Five weeks ago I was half way through writing this blog telling you about my holiday, instead the topic has changed drastically. I'm now an Oxford United player! It's amazing how things change so quickly.
With the help of Social Media I'm sure some of you know what I've been up to. I've been trying to keep in touch with everyone via Twitter and Instagram. I say it all the time that I'm gutted I didn't have any of these sites/apps when I was younger as I know I'd love to of seen what my idols got up to. I know I can sometimes be boring and my teammates rib me for some of the pics I post but I'm trying to let people have an idea of what life is like for a footballer.
Since the season finished I've been non stop busy. I've had the pleasure of a trip to Barcelona, I then managed to get a free trip to Chelsea Vs Tottenham and experience the atmosphere of the Upper Shed End which was enjoyable. After that I decided to treat myself to a change of car which was hard to let go of especially with all the car skool memories I had shared with it.
After all this I was honoured to be invited by Luis Melville to the Brentford Playoff Final at Wembley and commentate on their club website with the likes of Natalie Sawyer & Mark Burridge, whilst in between all this I manage to sneak a couple of free tickets to Alton Towers with my best mate in Nottingham who I rarely get to see much of.
And if that wasn't enough, to top it off I was asked to play in a charity game for Brentford FC to raise funds for children in the Brentford community.
And then it all changed...
Leaving Crawley Town was a very hard decision and one that took nearly a month to make. I've had the most successful 3 years of my career with so many highs and not too many lows. I'd made some very close friends on and off the pitch and found a place inside me that joined Brentford. I had the honour of winning two promotions, reach two FA Cup 5th Rounds and break many records. Not many people can say they've played in a clubs first ever League game but I can! I'm a very lucky boy who's worked hard for years and appreciate what I've achieved. All of this made the decision to leave very hard.
I don't have a bad word to say about Crawley Town or Ritchie Barker. I'm not gonna lie and say everything was rosy red behind the scenes with my situation but when you've gone from playing near enough week in week out for two seasons and win back to back promotions to then start League One as second choice is hard to take. I felt like all that hard work of I'd put in of getting the club to where it was had been forgotten about.
8 Weeks before the vital Accrington Stanley game (to clinch promotion) I broke my foot in a tackle and was told my season was in other words over. Those 56 days were the hardest to swallow as I had to watch the boys battle for that 3rd automatic promotion place. I was desperate to get fit and managed to be back in training within 6 weeks. I still had a lot of pain in the foot and I didn't make the squad for the last home game of the season which could of clinched promotion against Hereford which we lost 3-0. If I'm totally honest I wasn't too disappointed as I felt totally out of the picture for what could of been a real special day. Instead I had the chance to play in the most important game of the season, and I did. We won 1-0 and that feeling of making history again was one that I refused to miss. There was still something wrong with my foot as I kept getting a pain when I kicked the ball a certain way and three days after the game an MRI scan confirmed my thoughts, my foot was still broken.
Of the 6 weeks holiday period I managed to do 3 fitness runs which is nothing at all and no where near enough to come back fighting fit but it was the only way possible to make sure my foot was fully healed for the League One campaign. After that came the drastic double change of managers Sean O'Driscoll and then Ritchie Barker. It's hard enough coming back not totally fit but having to impress new managers is an extra burden but I was fine with it. As the season got underway I could tell I wasn't going to start and I totally respected Ritchie's decision as I know it's hard for a manager to come in at such short notice and pick a team, but after a couple of months I started to get frustrated. The gaffer let me know that he wanted me to stay at the club but understood if I wanted to leave and that he wouldn't stand in my way. I decided to stay and fight for my place and after having four players play ahead of me during the year I eventually got my shirt back come the end of the season. But those few months of being in and out the team had an affect on my mindset. I couldn't take another roller coaster season of limited game time as I love football too much, not being on the field hurt me. The gaffer and I had a chat, he let me know that I would be starting next season but my confidence in believing him had changed when I asked for a contract extension and was declined, this made me start to think about leaving again. A few options popped up although none of them interested me enough make me want to leave. That was until Chris Wilder and Oxford United came knocking.
I've always thought of Oxford as a big club and one that I believe should be much higher in the tiers of football. I've played with many ex United players such as Lee Steele, Andy Scott, Jamie Cook and the legend Dannie Bulman who all have spoken highly of the club. Bullwink had always let me know how good it was and what they are trying to achieve, this all made me fascinated. So when I knew they were interested I let Ritchie know that I was thinking of leaving. He understood my situation and didn't want to stand in my way as he knew my heart lied elsewhere.
Like I said this wasn't an easy decision, it was all taking place whilst on my family holiday in Cyprus. I was spending around an hour a day on the phone trying to decide on my future. It's hard to leave a club that I'd come so attached to. I'd been told I won my shirt back and would be starting the season in League One, it was tough, my mind was all over the place. It did ruin my holiday as I didn't feel very relaxed but I guess that's the perks of the job. By the time I had got back to the UK I still hadn't fully made my mind up but I knew deep down that Oxford was too big an opportunity to turn down. Leaving my mates like Sergio Torres, Josh Simpson, Kyle Mcfadzaen of who we shared so many years of history making memories together and to say bye to my mucker/lover/coffee brother Dannie Bulman made it a sad day. But once I managed to speak to family the decision was made and it was time for a new challenge!
I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone that took the time to message me via email and twitter. Reading those messages was tough to take in. When I left Brentford I never thought I'd have as close a connection to another club again, but I did, I'm truly blessed. I'll never forget you and along with Brentford will always look out for your results for the rest of my life.
So now to a new chapter in my career and one that I'm extremely honoured and excited about. I don't mean this in anyway disrespectful to Crawley Town but considering where Oxford United used to be I do believe I've joined a sleeping giant. I haven't come here to sit comfortable, I want to win things and believe this is the club to achieve that with. It's by no means gonna be an easy challenge ahead but it's one I'm ready for.
Hunty 13...
