Oxford Manager

When it comes to football I've always had two big interests; Oxford United and Football Manager. In September 2008 I therefore decided to create a new blog under the name of 'Oxford Manager', combining my two major footballing interests and providing an online home for my thoughts and feelings about these two different subjects.

All my life I've been a huge fan of Oxford United, I was brought up as an Oxford United fan and that's the way I've remained too. Oxford United is the football club I love, the team I've always supported through thick and thin; through the good times, and also through the bad. As much as possible I try to go along to the games, and when unable to do so I'll always make it my mission to listen to the matches on the radio.

Football Manager is a game I've been playing for many years now, dating right back to the early Championship Manager days. I have over a decade's experience in playing the game and always eagerly anticipate the release of new titles in the series. November 14th is the day that Football Manager 2009 (Worldwide Soccer Manager 2009) shall be released and once again I can't wait to play the latest game in the series.

So the blog was set up with an intention to tell all about my Football Manager experiences, and also to reveal all about the latest goings on/results in the real life world of Oxford United. So far, so good, and with the release of Football Manager 2009 in November I'm sure I'll have plenty more to say soon. I spent a lot of hours playing Football Manager, particularly when the game first comes out and I Just can't wait to get my hands on Football Manager 2009.

When Football Manager 2009 is released I intend to post many more blog entries detailing exactly how I'm getting on with the game, what I think of it, and how I feel it potentially could have been improved. I'll also be reporting as to how my teams are doing, and you can rest assured that I'll be trying my hand at taking on the role of Oxford Manager. Hopefully I can do a better job with the team than is currently being done in real life, given the precarious current position of the club though then I see no reason why I should possibly fare any worse.

I intend to keep the blog going for many more months/years to come. I've always loved Oxford United, I've always loved Football Manager, and as the months unfold I hope that many people will grow to love the online blog that is Oxford Manager.

Just for fun, here's a list of the previous Oxford Manager's that have come before me (well, all the real-life Oxford United manager's actually, from 1949 right up until the present day:

Harry Thompson - August 1949 - December 1958
Arthur Turner - January 1959 - February 1969
Ron Saunders - March 1969 - June 1969
Gerry Summers - July 1969 - October 1975
Mick Brown - October 1975 - July 1979
Bill Asprey - July 1979 - November 1980
Ian Greaves - December 1980 - January 1982
Roy Barry (caretaker) - February 1982 - February 1982
Jim Smith - March 1982 - June 1985
Maurice Evans - June 1985 - March 1988
Mark Lawrenson - March 1988 - October 1988
Brian Horton - October 1988 - August 1993
Maurice Evans (caretaker) - August 1993 - September 1993
Denis Smith - September 1993 - December 1997
Malcolm Crosby (caretaker) - December 1997 - January 1998
Malcolm Shotton - January 1998 - October 1999
Micky Lewis (caretaker) - October 1999 - February 2000
Denis Smith - February 2000 - October 2000
Mike Ford (caretaker) - October 2000 - October 2000
David Kemp - October 2000 - April 2001
Mike Ford (caretaker) - May 2001 - May 2001
Mark Wright - May 2001 - November 2001
Ian Atkins - November 2001 - March 2004
Graham Rix - March 2004 - November 2004
Darren Patterson (caretaker) - November 2004 - December 2004
Ramon Diaz - December 2004 - May 2005
Brian Talbot - May 2005 - March 2006
Darren Patterson - March 2006 - March 2006
Jim Smith - March 2006 - November 2007
Darren Patterson - November 2007 - November 2008
Jim Smith (caretaker) - November 2008 - December 2008
Chris Wilder - December 2008 - Present


Further details about each manager's achievements with the club can be found at Wikipedia

Football Manager 2009
(PC)

Football Manager 2009
(PSP)

Football Manager 2009 is now available to order at Amazon.co.uk. Another absolutely excellent title in the Sports Interactive series; Football Manager 2009 is a game that all should own.