One night in Stratford...

In the absence of a match report, George Dugdale tells of his experience of following the Swindon victory (the fourth one in the set, if you're losing count) via the internet.

Is this what it used to be like in the olden days? Did we have people staring incessantly at the Ceefax screen waiting for the vidiprinter to bring you the news? It might be 2012 but that is what I was reduced to last night as Chris Wilder's side won the fourth derby in succession and the third in his tenure.

I had a letter from Channel 4 a couple of months ago. 'George, would you like to work at the Paralympics?' Well yes, yes I would. I've not done a full day's paid work in my life and this could potentially be a game-changer. I looked at the fixture list and figured out that I would miss Southend, York and Exeter. I could return home for Plymouth and as far as things go, that wouldn't be too bad. We then drew Leeds United away in League Cup. Irritating, but I could get over it. The big problems arose as we set off for Bristol Rovers on day one with the news of a home draw against Swindon in the JPT. I knew that I couldn't go.

Perhaps the Paralympics officials would be understanding? I understand that this is quite a big deal to you and the rest of the world, but can't we just have a night off? Unsurprisingly, we couldn't and my experience of the third derby victory was destined to be thus: 'Refresh. Refresh. Refresh.'

This season's derby has taken on some extra significance from my point of view. A friend's brother plays football and in the summer, I knew he was on the move. Attempts to pull him to Oxford United were rejected as he wanted League One football, so we ended the conversation by saying: “anywhere but Swindon Town”.

This became an issue a couple of weeks later. A text came through. 'Sorry. He's going to Swindon.'

It is at times like these where you re-evaluate friendships but considering he would most likely be booted up the backside or subbed after thirty-five seconds of a game sooner or later, I comforted myself with the belief that this time would be brief and the friendship could be resurrected soon enough.

Irritatingly, the friend's surname is not Foderingham and the player in question appears to have done pretty well. We ended conversation before the game with the primary school line of 'treat others how you would like to be treated', partly because I wasn't overly confident. They may be based at the wrong end of the road, but Swindon Town have spent unbelievable sums of money on good players and beat Stoke a week ago. Add in the fact that they are managed by a madman who wants revenge and you could perhaps understand why I wasn't entirely confident that our depleted squad could get a result.

Over in C4 Paralympic towers at 1900, or the evening show as I now call it, I was working hard and debating the decision to put Alfie on the bench. It was only the JPT and I wouldn't want to lose a big player for the league campaign. This was a game that was only worthwhile in terms of bragging rights and we know what happens to us when Alfie is missing for prolonged periods.

45 minutes later and I am ready for kick-off. Perhaps due to the awareness that I often have other things on my mind, the computers at our logging desk do not have an internet connection. This means no 'Yellow Player' underneath my work headphones and no commentary. It means over 90 minutes of downward scrolling. If you have an iPhone with Twitter, you will understand what I mean.

I admit that I am not particularly good at derby fixtures. I get ridiculously nervous and refuse to enjoy it until I know we are safe. Even in the 2-0 victory last season, I don't think I was entirely willing to celebrate until there was a minute of stoppage time remaining. I'm even worse when I am listening to radio commentary so I wasn't sure what a night of Twitter would do to me.

Whilst maintaining a TX log of C4's output (that's lots of clicking and typing to the rest of you), Twitter was keeping me up to date. Swindon had created a few chances in the first half but Clarke hadn't been stretched too much and we were having our own say too.

You do strange things when you are powerless and superstitions became a problem. I had initially planned to only check the score at half-time and full-time, but that lasted a minute and proved to be unsustainable. The next superstition involved only reading the tweets when C4 left the studio, whether it were for a break, live action or a VT. On average, that resulted in three minute bursts and as things were going well, I couldn't change. In my mind, I was keeping us in the game and any compromise to my strategy would have devastating effects.

Half-time came and went, although for 15 joyous minutes I wasn't a nervous wreck. However, in the second half, a problem developed. Not a great deal was actually happening. It transpires that this was because the teams were kicking lumps out on each other rather than attacking the goal, but in my mind something was certainly wrong. There had been a catastrophic internet failure on Grenoble Road and people were hiding things from me. This resulted in a new strategy called the 'constant refresh'. This is where you are unable to believe that nothing is happening and when it does, you need to know about it instantly.

The crazy thing about Twitter at times like these is that not everybody on your timeline actually cares about the same stuff as you. I'm on edge and don't take particularly well to tweets about new puppies and what is on BBC 3 (and why aren't you watching the Paralympics?).

The minutes count down and I realise that I am hoping for penalties. I have immense faith in Ryan Clarke to stop at least one penalty and if our penalties match those against Bournemouth, we'll be OK.

As I am looking at the minutes decrease, I drop my guard. I have assumed that penalties are the only outcome and nothing is going to change that. I'm relatively calm as I scroll down once more. Then everything changes.

These tweets appear first. OUFClive and Dave Pritchard have laptops and are quicker than the fans to bring me the news. If memories of the last Swindon fixtures are accurate, the fans are also too busy landing in rows that are not their own to do any social networking.

When Alfie Potter comes on as a substitute, brilliant things happen. I should have remembered that.

