OxVox 6-a-Side Tournament

You won't come up against this guy if you play, but it's a nice image to introduce a new trust activity for 12th Man!

The official announcement of this event runs as follows:

OxVox are pleased to announce that it will be holding a 6-a-side football tournament with all the profits being donated to the 12th Man Fund.The event will take place on Sunday 22 November on the astroturf at Oxford Brookes University’s Headington campus. Places are limited to 16 teams and squads should be no larger than 10 players.

We can also reveal that Oxford United will be entering a team, so fans will get the chance to line up against former United players. The cost of entry is £60 per team and a trophy will be presented to the winners on the day. Anyone who would like to enter a side should email mailto:twelfthman@oxvox.org.uk?subject=12th%20Man%206-a-side%20tournament%20enquiry or call 07751 678621.

Oxford United chairman, Kelvin Thomas, said: “This is another great example of The 12th Man bringing the fans and the club together and will be a fun event. The Oxford Old Boys team always love a game and will be looking forward to taking on the fans. I'm sure it will be a day we all remember for a long time."

OxVox press spokesman, Mark Sennett, added: “This is a great opportunity for fans to get together and have a bit of fun, while raising a significant amount of money for the 12th Man Fund. Fans will also get a chance to play against some of their heroes, or maybe even catch the eye of a scout!”“

Anyone who wants to enter a team should get in contact as soon as possible as places are limited and expected to be filled quickly."

12th Man goes national!

The story so far for 12th Man receives some fantastic national exposure today with a feature on the Mirror Football site authored by journalist and OxVox member and 12th Man supporter Greig Box Turnbull.

The feature relates how the fund came about, describes the progress to date which has seen funds raised to sign Jamie Cook, giving the comments of Jamie himself, manager Chris Wilder and club chairman Kelvin Thomas, and takes a look to the future.

Speaking of the future, we are delighted to say we have a project backed by the Mirror in the offing, which will provide another boost to the fund - news about this soon!

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!”