It's a Fan's Life...

Its all over

2007-05-23T10:33:00.000Z

Well thats it for another year. Oxford United can now call themselves an established non-league team and it hurts. I have deliberately gone quiet on the subject of Oxford and our play-off campaign as I have tried to remain low key, tried to not get carried away with the belief that just for once we might acheive something. It hasn't softened the blow.
On Tuesday 8th May we were beaten at home by Exeter on penalties in front of 10500 people live on Sky in the play-off second leg. If the truth is told (and believe me it has) then we were damned rubbish and barely deserved to get as far as penalties. I cannot muster up the passion or enthusiasm to go into a rant, I'd rather just draw a line under it. This season has been for the most part fun, despite the football being dreadful and us having precious little success after Christmas. I would go as far as to say this season and its trips to 'real' football grounds up and down the country has given football back to many of our fans after 5 years in the sterile 4th division. Say what you like about the Conference but it is a far more interesting place to be than than League 2/Div 3/Div 4 or whatever it will be in the future but Oxford Utd simply cannot afford to be in the Conference in the Conference without some serious cost cutting. When we reclaim our place in the Football League it will be a great day but it will also be a shame to leave a league where fans are treated as fans - not expendable commodities.

It must also be noted that after yet another heart breaking end to a season I have realised I am not cut out to keep a record of the highs and lows of being a football fan. I continue to go to games on a regular basis (sometimes 3 in 8 days) but I am slowly losing the passion. I didn't go to the Oxon Senior cup final this year even though it had previously been one of my seasons highlights, I stopped going to Banbury in January and haven't felt the pull to go back (I more than get my fare share of non-league grounds with Oxford these days) and most importantly of all I no longer wish to write about my experiences.
Next year all will change for me, I won't be living in Bicester for much of the year and probably will not be going to much football, least of all Oxford. I will continue my part-time interest in Bordeaux but to be honest without living near to the club its difficult to write about anything other than re-hashed news. Basically this is my last post. I may try to do something else next year but as far as this blog is concerned, well...

Il est mort.

2007-05-09T15:18:00.000Z

Bordeaux - Un vrai courage à leurs coeurs

2007-05-03T15:03:00.000Z

Last Sunday a sell out crowd at Parc Lescure witnessed perhaps the turning point when a team thought to be punching above it's weight makes the next step and becomes one of genuine quality. A home game against Lens is alway one of the hardest of the season, in fact last years fixture was won with the only shot on target - and that was from the penalty spot!! The Lensoise are not only a good footballing side, they are backed by some of the loudest fans and most loyal fans in the country with 700 fans made the very long trip south west and making themselves heard all evening.
Any fears that the quality of Lens would mean Bordeaux adopting their game killing tactics were quickly put to when when right from kick off they took the game to the visitors forcing corners, firing in crosses and shots and then in the 11th minute taking the lead thanks to ex Lens striker Jussie. Les Girondins continued to dominate the first half playing with exactly the spirit that was lacking during the early season, indeed it appeared to be only a matter of time before the lead was doubled, would it really be this easy?? Well no...
In the 38th minute David Jemalli got himself sent off for one of those tackles that can only be described as 'Leg-breakers', the sort of tackle that anyone who has a tibia can only watch behind a cushion. Any other team may have gone to pieces but if there is one team in the world that can sit on a one goal lead for nearly an hour then it surely is Bordeaux. Sure enough Ricardo made the changes and Bordeaux went into the withdrawn defensive mode that earlier in the season would bring wistles of discontent from Virage Sud, no heckles this time though as Les Girondins put in a solid display of bravery and maturity to hold on an record a victory that not only put them into pole position in the race for second, but a victory that will be long, long remembered by the 32377 people in attendance.

Parc Life

2007-04-17T10:34:00.000Z

It seems like the race for the Champions League is back on. Two saturday's ago Bordeaux played out a tedious 0-0 draw with old enemy PSG and were given an absolute hammering by the French press and football community in general. An article on www.football365.fr claimed that Bordeaux are at the main culprits of a number of teams killing French football and ruining the good reputation of their domestic game. Slightly mis-guided as Ligue 1 has never been exactly admired outside of France itself, but despite being a supporter of Les Girondins I would generally agree with the accusations.

It is not only the press and opposition fans who have grumbled, top scorer JC Darcheville broke ranks to go the press saying he is frustrated by the restrictive tactics employed by Ricardo. Darche has received some pretty harsh criticism over the last two seasons but as he pointed out - how is he supposed to score goals when the team is content to pass the ball around in their own half for 90 minutes rather than take a risk? The whole PSG game was a bit of an embarrassment for Bordeaux as a club and despite attempts to justify the tactics, it became clear that the criticism had been noted and that there would be a much more positve line up for wednesday's game in hand against AS Nancy.

Having glamorously jetted in a few hours before the game and booked in at the quaint, English speaking but essentially dangerous Hotel Studio (not sure what French for 'squalor' is...) I made my way to the grandiose old stadium and spent the best €9 I've ever spent. Promises of a more attacking attitude were confirmed when Ricardo sent out a traditional 4-4-2 with Chamakh and Cavenaghi prefered to last weeks forward line or Darcheville and err... no one. In truth Bordeaux destroyed Nancy in a way that I've not seen them do before and although they still lack a certain 'class' they are finally starting to look much better than their opponents. 3-0 did not flatter. The atmosphere in Virage Sud was the best I have experienced in my four visits with the last half hour or so filled by singing, bouncing, dancing and even some Mexican waving!! I'm not really a fan of the old Mexican wave but the Virage Sud was infectious last wednesday and the whole thing really got the whole ground pumping. The atmosphere was even mentioned in the first paragraph of L'equipe's report the next day as being particularly celebratory.

Having beaten Nancy and dragged themselves back in touch with the Champions League Les Girondins were then thrown an unexpected life line the following Saturday. With Toulouse losing a little unexpectedly in Rennes Bordeaux were given the opportunity to not only draw level on point with TFC but to go ahead into 3rd on goal difference. All they would have to do was win away at UEFA cup chasing St Etienne. The frienship between the Ultramarines and the Magic Fans is well known but few were expecting any favours at this point in the season but a solid professional performance saw Bordeaux run out 2-0 winners and only 1 point behind 2nd places RC Lens.

Next game at Parc Lescure...?? Yes you've guessed it... LENS!!

ALLEZ BORDEAUX ALLEZ!!

I have created a blog of my visit to Lescure for the Nancy game which you can find at the following link:

http://girondinant.skyrock.com/

Play-offs it is then

2007-04-13T14:56:00.000Z

"O Football, Football! wherefore art thou Football?
Deny thy promotion and refuse thee the Daggers;
Or, if thou wilt not, but let us back in the league,
And I'll no longer be an Oxford fan."

William Shakespeare's now famous reaction to Dagenham finally clinching the Conference title on Easter Saturday pretty much summed it up for us all. How on earth had a self proclaimed 'Pub team from Essex' not only overturned an 8 point deficit but won the league so easily? At 5pm on Saturday thank to us losing at Northwich Victoria (Yes thats Oxford United losing to NORTHWICH) the title winning margin was a whopping 16 points, a much bigger gap than we had ever hoped to win the league by. I ought to mention at this point that I was at Victoria Road to see the title clinched although I did obviously stand with the ever vocal Aldershot fans rather than the 3000 or so brand new Dagenham supportrers that turned for the first time. Pictures should be available tby Monday 23rd. In what seemed like a deliberate attempt to completely rub our noses in the dagger have finally hit a losing streak going down 3-2 at Cambridge on Easter Monday and then losing their game in hand away at... wait for it... yes Northwich. I would say justice was served but err well despite us hammering Weymouth 4-1 the gap is still 13 points and we still look a bit silly. Never mind.
The reason why I haven't written about the (mis)fortunes of Oxford for a while is that basically haven't had the interest to. Despite some cracking games including a 3-0 win away at Altrincham and a pulsating 2-2 draw at home to those dastardly Daggers it all seemed a little bit pointless when a) catching Dagenham was about as likely Jade Goody becoming a race relations officer and b) it would take an absolute disaster to not make the play-offs. How many times can you write "we won/lost/drew but it doesn't really matter"? Anyway tomorrow we are all off the Clarence Park to watch Oxford play at pretty much the smallest club in the Conference (and thats saying something) St Albans. If we win and Gravesend or Exeter don't then we will have clinched that play-off spot we need and although I've said we will get there anyway, it would be nice to secure it at the earliest possible opportunity.

Bordeaux win the Cup but who loses - Lyon or Football?

2007-04-03T15:00:00.000Z

My Saturday evening was spent in my sisters room listening to live Internet commentary of the Coupe de la ligue final. To be frank it was light relief after spending the afternoon watching the worst game in the history of football. Oxford's 0-0 draw with Burton was just about the most uninspiring performance I've ever seen in my life, two sides who clearly had no interest in breaking into a sweat and strolling around like it was a pre-season friendly, I could go on... but I won't. The cup final was also a pretty pedestrian affair and with 5 minutes to go seemed certain to go into extra time at 0-0. Unlike Jerome and Co the French commentators do a great job making it at least sound interesting and even though my understanding is limited to names and words like 'corner' it was easy to get really into the whole occasion. The noise was fantastic as you'd expect from the continent, in fact as the players came out of the tunnel I thought the Stadium was going to blow up. Unfortunately for the neutrals (of which there are not many when OL are concerned) the game was not the classic it promised. The media had over-hyped the game as a clash of the two best teams in the country and everyone was hoping for one of those 'feasts of football' that are so often promised. What everyone forgot is that Les Girondins have not built their success on free flowing attacking football but instead on stifling opponents, ruining matches and scoring one goal. This tactic was employed so cynically by Ricardo on Saturday that rather than spend time doing a detailed write up I'll just repeat the sentence: Bordeaux stifled Lyon, ruined the match and scored one goal with their only shot on target. As a football purist (sort of) I can't help agreeing with Gerard Houllier when he says Lyon were robbed and that Bordeaux didn't deserve the win because they were and they didn't but the Oxford fan in me, having been starved of any success ever, say's sod it. At the end of the day the club that walks away with the trophy deserves it simple because they won the match. You can argue about 'un-sporting' tactics forever but on Monday the coupe de la Ligue was paraded around Bordeaux - not Lyon and Houllier should closer to home for the reasons why. Ricardo explained the tactics by saying that there is a reason why Lyon are 21 points ahead of them - which roughly translates as "had we tried to play football they would have battered us" and you can't really argue, Lyon could and should have won this at a canter.
The banner dominating the middle tier of the Bordeaux end carried the slogan "Girondins tonight you are not 11 but 30,000" and they meant it. The noise from the Bordeaux end was constant and got me thinking about the play-off final should Oxford get there. Will the hordes of U's fans and hangers on actually get behind the team and make it a real spectacle? Will they complain if we bring flags and streamers? Will they insist on sitting down? Something about Oxford at Wembley frightens me and I really hope our big day out isn't spoiled by the huge number of very very boring fans we attract.

Crowd Control

2007-03-27T10:42:00.000Z

In the wake of a recent increase of crowd disturbances in French football stadia the LFP has introduce a number of new measures intended to help route out the idiots. To be honest I'm not sure what they are so worried about as crowd trouble as we know it in England, Holland and Italy is for the most part non existent unless PSG or Marseille come to town. There have of course been other high profile incidents this season that may have forced the FFF and LFP officials into being seen to take some action, namely the missile throwing by Lille fans in the Champions League debacle against Man Utd, but it seems particular attention has been given to the lighting of flares within grounds. Pyrotechnics at French football is so commonplace that to the outsider it could seem that they are perfectly legal but in reality it is an offence which can land the perpetrater a prison sentence of up to two years. Like most things in continental football this rule is so under policed that a scarf around the face is usually enough to save the offender any risk of prosecution and despite warnings on tickets and over the PA before a game it seems that quietly the clubs actually like them. Whilst no one can deny that they contribute to the atmosphere, as seen by the above photo of Beşiktaş fans during a UEFA Cup tie at Bayer Leverkusen, two incidents in particular have led to a general rethink of policy. Earlier this season a young policeman had two fingers blown of by a flare thrown at him by a Marseille fan during the derby with Nice and then just a couple of weeks ago the St Etienne-Lyon derby was held up for half an hour as a lit flare was thrownfirst into the away fans and then sent hurtling back to where it came from. Sactions were promised after both incidents but whilst Marsielle were forced to play a game behind closed doors (hardly a long-term cure) St Etienne and Lyon seem to have been left alone.
Clearly then these things need to be eradicated from the stands (no matter how much I like them) as any object than can be used as a real weapon has no place in a football ground. Throwing an empty plastic bottle is one thing, throwing a lighted flare into a densly populated stand is a whole different matter. On top of the obvious dangers of blinding and burning on impact, a flare landing in the crowd could cause widespread panic and as we saw in the Lille-Man Utd game, many grounds still have riot fencing intact. The combination of fireworks, mass panic, riot fencing and over zealous policing is pretty much as big a nightmare as can be imagined and could well lead to a French Hillsborough.
So here then is the new legislation set up by the LFP for the policing of pyrotechnics in football stadia:

"Smoke-producing and projectiles.
To definitively eradicate the introduction of dangerous objects into the stands, it was decided to reinforce safety measures upon entrance and evacuation of the stadium. For this purpose, an operation will be carried out jointly with the Directorate-General of the National police force (DGPN) and the LFP for:
To train the stadium security authorities effectively
Audit the quality of controls to the entry of the stand
To systematize the evacuation of the stands and the whole of the buildings by the police force before the matches under conditions allowing the full effectiveness of this control.
The Commission of Discipline of the LFP received the directives to apply all the range of the sanctions concerned with its competence in the event of nonrespect of these provisions."

Basically that means that for the first time ever, authorities will conduct full searches on ALL fans entering the stadium - including the so called 'Ultra groups' who are responsible for bringing these things in. It is genuinely surprising that to conduct stringent searches on supporters and to practice evacution procedures in case of crowd trouble is NEW legislation. Surely you would have thought this to be a basic rquirement? Recent events in have Italy no doubt frightened the LFP into action, but one hopes French crowds will not be diluted into the boring 'sit-down shut-up' stadiums that we in England have to endure at extortionate prices.

Picture once again from the King of all ground hopping sites www.groundhopping.de

Bravo Bordeaux!!

