12/10/07 - Kicked in the Teeth

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official views of the trust.

This is probably totally the wrong time to be writing this as it's only a few short hours since the Torquay debacle (a word I seem to be using a lot these days) but I'm finding it harder and harder to write about OUFC these days so I though I better get something down whilst I can at least summon up the motivation to be angry about it!

Having said that, I'm not entirely sure where to start! Recent results have been woeful. I cannot even be bothered to discuss York or Droylsden because those results speak for themselves. However, yesterday's game was really the last straw. No team at any level should throw away a three goal lead, not that I was at all surprised mind. The first half performance was good but not as great as some would have you believe. As far as I remember, their 'keeper did not make a save all game. The only time he touched the ball was to pick it out of his net three times. Looking on positive side, this does at least mean that maybe we've at last become 'clinical' in our finishing but, more likely, those three shots were a lucky break for a change.

At half time I turned to my mate and said, in all seriousness, "we might just about sneak a draw now". What is it about this football club that makes us think like that?! How many other clubs spark such negativity amongst their supporters that even a 3-0 lead is not considered anywhere near safe?! There is something rotten at this club, it's rotten to the core and it has been for some time. Maybe, when Kassam left, we expected too much from Merry and Jim to turn it round in such a short space of time. How long is reasonable to wait for a turnaround to happen? Well, the way things are going (bad to worse), I think now is about the right time to demand change. The club seems to be being run into a financial minefield and we can all see what is happening on the pitch. If Jim refuses to step down (or up) and Merry/Leneghan haven’t got the brass to 'push' him then someone needs to put him in a dark room and ask him to explain how he thinks his formation/selection/tactics/substitutions are actually working. When he takes his rose-tinted specs off he might see the cold light of day and change his ways. However, after last night's comments I doubt that will ever happen. For instance, he doesn't think we're in a bad position and that we would only be so "If we're bottom of the league and six points adrift." I'll look forward to that in the New Year then! The fact is that maybe 13th is not a bad position for some clubs but it is for us. No, this is not some 'we're a big club and have a divine right to be top' argument but it is simply a factual statement that with our resources, facilities etc, which are far superior to pretty much every club in this division, then there is no excuse to lose games even if these other teams raise their games that magical 10%. The management and players here are in a wonderful position (for our level) and that should be drilled home when they visit places like Droylsden and that fact alone should have them working properly. If they cannot do it then they should go.

The other pearl of wisdom which really cuts deep was that Jim thought you could "argue it was tremendous entertainment". My god, if I turned up to watch Oxford for entertainment I doubt I would have been for the last eleven years or so. I turn up because I love OUFC and want to see them win, be it ugly, pretty or downright fortunate I do not care! That is why I was never one of those calling for Atkins' head when we were top of the table. I do not need to see five goals, I want three points. 1-0 to the Oxford Boys, thank you very much.

Frankly, I do not know where we go from here but something has to change and it has to change quickly. Confidence will be totally gone after last night, if it wasn't already, and three points at Farsley seems a very tall order. How sad I feel to say that.