Essexyellows

Cheers gent`s, cracking evening/night`s football. Genuine FA Cup "magic" if there is such a thing these days. Rolling home in the wee small hours isn`t for us old folk!! Enjoy the rest of the season, and thanks for the hospitality at SJP, its a cracking city.

Our ground has the largest dedicated car parking spaces in the FL. And a fence. Friendly tip, the ground sits in a CPZ (Controlled Parking Zone) they love to dish out tickets at games and will be out en masse while folk are watching the football, there will be traffic management folk "managing" the traffic flow around the ground. They aren`t very good at this. They provide great entertainment with their flashing disco lights and orange clad oompah lumpah`s. Next to the ground there is a cinema and some shite restaurants adding to the parking woe`s. Parking outside of the CPZ is both free and a short walk to the ground from Blackbird Ley`s. The Ley`s is a proper working class estate that had a bit of reputation but nothing excessive. Balfour Road & Pegasus Road are the main streets with plenty of off street parking around if you get there sharp. Purple area is the CPZ, ground is bottom left. Everywhere to the North East of the CPZ is fine. Chances of getting a beer, slim. Food at the ground, shite. And the TV Studio has been wedged in the corner by your end of the North Stand. To add to the "fun" the mobile wall will probably be deployed behind the North Stand so if you park on the Ley`s and walk to the ground you will have to factor walking all the way around the ground to reach the turnstiles.

On the plus side.............Oxford are normally awful when the TV cameras turn up, we`ve sold 2 players to Brentford since the first game (Fosu & Baptiste) and there are only 60 tickets left.

If it`s any consolation we are, invariably, shite when we are on the telly. 8.05 kick off, full house, possible extra time and maybe penalties combined with trying to get out of the car parks could make it 11.30- midnight to get to the ring road. I`ll be home just in time to get up & go to work then.

Nice to see it`s a sell out also on "extended highlights" so we pick up an extra £12,500 for that. Might get a fresh coat of Ronseal on the Fence End (The most famous wooden structure in world football). Leisurely train up from Leicester tomorrow morning with ample time to embrace the hospitality. Enjoy the game and fingers crossed............

In more good news we`ve just been told it`s sit in your allocated seat................. or get hoyed out. So we will end up playing musical chairs for a bit.......

We are all going to be trying to find junior ticket stubs....... "Oxford United supporters will be able to claim a free hot dog or vegetarian equivalent for under- 12s at concourse kiosks on Saturday upon the presentation of a valid junior ticket."

Just for clarity 3.5 - 4k may not sound a lot ............. but it`s about 60-70% of our average home gate! Looking like a 40k+ crowd so the biggest we`ve run out too since our, relatively frequent, trips to Wembley.

@PaddockLad......... more trauma, can remember Gascoigne tearing us apart playing for Spurs, ironically in Round 4 of the FA Cup. Another blinder of a day out, was living in Essex at the time with Wife MK1. Think we use most of those tunes as well, although the words may be a bit different!!

Close, was little Les Philips at St James`s (April 88) and Deano scored at the Manor........... lost `em both 1-3. We`ve spent a lot of time being both virtually & actually relegated! Yep, I doff my old hat to you. Was March `91. It`s all a blur these days!! That`s what the Conference does to you!

Greetings, another one soaking up the pre-match atmosphere for our "Cup Final" at the weekend. Been following our lot for far too many years, remember arriving at St James`s in the `80`s just as the tannoy announced it was off due to a water logged pitch! Older & wiser, and having moved house several times, the train is taking the strain Saturday!