All of a sudden, my life becomes very surreal. I am in an office in the International Broadcast Centre at the Paralympics. There is a massive red light in front of me that reads 'on air'. Everybody else is totally calm and enjoying their work. Whilst my heart wants to run into the studio and do a full-length body slide across Ade Adepitan and Clare Balding's table, my head tells me to maintain composure. I allow a couple of revolutions of my spinning chair in celebration, but there is little else to do. My head is going bonkers, there is sitting volleyball on the TX screen and I'm in a room full of people that don't care. When we beat Swindon at home last season, I hugged strangers, but they were Oxford United strangers and it was OK. As Warwick Davis from Willow and Harry Potter walks through the office, I decide that it isn't a good idea. As with all guests to the studio, Mr Davis has to walk past my desk to get to the green room. I'm grinning from ear to ear. I think Warwick is slightly concerned by the apparent level of my love for him.

There are four minutes remaining and my life is slightly chaotic. I am refreshing Twitter and logging an exchange in the studio that really requires my full attention. Once this is done, the referee has blown his whistle and I can only assume that Grenoble Road has gone wild. Twitter certainly has and the reason I won't be using screen-shots for full-time is because not one Oxford United fan has found it in themselves to resist the urge to swear. It's one of those moments and I think we all understand.

The moment is glorious and surreal in equal measure, but a Facebook notification gains my attention. It's the sister of the Swindon player. It reads 'ah shit...' My day is made.

Nothing can go wrong from this point onwards. I am an emotional wreck, nobody at C4 would understand why and I have kept myself to myself. Apart from on Twitter. I've gone mental on there.

Looking back, it is clear to me that the best place to be when the derby comes around is at the game. I understand that many Oxford fans live too far away for this to be a possibility and I have had a difficult insight into their lives. I suppose I am fortunate. I attend the vast majority of games and whether we win, lose or draw, I am there to experience it.

I don't intend to make this Twitter football business a regular feature. I don't think I can handle it. However, I have gained a great deal of respect for the Oxford fan who can't be there. The fan who has their own superstitions and who can't make a cup of tea until half-time because we will concede if they do. It's a totally different world, but reading through the Twitter timeline, there is one thing that is clear. Wherever we are in the world, we are all very much in this together. I like that.

Why Kelvin Thomas was a great leader at Oxford United

The bowler raced to the crease. The batsman, who had enjoyed a fine knock, slashed at a delivery wide of his off-stump. The ball looped behind square and into the grateful hands of the fielder.

Not many people meet their football club's chairman where I met Kelvin Thomas. I believe they call it short third man.

As my team-mates from the Oxford Mail team trotted over to congratulate me, Kelvin nodded in my direction. “Good catch, mate” is what I believe it meant, but his body language was different. I sensed that he was irritated. As a teenager, I was too fearful of the extent to which I had irritated the chairman to bask in any glory. The mockery from his colleagues in the Oxford United cricket team did little to calm my panic. When I look back, however, I realise that this dismissal taught me a great deal about Kelvin Thomas. He is a winner.

On the day that Oxford United announced that Kelvin was to leave the club, there is nothing to suggest that I am wrong.

I remember exactly where I was when Kelvin was appointed as the chairman of Oxford United. It was a Thursday night in 2008. It was October, it was absolutely freezing and I had arrived for football training an hour early. My phone buzzed and my hands emerged from my pockets to read a text from the club about the change at the helm. Moments later it went off again. A text from a friend. “Bloody hell. It sounds like we're in a bit of trouble here, Dougie.” I would later discover that the statement spoke of 'a difficult task' due to the need for 'financial backing to see the club through'. The task was going to be more than difficult. As I watched a group of kids training, I remember looking at the number of Oxford United shirts chasing around after their Premier League equivalents. “This guy is going to have to be good if these guys are going to have anything to be happy about.”

Kelvin Thomas is good though. Very good.

In the same club statement from 2008, the club outlined Kelvin's aims for dealing with the 'difficult task'. 'Kelvin believes that it is possible by re-engaging with fans, improving performances on the pitch and involving individuals or groups who may wish to purchase a shareholding in the club.' The new chairman had a plan and it was one that he stuck with in order to fulfil each of his aims.

There are a number of reasons why we can't truly assess the state the club was in when Kelvin took charge. The most diplomatic way of putting it is this. The fact that we don't talk about Nick Merry tells you a great deal about Oxford United in 2008 under the guidance of the man who didn't wear socks. Merry was a nice man and whenever I spoke to him, he was receptive. However, despite the hard work he put in, the club was a mess.

It is impossible to document all of the changes that have taken place under Kelvin, but the crucial period was the search for a new manager after the dismissal of Darren Patterson. Big names fly around when a club like Oxford United have a managerial vacancy, but Kelvin didn't go in for that. The club took time to interview a number of candidates and selected the one whose philosophy, attitude and ambition was fitting with the club. I was slightly taken aback when Chris Wilder was appointed as manager, but I hadn't had the benefit of hearing what Kelvin had.

All too often football is made out to be a very simple science by fans. Sign a load of good players, stick them on the pitch every weekend and watch them beat everybody who is placed before them. However, to achieve success in this game you need a number of things. You need a plan, you need a team to enforce the theory and you need an atmosphere in which the ideas can thrive. Every success in football relates back to base moments. For Oxford United, it was the promotion of Kelvin Thomas and the hiring of Chris Wilder. As a partnership, these two have been immense for the football club. Dancing on the pitch at Wembley? Taking 4,000 vocal fans to West Ham to sing how proud they were of their team? Doing the double over Swindon Town? These are great moments that are the product of things that happened long before.

