Coming up: Stevenage

The drop

Stevenage; the middle management rep at a trade show of football. Boorish, over-bearing and slightly threatening. Superficially successful before being found out and falling to nothingness. Or is that Graham Westley?

I came to the Graham Westley is a Twat party quite late. I originally thought that Stevenage were a well run club, doing well among a sea of badly run clubs. I envied them because we were one of those badly run clubs. Then someone pointed out the whole drinks break thing and I read about his management style and my view changed.

For a generation of Oxford fans Stevenage will probably never shake the Westley years. I suspect a lot of Stevenage fans will be very pleased about that. They’re now in the Teddy Sheringham era, who spent half a decade dating models worryingly younger before deciding to become a football manager. I’m sure this promises to be as successful as managerial attempts of previous England legends like Paul Gascoigne, Bobby Moore and Peter Shilton.

Whether they are returning to their 'natural level' or the product of a manager who mastered the game on the pitch with barely a clue as to how it works off it, the dog days at Stevenage appear to be over. Currently 20th they look there for the taking. It’s important that we do, with last week’s defeat to Barnet and next week’s trip to Braintree (whatever that is) we could be back at the Kassam on the 14th in a very different mental state to the euphoric one we were in after the Plymouth game.

The game is designated a Family Away Day, which is a dang fine idea by the club. While home is home and there to be protected, games tend to merge into one when you go to enough of them. Away trips shape you as a fan and leave you with the memories and stories which keep you dedicated to your club forever. Let's hope it becomes a regular thing.

Old game of the day

Is there a greater hive of scum and villainy than Stevenage? On one hand they should be plucky underdogs who we all find endearing, but in reality they're a horrible club with a horrible mentality.

Either way, here's us giving them a kicking last season.