Coming Up - Swansea City

The drop

Kassam’s First Law: If we’ve played you at the Kassam in the league, you’re not a big team, so said one wag on Twitter.

I remember Swansea coming to the Kassam looking like they would be heading out of Football League, now they're the biggest team we've faced since Aston Villa in the League Cup in 2002. I overheard someone say recently that they thought we could beat Swansea, but didn't think we will. I thought that summed it up nicely.

What is going for us is that we have the best team we've ever had at the Kassam. That's not saying much, but it's a good start. Also, we handle the big Kassam occasion much better than we used to as the game against Swindon and Exeter show.

Swansea are struggling and their minds will surely be on their game against Sunderland on Wednesday, as well as their ongoing survival battle. I'm guessing they'll play a weakened team; the stakes are too high in the league for them to be concentrating on FA Cup at the moment. It's also an interesting decision for them not to have properly replaced Gary Monk. It feels like a 'survival' decision to me - they want someone to organise and not lose too many points rather than a new manager who is going to turn the place upside down (which may be what is needed). We showed at West Brom last year - who had Alan Irvine in charge at the time - how it's possible to rattle a Premier League team that's struggling, I'm hopeful we can do the same again.

But, are we just a bit too Premier League-light? Our passing style wouldn't look out of place in the top flight, but obviously there's more to it than that. Have we got the pace, strength, tactical guile and consistency to  impose our style on them? More importantly, do we have the defence, particularly in the middle, to cope with their attack?

I hope so, but I'm also hoping for a result either way. Neither team needs a replay.

Old game of the day

We were once subject to a micro-giant killing against Swansea in the Third Round 23 years ago. The video doesn't show it, but I'm fairly certain that Chris Allen was the Oxford player who missed the decisive penalty in the shoot-out. Time for revenge?

Coming up: Exeter City

The drop

It's Football Christmas Day! Is there a football fan in the country that doesn't love Boxing Day? There's a real sense of togetherness, family and friends, some coming to their only game of the season, coming with a sense of collective excitement. 

This is a game that sells itself, and it is probably a good thing that the club haven't put in the effort they has in the past - I'm thinking of the disappointments of Plymouth and Woking. We need to approach it, as much as possible, as a normal game. 

Last week's defeat to Wycombe and the announcement that Mark Ashton is leaving the club has added weight to the game. I would love us to put on a show against Exeter, and then again against Swansea in the Cup, but there's a piece of me that just wants all this period of the season to be over as soon as possible so we can get our heads down and really deal with the issue of promotion in May.

Old game of the day 

Deep down I still feel a certain animosity towards Exeter who 'stole' our place in the Football League in 2007. It's funny how things play tricks on your mind. Looking through this (recorded in a form which appears to be about 13 grades down from HD), we went into the second leg a goal up, went two goals up, conceded our lead, allowed Rob Duffy to roll the ball harmlessly into their keepers' arms when clean through in extra time and then our goalkeeper tried to 'right the wrong' of our relegation by taking a penalty. He missed, of course. Suicide.

Coming up: Wycombe Wanderers

The drop

I couldn’t get a ticket for Wycombe; I can’t remember the last time I failed to get a ticket for a game I wanted to go for. It's only the second Wycombe game I've ever missed home or away. I guess that’s what success does for you.

Wycombe have fallen away a little after last year’s heroics and a decent start. Had they maintained their form, this could have been the fixture to tip it into the category of ‘derby’. Familiarity has bred an increasing degree of contempt between the two clubs, but it still needs something to light that spark. It may be this game, but if not, then the final game of the season at the Kassam has potential to ignite the fuse.

Old game of the day

It's not a derby, but existing animosity makes a pretty good starting point when developing a rivalry. We've had plenty of good times at Adams Park. None better than this from 1996.

Coming up: Carlisle United

The drop

Bogsnorkling Cumbrians Carlisle come to the Kassam on Saturday. It should be the biggest test we’ve faced in quite a while. They specialise in soaring and capitulating with alarming regularity, at the moment they seem to be on the up, but just as they begin to find their feet, they’ve found themselves under 8 feet of rainwater. Bloody typical.

Apparently they’ve been able to train this week, but with Brunton Park under water, the wider infrastructure around the team must have been effected. And that, surely, should be to our advantage.