2007-03-26T15:55:00.000Z

Whilst Oxford flounder in a stormy sea of inconsistancy, Bordeaux ride the waves with a renewed vigour like a beautiful antique clipper with the wind billowing in their sails. "Champions League - ho!!! Cries First Mate Darcheville to Lieutenant Micoud, as out of nowhere 3rd place in Le Championnat becomes an surprise possibility. Having in the last four battles confidently disposed of the men from Montbelliard and Valenciennes and fought respectable stalemates at Sedan and Monaco more than matching the Monaguesque Kings finest troops at Stade Louis II, Les Girondins almost by accident sit 3rd in the table. Not that I'm for a moment questioning the ability of Admiral Ricardo's management, its just that even he couldn't really have envisaged that considering the woeful start to the season the soldiers of the Scapulaire would still have an outside shot at the big time with nine games to go. With Ligue 1 as tight as ever (only 4 ponts seperate Bordeaux from 11th Placed Rennes) and given the quality of the chasing pack (Lille, Marseille, St Etienne) finishing third would be quite some achievement, perhaps UEFA Cup football via either 4th place, the Intertoto cups or even winning next weeks Coupe de la Ligue will be the more likely outcome.

Top picture is from the official website www.girondins.com, the other is my own.

Forget it then.

2007-03-16T12:03:00.000Z

Oxford 0-1 Kidderminster. They deserved it, we were rubbish. Daggers won at St Albans to go 11 points clear with a game in hand and basically clinched the title. Well done to them.
Tomorrow we go to Altrincham to begin the new objective of making sure we stay in the playoffs.

St Etienne vs Lyon = More fun than Oxford

2007-03-13T15:54:00.000Z

Last week Lyon strolled to a 3-1 away at fierce local rivals St Etienne. This derby is possibly the most passionate in France - arguably eclipsing the PSG/Marseille rivalry. The game was held up for about half an hour after a flare was thrown into the Lyon fans!!

St Etienne's ground in known as the Cauldren for reasons which I'm told speak for themselves if you see a game there. The supporters group 'Magic Fans 91' are some of the best in Europe and have a long standing friendship with the Ultramarines 86 of Bordeaux.

The pictures are taken from www.groundhopping.de which is simply the best football ground website on the internet.

Oxford United 0-2 Forest Green

2007-03-12T07:59:00.000Z

Did that really happen?? Yes it did. We were beaten two nil at home by a part time team from a village. Daggers are still 8 points clear but now have a game in hand. We play Kiddy at home tomorrow and Dagenham play... actually sod it it doesn't matter, I don't want to talk about it...

Une saison contradictoire

2007-03-09T10:45:00.000Z

What is going on at Bordeaux? For a start my 'easy money' 11/1 bet on them to win the league now looks like £5 down the Paddypower drain as they are currently in 6th place and a whopping 21 points behind runaway (again) leaders Lyon. Despite some impressive victories over the likes of Marseille at home and PSG at the Parc de Princes not to mention being the only club to win at Gerland the home of the mighty OL, they have struggled to find any real consitancy and have suffered some woeful results both home and away. The objective every season has got to be to play in a European tournament and since Les Girondins are hanging around the Inter-toto spot and still well in touch with the UEFA spots you can't be too harsh. Frustratingly whilst last year they were drawing games that they should have won, this season they are being beaten regularly in games where a draw would have been acceptable. Hopefully they will sort themselves out and put a winning run together to consolidate their place in the top half as the league is once again so tight that a run of three defeats could see you fighting the drop whereas three wins will probably put you second!
Unfortunately the European dream is well and truely over this year after being dumped out of the UEFA Cup by a 120th minute Osasuna goal. In truth Bordeaux never really looked like getting much out of this Basque 'derby' of sorts and the pitifully low attendance at the Parc Lescure leg summed up the genral feeling around the club. Now that the European distractions are out of the way perhaps they can concentrate on sorting out the faltering domestic season and ensure another crack at Europe next September.
At the end of the month it is the eagerly awaited Coupe de la Ligue final at the Stade de France against Lyon. I had come very close to getting tickets for this from www.francebillet.net but by the time I had ran a hotel and Eurostar search they had gone off general sale!! As Wayne and Garth would say "Denied!!!" Before the big final though there are three league games to contend with starting with Sochaux at home this coming saturday in a repeat of the fixture I managed to get to last year. Although Sochaux are much improved this year a win is both expected and imperitive.

The times they are a changin'

2007-03-08T12:52:00.000Z

Having gone for what seemed like about 30 years without a win we have now won four in a row, going to show how quickly things can change in football. Unfortunately Dagenham have been on a similar run but we have now managed to reduce the 10 point gap to a more respectable 8.We've been to some dodgy places this season but as far as names go 'The Lamb Ground' in Tamworth is just weird. A small, tidy but unremarkable ground, the Lamb would not be out of place in Conference South and indeed probably will be next year as they sit firmly rooted to the bottom. I hope this doesn't seem like I am running Tamworth down as I'm not, I have a mutual respect for any football club from grass roots through to the Man Utd's and Madrid's of this world but the town, ground and crowd are nothing really to write home about. Not for the first time this season we packed out the away end selling our allocation of 850 a few days before the game and gave the team good vocal support from start to finish.
To walk a way with a 3-1 victory was satisfying as despite still not being right ourselves, Tamworth were awful and it is about time we started putting away teams at the bottom more convincingly. A good trip all round was made even better by a superb pre-match burger in a pub before and then taking only an hour and a half to get home. A fully successful day out!!A week later we played hosts to Stevenage Borough who are one of the strongest teams in this league and on a good run of form. It was generally accepted that this would be one of our most difficult game to date but for some reason Stevenage just didn't seem to turn up. Having ran us ragged with only nine men back at their place I was worried that they could pull off a result at Minchery but on the day they were uncharacteristically rubbish and we were uncharacteristically superb!! Although 2-0 doesn't exactly look like a thrashing we totally dominated the game and won at a canter.
For 44 minutes it seemed that despite battering Stevenage it was going to be another frustrating afternoon but when Matt Day headed home on the stroke of half time I and probably everyone else in the ground couldn't help thinking that was game over. The excellent Eddie Anaclet sealed the game with a deflected shot in the second half to wrap a thoroughly deserved victory, our third on the trot.As if to make a mockery of our woeful 11 game winless streak the boys in yellow and blue (yes I've decided I like them again) made the long mid-week trip to Merseyside to record an incredible 1-0 away win at Anfield. Having stunning the five times European Cup winners with a glorious strike from Danny Rose the travelling fans completely outsung the Kop for 90 minutes... Ok only joking it was Southport, but it was a great win and it was made even sweeter by Dagenham conceding a late equaliser at home to Stafford Rangers. Going 11 games without a win probably has killed off our season despite this revival but the fact is that watching Oxford is now exciting again. The fact that there is just a small chance that we can still do this has changed everyone’s outlook on the season and with Daggers still having to come to Minchery... Who knows...

Gravesend and Cleansheet

2007-02-19T13:18:00.000Z

For the first time since November 25th Oxford won a league game (well non-league but you know what I mean...) keeping our first clean sheet since since the Lewes 'game' back on January 9th. We've had a bizarre run of mostly draws and have just about kept our head above water but Saturday was truely the most important game of the season so far. Had we lost we would have gone below Gravesend and York to 4th and with the mid-week games in hand could have dropped even further to 8th! As it was we put in a solid if unspectacular performance to beat a very good Gravesend side who were the team that had originally put an ends to our 18 match unbeaten run - you like to think this could represent some sort of closure on being shit!! Of course Dagenham went and won away at Burton somewhat disappointingly keeping the gap at 7 points, but week after week they continue to prove that they are a quality side and if they win this league they will more than deserve it. For us however, 3 points are finally in the bag and despite not really playing that well we held on (against 10 men...) to spark of scenes of relief and celebration akin to a last day of the season relegation escape!! Daggers must play their game in hand on Tuesday up at Kiddy and if they can pull of a win there then perhaps it is still all over, but anything else and we are right back in it.

If ever there was a case for Terracing...

2007-02-13T08:07:00.000Z

The next person that tells me terracing has no place in the modern game needs to get themselves down to Aldershot for a game as quickly as possible. Saturday was incredible, ok the game finished 1-1 again with us conceding an 86th minute equaliser, but this game was always going to be about the atmosphere in the stands rather than the football. There is something about a covered terrace behind the goal that brings out best (some may say worse) in the British football fan, tradtionally it was here that most vociferous fans would gather and shout, scream and generally behave disgracefully. Every club had their own 'Home end', famous old terraces that would be the heartbeat behind the matchday atmosphere for example Man Utd's Stretford end, Chelsea's Shed End, the world famous Kop and of course our own London Road. Unfortunately during the late 70's and 80's boisterous behaviour and the occasional punch up had evolved into regular serious violence. Frequent mass riots, incompetent policing and grounds resembling death traps had basically made English football a place where personal safety could not be garunteed, something had to give. In 1989 at Hillsborough it did and the fallout would change football for ever.
I have no intention of going into the details of the Hillsborough tragedy but its clear that the blame was placed almost exclusively on terracing. It has become obvious in subsequent years that there were many more factors that led to deaths of 96 Liverpool fans such as horrendous over crowding, riot fencing and a general slow reaction to the situation. Whilst a crush like this simply wouldn't happen in a seated stand it does not mean that it was the terrace that caused it. A modern terrace with properly errected crush barriers, no standing areas and a strict cappacity is a safe place to watch football. In the german Bundesliga every weekend thousands of football fans stand on huge terraces up and down the country whilst in England we are forced to sit and watch football like some kind of trip to the cinema. To say the atmosphere suffers as a result is a huge understatement.
At Aldershot it was like meeting up with an old friend. The home fans are magnificent and made much more noise than us which is how it should be (new stadia usually over police home fans letting away fans do as they wish and make all the noise) and for myself and many others it felt like football used to. For the sake of English football I hope the authorities realise that terracing was not the cause of all ill in the 80's and that they see fit to allow standing areas back into league football as soon as possible.

A Tale of Two Cities

2007-02-06T10:57:00.000Z

It seems that every time us and Cambridge meet the press gets hold of it and attempts to turn it into some sort of derby clash. They see the boat race and assume that not only is everyone from the varsity cities a posh sort but also that they care about the University rivalry. For what it's worth does usually have a bit of extra spice to it, but that is more down to a long standing history of crowd trouble between the fans - not because the light blues boat sank in so-and-so year or because Oxford lost the Rugger at Twicker's what-ho!! When Oxford meet Cambridge there is a bitter derby fought between two cities but it is not the battle the press latch onto; it is instead the old battle of town v gown rather than any varsity rivalry which causes the greatest local unease. As the clubs do their best to attract students the regular fans go to great lengths to distance themselves from any varsity references and go out of their ways to make any potential student spectators as unwelcome as possible.To me it still seems that there is an incredible amount of social snobbery on both sides and it must be said that it is the town side that has the greatest chip on it's shoulder. It should always be remembered that if you took the University out of Oxford with all the wealth it brings to both the City centre and surrounding areas, you would be left with a run down semi industrial mess. Love or loath the University it makes Oxford the vibrant beautiful city it is and you can enjoy all the positives of the city without ever coming into direct contact with the university establishment if you so wish.As for the gown side, it is always argued that they do not seem to want to integrate into local life, that they feel they are somehow above the local residents like some sort of überpopulation living in a sheltered world of there own. Well yes they do, but if you take a wander through Cowley Centre on a Saturday you can't help feeling they might be on to something.
The modern football fan is far more varied than ten years ago, he is just as likely to be a she and can come from any social background. A windy Kassam Stadium on a Tuesday night watching yet another rubbish Conference game is hardly inviting to anyone - let alone an Oxbridge Student that "Doesn’t really follow football…". It seems some old wounds never heal and perhaps it's better to leave each to his own. Trying to force together two opposing factions who simply don't have any intention of mixing yet can co-exist quite happily is essentially a pointless exercise.
What game? Oh yeah 1-1, an equaliser from Eddie Anaclet on the hour(ish) mark saved the day. We were better but clearly there is quite some way to go. We should be burying teams like Cambridge without to much trouble.

I Hate Football

2007-01-31T08:33:00.000Z

Last weekend was one of those rare occasions where absolutely nothing went right. With the mighty U's(...) not playing on Saturday I did something I haven't done since May 2005 and hauled my football ass over to Court Place Farm to watch our Southern League neighbours Oxford City take on newly promoted Andover. It was awful. Despite Andover playing about an hour with 10 men they tore City apart and eventually ran out 4-0 winners. The standard of football was woeful and although the crowd of just over 200 was City's third best of the season the sheer silence with which they watch a game meant there might as well have been none. I have been well and truly reminded why I stopped going to watch them. Just to round off a completely pointless day Dagenham whooped Exeter 4-1 sending them 9 points clear at the top of the conference making Monday's game against Rushden something of a cup final for Oxford. In case I was hoping for solace from farther afield Banbury lost 3-1 at Tiverton and Bordeaux crashed to an extremely disappointing home defeat against Lille. That's 4 results I was looking out for and each one went completely wrong. Surely the U's wouldn't let me down Monday though... Yeah right!!
What happened on Monday night will live long in my memory as one of the most disappointing nights I've ever experienced as an Oxford United fan. It's not just about the result because lets be fair Rushden deserved it; they worked hard for each other, moved the ball well and created numerous chances. It was the sheer ineptitude of Oxford performance that really hurt, It's like all of a sudden no one wants to play anymore. The way they struggled around the pitch creating nothing at all live in front of the sky TV cameras was frankly embarrassing. All though I hate to say it I felt ashamed of that team and that performance last night and having stood through the shit that's been served up for the last seven years or so I think we had every right to express our disgust at the end. I am sick of watching various useless teams run rings around us whilst we stand there in silence listening a handful of away fans cheer and celebrate in the North stand. Absolutely SICK of it.

I will be there no matter what but then I have the disposable income to be. Many do not and will be soon be wondering why they are spending their hard earned cash to watch crap football played by people who don't give a toss. If something is not done soon the club will see attendance’s fall very quickly and without that revenue we can forget being a league team again for a very long time.
Not Happy

Bordelais Allez!!!

2007-01-26T13:27:00.000Z

It's been a long time since I wrote anything about Bordeaux but despite not having as strong a league campaign as last year, this season is well worth following. After picking up a string of wins before the winter break (defeat at home to Rennes aside) Les Girondins have had a mostly successful January winning Coupe de France ties against Bastia and Chamois Niort and securing their place in the coupe de la Ligue Final. The showdown with Lyon on March 31st will be Bordeaux's first appearance in any cup final since 2002 when they won the CDL beating Lorient at the Stade de France.Whilst on the subject of Lorient, they are so far the only team to visit Parc Lescure for a league game in 2007 so far and somehow managed to come away with a 1-1 draw. On Wednesday however Les Girondins not only got back on track put pulled off the result of the season with a win away at CDL opponents Lyon. This was Lyon's first defeat at Gerland all season, but despite the shock still enjoy a 14 point lead over second placed Marseille. Whether or not this result will have any bearing on the CDL is debatable but at least Bordeaux have proved to themselves that they are capable on their day of taking on the Lyon winning machine and coming out on top.This Saturday high flying Lille visit Parc Lescure in what should be a tight game which if Les Marines et Blancs can win will leapfrog them ahead of Lille and could potentially put them on the same points as Marseille and Lens in second and 3rd. Bordeaux lost 3-0 at the Metropole earlier in the season and will be hoping to avenge that defeat with a similar scoreline. New Argentinean signing form Spartak Moscow Fernando Cavenaghi does not go into this weeks team but will be hoping to make his debut a week later away to Nice in what is always a fiery encounter.

