Why the 'outdated' 4-4-2 is working for Oxford in 2012

A little over a year ago, I was asked to write a short article for our friends over at The Boys From Up The Hill. Naturally, I produced a formation-based essay that attempted to solve a debate upon which football management is primarily based.

I like formations that are fluid and make life difficult for the opposition and as such, after looking at the strengths and weaknesses of several formations, I concluded that 4-3-3 was still the best option available to Oxford United at the time.

The comments section at the bottom of the article proved that three people had made it through the entire article, in all likelihood missing numerous family commitments in the process. All three provided intelligent feedback and their own take on the shape which Chris Wilder should be using. However, my favourite was the final one which had been left by 'Anonymous'. Every point made was valid, but could well have been paraphrased as: 'Thanks for the article. Lots of words, but you're wrong. Four-Four-Bloody-Two.' On second viewing, he doesn't actually say thank you.

Well, Mr or Mrs Anonymous, this is the response. I stand by the theory that 4-3-3 was right at the time, but with the squad that Oxford United currently have available, I have to admit something.

4-4-2 is working far better than my preferred system.

A lot has changed since those diagrams were created and it is time to create some more to look at why we are looking far more cohesive in a 4-4-2 than with threes. Two names are vital to this improvement and make the system work; Andy Whing and Tom Craddock.

I like 4-3-3 as a system because when the personnel in a system are interchangeable, it's very difficult to defend against. Individual responsibility is crucial in organising a defence and when players aren't sure whether to close space, track a runner into a different position or pass him on to a team-mate, spaces are made to be exploited.

With Lee Cox providing a more mobile Paul McLaren, it would be possible for United to play as a 4-3-3, but the injury to enforced deployment of Andy Whing at right-back and the return of Tom Craddock (who was unavailable when the initial article was written) has given a system that requires intelligence a chance to flourish.

When a team-sheet is created United are lining up in a typical 4-4-2. There is nothing complicated about it and that is what a lot of fans want to see. Two lines of four, two strikers and none of that modern day rubbish. However, the shape on the right is how I perceive Oxford when in possession of the football.

Although Craddock was absent against Barnet at the weekend, the opposition were so poor that the game provided a nice opportunity to study the mechanisms of the system being executed with relative ease. Jon-Paul Pittman won more in the air than Craddock would and our approach was more direct at times as a result, but he also attempted to collect the ball in the role between the lines that Craddock is marked as on the right-hand side.

When we have the ball, we don't maintain a simple 4-4-2. Such a shape is easy to mark, easily read and relies entirely on individuals beating their man in a one on one battle to create opportunities. It can work and it allows an easy transition when the ball is lost, but it lacks the fluidity that Chris Wilder strives for in his team.

We will often shift to a 4-2-3-1 relatively quickly after winning the ball. This is the shape that gets the best of both worlds. Two men remain relatively deep to protect the defence in case possession is squandered and four mobile attackers create problems for the opposition. This movement is the key element to the success of our 4-4-2.

Craddock is by no means limited to only coming deep to look for the ball, as Steve MacLean was in his spell at the club. At Cheltenham and Wycombe we have seen what he is capable of when he runs beyond Constable and the opposition defence. He has had his critics at times, but Craddock is a very intelligent footballer for this level of the game and chooses his movements well.

The key to any formation when in possession is giving the opposition a problem and challenging their organisation. In the diagram below, I have highlighted the key areas against opponents playing in a 4-4-2 and a 4-5-1, which I am sure we will see plenty of in home fixtures against teams looking for a point.

The 4-4-2 on the left is the easier of the two to play through and the large yellow areas shows the key focus of our passing. Leven and Chapman are constantly looking to play a neat pass into this area for Constable and Rigg, or more commonly Potter and Craddock. The right pass can take the opposition midfield out of the game and leave a situation where our attacking four have exposed four defenders. Too much is often made of statistics in football, but this is a simple one. The more times you can create a situation where a number of attackers are running at the same number of defenders, or (as can happen when a full-back is caught up the field and nobody has covered him) fewer defenders, the higher your likelihood of scoring goals.

