Never realised until it was pointed out the other day that our final game of the season will be exactly a year on from our first pre-season friendly just a few miles down the road from Wembley.
@LeedsBlue said:
Never realised until it was pointed out the other day that our final game of the season will be exactly a year on from our first pre-season friendly just a few miles down the road from Wembley.
Not any old “year in the life”...
Yep, just 4miles away apparently.
This is one of those things that we could say is "fate", or just an incredible coincidence!
We have good experience in the team from playoff finals.
Bayo, Charles and Grimmer have won in them. Not sure if any others? @chairboyscentral is often the man with the stats.
@LeedsBlue said:
Never realised until it was pointed out the other day that our final game of the season will be exactly a year on from our first pre-season friendly just a few miles down the road from Wembley.
Not any old “year in the life”...
Yep, just 4miles away apparently.
This is one of those things that we could say is "fate", or just an incredible coincidence!
We have good experience in the team from playoff finals.
Bayo, Charles and Grimmer have won in them. Not sure if any others? @chairboyscentral is often the man with the stats.
Charles has won 2/2 and even played up front in his first - for Stevenage, set up John Mousinho for the only goal.
Parker, not that he'll feature, won it last year. If you want to count CMS then he won (and scored in all three games) for Posh. And Fred played a few minutes off the bench when Millwall won the L1 final in 2017.
So how many of our likely starting eleven have appeared in a Wembley playoff final?
And has Karl Robinson been there as many times (or more even) than GA?
@micra 7 (Grimmer, Charles, JJ, Blooms, Wheeler, Bayo, Fred - albeit briefly in Fred's case)
I don't think KR has ever been to one. Haven't looked at play-off histories of their players, but this is the first time Oxford have been in the Football League play-offs.
@chairboyscentral said: @micra 7 (Grimmer, Charles, JJ, Blooms, Wheeler, Bayo, Fred - albeit briefly in Fred's case)
I don't think KR has ever been to one. Haven't looked at play-off histories of their players, but this is the first time Oxford have been in the Football League play-offs.
Good work.
I suppose not superb experience for JJ and Bloomfield, the infamous "Kick it out" gate for Bloomers that some of our fans dwelt on, and missing a pen too.
But they'll know how much losing one hurts.
@chairboyscentral said: @micra 7 (Grimmer, Charles, JJ, Blooms, Wheeler, Bayo, Fred - albeit briefly in Fred's case)
I don't think KR has ever been to one. Haven't looked at play-off histories of their players, but this is the first time Oxford have been in the Football League play-offs.
Good work.
I suppose not superb experience for JJ and Bloomfield, the infamous "Kick it out" gate for Bloomers that some of our fans dwelt on, and missing a pen too.
But they'll know how much losing one hurts.
JJ helped Bristol Rovers to the final - which they won - but his loan ran out before it.
Talking about Wembley experience specifically though, Oxford still have a few of the squad who lost back to back JPT finals in 2016 and 2017 hanging around.
I have a feeling past playoff experiences are going to be about as good of an indicator as the history of 1-0 and 1-1 results was for the 6-3 aggregate win over Fleetwood!
I won't let myself think about the final. I was with a client yesterday who was a QPR fan. I listed to him ramble on about them. His view on their current players, who he would to bring on for next season etc etc.... Not once did I mention Wycombe or the final. Im not normally superstitious, but I feel like any excitement or hope I show for us reaching the championship is going to jinx it somehow ?
@eric_plant I'm starting to think about the play-off final now. You know, the one to get to The Championship.
I was getting nervous about the stakes and the way that Oxford play - not giving us the ball and all that. And then I thought about the way we blitzed Fleetwood in the first leg of the semi, by cleverly just scoring every time we got possession, and how @kiscokid used to bang on about Rock 'n' Roll Football when Ainsworth first took charge.
I also thought how much I'd noticed all of the other 3 teams in the semis giving each other stick when the game was turning against them, whereas we just didn't see that from Wanderers, even when Fleetwood were threatening to get back into the tie, and haven't seen it all season.