I am sure that Kelvin made mistakes during his reign, but I am equally certain that they were outnumbered by the triumphs. We are more stable financially than we have been for a long time, we have finished in our highest league position since 2004 and we have finally got an identity. There will always be dissent, but it is my belief that Oxford United is far more together now than it was before Kelvin came in. I am not sure I knew what this football club wanted to be five years ago. Under Kelvin, we have become a club who communicate, do things by the book and don't get carried away. Not everything can be public knowledge in the running of a football club, but Kelvin was open about a number of issues during his tenure. We never shouted about players that we wanted or how much money we had to spend. We instilled a mentality that encouraged the club to not get carried away in victory or become too despondent in defeat.

I like these qualities a great deal and I think that Kelvin has played a large part in our football club doing things the right way. More than anything, this may be the Kelvin Thomas legacy.

Among the many positives, there is one thing that deserves great credit. Kelvin Thomas has given Oxford United back to the fans. All the boardroom decisions clearly play a part in this, but there are a great number of instances where Kelvin was a hit with the fans by doing things that were certainly above and beyond the call of duty for a chairman of a football club.

I think back to the Special Effect day for Charlotte Nott and the day that Tess Sullivan was carried onto the Grenoble Road pitch to meet the crowd. The role of fans in raising awareness of these causes was crucial, but the club listened. If supporters told Kelvin that they wanted to help somebody, the club were willing to throw their support behind it. Football is great, but the satisfaction of an entire club community coming together to help others makes me proud to be an Oxford United fan. We have achieved a number of things with Kelvin in charge of our club, but moments such as these are right at the top of the list.

There was also a Saturday morning in April of 2011 when Kelvin graced Raging Fever, the Oxford United supporters' team, with an appearance. How many chairman play a game of football with the club's fans on the morning of a league fixture rather than knocking back the invitation to get to the ground early and have a drink? It's the personal touch that elevates Kelvin to such a popular status with Oxford fans. He scored two goals in a 3-1 Fever victory that day. As I said, he's a winner.

Every fan I meet seems to have a positive story about Kelvin and I am no different. I graduated from university this year and knowing this, I emailed the chairman to ask for some advice. As many know, I want to work in sports media. I assumed Kelvin would have a contact or two and knowing what he looked for in an employee couldn't be a bad thing. I sent a speculative email and heard back soon enough. 'Come to the club. We'll discuss it.' That was great, but as I returned from the Champions League semi-final, I received an email asking me to ring the club. Walking through Madrid airport I did just that and spoke to Mary, Kelvin's secretary. “Meet Kelvin for a drink in Summertown tomorrow morning. He's doing an interview live on Radio Oxford and he would like to take you along.” I gained a great deal from our conversation that day and despite agreeing to disagree on the adaptability of tiki-taka to British academies, I left Summertown with a new sense of direction. As I said, Kelvin goes above and beyond the call of duty.

There are dozens of stories like this. There are also those who have strayed the wrong side of Kelvin and have learned not to repeat their error, but that is what is needed from a good chairman. Kelvin's tenure has been organised, efficient, disciplined and ultimately, successful. Who are we to argue with the methods?

I have feared the day that Kelvin left Oxford United for a while now, but at the end of a big day for the club, a sense of optimism remains. The handover is set to be a smooth process and the familiarity provided by the Lenagan family will be of great benefit to the club.

Very few chairman can say that they left their football club more popular than they were when they arrived and even fewer can say that they have provided Oxford United with the level of improvement that Kelvin oversaw.

It is a shame that we didn't manage the second promotion while Kelvin was at the club. I believe that will come, however. The work of the former chairman won't be forgotten when it does. Kelvin Thomas is a winner and his football club have been reminded what winning feels like as a result.

On behalf of all the team at Rage Online, I would like to take the opportunity to thank Kelvin for his work at Oxford United and wish both him and his family the best for the future. I don't know about our readers, but Kelvin was the chairman that made me dream again.

I really like James Constable.

It would seem, however, that there are a number of criteria that need to be fulfilled for that statement to be true. To really like James Constable, one must not speak of his weaknesses, offer suggestions as to how his limitations could be reduced or consider alternatives. With that in mind, entertaining the thought of selling Constable is likely to render me a heretic.

That is the thought going through my head though. I am changing my mind constantly, but on the condition that any transfer fee in reinvested in the right player(s), I can see an argument for accepting the right bid.

I am an Oxford United supporter. I don't have an allegiance to Chris Wilder or James Constable exclusively. I support both. They both want the best for my football club, whatever you may be told. We are embroiled in a strange situation whereby you are either 'Team Wilder' or 'Team Beano', as if Oxford United's support is divided by some teenager inspired Twilight based allegiance system. The only thing I understand about the various cliques is that it is unforgivable to criticise Constable's contribution, but perfectly acceptable to suggest that a desire to sell a footballer links directly to a manager's ego and jealousy. That alone is ludicrous, but it seems likely to be the summer trend.

