Tuesday 1 September 2009

Jamie Cook comes home!


Jamie Cook is the first player to be signed with financial support from the 12th Man scheme, following his deadline day transfer today on a 2-year deal from our BSP rivals Crawley Town.

OxVox and the other fans' organisations and groups are very pleased that the fund has been instrumental in securing Jamie's transfer, and we look forward to seeing him scoring for the Us in weeks to come.

Jamie is pictured at the stadium today with the 12th Man flag, in a picture taken between the showers.

The following statement was released earlier this evening, with input from Tim Rosser on behalf of 12th Man:



Jamie Cook has come back to The U's after nine seasons away, with the fans helping to bring him home through their Twelfth Man scheme.

Originally a trainee with The U's Jamie made 77 appearances and scored seven times before joining Boston United, where his goals helped The Pilgrims win the Conference and a place in the Football League. Spells at Stevenage Borough, Bath City, Witney and Rushden and Diamonds followed before a successful move to Crawley Town where he has scored 32 goals in 68 starts (including three against The U's).

Able to play up front or on either flank, Jamie gives Chris Wilder plenty of attacking options and is likely to feature for the first time when United travel to Ebbsfleet on Saturday.

The signing has been possible thanks to the Twelfth Man initiative. This has seen supporters rally round the supporters’ organisations who have raised funds together and been instrumental in bringing Jamie back to his home town club. Chairman Kelvin Thomas said:

“The signing couldn’t have been a better one to show what the fans and the Twelfth Man movement can achieve. Jamie is one of the top players in this league and is also part of the United support himself: he used to stand on the London Road terrace and support the club at the Manor. Jamie has also taken a pay cut to come here and that shows his commitment.

“He is a perfect representative of what the Twelfth Man was intended to achieve.

“It is great to use the fund early. It shows the fans that there is something behind this initiative and for it to be Jamie is a win for all of us.”

Tim Rosser, spokesman for the 12th Man Fund, said:

“The 12th Man Fund are delighted to have contributed to Jamie's signing. He is a talented player with local roots who will add additional flair and creativity to our squad. We'd like to thank all the Oxford United supporters who have contributed to the fund to date and who have made this signing possible.

“We'd originally envisaged that we would only be in a position to assist Kelvin and Chris with squad strengthening in the January transfer window but thanks to the fantastic early response of our fan-base to our various fund raising ventures we are able to donate a sum to the club immediately.

“The 12th Man fund will continue to grow over the coming months and some exciting further projects are planned. We encourage fans to continue to raise funds so we can aid the club to sign players of a similar calibre in the future.

Welcome back, Jamie and come on you Yellows!”

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