My affinity to my boyhood club weakens with every passing season, but it was good to spend an afternoon bathed in sunshine with a couple of old friends to watch #oufc get a (somewhat streaky) draw which ought to secure Second Division survival. And likely condemn #ccfc to relegation.
The breadth and depth of the heartfelt tributes to George Baldock reflect what a special person and popular player he was. Fans of MK Dons, his first club, have already raised £1,000 for a banner. Oxford United fans have been sharing with MK Dons and Sheffield United supporters their fond memories of how well Baldock played on loan for them. Blades fans are also buying a banner and wanting to dedicate a Player of the Year award in his honour. Greece, for whom Baldock played 12 times, did his memory proud at Wembley. Nothing can ever console Baldock’s grieving family fully but the love from his footballing family must still help.
His old Sheffield United team-mate, James McAtee, struggled to hold back the tears pitchside at the Vitality last night as he gave his own tribute to his friend. The Manchester City talent had just scored twice for England Under-21s against Ukraine, each time holding up his shirt to reveal a “rest easy, brother” message.
“I had that on my shirt so I was destined to score and I did, it was in honour of him,” McAtee said. “It was a really emotional night. I played tonight for him. It was his little kid's birthday yesterday and it's an emotional one for his family and all his team-mates back home. I’m wishing his family all the best.
“It’s been a tough week, I’ve spoken to my old team-mates, it’s been hard to speak to them. Everyone knows he's a special player. He was a special person and you can see that in all the tributes to him.”
A theme of many of the tributes was Baldock’s generosity of spirit. He helped McAtee settled in at Bramall Lane when he moved on loan from Manchester City. “Look what he gave me. Even when I left he was still texting me and asking, saying he'd welcome me with open arms.” McAtee has the pictures of the pair celebrating promotion to the Premier League in 2023 and he will cherish all the memories of Baldock. “Definitely,” McAtee said emphatically. #SUFC #MKDONS #OUFC #ENG #MCFC
#LCFC #OUFC | Leicester City defender, Ben Nelson, has joined Oxford United on-loan until the end of the season ✍️
Very highly thought of at King Power Stadium with more minutes under the belt the priority for his development 🦊
#LCFC defender Ben Nelson is set to join #OUFC on loan.
More on this move and all today's transfer news on @[email protected] live blog
Ed Bridges
Kevin Hatchard 🎙⚽️ 🤖
John Percy 🤖
Rob Tanner 🤖
Henry Winter 🤖
Owynn Palmer-Atkin 🤖
Mike McGrath 🤖