Darren Patterson is sacked

'Mercenaries... are useless and dangerous; and if one holds his state based on these arms, he will stand neither firm nor safe; for they are disunited, ambitious, and without discipline, unfaithful, valiant before friends, cowardly before enemies; they have neither the fear of God nor fidelity to men, they avoid defeat just so long as they avoid battle; for in peace one is robbed by them, and in war by the enemy. The reason for all this is that there is no loyalty or inducement to keep them on the field apart from the little they are paid, and this is not enough to make them willing to die for you.'

- The Prince

(Time for some of our players to consult their consciences).

[Detail from Gozzoli's The Journey of the Magi courtesy of the Wikimedia Commons]

FA cup second round, Torquay

(A shroud of fog was drawn over our participation in the FA cup as it ended in a pitiful second half - where now?)

Hasty departures after beating Kidderminster at home

(A freezing night; A perfunctory penalty; Moist breath condensing on scarves; Head down, hands in pockets, home: Soul-unstirred.)

A shoeing at Histon

One of 3,196 moments

‘My moments, her moments. The dog’s moments.’

- Krapp’s Last Tape

I was there the moment the opportunity went by. I was looking towards the front of the stand at one of the stewards trying to hide his nose in a dirty great luminous coat - glancing in my direction as chance would have it. Our eyes met. Around me a swell grew and I broke from his glance just as the ball passed through the space in front of the goal. For that moment my gaze joined the gaze of players and spectators, fixed on the ball as it moved towards a player’s forehead. But the header ghosted past the post, and the noise subsided, the moment over.

I watched the ball bounce off a chair with a clatter. It lodged itself under another, discounted. Its significance was unclear to me. It might have stayed there, but a child picked it up and threw it back to the goalkeeper.

[Some words occasioned by something Oxblogger wrote.]

A nervy replay victory at Dorchester

(Persisting or fading?)

Returning home to find Oxford have lost at Grays

(All is darkness and confusion).

FA Cup first round at home to Dorchester

(A half-hearted Ox)

Exiting the Setanta Shield away at Forest Green

(Contemplating whether it's defeat or the conceit of this thoroughly modern football competition that leaves us feeling empty)

Light through the gloom as Oxford beat York at home