Seasonal greetings to you all. The supermarkets put the mince pies out in October, but we still seem to moan that Christmas has crept up on us.

It’s that time when you have all year to prepare for, but it still catches you out. Well it’s here and I love it.

I’m in the Christmas spirit and it would be hard not to be especially as my kids are constantly talking about Santa, presents and more presents.

So keeping in the festive spirit I thought I would give you a 12 days of Christmas dedicated to my time with Oxford United.

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On the first day of Christmas the Yellows gave to me – June 1, 2011, the day I signed for Oxford United. I went on to make 50 appearances during my time at Oxford.

On the second day of Christmas the Yellows gave to me – two wins in a season over the ‘Red team down the road’ aka Swindon Town for the first since 1973.

I even captained the 2-0 home victory, when we played 75 minutes with ten men.

On the third day of Christmas the Yellows gave to me – three is the number of goals that I scored for Oxford, coming against Port Vale, Aldershot and Hereford.

On the fourth day of Christmas the Yellows gave to me – four is unfortunately the most goals I conceded in a game for United and that always hurts as a defender.

On the fifth day of Christmas the Yellows gave to me – five is the number I wore on my back every time I played for the mighty Yellows.

On the sixth day of Christmas the Yellows gave to me – August 6, 2011, was the start of the 2011-2012 season and officially my first game for Oxford United.

On the seventh day of Christmas the Yellows gave to me – 37 years and 195 days old made me the club’s oldest first team player in my final game, a 3-0 win at Accrington Stanley.

On the eighth day of Christmas the Yellows gave to me – eight is the number of yellow cards that I received during my career at Oxford United. Which isn’t bad at all, maybe I was too nice!

On the ninth day of Christmas the Yellows gave to me – ninth in the league was the highest position we could achieve during my time with the U’s. It’s a shame because we had the team and squad to do so much better.

On the tenth day of Christmas the Yellows gave to me – ten teammates every match, without whom I couldn’t have the great time I had at Oxford United.

On the 11th day of Christmas the Yellows gave to me – I had 11 clean sheets during my first season at Oxford. It works out be a clean sheet for about every three games I played; not bad, but it should have been more.

On the 12th day of Christmas the Yellows gave to me – the ‘12th Man’: the Oxford United fans who cheered, clapped and sang home and away for the team.

They made it enjoyable to play for United, both home and away.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Positive vibes only for 2015!

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