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We recently caught up with Roo Oxley aka missrooxley on Instagram where she describes herself as “just a casual girl who enjoys footy, drinks and terrace culture." Thanks for joining us at Proper Football Roo, Let's start with you telling us a bit about yourself. Ayup! Thanks for having me! This is weird being interviewed, normally I am the one asking questions and generally being a nosey bastard! You have a book due for release fairly soon on Terrace Culture. What can we expect from it? I have grown up within Stoke City’s terrace culture and have always been fascinated about the subculture that was so prevalent in our city. In the late nineties, there was such a heady mix, a perfect zeitgeist of music, fashion, culture and football that was intoxicating. I wrote about the symbolic consumption of Stoke on Trent’s terrace culture for my master’s degree a decade ago; my book picks up where that left off, but this time interviewing not just Stoke hoolies, but casuals across the UK and abroad, brand owners, and the key casual protagonist, about clobber today. The big question is if there even is a terrace culture today, why and how do we still wear terrace brands? Why do we feel affiliated with brands that have been diluted (Stone Island) if there is not arguably a terrace culture today? Answers are to be found as soon as the book is released! Who's your team and how did you first start supporting them? My team is Stoke City and was predetermined before even my birth. My family has always supported Stoke, even sponsoring the Victoria Ground years back. It’s a thankless task. When and why did you first get into Casual culture? I started going to the match in the late nineties, my first away game was Notts County and I remember being drawn to the mither and skirmishes all flourished in a sea of Burberry and Aquascutum. You either have it or you don’t and casuals just fucking have it. How do you feel you fit im to a predominantly male scene? I couldn’t give a fuck, I’m used to it. I also use it to my advantage haha. People describe hooligans and casuals as thugs, they’ve never been anything other than gentlemanly towards me. Except for those West Ham lads singing a specific song towards me when we played them 😉 In your opinion who/where did casual start? I discuss this in my book, and it can be controversial with certain regions claiming it was they who started the casual scene. Favourite piece of terrace attire? My first piece of Stone Island which an ex-boyfriend brought me for my 18th, from Life in Manchester. A beautiful wheat chunky knit jumper that I would never ever sell. Aside from that, my knitted vintage CP Company jumper which verges on Navy Arctic territory in its aesthetic. Least favourite trend you've witnessed on the terraces? Every fucker wearing a Stone Island over shirt. Yawn. And the general lack of creativity, originality and one-upmanship which underpinned the whole casual ethos and identity. Britain has seen many subcultures come and go, in your opinion what is it about the Casual movement that keeps it still going? It is not going like it was in the golden age of terrace culture, yet there are people, me included, that will always have this affiliation with the casual subculture. It was arguably the last real subculture, and nothing has come close. Being casual is part of your identity, your style. And that, unlike fashion, never fades. Just like the Mods and Punks whose culture is intrinsic to their identity; it will always keep going. Nowhere near the same, but we can still remember the best times by representing ourselves in the casual way. All this is explored in my book… In our opinion, music has always been an important part of Terrace Culture. What would be your favourite tunes for a match day? Anything apart from the Eminem song ‘Lose Yourself’ Stoke play at the start of every game and have done for fucking years. Do you have a favourite album/single of all time? There are too many to choose from, really, but up there is Massive Attack’s Unfinished Sympathy, The Beatles’ I’m Only Sleeping, Oasis Slide Away, Rolling Stones’ Miss You, Liquid’s Sweet Harmony….it is impossible (and immoral!) to pick but one! Favourite band/artist? As above! Can’t choose! Any bands/artist that you feel are part of Terrace Culture? Music was integral to the casual scene. Pet Shop Boys brought Paninaro to the public attention, The Housemartins (Paul Heaton’s the one), Happy Mondays, Oasis… On to a bit about the football.....sum up your team's season so far? Predictably unpredictable! Do you still attend games regularly? I do, and love being in the Championship for the away games. Fuck the corporate yawn fests of Premier League matches. Which club traditionally are your biggest rivals? Port Vale as they are local but we’re always above them. We hate Vale. We hate most other clubs in fact. A lot of fans have been drawn towards lower/non-league football recently. Anyone else you follow? My team could be considered as lower league haha and of course not, You have one team and that’s it! None of this, ‘my second team is…’ Bollox. You’re born into one team and that’s it forever. How fortunate am I that mine is Stoke City 😉 Sum up Modern football in one sentence. Wank! Thanks for taking the time to join us Roo and we wish you all the best with your book that's due to be released later this year! You can follow Roo on Instagram here; https://instagram.com/missroooxley?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= To register interest in her new book please email Roo here; roo.oxley@oxleycontinproductions.com

