Current Player Thread Cameron Brannagan

[Carpy]

 

[WE Yellow]

I hear you. But that's not legend, for me. That's longevity of service.

He's not iconic. He's not someone you'd tell the grandkids about. He's not someone whose sheer presence in the starting XI fills you with the confidence that, on any day, a result is possible.

Joey - Beano - Cam.

That's it, for me (90s onwards).

You could argue Josh Murphy from March-May 2024 is the ultimate archetype of this player. Was almost a cheat code in League 1.

 

[JerryL]

I think in the coming years nobody would even question cambran being a legend, its just that effect where hes not quite being put on that pedestal yet 'cause hes a current player
Over 300 games by the end of this season, our captain and scoring goals like he does? Absolute shoe-in for legend status

Joey - Beano - Cam.

That's it, for me (90s onwards).

Same for me, 90s onwards cause we're the cool kids
I definitely think i have a bias for players further up the pitch, though

 

[Northernyellow]

Qualifying criteria for legend status .(Only my opinion of course.)

Has to have played for the club for a number of years. 4 minimum?

Has to have contributed significantly to periods of club success.

Has to have been (at the least) - a good individual player.

Is known to the outside football community.

Calling it;

Brannagan
Beauchamp
Briggs and Shotton
Hebberd
Ron Atkinson
Beano.
Elliott - but was he here long enough?
Honorable mentions

Burton
Brock
G Atkinson
Sam Long .


I stand corrected but is there a United Hall of Fame, Might be an OxVox project if not .

Hebberd is the only player imo who could/should have played for England while he was an Oxford player...

 

[holdsteady]

Surely Sam Long is an OUFC as he ticks 3 out of the 4 of your criteria? He has been involved in 2 promotions, been written off every year but always comes back and proves people wrong.
Once he hangs his boots up there will be discussions about future players and squads where it is mentioned that we need a 'Sam Long type' player.

Was Long involved in the 15/16 promotion season?

 

[Steve Gilbert]

Was Long involved in the 15/16 promotion season?

He played the grand total of 1 game!

 

[holdsteady]

Was Long involved in the 15/16 promotion season?

Had a check of this and apparently played 71 minutes of a 0-0 draw away to Cambridge that season, plus was on the bench 13 times without coming on, couple of cup appearances on top of that. He had the sort of slow start from on OUFC youth team product that normally sees them leave, injuries, loans and bench filler so credit to him for what has achieved since breaking into the team in the league one days, gets a lot of respect from me for making a good career here and will always be fondly remembered when he stops playing for us.

Don't think he needs to have people inflate his achievements on a technicality to get the credit he is due though, his record, a promotion and adapting to the championship stand up well enough.

 

[holdsteady]

He played the grand total of 1 game!

71 minutes, so close enough.

 

[Followtheox1]

For me...Moody in that first period was amazing as well as becoming a cult hero. I personally feel he achieved legendary status, I look upon him as a club legend.

 

[Upthecowboys]

For me...Moody in that first period was amazing as well as becoming a cult hero. I personally feel he achieved legendary status, I look upon him as a club legend.

Moods is an interesting one. As someone who witnessed his stunning hatrick at Ninian Park I should be fighting his corner..

For me though, an amazing player and definitely a cult hero but not a legend.

 

[Big Ron]

Moods is an interesting one. As someone who witnessed his stunning hatrick at Ninian Park I should be fighting his corner..

For me though, an amazing player and definitely a cult hero but not a legend.

Moods is an interesting one. As someone who witnessed his stunning hatrick at Ninian Park I should be fighting his corner..

For me though, an amazing player and definitely a cult hero but not a legend.

Ah yes, the hat trick - including the one where he beat every member of their team, twice, before lashing it in. Of course my memory isn't quite what it might be.

 

[Followtheox1]

Moods is an interesting one. As someone whohy not witnessed his stunning hatrick at Ninian Park I should be fighting his corner..

For me though, an amazing player and definitely a cult hero but not a legend.

Why not?

 

[Steve Gilbert]

For me...Moody in that first period was amazing as well as becoming a cult hero. I personally feel he achieved legendary status, I look upon him as a club legend.

