General Greatest Ever OUFC Player

[Sarge]

The next season was in Division 2 I believe, I think Todd played in the Div 3 Championship side. Perryman was as we scrambled for survival in the top flight, I think he was in the 85/6 season, but was cup-tied for the Milk Cup Final?

Seems such a long time ago now...

ah yes, youre right - and as suspected , Im not having a great memory day

 

[Thomas/Brock/Jones]

The next season was in Division 2 I believe, I think Todd played in the Div 3 Championship side. Perryman was as we scrambled for survival in the top flight, I think he was in the 85/6 season, but was cup-tied for the Milk Cup Final?

Seems such a long time ago now...

Because it is a long time ago ....think 1983/84 is from now what 1943/44 was to then !!!!
Something a little more important going on then than promotion to the Second division.

 

[SteMerritt]

Because it is a long time ago ....think 1983/84 is from now what 1943/44 was to then !!!!
Something a little more important going on then than promotion to the Second division.

Blimey we are all old wouldn't swap being there for being younger however, amazing days.

 

[QuietYeller]

Does Les Phillips deserve some recognition? Altho not quite in that top bracket described but surprised he’s not been mentioned. He was the linchpin behind hebberd and houghton. Never gave the ball away and although not there to score goals scored two crucial ones against Villa in the cup and Everton in the league. Maybe I have a soft spot after meeting him before a game a few years back. Most down to earth guy ever, you’d have never known he was a top footballer.

 

[Sharp Edges]

Not saying they were our greatest but Dean Saunders and Dean Windass were stand out players in struggling teams. Too many fabulous players in the mid 80's to pick one but for me its Lee Jarman.

 

[bdodwell]

Not saying they were our greatest but Dean Saunders and Dean Windass were stand out players in struggling teams. Too many fabulous players in the mid 80's to pick one but for me its Lee Jarman.

Deano (W) let us down when we played QPR away, he clearly didn't try, think it was his last game? Sadly this tainted my memory of him but he was very good. Hope he's doing okay now as he has struggled like many in life since he stopped playing.

 

[holdsteady]

Not saying they were our greatest but Dean Saunders and Dean Windass were stand out players in struggling teams. Too many fabulous players in the mid 80's to pick one but for me its Lee Jarman.

Jarman has a shout as our greatest player if by greatest we mean large, he is deffo a contender then.

 

[Sharp Edges]

Deano (W) let us down when we played QPR away, he clearly didn't try, think it was his last game? Sadly this tainted my memory of him but he was very good. Hope he's doing okay now as he has struggled like many in life since he stopped playing.

Yeah I remember that game, ho looked like a player who was avoiding injury because he knew he was going. I dont hold that against him, I believe he was promised a lot when he signed and nothing happened except he carried us every week. Did we ever pay for him? I seem to remember it mentioned we signed him but never paid.

 

[MJB]

Yeah I remember that game, ho looked like a player who was avoiding injury because he knew he was going. I dont hold that against him, I believe he was promised a lot when he signed and nothing happened except he carried us every week. Did we ever pay for him? I seem to remember it mentioned we signed him but never paid.

I imagine the club were desperate for him to not get injured too, as we may have gone out of business otherwise!

 

[Sharp Edges]

Jarman has a shout as our greatest player if by greatest we mean large, he is deffo a contender then.

I might be wrong here but I vividly remember a player (Jarman?) who was backing off an attacker as they ran into the penalty box, they kept backing off and ended up in a heap in the back of the net, which is where the ball ended up!

 

[SteMerritt]

Yeah I remember that game, ho looked like a player who was avoiding injury because he knew he was going. I dont hold that against him, I believe he was promised a lot when he signed and nothing happened except he carried us every week. Did we ever pay for him? I seem to remember it mentioned we signed him but never paid.

We paid Aberdeen with the money we received when we sold him.

 

[Sharp Edges]

I imagine the club were desperate for him to not get injured too, as we may have gone out of business otherwise!