It's that time of the season again when the Premier League and Championship take a week off for the international break but more importantly it's when Non-League football takes centre stage with the annual Non-League Day which celebrates semi-professional and grassroots football in the UK. The concept of Non-League Day was set up by James Doe in 2010 as a social media experiment, after being inspired by a pre-season trip to Devon to watch Queens Park Rangers play at Tavistock and has now grown to become an annual part of the football calendar. Non-League Day provides a platform for clubs to promote the importance of affordable volunteer-led community football while giving fans across the country the chance to show support for their local non-league side and hopefully see a much-needed cash injection come through the turnstiles to fund their youth set-ups, facilities and projects that ultimately help the local communities, and even better still, some supporters may enjoy the unique experience of Non-League Football that much they will come back every week after! Ourselves at Proper Football are off to a game at Carlton Town FC a Nottingham-based football club playing in the NPL First Division East for their game against Stockton Town. We will be doing a Vlog of the day and our resident ex-pro former Derby County and Watford star Nigel ‘Cally' Callaghan will be doing a Q&A with Chairman Mick Garton for the supporters in the Howard Mitchell Sportsbar before the 3 pm kick-off. Admission for the game at Carlton Towns Bill Stokeld Stadium is £9 for Adults, £7 for Concessions, £5 for Emergency workers and Students and £2 for Children (under 16s). Whether you’re a Premier League or Championship fan without a game, a League One or League Two supporter who can’t make an away trip, or just someone curious about what their local club has to offer then check out this easy-to-use match finder to see the local Non-League games on in your area. https://nonleagueday.co.uk/map/?per_page=25&form=1

Last night England C took on Wales C at the rain-swept J Davidson Stadium, (Moss Lane to most of us) the home of National League side Altrincham FC. Barnet's England Cyan De Havilland scored the only goal as England C beat their Wales counterparts 1-0. The match attendance was 840 and tickets were reasonably priced at £7 for adults and £2 for kids. One fan who attended the game was Ben Cliff a follower of non-league side Kidsgrove Athletic, Ben said; “The game wasn't the best, but no doubt the wet and windy weather conditions didn't help." Ben kindly sent us a few pictures of Atly's impressive stadium. The England national football C team (previously known as the England National Game XI and the England Semi-Pro national team) is the football team that represents England at the non-league level. Formed in 1979 as the England Non-League team, it features players who play for clubs outside the Premier League and English Football League. Currently, the majority of selected players are full-time professionals with National League clubs. Home matches are played at various League and non-league grounds around the country. Friendly matches are played with equivalent teams from other nations, and between 1979 and 2008, competed in the Four Nations Tournament each season, along with Scotland, Wales, and the full Gibraltar teams. In the tournament in 1980, held in Veenendaal, the opposition was Scotland (players outside the Premier Division, notably Ally McCoist, then playing for St Johnstone). Netherlands Amateurs and Italy under-21. They have more recently begun playing against under-23 teams from the likes of Belgium and Turkey which have included players capped at the full international level. They won the Four Nations tournament for the seventh time in May 2008, winning all three of their matches without conceding a goal. Since January 2003, the team has been managed by Paul Fairclough, who used to manage Barnet until he left the club by mutual consent in December 2008. The squad for the England C v Wales C match picked by manager Paul Fairclough was packed with the finest talent from the National League. Some critics say that having an England C team is not justified but in recent years with an improvement in the quality of their opponents and several success stories, it has been the foundation for EFL clubs looking for the next big talent to emerge from non-League football. Since 2003, the likes of Andre Gray, Sam Clucas, George Boyd and Lee Tomlin have all used it as a platform to reach the Premier League. Barnsley‘s James Norwood who has won a few caps for England C said they were perceived as irrelevant and the response is impassioned. He laughed: “It’s no gimmick at all. It’s true it took time for the stigma to wear off." "When I played we were chuffed to get the new kit, rather than fake stuff, before any of the other England age groups. “But the truth is that England C has been feeding the Football League for years". “At least 75 per cent of the lads I played with are now in the EFL - it’s their breeding ground.” “In the past, when clubs were looking for the next big talent they never looked in the Conference.” "They never saw the value, just a load of ex-pros and young kids." “Now, they take chances on players every summer and every January to see if they could find a diamond".