There are three areas to approach when contemplating Constable's future. Firstly, what are his strengths and how likely are we to see them next season? What are his weaknesses and why are they increasingly apparent? Finally, what will happen if he goes? There is little chance of fans agreeing on all three factors, but the last one appears the crucial element.

One of the greatest strengths to James Constable is who he is and what he has achieved. Beano was a phenomenal non-league striker. His goalscoring record was exceptional, defences couldn't handle him and alongside Wilder, he was the driving force behind our resurgence. As such, the man is talismanic. When you think of Oxford United, James Constable doesn't follow far behind. Fiercely competitive on the field, Constable the man is humble, intelligent and a fine representative of the club. To have Constable playing for Oxford United has been a privilege and the idea of the club without him is difficult to comprehend.

As a player, he has plenty of qualities. He works hard in pressing defences, is capable of bullying defenders (although he has been out-battled by several over the years) and although far from perfect, there is more faith in Constable burying a chance than many of his team-mates. More than anything though, I can't remember a striker with such ability to spin a defender. He sticks his backside into the centre-back, he turns sharply and more often than not, gets a shot away or wins a free-kick. Whether he plays to this strength enough is an issue that I will cover later, but it is certainly an asset that I will associated with Beano, wherever his career may take him.

If you take the best aspects of Constable's game, he is an excellent striker. If he could produce his best every week, he would not be a League Two footballer. The frustration will always be that we know what he can do. Thumping headers against Swindon and Wrexham, an acrobatic effort against Bristol Rovers, opportunistic goals like those against Barnet and Histon and the emphatic finish at Wembley provide the show-reel of a striker who can score all sorts of goals.

We all know what Beano is capable of, but more telling is perhaps a study of his limitations. Every player has a price, but Oxford United are willing to accept an offer around the £200,000 mark for a striker who has scored 79 goals for the club. In a market where lower level strikers are moving for vastly greater sums, there has to be a reason why bids of this level are considered. On the other hand, there is clearly something about Constable worth having as managers of clubs above Oxford United are showing an interest. What is it about Constable that Wilder doesn't like? Why did Scott Rendell come into the squad and keep him out of the team?

My main criticism of Constable is his failure to negotiate the offside trap. I am aware that few people agree with this, but I think that this is one of the most frustrating aspects of his game. For a manager who lines up with a 4-3-3 formation, this must be immensely frustrating. The role of the nine in a 4-3-3 is to provide the focal point for attacks. The ball has to stick with the front man, allowing the wide players in the front three to become involved in the game further up the pitch. Aside from possessing the ability to hold the ball up (which Constable can), the key to the number nine is always being available. Beano's recovery runs make this very difficult. Oxford fans are quick to count the number of seconds a goalkeeper holds onto the ball, but it may be worth employing the same tactic to see how long it takes Beano to become available for a pass after working beyond the defensive line.

The simple fact is that while Beano is the wrong side of the defender, he is unavailable for a pass. When one of your greatest assets is backing into a defender, I fail to understand the logic behind consistently placing yourself in a position in which your strengths are impossible to utilise. As the man who is supposed to provide the platform for all attacks, this is a criminal offence. There are few more effective means of killing an attack than a player who is unavailable for a pass. It isn't even as if Beano is in the Pippo Inzaghi class whereby he is rubbish at timing runs, he simply doesn't return to a legal position quickly enough. He's hardly attempting to achieve Michael Owen's trademark run, lurking behind a defender before curving level and sprinting clear. Constable's pressurising of defences is exemplary, but he would be a better player within the team if he worked harder in terms of his positioning when out of possession. Wilder often spoke about the movement of his front men as being disappointing in the second half of the season. Constable was no exception to this. It appears that I am not alone in demanding more from my team's striker.

The fixture against Torquay should have shown you all you needed to see about how effective a number nine who does the right things can be. An ineffective Constable was removed at half-time for Scott Rendell. The Wycombe loanee doesn't possess half the attributes Constable has, but simply by making himself available he transformed us into a vastly superior team in the second half. Constable is the best forward that we have at the club and the best that we have had in a long time. However, something isn't working.

A common defence of Constable is that 4-3-3 does not suit him and that he would score goals in the correct system. This totally overlooks the fact that he has scored the vast majority of his goals for the club whilst playing in this formation and seeks to exonerate Beano of all blame. The system is not going to change, so for Beano to demand a place in the team, he would have to prove that he is the best man to play centrally in this formation. On last season's form, there is little evidence of this.

Constable scored in just 8 of his 43 appearances. Even with a total of 11 goals, a goal every 3.9 games is not good enough for a central striker in a team that have a lot of the ball in home fixtures. There are other factors in the low goal tally, but any perceived lack of creativity cannot disguise the fact that Beano didn't score a goal between February and the season's end. Speculation linking him to Swindon may have been unsettling (and he deserves the greatest credit for rejecting their advances), the form of the team as a whole was miserable and he struggled to get a regular place in the team, but I am certain that if it had been Dean Morgan who was frequently offside, failing the control the ball and misplacing passes, the atmosphere wouldn't have been so forgiving.

