We don't often get intriguing ties, THESE DAYS, in the sadly much maligned Berks & Bucks Cup – the last one might've been at Holmer Green in December 2018 – so there was no way I was declining an opportunity to visit a new ground (at a place I'd not previously heard of) ... even though, truth be told, there were plenty of other things I'd rather be doing after Saturday's shenanigans at Leamington ("If it was Windsor away, for example, I'd probably be sat watching Celebrity MasterChef on BBC One")
I've written lots on social media (too much, probably) about the fallout of fans having the gall to publicly criticise our well-paid but underperforming players (and our manager) – examples here, here, and here – so I will instead focus on Tuesday night: I joined A.G. (grandson of Barbados Trev) in the MurdoMobile at 6pm and, after picking up L.B. in Holyport, we headed north up the M40, ignoring warning signs of a road closure past Waddesdon, before parking outside the ground – along the street from MUFC's sizeable and expensive-looking team coach – with twenty minutes or so until kick-off
New entry on the list of 'clubhouses better than Stripes' – we said hello to John G. (it was more or less a home game for him since he lives in Bletchley), then I enjoyed a pint of Guinness to settle the pre-match nerves and took a photo of the bar that someone on Facebook later said looked like "a Cold War Steve montage missing Trump and Phil Mitchell"
Someone was down, receiving treatment, when their incredulous keeper turned around and asked the away fans, "How did you manage to lose to Leamington on Saturday?!"; we were already 1-0 up by that stage thanks to a strike from Corie Andrews that looked offside, and the former Oxford City man doubled our lead before half-time on a cold night as those of us behind the goal guffawed at Shay's explanation as to why Magpies Radio has struggled to broadcast any commentaries from York Road (basically, the internet connection is so slow it's like we're running off a 90s dial-up modem powered by an asthmatic hamster's exercise wheel)
Lovely third goal from those wearing purple – Noah Stewart burst down the left wing, Andrews cleverly dummied the cross, Kai Yearn finished with aplomb – before Stewart added a fourth; conversation on the sideline (a covered terrace, so better than Totton) had wandered off to other topics: ideas on how to restore some of the Berks & Bucks Cup's lost grandeur ("play the final in Riyadh!"), contestants (including Dennis Greene, obvs.) we'd like to see appear on "I'm a Non-League Football Manager…Get Me Out of Here!", and the fact that the Magpies had faced the Ploughmen once before (a 5-1 win, in the same competition, at Buckingham Town's Ford Meadow in December 1992; Benny Laryea with a brace; 69 people saw it)
Other notes: a melee sparked by a rash Harry Pashley tackle would've kept VAR busy for hours, but only resulted in a couple of yellow cards (including one for the young Maidenhead left-back); Harvey Collins made a decent save to maintain his clean sheet; academy kids Joel Ellis and Anton Watson belatedly appeared as substitutes, but neither replaced the returning Manny Onariase (captain for the night) or Remy Clerima – the latter played with a bandage on his knee, having featured in the Baller League on Monday, and the Frenchman's body language suggested that Macleod (M) and I weren't the only ones who thought the decision to keep him on for the full 90 minutes was unnecessarily punitive and more than a little reckless
Waze took us on a completely different route home, via Aylesbury, after we'd briefly returned to the clubhouse to witness crucial late goals for Scotland vs Denmark ("that's ruined the night for me," said Phil W.); I'll be in Denmark – Copenhagen, specifically – this weekend and will (not coincidentally) miss our league game at Dagenham & Redbridge; this comfortable win at Winslow was a welcome respite after Saturday, but there's no getting away from the fact that there needs to be a decent Magpies performance and result vs Andy Carroll and company … otherwise, there's probably a good chance of more 'vile abuse' truth bombs ("What a waste of money", etc.) that the players and management team won't want to hear
(MUFC report; match highlights)
Someone mentioned on Facebook that this looked like "a Coldwar Steve montage missing Trump and Phil Mitchell".
— ɢᴏ ᴍᴀᴅ ᴏʀ sᴛᴏᴘ ᴄᴀʀɪɴɢ (@gomadstopcaring) November 18, 2025
Easily fixed. https://t.co/6VAz62jSWa pic.twitter.com/ktnPKjyWYZ
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