tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37192232011-09-08T19:42:02.206ZThe Web Log for Rage Online, an independent voice of Oxford United supportersMartin Bnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1011100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-51436912212772813332010-09-30T16:07:00.002Z2010-10-01T15:51:53.741Z

Headington into the twilight zone If 1898 was a successful year for Headington, as they won their first silverware just five years after formation, then the 1898-99 season was both successful and controversial. It started with a friendly away to the Oxford City A team on 1 October that Headington won 5-1 thanks to a hat-trick from Ashmore. The following week the club celebrated its move to a new

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-41411126331638197322010-09-22T09:42:00.001Z2010-09-22T09:45:28.112Z

Silver flashing metal (cont.)In yesterday's post I said that I would take us up to when Headington won their first silverware, but unfortunately I neglected to do so. Today's post will therefore take us up to that point from where we left off at the end of the 1895-96 season. The following season was a fairly uneventful one for the club, which finished in a relatively lowly position in Division

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-2148549245494415702010-09-21T14:52:00.003Z2010-09-22T22:16:31.824Z

Silver flashing metalApologies for the lack of blog updates recently; school holidays plus general crapness were to blame. To make up for it, possibly, here's a continuation of the early years history of Headington FC, from where we left off last time (midway through the club's first competitive season in 1894-95) until the club's first silverware in 1898, less than five years after Headington

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-28852686781141958232010-08-27T19:34:00.000Z2010-08-27T19:34:16.182Z

Saviour of the Fallen, Protector of the Weak, Friend of the Tall Ones, Keeper of the Peace An article in today's Oxford Mail gives a reasonably interesting insight into the policing of Oxford United games. There's precious little by way of revelation, so as a piece of investigative journalism or even the sensationalist tabloid writing that the Mail seems to encourage these days, it's somewhat

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-31459207430393881112010-08-18T15:17:00.001Z2010-08-18T15:21:40.420Z

Secretive agents The Football League has published how much each League club paid to agents last season (so obviously Oxford's figures aren't included, although United apparently didn't pay anything to agents in the period covered) as part of its annual reporting of such figures, ostensibly in a bid to be more transparent. The report (PDF) shows an increase of £3.9 million in the last year, up to

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-26016295417109517042010-08-12T13:23:00.010Z2010-09-22T08:17:07.127Z

First taste of competitive football Before the start of the 1894-95 season, Headington played a couple of friendlies, both against teams they were due to face in the forthcoming City Junior League competition. On 6 October Headington played against St Peter-le-Bailey, a side representing the church on New Inn Hall Street and which is now the chapel of St Peter's College. According to the report,

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-79203514447078392042010-08-08T13:53:00.001Z2010-08-08T13:55:37.243Z

The Football League rules In our last post we looked at some new rules introduced by the FA. Well, when it comes to rule-making, the Football League are never far behind. These new rules are, on the face of it, common sense, and nothing to get too excited about. The rules that tighten up the owners and directors tests have long been required, as have those concerning financial reporting. The

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-72586194905937648672010-07-31T14:16:00.001Z2010-07-31T14:17:30.434Z

Homegrown's alright with me, homegrown is the way it should be So sang Neil Young, the former Manchester City midfielder. What the old hippy almost certainly had in mind was reflected in new Premier League legislation that is being introduced for this season, according to an article in today's Guardian. Basically, clubs playing in the country's leading money-making competition, are now compelled

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-81134112782183907022010-07-28T19:17:00.006Z2010-07-31T14:17:44.177Z

Back to the beginning After a brief hiatus, we're back to the history lessons boys and girls. We've already seen how, during Headington FC's first few months of existence, they played their first recorded game against Cowley Barracks, losing 2-1, before drawing at home to Victoria 3-3 and then losing 6-0 away to the same opponents. Headington's next reported match was away to City Junior League

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-12479369768953697052010-07-27T12:55:00.006Z2010-07-29T15:28:37.942Z

Trial and error Chris Triantis Four more triallists appeared for United last night at Brackley Town, and they were all foreigners. Two (brothers) from Australia and two (unrelated) from Spain. The brothers are 18 year-old Peter Triantis, a central midfielder, and his 22 year-old brother Chris, also a central midfielder. Chris has played for Newcastle Jets in the A League, but both have also

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-10704922521287641402010-07-24T10:40:00.002Z2010-07-24T10:57:12.332Z

Too much Babylon?There's a report on the BBC today that quotes the Football Supporters Federation (FSF to you and me) claiming that there is still too much policing at football matches. The spokesperson says that fans are "being subject to heavy-handed policing week in, week out". The claim has, unsurprisingly, been denied by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO to no one but

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-88136488414983620732010-07-23T11:09:00.013Z2010-07-23T13:51:19.102Z

