The Athletic

Hello and welcome to the weekend preview on the Athletic Football podcast sponsored by Bet365.

I'm Dan Bardell in each and every Friday.

Myself and co-host, George Ellick, will preview the best of the weekend's Premier League action alongside Bet365, Steve Freeth.

We're counting down the days to Christmas, and so as well as chatting about what the likes of Newcastle and Ledge really need from Santa Claus this year We're also going to put together our own mid-season ACCA And dish out a couple of end of the year awards too Hello guys Good day, good day, good day, who am I How you doing, you're okay? Good day, mate, all good You both okay Good day, sport And we good. You both, okay? Good day, sport. Are we're neighbours? Homes the cricket. Not good. None of that. Well, but how are you both? All good, mate. Yeah, all good, thanks. Escapeed the Omicron hotspot of London to the in-laws in Lincolnshire, so I've managed to get away for Christmas. So I'm happy about that. Yeah, I'll describe myself as at-risk currently. Steve, Yerker? Yeah, I thought you were going to crack a at-risk gag towards me there, Daniel. I thought about going to the West Bromwich Road, but didn't. No, yeah, looking forward to the festive period very much, and hopefully we'll have some games to go to and watch on TV.

Yeah, I'm going to ask you in a minute about any cherished Christmas football memories

and I did not have a cherished Christmas football memory at the weekend when I drove to Birmingham

two hours and then the gang got called off as I arrived.

That won't go down on the list.

I took great pleasure in my mates were

were like in the in the astern tavern i think at 11 o'clock dan they were making a real day of it

you know so i really enjoyed texting them saying guys wasted journey i think they're in there

till about four five o'clock and then they're probably still a really good day especially

without me yeah yeah probably had a great day, especially without me, yeah.

Yeah, probably had a great day.

But have either of you got any cherished memories?

I think for me, as an Oxford fan, boxing day back in 2008 was probably the, it's always

darkest before the dawn moment where I went to go and watch us. I'm sure you remember Dan. I went to go and watch us in what was then the Blue Square premiere lose 2-1 away at Salisbury. And that might seem a weird cherish Christmas memory, but we had a new manager in the dugout. A guy who, I remember his interview post-game, got me thinking, wow, we might have something a bit special here, a certain Chris Wilder, and the rest, as they say, is history. So even though it was a, it was kind of the moment we hit rock bottom, and after that, we went on a mazey run towards the playoffs and Chris Wilder, just a couple of weeks later, was known in my household and amongst all Oxford fans as the Messiah.

So that was the moment where Oxford hit bottom and started on this upward trajectory,

which now sees us in a heady heights of sixth in League 1.

There we go.

Everything happens for a reason, doesn't it?

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