General Best and Worst XIs

[Jonny G]

I am sure you're right, but I would like to think that 'Kempo' would have signed them both had he been given the chance.
They were his type of players. Slow. Overweight. Totally disinterested.
They were the beating heart of the back four that let in (I think) 100+ goals in L1.
Even now, that is some achievement.
I remember some of Kemp's radio interviews were outstanding- he was both clueless and permanently angry.
I am fairly certain that when he was fired, he gave an interview pointing out that he had- in fact- done a great job, but that he was sacked because he was a Londoner.
And we were 'all snobs from Oxford'. Not because he was useless or anything like that.
Does anyone else remember that, or am I mis-remembering?
I definitely recall an interview towards the end of his six month 'reign' where he said that he wished Richard Knight (who had gone down injured) had 'been shot in the leg'.
That team was - by a country mile- the very worst I have ever seen in my 45+ years.
And, yes, I do include the thrilling team put together by the masterful Patto.

Here is an example of Kemp... https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/6618926.kemp-wants-investment/

I couldn't find his quotes from when we got relegated, or from the "Mutual Consent" separation. Ironically, I think he left after one of his rare wins.... we beat Swansea 3-1 at home on 28 April and he was gone before the Port Vale last game at the Manor on 1 May.

Out of that whole horrific season we only got 27 points in total. 15 of those came in doing the double of both Northampton and Swansea and beating Rotherham - who were runners-up that season - 4-3 at home. There were four times that season where we scored three goals in the game and still lost.... and a further eight occasions where we scored twice lost too!

 

[West Oxon U’s]

WORST XI

Andre ARENDSE

Andy KINGSTON
Leo ROGET
Brian WILSTERMAN
Darren JACKSON

Courtney PITT
Peter FEAR
Stefan BAILEY
Gordon HODGSON

Steve ANTHROBUS
Billy WHITEHURST


Subs:

John MILKINS
Ian STOTT
Brian McDERMOTT
Brian DRYSDALE
Ray GASTON
Eddie HUTCHINSON
Sean RECK
Sam SMITH
Ian McGUCKIN
Neil McGOWAN
Dean MORGAN

 

[Berliner]

I am sure you're right, but I would like to think that 'Kempo' would have signed them both had he been given the chance.
They were his type of players. Slow. Overweight. Totally disinterested.
They were the beating heart of the back four that let in (I think) 100+ goals in L1.
Even now, that is some achievement.
I remember some of Kemp's radio interviews were outstanding- he was both clueless and permanently angry.
I am fairly certain that when he was fired, he gave an interview pointing out that he had- in fact- done a great job, but that he was sacked because he was a Londoner.
And we were 'all snobs from Oxford'. Not because he was useless or anything like that.
Does anyone else remember that, or am I mis-remembering?
I definitely recall an interview towards the end of his six month 'reign' where he said that he wished Richard Knight (who had gone down injured) had 'been shot in the leg'.
That team was - by a country mile- the very worst I have ever seen in my 45+ years.
And, yes, I do include the thrilling team put together by the masterful Patto.

I heartily recommend the OxBlogger article on the 2000-2001 season...fascinating, awful memories.

 

[West Oxon U’s]

BEST XI

Roy BURTON

David BARDSLEY
Matthew ELLIOTT
Robert DICKIE
Bobby MCDONALD

Joey BEAUCHAMP
Ray HOUGHTON
Trevor HEBBERD
Paul SIMPSON

Kemar ROOFE
John ALDRIDGE


Subs:

Phil WHITEHEAD
David LANGAN
Mike FORD
Jim MAGILTON
John LUNDSTRAM
Paul MOODY
Billy HAMILTON
Dean WHITEHEAD
Cameron BRANNAGAN
Colin CLARKE
Gary BRIGGS

 

[Jonny G]

Capped at Oxford XI as suggested by Sarge. Again, I'm only picking players from 1984 onwards that I've seen, so apologies to the Oxford internationals of the 1970s.

I've taken a liberty with one of the subs!!