I would say in that squad there were many heros such as Martin Gray, Mickey Lewis, David Rush, Phil Gilchrist, Bobby Ford, Stuart Massey, Paul Moody, Martin Aldridge, Simon Marsh & Paul Powell but legend status I would reserve for players such a Phil Whitehead, Joey, Mike Ford and potentially Sir Les Robinson.

 

[werthersoriginal]

I would say in that squad there were many heros such as Martin Gray, Mickey Lewis, David Rush, Phil Gilchrist, Bobby Ford, Stuart Massey, Paul Moody, Martin Aldridge, Simon Marsh & Paul Powell but legend status I would reserve for players such a Phil Whitehead, Joey, Mike Ford and potentially Sir Les Robinson.

Moody was much more of a legend than the likes of Ford and Robinson. Only his relatively short stay stops him being a bona fide ledge.

 

[Berliner]

Never has a term been so over-inflationary and devalued in recent years as "legend". In the time I have been watching (saw some in the late 80s as a nipper but not enough of a recollection to say), it's only Joey and Beano for me.

CamBran may very well get there in time, but he's not there yet for me.

 

[Followtheox1]

I would say in that squad there were many heros such as Martin Gray, Mickey Lewis, David Rush, Phil Gilchrist, Bobby Ford, Stuart Massey, Paul Moody, Martin Aldridge, Simon Marsh & Paul Powell but legend status I would reserve for players such a Phil Whitehead, Joey, Mike Ford and potentially Sir Les Robinson.

I guess it's all about definitions for me. I wouldn't describe any of them as heroes. Mad Dog and Moody are always club legends to me. Moody was as close as we came to a Cantonaesque type legend in my view...

 

[Followtheox1]

Moody was much more of a legend than the likes of Ford and Robinson. Only his relatively short stay stops him being a bona fide ledge.

Robinson is a club legend in my view. That amount of appearances is unbelievable...

 

[Followtheox1]

To me a legend is defined by their impact on the club.

 

[MJB]

Brannagan alongside Jake Wright and Kemar Roofe?!

He's head and shoulders above them.

Can't believe no-one took the bait on this Jake Wright height gag opportunity.

Standards are slipping.

 

[dickwalton1964]

Hebberd is the only player imo who could/should have played for England while he was an Oxford player...

Great point. Hebberd in his prime for us was a sensational player, among the best in the country at the time. Joey was a great player too but he didn't have the impact on the team that Trevor Hebberd had. Prime Hebberd or prime Joey, not even a debate in my opinion and that's not just nostalgia kicking in.

 

[Steve Gilbert]

I guess it's all about definitions for me. I wouldn't describe any of them as heroes. Mad Dog and Moody are always club legends to me. Moody was as close as we came to a Cantonaesque type legend in my view...

I think any team that gets promotion like they did will go down as heroes with a lot of fans. Putting the likes of Roofe, Lundstrum, Bladock, Hylton and Wright to one side, the team that won promotion under MApp are still talked about in glowing light, such as Alex MacDonald, Chey Dunkely, Johnny Mullins, Joe Scarz, etc.

 

[SteMerritt]

I think any team that gets promotion like they did will go down as heroes with a lot of fans. Putting the likes of Roofe, Lundstrum, Bladock, Hylton and Wright to one side, the team that won promotion under MApp are still talked about in glowing light, such as Alex MacDonald, Chey Dunkely, Johnny Mullins, Joe Scarz, etc.

Not in Northampton they aren't, they still have chips on shoulders about that

 

[Mad Dog]

You could argue Josh Murphy from March-May 2024 is the ultimate archetype of this player. Was almost a cheat code in League 1.

For half a season, he did great things in that time, and will always be remembered for his Wembley performance, but no way is he a club legend.

Same as Roofe and Elliott, they were great for us, but they just weren't with us long enough, to be considered as club legends.

All remembered fondly though for what they did for our club while they were with us.

 

[Twiggy85]

Legends are players who will be talked about for years after they have left and almost define their era. Since ive been going to games I think only Joey, Beano and now Cam come into that category - others have been good players but not been here long enough to be defining players of their era’s.