Sweet OFAFollowing a couple of posts about the history of Headington FC, I thought I'd branch out a bit and look at the history of association football in the county more generally. Note that I specify association football, for in the earliest days (mid 19th Century) most teams followed the rugby rules, with 'soccer' being less well represented. I am also specifically not looking at the

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-4315088997867420052010-07-22T10:54:00.004Z2010-07-22T11:37:16.434Z

Forum warsIf it's not one thing it's another in this crazy world of OUFC fandom. Yesterday, the main forum that Oxford supporters post on, Oxfordshire Forums (formerly ThisIsUnited, or TIU), hosted by the Oxford Mail's parent company Newsquest, announced that TIU would be closing and would be replaced by a new forum using the Oxford Mail template. This in itself wouldn't be such a bad thing - the

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-53644798030842475622010-07-21T15:14:00.010Z2010-07-21T21:22:05.912Z

Kick offFollowing the unrivalled success of my previous post about Headington FC's beginnings (well one person gave good feedback) I thought I'd follow it up with a look at the side's first games.The first known game that Headington played was recorded in the St Andrew's Church, Headington, Parish Magazine in December 1893. It is reproduced below:The text of the article reads:HEADINGTON FOOTBALL

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-61664573314259422982010-07-20T09:02:00.006Z2010-07-20T14:53:12.566Z

How it all beganFor those of you who have an interest in the history of this great football club of ours, I've reproduced (below) the very first published mention of the club. It comes from the November 1893 issue of the St Andrew's Church, Headington, Parish Magazine. The prime mover behind the formation of the club was Dr Robert Hitchings, a resident of Windmill Road and captain of the

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-78453115134310845542010-07-17T22:06:00.003Z2010-07-17T22:24:14.680Z

Dirty Harry?The latest player to join United on trial is Harry Worley. The uncompromising 6'4" centre-back left Leicester City by mutual consent earlier in the week after completing two years of a three-year contract without getting to play a first-team game for the Foxes, coincidentally Oxford's next home opponents. Worley played the final 20 minutes of United's win at Dumbarton, and is likely

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-80125106496606129692010-07-16T21:06:00.008Z2010-07-20T15:35:37.866Z

Scots waheyWith United's pre-season tour to Scotland about to get underway tomorrow with the game at Dumbarton, followed on Tuesday with a visit to Livingston, I thought it might alleviate the boredom to have a quick squint at the club's previous visits north of the border. Or maybe it's just an excuse to update the blog with a lack of anything else of substance to discuss (newsy stuff like the

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-7066164138955591892010-07-14T13:29:00.009Z2010-07-17T22:25:47.720Z

Is it that time already?Well, it's been almost five years since our last blog post, which could be some sort of a record. Put it down to despondency at having to suffer the non-league (although the real reason is probably a combination of laziness and forgetfulness). So here we are, ready to blog again to celebrate a new division, a new kit, a new kit sponsor, and lots of new players. Who knows,

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-1128456886512479842005-10-04T20:04:00.001Z2010-07-17T22:27:20.027Z

A stirling fellow Jude Stirling may have made himself an instant cult hero at Oxford United, with his infectious personality, his ungainly posture, his powerful shots, and his incredible throw-ins, but it looks like he inherited his all-round good-guyness from his old man.Clasford Stirling (left) set up Broadwater United, based on the Broadwater Farm estate, where PC Blakelock was murdered by a

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-1127935621619890392005-09-28T19:15:00.001Z2010-07-21T08:22:57.000Z

L'homme desiréeRamon Diaz may be gone from Oxford, but he certainly isn't forgotten. Several reports today suggest that he is a strong contender for the newly vacant manager position at AS Monaco, for whom he used to play. Didier Dechamps quit last week, and former Manchester United defender Laurent Blanc was the favourite to land the position. That was until Monaco resident Diaz expressed his

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-1127819717629606222005-09-27T10:25:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:25:29.265Z

There have been some fun and games going on down the road, as the Swubdub board finally saw sense (they must have been prompted) and gave Andy King his marching orders. Of course the sense didn't last too long as they appointed reserve team manager Iffy Onuora as his temporary replacement. The options for Swobalob are interesting, and there are two out-of-work managers who we would happily

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-1127506560513540412005-09-23T19:53:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:26:18.835Z

Hot on the heels of one ex-United manager losing his job (Ian Atkins yesterday) comes the news that Plymouth fans must have been dreading. If there's one person other than the mumbling Brummie who you wouldn't want anywhere near your club's players, it's ex-Green Slime man Dave Kemp. Guess who Argyle's new manager Tony Pulis has named as his assistant. While Kemp's appointment has been greeted

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-1127421319106723422005-09-22T20:19:00.002Z2010-07-23T21:27:02.330Z