On the other hand, they’ve been helping in the local community and it might be that they will be galvanised by a Dunkirk spirit and come to the Kassam determined to bring three points back to their stricken community. Wellies and buckets might be more effective.

So, who knows? I think we need a test; January is measuring up to be an absolute doozy; Swansea, Millwall, Bristol Rovers, Northampton and Portsmouth are all in the New Year. It may go as far as deciding our season, we need a decent warm up to hit that period as hard as we can.

Old game of the day

Although Sky have tried letting fans commentate on games, all it really produced was a sanitised version of what people thought football fans do when they go to games. Authentic fan commentary, should involve mostly muttering and swearing. And then, when the ball rolls out to your centre-back it should go something like "MATT ELLIOT HOLLLLLYYYYYY CCCRRAAAAPPPP".

Coming up: Forest Green Rovers

The drop

 

Forest Green Rovers are a funny little club; for a period they looked like one of those clubs that would come piling in, in a hail of money – Histon, Greys – before burning to dust when it all becomes too expensive and difficult to sustain. Perhaps they could have been the next Fleetwood or Crawley; the kind of team that followers of the Premier League are shocked to find are in the Football League at all.

But rather than soaring high or crashing to the floor, they seem to have stabilised and are progressing rather nicely. I recently caught some Conference football on BT Sport and it seems the days when pretty much every club featured an ex-Oxford player are all but over. Eastleigh, of course, are a museum to our conference years, but otherwise it’s difficult to judge just how good a team they are at the moment.

What is true is that they started the season off like a train and now sit second behind Cheltenham. That suggests this isn't going to be easy, but I also think that Michael Appleton will throw the kitchen sink at the game; it’s been 13 years since we had a Premier League team in the FA Cup and 15 since we had one at home, the law of averages dictates that the prospect of Premier League opposition in the next round is increasingly likely.

Newport wrap | Coming up: Hartlepool

Oxford United 1 Newport County 1

Home advantage isn’t what it used to be, pitches are better, players’ preparation is better; traveling distances is less of an issue, all seater stadiums make away games less intimidating. Altogether playing away is no more a chore than being at home.

For all the talk about this being the best football we’ve seen in decades, we’ve only scored more than one goal in a home game in the league once since August, and that was the defeat to Barnet. The last time we’ve taken points and scored more than two at home was Yeovil, which feels a while ago now.

This leaves us vulnerable; if we're only likely to get one goal, then we’re one defensive mistake or piece of magic away from conceding points. Against Newport we were hit by a world class strike from Lenell John-Lewis; a moment in which the tectonic plates aligned, timing, positioning and technique. You could tell even John-Lewis was surprised the way he trotted around the pitch aimlessly trying to comprehend what he'd achieved.

Newport were a decent side; their recent form implied that it wasn’t going to be the walk-over that it may have been when Terry Butcher was in charge. It does make you wonder what Butcher did to make them quite so inept. I have images of him standing in the changing rooms, eyes bulging, pressing a razor blade into his arm in a hopeless attempt at engendering some Butcher-style passion into their play.

Whatever Butcher was doing wrong, Sheridan is doing right, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they eventually worried the lower reaches of the play-offs come the end of the season. But Tuesday showed how little it can take to turn an average side into a decent one. And if that happens, then our inability to score goals, and the vulnerability that comes with that, could cause a problem.

Coming up: Hartlepool United

Our tour of the lower reaches of the table concludes with a trip up to Hartlepool on Saturday. A curious team; they looked destined for the Conference last year before going on a mind boggling run that saw them avoid relegation. Along the way they gobbled us up in what looked like Michael Appleton's darkest and, what at the time could have been, last hour.

But, while we have turned ourselves around in remarkable fashion, their revival seems only temporary. They appear to be regressing back to where they originally were. We should be reasonable confident that points can be taken here, which will make up for the disappointing result on Tuesday night. 

Old game of the day

Last year Hartlepool looked like the most inept team in history. Of course, they beat us, at home, on a Tuesday night. Who is more the inept? The inept or the team that's beaten by the inept? It wasn't always like that, of course. In 2013, we couldn't stop winning away, this was a cracker.

Dagenham wrap | Coming up: Newport County

Dagenham and Redbridge 0 Oxford United 1

Kemar Roofe had a busy week, first he was subject to some speculative transfer rumours related to interest from Newcastle, then he steps up to score a top class free kick to take the points at Dagenham. But, those rumours, how credible are they? Let's think about why Newcastle would want Roofe, and why they wouldn't.

