We’re in a slump, a period of almost comical ineptitude. I thought it would be quite funny to make a list of our worst form, either to give us some comfort that it’s been worse and will soon pass or maybe just to confirm that we’re living through historic times. 

The problem is that when you get into the idea of poor form, it’s not as straightforward as you’d think. What is form? There’s a saying that form is temporary, class is permanent. That’s clearly not true; Bobby Charlton is not a classy centre-forward anymore because he’s 85 and suffering from dementia. So, you could say that form is temporary and class is also temporary. As a phrase, it loses something. 

Nonetheless, there’s definitely a transient nature to form, it comes and goes, but over what period should you judge? Because I’m a sadist, I’ve looked at our league results since 1980 and the results over different periods of time on a rolling basis. If we accept that our current form is bad, then over five games, we’ve been in the situation of losing five games in a row on nineteen separate occasions, which is dispiriting, but makes our current streak unremarkable. If you measure it over a typical 46 game season, our current total – fifty – is not even close to being the worst it’s been as anyone who witnessed us accumulate 27 points in 46 games during 2000/01 will surely attest. Over ten games, though, we do get some balance as on five occasions we’ve grubbed around with four points, or less, from a possible thirty.

So that’s where I landed, remarkably poor form can be best judged by our performances over a period of ten league games where we’ve accumulated no more than four points. All you need to do then is look at every 10 game sequence since 1979. And when I say you, I mean me. Every game is the end of a ten game sequence so that means looking at no less than 1,980 ten game sequences. I literally did that. Here are the worst.

2014 – In MApp we trust?

Our previous worst ten game spell happened either side of the 2013/14 and 2014/15 season. After an interminable wait, Gary Waddock replaced Chris Wilder who‘d jumped ship to Northampton. We were already capitulating when Waddock walked through the door. He opened with a shocking 3-0 defeat to Southend live on Sky. A win over Plymouth brought his first win in four attempts. Then the season collapsed with four consecutive defeats including a humiliating 3-1 loss at Northampton that kept Wilder’s new side in the Football League.

Then, during that summer a revolution, Darryl Eales took over, sacked Waddock and brought in Michael Appleton. With little time to put his plan in place, the season opened badly with a 1-0 defeat to Burton Albion. A win at Bristol City in the League Cup and a narrow defeat to Premier League West Brom on penalties masked our league problems; three more defeats followed by two draws brought about a pathetic tally of just two points out of thirty. A third consecutive draw against Exeter dragged it up to three points from ten games. It did improve thereafter. The only mitigating factor is that only three players who finished the season under Waddock, started the following year under Appleton, whether this is truly a poor run is up for some debate. 

York City (H)	0-1		2013/14
Scunthorpe (A)	0-1		2013/14
Accrington Stanley (H)	1-2	Ryan Williams	2013/14
Northampton Town (A)	1-3	Ryan Williams	2013/14
Burton Albion (H)	0-1		2014/15
Mansfield Town (A)	1-2	Danny Hylton	2014/15
Morecambe (A)	0-1		2014/15
Portsmouth (H)	0-1		2014/15
Dagenham and Redbridge (H)	1-1		2014/15
Southend (A)	1-1	Danny Hylton	2014/15
Exeter City (A)	1-1	Callum O’Dowda	2014/15

2000/01 – A Rolls Royce of Incompetence

Astonishingly, the fabled 2000/01 season – a dream for defeat-freaks – never got as bad as two points from thirty. But, this was a season of unrelenting consistency – consistently awful, we rarely crept above four points in ten games at any point in the season. 

The first ten games accumulated four points, a rate, or worse, that was maintained for most of the first thirty-six games of the season. There was a two game sequence when we crept up to the giddy heights of five points, but otherwise it was week after week of misery. 

By the end of March it was clear that our fate was sealed and it was only a matter of time before relegation was confirmed. At this point we hit, in very relative terms, form, and never dropped back to four points or less. This only scratches the surface of a stunningly awful season, which you can read about in excruciating detail here.

Peterborough United (H)	0-1
Port Vale (A)	0-3
Brentford (H)	0-1
Walsall (A)	2-3	Joey Beauchamp
Cambridge United (H)	1-1	Lee Jarman
Wycombe Wanderers (A)	1-3	Paul Tait
Stoke City (A)	0-4
Bury (H)	1-0	Jamie Cook
Millwall (A)	0-5
Bristol City (H)	0-1
Swindon Town (A)	1-2	Guy Whittingham
Wrexham	3-4	Paul Tait, Joey Beauchamp, McGregor (o.g.)
Luton Town (H)	0-0
Rotherham United (A)	1-3	Derek Lilley
Wigan Athletic (H)	0-2
Reading (A)	3-4	Derek Lilley, Aidie Viveash (o.g), Jon Richardson
Bristol Rovers (H)	0-1
Swansea City (H)	2-1	Joey Beauchamp, Keith Andrews
Notts County	2-3	Matt Murphy (2)
Oldham Athletic	2-3	Phil Gray, Innes (o.g.)
Northampton Town	3-1	Steve Anthrobus, Matt Murphy, Chris Hackett
Colchester United	2-3	Joey Beauchamp, Phil Gray
Bournemouth	1-2	Peter Fear
Brentford	0-3
Walsall	2-1	Phil Gray (2)
Colchester United	0-1
Peterborough United	2-4	Peter Fear, Matt Murphy
Wycombe Wanderers	1-2	Chris Hackett
Bury	1-3	Joey Beauchamp
Stoke City	1-1	Darren Patterson
Millwall	0-2
Bristol City	0-0
Wrexham	3-5	Phil Gray, Paul Powell, Matt Murphy
Swindon Town	0-2
Rotherham United	4-3	Rob Quinn, Manny Omoyimni (2), Andy Scott
Cambridge United	0-1