Some interesting snippets today, not least of which is the removal of Ian Atkins from his managerial duties at Bristol Rovers. Not sacked, mind you, just removed from his post while remaining on the payroll. Rovers almost certainly can't afford to pay off Atkins to the end of his contract, and he will doubtless hang around the Memorial Ground like a bad smell until a deal can be negotiated, or he

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-1127387926865131052005-09-22T11:10:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:27:51.969Z

Welcome to the new-look Rage Online weblog. Resurrecting this useless piece of internettery is something that I've been thinking about for a wee while, but it was the demise of the excellent BlogOx that persuaded me it ought to be done sooner rather than later. I really, really hope that other people will contribute to this, as it can get quite time consuming trying to think up different items

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-1120320143173753992005-07-02T15:56:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:28:20.966Z

Those lovely people at the Football League have released the list of live games on television up until 20 November. Unsurprisingly, given our status, Oxford United don't feature. What's even more unforgiveable though, is that there's only one game from the fourth division that is to be shown, Stockport v Barnet on Sunday 13 November, just two days after the nation is inflicted with swindon v

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-1119968700011503712005-06-28T14:14:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:28:56.721Z

Good news for Cambridge United, who look to have staved off the threat of liquidation after talks with Customs & Excise have led to a breakthrough, of sorts. C&E have apparently agreed that they will not oppose a CVA, meaning that the other Us should be able to write off 90 per cent of their unsecured debt (assuming all the other creditors also agree). Cambridge still have to find the dosh to pay

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-1119352434146935332005-06-21T10:31:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:30:03.977Z

Supporters Trusts have been in the news recently: mainly good, some bad.Starting with the bad, up in Carlisle relations have turned sour between club owner Fred Story and United Trust leaders Kate Rowley and Alan Steel. It stems from an agreement between the Trust and Carlisle's previous owner John Courtenay, who promised the Trust the right to buy a 40% share in the club for £800,000. Thanks to

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-1119032682832742882005-06-17T18:02:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:30:41.786Z

Apologies for the lack of updates to this blog recently. We had farmed out this facility to a third party, but unfortunately they've not been forthcoming with the goods for some time. If anyone wants to take on the slightly time-consuming, but not particularly onerous, task of posting items onto this blog, please drop us a line at weblog@rageonline.co.uk.Meanwhile, there are a couple of news

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-1110833821180131682005-03-14T20:19:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:31:30.685Z

Jean Marc Goiran was involved with an award known as GoldenFoot, and he is listed as being involved with Public Relations, working for World Champions Club.Searching on World Champions Club doesn't bring about much, but searching on the names of the others named as being part of WCC, particularly Patrizia Pighini redirects to the World Champions Club website.The "Team" tag on that site brings up

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-1107509333994584342005-02-04T09:27:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:32:08.082Z

UEFA have released details of how they intend to introduce restrictions on “foreign” players in European competition. Rather than set a limit on the number of “foreign” players (which would be illegal for EU nationals employed by EU clubs), they envisage a scheme whereby the clubs’ “A”-squad of 25 which are registered for UEFA competitions will have two places reserved for players who have come

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-1106568150044422622005-01-24T11:53:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:32:35.567Z

If you spend £2 million to secure the services of a 15 year old, it would not be unreasonable to suggest that you've bought yourself a big load of trouble. And so it came to pass that Arsenal bad-boy Jermaine Pennant is in trouble again after getting arrested early on Sunday morning on suspicion of drink-driving. According to the BBC Pennant had his collar felt after wrapping Ashley Cole's

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-1105526244958309802005-01-12T10:34:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:32:52.417Z

York City have taken a big step to taking back ownership of their Bootham Crescent ground. As reported on their official forum, an agrrement has been reached with the current owners, Bootham Crescent Holdings, to purchase 75% of that company and, thereby, take control of the ground. At the same time, the deal sees a charge (in effect a mortgage) being granted to the Football Stadia Improvement

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-1103195805034507692004-12-16T11:06:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:33:18.166Z

Thanks to the PlayerHistory website, there is a nice potted history of the playing career of new U's supremo Ramon Diaz. Unfortunately, I can't find a managerial record for him (other than that he's won a fair amount including the Argentinian Apertura championships in 1996, 1997 and 1999, the Clausura championships in 1997 and 2002, the Libertadors Cup (equivalent to the Champions League) in 1996

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-1102085539490755682004-12-03T14:45:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:33:34.732Z

News from the BBC confirms that Wrexham have today petitioned the High Court to enter administration. With such a move, the Football League have confirmed that they will face a 10 point deduction, but Wrexham have indicated that they will appeal against such a penalty.