Roofe is clearly an outstanding player, perhaps the outstanding player in League 2. He has solid coaching and conditioning from his time at West Brom and in Michael Appleton, he’s got, probably, the best lower league manager to maintain that development trajectory. If there is a Premier League player in League 2, then Kemar Roofe is probably that person.

Maybe Newcastle aren’t even thinking about their Premier League plans for next year; they could be preparing a Plan B of playing in the Championship. Roofe could be a cost-effective option for next year’s Championship squad. Should they might survive, with a new TV contract kicking in, Roofe wouldn’t be too much of a burden whether he succeeds or fails. 

It could be that the Premier League teams are waking up to the idea of talent in the lower leagues; certainly the Jamie Vardy market must be buoyant. Who knows? Roofe could be the next Vardy, and that has to be worth a punt, even if, statistically speaking, it's unlikely.

From Roofe’s perspective, almost any Premier League contract will be attractive, he won’t want to be in League 2 for long and become labelled as a lower league player. At the moment he’s still, potentially, the one that slipped through the net. Even if Roofe doesn’t make it, one Premier League contract should allow him to furrow a solid Championship level career. 

On the other hand, while Roofe is quick, so is everyone else in the Premier League. He's skilful, like every other player in the top flight. In a Premier League context, is he that special? And is Newcastle’s problem really Kemar Roofe shaped? 

Their problems seem deeper than taking a chance on a League 2 player who didn’t make it at West Brom. 

If they are going to go into the transfer market in January, and it is to help ensure Premier League survival, I suspect they’ll go deep and low risk. They need players who will turn them round and Roofe is not that kind of player; at least not on his own and not at that level. Expect to see ageing former internationals, solid Premier League pros and the odd European MLS player fancying some time back in the spotlight. In addition, if the current security concerns continue, there could be a surplus of players trying to get away from France and Belgium.

So, on balance, I’m not convinced by the Newcastle rumour, I suspect they’re running to rule over hundreds of players all over Europe. However, I do think that Roofe will be subject to quite a few rumours between now the close of the transfer window. But, ultimately, it's a question of fit. The time to worry is when an ambitious Championship club - think anyone in the current top 7 or 8 - or a solid Premier League team with a few holes - Bournemouth, Watford, even West Brom, coming knocking. 

Newport drop

As a lapsed Ipswich Town fan I love Terry Butcher. As a lapsed England fan, I look at THAT photo of him against Sweden with blood pouring down his face with nostalgic pride. He was, however, a terrible football manager. 

About a month ago Newport looked like the most hapless goons in the division. I was looking forward to a orgy of goals from our fixture on Tuesday. However, Butcher was booted out at the beginning of October and his replacement, John Sheridan, has come in and started to turn things around. They're five unbeaten and in the second round of the Cup. They do score a few, but with three 2-2 draws in their last seven, they concede a few.

None-the-less, we should be confident of taking the points here. Our form is great, but a glance at the bottom of the table reads like our recent fixture list. Banking points now is important preparation for tougher times ahead.

Old game of the day

The John Aldridge derby. Newport County seem to be one of the less heralded 'phoenix clubs'; they've been as successful as Wimbledon and yet people nobody makes much of a big deal about them. I guess if it hadn't been for the fact that we signed John Aldridge from them, I might have forgotten that they were a league club myself. As a result there's very little YouTube coverage of the two teams. None-the-less, this was a lot of fun.

Coming up: Dagenham and Redbridge

Braintree wrap

 

Ultimately, the 3-1 win over Braintree in the Cup was fairly routine. Michael Appleton's team selection felt like a snooker player building a break; it wasn't a team to beat Braintree, even without the likes of Kemar Roofe and Liam Sercombe we would have probably been good enough. It was more an assurance because the path through to the third round looks more than negotiable and that's where the bigger paydays lie.

That kind of thinking demonstrates the confidence with which Michael Appleton appears to be managing his team. He's moving away from the text book, something he seemed such a slave to last year, and towards his own instincts. The more his decisions prove to work, the more confident he will become.

