Meet the family with more links to Oxford United than any other

As the club celebrates its 125th anniversary today, five generations of the Masters family, from Headington, have almost literally seen it all - and one member is even named after the club.

The oldest living member is 97-year-old Stanley Masters, whose father, Ernest, captained Headington back in 1912 and great uncle, Fred Taylor, played for the club during the 1898-99 campaign - when the U's were just six seasons old.

Stanley passed the football bug onto sons Bob and John, who began following the U's from the mid-1950s, witnessing the club's rise up the football league and 1986 Milk Cup final victory at Wembley.

John, 66, remains a season ticket holder to this day and although Bob sadly passed away five years ago his daughter Helen, 39, has been a regular match-goer for well over 30 years.

The U's are part of the family's heritage and this is especially true for Helen's oldest son, with the birth certificate of the now 21-year-old reading 'Dylan Oxford United Collins'.

He said: "It isn't a club or a hobby for me, it's literally part of my DNA.

"I can go to games and bump into family and friends and it's a great sense of community.

"You never feel like an outcast and you'll always be with people who look after you."

Dylan's younger brother Mac, 15, has been with United's academy since age eight and the centre back is considered a bright prospect for the future.

While Mac was not even born when the U's moved to The Kassam Stadium in 2001, Stanley's first game pre-dates life at The Manor Ground, United's home from 1925.

Records suggest this was either called The Paddock or Manor Park and one Christmas morning match in the early 1920s, Stanley's lifelong link with United began.

He said: "There was a wooden stone wall, with a gate and a miniature rifle range and a football field.

"I don't know who they played, I don't know the result, but after the match my Dad and my uncle took me to The Royal Standard pub in Headington for a drink."

Stanley still lives a stone's throw from where The Manor Ground stood with wife and long-suffering football widow Brenda, 89.

He has an indelible link with the U's former home, having helped upgrade the Osler Road terrace when the club turned professional in 1949.

He said: "The Manor wasn't a big ground, but when they first moved in there were four tennis courts, a bowling green and a wooden pavilion.

"They shared the football pitch with the cricket club and at the end of the season they'd move the football pitch to the side of the ground."

Stanley continued to follow the club's fortunes and his sons Bob and John, born in 1949 and 1952 respectively, became hooked before reaching primary school age.

They saw United rise from the Southern League to the second division in the 1960s and John still believes that decade topped the first division years of the 1980s.

Yet his greatest memory following the club was watching the U's lift their only major trophy in 1986, beating Queens Park Rangers 3-0 in the Milk Cup final.

He said: "At that particular time I didn't go to football with my dad, but because it was Wembley I went with him and we had a coach from work.

"The person sat behind me was someone called Peter Roberts, who was only the second professional to sign for Oxford United [and played in the club's first season as a professional club in 1949-50]."

"When they sang the national anthem that was my most emotional time at a football game.

"That was the summit for me."

Helen was already a familiar face at The Manor, rarely missing a game from the late 1980s onwards.

She soon struck up friendships with other fans and met Dylan's father, Chad, through their shared love of the club.

Helen also grew to know several players personally and, for her, these friendships encapsulate what supporting United is all about.

She said: "I'm very proud of the friends and acquaintances I've made.

"I'm still good friends with some of the old players including [ex-striker] Paul Moody."

Dylan's parents were away day regulars and as a child he defied his Premiership-supporting friends to support the club on his birth certificate.

He said: "As I grew up I understood what it was to support Oxford a bit more.

"My parents met through Oxford, everything in my life revolves around that team.

"That's why it doesn't matter whether they're good or bad, I'll always go."

Dylan, who lives in Banbury, clocked up 52 grounds by the age of eight with his parents, with Mac achieving similar numbers.

Helen said: "Every Saturday it was me and the boys going to football, it was a way of life.

"They could whinge, but it was going on deaf ears."

The family's first Wembley trip together, the 2010 conference play-off final victory over York City, is a cherished memory, but Dylan admits the magnitude did not quite hit home.

He said: "I didn't know what was going on and I was absolutely terrified.

"When we beat Wycombe 3-0 to seal promotion in 2016, I was bundled head first down the stairs in the north stand, but was so happy I never felt a thing."

Dylan, Mac and their mum say their favourite games are 'anytime Oxford beat Swindon', although the latter can attend fewer games now due to playing for United's u16s on Saturdays.

He said: "Before that I went and watched every Saturday home and away, then Sunday I would play for them.

"Sometimes I'll try and play in the morning and go to the game in the afternoon."

The teenager is truly one of Oxford's own and one day hopes to keep the Masters legacy going by turning out for the first team.

He said: "It has always been a dream to play for Oxford - it's my home club."