Player of the Season voting is open.
I mean, it’s Cameron Brannagan by pretty much all definitions. He played the entire middle half of the season doing a Beckham vs Greece IE “fucking hell if nobody else is going to do anything, I’ll just have to do everything myself”. While that might have drawn the ire of the High Percentage Opportunity Nerds on The Dub, the man is nevertheless one of the most dedicated players I’ve seen for us in a long time.
It’s Cameron Brannagan by pretty much all definitions, but my hand keeps twitching and lurching towards Josh Murphy on account of him being the greatest footballer who ever lived.
And then there’s Owen Dale - he’s not PotS but my eye is drawn to him because I love a footballer who loves a goal. He’s a different character, but I’ve not seen anyone as pumped when we score and win as Dale is since Lego.
And then there’s Sparky… constant effort… relentless effort, even when things were going against him. Not hare-brained chasing lost causes for the sake of it as you’d get from the likes of Jamie Mackie, but proper, smart pressure when and where it counts and benefits the team. And then there’s his goals - in patches, sure, but helping to set our season alight just when it was needed.
If there is a front line in League One that is playing better than ours at the moment, I’d be astonished.
And so every part of me wants to tick Josh Murphy because he’s incredible and I want him to stay forever and ever and ever.
But I should probably pick Cam, because he’s excellent and on a pathway to being a longterm Oxford United legend, and he’s our captain in spirit if not in name.