Dagenham - The drop

How can it be the 21st of November and only the second league game in a month? I guess it's just that time of year. Saturday's game against Dagenham and Redbridge demonstrates one of those curiosities in football; a few weeks ago we played them in a meaningless JPT game against them,  now we play the same team at the same venue, but now it's in the league, so it's critical.

With only one league game played this month it's difficult to truly assess how we're doing. Cambridge last week was more uncomfortable than we'd expected, but we came away with the three points and it should have been more comfortable than it was.

The cup games offer little further evidence; by all accounts we should have put a hatful past Braintree in the opening tie, the aforementioned JPT game was comfortable, but we were playing with a second string team, on Tuesday finally eased into the second round. Did we play well, or did we just do what we should have done in the first place?

Old game of the day

If anyone was to ask, which they never do, but if they did, and they asked me what was my favourite moment of the Conference years, even beyond York it was a period of about 10 minutes during our game against Dagenham and Redbridge in 2007. In a sense it was a title decider, but by that point, they were well clear and we'd fallen away. However, it was a warm spring night in a tense and feral environment. They went a goal up and then we brought Yemi on. For literally 10 minutes, football could not have been more fun.

The wrap: Dagenham and Redbridge 0 Oxford United 2

They say winning is a habit. Let's assume you build a squad of players ready to step up whenever they’re needed rather than a squad of players made up of some you like and other you wouldn't put out if they were on fire. A successful team drawn from that squad, even if technically 'weakened', should be motivated in the same way as your strongest XI. They all train together so the differences in attitude and approach should be fairly marginal.

In a successful squad, even a weakened team is likely to have all the attributes to be a successful one. Which means that unless you deliberately go out to lose, you're likely to be competitive in every game.

This makes arguments about the relative importance of the JPT and FA Cup academic. Each game, regardless of the competition, is there to be won and if you’re a successful team, it’s very difficult to go out and try not to do that.

It’s an odd time of the season, and it’s going to carry on for the next few weeks with the replay against Braintree, a possible second round tie against Forest Green and another JPT tie. League games become a bit buried.

This has two effects; firstly switching teams on and off is very difficult so you might as well go for everything. Secondly, because of injuries and suspensions, which start to kick in over this period, it is almost impossible to distinguish between weakened and strong team. Take our back-four against Dagenham; on paper a ‘weakened’ defence, but with Johnny Mullins suspended and Jake Wright injured, even if that had been a league game the defence would have looked unfamiliar. Then, next week, with Mullins and Wright potentially back, they could get a run out against Braintree, a game they might otherwise have missed.

That’s the bind of being successful and the thing that successful managers complain about constantly. You get fixture congestion because you’re a decent side, so there’s no real point in prioritising one thing over another; just go for everything.

Coming up: Cambridge

The drop

I missed the Barnet game, so it feels like an age since we were last at home. In fact, my last home Saturday game was Wimbledon, and before that Morecambe. We continue our tour of the lower reaches of the division with Cambridge (18th). It's still fill-your-boots points-wise, before the December challenge of a relentless cavalcade of fixtures.

We go in with confidence, of course, but a good performance and comfortable victory is important given that we lost last time out and the aforementioned games against Wimbledon and Morecambe were both uncomfortable. The Kassam holds less fear than it did, but Saturday afternoons down the Grenoble Road have yet to bring the best out of us.

Old game of the day

The derby. This is the fixture that all Oxford fans look for when the list comes out in June. The video I wanted to find was one of Phil Whelan trying a back-pass in a bog. I like the obscurity of this video, it's only had 80-odd views and has little detail behind it. I spent most of it trying to identify our players, particularly who scored our goal, before working out that it was Cambridge, not us, in yellow. We're in red. IN RED, I TELL YOU.

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.

Coming up: Barnet

The drop

This game feels like a ship returning to shore. After a turbulent, but ultimately successful few weeks, we now head into a series of games against also-rans and makeweights. Barnet were promoted last year back from the Conference last year as champions but rather than storming the division, like Conference champions frequently do they're the same old Barnet bumbling around at the wrong end of the table.

Rich pickings, then, not just this week, but for the next month. But, this brings its own pressure, of course, we should go into the next month confident of taking maximum points from every game. The pressure to be perfect is one problem, but also because we won't win every game, the pressure not to capitulate through disappointment is always there.

It never goes, this pressure lark.