This is part of the logic that confuses me. Chris Wilder turned the entire squad around and won promotion, but we are rapidly reminded that this was in the past. He must be judged now. However, Beano should be judged by the goals from his past, rather than the disappointing season he has just had. I would like Beano to score 20 goals as much as the next fan, but I'm also going to use my head rather than my heart to judge his performances. They haven't been good enough since December, at the very latest. Scott Rendell scored twice the number of goals per game as Beano in the season run-in. That tells you everything you need to know about the dip Constable is in.

There is one thing that concerns me more about a possible departure than anything else. With 11 goals, Beano was Oxford's top scorer last season. He has been our top scorer every year that he has been at the club. We have tried to add to him in the past and possibly even replace him in the second half of this season. We have never managed to permanently sign an attacker who scores more goals than Beano, whoever we have tried. If Constable agrees terms elsewhere, who will we bring in? However poorly Beano has been playing, there has always been the knowledge that he can do it. Whichever striker comes in and fails, Beano was always there to steady the ship. If he goes, there will no longer be a trusted insurance policy.

This is the ultimate case of head VS heart. My heart wants Beano to stay and become our all-time record goalscorer. I want him to score the brilliant goals that he is capable of and I want him to spearhead the attack that fires us to promotion. Even with that in mind, my head says that the time might be right to part. The various transfer sagas appears to have affected the player and the use of Constable's situation to attack the manager is increasingly divisive. No player is bigger than the club and to his immense credit, James Constable has never tried to be. However, the situation is threatening to stretch beyond all realms of logic. I will always admire Beano and be thankful for his contribution to our club (whatever may happen this summer), but I am uncomfortable with a situation in which football decisions are criticised irrespective of a player's performance due to his identity.

If you could guarantee that Wilder would sign a striker of greater suitability than Beano, I would have absolutely no hesitation in wishing him well for the future and moving on. I can't overlook the feeling that we need a fresh impetus up front. Cheltenham were successful with a 4-3-3 formation in which Ben Burgess played the central role. You will never convince me that Burgess is a better player than James Constable, but he works better as part of a team. I would take a less spectacular, but more effective version of Beano any day of the week. The club comes first and if Wilder can fit the pieces together, we could become a better team.

That is the big word, however. If. I think that any move for Jon Shaw (who may well stay in the north anyway) would be in addition to Constable, rather than a direct replacement. The man who would replace Beano would be more likely to come from the calibre of replacements outlined when Swindon submitted their offer in January. However, when you have a man who has averaged 20 goals a season over four years, it is a lot harder to bring a replacement in than it is to stick with what you have and know. It takes a brave manager to sell a top goalscorer when there is no guarantee that a replacement will click.

My greatest concern is that the fans who are so fond of Constable would not afford any replacement time to impress. Beano himself took time to settle at Oxford, but didn't have the expectations placed upon a player who is replacing a club hero. Would our fans accept a replacement or hold something against them because they are not Beano? I'm not sure.

I don't think James Constable is as good a footballer as his bond with Oxford fans would suggest and I don't think he has been playing the role asked of him as well as he could be doing. However, he is a player that I have the greatest respect for. He is as close as we have to a club icon and every one of his individual successes feels slightly more significant than other players. If he goes, Oxford United will feel very different. Constable's value is attributed as much to us as a fan base as it is to his ability on the field.

I am also fully aware that no words I write on the internet will make a jot of difference to the outcome (others could learn from this). What will be, will be. We will all have to deal with the consequences and no amount of fan posturing will change this. There are both financial and, in my opinion, footballing benefits to accepting an offer. If the manager and chairman thinks that the timing is right, we have to accept it. The loss of our four time top goalscorer would clearly place more pressure on the manager. What Wilder would do in replacing Beano (who we must not forget is still an Oxford player) would be a crucial moment in his tenure. Despite the Deane Smalley's of this world, I still trust him to get it right. The attitude of some would suggest that Chris Wilder doesn't want the best for the football club. If Beano goes, it won't be with a desire to harm our chances.

Aldo left. Joey left. Even Jack Midson left. I want a successful Oxford United with James Constable at the forefront, but I can understand why we may opt to cash in and move on. No player, however close to our hearts, will ever be more important than the club.

Chris Wilder: Why I won't be demanding a change of manager from behind my keyboard

Arse-licker: (noun) An individual who supports a football manager who has delivered progress in every season of his tenure, whilst also accepting the aforementioned manager's errors.

Hang on. That's not what it means? Now I'm confused. The kind members of 'Yellows Forum' informed me that I was an 'arse-licker' for the exact reasons outlined above. Next you'll be telling me that the forum isn't an online conglomeration of the finest minds associated with Oxford United...

Whether it makes me an 'arse-licker', a 'disciple' or any other form of insult that comes with supporting someone who has improved my football club during a difficult spell, I am behind Chris Wilder. I'm not ashamed to say it and whatever the internet tells me, I don't think I am in a minority either.

I am extremely disappointed by the manner in which our season capitulated. I have seen us beat Swindon twice and come a wonder-goal away from repeating the trick against Shrewsbury Town, another promoted side. Over those 360 minutes, we proved that we can be a good team. Despite the immensely frustrating home draws with the likes of Bradford, Aldershot, Burton and Hereford making an automatic promotion push difficult, we should still have been able to comfortably negotiate April and May with enough points to secure a play-off berth.