Here we go:

Paul Kee (Northern Ireland)

David Langan (Republic of Ireland) Andy Melville (Wales) Mark Watson (Canada) Neil Slatter (Wales)

Gavin Whyte (Northern Ireland) Jim Magilton (Northern Ireland) Ray Houghton (Republic of Ireland) Mark Sykes (Northern Ireland)

John Aldridge (Republic of Ireland) Billy Hamilton (Northern Ireland)

Sub: Benji Buchel (Liechtenstein); Ceri Evans (New Zealand); Anton Rogan (Northern Ireland); Shandon Baptiste (Grenada); Jeremy Charles (Wales); Dean Saunders (Wales) and James Constable (England "C")!!!!

 

[Jonny G]

WORST XI

Andre ARENDSE

Andy KINGSTON
Leo ROGET
Brian WILSTERMAN
Darren JACKSON

Courtney PITT
Peter FEAR
Stefan BAILEY
Gordon HODGSON

Steve ANTHROBUS
Billy WHITEHURST


Subs:

John MILKINS
Ian STOTT
Brian McDERMOTT
Brian DRYSDALE
Ray GASTON
Eddie HUTCHINSON
Sean RECK
Sam SMITH
Ian McGUCKIN
Neil McGOWAN
Dean MORGAN

Where is the "dislike" button - at the players rather than your choices. I'll go along with that, as long as you're telling Billy Whitehurst not me!

 

[West Oxon U’s]

The thing about calamity 'keeper Paul Kee was that he was capable of utter brilliance and complete clown-ery !
Brilliant reflexes, breath-taking saves but just not reliable enough.
Some of his saves versus Swindon in this clip were world-class.

 

[Sarge]

OUFC team of internationals

Mick Kearns (RoI)


Neil Slatter (W)
Ceri Evans (NZ)
Dave Roberts (W)
Andy Melville (W)
David Langan (RoI)

David Sloan (NI)
Jim Magilton(NI)
John Aldrige (RoI)
Billy Hamilton (NI)
Ray Houghton (RoI)

subs- Paul Kee (NI) , Dean Saunders (W), Callum O Dowda(RoI) Gavin Whyte (NI), Anton Rogan (NI) , Kevin Francis (St K & N) Jeremy Charles (W)
--------

missed out - Benji Buchel (L), Ollie Kearns (RoI) Lee Nogan (W)

 

[Marked Ox]

The thing about calamity 'keeper Paul Kee was that he was capable of utter brilliance and complete clown-ery !
Brilliant reflexes, breath-taking saves but just not reliable enough.
Some of saves versus Swindon in this clip were world-class.

He couldn't catch a cold!

 

[Marked Ox]

WORST XI

Andre ARENDSE

Andy KINGSTON
Leo ROGET
Brian WILSTERMAN
Darren JACKSON

Courtney PITT
Peter FEAR
Stefan BAILEY
Gordon HODGSON

Steve ANTHROBUS
Billy WHITEHURST


Subs:

John MILKINS
Ian STOTT
Brian McDERMOTT
Brian DRYSDALE
Ray GASTON
Eddie HUTCHINSON
Sean RECK
Sam SMITH
Ian McGUCKIN
Neil McGOWAN
Dean MORGAN

Billy Whitehurst was awesome when playing Liverpool at Anfield on his debut. He absolutely tore them apart for half an hour but then had to be subbed because of a back injury iirc and we got torn apart instead.

As an aside on Ian McGuckin (not related to the quoted post) he came to us after a series of major injuries, hence his resembling the Titanic when turning or its speed after sinking. And we spotted Phil Gilchrist when scouting Ian McGuckin and signed him instead from Hartlepool iirc.

 

[Jonny G]

He couldn't catch a cold!

If there were more like him at the moment we wouldn't all be locked down!!

 

[Sarge]

Is there an Oxford United FC squad of former players who have gone into management and/or coaching at Football league level(or its equivalent) or above?

 

[RyanioBirdio]

Because there has been quite a bit of talk regarding that comically bad 00/01 season and those involved in it...