Old game of the day

So, when was the last time Michael Duberry and Edgar Davids face up to each other? Leeds United v Juventus in the Champions League? No. Oxford v Barnet in the Football League. I'm strangely in love with this fixture. Aside from the Duberry/Davids trivia, I was at Underhill when we forgot our kit, I once turned up there an hour and a half before kick-off because, for some reason, the game kicked off at 8.15. My favourite ever moment was when Davids, who up to that point had been running the game, got an Andy Whing reducer in the middle of the pitch after which Davids skulked around like a wounded animal and we went on to win.

Fittingly, this from 2010 may be one of the greatest videos ever produced.

From the blog

"It was the agricultural intervention of Andy Whing that indirectly gave us the win. You can have all the quality in the world, but the last thing you need when you're running on a pair of 40 year old legs is to have them clattered into."

Read on

Coming up: Plymouth Argyle

The biggest game of the season? Maybe. Yeovil, Notts County, Bristol Rovers, Portsmouth, Swindon, Leyton Orient... we've been building up to something since the start of the season. We've been constantly testing our level and pretty much, passed at every stage. This isn't going to get us promoted, not by a long way, but it could secure our candidature for this year's league title.

As well as the game itself, we also need to cope with the (sort of) disappointment of Saturday. There are positives in all this; the draw against Orient reminds us of our mortality, which can be helpful in maintaining focus on the bigger prize. Going into a game against the team at the top with a sense of invincibility is asking for trouble.

Old game of the day 

I'm going to use this post to explain something I hear all the time about Plymouth Argyle. Whenever we play Argyle, someone is bound to comment on how amazing it is that they've brought as many away fans as they have. All the way from Devon.

An Argyle fan once explained this to me; it's because of the Devonian diaspora. Lots of people born in the area move away, particularly to London, due to a lack of employment opportunities. As a result, Plymouth have always had a good away following because most away games are closer than their home games. There you go, next time you hear someone go on about how far they've all travelled, you can put them straight.

Anyway, here's us missing a hatful of chances in the League Cup in 1997.

Coming up: Leyton Orient

The drop

The biggest test yet, a genuine clash of the Titans, or some Titans. Some medium sized Titans in a relatively small fighting pit. Orient started the season like a firecracker but have faltered in recent weeks. This is probably just a bit of a readjustment and we should probably expect them to be fighting for promotion or the title at the end of the season. Three points in East London will be hard won, a point would be more than satisfactory.

We're in rude health and should be firing on all cylinders with all key people reporting for duty after losing Danny Hylton for Swindon and Callum O'Dowda for the game against Wimbledon last week. Danny Rose could be back, but Lundstrum and Sercombe look to have cemented their position in the midfield. This is good, at the start of the season, we looked to be lacking in midfield.

This game, and Tuesday's showdown with Plymouth have loomed large as key fixtures in the month, but with a decent points haul already banked we should be able to go into this both relaxed and with confidence.

Old game of the day

Shudder. We finally face the team that sent us into the Conference. It was the worst of times, it was the best of times. The former is obvious; we were relegated to the Conference. But also, Jim Smith and Nick Merry (and in the background Ian Lenagan) had wrestled control from Firoz Kassam, so things were looking up on that front. But also, this was a game of epic proportions; the like of which we have rarely seen at the Kassam. I arrive 10 minutes late direct from the maternity ward of the John Radcliffe having witnessed the birth of my daughter after a sleepless night. At 4am, I'd given up on the idea of seeing the game, but the hospital threw me out anyway. It was a pretty trippy day.

Coming up: Accrington Stanley

The drop

Our trip to The North was supposed to give us a bit of rest bite before tougher fixtures later in the month, which includes the amuse bouche against Swindon on Tuesday. Our midweek win against York was more stressful than it had any need to be and next is promotion chasing Accrington Stanley.

Stanley are defying gravity at the moment. By rights they shouldn't exist at all; surrounded, as they are, by a stack of larger, more established clubs. If the fact they exist is a bit of a miracle, their current position of fourth in the table even more so.

My guess is we won't see them in this position in May; injuries and general fatigue will begin to kick-in and that's when resources really start to count. Those around them look more equipped to cope as we head into the deep winter. In reality, rather than chasing promotion, they're really banking points to ensure safety.

While things are going well, there's a sense of invincibility and confidence, the trick is to break their spirit at the moment they think they can't be beaten. Saturday could be that day.