There is no disguising the fact that we have failed to achieve our minimum goal. More importantly, there has been no attempt to do so from within the club. Kelvin Thomas says we should have been in the play-offs. Chris Wilder says we should have been in the play-offs. When the play-offs take place, there will not be many players who are not thinking that they should be in the play-offs. There seems to be a belief that the disappointing end to the campaign does not hurt the club's staff as much as it hurts the fans. It will be doing.

In preparation for this piece, I have had a browse of the available online mouthpieces to gauge the opinion of web-capable Oxford fans (this obviously ignores the number of fans who have become so frustrated by the sensationalism surrounding every event at Oxford United that they have given up using such tools). Research suggests that I am not reacting how I should be. I am not converting my frustration into anger and I have not once questioned the parentage of Chris Wilder or hammered four-letter insults into my keyboard. It still amazes me that football can drive people to form such dislike of an individual who is striving to match the fans' ambitions. I take comfort in the knowledge that promotion next season would see the manager transform into a hero once more and humble pie sales go through the roof.

Online facilities such as Twitter, Facebook and football forums provide fans with a platform, the size of which have never been seen before. They are a forum for immediate emotional response upon which like-minded fans can converge. They can create 'hash-tags' and 'groups' to spread their opinions and whilst those with more extreme views have always existed, they have never been so easily heard. They are all entitled to their opinion. They may even turn out to be right. However, it's a method of opposition that clubs have never had to deal with before.

Whether you view online speech as a positive or negative factor, the fact is that it exists and will remain for a long time. When embracing this, there is one key factor that irritates me more than any name-calling or southern superiority complex (and where on earth has this come from in a club who have worshipped the likes of Shotton, Aldridge and Briggs?): why do none of these fans provide any reasoned explanation? I think we are all happy to listen to reasoned debate about Oxford United, but I am yet to get any deeper than 'We messed up. Wilder is very silly.' These aren't the exact words, but none of the various expletives are a precursor to an explanation that satisfies me. I appreciate that some would like a change of manager. Fine. However, please tell me, who you would like to come in? What qualities does this manager have that Chris Wilder lacks? What are the key changes that you would like to see? I can't promise I will agree with you, but I will give your argument a great deal more time if it isn't packed with isolated insults.

You may have gathered that a great deal of online fans irritate me. 'Yellows Forum' isn't worth the time of day and yet like a motorway shunt, you can't help but have a glance. Invariably, as soon as you see the catastrophic events that are taking place, you wish you hadn't. As a word of advice, there are an 'elite' available on Twitter who will provide logical reasoning, whatever their point of view. I like to think that these people present similar views to those who don't utilise internet forums, merely because it allows me to believe that the world is a slightly happier place.

So far we have established that I don't like a great deal about the internet, I am disappointed by the conclusion to our season and I support Chris Wilder. Considering I am supposed to be writing about the latter, I will attempt to end the rant with some of my own logic.

To provide balance, I will reiterate that I am not happy with our season. We were good enough to be in the play-offs and a return of 3 points from our last 7 league games was pitiful. There are undeniably questions to be answered. However, I want Chris Wilder to be given the opportunity to answer these questions.

I have supported Oxford United in some desperate times. I've seen multiple relegations, useless football and players that I wouldn't welcome in my Sunday team. This is a great deal better than that so let's not pretend that we are witnessing the lowest of the low. However frustrating, this was Oxford United's best finish since Ian Atkins' days. We also play football now. Yes, it should have been better than the Atkins' days and the collapse now hurts as much as it did then, but why are we acting as if we are about to fall out of the Football League once more?

Fans of Oxford United have great expectations. We were once a top level club and have consistently played at a higher level, but I honestly believed we had got over the theory that we deserve promotion due to our previous successes. This is a club that was on its knees in the Conference, yet should now breeze through the leagues on name alone. Our attendances are reflected by a budget that should have enabled us to do better than we did, but let's not pretend that we are rivalling some of the teams that are (or were) in League Two in terms of player expenditure. We have no divine right to win promotion and like the other good clubs in this league, will have to do something special to be promoted from it.

Expectations haven't been helped by the rapid rise of teams like Stevenage, who have made the transition between divisions seamlessly with a relatively consistent squad. The achievements at that club have been phenomenal, but they are an exception and not a measure of the minimum requirement. There was no desperate need to be promoted this season, as there had been in the Blue Square Premier days. We all wanted it, but why does the atmosphere suggest that we are on the brink of ultimate failure? We are not as far superior to last year as we should have been, but we are still better. Chris Wilder's record reads, simply, as follows:

Year One – rapid improvement from lower-half to play-off chasers.

Year Two – play-off winners.

Year Three – mid-table transitional period.

Year Four – Failure to achieve the play-offs.

By my calculations, I make that one explicit disappointment and one set-back that was immediately salvaged in the BSP play-offs. That the disappointment comes from missing the League Two play-offs with our highest finish for nine years tells you a great deal about what Chris Wilder has achieved. We have progressed massively and I am not keen to become a club that employs a 'one strike and you're out' policy.

