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What was the first game you saw Oxford play?

I ask because I have just realised that it was 23 years ago today that my Dad took me to The Manor to watch Oxford against Newcastle in the league cup!

I was only little, but couldn't believe that Newcastle had a front four of Kevin Keegan, Peter Beardsley, Chris Waddle and Terry McDermott - and we still beat them! I was an Oxford fan from that day and was spoilt by going to the rest of that league cup campaign against Leeds, Man United (twice) and Everton!

Shit, you lucky sod. That was, for me, one of the greatest nights at the Manor.

'Circus in the town' ringing out.

Andy Thomas playing his best ever game.

George Lawrence having the most amazing first half. Then straight from the kickoff in second half Kenny Wharton, obviously under instruction, ran across and kicked George into the Osler Road. George wasn't so keen after that.

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22 years ago next week. And for the last 20 years, it's all been downhill.

26 years ago this Sunday.

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v Rotherham. 1 - 1 draw. As usual I don't remember much about individual games. I remember the excitement well enough though. It was a bit scary as a spotty 14 year old going for the first time actually.

I just can't remember my first match - earliest memory was a 2-1 defeat at The Manor. We were losing for most of the match, then Peter Foley decided to put his water-walking antics to one side for a moment to score the equaliser at the Cuckoo Lane end with about 10 mins to go. Of course, we conceded a late winner at the LRT end. Should have warned me about the years to come, but for some reason I stuck with it. Have no idea who the opposition were though. I guess it must have been around 1980 or 81 though.

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I was only 7 though...

I went up in the early 60's with my next door neighbour a few times but I don't remember anything about the games except for 1 when the man in the black suit was parading around the ground with a big flag and I had to sit on the shale with all the other kids. I think we'd just been promoted from Div 4 and there were fireworks.

I started going regularly at the start of the 1968 season because I got a job as a programme seller and I eventually realised that I enjoyed the football more than the money and I was missing the first 20 minutes of each game.

My last game as a programme seller was the FA cup round 3 game against Liverpool 1971/72 so my first home game as a paying punter was Fulham at home 29/01/1972 and I've been going ever since.

My first away game was Leicester City in the FA Cup round 5 13/02/1971 when we drew 1 -1 and I think I was in something like coach 8.

What an introduction to football, Ginger. The first 30 minutes being the best football played by any team, anywhere, ever, never to be surpassed. ... Fact No doubt many of you will concur?

Unfortunately, don't know my first game. Would have been in 71 or 72, I think. Surely it's the responsibilty of all fathers to note such occasions. Mine didn't, but my little boy's did.

This was mine:
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My very first football match was in 1963, Leicester 0 Burnley 0, and I think that my second Oxford game was the 0-0 draw with Carlisle in the League Cup. If that's right then I didn't see a single goal in any of my first three games. It's surprising that I became a football supporter really.

I can't remember much about the game itself, but I can remember that my two brothers had jobs selling sweets and drinks out of those cinema-usher type trays, walking around the pitch perimeter before the game and at half time. Initially they sat me on a bench along the Osler Road (they took me as a 10th birthday present) before some club official made them move me, so they took me to the corner of the London Rd/Osler Rd. I can remember being told to pay attention because they didn't have action replays.

Anyone wanting to buy the programme from their first match, or nearest to their date of birth, or whatever, I can probably provide it.

Ad over. Sorry Boris!

Born and grew up in Brum so my first game was Villa vrs Carlisle in the old, old division 2 in Nov 1972 - Trevor Hockey and Charlie Aitken scoring, the latter quite a rarity I understand. Main memory of those early games was being dragged back to the car by my father, with feet barely touching the ground, so we could hear the other scores on Radio 2 (as it was then - all together now &quotda da, da da, da da, da da, da daddily da di da.....&quot)

Moved to Oxford in 1988 to start work after Uni and drove down on the morning of Saturday 24th October (wow, 18 years ago!) morning to move into my newly rented room. The Landlord left a message that he was unable to let me in until the evening so I had an afternoon to kill. What better to do, than stroll up the road from Cowley to Headington to watch the locals play Blackburn (as they had that Hendry fellow playing and he was meant to be quite good).

Remember very little about it, apart from it being a draw, but it was only when reading the Howland bible (my best chrissie pressie last year), that I realised the significance of the game in terms of Lawrenson/Saunders etc....

Can't say I was hooked there and then, as it was the best part of 10 years later before I started paying any real attention or going on anything like a regular basis and now I'm back to only getting up there a couple of times a season until Mooro Jr is old enough to be dragged along. My only hope is that the yellows have improved sufficiently to be on at least equal pegging if not better with Wycombe by then, so he does not get distracted by the blue and, er, blues...

Oxford v Leicester last game of 1987 season.

It really has been downhill ever since I often wonder why I've kept coming along!

I can't recall an exact game as 'the first', but it was around 1972. I remember games against Norwich and Birmingham City (with Wunderkid Trevor Francis).

I was also at the game when the wall collapsed. Memory told me it was Norwich, but someone told me it was another game.

&quotGodalmingYellow&quot wrote:Anyone wanting to buy the programme from their first match, or nearest to their date of birth, or whatever, I can probably provide it.

Ad over. Sorry Boris!

I'm a sucker for blatant advertising so I'll be up for the said programme! Oxford v Newcastle 26th October 1983 - if available you can let me know details at peter@green97.fsworld.co.uk!

&quotDLT&quot wrote:I can't recall an exact game as 'the first', but it was around 1972. I remember games against Norwich and Birmingham City (with Wunderkid Trevor Francis).

I was also at the game when the wall collapsed. Memory told me it was Norwich, but someone told me it was another game.

I was at that game too, DLT, right by the wall in fact. It was Watford in the FA Cup (1-1, we won the replay 2-1).