Oxford United F.C.
Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club based in Oxford, England. The club compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Headington Football Club in 1893, the club adopted its current name in 1960. Nicknamed The U's, it has played its home games at the Kassam Stadium, replacing its former home of Manor Ground in 2001.
The club joined the Football League in 1962 after winning the Southern Football League, reaching the Second Division in 1968. After relegation in 1976, between 1984 and 1986 the club earned successive promotions into the First Division, and won the League Cup in 1986. However, Oxford were unable thereby to enter the 1987 UEFA Cup because of the UEFA ban on English clubs in European competitions. Relegation from the top flight in 1988 began an 18-year decline which saw the club relegated to the Conference in 2006, becoming the first winners of a major trophy to be relegated from the Football League. After four seasons, Oxford returned to League Two in 2010 via the play-offs, and six seasons later achieved promotion to League One, after finishing second in League Two in 2016. In 2024 they were promoted to the EFL Championship via the play-offs.
Some of the club's notable players, such as Ron Atkinson who holds the record for the most overall appearances ; John Shuker who holds the record for the most appearances in the Football League ; and Ron's late brother Graham Atkinson holds the record for the most goals scored. In total, nineteen players have made international appearances while playing for the club.
The team's traditional kit colours are yellow shirts, along with navy coloured shorts and socks. Their crest showcases an ox, symbolizing both the name and historical background of the city, which was initially established as a market town for cattle located adjacent to a ford on the River Isis. Oxford have a long-standing and fierce rivalry with Swindon Town, with whom they contest the A420 derby.
History
1893–1960: Headington F.C. to Headington United
Oxford United was founded on 27 October 1893 as Headington Football Club at the Britannia Inn, Headington in a meeting called by a local doctor, Robert Hitchings, as a way for the cricketers of Headington Cricket Club to maintain their fitness during the winter break. The fellow founder was the Revd John Scott-Tucker, vicar at St. Andrew's Church, who was appointed first president of the club. The suffix United was added in 1911 after merging with Headington Quarry. The club's first football match played was against Cowley Barracks. Headington had no regular home until 1913, when they were able to purchase Wootten's Field on London Road, but this was redeveloped in 1920, forcing the club to move. A permanent home was found in 1925, when they purchased the Manor Ground site on London Road. The facility was used as a cricket pitch in the summer, and a football pitch in the winter. In 1899, six years after their formation, Headington United joined the Oxfordshire District League Second Division, where they competed until the outbreak of the First World War; the Second Division was renamed the Oxfordshire Junior League after the resumption of football in 1919. In 1921, the club was admitted into the Oxon Senior League. The first season included a 9–0 victory, with eight of those goals coming from P. Drewitt. This remains a record for the highest number of goals scored by an Oxford player in a first-team match. At this time a small rivalry existed with Cowley F.C., who were based a few miles south of Headington. During a league game on May Day, the referee gave two penalties to Cowley; supporters broke past security and players, resulting in the referee being "freely baited". The first FA Cup tie played was in 1931, against Hounslow F.C. in the Preliminary Round, ending in an 8–2 defeat for Headington. United spent two seasons in the Spartan League in 1947 and 1948, finishing fifth and fourth respectively. It was around this time that the cricket team left the Manor and moved to new premises near Cowley Barracks.1948–1960: Professional football
A move into professional football was first considered during the 1948–49 season. Vic Couling, the president at the time, had applied for Headington to become a member of a new Second Division in the Southern League. Other teams that applied included Weymouth, Kettering Town and future league side Cambridge United. Although the plans were postponed, the First Division was going to be expanded by two clubs; Weymouth and Headington were elected. It was later discovered that Llanelli had just one vote fewer than Headington. Oxford's first season in the Southern League was in 1949, the same year they turned professional. Former First Division forward Harry Thompson was hired as manager. In 1950, Headington United became the first professional club in Britain to install floodlights, and used them on 18 December against Banbury Spencer. They initially played in orange and blue shirts, but changed to yellow home shirts for the 1957–58 season. The reason for the change is unknown.1960–1985: Oxford United and Football League rise
In 1960, Headington United was renamed Oxford United, to give the club a higher profile. Two years later, in 1962, the club won the Southern League title for the second successive season and was elected to the Football League Fourth Division, occupying the vacant place left by bankrupt Accrington Stanley. Two successive eighteenth-place finishes followed, before promotion to the Third Division was achieved in 1965. A year before the promotion, Oxford became the first Fourth Division club to reach the sixth round of the FA Cup, but have not progressed that far in the competition since. Oxford won the Third Division title in 1967–68, their sixth season as a league club, but after eight years of relative stability the club was relegated from the Second Division in 1975–76.File:Elm Park, the former home of Reading FC.jpg|alt=|left|thumb|A Football League Group Cup match against Reading in 1981
In 1982, as a Third Division side, Oxford United faced closure because of the club's inability to service the debts owed to Barclays Bank, but were rescued when businessman Robert Maxwell took over the club. In April 1983, Maxwell proposed merging United with neighbours Reading, to form a new club called the Thames Valley Royals, to play at Didcot. Jim Smith would have managed the club and been assisted by Reading boss Maurice Evans. The merger was called off as a result of fans of both clubs protesting against the decision. Furthermore, the Reading chairman stepped down and was replaced by an opponent of the merger. Maxwell also threatened to fold the club if the merger did not go through. Oxford won the Third Division title after the 1983–84 season under the management of Jim Smith, who also guided them to the Second Division title the following year. This meant that Oxford United would be playing First Division football in the 1985–86 season, 23 years after joining the Football League. Smith moved to Queens Park Rangers shortly after the promotion success, and made way for chief scout Maurice Evans, who, several seasons earlier, had won the Fourth Division title with Reading.
