By Rupert Fryer

Twitter: @Rupert_Fryer

Website: South American Football

Why Oxford United?

I was born in the city to a family of Oxford United fans – my Grandfather had supported the club way back in the ‘50s when they were still known as Headington United. He was a season ticket holder and my dad got a job on the turnstiles when I was young, meaning my brother and I could get into the old Manor Ground for free. Gradually, I caught the bug and joined them as we followed the club up and down the country in what was then –following the birth of the Premier League in ’92- the old First Division.

FAVOURITE PLAYER?

Joey Beauchamp. He came into his pomp just as I began going to Oxford games on a regular basis. At his peak, he was undoubtedly the best player outside the Premier League. A left-footed winger to boot, it’s a terrible shame that his ‘time’ at West Ham ended before it had even began; he had more than enough talent to have gone on to become a top Premier League player and represent England at senior level. His brace against Millwall and volley against Blackpool live long in the memory.

FAVOURITE KIT?

Our centenary home shirt from the ’93-94 season, not least because it was accompanied by what remains the worst football shirt I have ever seen.

FAVOURITE MOMENT?

Undoubtedly, when little Alfie Potter stroked home the winner in the Blue Square Premier playoff final last summer. It brought down the curtain on the most miserable time of my footballing life. It signalled the end of a four-year cycle: four years of despair; four years of standing in tin sheds; of leaning on the back of the terrace and glancing up to see some fella hanging out of his living room window watching the game for free; of travelling the length of the country to outnumber the home fans three to one; of pointless FA Trophy fixtures; of having to watch visiting opponents time wasting before most of those around you had even taken their seats; it was, well, just bloody miserable.

But it was all worth it on Sunday May 16 2010 when a pintsized Sam Deering squared the ball to an equally diminutive Potter in the final minute at Wembley that afternoon. The release, the relief, the joy and the ecstasy that swept over us all at that moment made it –while the lady in my life might not appreciate me admitting this- the greatest day of my life.

FAVOURITE GAME?

Having cited the playoff final as my favourite moment, I’d have to go with our trip to Leeds United for an F.A Cup replay in 1994. They were a massive club then, and still had the likes of Gordon Strachan, Lee Chapman, and Gary Speed, who had lifted the league title just three years before. We were great that night, and were 2-0 up with a few minutes to go. But Strachan smashed in a 25-yarder to pull one back, and when they bundled in their equaliser in stoppage time, I’m not ashamed to say, I wept like a baby (disclaimer: I was only 12 at the time). Most of the Leeds fans had gone by then, but they must have heard the Elland Road roar as they flooded back in for extra time. I was decimated, we all were. I remember moping off to the toilets utterly dejected by what I had seen, but on the way back to the stand I glanced up at a TV screen to see Mike Ford loft a ball over the top for Jim Magilton. I raced back into the stand just in time to see him loop the ball over ‘keeper and send us into dreamland.

And a special mention for the ten goal thriller against Portsmouth in ’92. We were utterly outplayed for 80 odd minutes that night. We should have been six or seven down by half-time. Pompey were brilliant. I’ve no idea how we managed to go into the break only 4-2 down; I can only remember us having the ball twice in the first 45 minutes. Half the ground left at the half-time, and half of those that remained shot off when Mark Chamberlain smashed in a fifth for Pompey. What followed remains the most inexplicable end to a football match I have ever seen.

WORST THING ABOUT BEING AN OXFORD UNITED FAN?

The constant misery.

 

Posted on April 3rd, 2011 by scott
Filed under: My Team & I