Oxford United 1-0 Chester (15/11/80)
My
first experience of live football was courtesy of my Uncle who,
appreciating my early football mad leanings, for an early birthday
present asked me to pick a game from the fixture list nearest my 11th
birthday in spring 1977. This being pre-Internet I looked through my
dog-eared copy of the Rothmans year book (an essential purchase in
those days) and for some inexplicable reason I chose West Ham v
Manchester City at Upton Park! Whether it was my wish to see Billy
Bonds, Colin Bell or Trevor Brooking escapes me but I do remember
nothing before or after can compare to the excitement I felt in
anticipation of my first ever trip to both London & a “big”
game. The joy of the age that we now live in has enabled me with a
few clicks of a mouse to ascertain that the date of this monumental
event was 12th March 1977 and resulted in a 1-0 win for
the Hammers
Until
I was old enough to start going regularly to my local club with mates
my own age my annual trip to a live match saw us watch Nottingham
Forest in the year they came up and won the 1st Division
(v Leeds) in 1978, as well as a night game in North London with
Arsenal v Spurs at Highbury from which I can vaguely remember Liam
Brady being a different class to anything I had ever seen before.
At
the age of 14 though and at the start of year 3 of secondary school
I started regularly going to the Manor without adult supervision! My
first recollection of being aware of Oxford Utd was a couple of years
earlier in October 1978 when aged 12 Oxford were drawn at home to
Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest in the 3rd round of the
League Cup. I can remember the build up to the game at school and how
some of the older kids were talking up Oxford’s chance of actually
beating the current 1st Division Champions. In the event
Oxford got beat 0-5 however I see that the crowd that barmy October
evening was 14,287. I wonder how many of those in attendance that
night came in to the Abbey school the next day and bragged of chasing
Forest fans round the streets of Headington!
My
first visit to the Manor was 6 weeks before Christmas 1980 and little
would I know that due to unbelievable good timing that after being
bitten by the bug I’d have the privilege to watch some of the best
football I would ever see and be witness to the most successful
period in my club's life. Memories of this particular Saturday winter
afternoon are non-existent but I can remember catching the bus to
Gloucester Green and then walking from town up Headington Hill with a
mixture of excitement, anticipation and fear. My mate Nicky, you
see, although the same age was a veteran of the London Road and the
experience of going to football in the late 70’s & early 80’s
was a totally different experience to today!
The
history books (or rather the excellent search facility on the Rage
Online website) show the result as being a 1-0 win to Oxford with
2,526 in attendance. It’s fair to say a golden season in the club’s
history this was not! I wish I could remember Joe Cooke’s winning
goal. It could have been a 35 yard screamer, a bullet header or a 2
yard scuffler, maybe only Joe himself can remember! The hazy memories
I do have of that game include walking up to the London Road entrance
for the 1st time, the banter between Roy Burton and the
London Road regulars and the London Road singing a fairly amusing
song with the words “boots into Asprey’s head” to the tune of
“Oops upside your head”, a popular number at school discos at the
time.
Bill
Asprey would only last 5 more weeks and 5 days before Christmas 1980
he would be sacked. Looking back through my programme collection from
the early 80’s I can see that, although I missed the next couple of
games, soon after I did start going regularly, attending both the
Colchester and Sheffield Utd matches in early 1981. Ian Greaves
replaced Bill Asprey but within 12 months he too would be gone and a
certain Jim Smith would be appointed.
Before
long my teenage self would witness first hand the transformation of
this average 3rd Division side into one of the best sides
in the country, albeit from the relative safety of the Beech Road.
The 1980/81 season already saw a 23-year-old Malcolm Shotton playing
alongside a 21-year-old Gary Briggs in the centre of defence and a
18-year-old Kevin Brock learning his trade in midfield. It was though
another 18-year-old who really captured my imagination & made me
want to spend my hard earned pocket money on visiting the Manor. One
Andy Thomas. For those who never witnessed him playing in an Oxford
shirt, you really did miss out. On his day, he was one of the best
players to grace that famous sloping pitch.
If
there is one thing I would do if I ever stumble across Michael J
Fox's DeLorean it would be to set the dial for April 1986 and have a
quiet word with Maurice Evans when we were 3-0 up at Wembley and say “come on Maurice, give Thomo 10 minutes!”
Now
where did I put that Manor Memories DVD?
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