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-1101766951115879412004-11-29T22:07:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:34:40.544Z

Speculation surrounding the vacant manager's post at United reached what could almost be described as fever pitch today (relatively speaking), with no fewer than three new potential candidates being reported from various sources. First up, the official Ipswich Town website (registration site, but don't panic, the story was quickly picked up by, amongst others Sky Sports and the BBC) reported that

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-1101155743626677392004-11-22T20:25:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:35:08.527Z

An interesting article has been published by Reuters, and picked up by the Guardian, written by Nick Mulvenney. Entitled Fergie's success a world away from Oxford United it basically picks up on John Ley's article, linked to last Wednesday, but looks at how Oxford have fared since Alex Ferguson's first game in charge of Manchester United. Difficult though it might be to believe, United haven't

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-1100702574795331542004-11-17T14:41:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:35:29.824Z

Hot off the BBC presses, Wrexham have won their stay of execution, with the High Court temporarily lifting the threat from the Inland Revenue's winding-up petition.

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-1100685353545797422004-11-17T09:45:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:36:10.478Z

Two items of interest to Oxford supporters that are worth preserving appeared in the newspapers over the past couple of days. The first, in The Guernsey Press and Star, features an interview with Channel Islander Chris Tardif about recent events at United. It gives us a nice insight into the mentality of the players before the FA Cup defeat at Rochdale, and also a useful perception into Darren

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-1100683970645082262004-11-17T09:22:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:36:31.265Z

Although things still look bleak for Wrexham, they have a stay of execution for, perhaps, a couple of weeks as yesterday the board petitioned the High Court to grant an administration order. Red Passion reports that this petition should be heard in the next two weeks and, should it be granted, it will result in Wrexham becoming the first Football League club to receive a 10-point penalty for such

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-1100186635454614562004-11-11T15:19:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:37:02.468Z

For the benefit of anyone pondering the absence of David Bentley from the Norwich squad for their last two games, that purveyor of truth which is the BBC reports that he was dropped following an incident in training. Said incident involved Bentley doing his best Peter Kay impersonation and hoofing the ball skywards during a close-passing exercise.We cannot confirm that Bentley is also set to miss

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-1098959103246994292004-10-28T10:03:00.002Z2010-07-23T21:37:53.541Z

News broke on the BBC yesterday of the signing of Brazilian legend Socrates to play for Northern Counties Eastern League side Garforth Town, along with the potential for Careca to join shortly, and Zico to pop his boots back on for next season. Garforth already boast the silky skills of ex-England, Manchester United, and Grindavik star Lee Sharpe.However, this story isn't as strange as it first

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-1098450537652147692004-10-22T13:55:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:38:13.904Z

Things are looking bleak for Denis Smith's Wrexham. Two stories from the BBC today highlight the turmoil that the Welsh club is facing. Firstly comes the report that the Inland Revenue has sought a winding-up order on the Red Dragons. This was followed shortly afterwards with the news that the managing director, John Eames, has resigned. Wrexham are the latest in a long line of football clubs

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-1098261881160490212004-10-20T08:37:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:38:36.413Z

A follow up to the earlier story about Wayne Rooney's driving conviction. A couple of days after the original hearing, the BBC posted news that the conviction had been quashed. Apparently, Master Rooney's lawyers had faxed an adjournment request to the court but it got misplaced and the case went ahead in his absence. After the error was pointed out and Rooney's documents were produced, the

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-1097483495494963812004-10-11T08:19:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:39:00.193Z

News reaches me from the colonies that our rebellious descendants are spreading their love of playing sports adorned with all manner of protective clothing into the wonderful world of football. Or "soccer" as they insist on calling it. USA Today reports that a New York youth league has introduced a rule requiring all players 14 and under to wear headgear to prevent "concussive injuries".

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-1096547790668825302004-09-30T13:27:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:39:27.602Z

Noises from North Lincolnshire suggest that Grimsby Town are the latest club to be staring down the barrel of administration, or possibly worse. According to Electronic Fishcake, the club owes the Inland Revenue £500,000 in unpaid taxes and the Revenue will be seeking a winding-up order against the club, if they haven't already done so (and I doubt that they have as these things aren't exactly

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-1096015848830654762004-09-24T08:49:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:40:02.155Z

English football’s latest golden boy – you know, the tubby scouser – seems to have past a crossroads in his life. Unfortunately (or not, depending on your point of view) he appears to have selected Best Avenue rather than Lineker Street. Hot on the heels of his daliances with Merseyside’s more mature, ahem, entertainment providers, comes the story from the BBC that he has shown contempt to the

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-1095942290962591192004-09-23T13:17:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:40:28.638Z

Strange goings on in North Wales, home of our illustrious former leader, Dennis NEM Smithout. I first noticed this story on Clubs in Crisis a couple of days ago and have done a bit of digging in places such as the North Wales Daily Post to find out more. Apparently, two and a half years ago the Chairman of Wrexham, Alex Hamilton, bought the freehold to the Racecourse Ground from the brewery which

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-948314722003-05-24T16:42:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:40:48.929Z