Save the date, May 7th at Weston-Super-Mare AFC. Combined Veterans UK FC v USA veterans in aid of Scotty‘s Little Soldiers. Back in December 2020, ex-serviceman Jono Farrelly formed the Combined Veterans UK football club to initially play a one-off game to raise money for Blesma, a fantastic charity that provides support to limbless and injured veterans for life, https://blesma.org/ the club raised an amazing £6,500 for the charity and the success of the event made Jono realise that many other worthwhile vital charities could also be helped so the easy decision was made to carry on and use football which is one of the biggest platforms in the world to highlight these amazing charities and give them the funding that they need. The club went on to play an RAF veterans team last May and raised money for another wonderful charity called PTSD Resolution https://ptsdresolution.org/ who assists those affected by Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The next big event for the Combined Veterans UK Football Club will be their first international fixture on May 7th to be held at Weston-super-Mare A.F.C's Optima Stadium against the USA veterans team. The aim is to raise at least £10,000 in aid of Scotty’s Little Soldiers, an amazing charity that supports bereaved military children and young people by providing access to health and well-being support. Please watch the advert below for the upcoming game featuring some of the amazing children who Scotty's Little Soldiers have helped in some way. https://www.scottyslittlesoldiers.co.uk/ Weston's Optima stadium has a 3000 capacity with great facilities including an indoor and outdoor bar, hot food, and on the day they'll be lots of other fun activities going on for kids as well as an auction and raffles. So come along and support your country and the armed forces Veterans community but most importantly the charity that offers fantastic support for our fallen brothers and sister's children. Tickets for the game can be purchased here; 👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽 https://ticketpass.org/event/ELMGSP/uk-combined-veterans-fc-v-usa-armed-services-fc?promoter=ukcomve And any donations can be made here; 👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽 https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/jono-farrelly To keep up to date with all the latest news and information with the Combined Veterans FC UK team please give them a follow on Facebook. 👍🏽⚽ 👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽 https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100076275964494 Watch a previous interview we did with the manager Jono Farrelly; 👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽 UP THE VETERANS!

Join Proper Footballs' Gary Harris & Dan Slawson tonight Thursday 2nd March @ 7 pm with Dave Nathan & Marc Brewer 2 of the inaugural fan owners at Dial Square FC on our live Proper Football show ‘Under The Floodlight'. The diehard disgruntled Arsenal fans will be discussing why the club was formed in 2020 & their reasonings for their distaste of modern-day football owners and how fans are treated. It's the money. It's the greed. It's the way fans are treated as customers. We're made to feel that the only reason we exist is to spend more money” We think it's fair to say fans from many clubs across the country echo everything the people at Dial Square FC have said and can relate to how they feel, so make sure to tune in and get involved with your comments and views this Thursday at 7 pm and have your say. ⚽👊🏻 You can watch the show live on our Facebook page, YouTube channel and Twitter. All details and links can be found here; 👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽 Watch on our Facebook page; https://www.facebook.com/properfootballuk YouTube channel here; 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼 https://youtube.com/channel/UCtr7oTe3DH-Ymo4uxM6xULA Or Twitter here; 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼 https://twitter.com/ProperFootball8?t=voFqeo4B83kwlQKtJAx5gA&s=09 Email us @ getinvolved@properfootball.co.uk

Southend United have confirmed their tax bill of close to 2 million pounds has now been settled. The Shrimpers were due back in the high court on Wednesday due to a winding-up petition issued by the HMRC but a club statement has revealed the outstanding money has now been paid. The statement said: "Ahead of the HMRC hearing on March 1, the club can confirm the monies owed to HMRC, under the petition, have been paid in full. The statement added: "Funds as working capital have also been injected to help Southend United over the coming months. Whilst this news is very welcoming this continuous ongoing financial instability and years of uncertainty will not fill supporters with much confidence going forward and no doubt the Ron Martin Out campaign will still be as loud as ever. Great news for the supporters and community but many will wait with bated breath as to when this charade happens all over again.

