads coach, will be assuming responsibility for the team now and in the short term i have agreed to step in and help him out, whilst we try and find a long term replacement.

Me and Matty went to school together and also played for Oxford Boys, Oxon County Youth, Oxford United (youth and reserves) and Witney Town together. He played behind me at left back and i guess, in those days, i was what you would now term a left sided wide player!!. He deserves the wholehearted support of the club as he's done great since he came in alongside Darren Davies last season. Together we will do our level best to continue to get the best from the young and highly talented squad that has been assembled.

If you are not venturing to Taunton, why not come down and give the Nomads your support, as they take on Penn and Tylers Green at the City.

Hanwell Match Reaction

As has always been the case in the Southern League, you have to grind and graft to earn every point that you win and that proved very much the case on Saturday.

The lads were well up for the game and thus started very brightly but we just could not find that quality or cutting edge in the last third and as the half wore on you could sense the confidence growing in Hanwell and indeed they had the better of the last fifteen minutes.
As was mentioned (and rightly so) on the message board, we really didn't get going in the second half until Hanwell scored. It was de ja vous of the Paulton and Beaconsfield games, when former Slough midfielder Metcalfe let fly some 25 yards out.

I didn't feel that either the referee or the linesman were in good enough positions to award the goal, as the shot dropped from the underside of the bar and i politely made that point to them after the game. I quickly looked to the linesman when it happened and he was half way between the half way line and the goal line. That said it all resulted from a poor defensive header from us and a failure to press the ball as it dropped to Metcalfe. After that i thought we really grasped the mantle and worked hard to get ourselves back in the game.

In the last ten minutes we got a real head of steam up and enjoyed some good vocal support from behind the goal. I always felt that we might grab a goal and there was no doubting that we deserved at least a draw. Alex Stewart's thunderous free kick was indeed a worthy equaliser. Another five minutes would, i feel, have seen us win it and we went very close when Anthony Alleyne broke away and both Ray Spence and Lee Rendell just failed to make contact as the ball squirmed across the face of the goal.

It was one of those games where the substitutions did make a difference with Billy Beechers, Rendell and Alleyne all giving us an extra edge, particularly when we went to 3-4-3.
Football has always been and will always be a game of opinions and we will all have players that we prefer, or that are easy on the eye and quite rightly people make their feelings known. I have always believed it to be important that supporters at least know the managers perspective, even if not agreeing with it!!

I would never substitute Ray unless he was injured or in danger of being sent off, because with his pace and finishing capabilities he can always nick you a goal. On Saturday it wasn't quite happening for Stretch or Ray but then again we weren't providing much in the way of ammunition for either striker. When there is no real pattern to a game you are always likely to leave a big lad like Stretch on because he's always capable of creating aerial problems in the opposition box, where second balls can drop off him and create openings for others.
On Saturday i was also mindful of the fact that he was doing a good marking job on Hanwell's giant centre back Mark Stevens at defensive set pieces.

Stevo played for me at Witney, Newbury and Wantage and i thought did a really good job for Hanwell on Saturday. All the players adapted well to me being in charge again, despite us having to make late changes from the team that Justin Merritt had left me to play.
The senior players, like Mark Jones, Adam Durrant and Mark Avery all stepped up to the plate and gave a little extra to the cause. Omar Takriti i felt had a fine game alongside Aves and Liam Malone had a steady debut. Once he adjusts to the quicker pace of Southern League football he will doubtless prove a real asset. He's a neat continuity passer and gets about the opposition and the pitch well.

Any team are going to miss the likes of Justin, Fordy and Crakes if only for their leadership and guidance out on the park but i felt the lads attitude was good, they all put a shift in and stuck at their task.

Interesting watching Salisbury and Notts Forest in the F A Cup yesterday.
Luke Prince did well, you may remember him from the period where me and Paul Lee worked together here at City? and on the opposite side was Danny Cullip, a great lad, who me and Pete Foley had with us at Marlow. I was pleased for former Bashley boss Barry Blankley, who is now a part of the Whites coaching set up.

Pre-Hanwell Match

As you have probably ascertained from Justin's post on the message board, i am having to climb up in the attic this week searching for the old sheepskin jacket, in readiness for my return to the front line this coming Saturday!!!. Like many people in the game, im not the best watcher of football matches unless im involved but i have done my best to get out and have a look over the last few weeks (in between catching up with all the years of decorating that is!!).