Following in the footsteps of AFC Wimbledon and Enfield Town comes the latest in the line of supporters break-away clubs. This time its the lads at AFC Barnsley who have set up their own outfit. Fed up with the autocratic antics of chairman and mayor Peter Doyle a group of Tykes fans, headed by Paul Bestall, decided to form their own club and they applied for admission to, and were accepted by,

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-948031002003-05-23T21:20:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:41:15.963Z

Falkirk have been denied promotion to the Scottish Premier League because they were unable to satisfy the SPL that they have primacy of tenancy at the Excelsior Stadium, which they share with Airdrie. According to the BBC web site Falkirk have no right of appeal to the SPL, but will examine other avenues of appeal.Some have it that Falkirk's punishment is entirely apt because they have been

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-940710542003-05-09T20:16:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:41:47.765Z

Those of you who like a good scrum will be following events in Bristol with interest. According to rugger ezine Scrum.com Firoz Kassam has agreed a deal with Malcolm Pearce, chairman of Bristol Shoguns, that should they not be relegated they will move in to the KasStad next season. However there is now a distinct possibility that Bristol will merge with fellow relegation strugglers Bath. Some

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-931931112003-04-24T19:01:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:42:18.389Z

It's been a while since this weblog has been updated - unfortunately I just don't have the time to go around the web discovering exciting news and interesting titbits for your perusal. If anyone wishes to send in urls of good stories for inclusion in the weblog then please do so, to weblog@rageonline.co.uk.Meanwhile some very interesting developments took place at a meeting of the Football

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-912242592003-03-23T14:37:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:42:39.822Z

Huddersfield Town have applied to the High Court to go into administration. They are bottom of the Second Division, facing relegation, and the chairman, David Taylor, indicated he cannot afford to fund the club beyond yesterday's home match against Bristol City, which the Terriers lost 2-1. The players have not been paid in full for three months.

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-881194332003-01-27T22:20:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:43:17.265Z

It seems that footballers aren't the healthy role models we always thought they were. According to this piece in the Guardian the Food Commission has hit out at professional clubs and players who have endorsed crappy junk food that is turning us into a nation of spotty, obese couch potatoes. Hopefully this means we will see an end to Gary Lineker trying to be funny and pretending he can act

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-877408272003-01-20T19:22:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:43:38.522Z

Just when it looked like Uri Geller couldn't get more embarrassing for Exeter City supporters, the BBC web site unearths this little piece of classic Gellerabilia. It's enough to drive Grecians fans to the Dark Side, although with Geller at the helm the force is unlikely to be with them...

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-874958192003-01-15T21:32:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:44:01.493Z

It's been a while since we found something worthwhile to add to this weblog, but we were sent this little gem featuring Denis Smith's "mistake" Wayne Biggins. It would appear that our Wayne is as competent at team management as he was as a centre forward.

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-862855922002-12-19T20:48:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:44:23.414Z

There are some football "good news" stories around (not many, true) and so adopting a festive hat we thought we'd let you know of the BBC highlighting the return to the Borough of Merton of AFC Wimbledon next season. The country's newest club has agreed a groundshare with Tooting & Mitcham, whose ground has a capacity of 3,500, thus signalling a return to the club's homeland. It's not quite

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-852269752002-11-28T22:23:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:45:13.327Z

The potentially perilous financial state of English football is again highlighted in today's Guardian with a story that produces two examples of decline. The first is the revelation that ITV feel that they paid too much for the deal to televise Premiership football, meaning that it is unlikely that England's top division will receive such a good deal again. Secondly is the news from York that

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-848828412002-11-21T19:21:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:45:41.145Z

Oxford United supporters are all too well aware of the heritage that has been lost with the demolition of the Manor. Obviously we're not alone as clubs up and down the country either relocate or redevelop their existing grounds in the inexorable move towards lookalike soulless stadia. This is a theme that one of Rage Online's favourite authors, Simon Inglis, has picked up on in this very

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-845457842002-11-14T22:18:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:46:29.028Z

The Nationwide League site reports that nine Stoke fans have been banned for life by their club for racist abuse. This is welcome news indeed, and we hope that Oxford United would take a similar stance if supporters at the Kassam Stadium are ever convicted of similar offences. This sort of approach, though, has to go hand in hand with attempts to educate people that racism is unacceptable,

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-841234712002-11-06T16:58:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:46:57.013Z

An article that we missed from last week's Guardian Online, all about how fans are organising to save their clubs using the internet as a vital tool. Although the article was written by someone purporting to support swindon (nobody's perfect) it does highlight some success stories (and, who knows, perhaps swindon will be one of them?) and gives an inkling into the workings of supporters trusts.