Well something's not Woking!!

2007-01-25T12:58:00.000Z

Another game, another poor result. Worringly we are slowly beginning to turn what had been a run of disappointing draws into something much more serious and by losing at Woking on Tuesday now find ourselves a daunting six points behind Daggenham. Having sort of got back on track at Grays it was hoped we could carry this over and put in a good performance in the Surrey town that inspired Weller's 'Town called Malice' but alas we didn't. Instead we went 1-0 in the 13th minute, allowed Woking's time wasting tactics to disrupt the games flow and wasted the handful of chances that came our way.
Not much else to say, if we don't beat Rushden on Monday then we can forget the title.

Grays

2007-01-23T10:53:00.000Z

Believe it or not the conference has awoken a long lost interest in Geography from somewhere deep within. Last year we went to a handful of games up north in towns that are instantly dismissed as shitholes by people who haven't actually been there. I enjoyed every one of the northern towns last season and found them to be pleasant well kept places that do not deserve their bad press.
This year our away games seem to be mostly centred around the south east which is great from a travel cost point of view but so far every one of these towns has been a deprived concrete mess falling well below the standards of the much maligned North. I started to wonder after Saturday’s game at Grays why the wealthy South East was in fact a collection of run down depressed towns.
There seems to be a general prejudice in England towards the North. It is seen by many of us southerners (particularly in the South East) as some sort of decaying wasteland where everyone wears a flat cap, eats gristle and speaks like Fred Dinbah. Crazy accent aside this is a grossly unfair stereotype and hides an underlying insecurity in the south about the state of our own back yard. The South East of England is the most prosperous corner of the Country thanks almost entirely to two millennia of international trade in London. There are other 'flagship' towns thrust into public limelight for their beauty and historical significance like Oxford and Canterbury, or as shining examples of modern, clean, safe economic success such as Reading.
Whilst London and other successful towns continue to grow in size and create more and more jobs, so do the economic migration rates leaving surrounding smaller settlements almost devoid of both skilled workers and quality employers. As young professionals within the towns move out, people from further afield look to move in so as to be within easy commuting distance of London without to pay the capital's extortionate property prices. As more of these types of migrants look to move into the towns, new estates have to be built to house them driving up house prices and eventually creating a commuter town with miles of housing estates but facilities befitting a town half the size.This Chain of events has left much of the South East's smaller towns a washed up collection of concrete shells devoid of any plus point other than 'it's close to London'. Although naturally this happens all over the country to some degree, it is most damaging in the South East where the sheer size of the capital and the opportunities within exaggerates the pull factors far beyond those of any other Town in Britain.
What else are you meant to be thinking about during a 2-2 draw in Grays??

Keep the Yellow flag flying high!!

2007-01-22T10:59:00.000Z

Next Monday’s game against Rushden should be notable for two reasons, firstly it is the first league match to be televised at the Kassam. More importantly however the above yellow flag will be unfurled for the first in what is a deliberate attempt to make the Kassam Stadium more yellow. Why people insist on bringing St George's flags with 'OUFC' written in the corners is beyond me. People complain that the ground is too blue and has no yellow yet they fill up the stand with red and white flags, St George’s or not - don't Swindon play in those colours...!?!? When the subject is brought up there is usually some grunt of a reply about loving club and country, but as far as I am concerned flags should be in club colours otherwise they just look daft. Rant over. Well done to the brave soul who purchased the material and spent Friday night and Sunday making it.

Cups and downs...

2007-01-17T12:32:00.000Z

For reasons which I'm not entirely sure I understand, I didn't go to any football this weekend despite both Oxford and Banbury being at home. I had decided after the boredom of Tuesday that I did not need to pay another £12 plus bus fare to watch FA Trophy football for the second time in a week and would instead go to Banbury. When the time came to leave however, I could no longer be bothered to leave the house and spend around £15 travelling to and watching a mid-table Southern League game so I retired upstairs with a toasted cheese sandwich and attempted to listen to the game on Radio Oxford. Despite drifting in and out of sleep for most of the second half it sounded like a good match, we seem to be scoring again but worryingly conceded two goals at home. The final score of 2-2 was a little disappointing and needless to say I was not making plans for the midweek replay at the Shay. A few miles to the north Banbury drew 1-1 with Merthyr Tydfil it what was by all accounts a thoroughly missable game.On Tuesday Oxford went up to the Shay and put in a good performance but ultimately went down 2-1. Whilst going out of the FA Trophy is no great drama it is yet another defeat to bounce back from and more alarmingly it took the shock of going 2-0 down to finally wake them up and start playing. Although the second half performance was excellent we cannot plan a season on good last half hours otherwise we will be in this league for many years to come.Whilst Oxford were getting to grips with the Shay Banbury played host to struggling Chippenham. It seems they've finally hit a bit of home form and comprehensively thumped the carrot crunchers from Wiltshire 5-0, with four of those goals coming in the first half. The fifth goal scored towards the Town end by hat-trick hero Johnny Gardener was a beautiful curling shot from the edge of the area that (despite the cliché) would have been a goal of the month contender had it been in the Premiership. A poor crowd of 248 was disappointing but if Banbury continue to pick up results then the crowds will surely come back.

In Profile: TSV 1860 München

2007-01-13T12:36:00.000Z

It is impossible to talk about German football without immediately thinking of the beautiful city of Munich and it's legendary club Bayern, however until the late 60's it was the now little mentioned TSV 1860 which was the city's flagship club. Beginning life in 1848 as a gymnastic association the club was not formally recognised until 1860, having been banned by local authorities who believed sports clubs to be promoting 'Republican activities'. Despite the name it was not until1899 that the football team would be formed and another three years until it would play regularly.In 1911 the famous Lion from which the club gets it's nickname 'Die Löwen' was added to the crest. In the same year the team moved to a plot of land in Grünwalder Straße which by 1926 had grown into a 40,000 capacity stadium and where 1860 would continue to play until the 1990's. The inter-war years were solid if unspectacular for 1860 who were by now competing in Germany's upper leagues, with two appearances ( and defeats) in the German National Championship being the highlights. It was not until 1942 when with football going ahead despite the war, they lifted their first silverware beating Shalke 04 in the German Cup final.After the war 1860 continued to play as a top flight Oberliga Sud side (although briefly suffering relegation between 1953 and 1956) and slowly began to establish themselves as one of the top sides in Germany.The 60's were to the Lion's most successful era, in 1963 they won the Oberliga Sud gaining promotion to the newly formed Bundesliga, and a year later winning the German Cup for the second time. The next two seasons were to be the climax of 1860 rise when in 1965 they finished runners to West Ham in the UEFA Cup before going on to win the Bundesliga for the first and only time in 1966. Success however can be cruelly short-lived and three seasons after being crowned Champions 1860 were relegated whilst city rivals Bayern were beginning to lay the foundations of what would go on to be Germany's most successful club. For the next 20 years 1860 would languish in relative obscurity until a brief two season return to the Bundesliga in 1980 led to relegation and bankruptcy with the club being demoted two divisions in 1982 to the Amateur Oberliga Bayern. 1860 would spend the next decade in the wilderness of the regional leagues.In the early nineties the club was rebuilt thanks mainly to the hard work of President Karl-Heinz Wildmoser. Having recently moved in to the Olympic Stadium to ground share with Bayern, the Lions earned successive promotions in 1994 and 1995 to reclaim their place in the Bundesliga. By mixing shrewd signings of proven veterans like Thomas Häßler, Jens Jeremies and Peter Nowak with a strong youth set up, 1860 were able to establish themselves as a solid mid table side which hit a peak by qualifying for the 1996 UEFA cup. There would be one final jaunt into Europe when in 2000 1860 finished 4th in the Bundesliga (doing the double over city rivals Bayern) gaining entry to the Champions League qualifying rounds. Although they were knocked out before the group phase they were able to enter the UEFA Cup reaching the 3rd round before losing to Italian side AC Parma.Sadly in 2004 1860 crashed out of the Bundesliga and did not make the immediate return that many fans were expecting despite moving into to the newly built Allianz Arena which they will again share with Bayern. They are currently sitting in 6th place in Bundesliga 2 (as of the 2006/2007 Winter break) 10 points off leaders Karlsruher SC, but are mounting a strong challenge for the play-off places.

It may be tinpot but a win is a win...

2007-01-10T08:49:00.000Z

A first half penalty from Rob Duffy was enough to send Oxford stumbling into the second round of the FA Trophy at Minchery Farm last night. We are so short of confidence that any win will be gladly received but last night was nothing short of terrible and the penalty was in the end the only shot on target we had. To not be able test a 16 year old youth team non-league 'keeper isn't exactly promising for the weeks to come and although we pretty much controled the match, just shading a Conference South with an injury list worse than the Somme was a poor showing.
Still... We've won a game at last and on Saturday Halifax come down for round 2 in what will be a much tougher game. Hopefully the better class of opponent will force us to raise our game to something approaching acceptable. I may just go and watch Banbury play Merthyr Tydfil instead as I'm not really up for watching another FA Trophy game in front of no fans for a tenner. Hopefully we will win through as I really do want to do well in this competition.

A Wet Weekend...

2007-01-08T08:56:00.000Z

What do you say about a 0-0 draw with no genuine positives? Well basically not a lot. By some freak fixture listing we were give 3 home games out of 4 over Christmas yet despite lots of huffing and puffing and dagnabit even some proper fightin' talk, we picked up only 3 points. Saturday's draw against Morecambe was yet another frustrating result and despite the fact Morecambe are a good side it was a win we badly needed and expected. Dagenham did well to defeat Woking 3-2 meaning that we stay second with the gap between us and the Daggers now 3 points.One minor good point from Saturday was that the new loan signings look pretty good. Georges Santos is a superb defender clearly better than this level and mid-fielder Danny Rose also had a good game once he'd got used to the messy business that is Conference football. Being Man Utd's reserve team captain it's fair to assume that he is a player of some quality and will improve the more he plays.Tonight we play Lewes of the Conference South in a FA Trophy 1st round replay. Although we cannot field our new signings Lewes do not have a keeper so I guess we are at some quite significant advantage...
Anything less than a win will not be acceptable.

Review in Photo's - Summer

2007-01-05T12:17:00.000Z

In trying to cope with the boredom of the close season (World Cup = good but no substitute for live football) we took a day off work and went down to London for the first Tuesday of Wimbledon.

Two months after being relegated, Chairman Nick Merry offered fans the chance to come along to a family fun day. Everyone was allowed on the pitch and Jim Smith was on hand to sign autographs!!

Banbury had a couple of decent pre-season games against Cheltenham and Coventry. I took some pics of the Cheltenham game but not of Coventry which was a shame as over 1000 turned up!! They also beat an Oxford XI 3-0 but the less said about that the better...

Our Show-piece friendly was a sell out against a very strong Man Utd XI. Although we lost 4-1, it was a great performance. This was Ronaldo's first game in England since his World Cup 'antics', something not lost on the national press who gave us blanket coverage then complained when we booed him?!?!

One of the most eagerly anticipated fixtures of the year- Weymouth away, was given an extra boost by being the August bank holiday fixture. A 1-1 draw was the first points we dropped but the last minute equaliser made the day.

Christmas/New Years Football

2007-01-04T11:46:00.000Z

Firstly let me start by saying that I will not be uploading photo's of Boxing Day's record crowd of 11,065 as like a prat I forgot my camera. Shame really as the game was so boring I could have happily spent most of it snapping away rather than shouting at Eddie 'shoot? what is shoot?' Anaclet and the numerous mortally wounded Woking players rolling around hoping to run the clock down. In the end despite 6 minutes injury time and a giant flag (!)the U's just couldn't find a way past a resolute (and time wasting) Woking side and the game finished a disappointing 0-0, fortunately Dagenham were held at home by Grays so the 2 point cushion at the top of the table remained intact.Four days later Oxford entertained Crawley for our second Christmas home game and once again this one was hugely frustrating. The East Stand was in surprisingly good voice early on but Oxford were lethargic and looked largely uninterested, failing to put any real pressure on the Crawley keeper. On the stroke of half time (4 minutes into what was meant to be 2 minutes added time...) thing got even worse as Tony Scully rounded Billy Turley and finished from a tight angle to give the Essex team a 1-0 half time lead. Oh Dear. The second half saw a much more attacking Oxford side with Yemi once again the stand out player and with 11 minutes to go Rob Duffy equalised to spare our blushes but not as it turned out our top spot. Only a few minutes before Duffy's goal news filtered through that the Daggers had gone 1-0 up and they held that lead to go top of the Conference on goal difference to cap of a week that has been pretty depressing for us.An interesting New Year's resolution for the men in Yellow could have been to stop the rot and go to Exeter and get back to winning ways. However the amount of injuries picked up from the Crawley game meant the travelling squad resembled something akin to post-Bubonic plague Europe. When only fit striker Steve Basham limped off early on it clearly wasn't going to be our day (again), and despite playing with a new found vigour the U's went down 2-1 with ex Plymouth player Rufus Brevitt scoring an own goal much to the amusement of the home fans.Aside from Oxford I only managed to get to one other game which was Banbury v Wealdstone. Banbury won 3-1 in what was their first home league win since August 19th!! I had also hoped to go along to the New Year's day game against Halesowen but left it having got back from an all night do in Birmingham only a few hours earlier I gave it a miss...

Raving in Birmingham...

Review in Photo's - MAY

2007-01-03T13:10:00.000Z

Here is the first part of a summery of things I did whilst I was not updating 'Fans Life'. All the pictures and many more can be found at: . Photo Home Page

Penulatimate game 05/06. Oxford battle to a 1-1 draw at Wrexham but slip into the relegation place for the first time in their history.

A last minute 3-2 home defeat to Orient sends Oxford down to the non-leagues. Not a dry eye in the house...

A week after getting relegated I went to Bordeaux to unwind and hopefully get a ticket for the final home game against Marseille. Didn't get a ticket but never mind, just getting away was good enough.

Whilst in the Wine capital of the world I went on a journey to the Pyranees to the small town of Lourdes to lay some ghosts to rest. In 1999 our sixth went with Birmingham diocese as a volunteer group. various things happened on the trip that didn't end particularly well. This was a good chance to grab some closure.

If I'm honest then I'm not a particularly Religious person but the place does have something about it.

Back online...