All joking aside, with Justin away on business and Fordy unavailable, i have been asked to step back into the breach and i'm happy to help out. Those two guys have done a really sound job in turning things around and we will all be doing our level best to ensure that we keep things ticking over for them in their absence.

Good to see another new arrival in the shape of the talented Liam Malone, who joins us from Ardley United, having had a short stay at Abingdon United earlier in the season. Everyone at the City wishes him well and we hope that he has a long and successful stay with the club.
This Saturday we welcome Hanwell, with whom we had two cracking games last season. Results haven't been gone too well for them to date and although they suffered a 3-0 home reverse against Uxbridge last night they did get a good point at Lymington last weekend, and coming back from two down in that game will have given them great confidence. They will, i'm sure, prove very difficult opponents for us this weekend.

Many people have asked me if i am missing the hurly burly of football management and i would think an honest answer would be, in parts!. Like all football people, when you are not involved directly, the thing that you miss most is the dressing room and the banter that goes about within it. There is not a better place to be than in the dressing room of a winning football team but I have to admit i have not missed the politics or the constant juggling of football with work commitments.

The scheduled January opening of the new Children's Hospital and West Wing up at the JR is taking up quite a bit of my time, as the logistics involved in this are considerable. So I am keeping myself busy and besides watching the odd game I am working with Managing Director Colin Taylor on developing commercial ideas, a side of the job that i have always enjoyed. I am also looking at ways of trying to improve the clubs disciplinary record and again Colin and myself are bouncing some ideas around.

As i see it there are faults on both sides, sometimes officials are inconsistent with their interpretation of the rules, especially with regards to simple things like not retreating 10 yards at a free kick/kicking the ball away and the amount of verbal exchange they will tolerate. This leads to players not knowing where they stand and nothing throws them more than that. Players and us managers on the other hand, have to learn that in 99.99% of cases a referee will not change his mind, so we are effectively wasting our time and energy by keeping on at them. I will defend any player to the hilt for the odd mistimed challenge but you cannot condone constant verbal abuse of officials. We all do it from time to time, in the heat of the battle and without passion the game is nothing, but lessons have to be learnt.

Occasionally things happen like they did with Ray Spence at Bishops Cleeve and you really do question the integrity of the game (the injustice of that incident really upset me and still rankles after all this time) but in general, most officials are doing their level best and we have to work with them to find a resolution.

In the past i have presented to and conducted question and answer sessions with referees associations and they have proven very rewarding and enjoyable-we will probably be looking to get involved with similar groups again, as its good for them to understand the pressures managers and players are under to deliver results and vice versa.

It now seems as if we are likely to be directed, by the powers that be, towards a "captain only" communication channel, as they have in Rugby. The idea seems logical enough but i guess the proof of the pudding as they say...........................

Newport IOW reaction

What a truly magnificent result that was for Justin, Fordy and the boys last night. It's hard for the manager to come on and blow his own trumpet!! so, on this occasion, i will do it for him.

Although not enjoying the best of current form, Newport are always a handful on their own ground, especially with the advantage of it being midweek. Getting players to take time off (their bosses permitting) is always difficult, as some of them don't have flexible jobs. To field such a strong line up is a credit to the management and the spirit that is currently running through the side.

I can recall my first trip to the Island in midweek when i was manager of Witney. We went by coach and then ferry but i think there was only me, the bare eleven, one committee man and one of the Alder brothers driving the bus!! Needless to say we were just fulfilling the fixture.

Over the years i learnt to make it a special trip, something that we really looked forward too and we enjoyed a terrific record on the island. Many a young lad has had to hide in the boot because they forgot their passport!!

I was over the moon when Justin text me the result last night, that's three cracking wins on the belt and has put the team back into the challenging pack, where it fully deserves to be.

Football is all about taking your chances and from a situation where we couldn't hit a cow's ar*e with a banjo the lads are now punishing the opposition and as a result getting points back on the board.

This Saturday they make the relatively short journey to Thatcham Town and they need all the support they can get-so make sure you fill your cars and get over there! I enjoyed many a tussle with Thatcham as a player and more recently when i was manager of their greatest rivals AFC Newbury. They have done terrific as a club and in Jason Braidwood have one of the brightest young managers in the game at this level. He has built a good, young, fit and energised side with a terrific team ethic and spirit. Many of these lads have come through the age groups together, by virtue of the excellent youth structure that the club has had in place for years.

Saturday will be a real test for our boys but they will go into the game with a high degree of confidence and another three points is certainly attainable.