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-837902662002-10-30T21:52:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:47:25.854Z

Whether or not it's coincidental that this is Anti-Racism in Football Week, there certainly seems to be a plethora of stories circulating about racist incidents both in England and abroad. The BBC web site carries a disturbing run down of racist trouble spots around Europe, with Eastern Europe particularly badly affected, but there are also clear signs that the problem continues to grow in

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-832598412002-10-20T19:15:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:48:26.884Z

Extraordinary, astonishing, unbelievable! Today's Observer carries a story that has surely been released early, actually intended for April 1st.It appears that those wonderful philanthropists at the FA and the Premier League, those knights in shining armour, those benevolent benefactors of the modern game, have purely out of the goodness of their hearts selflessly offered a total of £15 million

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-831777972002-10-18T17:34:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:48:43.805Z

Thanks to Myles Francis for drawing our attention to this story from the BBC about the trials and tribulations of being married to a Norwich fanatic. I would have thought that the fact they combined yellow and green was enough grounds for a divorce, but apparently this bloke took things to extremes - if it was OUFC then it would be understandable, but Norwich??? As Myles so astutely points out,

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-831290022002-10-17T18:39:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:49:12.800Z

Following on from our pig racing story of yesterday, here's another totally unrelated snippet from the Independent about a chap accused of stealing 40,000 clothes hangers from hotel bedrooms. It's not so much the crime itself as his defence of it which is worth preserving for posterity.

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-830339862002-10-15T22:08:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:49:29.441Z

21 things you never knew about pig racing, but didn't know that there was any point in asking.No comment!

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-829583812002-10-14T10:26:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:50:13.503Z

In case some of you missed this article from the Swiss Times, there is a new technological initiative designed to help referees tell whether or not the ball goes out of play. The system works by utilising a series of chips on the shin-pads and the ball which will transmit a signal to a series of antennae around the pitch, creating a three-dimensional virtual image, and which determines the

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-827513182002-10-09T18:46:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:50:41.090Z

There's an excellent article in today's Guardian, by columnist Rod Liddle, comparing Swindon Town to the Tory party. Some of the comparisons are fairly obvious: they're both obnoxious, low-lifes, supported by ignorant fools. They're also both in disarray, fighting for their survival and deeply unpopular. The article also manages to draw out some of the less clearcut similarities, such as that

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-827075072002-10-08T21:35:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:51:08.781Z

The BBC reports on a new television deal between the Football League and ITV. The deal is worth £5 million over two years, netting Division Three clubs like Oxford just £35,000 a year. Better than nothing, but not a lot. It would seem that ITV learned very quickly the lessons of the collapse of their digital arm, and one would assume that this new contract has been closely scrutinised by the

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-826055212002-10-06T21:03:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:51:40.798Z

The results of a major survey into The State of the Game have just been released, according to this report in today's Observer, and some of the results do not make for happy reading. Amongst the more worrying revelations is the news that asian and black football supporters are still put off attending matches because of the threat of racist abuse. With National Anti-Racism in Football Week just

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-824855162002-10-03T21:49:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:52:20.374Z

Barnsley are the latest club to go into administration. Relegated from the First Division last season, just three years after being relegated from the Premiership, the Yorkshire club has amassed large debts from its days in the top flight and the collapse of ITV Digital. The Guardian has a special section devoted to clubs in crisis which makes grim, if enthralling, reading. Thankfully Oxford are

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-822712192002-09-29T14:51:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:52:52.633Z

Following on from the article highlighted yesterday on Soccernet, comes an "exclusive" in today's Observer that only three of the 24 clubs in the First Division can actually guarantee to complete their fixtures this season due to a combination of the ITV Digital collapse and the transfer window (no mention of financial maladministration or imprudent chairmanship). A good, readable article is

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-822468482002-09-28T21:16:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:53:57.153Z

There's an article that's sort of worth checking out on Soccernet. The piece itself, by Richard Jolly, isn't particularly well written, basically being just a list of First Division clubs' transfers during the close-season, but the article's central premise, that the cash shortfall in football means that managerial ability is more to the fore, is unarguable. Or is it? Why not argue it using the

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-821432852002-09-26T13:20:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:54:59.607Z

You may or may not remember that when I first introduced this weblog (or blog, as some refer to these sorts of things) I mentioned that not all posts may necessarily be about football, although all up until now have been. I thought that it was high time to diversify - live a little. As those who enjoy ripping animals to shreds were taking over the streets of London last Saturday (Ralph McTell

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-821095272002-09-25T20:07:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:55:24.800Z

The possibility of change to the game looms ever closer according to today's Guardian. It reports that many of Europe's top coaches are in favour of the idea of two additional match officials, monitoring the goal-lines, to assist the referees. Whilst many officials, including Pierluigi Collina, are opposed to using video technology, and the idea of two referees has never really caught on, this

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-820622732002-09-24T21:34:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:55:56.993Z