And lastly, just about the blend of players we've got this season: diverse in ages, beliefs, races, backgrounds and histories. Not, on the face of it, as good man-for-man as half of the division, yet so much more than the sum of their parts and so decent with it.
Anyway, now I feel better. I'm pretty relaxed about the prospect of us just doing what we're good at again, playing some Rock 'n' Roll football, sticking together and giving it our best. And who knows? Maybe we'll win.
COME ON YOU WONDERFUL IMPROBABLE RAGBAG BLUES!!!!!!!
It’s great to think that defeat by such a massive club at their massive stadium by a relatively small margin can be described as ‘humiliating’ @Lloyd2084 !
I see our old friend Alan Swann of the McAnthony Evening Telegraph has been at it again: ‘The standard of the Oxford/Portsmouth matches was pitiful, while Fleetwood must be kicking themselves at their implosion in their first leg against Wycombe.
The Posh of March 7 would have wiped the floor with all four semi-finalists, but they were denied the opportunity by the most unforgivable piece of rule-bending in my football experience.’
PNL fans seem to forget their long history in Non League before 1963.
Wanderers were getting national acclaim in 1931 in winning the Amateur cup, Headington were in the Oxford senior league. In the 50's when we were having glorious runs in the Amateur cup, winning leagues and getting to Wembley in front of 90,000, They were not even thet major team in Oxford !!
A change of name, a cash injection and a few good seasons in the Southern league saw them elected to the Football league.
As established senior clubs go, ours far outweighs the combined efforts of Headington and Oxford United.
But for there constant crowing of their brief success in the mid 80's, where thanks to the odious crook Maxwell, stealing from his own workers pension fund, they were able to attract players like Houghton and Aldridge.
They are a club, I despise more than any other, mainly due to coming into regular contact with their deluded fans.
Tomorrow we are waving the flag, for all clubs from towns and cities, that began in Amateur football, and have proceeded to do things the right way.
Tomorrow will be our day !!
@ChasHarps said:
Tottenham,Yeovil, Burton,Wimbledon,PNL and probably some more.
Ah right, more than I thought. I had a little look at the list of Amateur Cup winners and Middlesbrough and Barnet were in there. I know very little about that part of our history, but I think we'd be part of a relatively select group if we were to pull it off tomorrow!
Comments
Never realised until it was pointed out the other day that our final game of the season will be exactly a year on from our first pre-season friendly just a few miles down the road from Wembley.
Not any old “year in the life”...
Yep, just 4miles away apparently.
This is one of those things that we could say is "fate", or just an incredible coincidence!
We have good experience in the team from playoff finals.
Bayo, Charles and Grimmer have won in them. Not sure if any others?
@chairboyscentral is often the man with the stats.
Charles has won 2/2 and even played up front in his first - for Stevenage, set up John Mousinho for the only goal.
Parker, not that he'll feature, won it last year. If you want to count CMS then he won (and scored in all three games) for Posh. And Fred played a few minutes off the bench when Millwall won the L1 final in 2017.
What about Bayo?
Lost two finals, won one.
So how many of our likely starting eleven have appeared in a Wembley playoff final?
And has Karl Robinson been there as many times (or more even) than GA?
@micra 7 (Grimmer, Charles, JJ, Blooms, Wheeler, Bayo, Fred - albeit briefly in Fred's case)
I don't think KR has ever been to one. Haven't looked at play-off histories of their players, but this is the first time Oxford have been in the Football League play-offs.
Thanks @chairboyscentral. Like to think that will stand us in good stead.
@micra I think all experience is good experience for games like this. There's a bit on it in the programme as well.
Time I read it properly instead of just leafing through looking for the best bits!
I've still not opened my programme...think it's going to have to wait now until after the final!
Shame there isn't a programme for the final. Surprised the Wembley/FA lot haven't produced one, presumably they don't see the cash in it.
Good work.
I suppose not superb experience for JJ and Bloomfield, the infamous "Kick it out" gate for Bloomers that some of our fans dwelt on, and missing a pen too.
But they'll know how much losing one hurts.
I’m just crapping myself in anticipation of a humiliating defeat.
