Windass thought he was a goner!

From the Oxford Mail, first published Friday 19th Oct 2007.

The time he spent at Oxford United certainly made an impression on striker Dean Wndass.

Not least the initiation ceremony with practical joker Terry Gordon, when he was threatened by a gun-waving madman.

In his newly-published autobiography, Windass reveals how, when the lunatic roared "I'm going to shoot you, yer *******," he thought he was a goner.

It was a fake gun, of course, though Dean only discovered that later when a smile broke out on Gordon's face and he dropped the pistol, and then all his teammates piled into the room.

He admits he could afterwards see the funny side of it - unlike Paul Tait, who broke Gordon's hand by smashing a golf club on him.

Windass devotes a chapter to his time at the Manor Ground and details memories of his debut, the 2-2 draw at Bristol City in what felt like 100 degrees heat, the arguments between Malcolm Shotton and his No 2 Mark Harrison over whether he should play up front or in midfield, the seven-goal thrashings by Sunderland and Birmingham, and of course, that famous FA Cup tie against Chelsea when Kevin Francis gave away a late penalty.

"I ended up with 18 goals from 38 games, which I thought was a pretty decent effort for a team that ended up being relegated," he writes.

Windass was a one-off. Wonderfully talented, daft as a brush, as was once said of Paul Gascoigne, Dean's still playing and scoring goals at the age of 38 and, as you would expect from such a larger-than-life character, never far from controversy, his autobiography Deano: From Gipsyville to the Premiership is a good read.

"Deano: From Gipsyville to the Premiership" - hardback copies, signed by Dean Windass, are available at £18.99 (inc. post and packing) from Great Northern Books. Tel: 01274 735056. PO Box 213, Ilkley, West Yorkshire LS29 9WS. www.greatnorthern books.co.uk ISBN number: 978-1-905080-29-8.

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