The PFA reckons that clubs aren't as badly off as was first feared following the ITV Digital collapse, according to this report on the Nationwide site. The number of footballers still without clubs is less than expected and it's only those first division clubs "who speculated a little bit too much in striving for the Premier League" who are really feeling the pinch (with Watford the latest club

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-820574242002-09-24T19:42:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:56:22.855Z

There's a very interesting, and very important, report in today's Guardian concerning a new FIFA directive. Essentially, from next month, a player receiving a red card will have to serve an immediate one match ban with no right to appeal except in cases of mistaken identity. This is a hard-line ruling introduced to prevent apparent abuses of the current system. In England it would mean that some

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-818824732002-09-20T18:45:00.001Z2010-07-23T22:04:12.669Z

It looks like the Nationwide League are to be partially successful in their quest for exemption from the ridiculous transfer window. Today's Guardian reports that the League will probably be exempt for the next two years, enough time for clubs to get their squads in order, perhaps, before this window will be enforced. The good news, if this is correct, is that it allows this season to continue as

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-818160772002-09-19T10:52:00.001Z2010-07-23T22:04:50.493Z

On the front page of today's Oxford Mail is a story claiming that creditors of Oxford United are saying that the Manor Ground was sold too cheaply at £6 million. Unsecured creditors, who had received 10% of what they were owed under the term of the CVA, should also have received 50% of any profit from the sale of the Manor once the secured creditors had been paid off. The money received from the

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-816396222002-09-15T19:55:00.001Z2010-07-23T22:05:40.495Z

Gordon Taylor, of the PFA, is suggesting that the Nationwide league "sells" one of its promotion places to the Premiership for £100 million, according to this report from the BBC. It's surprising that he stops there and hasn't suggested selling all three promotion places, thus saving the Premiership the hassle of having to worry about being too competitive, or of losing its consistently average

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-815649862002-09-13T19:08:00.002Z2010-07-23T22:06:40.318Z

The football cash crisis continues with news from the Guardian that Derby were unable to pay Sheffield United money owing from the transfer of Lee Morris. Leicester are still having problems with their £5 million wage bill (not helped by Denis unWise's demand of half a mill to drop his court case), and now Northampton have to raise half a million pounds by January or face administration. Still,

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-815159522002-09-12T18:21:00.001Z2010-07-23T22:07:10.610Z

There's a disturbing story coming from Football 365 which reveals that the British National Party, a bunch of far right goons and ne'er do wells, is to sponsor the Tipton Boilers, a pub football team from the West Midlands. BNP's West Midlands organiser Simon Darby said: "For a lot of people in Tipton the BNP is their party." This is slightly disingenuous as the Anti Nazi League proves that only

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-814702162002-09-11T19:49:00.001Z2010-07-23T22:07:31.419Z

Fed up with all the minutes of silence that take place before football matches these days, even for non-footy related events, even for events that took place many moons ago? Well, so is Steven Wells, who expresses his point of view quite forcefully in today's Guardian. The current Rage On has an article in a similar vein, and there appears to be a gathering momentum that these silences are

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-814188302002-09-10T20:12:00.001Z2010-07-23T22:07:59.395Z

A somewhat humorous report from today's Guardian about swindon's attempts to offload tubby Neil Ruddock from their wage bill. Okay, the report itself isn't written that funnily, but you've got to laugh at the Moonrakers, the one team in the league that makes United look almost ept.

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-813166892002-09-08T16:09:00.001Z2010-07-23T22:08:39.930Z

There's a curious article in today's Observer where David Moffett, chief executive of Sport England argues a reasonably compelling case for scrapping promotion and relegation. The kneejerk reaction is that this is a load of bollox, and so it is, but Moffett's arguments are certainly worthy of consideration. The problem really is that the level playing field scenario that Moffett claims would

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-812499942002-09-06T20:16:00.001Z2010-07-23T22:09:18.057Z

Greed begets greed. Some Premiership clubs are threatening to boycott this season's FA Cup according to this report from the BBC, claiming that they want a share of the FA's income generated by the competition. Although all clubs that are members of the Football Association are obliged to enter the competition, some Premiership clubs may possibly field sides that are so weakened they may as well

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-811830562002-09-05T11:02:00.001Z2010-07-23T22:10:00.114Z

Interesting item from the Leicester Mercury that suggests Rotherham are interested in buying one of the stands from the now defunct Filbert Street. The transportation logistics should set someone an interesting challenge, but they seem to have shied away from doing it all without dismantling it. Surprising that no-one expressed a similar interest in the Cuckoo Lane...