2006-12-24T17:22:00.000Z

Having lovingly attended to this wonderful blog for the best part of six months I suddenly ran out of enthusiasm for writing about humiliating defeat after humiliating defeat for Oxford and simply re-hashing whatever Sky Sports had written about Bordeaux. I had hoped to start writing some more original entertaining articles but unfortunately my job became quite busy for the first time in my life(!!) and the whole blog project just go shelved.
So why start writing again now? It's not like it was a particularly brilliant blog in the first place but I just enjoy writing. I know nobody reads this and I don't imagine that what I say is of any particular importance, but it gives me something to do and keeps my brain ticking so it can't be a bad thing.
Since I stopped updating this Blog quite a lot has gone on. With regards to Oxford and Bordeaux, the two teams I wrote about most, things have been particularly eventful. Oxford lost the last game of the season and were relegated to the Conference. For the first time in 44 years we are a non-league team and although we sit two points clear at the top of the Conference it's been a pretty sobering experience (Northfleet!!) nonetheless.
Bordeaux made it into the Champions League and were grouped with Liverpool, PSV and Galatasery. They lost three out of the first four games and failed to score a goal however by beating Galatasery 3-1 at Parc Lescure and PSV by the same scoreline at the Philips Stadion in the last two matches they secured a UEFA cup spot. Being as this was about the best they could have hoped for anyway I am quite satisfied. In September I went over for the annual visit to Lescure and I finally saw a win!! A 3-2 victory over Nice in baking temperatures of 34 degrees was possibly the last time for a few years that I'll be able to watch Les Girondins so it was especially satisfying.

If you want to see the rest of the photo's from the game click on this link: http://public.fotki.com/girondinant/fcgb/bdx-nice/

Anyway, hopefully I'll make this a little more interesting than last time by being a bit more selective with what I write about but basically I just want something to do in my spare time so if it doesn't work or I get bored then I'll stop. On Boxing day Oxford are at home to Woking and there is a record crowd expected so there will definately be photo's uploaded within the next few days.

Champions League?? NOT having a laugh!!

2006-05-02T11:35:00.000Z

Girondins Bordeaux 2-2 Le Mans UC 72

It's not official yet but barring a absolute capitulation from Bordeaux and a minor miracle from Rennes, the only team who can catch Les Girondins, I can safely announce the return of Champions League football to Parc Lescure next season!!
As it stands this afternoon, Rennes lie 9 points behind with a game in hand. If the they manage to beat PSG an close the gap to 6 points they will have to hope Bordeaux fail to pick up any points from their last two games and they win both there's well. Even if that scenario happens Les Girondin's goal difference is far superior and Ricardo's men can effectively lose both game and be safe in second.

1 Lyon Pld36 Pts81
2 Bordeaux Pld36 Pts 65
3 Lille Pld 36 Pts 58
4 Lens Pld 36 Pts56
5 Rennes Pld 35 Pts56
6 Marseille Pld35 Pts 55

Clinching second place is so important because it garuntee's a place in the group stages of the Champion's League. To finish third and have to qualify is a risky path as Monaco found out last year when the beaten finallists were knocked out before it had really started.

Le Mans, a surprise success this season, tried their hardest to ruin the Lescure party first taking the lead on20 minutes, then refusing to play along and get beaten. 2-2 was eventually a fair result and although Le Mans equaliser was quite late (82) it did not spoil wild celbrations on the field and in the terraces. Goal scorers for Bordeaux were Chamakh on 40 minutes and Darcheville on 53.

Oxfordshire Senior Cup Final

2006-04-26T14:59:00.000Z

Carterton Town 0-3 Banbury United

A good game spoiled only by the fact that Torquay won and i missed the last two goals becouse of pissing around with my camera. Basically Carterton played with a lot of pride but Banbury's Southern League Premier quality won the day, there's not much point me saying more about the game as The Oxford mail and Chris' article on our official site probably say enough. One thing I did learn though, never go to Carfax fish and chips if your in a rush. It genuinely took 20 minutes to buy a small pie and there was only one customer in front of me!!

For all my Picture click here: http://public.fotki.com/girondinant/oscfinal/

Only two games left to save 44 years of league football.

2006-04-25T09:08:00.000Z

It could not be tighter at the bottom of league 2 with only three points seperating Torquay in 23rd from Bury in 17th. Although it is Torquay who actually sit in the final relegation place they are one of the form teams in the division and last night thrashed Stockport 4-0 to bring themselves level with the U's on 48 points and put the frighteners back on Stockport, Barnet and Macclesfield who all have 50 points.
Of all the teams involved in the fight to avoid this most horrible of all relegations it does seem to be Oxford who look most likely to drop. The other sides either have a precious point advantage or like Torquay, are managing to put a half decent string of results together whilst Oxford remain in freefall.

Last saturday saw the 20th anniversary of the greatest moment in the clubs history, the winning of the Milk Cup. The currant state of the club made the occasion at best bittersweet but despite the fans best efforts and a 'sea of yellow' tifo display the U's crumbled to 3-1 defeat to strong determined Northampton team. What more do they want?? They can no longer call on more support from the stands, there is no other country in Europe with a 4th division that can provide the crowds and atmosphere of a big league 2 match. As one of the bigger clubs in the division, Oxford fans can out sing most competition yet the players played like the didn't give a shiny shite and thats what hurts. 2500 Cobblers (Northampton fans, not actual cobblers - thatwould just be wierd) made the trip and they got behind their team from the off. It's hard to hold a grudge against them as it highlights the stark contrast between the two teams so close geographically yet so different. One rewards the loyalty of it's great fans whilst the other continues to insult them.

At this rate we derserve to play in the conference.

For photo's of a day that was painfully hard to swallow follow this link: http://public.fotki.com/girondinant/oxfordnorthampton/

Girondins Update

2006-04-24T14:00:00.000Z

Defeat at Lille but three points at Sochaux puts Champions League within grasp.

Two Saturday's ago Les Girondins travelled to Lille for a second verses third showdown, and having drawn and lost the last two games it was important that Bordeaux got at least a draw to maintain distance between themselves and the rapidly closing pack. They didn't. Basically Lille had the greater fire power and capitalised on Bordeaux's weakness in scoring goals. Lille ran out deserved 3-2 winners and left Les Girondins with only a three point gap between themselves and third place with a game in hand away at Sochaux, a place where Bordeaux have traditionally struggled.
Yesterday evening was a chance for Ricardo's men to show the rest of the league that they really do have the qualities of a good side. A high pressure away tie at Stade Bonal the scene of many maulings dealt out by the Lions of Sochaux to their Aquitanian visitors was effectively make or break for les Marine et Blancs, this time a win would put them six points clear of Lille in third and eight clear of Rennes in fourth with only three games to go. All season I have been highly critical of Bordeaux's reliance on defence but on sunday they put in their performance of the season winning 3-0 finally convincing me that this side is the real deal and has the building blocks for future success. A win next saturday at home to mid table Le-mans will garantee at least third place and entry into the Champions League qualifiers and more importantly the knowledge that just one point from their last two games against old rivals Nantes and Marseille will seal the all-importand second spot.

Allez Bordeaux!! Nous venons gagner!!!

Girondins Update

2006-04-11T10:01:00.000Z

Girondins Bordeaux 0-0 AS St Etienne

To be honest not a bad point but St Etienne are firmly mid-table with nothing to play for so I expected more. Les Stephanois battled hard and earned a point by encouraging Bordeaux as the home side to come out and attack them. Knowing Bordeaux have the attacking prowess of wet celery St Etienne were able to soak up most of the pressure from the home side reducing them to long range shots, the vast majority of which either blazed over the bar or went wide. Lille could only draw so they gained no ground on Les Girondins second place, Rennes however have been quietly steaming up the league and won their 8th straight game lifting them into second with a 5 point deficit to Bordeaux.
Whilst the game itself was little to write home about the Ultramarines put on a spectactuar display to celebrate the unique amitié between St Etienne's Magic Fans 91 and themselves. It was possibly one of the best tifo's at Parc Lescure this season just a shame it wasn't dark then it would have looked amazing.

Imagine the East Stand at Oxford looking like this...

Oxford

2006-04-09T16:24:00.000Z

Wouldn't it be nice if there was some pictures of Oxford on here?? What do you think?? Yeah me too, here you go then...

High Street

Some College or other

Oooh hills...

The Radcliffe Camera (Designed by James Gibbs - Not Kodak...)

Ummm... more Colleges I think.

Oxford - Famously nicer than Banbury.

Girondins Update

2006-04-03T14:52:00.000Z

Paris St Germain 3-1 Girondins Bordeaux

After carefull deliberation I have decided not to bother witing this game up. It was a massive game for the fans who travelled in great numbers all the way across the country (or like me sat up until half three at night and was knackered for a whole week) to watch a most pathetic excuse for a performance.
Fair enough Bordeaux had six first team players out but having equalised quickly instead of pushing on and taking the game to PSG they sat back, conceded two more and then offered no fight in the second half. It doesn't really affect the league campaign but they owed this to their fans. Not good enough.
One apect of the game I cannot fault though is the performance of Pauleta. His first half hat trick was absolutely devastating but the dignity with which the ex-Bordeaux striker showed whilst single handily destroying his old club was exemplary. After each of his goals he simply walked away to receive the congratulations of his team mates rather than go crazy and taunt the Bordeaux fans. His workrate was second to none and it is such a shame that he left Les Girondins for the capital but at the time it was the right move for him and there is no bitterness towards him.

Pauleta Celebrates another goal during his time at the mighty Girondins!!

Mansfield away - what a bloody mess!!

2006-04-03T10:31:00.000Z

The palaver that is Oxford United's season took another turn for the worst on saturday as we deservedly lost at field mill. The goal that beat us was dodgy to say the least - after seeing it several times it doesn't look like the ball crossed the line but the Stags had a pefectly good goal ruled out earlier in the game and were by far the better side for much of the afternoon and deserved the win.
701 Oxford fans made the trip made the trip to Mansfield and for 84 minutes were a credit to the club then suddenly it all went wrong. After Mansfields dis-allowed goal about ten minutes earlier, the atmosphere in the ground changed to something a little more tense and aggressive than it had been although nothing that would have given anyone cause for concern. with just under ten minutes to go in the game a glass bottle came over the side of the stand into the away end hitting a women and child, whilst they were not injured they were of course shaken up and fans around them believing it was thrown by are own fans (who were
more drunk and rowdy than I've seen all year) began agrily remonstrating. Stewards sensing a problem moved into the stand realising what had really happened and calmed everyone down and offering to take those hit by the bottle to the other end of the stand.
As this confusion was going on Mansfield scored which only added to the tension and a group of fans began to follow stewards along the path in front of the stand towards the home end. Without warning two prats suddenly bolted across the pitch towards the Mansfield fans almost making it but taken down by stewards just in time. As the stewards were dealing with the two idiots, around 50 'fans' charged the Mansfield stand getting almost close enough to exchange handfulls of coins, were it not for the quick heavy handed approach of the Mansfield stewards there would have been serious fighting and we could have been docked several points. It took about five minutes to force the fans back from the home concourse and although the game was able to re-start order was not really restored until 15 minutes after the final wistle.

For the rest of the pictures of the day click on this link:

http://public.fotki.com/girondinant/manfieldvoxford/

Girondins Update

2006-03-30T11:50:00.000Z

Three valuable points against Nice - Now for revenge at PSG!!

It took only 11 seconds for Denilson to score the winning goal on saturday as Bordeaux scraped passed a feisty Nice outfit who probably didn't deserve to lose. I quite like Nice as a club because they always go out to try and win games and although their Stade du Ray is a bit ramshackle their fans absolutely go ballistic during games. The atmosphere and passion of supporters at Nice home games is amazing considering the relatively small set up of the club and the close proximity of French giants Marseille and AS Monaco. This was a massively important win for Bordeaux and means they have not lost a league game since the 10th December and more importantly, thanks to other results, have stretched the gap between them and 3rd placed Lille to 7 points with a game in hand.
Next Saturday is one of the biggest games in the calender and also one that I managed to attend last season PSG vs Bordeaux. For the fans of both these clubs this fixture is the second biggest grudge match (after Marseille of course...) and is always fiercely contested on (and usually off) the pitch. Last November PSG ran out 2-0 winners, their first win at Parc Lescure since 1988. That game that left les Girondins looking worryingly inept with PSG completly outplaying them in every aspect. The night was also marred by serious crowd trouble both before and after the match leading to several arrests and one fan being given a two month prison sentance for assaulting a police officer. All in all the worst night of Bordeaux's campaign this season. Things have moved on since October and Bordeaux are well clear in second whilst PSG have never really got going and sit in 8th in a season which has been another one of turmoil on the pitch and in the tribunes. Bordeaux have big score to settle whereas PSG are desperate for a decent result making the score impossible to predict, I however am going to put my neck on the line and say that Bordeaux will nick a 1-0 victory. This should be a fascinating encounter between two old foes experiancing very different seasons and is being shown at 0140am on channel 4 so stay up and watch it!!!

Stockport and Notts County Photo's

2006-03-29T16:59:00.000Z

Only a few weeks ago things really did look like Oxford were going to drop into the conference. We went to Edgely Park in Stockport for a showdown with a team just below us to see if the U's had any pride left in them. As it turns out they didn't and went down 2-1 to a late penalty thanks to John Ashton's stupid challenge. The train ride back was one of the worst moments of being an Oxford fan and all we could think about was the very real prospect of relegation and how our club was being left to die at the hands of inept ownership and management.

Surely there was no turning the corner now? Were the once mighty U's really facing non-league obscurity???

Oxford pretend to attack the Stockport goal...

What a difference a week makes!! After another horrible defeat, Brian Talbot publicly slated Ashton for losing us the game. He has a point, but every saw Ashton's challenge, we already know it was stupid and it's simply glossing over the fact that he's a rubbish manager and can't motivate any of his players to play football. Blaming Ashton in the press was something you wouldn't even expect from a sunday league boss and that stupid outburst coupled with the fact we're shit meant that the first thing Kassam's new (but ultimately short-lived) directors did was to show him the door and replace him with the excellent Darren Patterson.

Following a 'Kassam out' protest (which can only be described as organised carnage) before wednesday's game with Bristol Rovers the U's under new management went on to record only their second win of the year and all f a sudden things were looking up. On the back of that it was finally decided at about 9pm friday night that we would make the long(ish) trip to Nottingham. We were well rewarded with a decent if boring 0-0 draw and it felt strange to once again feel optimistic about Oxford.

Oxford really do attack the Notts County goal

Little did we know as we left Meadow lane that by wednesday we would have even more cause to be optimistic... the return of Jim Smith and the takeover of businessman Nick Merry!!

