If i ever see this bloke i will buy him a pint
"I'M OFF.. AND THE BALD TRUTH IS EAGLE JIM COST OXFORD PROMOTION
VIEW FROM THE BOTTAM DIARY OF A CONFERENCE PLAYER Rushden & Diamonds midfielder Andy Burgess gives his weekly view of life in the Blue Square Premier. Here is his latest despatch..
Andy Burgess 13/08/2007
Until two weeks ago last Thursday, my summer had been pretty boring. No European Championship or World Cup to watch. Only the Four Nations tournament I was involved in for the England 'C squad, which we won at a canter.
However, the last Thursday in July signalled my final day at Oxford United. Rushden & Diamonds - who I had left 18 months ago after nearly nine years - wanted me back.
There were two reasons for leaving Oxford. One was because I knew Rushden so well and wanted to relive the glory years there Two was Jim Smith - I couldn't imagine another year under him as boss.
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When Brian Talbot left the club, Darren Patterson took over and should have kept the manager's job.
However, Mr Smith was unveiled as the saviour, the man to bring success once more.
As far as I'm concerned, if Darren had been kept the job, United might never have dropped out of the League.
The best example I can give is the last game of that season, when we had to win to avoid relegation. It was 1-1 at half-time against Leyton Orient, and we were right in the game. Walking into the dressing room, you'd expect "The Saviour' to give a rousing speech, how we've 45 minutes to be heroes and maybe make some inspired tactical changes.
Instead, we were told what a disgrace we were and got 10 minutes of nothing but miserable mumbling. The thing is, that seemed to happen when we won as well.
In the dressing room after a 3-0 win at Morecambe, the lads were congratulating each when the Bald Eagle groans: "Well done! Are you having a laugh? The only reason we won that is because they were rubbish." The atmosphere just drained.
Every single victory last season felt like a defeat. He complained his strikers didn't score enough. And if someone missed when we were doing shooting in training he'd go ballistic.
To me, it's personal with Jim. When the team does well it's "us". When it does poorly it's "you".
There were even times last season when he'd slaughter someone in the team talk before we'd even kicked off.
It's difficult to paint such a bad picture of a man who has managed at the highest level - that's the amazing thing. We'd work all week in training on a certain formation, only for him to change it an hour before kick-off.
Two team-mates and I got to a game last season and didn't want to get out of the car, that's how bad it was. We knew, win lose or draw, we'd be hammered and that's the reason we didn't get promoted.
I look back at my time at Oxford with disappointment, because the fans and chairman deserve better. I honestly feel that with Jim Smith in charge, the club is going backwards.