 

[holdsteady]

I think Josh Murphy has a legendary achievement here, but he isn’t a legend due to how short a timespan he was here (and fit and firing).

But that’s the thing with the terms legend, cult hero etc, they are very much personal opinion. Paul Kee once gave me a chip from his bag of them in Mediterranean chip shop on London Road (now posh fish), CamBran has never given me any food, so I am going to need him to score a few more worldview this season to overtake Paul Kee.

 

[Londox]

I think Josh Murphy has a legendary achievement here, but he isn’t a legend due to how short a timespan he was here (and fit and firing).

But that’s the thing with the terms legend, cult hero etc, they are very much personal opinion. Paul Kee once gave me a chip from his bag of them in Mediterranean chip shop on London Road (now posh fish), CamBran has never given me any food, so I am going to need him to score a few more worldview this season to overtake Paul Kee.

Chris Maguire and Roofe I'd have as cult heroes

 

[holdsteady]

Chris Maguire and Roofe I'd have as cult heroes

For the Swindon celebration and Brentford goal alone you can make a case for them two, but they also achieved something, for me a cult hero is maybe someone who has no tangible achievement but sticks in the mind, Peter Leven say.

 

[Mad Dog]

Surely Sam Long is an OUFC as he ticks 3 out of the 4 of your criteria? He has been involved in 2 promotions, been written off every year but always comes back and proves people wrong.
Once he hangs his boots up there will be discussions about future players and squads where it is mentioned that we need a 'Sam Long type' player.

I remember watching Longy every half time when he was a regular fixture on the bench during late Wilder years in league two. He could only have been 16-18 years old.

He would've known he was only there to get some match day experience, with no real hope of getting on the pitch, so could easily have just messed about with the subs, doing flicks and tricks having a laugh, but he was out there with a no nonsense attitude, properly passing the ball around, and doing all his stretches and sprinting drills, regardless of the fact he knew he wasn't gonna be coming on, he was a serious pro, even then.

You could see just in those half time kickabouts, that he had all the right attributes needed, in terms of physique, talent, and attitude, and I remember thinking, he's gonna go on to be an important player for us. He didn't let me down.

Over the years, he's stepped up to every challenge he's faced, at every level, and has always seen off all competition for his place.

Even this season, he's been one of our most outstanding performers. He always plays with his heart on his sleeve, fully committed and never lets the side down.

Longevity, professionalism and quality. Sam Long is the epitome of a club legend.

 

[Upthecowboys]

Why not?

It’s such a personal thing defining players as legends etc, and I wouldn’t particularly argue with anyone who thought he’d reached that status..

For me I think he probably needed to stay a bit longer to reach those heights.

What I would say is, and I’ve been watching Ox since 1989/90 is that he is one of the 2 players that have excited me the most. When on his game the way he powered pass players was something else, just knocking them out the way before smashing it in. Joey of course was the other, a level above, and he just glided past players..

 

[tonyw]

There has to be some sort of minimum games played to qualify and I’d set it at 100 otherwise we might have to consider Emiliano Martinez given he has won the World Cup - 1 appearance for OUFC.

Mark Wright played 10 games for us.

There’s also a big difference between ‘greatest’ in the eyes of fans and ‘best’ in terms of ability.

Personally, I'd set it at 250.

Being a 'legend' doesn't just mean you're a great player, it means you've also dedicated the majority of your career to the club and noone could talk about a decade of the club's existence without talking about you. A lot.

I still rank Matt Elliott as the greatest player I've seen in yellow (started watching early 90s......I'm also biased in favour of the defensive side of the game).....but I wouldn't quite have him down as a legend because he wasn't here long enough.

Just three players for me from the past 35 years - Joey, Beano and now Cam.

(Robinson and Mickey Lewis were both wonderful servants......but not quite good enough players for legend status).

 

[stokeu]

Jon Clarke on the list of legends?

Ron A
Billy H
Joey
Aldo
Cam
Gary Briggs
Trevor Hebberd
Beano