Sadly I haven't got any photo's of Smith's return to the Manor and the wonderful 1-0 win over Peterborough due to... well... a long story that involves me being stuck at a wedding in Cambridge, but I do have some more photo's of our away days at Stockport and Notts County. Click on this link to see them: http://public.fotki.com/girondinant/stockportandnotts/

Jim Smith's Yellow Army!!!

2006-03-28T10:26:00.000Z

Kassam gone, Merry and Smith in. Oh to be an Oxford fan!!!

As part of the catch-up process this is now a bit out of date as it was last Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday that the sale and takeover took place. I will attempt to sum up what the new set is.
Last Wednesday morning after a decent point away at Bury the previous night I logged on to www.oufc.co.uk only to be greeted with a farewell note from Mr Kassam!! He had sold the club and there was to be a press conference at 5pm anouncing the new ownership. Surely not, surely the prayersof us downtrodden oxford fans were not going to be answered? No, we'd had to much disappointment for that.
Unbelievably at the press conference it was unveiled that business man (and ex U's youth team player) Nick Merry had aquired Firoka's 89% stake in Oxford United and had installed the legend that is Jim Smith as both Manager and a director. Whether you were there during the glory days of the 80's or whether like me Jim smith and the side he built are mere stories, nay, legends that you have heared from a far off time when Oxford United were the pride of the Thames Valley, you cannot have helped feeling an overwhelming sense of pride and basically uncontained joy at the news. A Chairman that cares deeply about the club and it's fans and Jim Smith back home where he belongs as Manager of the football club that never forgot what he did for them all those years ago. Welcome to the Manor Nick and Jim, you are MORE than welcome.

Girondins Update

2006-03-24T10:10:00.000Z

Ok so it's been a while since I wrote anything about Bordeaux, but after coming back from Poland I was swamped with a load of Open University work which I had got two weeks behind with. Obviously I had to do that before I returned to arsing about on blogger. There is a lot of other football stuff that I will tackle (pun intended) in a different post but for now I will concentrate on Bordeaux. To make this easy I will simply list all their results since the last game I wrote about as to be honest there's quite a lot and I don't really have much info on them anyway. So Voila ici est les résultats des Girondins dupuis le 14th février...

Sat 18/02/06 AC Ajaccio 0-2 Girondins Bordeaux
Sat 25/02/06 Girondins Bordeaux 3-3 Metz
Sat 11/03/06 Girondins Bordeaux 2-0 Toulouse
Sat 18/03/06 Troyes 1-1 Girondins Bordeaux
Wed 22/03/06 Montpellier 1-0 Girondins Bordeaux (Coupe de France 8eme)

Wednesday's cup exit at mid table League 2 Montpellier has apparently angered Coach Ricardo, and rightly so. He told reporters that Bordeaux have "not had the same efficiency and pace for two weeks now"... Two weeks?!? Bordeaux haven't had any "pace" since Feindouno went to St Etienne last year!! All credit to Ricardo and Bordeaux for a fantastic season but if they rely too heavily on being defensive and trying to kill off games they will get found out next year and besides, losing to League 2 sides doesn't exactly fill you with confidence for the run in. All said and done though, Les Bordelais are still flying high and are on course for that Champions League spot. On saturday they face a home game against Nice who put them out of the Coupe de la League earlier this year, a good win is an absolute necessity. Bonne Chance les Marine et Blanc!!

League 1
1. Lyon P 30 Pts 68
2. Bordeaux P 30 Pts 57
3. Lille P 31 Pts 52
4. Auxerre P 31 Pts 50
5. Marseille P 31 Pts 48
6. Rennes P 31 Pts 47

Long time no blog...

2006-03-01T10:26:00.000Z

No posts for half a month!! Has my life really been that boring? Well yes, but I've also been away in Poland for a week and on returning had lots of other crap to catch up with so have been unable (couldn't be arsed) to put anything on here.
There has been pretty much nothing of interest going on football wise, Oxford continued their nose dive into the conference with a home draw against Cheltenham (yes them again) and a quite pathetic 2-1 defeat away at Wycombe. Ok so Wycombe are much better than Oxford but thats the problem!! Since when have Oxford gone to Wycombe as massive underdogs? Not good enough, they didn't even raise their game they just rolled over and died as usual. Bordeaux on the other hand have continued to do well but I shall round that up later.
Anyway... Krakow was the destination last week and it is a fantastic city. It is a little run down but in a good way - loads of character and inhabited by honest, hard working, no bullshit people. They don't complain about extreme weather and dodgy trams they just bloody well get on with it, something a lot of people here would do well to take note of. Lots of good things to say about the place like £1 a pint in underground cellers, a medievil cloth hall and two football clubs who play right opposite each other and seem to really hate each other with an almost frightening passion!!

This is the Castle Wawel, the seat of the Polish kings for hundreds of years.

The main square in the city centre with St Mary's church in the background.

Cracovia's ground. (The Pope's favourite team!!)

Auchwitz or Oświęcim. One site that needs no explanitory caption.

To see the full Album of Krakow, the salt mines (150 meters underground in a village just outside the city) and of course the Auchwitz and Birkenau concentration camps click on this link http://public.fotki.com/girondinant/krakow_feb_2006/

Girondins Update

2006-02-14T13:50:00.000Z

Girondins Bordeaux 2-0 Stade Rennais

Ok I was seriously wrong about this one. Instead of huffing and puffing to an unconvincing win Bordeaux totally outplayed Rennes right from the start. After (almost deliberatly) having no shots on target last week they managed 4 this weeks with another 5 going off target so at least they are shooting more, the defence did it's job once again limiting Rennes to only 3 shots, two of which were on target. Every team from 3rd to 7th could only manage a draw so the gap between Bordeaux and 3rd placed Auxerre is now 6 points and they managed to take 2 points off Lyon who also only managed a draw. Whilst Lyon are still well out of sight there is now significant daylight between Bordeaux in the automatic Champions league spot and Auxerre in 3rd place who would have to play a qualifying round before making the group stages.

Having whinged about Bordeaux's negative play for the last... well the whole season actually but I have not given credit to the fact that yes they are boring but they get results week in and week out and now barring a major collapse really are going to play in the Champions league next season. Ricardo has turned a side that was frankly horrible to watch last year into a slick efficient well drilled football team. Well done to them, if they make the Champions league then they can be as boring as they like!!

Girondins Update

2006-02-10T10:26:00.000Z

I've missed a bit of news recently due to actually being busy at work (honestly) and also the whole translation thing sometimes gets in the way as well. Last week I 'read' on www.girondins.com that Kojo Afanou had signed another contract with the club "Good" I thought "he's a pretty solid defender they need men like him in the team." I later read on Sky Sports that I had totally mis-read the report and what had actually happened was that Afanou had been having problems at the club and had then flown out to Morocco to visit his wife without telling anyone. The powers that be at Bordeaux decided that he'd pushed his luck too far and sacked him. Prehaps I should work a little harder at mon français...
One bit of news however which I can be sure of is that Olivier Kapo will not be joining Bordeaux. Although he still wants to be loaned away from Monaco (and they still want rid of him) they do not want him going to another league 1 club, particularly one that is already much better than them (even with Meriem).

This Saturday sees 14th placed Rennes become the next team to be bored into a coma at Parc Lescure. Although Stade Rennais were one of last seasons surprise packages, finishing 4th and grabbing the UEFA Cup spot, this season has been a return to mediocrity. Earlier this year the two sides drew 2-2 in Brittany with Bordeaux twice throwing away the lead and whilst this was one of 10 draws for les Girondins, Rennes have only drawn twice. Their record stands at P25 W10 D2 L13 so I can't see them getting sucked into Bordeaux's negative game play and I believe Rennes will fancy themselves on Saturday so I'm going to predict a surprise away win. Bordeaux should reallyhave the metal to see them through this one but I've just got a nagging feeling that if Rennes really go for it and grab an early goal then Bordeaux who have long forgotten how to attack a game, will have no reply. Hope I'm wrong.

Mr Kassam, if your going to go, go now.

2006-02-08T12:02:00.000Z

An evening of fun and games was had at the Kassam stadium for a hastily arranged 'fans forum' where our chairman was basically told by the fans to sell up and sod off. Not a bad thing in itself but some of the personal attacks were a little 'uncomfortable', however he needs to go. Credit to Mr Kassam he had the balls to sit there and take a lot of difficult questions and he provided answers to most. He nearly lost his temper once but to be fair to him he let a lot of things go that would drive most of us to the point of violence! I am not an FK fan and never have been and I hope he sells quickly but I couldn't help feeling sorry for him on Tuesday. Whatever anyone says he had taken the club on with all good intentions, saved it from the brink of liquidation and spent 50+ million pounds on it only to see it fail miserably and become one of the most disliked men in the county!! But he is a hard business man and surely knew the price of failure, he does not hesitate to get rid of anyone who he believes is failing him and seems to understands that it is now up to him to hang up his hotels and leave.
Mr Kassam has assured us that the club will not be let go 'on the cheap' and that it will only be sold with the stadium to a person or consortium who proves to him that they have the financial backing to take the club forward. He was given a round of applause for that and rightly so. He has shown the fans by saying this that he is no Kieth Cox or Maxwell and will not leave the club in deeper shit that when he took over.

Girondins Update

2006-02-06T12:09:00.000Z

Olympique Lyonnais 0-0 Girondins Bordeaux

I am flumoxed. I stayed up to watch this game last night (conveniantly following the Super Bowl) on channel 4 and I can't believe not only that Bordeaux are second, but that they arn't bottom of the league. They are the most negative, one dimensional, boring team I have ever had the pleasure of watching. How they managed this incredible result is beyond me as Lyon absolutely wiped the floor with Bordeaux who blatently came looking for a draw, so blatent was it that they did not even register one shot on target. Bordeaux's main strength seems to lie in the fact that they are so damn negative that they can kill any game dead. Lyon were simply unable to play the fast flowing attacking football that has made them so deadly whilst bordeaux just sort of... well... bored the arse off of whoever had the ball so they just kicked it out of play or fell over or something. Honestly, I have seen them 6 times now; 3 times in the flesh and 3 times on tv (2 tv games away at Lyon...) and I have seen 4 draws and 2 defeats. I used put it down to the idea that European football has always been played at a slower pace and that I was just not used to the differences in the game however I am now convinced that it is an atribute exclusive to Bordeaux. They never looked like scoring last night, in fact they never looked like they wanted to score, they went simply to ruin Lyons game plan and to take a point. Job done then, but little in evidence to show they won't be destroyed in next years Champions League.

Don't get me wrong, it was a stunning hard fought result and Bordeaux did remember to play a little bit of football in the last five minutes. The Lyon result really does show how far Les Bordelais have come since they were humiliated 5-1 at Gerland last season and whilst you struggle to see where they will get their goals from they never look like conceding either. With regards to the race for European qualification it was almost as good as a victory last night, but for a football purist (like myself) there is something slightly upseting about Bordeaux's approach to football. That said they are second in the league after nearly getting relegated last year so it seem very unfair to complain after such a fantastic result.

Contrasting cup results...

2006-02-01T16:41:00.000Z

Two very different cup ties took place last night. In South West France, Bordeaux recovered from an early slip up to beat National Ligue side Entente Sannois-Saint-Gratien 2-1 in the 16eme round of the Coupe de France. Two second half goals from Portuguese debutant Beto spared any blushes as Bordeaux were made to fight hard to see off their 3rd division opponets leaving Les Girondins one game away from another quarter final. All in all a good solid work for a few of the fringe players in what was a competitive line up. Job done, now for Oxford...

An insultingly under-strength Oxford 'team' were humiliated at Court Place Farm last night, going down 0-1 to Thame United. Yes that's Thame United as in bottom of a league four divisions below us Thame United. The homeless Southern League western division side who had previously only managed 3 wins will take their place in the Oxfordshire senior cup semi finals mainly due to Oxford treating this historic competition as a joke. Say what you like about the competition and the side that Oxford put out, but in my view we are the county's professional team and losing in the Oxon senior cup to anyone no matter what starting eleven is humiliating. Frankly it was an an insult to the competition, the fans (200 or so mugs who payed £5 for that), the Oxfordshire FA and mainly the other clubs participating in the competition.

Sort it out Oxford.

Girondins Update

2006-01-27T08:32:00.000Z

Girondins Bordeaux 1-0 Racing Club Lens

Four wins in a row and yet another coming against a side in direct competition for a European spot. The headline on the clubs official website today is 'Un Bordeaux à l'italienne!' and to be honest this pretty much sums up their season, ie get a 1 goal lead then batten down the hatches and ride it out like the Italian sides do. Prehaps I'm too used to English football where for a side to be 3 points clear in second they would have to be knocking goals in left right and centre and playing attacking fast-flowing football every week, but I can't really get my head around how Bordeaux are doing so well. The game itself was apparently one of the worst games in the history of footbal with both sides only managing one shot on target each, Lens didn't actually register theirs until the 92nd minute whilst Bordeaux's single on target effort was a penalty!! Nevertheless I am not criticising was was another solid performance and a fantastic win. Laslandes 28th minute penalty was his 120th career goal and one on this years most vital, Lens are one of the league strongest sides so to take 4 points from the 2 games against them is pretty impressive.

Bordeaux are hoping to bring Juventus striker Olivier Kapo on loan for the rest of the season. He has spent the first half of the season at Monaco but is having personal problems with the management and is eager to work with Girondins coach Ricardo. He is a quality striker and would be an excellent aquisition for the team.

Beto for Bordeaux

2006-01-24T08:51:00.000Z

Bordeaux have confirmed the signing of Portuguese defender Beto from Sporting. They had been chasing Beto for some time and are delighted to finally have his signature to bolster the squad and hopefully add stength to Les Girondins challenge for the automatic Champions League spot. Chairman Jean-Louis Triaud has described Beto as "More than a winter signing, reinforcement for the future." Obviously great things are expected of the young Portuguese who has never played for any other club than Sporting and if he can bring anything extra to the challenge as Dauphin to Lyon then he will be made more than welcome at Parc Lescure.

Photo taken from www.jornaldamadeira.pt

Girondins Update

2006-01-23T13:12:00.000Z

Bordeaux 2-1 Strasbourg

A 92nd minute winner from Julien Faubert made it three league wins in a row for Bordeaux but once again they had to do it the hard way. In the 10 minute Strasbourg were awarded a penalty after a reckless foul by Bordeaux keeper Ulrich Rame, although Rame escaped with a booking Le Pen was not as charitable as the referee and fired home from the spot to give the Alsaciens an unlikely lead. Despite trailing Bordeaux were completely dominating this game and the equaliser duely came from Fernando in the 37th minute (I managed to listen to the first half live on Wit FM and actually managed to understand the commentary!! Usually after a goal I start celebrating then find out 5 minutes later it was only a corner or worse that the opposition had scored...). Strasbourg's game plan completely fell apart just before half time when Moslim was given a straight red card, surely now Les Girondins would go on to rack up a big tally? Well err no, Strasbourg defended like men possesed and although Bordeaux had racked up 9 shots on target to their 3, in truth the Alsacians deserved a draw - if only for being bloody determined!! Luckily for the Bordeaux public there was to be one more shot on target, the one that would claim the three points and save some serious blushes. Julien Faubert controlled a long ball into the box and shot from an impossibly tight angle, the ball hit Strasbourg keeper Cassard's hand and was diverted into the net. Another slightly fortunate win for Bordeaux but another three points in the bag and another step closer to that prized Champions League spot.

