Goal Frames We Have Known and Loved: No.2

Manor Ground: 1971

The very definition of a 'box goal', Oxford United had continental style and panache long before anyone in England had the foresight or budget to match them... at either end of their ground, at least.

Oxford's goal frames were as unambiguous and no-nonsense as it was possible to get. With a sturdy metal tubing structure helping to maintain the very essence of a 3D rectangle, the masterstroke was undoubtedly the inclusion of a red net pulled tight across it.

There's something about a coloured net that makes a goal frame look ostentatious, in our view. Somehow it's possible to believe a world where, in the early 70's at least, teams playing in Brazil, Spain, Italy and beyond all had fancy coloured nets because unlike Great Britain, they weren't living life in black and white. And yet here in sleepy Oxford, someone had the brilliance to bring a touch of international quality to an ordinary Second Division club.

For what it's worth, the netting itself was formed of small squares that were just the right size to create a feint red glow behind the goal when seen from certain angles. True, there might have been a few fishing trawlers up in Grimsby lacking some of their equipment back in 1971, but we think it was a sacrifice worth making.

Subbuteo introduced their coloured World Cup Goals in 1972-73. Did Oxford United prompt them to add such a splendid accessory to their range? We'd like to think they did. Case closed.

Structure: 8
Net pattern: 8
Net colour: 9
Overall: 8.3