Ian McGuckin only played six league games for us. He was utterly dreadful in those six games, do not get me wrong, but he wasn’t one of the most culpable figures in that season. He simply didn’t play enough games to be. Lee Jarman similarly only played 20 of the 46 league games - not even half - and about half a dozen of those were off the bench. He played his last game for us in January of that campaign, when Wayne Hatswell replaced him for the second half of that season after we paid about £35,000 for his services, and he then made 26 league appearances. A certain Darren Patterson clogged about for 18 league games from February onwards, and it’s often forgotten that a beyond past it, 38 year old Andy Linighan limped and groaned his way through a dozen league games early on in that term. Jon Richardson was the main defensive ‘stalwart’ of that season, with more than 40 appearances.

Of all the truly top notch centre backs we had on display that season - and the above isn’t even all of them - I simply must defend Sir Ian. Atrocious, yes, but the most to blame that season? That he cannot be.

 

[Marked Ox]

Because there has been quite a bit of talk regarding that comically bad 00/01 season and those involved in it...

Ian McGuckin only played six league games for us. He was utterly dreadful in those six games, do not get me wrong, but he wasn’t one of the most culpable figures in that season. He simply didn’t play enough games to be. Lee Jarman similarly only played 20 of the 46 league games - not even half - and about half a dozen of those were off the bench. He played his last game for us in January of that campaign, when Wayne Hatswell replaced him for the second half of that season after we paid about £35,000 for his services, and he then made 26 league appearances. A certain Darren Patterson clogged about for 18 league games from February onwards, and it’s often forgotten that a beyond past it, 38 year old Andy Linighan limped and groaned his way through a dozen league games early on in that term. Jon Richardson was the main defensive ‘stalwart’ of that season, with more than 40 appearances.

Of all the truly top notch centre backs we had on display that season - and the above isn’t even all of them - I simply must defend Sir Ian. Atrocious, yes, but the most to blame that season? That he cannot be.

He's remembered as he was so, so bad for us I think. Jarman likewise who also had the turning cycle of a oil supertanker.

 

[RyanioBirdio]

He's remembered as he was so, so bad for us I think. Jarman likewise who also had the turning cycle of a oil supertanker.

You’ll get no arguments from me about them both being terrible, but they weren’t ‘the main defenders’ that season. God it was bad, though. I still have nightmares of Neil McGowan (albeit only for a dozen odd games) and John Robertson (nearly all of them) aimlessly running up and down at left and right wing back respectively, showing all of us just how enormous the gap really was between Scottish and English football, even back then. That the final season at our home (we have not had one since) was as bad as that will never leave me.

Surprised not to see any honourable mentions for Paul Gerrard in terms of better players. I know he was only on loan for a few months but my god, what a goalkeeper. I honestly believe that if he had played one full season of games for us so as to stick in the mind a little clearer, most people would say he was better than Whitehead.

 

[Berliner]

Surprised not to see any honourable mentions for Paul Gerrard in terms of better players. I know he was only on loan for a few months but my god, what a goalkeeper. I honestly believe that if he had played one full season of games for us so as to stick in the mind a little clearer, most people would say he was better than Whitehead.

Best goalkeeper to ever play for us IMO, though I wasn't around for Roy Burton.

 

[Sarge]

Best goalkeeper to ever play for us IMO, though I wasn't around for Roy Burton.

Definitely one of our best keepers was Paul Gerrard ... best Keeper I've seen play for OUFC is Jimmy Barron

 

[greatunclekip]

Yes on Andy Burgess, style over any substance whatsoever.

Disagree. He was a wonderful player when he could be arsed. Which was almost never. Had a brilliant technique.

 

[Berliner]

Disagree. He was a wonderful player when he could be arsed. Which was almost never. Had a brilliant technique.

AKA "Kitson syndrome"

 

[RyanioBirdio]

Disagree. He was a wonderful player when he could be arsed. Which was almost never. Had a brilliant technique.

If he concentrated more on football and less on betting he could’ve had a much better career than he did. When he was good he was almost unplayable. Unfortunately you’d only get that from him twice a season.