The crucial elements to the theory are picking the right pass to get through the midfield and when between the lines on the other side, making clever runs and picking the correct option to open up the defence. When put like this, football sounds ridiculously simple but the best teams are those who can execute the simplest of things with the greatest precision. Have a look at Barcelona. We all know that Lionel Messi has the ability to perform the miraculous, but the movements that create Barcelona goals are very simple. They are just executed with such precision, speed and conviction that it becomes very difficult to prevent.

The shining light since changing to 4-4-2 has been the relationship between James Constable and Craddock in the final third. While Craddock does drop deeper at times, the distance beyond the pair is never too vast. Beano clearly enjoys having a partner in close proximity and they both possess the qualities to give defences problems. Craddock is deceptive in his movement, while Constable has returned to his rampaging former-self. Both can pick a pass for a team-mate and they are more than capable of scoring goals in League Two. The relationship is still developing, but the signs are promising. The best striking relationships are between players who possess different qualities. When the formations article was first published, the two available were Deane Smalley and Constable. That would be a front two who would head the ball, barge people out of the way and rely on their power, but would lack the guile of a partnership that includes Craddock. For 4-4-2 to continue to be successful, the presence of the former-Middlesbrough striker feels crucial.

Although victory was easily gained at Barnet, the performance wasn't quite at the level of the Craddock-aided win at Wycombe. Pittman got himself into good positions between the lines at times, but the effectiveness with his feet wasn't quite the same as his ability in the air. Constable struggled to get on the end of the flick-ons but there was evidence that Pittman can provide something a little different with the phenomenal spring that he possesses in his legs, when such tactics are needed.

Without the neat play on the edge of the area, another asset of 4-4-2 became clear. Although he frustrates at times, I am a Batt fan. There aren't too many full-backs at this level who provide the outlet that he does and the award he picked up from League Two opponents tells you all you need to know about how much they enjoy playing against him. However, as with any attacking full-back, he has to leave spaces behind him as he charges forward and he will never be able to be the defensively unbeatable yet overlapping player that some seem to think he should be. The advances of Batt were often brilliantly covered by McLaren in the 4-3-3, but with only two central midfielders, it becomes far more problematic when a defender is caught in the opponents' final third.

Saturday's fixture made the work of our full-backs in the system very clear. Both Tony Capaldi and Andy Whing are intelligent players, but the bond between Potter and Whing meant that our right-hand side was an effective means of attack all afternoon.

Barnet had major problems with defensive organisation when Potter and Pittman dropped deep. As we will advance with Craddock dropping deep as Pittman tried to on Saturday, I have included him in the diagram below.

Although Barnet attempted to deploy a defensive midfielder in Clovis Kamdjo, he was rarely in the right position to pick up Pittman as he dropped into the Craddock role between the lines. This meant that one of the centre-backs had to come across to cover Pittman's movement. The winger on that side of the field would then pull inside. This was most frequently Potter, although Rigg also gave the Barnet defence this problem.

As a full-back, what do you do? Do you mark the space out wide or do you follow your winger to prevent him picking up the ball? 90% of full-backs will follow their winger, leaving the flank vacant. Andy Whing doesn't get forward with the frequency of Batt, but he is very good at picking the right opportunities to do so. When Potter dragged his man inside (often with a hapless Barnet centre-half vacating even more space to track the deep-lying striker), Whing made his move to charge up the touchline. He put the ball into great areas too.

After the game, Edgar Davids said the following: "The difference was the other team was much, much better. They were much more organised."

The Dutchman has seen some organised teams in his time and the compliment should not be undervalued. Oxford's 4-4-2 provides a solid defensive base, with two midfielders who are usually excellent in possession. Importantly, they also have the vision to find the right pass between the lines to open the game up.