The other main criticism from some quarters is that Wilder has “taken us as far as he can”. How do we know that? Granted, the improvement this season was lesser than anticipated in March, but we haven't gone backwards. Furthermore, that overlooks the fact that we have had some miserable luck this season. Tom Craddock gets the kind of goals that we have been lacking, yet has barely crossed the whitewash. Alfie Potter, however frustrating, is a nightmare for opposition defences and makes us a far more potent attacking unit. We've been without him for four months. Peter Leven? Plagued by injury since January. Having those three players fit throughout would have considerably improved the quality that has been so lacking in the final third this year.

What about the players who have been brought in? Rob Hall was exceptionally talented, but was removed from our squad for reasons out of our control. Lee Holmes was also a fantastic signing, but the luxurious finances available elsewhere ensured that his stay was a brief one. We all complain about the signing of Dean Morgan, but would it have ever happened if our own players were fit or first-choice loan players had been obtainable in the long-term? Of course not.

There have been misses (Guy, Philliskirk and the ultimate, Smalley), but Wilder has had a sizeable dose of bad luck this season. I may be accused of being overly optimistic, but I don't think that our full squad is a long way off achieving promotion. Greater midfield creativity is needed in the summer and a wide player with the ability of Hall and Holmes who is signed on our own books would be a valuable asset. Compared to the teams around us, our defence is strong and provides a good platform upon which to build. Promotion was lost in the opposition's defensive third, where profligate doesn't do our finishing justice.

There is no denying that this is the crucial summer in Wilder's tenure. Our home record is nowhere near good enough and to achieve our ambitions next season, we simply have to score more goals. This involves greater quality in delivery from wide, drive from midfield and composure amongst our strikers. If we are unable to bring in sufficient quality, we will stutter again next season and there will be no excuse. However, I am yet to see a good reason why Wilder should not be given the opportunity to give promotion another crack.

I trust that Chris Wilder is every bit as disappointed in our season from the end of March onwards and that he will learn from the mistakes of this season. Despite what some may have you believe, Wilder gets more decisions right than he gets wrong. The absolute minimum expectation for next season will rightly be a play-off place and another failure to achieve that would deservedly lead to questions. However, if we change manager every time we have a setback, we are not the kind of club that I thought we were. I've seen us chop and change management and it didn't end well. I appreciate what Chris Wilder has done for Oxford United and I have enjoyed the majority of his tenure immensely. I care as much about gaining promotion as the next man, but I truly believe that a change in manager would be every bit as likely to set us back as it would to improve us.

I would be disappointed in Oxford United if we became a club who chucked a loyal manager out after one disappointing season and I would be more disappointed if our own fans tried to make it happen.

Bookmark this and bring it back to me next May. I think Chris Wilder will get things right.  

Why the future of regional rugby in Wales is bleak

As Welsh rugby continues to enjoy a promising period on the international stage, doubts persist about the future of the regional game following the introduction of a salary cap.

From the beginning of next season the four Welsh regions will each be permitted to spend a maximum of £3.5 million on the wages of Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup squad members in an attempt to prevent wage inflation at a time when attendances continue to fall.

With the Welsh cap lower than the English equivalent and only a little over half the figure allowed in France, the danger of the top Welsh players seeking moves abroad is an increasing concern. Lee Byrne, Mike Phillips and James Hook have already moved to French clubs, whilst Gethin Jenkins has agreed a move to Toulon for the new season. The prop is likely to be joined by fellow international forwards Luke Charteris and Huw Bennett in leaving Wales at the end of the season.

The career of a rugby player remains a short one and the potential to gain substantial wage increases in France seems likely to harm the strength of the Welsh regions. The ability of the current Welsh international squad, combined with the increased profile of the players on the world stage makes them an attractive prospect for French clubs and seems likely to take them out of the price range of the regional sides.

With the Welsh rugby system producing high-quality players on a consistent basis, there have also been concerns about the continued effectiveness of player development schemes as the financial stability of top clubs is questioned. However, the new budget does not affect development players or the amount that can be pumped into academy systems.

Regional Rugby Wales chairman Stuart Gallacher said: “One of the benefits of the salary cap I believe is that it gives us more scope and more finances within the regions to keep developing our own younger players as we saw in the World Cup”.

The salary cap will not hamper a region's chances of developing players with potential to play on the international stage, but problems will arise when a player's ability and worth takes them beyond the means of their Welsh club. If the best Welsh players continue to be snapped up by French clubs, there is a worry that the regions will essentially become feeder clubs, never seeing the full benefit of the money invested in players during their development.

The impact that this could have upon the future of Welsh rugby on an international level concerns hooker Matthew Rees. The Scarlets player said: “We've put the building blocks in place in terms of the international scene and Wales as a team. But that is only as strong as your regions are, and we've got to make sure that is sorted sooner rather than later”.

Whether the salary cap will affect Welsh rugby on the international stage will only be seen in the long-term, but the future of regional rugby appears bleak. With small attendances restricting the growth of regional rugby in comparison to the French equivalent, the salary cap appears to be a measure to assist financial stability rather than an attempt to compete with the rest of Europe.

African Cup of Nations Review

Published in Gair Rhydd on 20/02/2012.

There are some sporting moments that an ill-timed ITV commercial break can not ruin. Despite the decision that an Australian alcohol promotion was more screen-worthy than eccentric manager Herve Renard carrying an injured player to join his team's celebrations, Zambia's Nations Cup victory restored faith in the game after a torrid period.

