Oxford United 2 Port Vale 1

There are a lot of games to go this season, but - for me - this was the game in which Oxford showed their real credentials as real challengers for the League Two title.

Port Vale will be there or there abouts in May make no mistake and they did a decent job to stop the home side from playing the passing game Chris Wilder loves to see, but Peter Leven showed that they can adapt and play the long ball game if required.

I'm referring of course to Leven's superb 45 yard strike that left opposing keeper Stuart Tomilinson lost for words - other than those of apology he was heard offering up to team mates as they went to warm down after the game.

Ryan Clarke pulled off a great save from Vale skipper Marc Richards's penalty to make sure of the win and told me afterwards that Tomlinson had "been a bit lippy" in the tunnel before the game. I guess sometimes it's better to let your football do the talking.

Clarke wouldn't reveal what was said or to who, but as the Oxford players jumped on Leven to celebrate his superb goal, it was noticeable that Jake Wright had his attention turned towards the Oxford Mail end where Tomlinson was standing shamed-faced. At first I thought captain Wright was just celebrating with the Us faithful, but - given that he would have been one of the closest to the Port Vale keeper in the tunnel - I now wonder whether he was politely enquiring as to the stopper's thoughts at that moment!

Leven picked up the man of the match award it's difficult to argue with the decision given the quality of his goal and his all round contribution, but I have to say I was impressed with Alfie Potter's work rate on Saturday afternoon. The lad played as if he was after a new contract rather than someone who had just signed a new deal.

Equally, that is the best I've seen James Constable play in the games I've seen this season.

But on the whole, you couldn't point to a single Oxford player and question his commitment and that bodes well if they can steer clear of injuries and suspensions.

One player they definitely need to wrap in cotton wool is Paul McLaren, 34, who quietly goes about his job keeping things ticking over and feeding the younger legs belonging to Simon Heslop, Liam Davis, Potter and Leven.

As a neutral, this was a great game to be at and, to be fair, Port Vale played their part. Richards is one of the most dangerous strikers in the division and will end up at the top end of the scoring charts.

A final word about Michael Duberry. The former Chelsea man has (according to those who have seen a lot more of Oxford than me this season) been the team's most consistent performer. On Saturday he scored his first goal for the club and to say he was happy about it is an understatement. He ran the length of the pitch to celebrate in front of the Oxford Mail end, pausing only to acknowledge friends and family in the main stand.

I don't care what team you support, when you see someone like Duberry playing in your colours it renews your faith in the game. He's been there, got the t-shirt and, at 36 years old, has nothing to prove - but he's giving his all for the cause.

He told me after the game that he'd been told that he had become the oldest player to ever score for Oxford. I don't know whether that's true, but if so, I wouldn't bet against him breaking his own record before the season's out.

When he told me that only he and Peter Leven were technically gifted enough to score from 45 yards he had a cheeky grin on his face, but you know what, I bet he tries it at some point.

My piece from this morning's paper

Oxford v Port Vale

It's another trip to the Kassam for me tomorrow to see whether Oxford can build on Tuesday night's 5-1 drubbing of Plymouth.

Oxford have lost only one game in their last ten fixtures (1-0 against Gillingham) and so are in a good run of form, but tomorrow's opponents Port Vale shouldn't be taken too lightly as they've only lost once on their travels this term.

I know striker Tom Pope quite well and he has secured a move to the club he has supported all his life. He's a Vale nut (a bit like Robbie Williams, but without the voice!) and is one of those players we all like to see turing out for our respective clubs. Whole-hearted and prepared to die for the cause. Pope has scored four goals this season and co-striker Marc Richards has found the net five time - suggesteing a partnership has been formed.

But it isn't just the front two who Oxford need to keep an eye on. Midfielders Sean Rigg, Gary Roberts and Doug Loft have shared thirtenn goals as well.

In Mickey Adams, Vale have a very experienced man at the helm and it will be interesting to watch the tactical battle with Chris Wilder in the opposite dugout.

Wilder played for Adams at Brighton and it is obvious that the Vale boss rates him. He said:

"When there's talk about young managers being promoted up to the Premier League and the Championship levels, then I think clubs should be looking at the likes of Chris.


"Forget the team, if Oxford's board look at their assets I hope they recognise the fact he is their number one asset.That's how highly I rate him, but because he does his job in a quiet and proficient manner and is not as high profile as other managers, he can fall by the wayside when other jobs are talked about.

"But one thing I know about Oxford with Chris in charge is that they will be fit and organised."

More later as and when ....

Wycomvbe Wanderers 1 Charlton Athletic 2

Better late than never!