JJ helped Bristol Rovers to the final - which they won - but his loan ran out before it.
Talking about Wembley experience specifically though, Oxford still have a few of the squad who lost back to back JPT finals in 2016 and 2017 hanging around.
I have a feeling past playoff experiences are going to be about as good of an indicator as the history of 1-0 and 1-1 results was for the 6-3 aggregate win over Fleetwood!
I won't let myself think about the final. I was with a client yesterday who was a QPR fan. I listed to him ramble on about them. His view on their current players, who he would to bring on for next season etc etc.... Not once did I mention Wycombe or the final. Im not normally superstitious, but I feel like any excitement or hope I show for us reaching the championship is going to jinx it somehow ?
@eric_plant I'm starting to think about the play-off final now. You know, the one to get to The Championship.
I was getting nervous about the stakes and the way that Oxford play - not giving us the ball and all that. And then I thought about the way we blitzed Fleetwood in the first leg of the semi, by cleverly just scoring every time we got possession, and how @kiscokid used to bang on about Rock 'n' Roll Football when Ainsworth first took charge.
I also thought how much I'd noticed all of the other 3 teams in the semis giving each other stick when the game was turning against them, whereas we just didn't see that from Wanderers, even when Fleetwood were threatening to get back into the tie, and haven't seen it all season.
And lastly, just about the blend of players we've got this season: diverse in ages, beliefs, races, backgrounds and histories. Not, on the face of it, as good man-for-man as half of the division, yet so much more than the sum of their parts and so decent with it.
Anyway, now I feel better. I'm pretty relaxed about the prospect of us just doing what we're good at again, playing some Rock 'n' Roll football, sticking together and giving it our best. And who knows? Maybe we'll win.
COME ON YOU WONDERFUL IMPROBABLE RAGBAG BLUES!!!!!!!
Hear hear to all of that @our_frank !
Recommend you read @our_frank’s post just above. Wycombe don’t do humiliating defeats. When was the last one?
Sunderland, but it’s the exception that proves your rule!
It’s great to think that defeat by such a massive club at their massive stadium by a relatively small margin can be described as ‘humiliating’ @Lloyd2084 !
Very interesting piece from an Oxford POV on whether it's a derby or not: https://oxblogger.co.uk/2020/07/12/lockdown-wrap-is-it-time-to-accept-the-wycombe-rivalry
I see our old friend Alan Swann of the McAnthony Evening Telegraph has been at it again: ‘The standard of the Oxford/Portsmouth matches was pitiful, while Fleetwood must be kicking themselves at their implosion in their first leg against Wycombe.
The Posh of March 7 would have wiped the floor with all four semi-finalists, but they were denied the opportunity by the most unforgivable piece of rule-bending in my football experience.’
PNL fans seem to forget their long history in Non League before 1963.
Wanderers were getting national acclaim in 1931 in winning the Amateur cup, Headington were in the Oxford senior league. In the 50's when we were having glorious runs in the Amateur cup, winning leagues and getting to Wembley in front of 90,000, They were not even thet major team in Oxford !!
A change of name, a cash injection and a few good seasons in the Southern league saw them elected to the Football league.
As established senior clubs go, ours far outweighs the combined efforts of Headington and Oxford United.
But for there constant crowing of their brief success in the mid 80's, where thanks to the odious crook Maxwell, stealing from his own workers pension fund, they were able to attract players like Houghton and Aldridge.
They are a club, I despise more than any other, mainly due to coming into regular contact with their deluded fans.
Tomorrow we are waving the flag, for all clubs from towns and cities, that began in Amateur football, and have proceeded to do things the right way.
Tomorrow will be our day !!
How many former amateur clubs have played in the second tier?
Tottenham,Yeovil, Burton,Wimbledon,PNL and probably some more.
Ah right, more than I thought. I had a little look at the list of Amateur Cup winners and Middlesbrough and Barnet were in there. I know very little about that part of our history, but I think we'd be part of a relatively select group if we were to pull it off tomorrow!
Peterborough finished the season with 59 points from 35 games
Wycombe finished the season with 59 points from only 34 games
That's it really - dead simple