Control Arms

2006-01-20T13:11:00.000Z

Lack of controls on the arms trade is fuelling conflict, poverty and human rights abuses worldwide. Every government is responsible. The Control Arms campaign is asking governments to toughen up controls on the arms trade.
(Quote from the Control Arms homepage)

The Control Arms Campaign is NOT a charity, it is not asking for any money - just your face. They are aiming to present the governments around the world with a petition of a million faces asking for a treaty to scrictly regulate the sale of arms. By going on the campaign website and emailing them a picture of your face you can play a part in making it harder for firearms to fall into the wrong hands.

Like most global issues, this is a problem that really can be solved by the 'big' nations. To put the arms trade into context, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the USA, UK, France, Russia, and China are together responsible for eighty eight per cent of reported conventional arms exports. It is clear to see that if just those five countries tightened their arms sales the whole industry could be policed more effectively.
British and American Troops are risking their lives against terrorist and insurgent attacks on a daily basis in Iraq. Putting the issues of whether the war was justified or not aside a frightening statistic is that North Afrifca and the Middle East account for 39% of the USA's arms exports and an unbelievable 72% of the UK's. We are sending our forces to protect people against terrorists that WE effectively armed. Something there does not quite add up.

Please note this campaign is NOT anti-government or anti-Military, nor is it calling for a total ban on the arms trade. It is simply a sincere attempt to Regulate a trade which by it's loopholes and failings has allowed rougue states and terrorist groups to arm themselves and to kill and maim millions of innocent civillians. Please visit the website and add you face to the Million Faces gallery. If you do not wish to be in the petition at least read the website and give some thought to the campaign.

www.controlarms.org

La Coupe de la Ligue est terminé pour les Bordelais

2006-01-18T09:39:00.000Z

OGC Nice 2-1 Bordeaux

Cancel the Eurostar and hotels there will be no trip to Paris in April as Bordeaux crashed out of the Ligue cup quarter finals at the Stade du Ray last night. Nice had taken the lead from a David Bellion penalty on the stroke of half time but could could only hold the advantage until the 53rd minute when Vladimir Smicer scored a brilliant individual goal. Smicer's leveller seemed to give Bordeaux the incentive to take the game to Les Aiglons but the two sides as desperate not to lose as they were to win just cancelled each other out and the game went into extra time. Unfortunately a second consecutive win on the south coast was a bridge too far for les Bordelais and with 10 minutes to go Balmont scored the goal that sent Nice into the semi finals.
It was a real shame as I was certain that although it was always going to be a tough game, Bordeaux would have the metal to force their way through but on the night Nice just had that bit more about them. The supporters in the Stade Du Ray are well known for the atmosphere they create and no doubt the fans had no small part in willing their team on to victory. Fans from these Islands (GB) always insist that they are the best fans in the world based mainly on the fact that the league is old and well organised and better supported. Attendances may be higher at British games but the culture we have of sitting down and being quiet to be honest is embarrassing I would love to force the inhabitants of Oxford's East stand to spend a game in the Stade du Ray or especially Kop Sud at St Etienne. They wouldn't know what had hit them.
Anyway well done to Bordeaux for getting as far as the Quarter finals - it just wasn't to be. There is still the CDF but more importantly that Champions League spot is still far from secure and that is the prize that every supporter wants most of all.

Girondins Update

2006-01-16T13:51:00.000Z

Monaco 0-1 Bordeaux

What a win!!!! I genuinely didn't expect a result here as to go to Monaco with them as one of the form sides on Vieri's debut is the sort of fixture you dread as a fan but instead it will be one of the most memorable results of an impressive season. Camel Meriem was unavailable for the game but to do the double over the club he dumped Bordeaux for was no less satisfying and more to the point it kept Les Girondins in 2nd and on course for the Champions League. It took until the 70th minute for the breakthrough in a predictably tight game but Denilson picked a perfect game to score his first Ligue 1 goal. Monaco tried to get back into the game but the meanest defence in the top flight soaked up what pressure they had to offer and the points went securly back to Aquitaine.

So after 22 games played Bordeaux sit in 2nd place only 1 point ahead of Auxerre but seven points ahead of Monaco who dropped to 9th, well out of the European places. But Monaco are a bigger club - aren't they Camel...

To Brum to watch The Villa!!

2006-01-15T20:24:00.000Z

I decided to dig a bit deeper this week and instead of going to Banbury thought I'd give this Premier League lark a go. Being an Oxford fan and also with my love for the non-league game I'll admit I've always been very cynical about the Premiership but I went to Villa in the right freame of mind ie to have no pre-conceptions and to sit back and enjoy good football for a change. I got what I asked for as it was a really exciting match, the stadium was fantastic and the Birmingham public were as ever thoroughly welcoming and genuinely helpful.
Determined to see the sights of Birmingham I arrived at Moor St Station at 10.00 and headed straight into the Bullring. Birmingham has been tranformed into a fantastic city, not only does it look the business but there's a whole new positive feel to the town that makes you realise how over-rated London is. After a good look around Birmingham Art gallery and Museum (well recommended) I made my way to the ground.

Villa Park is a short train hop away from New St to Witton and the ground is clearly visible as soon as you get off. For me Villa park is what a Premiership stadium should be, it manages to combine excellent modern facilities whilst still having an old stadium feel to it. All the stands are quite photogenic but the Trinity road stand is something to behold, it is a three tiered affair not unlike the West stand at Old Trafford and it seems to go on for miles!! I chose to sit in the lower tier of the famous Holte End which had great views of the pitch and seemed to be where most of the noise came from.
Villa park has a reputation for being a bit quiet and to be honest it was, however it is no worse than 90% of British crowds and it isn't easy to create an atmosphere in such an enormous stand. In my opinion they do OK. I have to give a mention to the 3900 West Ham fans who really added to the day, they were on their feet and singing for 90 minutes and definately made the atmosphere memorable. I don't intend to write a report on the game as there will be countless better written but I will say that it was hugely entertaining and West Ham fully deserved the points.

The link below will take you to my photo's of the game which are in my opinion pretty good...
http://public.fotki.com/girondinant/aston_vila_1-2_west_ham/

Girondins update

2006-01-13T16:31:00.000Z

Bordeaux 1-0 Auxerre

An 87th minute winner from Alonso gave Bordeaux a hugely important win over second place Auxerre who had been the first team to beat Les Girondins back in August. I can find very little information on the full details of how the game panned out, but I was able to listen to the first 20 minutes of the second half and that combined with (very very roughly) translating the report from the official site has assured me the win was well deserved. Thanks to other results the three point lifted Bordeaux back up to second although PSG could have moved above them had they not lost away at toulouse on thursday. All games equal Bordeaux now sit 14 points behind behind Champions (might as well start calling them that) Lyon, and 1 and 2 points ahead of Auxerre and PSG respectively.

Tomorrow they travel to 8th placed Monaco for a very difficult game which in my opinion Bordeaux will be very lucky to take a point home. Although Monaco have lost their captain Evra to Man Utd they have the huge talent of Christian Vieri up front who will surely bag a few goals over the season. There is also the small matter of Mr Meriem. This weasely little bastard left Bordeaux at the end of last season because apparently Monaco are such a bigger club and he couldn't resist the lure of the Champions league. The fact that they've got no fans, no money, got dumped out of the champions league in the qualifying round and sit in 8th whilst Bordeaux are second and have Bruno Cheyrou doing a much better job than Meriem ever did could be called poetic justice...

Pictures from the Shrewsbury game.

2006-01-13T16:14:00.000Z

Not much to say on this. The first picture is of the tunnel and South stand just before the game. The second is of an Oxford first half corner - one of the few times we actually managed to attack. After that I couldn't be bothered to take anymore.

Pictures from Banbury 4-2 Kings Lynn

2006-01-10T08:35:00.000Z

Banbury lost 1-0 to Merthyr Tydfil on saturday but they have still been a revelation this season and still sit in the last play-off place. Were they to win promotion to conference South it would one of the biggest success story in the county since Oxford's rise to the top flight in the 80's. These are pictures from the previous weekend when they beat Kings Lynn(who hadn't lost for a couple of months) 4-2 at Spencer Stadium.

And another defeat...

2006-01-10T08:02:00.000Z

It's official. Oxford really are rubbish, in fact Sunderland aside we probably have the worst run of home results in the football league (don't quote me on that) with 5 defeats out of the last 6 home games. On saturday we managed a stunning 0-3 home defeat to mighty mid-table Shrewsbury, could have been worse I suppose - we could have been at home again tonight!! As it is we travel to Peterborough where I imagine we will be well and truely done over.

With Oxford such a waste of time at the moment I really feel like just jumping on a Plane and going to watch Bordeaux. With the sales at bmi baby I could acually fly there and back and stay 3 nights in a hotel for about the same amount of money that I'd spend on a weekend with an away game and a couple of nights out, probably less in fact. Obviously It's logistically more complicated than that but it does make me wonder about not buying a season ticket next year at Oxford and trying to get to Parc Lescure more often. Thing is I'd soon get bored of the City plus the football itself is a little Negative, although not quite as negative and shite as Oxford's. It won't happen but it's something fun to think about at work.

For the record Bordeaux won 3-1 away at Wasquehal in the CDF with goals from Perea (41’), Francia (69’), and Marc Planus (92’). The CFA side fought well and scored through Mouissi in the last minute to cause a nervous few minutes of injury time before Planus got the third goal to finish the match.

Oh no, Oxford are at home!!

2006-01-06T14:52:00.000Z

Unfortunately Oxford are at home this weekend and I really can't be bothered watching another rubbish game. Win, lose or draw you just know it's going to be negative scrappy crap that gives the lower league sides like us a bad press. To pretend I won't go though is silly as I've got a disease which means i can't miss home games no matter how useless Oxford are or how much i don't want to be there. I actually think we should beat Shrewsbury, they are low down the table but have been playing good football and beat local rivals Wrexham on Tuesday which means Oxford can't take them lightly and may actually TRY AND PLAY FOOTBALL!!! Another game like Mansfield where they assume the game is over just because they score one lucky goal then end up losing, and I may seriously consider not going for a while.

In France Bordeaux travel to non-league Wasquehal in the 32eme round of the Coupe de France this saturday. By FA Cup standards this is equivalent to the 3rd round ie when the Premiership sides play their first game but the lesser sides have been in the competition for some time. Wasquehal are from the Lille Metropole area and are actually the true occupants of the Stadium Nord Where Lille OSC play their home games while their Grimonprez Jooris stadium is re-built. Whatever side Les Girondins put out it should be a fairly simple victory and passage into the next round.

These are a couple of the pictures I took When I went to see Bordeaux play Sochaux at Parc Lescure in October.

Girondins Update

2006-01-05T17:00:00.000Z

AS Nancy 0-0 Bordeaux

Hmmm, not too bad. A little frustrating to get only a draw out of this as Nancy are a comparitively poor side and yet again Bordeaux didn't take the game to them. Being fair though Les Girondins have the best defensive record in the country and this was another solid away point, if they make sure these results are complemented by home wins then a European spot should be fully achievable. Having seen Bordeaux three times now I can imagine the sort of boring frustrating negative game it would have been to watch and I'm glad It wasn't one I tried to go to. In the comfort of my own home I can see that it was a decent result now it's time to move on and 'kick some butt' for the rest of an enormously important month that includes home games agains Auxerre, Strasbourg and RC Lens, an away match at Monaco (bring it on Camel!!) and the League cup Quarter final away at Nice.

The right results could see Bordeaux shoot back up to the table (results went badly yesterday and we've slipped to 5th which could soon turn into 6th if either Auxerre or Monaco beat each other tonight) and be looking forward to a cup semi final, the wrong results could well see the season ruined.

Oxford Ushited

2006-01-03T12:22:00.000Z

All I'll say is that the Mansfield game didn't exactly go to plan. We were accidently leading 1-0 at half time but Mansfield (one of the worst sides in the history of football) managed to come back and win 2-1, yet two day's later we go up to Chester and bloody win!! I cannot not be arsed with mid-table football, It's all so unpredictable that although we are once again within touching distance of the play-offs you know we'll just lose a couple of games and drop right back down again. Inconsistancy is what really pisses fans off, when your team is just plain rubbish and you get relegated everyone seems to pull together and stand up and be counted as fans but it's nothing seasons like the one we're having that really ends up driving fans away.

On Monday I didn't actually bother listening to the Chester game, I went to watch Banbury beat Kings Lynn 4-2 at Spencer Stadium. It was a funny game, well worth watching and I shall post some sort of report/pictures later on - not that any bastard will read it, it just gives me something to do...

Thats Christmas done then...

2005-12-30T12:42:00.000Z

Another Christmas done and dusted. To be honest that was one of the better we've had over the past 5 or so years, everyone got on well and I didn't get that stifling feeling where you just want to run far away. All in all a good family Christmas.

On Boxing day Oxford won at home for the first time since September 1376 (It feels like that long) spanking Notts County 3-0. Good, about time we won a bloody game by a big margin. Tomorrow us lucky Oxford fans get to go to another home game where the U's hope to limp past Mansfield who by all accounts are rubbish. Should be another decent win tomorrow but I won't be holding my breath until the game actually finishes and the points are safe.

On Tuesday I made my way out to Abingdon to watch the Town vs Utd Derby at Culham road. I love Town's ground, It would be fantastic to see 8 or 900 in it one day, it would make a good southern league ground if they painted it and got rid of all the rubbish lying around. Anyway Utd won 5-0 and totally dominated from start to finish, pretty good for an away performance although they are flying high in the league.

For reference, Abingdon Town are the home side and they are wearing Yellow and Green.

Tonight I am not sure whether I'll end up going down the pub or not. If It looks like I'm not going out I will take myself down to Bicester Vs Eton Wick which I'm sure will be a rubbish game but it quite important to Town's promotion hopes and in any case in something to do!!

Coup de la Ligue 1/4eme

2005-12-22T21:42:00.000Z

Although I didn't report on this Bordeaux played Nantes at Parc Lescure on Tuesday in the 1/8eme round of the League cup and just as on Saturday it was a tight match. For the first time this season though, Bordeaux put away their chances and came out 3-1 winners. The draw for the quarter finals was made at 1800BST tonight and Bordeaux will face a trip to Nice where they have already won earlier this season. It will be a tough match but Les Girondins will go there as favourites and if they play to their strengths should be able to get the victory that will put them in the semi finals.