There were a few games I went to at that time when it was highly possible the game could be our last. Was that the same season we played Watford away and had to wear their kit?

 

[SteMerritt]

There were a few games I went to at that time when it was highly possible the game could be our last. Was that the same season we played Watford away and had to wear their kit?

That would have been 1998. We also had to wear Barnet's kit in 2005 when we didn't realise our black away kit clashed with their new home shirt.

I remember Sheffield Wednesday wearing our shorts during one game at The Manor in the 80's as well, maybe 1985?

 

[MJB]

I remember Sheffield Wednesday wearing our shorts during one game at The Manor in the 80's as well, maybe 1985?

That occasion was more awkward, as our players were wearing the same shorts.

Very close man-marking in that game.

 

[holdsteady]

I might be wrong here but I vividly remember a player (Jarman?) who was backing off an attacker as they ran into the penalty box, they kept backing off and ended up in a heap in the back of the net, which is where the ball ended up!

Backing off that far seems a bit energetic for Jarman, he sort of ambled around between our box and the half way line most of the time. I remember us getting turned over away at I think Stoke while I was working nights that terrible season and listening on Radio Oxford and Jerome Sale saying that his opposing radio commentator had just said we were that bad that local non league teams could of beaten us, hard to argue with that as I reckon we would of struggled in the conference with the team we had, Jarman was probably the talisman of how bad we were.

 

[Northernyellow]

Backing off that far seems a bit energetic for Jarman, he sort of ambled around between our box and the half way line most of the time. I remember us getting turned over away at I think Stoke while I was working nights that terrible season and listening on Radio Oxford and Jerome Sale saying that his opposing radio commentator had just said we were that bad that local non league teams could of beaten us, hard to argue with that as I reckon we would of struggled in the conference with the team we had, Jarman was probably the talisman of how bad we were.

That Kemp 'team' was the worst I have ever seen. Definitely not even Conference standard.

 

[holdsteady]

That Kemp 'team' was the worst I have ever seen. Definitely not even Conference standard.

Yeah, I have a theory that the league table is even a bit kind on us as plenty of teams got comfortably ahead then took the foot of the gas as why bother to risk an injury when you have won, the 100 goals against could of been more.

 

[SteMerritt]

Yeah, I have a theory that the league table is even a bit kind on us as plenty of teams got comfortably ahead then took the foot of the gas as why bother to risk an injury when you have won, the 100 goals against could of been more.

It could easily have been more, Richard Knight won player of the season that year didn't he?

 

[holdsteady]

It could easily have been more, Richard Knight won player of the season that year didn't he?

He did, then was playing for Oxford City when they were not as high as they are now, not long after which says something.

 

[unification]

That would have been 1998. We also had to wear Barnet's kit in 2005 when we didn't realise our black away kit clashed with their new home shirt.

I remember Sheffield Wednesday wearing our shorts during one game at The Manor in the 80's as well, maybe 1985?

The embarrassing thing is that was not the only time that happened in 2005-6. We had to play in Boston United's youth team kit in the away fixture too.

EDIT. I've just watched those highlights back. Turley for their goal . If we'd somehow managed to have Tcham N'Toya a bit earlier, I think we would have been alright that season.

That Kemp 'team' was the worst I have ever seen. Definitely not even Conference standard.

I’m not going to go in to bat for David Kemp and defend him in any of this but many forget that the team put together to start that season was assembled by Denis Smith. He laboured us with a lot of poor players and Kemp compounded it by spending/wasting large amounts of money in a fruitless attempt to stay up. Ian Atkins then spent two seasons essentially cutting the wage bill.

Here’s a conundrum – we stayed up in the third tier by the skin of our teeth in 1999-00 to avoid a second successive relegation. It inevitably came a season later in the disastrous 2000-01 season (read it and weep, kids). Had we gone down in 2000 and therefore played 2000-01 as a fourth tier team, could we conceivably have been relegated three seasons in a row? I suspect the answer would have been yes. The team was that bad. The Conference years could have been a lot earlier and the last three years of The Manor could have seen three relegations.