All too often viewed outside of Africa as an inconvenience due to its mid-season scheduling, the continent's premier football competition has won the affection of fans worldwide in the past month.

That Zambia, 40-1 outsiders at the start of the competition, could emerge victorious is a story in itself. However, the symbolic significance is clear for all to see.

In 1993, 18 members of the Chipolopolo team were killed as their plane crashed off the Gabonese coast ahead of a World Cup qualifier. 19 years later, with Gabon a co-host, the disaster was at the forefront of Zambian minds.

However, the draw dictated that the only way Zambia could play a game in Gabon would be to reach the final. With a new manager, an injury to the important Jacob Mulenga and a group draw with Senegal, a fairytale seemed unlikely.

Fielding a squad of African-based players, Zambia defeated Senegal 2-1, before a 2-2 draw with Libya and a narrow 1-0 victory over Equatorial-Guinea saw them finish top of their group. A 3-0 quarter-final victory over Sudan followed, to set up a clash with a Ghana side who won the affections of so many in the World Cup.

Every success story has heroes and this was to be no different. Kennedy Mweene is not a textbook goalkeeper, but has bravery in abundance. In the semi-final, he saved an Asamoah Gyan penalty, before Emmanuel Mayuka came off the bench to win the game at the death.

As the Zambian squad moved to Gabon for the final, they attended a beach ceremony at the nearest mainland spot to crash site of 1993. Against all the odds, the reserve side fielded in the Nations Cup a year after the disaster finished as runners-up. Renard's side were to go one step further.

Didier Drogba blazed a penalty over the bar, before a penalty shoot-out was required to crown a winner. Ivory Coast did not concede a goal in the tournament, yet were defeated in a high-quality spot-kick contest. During the shoot-out, the Zambians could have been forgiven for doubting what was considered to be their destiny. Mweene saw a save disallowed as he strayed a matter of inches from his line, before a potentially decisive penalty was sent over the bar as the Zambian players broke into song on the halfway line. However, after Gervinho's miss, Stoppila Sunzu kept calm to give Zambia the most poignant of victories.

There were other stories in this tournament. Co-hosts Equatorial Guinea knocked out Senegal, before Gabon removed Morocco. Zambia's story can not be overshadowed, however, as they knocked out the three favourites on their way to victory.

19 years after the darkest day in Zambian football history, Renard's men have paid the ultimate tribute.

Your Pitch: Contact Sport

Published in Gair Rhydd on 13/02/2012.

Football and rugby union don’t enjoy direct comparisons. Rugby traditionalists view dissent towards referees as a trademark of the round ball game, whilst football fans are often scathing in their analysis of Britain’s public school sport. However, in recent weeks the talking points of both sports have become prominent with an ever-increasing proximity.

The art of tackling in both games has been under scrutiny, with potentially dangerous challenges provoking debate on the terraces and in the media.

Wales’ victory was overshadowed, in the eyes of those from Ireland at least, by referee Wayne Barnes’ judgement in regard to two tip-tackles. Whilst Bradley Davies was fortunate to escape more substantial punishment for his off the ball spear tackle on Donnacha Ryan, Stephen Ferris will feel harshly treated to have received the first yellow card of his international career for a tackle on Ian Evans.

These were two tackles at opposite ends of the scale, yet received identical punishment. Davies is perhaps undeserving of the term ‘tackle’ as the ball was nowhere to be seen when the Irish forward was dropped onto his neck. Whilst the letter of the law dictates that Ferris’ tackle was worthy of punishment, there are serious question marks about Barnes’ interpretation if tackles of such contrasting severity are inseparable in the referee’s handling of the game.

It is interpretation that is the key to the debates in both rugby and football. Looking back to his red card in the World Cup, Wales captain Sam Warburton said: “the laws might be a bit harsh because I think the referee should be able to interpret the law depending on the situation.” Warburton rarely gets things wrong, but he is wide of the mark in this regard. Football provides evidence of this.

The rules in football lack clarity. There is no horizontal above which a player must not be rotated and there is no clear instruction as to what tackle requires which punishment. The most common phrase in recent weeks has been ‘two-footed tackle’, the wording of which features at no point in the football rulebook. Where Stuart Attwell found justification for Nenad Milijas' dismissal against Arsenal remains a mystery.

Following Robert Huths' red card against Sunderland, John O'Shea said: “It hasn’t been explained to us explicitly, but you know yourself as a player you run the risk of a red card – some refs might, some refs won’t.” With such a lack of consistency from referees and transparency from the game's governing body, the only assumption is that you can no longer make a hard but fair challenge. If fans and pundits are confused by what is fair, what chance do players have when there is only a split second to make a decision? The hard men of yesteryear such as Ron Harris and Tommy Smith must wonder what has gone wrong.

Semi-final referee Alain Rolland will never be a popular man in Wales, but his decision to dismiss Warburton has set a tone for the management of tip-tackles in rugby. There are clear rules as to what is allowed and referees should be praised for enforcing them.

Wayne Barnes' decision to sin-bin Davies was unnecessarily lenient, but human error will always be possible. If we ask referees to apply context to the rules, rugby union will increase human error to the level that football suffers from.

Say it quietly, but in this instance, rugby fans are right to claim superiority over the round ball game.