The rest of the quarter final draw saw Toulouse drawn at home Monaco, Nancy at home to Ajaccio and League 2 side Guingamp hosting Le Mans. Having already knocked Marseille and Nantes out at Parc Lescure and with either Toulouse or Monaco certain to be eliminated in the next round Bordeaux have a real chance to win this competition. I look forwarward to maybe having a chance to get over to the Stade de France for the final in May!!

Christmas Football

2005-12-22T13:09:00.000Z

Christmas. Not only the time of year when fat girls think getting drunk and wearing skimpy Santa costumes makes them look sexy, but also the most crowded few days in the whole football calender.

Here are some of the best local fixtures over Christmas (although I can't print Oxford fixtures directly as the FA are anal about that sort of thing and you can guarantee some chancer will come across this and moan).

Dec.
Mon 26th : Oxford are at home to Notts County

Tues 27: Abingdon Town v Abingdon Utd(13:00); Rugby v Banbury(15:00); Didcot v Milton(15:00); Oxford City v Broxbourne Borough(15:00); Bicester Town v Prestwood(15:00)

Wed 28th: Oxford travel to Peterborough

Fri 30th: Bicester Town v Eton Wick(19:30); Didcot v Almondsbury(19:45)

Sat 31st: Oxford are at home to Mansfield Town

Jan.
Mon 2nd: Oxford travel to Chester City; Banbury v Kings Lynn(15:00); Abingdon Utd v Didcot(15:00)

Wed 4th: Banbury Res v Bicester Town (19:45)

Joyeux noel tous le monde!!

Girondins Bordeaux

2005-12-21T12:35:00.000Z

The frequent updates of Bordeaux results and news that I put on here may seem strange as there seems to be no reason behind it - I shall explain where this obsession has come from.
Back in May 1999 I went on a Sixth form trip to Lourdes in South West France. Some hours into the excruciatingly long train journey from Calais we shot through a built up area and caught a fleeting glimpse of a football ground with a game going on inside. Later that night our sleeper train passed through Bordeaux St Jean station before coming to a halt for a few hours outside some gas works in the city suberbs. The next day in Lourdes I bought L'equipe and dicovered Bordeaux had won the Championship with a last minute goal the night before, putting 2 and 2 together I came up with 5 and thought that we'd seen Bordeaux's ground just as they won the Championship. I was to find out later that Bordeaux had been playing in Paris that night so I couldn't possibly have seen them but by then I had already vowed to go back and watch a match.
Finally last October I got to watch my first Bordeaux game, although it finished a disappointing 2-2 draw with FC Istres I thoroughly enjoyed it and have since been back to see them on two more occasions. In April me and my mate Richard (www.hoofsandhooves.blogspot.com) went to Paris as an away fan to see Bordeaux draw 1-1 in the capital and Oxford v Chelsea aside, it was the most amazing atmosphere I've ever experianced in football. I also got back to see them play Sochaux at home this Autumn and hope to make the October game a yearly 'Pilgrimage'.

Hopefully the title of this post will bring it up in search engines so fans in Bordeaux itself will see they have a fan base of at least 1 over here and if anyone else drops in I'd like to think you may take an interest in Les Girondins results - even if it's only remembering the name if they get into Europe this year.

LDV Vans

2005-12-20T13:13:00.000Z

Sick of Cheltenham. As if being dumped out of the FA cup by them wasn't enough, we have to play them again tonight in the LDV Vans area quarter finals. Luckily it's away so I don't have to go (couldn't even if I wanted to) but I'll definately be attached to a radio tonight as this competition is pretty much the last thing we've got to look forward to (ensuing relegation battle aside). Talbot will play a strong Oxford side mainly because we're desperate for a win and don't really have a reserve side anyway but may be tempted to give Chris Tardiff a chance in goal. Billy Turley has in recent games been at best all over the place and at worst at fault for pretty much every goal we've conceded so the change is in my opinion long over due. Unfortunately Cheltenham seem to have their eyes on the area semi's as well as they have promised to field an equally strong line up. A pity as to be honest with a near first team squad they should beat us quite convincingly - Oxford are'nt exactly brimming with confidence at the moment due to being... well... bloody rubbish.
Anyway as usual, come on Oxford please try and win this one.

The Shadow of the Wind

2005-12-19T12:16:00.000Z

"La Sombra del Viento "

DO judge a book by it's cover. Wandering around Tesco's one Sunday in search of value noodles this book caught my eye, on reading the back cover and seeing that it carried a decent story and had been recently translated from Spanish (thus cutting the chances of it being ruined by some all-American hero charactor) I decided to give it a go.

The story very basically is that a young lad called Daniel Sempere is taken by his father to a place called 'the cemetary of forgotten books' and told to choose any book and to look after it for the rest of his life. He picks out a story called 'The Shadow of the Wind' by Julian Carax and resolves to find out more about the author. As he gets deeper into the mystery of who Julien Carax is Daniel become entwined in a complex web of secrecy, lies and murder all driven by Julien's disappearence.

The book is so much more than the poor synopsis I've just given and really has to be read to be fully appreciated. Although the plot is essentially predictable once you get into it, the way the author Carlos Ruiz Zafon slowly builds his story is fascinating even if the climax seems slightly rushed. The Charactors themselves are the real sucess of the book though and I dare you not to care deeply about Julian and his lost love Penelope or Daniel and his floundering relationship with his father.

All in all it's a great book with all the gothic romanticism that can only have come out of Europe and if it is made into a film I hope it is kept in Barcelona and made in Spanish. No Los Angeles re-makes starring Bradd Pitt if you please, and 'Bea' would have to be played by Audrey Tatou (can she speak Spanish?). If you Liked 'The Beach' (book not film) but found the Da Vinci code too scientific and not nearly as poetic as such a story should be, then here is the book you've been missing.

If you stumble across this post with a search engine etc then feel free to leave a comment and tell me what you thought of the book.

Girondin Update

2005-12-19T09:50:00.000Z

Bordeaux 0-0 FC Nantes Atlantique

The problem with 'derby' matches is that even when you get a decent result your still disappointed when you don't win. Although this game is labelled the Atlantic Derby, as far as rivalry goes Nantes fall well below PSG and Marseille for Bordeaux fans. It's still one of the bigger matches of the calender however (much bigger than the Toulouse 'Gironde Derby') and both sides will be a little frustated that they couldn't find the net. Once again results elsewhere were mostly kind to Bordeaux with Auxerre losing at home to Nancy and Lyon amazingly being turned over 3-1 on their own turf by Lille leaving Les Girondins sat in second place on Saturday night. RC Lens 2-0 win over Le Mans on Sunday pushed Bordeaux back down to third on goal difference but all in all going into the new year in a Champions League qualification slot after nearly getting relegated last year is a massive leap forward. I do not expect Les Girondins to fininsh the season in such a lofty position but they do seem well on course for a return to Europe in at least the UEFA cup.

Transfer news: Portuguese midfielder Paulo Costa has been loaned out to Crystal Palace. Costa is a talented player who for some reason never really hit it off at Bordeaux, but Palace manager Ian Dowie is keen to help him find his form and fire Palace back into the Premier league.

Darcheville has admitted that he would be keen to go to Rangers. Bordeaux chairman Jean-Louis Triaud has said that although he is not for sale in January he can go for free in the summer as he sees Darcheville as vital to Bordeaux's Champions League qualification hopes. The money Bordeaux would make by playing in the Champions League would dwarf any tranfer fee they would receive from Rangers.

Didn't want to be in the FA cup anyway...

2005-12-14T11:38:00.000Z

Oh well. Oxford 1-2 Cheltenham another home defeat and out of the FA cup to a team in the same division as us. Not an entirely fantastic night. I can't fault the players for effort but I can fault the fact that we seem to have a team of professional footballers who are unable to string together the simple task of passing the ball to each other. I'm not going to bother writing an in depth review because to be honest it won't make very interesting reading, but in short we tried hard but weren't very good and Cheltenham deserved the win. The winning goal came from a free kick that never was but over the 90 minutes the only real shock of the night was that Oxford scored at all. Cheltenham were the only side showing any game plan more advanced than hoof it and hope something happens and at time we looked little more than non-league.
What is so frustrating about last night is that after we scored there was a 10 minute spell where took the game to them and to be honest frightened the sh*t out of Cheltenham. Unfortunately that soon petered out and once they got the second goal we might as well have walked of the pitch.

Although the desire was there, the hard fact is that Oxford are not very good. We have our days like all teams but there's no way we'll finish in the play offs or probably anywhere close. Our inconsistancy has ruined every season since we dropped in this horrible division and it seems it's going to ruin this year as well.

New Blog - Football Ground Guide

2005-12-13T16:33:00.000Z

Basically I love football grounds. I love Old Trafford, I loved the Manor Ground, and I love a field with a couple of goals and a ramshackle terrace. Any football ground at any level gets the old "God I'd love to watch a game there" juices flowing. As an outlet for this slightly sad obsession I have laid the foundations of my own Ground Guide site where I can post a review and in some cases pictures of every ground I've visited.
My real love is for the English non-league game and therefore I will happily include any Southern league, Ryman, Hellenic etc ground that I visit to sit along the pages of league venues. Whilst there is no site on the web that will measure up to Duncan Adam's Internet Football Ground Guide, it's not as much fun to read someone else's reviews as it is to make you own so slowly but surely I shall build my own collection which can be found at:

www.footballgroundguide.blogspot.com

Obviously it's nothing but a title at the moment but I'll get there...

Girondins Update

2005-12-12T15:05:00.000Z

Le Mans 1-0 Bordeaux

Oh dear, I can hardly be bothered to write this. Lets start wth some positives, second placed Auxerre lost in Marseille so Les Girondins lose no ground between them and secon place. The only team below them within real touching distance to record a win was PSG who moved up to sixth four points behind Bordeaux. The other top half teams battled out a series of draws leaving Bordeaux still sat in third place with a three point cushion over RC Lens who earned a good point away at local rivals Lille. Staying third is a positive but it was also a massive get out of jail card, Bordeaux simply cannot continue to play poorly and hope to get away with it. Le Mans are a poor side but as against PSG, Ricardo's men showed they have little attacking prowess. After coming close through Julien Faubert on 13 minutes Bordeaux seemed to be playing well but in the 21st minute Fernando who had hit last weeks winner against Lille got himself sent off and effectivly handed the game to Le Mans. Two minutes before half time Ismaël Bangoura finally broke the deadlock with a goal that ultimately condemned Bordeaux to theit third defeat of the season.

By all accounts Bordeaux offered no fightback during the second half and were eventually lucky to have only lost 1-0. In my opinion this was simply not good enough. Whilst they may have remained third in the league this week there needs to be a big improvement up front if we are to see Les Girondins anywhere near the Champions League places come the end of the season.

Didcot 4-4 Mildenhall (aet)

2005-12-12T11:07:00.000Z

Unlike most, I look forward to when Oxford play away at some far flung place as it it gives me a weekend off to find a local game. The plan had originally been to take a long trip to Kingston-upon-Thames to see the set up at AFC Wimbledon, but Friday's Christmas Party followed by new extended opening hours made travel to London early the next morning pretty much out of the question. Not to be beaten by a self induced state of morning messiness I thought long and hard in my recovery position and remembered that Didcot were playing someone in the FA Vase. Didcot it was then, after a bit more sleep of course...

On arriving in Didcot I was chuffed to find the football ground directly behind the railway museum and there was time enough to buy an over-priced steak pasty before a slow walk over a playing field to the ground. The Loop itself is not as impressive as I had hoped. Basically it's the main stand at Thame with three sides of fencing. In one corner of the ground is a tiny little terrace but it looks silly so I opted for ground level standing. (Footnote: At any level -NEVER sit down at football it's stupid.)

Anyway the game itself was a blinder. Didcot took an early lead and went in at half time 1-0 up and looking in control, but amazingly with 20 minute left they found themselves trailing 1-3. What followed was one of the most enjoyable fightbacks I've witnessed at a live game. With 6 minutes to run Didcot got the second goal that put them back in control of play but a string of missed chances had the majority of the 362 strong crowd thinking it wasn't their day. Finally deep, deep into stoppage time Concannon bundled home the rebound from a Paul Powell shot to take the tie into a period of Extra time that had seemed impossible not 10 minutes before. Amazingly seconds into the restart and Mildenhallhad scored again. 30 minutes of frustration followed as Didcot once again dominated play but couldn't find the back of the net. Just as all was seemingly lost a second dramatic last minute equaliser was struck home by Paul Powell to force the Replay.

Pictures of the game are in the previous post.

Pictures from The Loop.

2005-12-10T19:32:00.000Z

The main stand just after kick off

View of the dugout's

Looking towards the far end of the ground

Close up of the main stand

Mixing it in the wall before a Didcot free kick

Mildenhall players appeal for the goal kick

Looking towards the tiny covered terrace

Blurry action shot late in the second half

The main stand at night. (Notice the smoke from Didcot Power Station in the background)

Girondins Update

2005-12-09T10:03:00.000Z

Laslandes demands loan move

Fans favourite Lillian Laslandes has become frustrated with his role as a substitute and has asked to be loaned out for the second half of the season. Laslandes hopes to use his time on loan to keep himself sharp and match fit as he does does feel being on the Bordeaux bench is helping either himself or the club. He said in an Interview with L'Equipe that when he comes back he hopes to be at the right level to fulfil his last year of his contract with Bordeaux .

Marseille and Strasbourg are known to have been chasing his signiture earlier in the season and now Ajaccio and Nice have expressed an interest. Having played for Nice two seasons ago Laslandes is keen to back to the fiery atmosphere of the Stade du Ray but confessed he sees Ajaccio as a challenge worth looking at. He told L'Equipe "If I am loaned , I am attracted by Ajaccio and Nice. I need to feel emotion, defending a shirt and a town. For example I won't go to Strasbourg, even if it is a good club."

I wish Lillian all the best in his quest for a sutible loan move and look forward to him returning to Bordeaux next season in deadly form.

John Lennon, 25 Years gone.

2005-12-08T16:23:00.000Z

There's no way that today Thursday 8th December could go by without mentioning the 25th
anniversary of the death of John Lennon, in my opinion the greatest songwriter this Island has ever produced. I can honestly say hand on heart, that my whole obssesion with music and every CD I own can in some way be traced back to the Beatles. They have been my favourite band since the age of about 7 and Lennon's songs in particular have had an effect on me and my whole outlook on life more than anything else I can think of.

