Oxford United Chairman Sumrith 'Tiger' Thanakarnjanasuth writes the following notes in the programme for the Wycombe Wanderers game:
It has been an unforgettable week for Oxford United, and what better way to end it than against Wycombe Wanderers, the best team in our division in the first half of the season. It has an extra incentive being so local and I hope the atmosphere is great again and that we can come out on top with a win.
The club has been in the news so much this week and so many words have been written about our performance against Manchester City that I will struggle to find new ways of saying how proud I was of the players and of Karl and his staff. No team could have pushed the champions of England, who are also the holders of the Carabao Cup, as hard as we did and I get very emotional just thinking about how well we played and how far we have come as a club. I don’t like to mention individual players, but I have seen Rob Dickie grow up from a young boy to a fantastic young man who took the captain’s armband on Wednesday and truly led by example.
In among all the words of praise for the team, I want to reserve special praise for the people who never get any praise or recognition. The stadium has never looked better than it did on Wednesday - a word for Michael Doyle and the Firoka team for their help - but I want to take a moment to thank Andrew Taylor for all of his hard work in the build-up and in helping sort out the display. Rosie and Adam in the commercial team did an amazing job, Claire Theobald in the office, Mick Brown for making things run so smoothly, Christine, Gemma and Steve in the ticket office who have already had such a busy Christmas! Lee and the shop staff have seen record sales and I want to thank Matt Everett for all his hard work on marketing the club so well.
These people are a central part of the Oxford United family and I am so proud to be part of that now. To share a game like Manchester City with them, and with our brilliant fans, was something I will never forget, and I want to end by wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. I hope we start the festive season with a win for you all.
Tiger
You can read the full programme online at www.matchdayfix.com/oufc.