Oxford United's Chairman, Grant Ferguson, wrote the following notes for the programme for the visit of Barnsley in Sky Bet League One:
Good evening everyone and thank you for coming along to see us take on Barnsley, a game between two good sides in good form. I hope it lives up to its potential and we get to see an exciting game that again showcases the quality in this division this season. It obviously comes after the postponement of our home game against Northampton on Saturday, but I want to put on record my thanks to the groundstaff for their exceptional efforts to get the pitch playable. However, the weather is a formidable opponent, and it left the referee with no choice but to call off the match.
So now we switch our focus on the opportunity tonight to build on an excellent win away at Carlisle in our last league game. Thankfully we are starting to get players back into the squad. Sam Long would have been involved on Saturday, Greg Leigh is back, Stephan Negru and Josh Murphy are close now, and we continue to work to strengthen key positions. So far this window we have seen the arrival of Jamie Cumming, Tyler Burey and Will Goodwin – a goalkeeper, winger and striker – as well as extending Joe Bennett’s contract and signing Kyle Edwards.
The window is open for another week, typically the busiest, so we remain on the trail of a couple more players before it closes. The recruitment team have been well ahead of the game this window, but inevitably some of the best-laid plans depend on factors we can’t control. However, our processes allow us to react quickly to new information and the Board is ready to back them and Des for the right move.
Off the field, we are pleased to announce a new Head of Finance as Carlos Oliva Power joins the club. Carlos has worked in football in this country for the last five years, joining us from Rochdale, having previously been Finance Director at Barnet after starting his career in both Spain and Italy. He brings a wealth of experience and an international perspective to the club, and I am sure he is another positive addition to the backroom team.
Finally, I wanted to mention a game that did go ahead on Saturday. Despite the first-team game being postponed, the Community team decided to proceed with our disability team’s match against Northampton on Saturday morning. That was a great call as the match was a great success. The enthusiasm, determination and obvious joy from both sides made for a fantastic event. The Community team plan to make sure that days like that happen more often as we continue our efforts to make football inclusive and accessible to varied communities across Oxfordshire.
Grant
You can download and read the full programme at www.matchdayfix.com/oufc