I'm afraid after Tuesday night's game at Adams Park I had to fly out to Germany for a couple of days and so apologies for my tardiness in getting these worthless thoughts to you.

Before the game I must admit I was concerned that Wycombe might find themselves on the wrong end of a footballing lesson from arguably the division's promotion favourites.

And in the first half it appeared that my concerns were about to be realised, but credit to the Chairboys, they came out positively after the break and once Stuart Beavon had pulled a goal back, Charlton looked fairly uncomfortable and I suspect they were a little relieved to get on the bus with all three points.

The club slipped into the relegation zone on the back of this defeat, but there really isn't the air of doom and despondency about the place that I felt at Swindon, Bristol Rovers and Walsall for much of last season.

Team spirit and good management will count for a lot in Buckinghamshire this season. Survival in the division has been what this season is all about from day one and everyone knows it, including the fans. So unlike Swindon and Rovers who had been expected to push on following decent shows in the preceding season, Wycombe are already rolling up their sleeves and getting ready for the scrap ahead. On the plus side, Gary Waddock has assembled a squad of players who seem to be prepared to fight for the cause and play decent football as well.

They have another tough game this weekend when Sheffield Wednesday visit and - while I'm sure they will be giving it their all - it's another fixture against what is (or should be) a Championship outfit. The run of games following this one include tussles with Bournemouth, Carlisle, Exeter, Stevenage and Chesterfield and I suspect that these are games that Waddock has targeted as 'winnable'.

My clipping from Wednesday's paper

Wycombe v Charlton

I think I may be going along to see the future League One champions play at Adams Park tonight - and sorry Chairboys, I mean Charlton.

Chris Powell's boys have already set the early pace and promotion is long overdue ofter a few years in the lower league wilderness.

Of more interest to me will be how Wycombe cope.

I think that most people would agree that, on paper, Charlton have the stronger side, but on the occasions I have seen Wycombe this season, one thing they are not short of is spirit.

Gary Waddock has definitely assembled a team who believe that they can survive in this division, but there is no doubt in my mind that this fixture will prove to be their sternest test.

Hereford United 1 Barnet 0

Sometimes you just have to take one for the team ... and I'm not talking football here, but writing for the papers.

While a player might think that he is playing a great game, but still finds himself being hooked to the bench by the manager, he often just has to bite his lip for the greater good. That is the position I find myself in this morning.

My clipping from this morning's paper follows below, but doesn't tell the full story of my post-match conversations with Stefan Stam and particularly Nathan Elder. So for the Hereford fans, here is a fuller version.

I initially met up with Nathan pitch side after the game - and then again in the car park - and he was obviously delighted to have scored. But the story didn't end there.

It was two years ago today that Nathan last found the back of the net in a League game for Shrewsbury and he said:

"I suffered a bad injury to my face close to the eye and needed surgery. Then when I came back from that, I had a cruciate ligament injury that kept me out evven longer. If you include the sumer break when I was doing rehab, I was out for about 21 months.

"There was a point when I really didn't think I'd play again and that goal was for all the people who have stuck by me and kept me going. My family, friends and mates in the game like Craig Disley (Bristol Rovers and Grimsby midfielder), the Shrewsbury physio and Dodge, the physio here at Hereford.

"At Shrewsbury I'd find myself in the physio's room before everyone had arrived and then the last to leave, but eveyone tried to keep my spirits up.

"It has been so long since I'd scored that I didn't even know how to celebrate and so just ran towards my 15 month son Kayden in the stands to give him a little wave. It was his first football game and so he's my lucky mascot now. Whether he likes it or not he'll be at every game from now on!"

Nathan went on:

"When I was subbed I just sat on the bench thinking about all of the people who had helped me and supported me. I thought of all of the bad times and how I thought it was all over. Kayden wasn't even born the last time I scored. It was quite emotional sitting there.No tears, but still emotional."

Last week I ran with a story about Tom Barkhuizen, Nathan and David Cornell playing with spiders in their shared house. It was a fun piece and frankly that's what football should be about. Smiling and having a laugh and a bit of banter.

On other occasions an individual's personal story can be more interesting. Those tales about battling back against the odds and winning through need telling because they are inspirational and uplifting. Especially when nice guys like Nathan Elder are involved. I look forward to seeing him adding to his tally and continuing his fightback whether it is with Hereford or elsewhere (his loan deal from Hayes & Yeadiong runs out at the end of this week). I'm sure Bulls' fans will agree his work rate certainly merits a change in fortune.

