The last time there was a Rage Online comment we were lauding the signing of Heads of Agreement on the land deal between Firoz Kassam and the Oxford City Council. The final deal, it was claimed, was just days away from completion. Here we are almost three months later and we can at last celebrate the actual signing of the deal after weeks of prevarication and delay.

The reasons for the delay, apparently, are due to wrangling between the City Council’s solicitors and Thames Water over the exact added value of the land where the stadium, hotel and leisure complex are sited and over which Thames Water has a restrictive covenant prohibiting the land to be used for anything other than leisure. The amount TW require is thought to be in the region of ?300,000.

Although there is real reason to regard the signing of the deal as a major step towards securing the long-term future of Oxford United, there are still a number of obstacles to overcome, the main one of which is reaching an agreement with Thames Water over the value of the land. Another potential obstacle is the Judicial Review which has been brought by Nick Pentith with the backing of British Rail Properties Board. Pentith’s beef is with the City Council and relates to the multiplex cinema, which Pentith was hoping to build at Oxpens Road on land owned by BRPB. The Council has already stated that it doesn’t believe this will be a problem.

A third potential problem is the caution the Les Wells, who lives on land adjacent to the stadium site, has put on the site in support of his claim to have a right of way across the site. In order to have the caution lifted the City Council needs to apply for an injunction but, again, they do not believe that it poses a real threat. A fourth, and more minor concern, is the restrictive covenant which Morrells has on land within a mile radius of the Bullnose Morris in Blackbird Leys. This prevents any alcohol outlets within its influence from selling any beer other than Morrells, for which presumably an extortionate price will be charged. Kassam himself sees this as a business problem and not one which is fundamental to the development proceding.

What the transfer of the land does mean is that the ball is now firmly in Firoz Kassam’s court. He now cannot use the insecurity surrounding the completion of the new stadium as an excuse not to invest in the team. Of course that is not to disparage the amount of money that Kassam must already have invested in the club. In addition to the initial pound that Kassam paid to Robin Herd for his United shares he has also paid around one million pounds to ensure that the CVA succeeded, plus he has now to guarantee approximately ?10 million to Barr Ltd for the construction of the stadium. Additionally Kassam’s legal fees must be stretching to well over half a million so it’s no surprise that he has been reluctant to splash out on new players, especially after Malcolm Shotton blew his year’s budget on wages for players who have yet to live up to their promise.

Kassam has promised that in the close-season he will buy players with the aim of challenging for promotion in 2000/01 season (although there still remains some uncertainty over who the manager will be), but the question is whether that will be promotion from or to the second division. Whatever our opinion is on the appointment of Denis Smith as United’s new manager (and, to be frank, we have severe reservations) it is essential that Kassam allows him to spend now on strengthening the team to ensure that we will not be a Division Three team next season. One of the plus points about Smith the last time he was here was his astute dealings in the transfer market (Biggins, Carter, Gabbiadini and Wood excepted, although he was quick to admit when he’d made a mistake). He doesn’t have Maurice Evans’ scouting skills at his disposal any more but, hopefully, he will be able to attract some class players to the Manor as his reputation, amongst players if not the fans, is still in credit.

When Smith was here before Rage On was amongst the first to call for a change, and our concerns over Smith’s ability remain. When he was first appointed, back in 1993, we claimed it was an appointment which lacked ambition. Now it depends. If Smith is here just to the end of the season, to ensure we don’t go down, then he could possibly do the job (although he will, of course, be judged on his results). However, if the idea is for Smith to be a long-term option then our initial concerns about lack of ambition will have to be resurrected. If Kassam is serious about wanting the Glory Days to return, about filling the 15,000 capacity Minchery Farm, then Denis Smith is not the manager who will make that happen. There is, however, another Smith who once managed Oxford who could provide a better option…