THE GAFFER

Ross Jenkins

Evening everyone and welcome to our first game under the lights this season here at the MGroup Stadium. I’d like to thank MGroup for sponsoring tonight’s game and for their continued backing and support. It’s a good partnership and I hope to be able to enjoy a celebratory drink with them if we can get back to winning ways tonight.

As you know, I’m not one to make excuses after a defeat. We started very strongly against Radcliffe on Saturday, scored a good goal through George Burroughs but then for some reason we sat back and let the away team dictate things too much. They scored right on half time which gave them a little bit of momentum after the break but the game really hinged on one moment where Byron Wilson threw himself to block a shot and the referee saw it as hitting his arm, rather than his shoulder.

Most of you saw it live and will have your view on it so I’m not going to say too much about that decision, but that split second led to a red card, a penalty, a goal and then us being a man light for the rest of the game. After Alfie’s red card in the previous game we battled really hard for an hour but on Saturday Radcliffe used that extra man very well and were ruthless.

I genuinely don’t think the league table reflects our performances this season but we now need to show a reaction. Alfie is suspended and we are still without Jack Bearne who will be out for a few more weeks as a consequence of a challenge that WAS a red card but we have brought in Aaron Lacey from Oxford United, a young defender who is very well regarded over at the Kassam and who will strengthen us at an important time.

We’d like to add a couple more new faces and are working on that but the players who are already here deserve massive credit for their attitude and hard work so far. We haven’t had much luck, results have gone against us, sometimes for reasons beyond our control, but I know we have the talent and character to turn that around at this early stage in the season.

You can help with that. It won’t be a massive crowd tonight but we need everyone to stay positive, get behind us, and let’s all play a part in getting three points on the board.

Enjoy the game,

 

 ROSS

It was like one of those Magic Eye pictures from 2005. I was standing in the new Velocity Hospitality suite chatting to a lively group of Men In Smart Casual. All in their mid to late 40s, this was a reunion and I slowly recognised that these must have been a football team at some stage. Then I noticed that one was Mark Druce. Ah, he’s next to Paul Evans, son of Maurice. Oh, and that’s Jon Muttock…

 This was the Oxford United youth team of the late 80s. The Lost Generation. These were the best local young footballers in the area and they were at the Manor Ground during the club’s greatest ever era. How exciting. But at the same time their path to the first team was made far more difficult, as Jon told me as we chatted.

 
“It was an unbelievable experience but to get into that Oxford United team I had to get ahead of Andy Melville, Tommy Caton and Ceri Evans who were all international players. All three were brilliant with me, really top men, and don’t forget you had people like Micky Lewis around as well, so it was brilliant but it was frustrating in equal measures.

 

“We’re here today (against Radcliffe) as an Oxford United reunion but I love coming back here because it’s a great club and what they have done is amazing plus they make everyone so welcome here whether you played for the club or not.

 

“I did two years as an apprentice at United then got a pro deal and that became a second year so I was playing in what’s now the Championship at 17. Brian Horton was the Manager who gave me that chance. I made my debut against Wolves who had Steve Bull up front who played for England!

"I was sub two more times and then the season ended and I moved on and I came to City. I do look back and think I could have done more as a young pro but things happen for a reason and I moved on and ended up with the opportunity of playing at Wembley with City.

 

“Playing for United was great but the best day of my footballing career was playing for City at Wembley.

 

“ I came here and played regularly and we got on an amazing run that ended up with the FA Vase Final at Wembley in 1995. I think any young player would have dreamed of playing there. It’s amazing to have played there and I still tell everyone I meet about it! But when you’re playing you  don’t realise how lucky you are.

 

“We were lucky in some of the earlier rounds but we deserved our chance. I can say I played there but losing the game maybe took five or ten percent off the memories. We had the England changing room,  we had the whole experience so it was a great day for the whole club and maybe that’s why I still have such a connection here.

 

“Looking at how it is progressing here, with the new building  and all the other things the club is doing it’s really impressive and I look forward to coming back many times and seeing that growth continue to happen.”