With two mobile wingers and a blossoming partnership at the top of the field, 4-4-2 is the way for Oxford United to go forward this season. It means that Damian Batt, Jake Forster-Caskey, Lee Cox and Deane Smalley are going to have to force their way back into the side, but that is how good squads work.

When writing back in 2011 I said that the greatest strength of 4-4-2 is the partnerships that it creates, as shown below. If these partnerships are to be broken, it will have to be by players who are performing at a higher standard than those who currently possess the shirt. I hope the players who currently occupy the bench can rise to the challenge.

There will be occasions when we need to alter our system. If we come up against an attacking 4-3-3, we may need to match up with them in midfield and allow Lee Cox to do what he does best.

I don't like a rigid 4-4-2 and credit should go to the coaching staff for creating a team who are comfortable mixing their roles in the system with the freedom to pose problems for opposition defences.

So there it is, Anonymous. Unless you come back to me with the confession that you have switched allegiance to the 3-6-0 of Euro 2012 winning Spain, you are right. 4-4-2 can work and although it will need to keep doing so for a lot longer if we are to be successful, we look like a better team for it.

In comparison to the Los Angeles Olympics in 1932, what made the 1936 Berlin Olympics a 'Nazi Games'?

In my final year of a history degree at Cardiff University, I wrote a dissertation about the Olympics of 1936.

I travelled to Berlin, interviewed a German man, rummaged through the archives of Oxfordshire's newspapers and then cut half of what I discovered due to word limits.

If you ever want to read it, you can do so here.

Why I've fallen in love with the modern League Cup

In recent years I have allowed myself to believe that the League Cup had become like the BAFTAs. A nomination for the glamorous finale meant a jolly good day out and if ultimately successful, a prize that wouldn't look bad in the cabinet. However, it isn't recognised as the highest form of achievement by those who truly matter and ultimately, isn't as good as the Oscars.

Thankfully, the fixtures that have taken us through to the quarter-final stage of this year's tournament have acted as an epiphany to help me break away from what modern football wants me to believe. The League Cup may not be able to compete with the more glamorous trophies on offer, but it has a great deal to offer to those involved.

Before I present my theory, it is important to remember that there have been times when the League Cup has been considered hugely significant. It wasn't all reserve teams, sacrificed ties and half-empty stadiums. Ask fans of Oxford United, Luton Town, Middlesbrough, Leicester City, Stoke City and even recently, Birmingham City. League Cup victories matter and form an important part of the history of many victorious football clubs. Those who mock victory have either known too much success or have never been fortunate enough to know how good it feels.

I'll admit, this theory isn't going to change your life and it might take a little empathy to understand. Until your team experiences one of the key factors, the concept may remain alien to you. However, I am not going to worry about saying it in fear of what the big boys who get to play in Europe may think. I really enjoy the League Cup.

One reason why the time feels right to confess my fondness of the competition is the glut of goals that we were treated to this week. On Tuesday afternoon I was complaining about Sky Sports' choice of live fixture. Reading were hosting Arsenal's second string while elsewhere, Swindon Town were taking on struggling Aston Villa. My birth certificate and the badge upon my chest dictate that I don't like Swindon, but even I could see why it was the more attractive fixture for the neutral viewer. We can see Reading play Arsenal twice this season anyway. Who wants to watch it again?

As it turned out, all of us did. Football matches are never the same and if the Capitol One marketing team could have asked for anything from this year's competition, it would have been that it embraced the downright barmy to entertain us all. The Tuesday night fixture forced those of us who are interested in shape, formations and controlled football to rip up our data sheets and just enjoy the game for what it was; glorious mayhem in front of a captivated audience. The game in Wiltshire wasn't too bad either and when combined with Wednesday's extra-time fun at Stamford Bridge, the cup has enjoyed a productive week.