 

Old game of the day

Who are they? Now, here are two clubs who share a peculiar history. Both teams' most high profile moments are synonymous with the marketing of milk. When we came into the league we replaced them, when they came into the league, they replaced us. Yet, our first ever fixture was just five years ago. A fixture wholly archived by YouTube.

This one is probably the best of the lot; a rip-snorting cup game from 2012. Days after the death of Mitchell Cole, we seemed to be carried on a wave of emotion. Michael Raynes is one of my favourite players of recent years, so his last minute goal is particularly sweet.

From the blog

"I don't want to sound like a curmudgeon. A win is definitely better than a defeat; I am not one of those people who claims to want to see their team lose to affect a change of manager. For one, that’s a buffoon’s logic and two; from what I hear of him, I quite like Michael Appleton. I’m not convinced by him as a manager for obvious, tangible, reasons, but he speaks well and appears willing to take responsibility for his team. I don’t particularly like myself for not being convinced by him as a professional."

Read on 

Coming up: York City

The drop

Winter is coming. September concludes, fittingly, with a trip to The North. There's a distinct chill in the air, for the first game this season, coats will be standard issue. This is real football; no short sleeves and lush sun-kissed pitches from here on in. 

As a result of Wembley in 2010 and what preceded it (their semi-final win at Luton which resulted in a shameful attack by Luton fans on their players) we seem to have a warm paternal feeling towards York. When they came up we were genuinely pleased for them. Since promotion, they've settled into the role of mid-table plodders with the odd flirtation with relegation. This season looks a struggle with two wins - against Yeovil and bottom placed basket-cases Newport. There are points to be had here.

Old game of the day

I've done a mid-week away day at York. In 2003 I had to attend a conference in Harrogate which coincided with us playing in York on the Tuesday night. It was the greatest coincidence in history. We had promotion ambitions at the time - it was October and we'd only been beaten twice. Inevitably, we were awful. A undeserved last minute goal from Chris Hackett meant we scraped a draw. The chips, which were bought from little more than the front room of a terraced house, were nice.

But, historically, is there a worse fixture than a game between Oxford United and York City? We just seem to bring out the worst in each other. Mind you, there are couple of notable exceptions; this is one of the more memorable 'away' fixtures.

From the blog

"We need a vision of who we’re going to become; this is the easy bit, the fun bit, there should be no barrier to imagination when answering the question what makes the perfect club. But we’re afraid of even beginning that process."

Read on.

Coming up: Morecambe

The drop

Is this a game where things go back to normal? At least for a little bit. Morecambe doesn't stir much emotion at Oxford - and presumably nor us for them. It's just what we need at the moment, I suspect.

It's been a brutal few weeks with away games against Bristol Rovers and Northampton, followed by last week's bruiser against Portsmouth. Each one had it's own challenges aside from their competitiveness on the pitch - TV, old manager, biggest club in the division. How have we done? 4 points in those three games. Applying Jim Smith's principle of winning at home and drawing away. On that basis we might have hoped for 5. And that's to win a title, so in context, not bad.

Morecambe begins a sequence of games with a different challenge - they're characterised by their normality. That's not to under-estimate the challenge; as with many 'normal' teams in this division, the fact they appear to be well run makes them competitive. Last week I said that a 'selection' had been made looking at the current top 5. I stand by that but it's easy to miss that Morecambe are equal on points with us. None-the-less, York, Accrington and Wimbledon lie in wait. With an epic double-header against Leyton Orient and Plymouth, not forgetting Swindon, coming up, now it time to bank some big points.

Old game of the day 

Just over 9 years since this one from our first season in the Conference. It was the first league game between the two sides and at the time, they were just cannon fodder to swat aside. We did, on that occasion, but we've never put clear water between us and them since. This is the 13th meeting with them since. We were never supposed to be a club that played Morecambe regularly.

From the blog

"Some fans are now so entrenched that defeat is almost celebrated; it is proof of the hypothesis that Wilder has failed. So, when Harry Worley equalised against Morecambe on Saturday, there was a degree of disappointment. Except, if football if a results business, then picking up points is success and therefore Wilder is a success and the naysayers should back down. But they don’t."

Read on.

Coming up: Portsmouth

The drop

A big one, and for lots of reasons. Pompey have sold out their allocation, which will inevitably bring a different atmosphere to the Kassam. This, their third season in the bottom tier, appears to be the first time they’ve managed to get off to a decent start. This could be the first genuine promotion contender we've faced this season; as opposed to a team that we think might be a contender.

