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Simon Eastwood’s Time at Oxford May be Over

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When I first became a chef, I jotted down all of my recipes in a little notebook. In my early career, it would come in handy when trying new dishes for the first couple of times, but after some time, the recipes became ingrained into my mind that I no longer needed to keep referring to it.

Since, I have moved jobs, used other recipes for the same dishes and not referred to the book for some time in certain cases. But, even during the moves and change of positions, I kept hold of it.

Some years later, even though I had found the time to type up all of my recipes from across the years and set them neatly in a filed folder, I still keep hold of the original scrapbook. It has travelled to a number of jobs and a number of homes but, for some time, has been sitting in a box in a cupboard, unused.

Like Oxford United goalkeeper Simon Eastwood, particularly in the early days, my recipe book provided stability, reassurances and put my mind at ease, knowing it was always there if I needed. But as time went on, new recipes were found and my book had become modernised. I realised that I didn’t necessarily need it anymore.

Eastwood has been a reliable servant for Oxford since his return to the club in 2016. At 31-years-old, it feels like he has been at the club forever and has become an integral part of a number of squads. But, as a goalkeeper, sometimes your position is rarely under threat and losing your spot isn’t as commonplace as an outfield player. Yes, he had made one or two errors during his Oxford career, probably every Oxford player had at some point, but in the past months, they seem to be happening on a more regular occurrence.

Now, in a young and hungry Jack Stevens, Eastwood has some competition for his spot. There was talk two summers ago that he was looking to relocate back to the north. Although nothing materialised, since then he hasn’t looked the same. The blunder in the play-off final against Wycombe and the error in the derby against Swindon are just two recent mistakes that the number one has made.

So, is Eastwood like my recipe scrapbook? It feels like it has been a key part for so long despite it not being as effective as it once was. Should I refer to the updated, younger version and finally discard of the older, unused edition?

Ultimately, the time is now for me to get rid of the book that I no longer use and start to rely on my modern folder. After being dropped for the draw against Ipswich last night, it feels that Karl Robinson is doing the same with his goalkeeping situation, and the time is right.

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