So there's the first thing to remember. When there are fewer perceived consequences of defeat, utterly crazy and brilliant things can happen. A game of football can be exciting whether it is in the park on a Sunday or at the Etihad in May. A football match doesn't need a direct consequence to be enthralling and if we are determined to not enjoy 90 (or 120) minutes of the game that we love because of our own perceptions of the competition it is in, we've gone wrong somewhere along the line.

If any type of club understands the concept of enjoying the League Cup for what it is, it is often the clubs in League Two. Below what worldwide fans see on the television every weekend, there is a world of football. It doesn't stop at the bottom of the Football League either. There are people right down the football pyramid going to a ground on a Saturday afternoon to watch a game. The non-league clubs obviously don't fit directly into the theory until the FA Cup comes around, but for these clubs and fans, the League Cup can still be very special.

I wouldn't change a thing about my time supporting Oxford United, despite our extended foray into the Conference, for this very reason. When you have done a Friday night in Barrow or stood on the unprotected terrace at Grays Athletic in the cold January rain, you gain a great sense of perspective. After promotion to the Football League, I was excited about visiting Northampton Town, let alone clubs at the top of our game.

This is where the second point comes in. The League Cup isn't all about the Premier League and if anybody who supports a top division club complains that the competition is an inconvenience, excuse the thousands of fans of clubs below you who will happily not give a damn. One of my favourite Oxford memories in recent years was visiting Upton Park in this competition. We lost in the last minute, but to pack an away end of a big stadium with yellow shirts to watch our players take on their top-level counterparts was special.

When Bradford host Arsenal in the quarter-finals of this year's tournament, it will be a great game for their club. They may not have been away from the top flight for all too long, but when you are at the bottom, it feels like a million miles away. There are some passionate supporters down there who don't receive the same level of exposure as their bigger counterparts. If we are going to begrudge the smaller boys a potentially club-saving pay-day because it's a trophy that feels inconvenient, it may be time to visit a lower league game and rediscover that sense of perspective.

That part of the theory was a little intense, right? The little man's attacks on the big establishment will become a feature on these pages where I'm involved, but this was supposedly going to help you to enjoy football again. So, as Helen Lovejoy once said in The Simpsons, “won't somebody please think of the children?!”

Whichever club you support, there few things more enjoyable than seeing a young player break into the first team. Sadly, the cut-throat nature of the Premier League has made it even harder for young players to break through. There's obviously the impact of players coming from abroad to contend with, but when a manager can lose his job for four bad results, you can understand why the trusted pros often get the nod over the raw youngsters. With managers worrying about overworking their first eleven, the League Cup has become a platform for the young players to impress.

Tuesday night provided the perfect example of this. Unless you are an avid watcher of U21 football, the name Thomas Eisfeld may have been new to you. Eisfeld is 19, signed for Arsenal from Borussia Dortmund in January and doesn't have a huge profile. After replacing Emmanuel Frimpong - a player with a self-driven profile that vastly outweighs his ability – the German put on a 60 minute exhibition of his talents. His movement was intelligent, his touch exquisite and his passing accurate. His team were in a hole and when they needed a boost, it was the teenager who was at the heart of it. Suddenly Andrei Arshavin came to life, Arsenal were passing through Reading's defensive lines and the entire match changed.

If Thomas Eisfeld makes a Premier League début this season, the League Cup will have been worthwhile. Managers never know how a player is going to react to a first-team match environment until they have been there, but if they embrace the opportunity, it can act as a fast-track through to the Premier League. Just ask Liverpool. Suso and Andre Wisdom were so impressive in the third round victory at West Brom that they have been starting in the Premier League ever since.

By the same token, Liverpool's defeat to Swansea last night may have been the last chance for Joe Cole to turn his Anfield career around. It was an opportunity that he didn't take. If the League Cup is ensuring that the brightest young talent is allowed to play in prominent club competitions ahead of those who are on the slide at the end of a career, it is a competition that is worth embracing.