1985–1994: First Division and cup success
Oxford United finished eighteenth in the 1985–86 First Division, avoiding relegation on the last day of the season after defeating Arsenal 3–0. They also won the Football League Cup, known at the time as the Milk Cup under a sponsorship deal. As winners, Oxford would have qualified for the following season's UEFA Cup, had it not been for the ban on English teams that had resulted from the previous year's Heysel Stadium disaster. After beating fellow First Division side Aston Villa in the semi-final 4–3 on aggregate, Oxford faced Queens Park Rangers in the final, which was held at Wembley Stadium on 20 April 1986. The game finished 3–0 with goals from Trevor Hebberd, Ray Houghton and Jeremy Charles. After the match long-serving physiotherapist, 72-year-old Ken Fish, collected one of the winner's medals, instead of manager Maurice Evans. Evans felt that Fish deserved the medal for his service to the club, and so gave him his, in what was seen as an "unprecedented gesture". It was the last time the League Cup was played under the name "Milk Cup", sponsors Littlewoods taking over the following season. John Aldridge scored 23 goals across the season, while their survival was helped by the arrival of veteran Steve Perryman from Tottenham.File:Thumbnail IMG 6342.jpg|alt=|left|thumb|Goalkeeper Paul Reece in action during the 1991–92 season
The 1986–87 season saw Oxford United narrowly avoid relegation and stay in the First Division. Perryman left to become player-manager of Brentford, while Aldridge scored 15 times in 25 league games but was sold to Liverpool mid-season for £750,000 while Dean Saunders joined from Brighton for £60,000 and Martin Foyle was signed from Aldershot for £140,000. Robert Maxwell resigned as chairman in May 1987, to take over at Derby County, handing the club to his son Kevin. The cup-winning team continued to break up however, as captain Malcolm Shotton was sold to Portsmouth, Kevin Brock joined former manager Jim Smith at QPR and Welsh international Charles was forced to retire due to injury. Oxford started the season respectably and spent much of the early stages around the fringes of the top 10, though Houghton would follow Aldridge to Liverpool for £825,000. However, after November the team would fail to win another game, and Maurice Evans was sacked in March 1988 with Oxford bottom of the First Division. Former Liverpool defender Mark Lawrenson was named as Oxford's new manager, but was unable to prevent relegation to the Second Division. He was sacked three months into the 1988–89 Second Division campaign after a dispute with the chairman over the £1 million sale of striker Dean Saunders to Derby County; Derby were owned by Robert Maxwell, father of the then Oxford United chairman, Kevin Maxwell. Following Robert Maxwell's death in 1991, his personal estate, including the club, became insolvent. After a long search for a new owner, during which BioMass Recycling Ltd took over the club, Brian Horton was named as Oxford's new manager. He remained in charge until September 1993, when he moved to Manchester City in the recently formed FA Premier League. Horton led United to mid-table finishes during his management spell, apart from a 21st-place finish at the end of the 1991–92 season. A 2–1 win over Tranmere Rovers, and a win for Blackburn Rovers over Plymouth Argyle, meant United survived relegation by two points. Oxford, now in the renamed Football League Division One, briefly restored Maurice Evans as manager, before turning to Bristol City manager Denis Smith. Despite Smith's efforts, Oxford were relegated to Division Two at the end of the 1993–94 season, with just four wins in the last eleven games.