In the context of our season, from the outset, this one was the fixture after which we could genuinely assess our own prospects for the year. With the defeat to Northampton still in the memory banks, the difference between going into that first checkpoint on the back of two defeats in a row, or alternatively, two wins in three, is vast.

Is Kemar Roofe fit? The club's relative silence on this could be read two ways. On one hand, if Roofe is fit they would celebrate it to drive ticket sales and the good vibes that exist around the club these days. However, perhaps they're keeping things under wraps as a tactical move in an attempt to spoil Pompey's planning. The club is being built on being positive; and I'm not convinced Pompey would be making plans to accommodate Roofe specifically, anyway, so my guess is that we won't be seeing him this weekend.

Any other business - My Oh My

I've always been a bit jealous of clubs that have a club anthem - You'll Never Walk Alone, Play Up Sky Blues, Delilah, Pompey Chimes. They give a club a sense of history. Who knew we had one under our nose? 

The playing of My Oh My as part of #RetrOUFC was a surprisingly stirring moment. It's cheesy because it's universal, nobody wants an sing-along club anthem which is a Radiohead instrumental b-side about melting ice caps. The opening bars made me recoil initially, but as it built and the flags in the east stand waved, I felt a sense of another jigsaw puzzle fitting into place. I hope it'll become a fixture in the match day experience.

Old game of the day

There's loads of good stuff to choose from when it comes to clips of us against Portsmouth, but I'm going with a bona fide classic. I was at university and could only follow the game via occasional updates on the radio. With minutes ticking by we were facing a serious beating, I turned the radio off. It was only a few days later that I found out what happened in that ridiculous few remaining minutes. Yes, it's the 5-5 draw from 1992.

From the blog

In January 2014 we met Pompey when they were still going through an identity crisis. On the face of it, a Premier League club, in reality something much more desperate. Pompey fans loved me for this one.

"The Portsmouth following may still look like it's from the Premier League, they sing heartily, but it is difficult to know what for. Their team is wretched, ponderous, unambitious and glacially slow. As incongruous as it feels; they are genuinely amongst the worst we've seen at the Kassam this year."

Read on.

Coming Up: Northampton Town

The drop

I don’t like the comparisons between Michael Appleton and Chris Wilder. It’s not a zero based game; just because one is good, doesn’t make the other bad. Chris Wilder is one of only thee managers to achieve promotion in my lifetime, which puts him among the greats. Anyone who experienced the rush of 2009/10 should remember the time as one that was as good as any we’ve had at the club.

On that basis, I'll always hope Chris Wilder does well, wherever he is. That said, he seems to be in the second phase of his time at Northampton. Having saved them from relegation and then stabilised them last year, he’s now on that difficult second album of taking them on to promotion. Like his time at Oxford, achieving this extra 10% looks set to be a challenge. 

None-the-less, as with all Wilder teams, they will prove a challenge to break down, nobody should be expecting an easy ride. The loss of Kemar Roofe is obviously a blow, he's the magician in a tight game. But, with O'Dowda back we go into the game in rude health; this is part 2 of a trilogy of games that will test our mettle as promotion contenders. Part 1, against Bristol Rovers, was effective if a little hairy; something similar will do on Saturday.

Old game of the day

Northampton Town, a team we seem to live in parallel with Oxford. During the Ian Atkins years, he basically schlepped his old Northampton squad down the A43 to play for us. Now, of course, there's a slow reconstruction of the 2010 promotion team at Sixfields, although they're in competition with Eastleigh on that front.

This is from 1996, the promotion year, and an actual, proper, FA Cup run. We'd beaten Dorchester 9-1 in the first round and followed it up with this before going on to beat Millwall. We eventually went out to Nottingham Forest, in a heroic fight. This was the only home game I missed that season, which still lives with me 19 years on.

From the blog

"On Saturday we came into the game against Northampton with a degree of trepidation about the home-form hoodoo that hung over us. And then the team put in a performance and delivered a result which conformed entirely to the form book. If I'd watched that game on my iPad with the sound down as the Hairy Bikers made a lightly toasted Kirsty Allsop and brie cassoulet would the anxiety have been the same? Just how many layers are there in watching football?"