To get something from the League Cup experience, you have to buy into it. For too long the competition has been viewed as an inconvenient road to nowhere by the modern football fan. But is it really? This season it has entertained, given the lower league sides their day in the sun and provided the opportunity for youngsters to show that their time is now. If we love football, we should love that.

It may not have the non-league narrative of the FA Cup, the glamorous European nights of the Champions League or the multi-million pound making three points of the Premier League, but it is far from being obsolete. If anything, it is a tournament that is discovering a new purpose in the modern game and for that, I think it's terrific.

Why Kirkland's attacker has lost all sense of perspective

A friend of mine once told me that she had taken to the sofa for the evening to watch a film with her husband. When I enquired as to what it was, she told me that it was the elf-hooligan epic Green Street. Both will watch the football if the kids have it on in the living room, but neither would declare themselves as loyal football fans.

If the film choice was odd, the declaration that the film was somewhat Shakespearean surprised me. Despite taking a drama A-level at school, I always interpreted Bill's work as largely nonsensical and often plain daft. It was only after the disgraceful scenes at Hillsborough on Friday night that this comment returned to me and it began to make a little sense.

The Shakespearean element of the Dyer-esque football firm film was said to be the tribalism that was shown to accompany supporting a football team. The supposed logic behind football rivalry in the film is very simple. If playing at home, it is our land and we will protect it. If away, we will try to claim opposition territory and let everybody know about it. It's a cross between medieval knighthood and capture the flag, but slightly less noble than either.

Clearly, the actions of one Leeds United fan did not have any place in football. It was a cowardly assault on a man who had no part in the caveman theories of the match-going fan. The police will deal with the man in question and there is little more to be said about the act itself. As the kind of person who is often found rummaging in haystacks, I was going to hunt for some logic in his actions.

There was none.

What went through the fan's head, only he will know. I doubt it consisted of cohesive thought, let alone substantial risk-assessment.

Instead of searching for grass in a desert, it's worth looking at the following theory. There are two types of football fan when the derby comes to town.

The first is the normal one, like you or I. We don't like the opposition and we really, really want to beat them. Losing a derby fixture is deeply painful and makes for a miserable week, at the very least. I am an Oxford United fan and have been fortunate to witness four consecutive victories over our rivals, Swindon Town. Three of those saw Paolo Di Canio cut a forlorn figure on the touchline (technically, once he was in the stand) and a cherry was placed on the top of the derby victory cake. Every one of those wins was great and will live with me forever. They are the most tense of fixtures, but the emotions that accompany a goal or victory are difficult to describe.

Here is the thing though. When we have scored goals against Swindon, I have never thought that the moment could be improved with a fight. We've all ended up a couple of rows lower down the stand than we were before the goal, but we've never ended up running around the pitch. It's very easy for this type of football fan to remain within the law at a football match. We'll sing our songs and question the parentage of the Swindon support, but it won't go much further.

We don't like our rivals, but it doesn't extend beyond a theoretical dislike. A fixture against the opposition provides an opportunity to gain the upper-hand in the stands and on the field, but that is where it ends.

At Oxford United, we have a couple of fixtures against the Swindon Town supporters every season. We have a game of football between us, we exchange opinions about who has a greater number of fingers and we are fiercely competitive. However, we could go for a pint after the game. They are the rivals, but they are actually pretty similar to ourselves. They just wear different shirts.

This is the concept that escapes the other type of derby day football fan.

After the events of Friday night, the supporter in question kindly left his Facebook page open to the world. As a word of advice, if you're going to disgrace yourself on television, it is always worth hiding your photos (and mobile number) beforehand. However, as I had a little browse through the suspect's page, it was possible to conduct a brief human study.

Comments on photos quickly made it clear that he had been banned from football grounds previously and he was not particularly embarrassed about it. One comment mentioned the 'Service Crew'. This group are not half as helpful as they sound and were actually the banner under which the Leeds United hooligan element operated in years gone by.