Tomorrow (March 1st) Southend United the Essex club founded in 1906 faces one of the biggest days in its 117-year existence. The club who owes £1.4 million to HMRC will be in court to face the winding-up petition. Under the ownership of Ron Martin, the club has suffered various winding-up orders for unpaid tax bills, numerous transfer embargos and staff and players going unpaid. The Shrimpers players have now been paid their January salaries albeit 28 days late and remarkably during that time they have won five of their six league outings to remain sixth in the National League table. It is understood that some staff at Roots Hall are still waiting for their wages, with some of them having not been paid since the end of November! Youth players and coaches have also gone on strike following non-payment, which led to games being postponed in this dire situation for the club. There has been countless fan protests and pitch invasions but all to no avail. No one knows what tomorrow will hold but it's a sad state of affairs that such an historical club, its fan base and the local community could face the prospect of going out of existence.

Legendary football commentator John Motson has sadly passed away aged 77. Motty, the sheepskin coat-wearing icon voiced over 2,000 games including 29 FA Cup finals and 10 World Cups. An iconic moment in his career came in the season he covered the memorable FA Cup replay between Hereford United and Newcastle United. Non-league Hereford won 2-1 with Ronnie Radford scoring a winner that remains in folklore. 'Oh what a goal!' RIP Motty. ⚽❤️

Watch our recent Proper Football Live Special event where we interviewed the co-authors of the newly released book ‘Angels With Dirty Faces' by Gary 'Boatsy’ Clarke and Paul Lowe, The book is about the two of them growing up in Nottingham and follows their journeys from a tough background to the trials and tribulations of following their beloved Nottingham Forest to now playing an important role in the success of nonleague club Carlton Town and giving back to the local community. The book which has testimonials from Talksports Johney Owen and contributions from Carlton Town Chairman Mick Garton was officially launched at the Nottinghamshire club on Sunday. Watch the interview here; You can buy the inspirational book by getting in contact with Gary ‘Boatsy’ Clarke in the following ways; https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100004984725408 https://twitter.com/GBoatsy?t=YIL3m_3Ie8K3xzFgikwthQ&s=09 https://instagram.com/gboatsyclarke?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= Or through Amazon; Check this out! https://amzn.eu/d/g9vJdOg Please subscribe to our YouTube channel; https://m.youtube.com/@ProperFootball