I rate 1966's 'Revolver' as the greatest British Rock album ever released and Lennon's 'She said she said' and 'Tomorrow never knows' from that album could be two of the most influential songs ever written.

Thankyou John Lennon for being a major influence in my life. As long as your songs are played you'll always live on.

If your bored...

2005-12-07T15:58:00.000Z

Click on this. It's just a silly website with a load of daft tests.

Pretty funny when you get into it - one of those websites to turn to when your bored at work!!

http://www.queendom.com/tests/minitests/index.html

Yes!!! An Away Win!!!

2005-12-07T13:06:00.000Z

Cheltenham Town 1-2 Oxford United

Having suffered a November which yielded no league points and a draw at a conference south club (Eastbourne Borough) December is already looking that little bit better. Cheltenham's Whaddon Road is becoming something of a happy hunting ground for U's fans recently as Saturday's brilliant draw in the FA cup was followed up by a magnificent away win. This was our second consecutive league victory on the Robins turf. Talbot opted to play the same 11 players as started saturday and once again they performed better than prehaps in any other game this season. Eric Sabin and Steve Basham in particular caused Cheltenham no end of problems and ultimately scored the Goals that won the tie.

After only 11 frantic minutes the tie was already at 1-1, with Basham having given Oxford the lead on 9 minutes only for a Bradbury blunder to let Cheltemham equalise less than two minutets later. Both sides were only interested in winning this game and getting the upper hand going into next weeks cup replay and like a real floodlit midweek game no quarter was asked and no quarter was given. Four minutes before the break Oxford re-took the lead slightly against the run of play after Eric Sabin headed in the re-bound from his own shot which had been pushed onto the crossbar by the Cheltenham keeper. Most of the second half was taken up with the home side attacking like madmen desperately tring to preserve their 6 game unbeaten run, but Oxford held firm and despite a few late scares hung on to claim their first league victory since 7th October!!

Well done to the lads but a special mention must go to the 488 Oxford fans who made the trip for the second time in four days. They sung their hearts out for 90 minutes and were richly rewarded with a brilliant result.

Modern Technology

2005-12-06T15:17:00.000Z

Now I'm no Luddite. In fact I'm absolutely fascinated with the digital Camera revolution, it's opened a whole new world of photography to the masses, but unfortunately for me it also involves a bit of computer work. I have tried and tried to get a simple programme installed on the computer which will enable me to download the Cheltenham pictures so I can email them around and post some on here. However after much messing around and finally instaling the software, it insisted that I had no Camera attatched to the USB port when I quite clearly did.

In summing up, I am at this time unable to put my Cheltenham photo's onto the computer which is a pain because I will probably be the only person in the world who is unable to work out how it's done. Without the Pictures I don't want to do a review of the game as I don't want to get bogged down in to reviewing all the Oxford games I go to. That would just be tedious.

Girondins Update

2005-12-06T11:13:00.000Z

Bordeaux 1-0 Lille OSC

Champions league?? Am I having a laugh?? Maybe not. By all accounts Bordeaux played quite poorly and were matched by this season's Champions league's surprise package Lille in every department. Yet once again as has been the case so often this season Les Girondins sneaked home the winner. In many games this year they have looked a much poorer side than their league position would suggest, yet still the results go Bordeaux's way. Surely now almost half way through the season, it's fair to say that Coach Ricardo's defensive style just may earn Bordeaux a place in next season's UEFA Champions League. After needing a result in the final game of last season to stave off relegation, it would be an incredible turn around for this under-acheiving sleeping giant.

The game itself was a tight midfield battle. With Bordeaux strikers Marouane Chamakh and Jean-Claude Darcheville missing and Lille playing for the draw, it seemed like the game could go on for weeks and neither team would take the points. The late introduction of Vladimir Smicer however seemed to swing the game in Bordeaux's favour, as with 10 minutes left on the clock he played a major part in sealing an unlikely win. The Czech Republic midfielder controlled a pass from Julien Faubert, turned on a sixpence then put Fernando Menegazzo through on goal. The Brazilian then obliged by thumping the ball past Tony Sylva and into the back of the Net.

Another good win for Les Bordelais but they are still unconvincing as an attacking force. Next Saturday they are away at mid-table Le Mans where a good result must be achieved.

Oooh a day in the Costswolds...

2005-12-02T13:05:00.000Z

What can be more exciting than an FA cup local derby!! Potentially lots of things, but tomorrow the U's travel across the Costswolds to Cheltenham with a place in the 3rd round at stake. Our hosts have bestowed a mighty privilege on us oxford fans, we will become the first bums to grace the seats of the re-built Whaddon road end. Much as i love terracing this was a rubbish one, with no view of the game, large open spaces where no one could stand, and no roof. I won't be sorry to see it go. You just couldn't create any sort of atmosphere on no it matter how hard you tried as it was far too disjointed to get everyone singing at the same time.

Anyway, Cheltenham v Oxford blah blah blah, there's an excellent preview on both clubs official websites so I'm not going to waste the time repeating the same facts. What is good news though is that the digital camera will debut here (along side the new seats) so I have a chance to spend 90 minutes p*ssing about with technology rather than watching the game. Hopefully I'll be able to get some good shots as we are in the corner of the stand.

Girondins Update

2005-11-28T11:30:00.000Z

St Etienne 1-1 Bordeaux

After going 1-0 down after only a minute (are you Oxford in disguise...) Bordeaux fought hard to claim what was an excellent point away from home. I was certain Les Girondins would be on the end of a good drubbing - something in the regions of 3-1, so I was pleased to see they still have the fight in them that was so strangely lacking against PSG. Without dwelling on the PSG debacle, which is still annoying me a week on, it was vital Bordeaux could get something from St Ettienne as the team needed to prove to themselves and the fans that last week was just a blip. A point away from home has restored some confidence.

It took an hour for the away side to register a clear effort on goal, but after sustained pressure Julian Faubert drew the two sides level 15 minutes from time, drilling in a shot from the edge of the area ofter St Etienne had failed to clear the ball. Bordeaux still had to survive a last minute scare after Rame dropped the ball but luckily Jurietti was on hand to head of the line. Darcheville then got himself sent off in injury time for a nasty tackle but Bordeaux held out for a very good point.

Footnote: The home fans behind the goal put on an excellent tifo display celebrating the amite between St Etienne's 'Magic fans 91' and the 'Ultramarines' of Bordeaux. The two supporters groupes have a long standing unity and when the two meet will wave each others scarfs and display banners showing both badges together.

Mystery 'Celeb' switches on Bicester's Christmas Lights

2005-11-25T10:15:00.000Z

Who is this 'Mystery celeb' going to be?? That was the question on everyone's lips as we stood out in the Arctic conditions waiting (im)patiently for Bicester's slightly ropey Christmas lights to be switched on. (Footnote: A big thankyou to Banbury and Aylesbury for letting us have your old decorations again. They may be old and have seen better day's, but hey! They'll do for Bicester, it's a shit-hole at the best of times.)
Anyway after much awfulness in the shape of the Bicester Community College band (a bunch of scared kids who couln't play their instruments, and some teachers who couldn't resist playing showing off), we were introduced to our 'Mystery Celeb'. Hooray!!

Who will it be?? Local Millionaires Eddie Jordan or Richard Branson? New F1 Champion and Oxford resident Fernando Alonso? Even a basic local news reader like Wesley Smith (Legend) or his on-screen partner, the (in my opinion) lovely Hannah Stewart-Jones would be a good coup for the town. Sadly it wasn't to be. Switching on Bicester's Christmas lights this year was none other than..... a Del-Boy look-a-like. Hmmm. Not quite what the expectant public had been waiting for, and not technically a 'celeb' either but it'll do.
We were treated to a decent firework display after though, to which I have to give credit where credit's due, but as by this time my eyeballs were starting to freeze I was glad to be going home.

New licensing Laws!!

2005-11-24T15:15:00.000Z

This is a wierd one, is it good or bad? Not sure.
The Hobgoblin in Bicester has decided to open until midnight Monday to Thursday and until 1 o'clock Friday and Saturday. In theory this is good as we all moan that the Hob is far to strict on closing time but in a way you knew where you stood. Now you'll still go out at the same time but if the night's going well you'll end up there till the early hours, before you knew you'd be sent packing dead on 11. It'll get a bit of getting used to but in a place like the hob it's a good move as it's a friendly crowd who would enjoy the chance of a few extra beers before going home. As for the rest of town, I'm sure people only went to the Littern Tree because it was open late - now they can stay in their pub of choice till late, I can't imagine it being quite as popular. I don't think the Littern tree 'carnage' everyone's expecting will be as bad as is feared.

We shall see...

The LDV Vans Trophy (Also known as something to do on a boring Wednesday)

2005-11-24T11:30:00.000Z

Oxford 1-0 Orient

Stop Press!!! Oxford win two consecutive home cup ties!! At this rate we might get confused for a good team... well maybe not, but thing are definately looking up. Considering Oxford have never won an LDV vans tie at the Kassam stadium an attendance of 1,521 was pretty good, and all but 149 of them went home satisfied with a comprehensive win. Ok, Ok so it was against Orient's reserve's, but a win is a win whatever way you look at it. Lee Steele, although returning from injury, is a classy player and Sabin's goal was scored passed Orient's first choice keeper who had been brought on after Glen Morris broke his thumb trying to punch the ball away.
Basically last night was one of those games that when all's said and done didn't really matter, but Oxford went out there with a great attitude, worked hard for each other and got the result they deserved - a performance which was fully appreciated by the fans. Had Basham slotted home an early open goal it might have more, but regardless of the final score Oxford did more than enough to earn their place in the next round.

Bordeaux 0-2 Paris St Germain

2005-11-22T23:00:00.000Z

Paris St Germain. Only Marseille are disliked more than the Capital club, and in recent years the locals have enjoyed an amazing record of sending PSG scurrying back up north with their tails betwen their legs. The visitors hadn't won a match at Parc Lescure since 1988, in fact they hadn't even managed to register a goal for six years!! On Sunday night however that proud record came crashing down as Bordeaux surrendered limply to a PSG side that dominated the whole 90 minutes.
Bordeaux boss Ricardo dropped the under performing Denilson and it was soon clear that although he prehaps hasn't been quite the revelation some hoped, without him and Cheyrou, bordeaux lack any creativity going forward. On sunday night they were predictable and quite frankly a dull side to watch. As usual Les Girondins worked well as a defensive unit but the game could have lasted a week and Laslandes, Darcheville and Chamakh wouldn't have carved out a decent chance between them. The Parisians opted to play former Bordeaux favourite Pauleta as a lone striker in a 4-5-1 formation employed to snuff out any attack by the home side and then hit them on the break. Ultimately it was PSG's containing game that left Bordeaux completely unable to force any sustained pressure.
PSG soon began to impose themselves on the match and with 15 minutes gone created the first real goal scoring opportunity when Vikash Dhorasoo skipped passed Rio Mavuba and played in Pauleta. Bordeaux full-back Afanou was able to hassle the Portuguese striker out wide and his eventual shot was well saved by Ulrich Rame. On 35 minutes Mario Yepes finally put PSG in to lead with a lovely header after Bordeaux had failed to clear a free kick. Although Yepes was level with his man, Pauleta was at least 10 yards off side and right in front of Rame, as he did not touch the ball however the officials decided he was not interfering with play and the goal stood.
After the break Bordeaux looked to be taking a more positive approach to the game but with the half only five minutes old the Dhorasoo/Pauleta combination struck again to seal the win. The midfielder laid off an inch perfect ball to Pauleta who left Afanou for dead before curling a beautifully placed shot low to Rame's left. It was Pauleta's 8th goal of the campaign, a stat which must surely highlight the fact to Ricardo that Bordeaux need a goal scorer or they will face yet another season of disappointment.
After the second goal, the remaining 40 minutes of the half were played out with little or no incident. Bordeaux looked a beaten side from the moment the ball hit the back of the net and PSG were able to just do the minimum to contain them. Even the introduction of Denilson with ten minutes to go, did little to spark a well beaten team back into life.

All is not lost for Bordeaux. This was after all only their second defeat of the campaign and the first since week three back in August, but the comprehensive style of the Parisian's victory and the fact that they were so easily brushed aside in front of their own crowd will surely raise serious doubts. Whether Bordeaux have the metal to finish in the European spot the supporters and directors demand is a question that they will have to provide a better answer to next week when they travel to St Etienne.

Game of the Week: Banbury v Yate

2005-11-21T14:20:00.000Z

Zzzzzz.... Sorry but I fell asleep thinking about it. Basically this was a dull match that didn't do justice to how far Banbury have come this year. Couple that with Oxford ( my main footballing passion) get beating yet again at Carlisle and you'll see football wise I've had better Weekends.

To be fair the game finished 1-1 with Banbury equalising through a well worked own goal (Sounds daft but I don't know how else to put it...) in the 76th minute. The game probably wasn't as bad as I've made out but considering it was the coldest day in the world ever, I was hoping for a little more entertainment to balance out the fact that my eyelid were frozen together by the freezing fog. I have seen some really good exciting football at Banbury this year so I'll take this saturday as a blip in form, for a club of their size and budget to be 4th in the southern Premier at this stage of the season is a real acheivment. They are at home to Bicester Town tomorrow in the Buckingham Charity cup and considering Bicester used to be their main local rivals in the Hellenic league shows how far Banbury have come. This once eagerly awaited derby fixture now will probably see a reserve side played and less than 100 people watching.

Girondin's Update

2005-11-18T21:20:00.000Z

This is the first of what I hope to be a regular feature, I aim to provide Up to date English language coverage of the latest news from my second team FC Girondins Bordeaux. Unlike Marseille (t'encules!!) and PSG, Bordeaux don't seem to have any coverage outside of France which is a great shame as they are a team with a big History and a great stadium which is worth a visit.

Following the 1-0 win in Nice a fortnight ago, Bordeaux have extended the gap between them and third placed St Etienne to five points, however news that Bruno Cheyrou's ankle strain will see him sidelined for a three more weeks is a serious blow. Les Girondins have been superb in defence winning most matches by a single goal but they are struggling to score enough goals to finish teams off. With Cheyrou's creative attacking play missing they could struggle to find the goals to see them through the upcopming games against PSG, St Etienne and Lille unscathed.

On the plus side Bordeaux has offered a trial to Guinean midfielder Abdul Sylla. Sylla has Previously played in Turkey for Diyarbakirspor and with Belgian side Lokeren and has been given until sunday to prove his worth to the club.

Welcome

2005-11-15T21:20:00.000Z

Welcome to Ant's Ramblings. This post is just to get things started, but hopefully given time this should grow into a decent Blog.

I hope to keep a review of Football matches that I go to, and hopefully post photo's once I check the legal side.

Also various review, news, and nonsense may well appear here, buts thats the beauty of a personal Blog!!