One key feature of this type of derby fixture fan is that they have not noticed that these days are long gone. Most clubs have this minority. Football is a far nicer place than it was in the 1980s and when we see thousands of women and children entering our football stadiums, we are reminded that the modern game is vastly improved on a social level.

The belief that you go to a football match to do anything other than support your team has decreased significantly, but the minority will always remain. The logic behind this was made clear by another comment on the aggressor's page. One comment read: 'We are Leeds United. We do what we want.'

As the fan begins his 16 weeks behind bars, it feels right to point out that in reality, maybe you don't do what you want. Perhaps you're not actually Leeds United either.

The club were extremely quick to condemn the events of Friday night and fully support the police in their efforts to find the perpetrator. With Neil Warnock describing the fan as 'a disgrace', it is clearer than ever that this behaviour isn't what football support is about in the 21^st century. While the gleeful grin on the face of the fan as he returned to the stand suggested that he thought he had done his club a service, Leeds fans were united in their criticism of his actions. When your club and fellow supporters are vocal in their criticism of your conduct, it is time to realise how deluded you have become. There should be no greater shame than embarrassing your club.

A football club gains its victories on the field of play. The points are compiled in a table and the key protagonists are those who can actually change the course of the game. Fans are largely fantastic. They are vocal, passionate and without them, the game would not survive. The great fans are those who travel the length of the country to a wet and windy terrace to sing their support for their team. They are the fans that the club are proud of. There are thousands of fans who do this every week and it is they who are tainted by the actions of the minority.

Criticising the fan who goes to the game willing to have a scrap is not a sign of football going soft. It is just a sign that it is growing up.

Football rivalry is fantastic. The highs and lows of football are exacerbated by rivalry and nobody wants to remove it from the game. However, there should also be a sense of perspective in this. If you would avoid giving an opposition fan your custom due to the team that he supports, the self-indulgence may have gone several steps too far.

While it often feels like so much more, our rivals just wear a different badge on their chests. There are still some who need to grasp this.

Peace efforts prove to be in vain as minority refuse to grow up

As the chants of “murderers” echoed around a near empty Anfield, the greatest victory that looked to have come from Sunday's game was snatched away.

This was a fixture that had seemed to pass without the controversy that many anticipated, outside the game at least. Two adults shook hands and both clubs played their part in an emotional tribute to 96 fans who didn't come home from a match, while Anfield was transformed into a mosaic of respect and memory. This was how it needed to be.

That we were able to focus upon the decisions of Mark Halsey in the aftermath of a fixture between Liverpool and Manchester United was a relief. This was the football.

There had been hope that neither side would throw any bait, let alone react to it. When the away support tested the atmosphere with an ill-judged rendition of “Where's your famous Munich song?” there was no response. We all relaxed.

Finally, after years of the vile referencing of human tragedies, had something changed? Maybe the fans had realised that the events of Munich, Hillsborough and Heysel were not 'football' tragedies, but tragic human losses which have no place as a method of gaining the upper-hand on a rival.

But then it began, rendering the previous ninety minutes redundant, to be placed in the file marked 'the fake sound of progress'.

It is reported that a small number of home fans remained after the majority were filing into Stanley Park to provoke with aeroplane gestures that are a clear reference to the Munich disaster.

Sadly, it seems that it only takes one inept faction to bring the rest crashing down. The points had been won on the pitch, but when retaliation provided the opportunity to gain a few more, the old chants returned.

This was the most snide of attacks, from both sides. Sky Sports were focussed on the Etihad, while the majority had diverted their eyes from Anfield. They thought they would get away with it. They thought that if nobody was looking, the moral rules of human decency no longer applied.

If in the weeks after the fans at Hillsborough were cleared of blame, the establishment lies that football's working class once stood together to fight against were exposed and in which Sir Alex Ferguson and Steven Gerrard begged their fans to behave with dignity, a section think they are able to continue their hatred without accountability, they are wrong.

If after all of these events they still haven't had their actions placed into perspective, they may never change.

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.