On a lighter note, I also bumped into Stefan Stam in the car park and made the point of congratulating him and the defence on a good solid show. Stefan nodded, but pointed to the addition of Andy Todd, 37, as a key reason why they have been looking a lot more solid at the back. He said:

"Andy's experience has definitely made a difference. He's played at the top level and knows what he's doing. The trouble is though, that at his age I need to help him out of the shower after a game!"

Ah, even when you have a lump in your throat, you can count on a footballer to bring you back down to earth with a smile.

My clipping from this morning's paper

Hereford v Barnet

The Bulls take on Barnet tomorrow in another bottom of the table clash at Edgar Street and I have been asked to cover it for Monday's paper.
The home side will be hoping to build on the performance last weekend against Bradford, during which you could see their collective confidence grow as the game wore on.
Barnet are only two points and two places ahead of Hereford who themselves are one place off bottom spot in the table - currently being kept warm by Plymouth.
Despite Plymouth's well documented financial problems, I think most football fans expect them to rally at some point soon and so it's important that Hereford start racking up a few points of their own.
With games against Northampton and Torquay following tomorrow's game, there is an opportunity to do just that and - if manager Jamie Pitman and new Director of Football Gary Peters have maintained the buzz created by the win against the Bantams - they might well be in a position to build a winning run.
Barnet will be without 24 year old Charlie Taylor who has - correctly in my opinion - received a three match ban for spitting at an opponent during last weekend's win at Aldershot. Not something any fan or player likes to see and while the ref missed the incident, the TV cameras didn't.
However, co-striker Izale McLeod will be in the starting line up and despite the club's lowly position, the former Charlton man has been knocking ion the goals this term - ten in all competitions so far. Hereford's defence will need to stay alert.
McLeod is still only 27 years old, but an experienced campaigner. He made one substitute's appearance for the England U-21 side in a 3-1 win over Norway and so is obviously no mug. He's also a bit of a hero in Barnet for scoring the penalty against Port Vale last season that kept the club in League Two. Stefan Stam and Andy Todd beware!
Another player to watch out for is 24 year old Ricky Holmes. Holmes joined Barnet after being released by Chelmsford City in 2010 so that he could pursue his dream of playing at a higher level. While he suffered injuries in his first professional campaign, he has hit the back of the net in his last three outings for Barnet.
The Essex-born striker has come off the pitch with concussion in the last two games and is due a late fitness test before tomorrow's tussle.
The excellent Bulls News blog (http://bullsnews.blogspot.com/) is reporting that 37 year old Todd might be offered a longer deal at the club. Todd, who is the son of former Derby County and England legend Colin, has built a reputation for himself in the game with clubs such as Blackburn Rovers as a no-nonsense defender and following last week's performance, boss Jamie Pitman said:
"I thought he was fantastic. It's a month at the moment. If he shows what is he capable of doing I'm sure it will be longer than just a month."

Creeping crisis

The news this week that Accrington Stanley's non playing club staff (from Chief Executive Rob Heys down) are reportedly being asked to  take a whopping 40% cut in wages is not only a worrying development for the Lancashire club, but a warning of the measures that some other outfits in the lower two divisions may have to take.

While Accrington is well off my 'beat', the club's situation is worth mentioning because several of the clubs I do cover are now sitting in League Two.

Last season after Macclesfield played at Hereford I had a chat with the then manager Gary Simpson who told me that he had players on the pitch that evening who were being paid £250 a week and so it's important that fans don't get the impression that it's the lads kicking the ball who are bleeding clubs dry.

The money filtering down football's food chain has all but dried up and it is time that the FA, the Football League and the Premier League clubs got together and took a long hard look at how the leagues are structured and financed for the good of the game long term.

The fact that there are owners of clubs in the Premier League who are making noises about making the top flight a closed shop can only add to the lower league clubs' concerns. With no prospect of fighting to reach the 'promised land' (even if, for some, it is pure fantasy), another incentive to follow the smaller teams is removed. The romance disappears as quickly as the crowds.

Fortunately people like Wigan Chairman Dave Whelan and Sir Alex Ferguson are around to pour scorn on the idea. But they are real football people who have both spent their lives on the pitch as well as in the board room or dug out.

But what of the growing number of men and women in top flight boardrooms who are just as interested in the results of the half-yearly finances as the results of the games themselves? Do their priorities really lend themselves to the long term interests of football? I fear they may not.

Reading 2 Derby County 2

Robbie Savage built a reputation as a hard man midfielder over many years  - last night he lost it!

It has to be said though that his tango at half time with Strictly Come Dancing partner Ola Jordan was the highlight of the evening on the pitch - thank God then for Adam Le Fondre.

Former Rotherham striker Le Fondre levelled twice for the Royals after Derby had gone ahead with goals from Theo Robinson and Tomasz Cywka and manager Brian McDermott's summer buy is now looking like a real steal at £350,000.