The publication of the UK government's long-awaited white paper, proposing reforms to shake up football, is expected later this month. Expected proposals include the introduction of an independent football regulator in England. That was among 10 recommendations made by a fan-led review on how to improve football governance. The review, chaired by former Sports Minister Tracey Crouch, said a regulator was necessary for the long-term financial stability of the men's professional game. It comes after several high-profile crises in the sport, such as the failed European Super League and the collapse of Bury FC. Expected proposals include the introduction of an independent football regulator in England - a move the EFL has endorsed. Rick Parry, the EFL's chief executive, has repeatedly called for an end to "evil" parachute payments given to clubs relegated from the Premier League, which he says only serve to increase the desperation of clubs to reach the top flight. It has also led to, he estimates, total losses of between £300m-£400m in the Championship. But Parry accepts there are other issues within the game that need addressing. In the week of a sell-out EFL Cup final between Newcastle United and Manchester United at Wembley, Parry knows the expansion of the Champions League from 2024 will squeeze the calendar even more, placing his organisation's flagship competition at risk. "Last year we had a record TV audience of four million for the Carabao Cup final," said Parry. "Attendances are up near record levels. "If you ask the fans of Newcastle and Manchester United whether it matters, they would probably say it does. "But of course, we recognise there are challenges with the calendar. Are we prepared to have constructive dialogue, given those challenges? Yes, of course. We are prepared to consider pretty much every possibility. "The calendar, development of young players and redistribution all need to be looked at together." Parry also discussed National League demands for three promotion places. Since 2004 the National League has had two spots to the EFL. Unlike what has happened between the Premier League and Championship, no side that has gone up since then has come straight back down the following year. "We are having a lot of discussion about three up, three down," added Parry. "We absolutely recognise the need to look downwards as well as up. We have to be consistent in our approach. "We haven't put proposals to our clubs yet, but do we envisage that being part of the package we put forward? Yes, 100%." EFL TRYING TO AVOID ANOTHER BURY. While a football regulator has been viewed as someone who can step in to challenge issues at the top end of the game - such as the threat of a potential European Super League and disputes over club ownership - Parry feels the welfare of the football pyramid is paramount. It is three and a half years since Bury were expelled from the EFL after financial troubles and failed takeovers. Several clubs have also had difficulties since then: Macclesfield went out of business - before being reformed at the bottom of the non-league pyramid by former Premier League player Robbie Savage Derby went into administration and were almost bought out by US businessman Chris Kirchner, who is facing 20 years in prison after being charged with fraud by the FBI last week Wigan had to be rescued from a perilous financial position after being put into administration by its Hong Kong-based owner who never actually saw the club play a game "We don't want another Bury and we are working day and night to ensure it doesn't happen," said Parry. "But you could say the next one will be the government's responsibility. "Given the outcry we had at the time, you have to assume they get that the pyramid matters, otherwise they wouldn't be doing this. We think any rational regulator looking at the current system has to say it is broken. "The dependence on owner funding is bad. Craig Hemmings (son of long-time Preston owner Trevor who died in 2021) wrote to supporters on behalf of the Preston ownership. "Preston are a really well-run, sensible club. They are not chasing the dream and not over-spending. But he pointed out their annual budget is £24m and. of that, the Hemmings family provides £12m every year. Who replaces the Hemmings family? Who comes to Preston and says 'starting point £12m-a-year'? "There is the possibility for broadening ownership and fan ownership if you don't have to start with a massive subsidy. "Any rational regulator trying to produce solvency, looking at the pyramid, will come up with a solution." We can only hope this football fan-led review and its recommendations are implemented because the future of OUR game is at stake.

Join Gary Harris for a Proper Football Live Special event on Thursday 16th Feb at 6 pm where he will be interviewing the co-authors of the new soon-to-be-released book ‘Angels With Dirty Faces' by Gary 'Boatsy’ Clarke and Paul Lowe. The book is about the two of them growing up in Nottingham and follows their journeys from a tough background and the trials and tribulations of following their beloved Nottingham Forest to now playing an important role in the success of nonleague club Carlton Town and giving back to the local community. The book which has testimonials from Talksports Johney Owen and contributions from Carlton Town Chairman Mick Garton will officially be launched at the Nottinghamshire club on Sunday 19th February at 2 pm with any welcome to come along. ⚽👊🏻 Make sure to tune in and get involved with your comments and views. Watch on our Facebook page or our YouTube channel here; 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼 https://youtube.com/channel/UCtr7oTe3DH-Ymo4uxM6xULA Or Twitter here; 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼 https://twitter.com/ProperFootball8?t=voFqeo4B83kwlQKtJAx5gA&s=09 Email us @ getinvolved@properfootball.co.uk Full details here; 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼 https://fb.me/e/4UMMp8tUB

Another transfer window has come and gone and another obscene amount of money has been spent. A total of £815m was spent in the January window and if you add that to the summer window of £1.9bn it brings the total transfer figure to an astronomical amount of £2.715bn! A big chunk of that money will have gone out of our game to line the pockets of the agents, clubs and players and out of the UK in some instances. But, how much of it will go back to the grassroots clubs? The place where many of the players who now reap the rewards begun their journey, the place where they were helped to develop by coaches working for a pittance or just giving up their free time. Absolutely nothing! Instead, grassroots clubs are struggling due to rising prices on top of the local councils putting pitch fees up, sponsors have dried up and cash reserves are lower than ever and parents are even struggling to pay the subs in this cost-of-living crisis The situation is getting worse all the time and it absolutely stinks that those sitting at the top of the pyramid are lining their pockets and not giving a second thought to the level of the game who ultimately are the beginning of the supply chain. Why can't there be a levy on these transfers? Even just 1% would go a long way to help out! They are biting off the hand that feeds them and we hope their complete disregard for the heart and soul of football comes back to bite them! SOMETHING HAS TO CHANGE!