Read on

Coming up: Bristol Rovers

The drop

Viva la television! Does featuring on TV mess with a team’s circadian rhythms? Presumably not at Premier League level because although fans pine for the days of 3pm kick-offs, drinks of Bovril and a small ruck with opposing fans in the pub, we are in the second generation of Sky-era footballers totally acclimatised to playing games at all times and on all days.

Lower down and post-Setanta, most players are in a rhythm of Saturday 3pm or Tuesday 7.45pm kick-offs, just like the good old days. Sunday lunchtime is usually reserved for Sunday lunch.

There isn’t a lot of evidence to really understand if we’re adversely effected by a change of match day routine. Last year’s drubbing against Cambridge (Saturday lunchtime) and previous tankings against Southend and Port Vale (both Monday evenings) imply a team that doesn’t cope well with a shift in routine.

Or maybe it’s just that we have the ability to artificially gloss a mundane lower-league fixture. Maybe Sky have chosen us in the past because they thought we were promotion hopefuls capable of putting on a show, whereas in fact we were just whipping boys. We can flatter to deceive like that.

It probably doesn’t help, then, that Bristol Rovers have had a good start and look like they’ve recovered well from the shock of relegation to the Conference. This could be the toughest test yet of our new found confidence; I'm sure it'll be fine.

Old game of the day

I love a bit of Bristol Rovers I do, so it's great to see them back in the League. They always bring a lot of fans, the games always seem to be pretty good and we've won more than our fair share.

This is from 1992, an age of particularly tight shorts. It's not a particularly significant game, in fact, it was really part of my 'lost years' because I was at university. Back then, my weekly Oxford United fix, if I was lucky, would come from a 2 line write up in the Sunday People. Mind you, I was probably at this game because it was early in the season. It's just nice to see The Manor as I remember it.

From the blog

Our first home game back after promotion from the Conference was against Bristol Rovers in the League Cup. It was a glorious night in every sense:

"We’ve seen some bad sides in the last four years; Chester’s wheezing death throes, Wrexham neutered by their recent history, Tamworth running around like five-year- olds chasing a tennis ball in the playground. 

None were quite as awful and shambolic as Bristol Rovers were last night."

Read on.

Coming Up: Yeovil Town

The drop

Perhaps Yeovil are a different team to the one we last encountered, but I've always thought of them as a model of what I wish we were. Last time we met them they were on their way to a place in the Championship while we were in the Conference. Now we meet as equals, but, it seems, on very different trajectories.

Three defeats preceded a narrow 3-2 win over Luton on Saturday. Luton themselves seem to be buckling under the pressure of being among the pre-season favourites; that was the second 2-goal lead they've thrown away in as many weeks. 

Are Yeovil struggling with the pressure resulting from their double relegation? If they are, then that helps us, this will be game five for us of which three have come down from League 1. There appears little to fear from those who have come down and hitting them when they're still getting acclimatised is an advantage. Only Leyton Orient seem to affecting a decent bounce back; but I'll take one out of four in the context of our promotion chances. From our perspective, our no-more-than-solid away form means that three points is the requirement today.

OUFC Retro 

The game is a designated OUFC Retro day. I approve, although in a season styled wholly on nostalgia it may be difficult to tell the difference between this and every other game this year. Plus, if you've ever spent any time in the South Stand Upper, you'll know that Matchwinner, Manor Leisure and Carlotti are not considered retro, but are the brands of a modern dandy.

Me? If I can be bothered to go into the loft, I'll probably go with the 1993 centenary shirt or this New Balance beauty from 1998. 

Old game of the day 

There was one point when Yeovil Town were set to do an Oxford United and become a plucky over-achiever dooking it out amongst the big boys. Instead, they seem to be regressing back to their more natural state.

This is from 2009 in the FA Cup; in some ways it captured the spirit of the time. Altogether a very proper FA Cup tie, even if it's slightly galling for us to be considered a giant killer.

From the blog

As good as that win was, my reaction to it was a pretty angry one:

"I suppose that Saturday’s win over Yeovil was a giant killing, but that seems to be a technicality only. Even ITV seemed at a bit of a loss in how to deal with the result. Ned Boulting’s knowing sneer, a constant presence when reporting on Tour de France cheats, was on display to let us know that the institution of FA Cup giant killing was being defiled."

Read on