I had a chat with McDermott after the game and asked him whether Le Fondre had done much to adapt his game to the rigours of the Championship, but the manager said that there had been no need as the player was a naturally gifted footballer with and eye for goal and who worked hard for the team.

I have chatted to Adam a few times in recent seasons while he played for Rotherham and, in my opinion, there was no better striker in the bottom two divisions. He is a real poacher and if it hadn't been for a brilliant first half save from Frank Fielding last night, he would have notched up an eight yard header and ended up with a deserved hat trick.

Special mention to Meikle Leigertwood as well. It was the first time I had seen the lad play and in the first half in particular, I felt he controlled midfield.

And a final word about Robbie Savage. I'd like to appeal to all readers of this blog to vote for him and keep voting for him until he wins the Strictly Coming Dancing title. The longer he stays on the telly, the longer he stays off BBC's 606 show and the more I can enjoy my drive home after a game.

My clipping from this game

Reading v Derby

It my first trip to Berkshire tonight for what promises to be an exciting tussle between two of the Championship's in-form teams ... so 0-0 it will be then!

Reading are growing in confidence after a shaky start to the campaign, but go into this fixture unbeaten in five games after what was a shaky start to the season and so it's nice to see that Brian McDermott is managing to turn things around.

Winger Jimmy Kebe is touted for a return to the Royals' squad, but Jay Tabb who suffered concussion in last Saturday's fixture is definitely out while the club monitor his progress - although all seems to be going well.

Derby have lost in their last five trips to the Madejski Stadium and boss Nigel Clough - who has just signed a deal keeping him at Pride Park until 2015 - will be hoping that tonight's game puts and end to that dismal run.

But if County are to win they will have to do it without defender John Brayford who is injured.

And with leading marksman Steve Davies - five so far this season - out injured, Academy product Callum Ball, 19, may get only his second start with the club - the first this season. The youngster appeared off the bench on four other occasions last term, but has yet to find the net despite netting 31 times for the reserves and the youth team.

Hereford United 2 Bradford City 0

Unfortunately I was away in Amsterdam last week on 'business' and so struggled to get to a laptop and so apologies for not staying in touch - the Guinness was excellent though :-)

I returned to duty on Saturday afternoon to watch the Bulls take on the Bantams in a bottom of the table clash and saw the home side notch up their first win in seven.

As regular sufferers of this blog will know, I have had the opportunity to see Hereford several times recently and just felt they were slowly turning things around. It seems I might have got something right for a change!

Oxford probably deserved to win at Edgar Street, but none of the Herefords players let their heads drop.

They won a hard fought point against Cheltenham and did the same at Swindon. The signs were there that this was not a side prepared to roll over and that must be encouraging for the fans.

While I caught up with manager Jamie Pitman afterwards, it would be wrong to quote him verbatim as it really was just a general chat rater than an interview, I'm sure he won't mind me making some observations and giving the gist of what was said.

Pitman was understandably chuffed with the win, but after Tom Barkhuizen had popped over to shake his hand before going home, he pointed to the departing goalscorer and cited him as typical of the attitudes being shown by the dressing room.

They all just want to play and are backing each other all the way. They work hard and have smiles on there faces and lads like Barkhuizen and fellow goalscorer Steve Leslie (what a scorching 30 yard free kick by the way) are happy to be playing first team football and be given the opportunity to try and make it in the game.

More importantly for Hereford fans, Pitman feels they have the interests of the club at heart whether they are there on loan - like Barkhuizen and Leslie - or are on permanent deals.

While we were talking, young midfielder Harry Pell was being interviewed ten yards away and I asked Pitman if - like me - I thought that Pell had used his brain to draw the foul from Michael Flynn - resulting in the Bradford skipper's second booking and Leslie's goal. He agreed.

Pell had been on a surging run from half way and then drifted across Flynn and the invitation was clear: take my legs or I'm bearing down on goal - either way I'm getting something out of this.

Flynn took the bait followed shortly after by an early bath ... and a real rollocking from manager Phil Parkinson all the way back to Yorkshire, I suspect.

In the position Bradford are in, they need to be doing what Hereford have already done. Grind out points and build a confidence that was there for all to see in the home team.

Parkinson will turn things around there, I have no doubt. He's a good man and a good coach.

But Jamie Pitman is getting his reward now and I will quote one thing he said.

As Barkhuizen drifted away I mentioned the fact that he, Dave Cornell and Nathan Elder were all sharing the same house. He grinned, shook his head and said: "I just don't want to know what it's like in there ... but they're all good lads so I trust them."

My clipping from this morning's paper