With
Christmas just a month away now the time for giving is upon us (and
by that I'm not referring to the way our defence gifted Crawley four
goals on Saturday), which means one thing: the Christmas shopping
season has begun. Christmas offers football clubs and merchandisers
plenty of opportunity to offload their tat on unsuspecting football
fans, so expect to see all manner of club-branded nonsense in stores
over the coming weeks. So, for the benefit of those of you lucky
enough to be buying for an avid Oxford fan, we thought we'd make
things easier for you by producing this simple guide of essential
OUFC purchases this Christmas, from the sublime
to the ridiculous.
What
better way to celebrate the third anniversary of Chris Wilder's
appointment than by wearing your brand new Lord Wilder t-shirt from
Cult Zeros
this Boxing Day? Okay, so you might get a little chilly standing on
the Kingsmeadow terrace in just a t-shirt, but what's a little
frostbite when you look this good? If Wilder's not quite your cup of
tea, there are plenty of other options, such as Beano,
Clarkey,
or how about a snazzy Darren
Patterson shirt....maybe not.
12th
Man Badge
Probably
the ultimate sign of support, the 12th Man badge is an
absolute must-have for all Oxford fans. The badges (modelled here by
Robbie Hall) can be bought most matchdays at the Kassam (unless
they've sold out by now) for £2, with all proceeds going to the 12th
Man Fund. Now there's a good cause!
It's
hard to believe now, with the club not far removed from a spell in
the Conference, but Oxford United were once a buoyant First Division
club who had known pretty much nothing but success. Released to
coincide with our promotion to the top flight in 1985 – and with a
foreword from Robert Maxwell – the book documents the club's rise
to the top in glorious colour, and serves as a handy bit of
propaganda for Maxwell. If nothing else, it's a nice piece of
nostalgia.
On
a side note, nostalgia seems to be a popular theme for gift ideas –
such as the strangely luminescent 1986
replica shirts that are currently available from the club shop.
Last
year the club debuted a rather unusual piece of merchandise: the
Oxford United gnome. It must have been popular because this Christmas
there are two new members of the OUFC gnome family. As well as the
celebrating gnome pictured above, the club has also released the
bizarre relaxing
gnome – whatever next?! These are too good for the garden,
surely?
This
has to be an essential item for the visit of our friends from the
wrong end of the A420 in March. We might as well make the most of the
bragging rights while we still have them! Dopper
Designs is an independent webshop selling unofficial OUFC
t-shirts with some great designs that you're unlikely to see
appearing in the club shop any time soon. If gloating or
Swindon-bashing isn't your thing, then perhaps a more
patriotic design would suit you, ahead of this summer's Euro 2012
campaign. Profits from sales are apparently donated to the 12th
Man Fund as well.
Martin
Brodetsky's latest book is an encyclopedic work, documenting the
lives of current and former Oxford players, managers and even
chairmen. If his previous books are anything to go by it's sure to be
compelling reading and I know I'm looking forward to unwrapping my
copy on Christmas Day.
__________________________
And
that completes our guide, though we should give an honourable mention
to two of the most bizarre bits of merchandise I've ever seen:
An
Oxford United 'flat
cap/Jockey hat' that appears to have been made out of a flannel.
And
this
jigsaw puzzle, possibly the most pointless thing ever created,
featuring a random picture taken from a match against Southend
several years ago. Quite why anyone would waste their time assembling
such a thing is beyond me, but for just £15.32 you could be wasting
your time with it!
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