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-811001352002-09-03T18:26:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:56:50.273Z

York City's somewhat eccentric, and fairly dangerous, chairman John Batchelor, who is in the running to be chairman of the Football League, is talking about restructuring the format of the Nationwide League, including inviting Rangers and Celtic to join, according to a report on the Nationwide League web site. Batchelor wants the new league to start next season. One sensible idea he's come up

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-810926122002-09-03T15:25:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:57:13.060Z

Nowt to do with Oxford, but this story from today's Guardian should serve as a warning that, legally, Sunderland are not shite. Presumably this does not set a precendent for swindon...

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-810916152002-09-03T15:01:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:57:31.926Z

The heartening tale of AFC Wimbledon is highlighted in Sunday's Observer by Ivor Heller, the Commercial Director of the new club. His one piece of advice is that if fans don't like the way that their club is being run they do have an option - set up an alternative club! It may not be easy, and will certainly involve a lot of hard work, but as AFCW have shown, it can be done!

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-809674252002-08-31T20:24:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:58:11.900Z

Stuart Douglas, who played for Oxford United last season on loan from Luton, is the subject of an interesting article in today's Guardian. Douglas is used as an example of how the new proposed transfer window affects players who are currently without a club, and it doesn't make for a pretty story. The player is hoping to be signed by Rushden & Diamonds (watch him score against us if he does play

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-809671012002-08-31T20:14:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:58:39.432Z

The hilarious ramifications of Faustino Asprilla's abortive move to Darlington are explored in full in this article in the Guardian, Apparently Tino was going to be paid £17,000 a week - quite a lot by Division Three standards - and his arrival at Feethams was alleged to have made players such as Nicky Summerbee and Denis Wise consider moving to the North East, as well as a rekindling of the Paul

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-807743262002-08-27T13:16:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:59:14.039Z

Today's Oxford Mail reports that iron age relics have been discovered on the site of the Cuckoo Lane at the Manor. The director of John Moore Heritage Sites, which is carrying out the archaeological dig on the site, reports that it is part of a much larger community and that there is likely to be a burial site somewhere in the area. It hasn't yet been identified which team these irons supported (

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-807279972002-08-26T13:59:00.001Z2010-07-23T21:59:35.745Z

Also from yesterday's Observer is a report that the Nationwide League is hoping for exemption from the rules concerning transfer windows, due to the financial difficulties that many of the clubs are experiencing. They are proposing that they be allowed to sign and loan players from the Premier League and each other, although they accept that Premiership clubs wouldn't be able to sign Nationwide

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-806912642002-08-25T16:03:00.001Z2010-07-23T22:00:20.587Z

One or two interesting pieces in today's Observer. Possibly the most worrying is the story that Darlington are hoping to sign Faustino Asprilla, who is apparently a personal friend of chairman George Reynolds. Thankfully we've already played Darlo, so we only have to worry about him when they visit the KasStad, although it is always disappointing to hear of our rivals attempts to climb out of

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-806128982002-08-23T13:49:00.002Z2010-07-23T22:00:54.241Z

Astonishingly it appears that the chairmen of the Premiership clubs have demonstrated some good sense for once in their lives (albeit probably for the wrong motives) in dismissing Sven Goran Eriksson's call (backed by the FA) for a mid-winter break. Whilst we don't normally have much interest in how the Premiership conducts itself, you can be certain that if they had voted in favour of a break in

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-805849322002-08-22T21:18:00.001Z2010-07-23T22:01:26.521Z

Some potentially good news for supporters of Wimbledon FC is the news that the Chief Exec of the FA, Adam Crozier, has said on the FA's official web site that they oppose the proposed move of the club to Milton Keynes. Although apparently powerless to act to prevent the relocation, due to the legally binding arbitration between the Football League and Wimbledon, the opposition of the FA must

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-805840482002-08-22T20:55:00.001Z2010-07-23T22:02:08.079Z

The likelihood of Steve Anthrobus playing for Chelsea looms ever closer with the news that the seed of Master Bates has made an "arrangement" with those corporate whores of Llansantffraid, otherwise known as Total Network Solutions, or TNS for short. Whilst this may be good news for Chelsea youngsters who would otherwise be knocking around the youth team or, if they're very lucky, the reserves

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-805829352002-08-22T20:28:00.001Z2010-07-23T22:02:37.162Z

Good news for Darlington comes with the news that former Carlisle chairman Michael Knighton has declined an opportunity to work for them. In fact, according to the Nationwide League web site, Knighton (who was at Feethams on Saturday to watch Darlo lose to United) has said that he has no plans to own a football club for at least the next three or four years, although the bad news is that he has

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-805373612002-08-21T20:48:00.001Z2010-07-23T22:03:03.830Z

We have also discovered that, despite rumours to the contrary, the FA has not changed the offside rule.

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3719223.post-805371952002-08-21T20:44:00.001Z2010-07-23T22:03:25.588Z

To kick off Ananova have the story that Dean Windass is looking for a new club after being told he is surplus to requirements at Middlesbrough.

Martin Bnoreply@blogger.com0