1992/93 – Horton out (part 1)

Our run in the middle of 1992/93 was one of the neatest poor run we’ve ever had. So that’s something. We were sitting comfortably in eleventh and had come from a decent run of three wins in four in which we beat 3rd placed Millwall, and Bristol Rovers and Wolves away. A few weeks earlier, we’d also put five past runaway leaders Newcastle at Christmas.

Then without rhyme or reason, we went into a sequence of three 1-0 defeats, dominating each game. It seemed to jam us into a groove we couldn’t get out of. A win against West Ham masked an otherwise grim run. By the end of the ten game sequence, we’d dropped to 19th with only goal difference separating us from the relegation zone. 

Then as if the previous couple of months hadn’t happened, we woke up, four wins and a draw out of seven saw us end of the season in 14th. 

Grimsby Town (H)	0-1		1992/93
Derby County (H)	0-1		1992/93
Birmingham City (A)	0-1		1992/93
Luton Town (A)	1-3	Nick Cusack	1992/93
Southend United (H)	0-1		1992/93
Peterborough United (A)	1-1	Joey Beauchamp	1992/93
West Ham (H)	1-0	Andy Melville	1992/93
Portsmouth (A)	0-3		1992/93
Brentford (H)	0-2		1992/93
Leicester City (A)	1-2	Mike Ford	1992/93

End of 1990/91 – start of 1991/2 – Horton out (part 2)

A creditable 10th place finish to the 1990/91 season concluded with two defeats to Watford and Leicester. Nobody was particularly concerned, but the 1991/2 season started with five consecutive defeats. A draw against Millwall stemmed the tide before we registered our first win of the season at Derby. This preceded a defeat to Bristol Rovers, thus accumulating just four points in ten games. 

Watford (H)	0-1		1990/91
Leicester City (A)	0-1		1990/91
Port Vale (A)	1-2	Jim Magilton	1991/92
Grimsby Town (H)	1-2	Jim Magilton	1991/92
Sunderland (A)	0-2		1991/92
Middlesbrough (H)	1-2	Lee Nogan	1991/92
Wolverhampton Wanderers	1-3	Lee Nogan	1991/92
Millwall	2-2	Andy Melville, Trevor Aylott	1991/92
Derby County	2-0	Trevor Aylott, David Penney	1991/92
Bristol Rovers	1-2	David Penney	1991/92

1987/88 – the end of the glory years

Much had changed since the heady days of the Milk Cup Final just two years earlier; John Aldridge and Ray Houghton had been sold to Liverpool, Malcolm Shotton had gone to Portsmouth, Gary Briggs alternated between a bad back and red card suspensions. There was ill discipline in the squad with several players being convicted of drink driving. 

None-the-less, the season seemed to be going well. Then, Robert Maxwell tried to buy Watford in November. This plunged Oxford’s future into doubt due to rules surrounding ownership of more than one club. It sent Oxford into a death spiral.

The announcement of Maxwell’s intentions to buy Watford coincided with a 1-1 draw against The Hornets at The Manor. A 0-0 draw at Everton were followed by six consecutive defeats. A draw against Portsmouth was followed by a 7-4 defeat to Luton making a sequence of four points in ten games.

Maurice Evans resigned to be replaced by Mark Lawrenson. Our spirit punctured, we failed to win again all season, solidly awful form that was alleviated by the odd draw. At no point was there a ten game sequence where we picked up more than four points. Relegation, and the end of the glory years, came with grinding inevitability.

Watford	1-1	Les Phillips
Everton	0-0
Newcastle United	1-3	Dean Saunders
Manchester United	1-3	Dean Saunders
Nottingham Forest	0-2
Liverpool	0-3
Queen’s Park Rangers	2-3	Peter Rhodes-Brown, Dean Saunders
Wimbledon	2-5	Martin Foyle, Dean Saunders
Portsmouth	2-2	Dean Saunders, Gary Briggs
Luton Town	4-7	Martin Foyle, Dean Saunders, Richard Hill, Les Phillips
West Ham	1-1	Les Phillips
Norwich City	2-4	David Bardsley, Trevor Hebberd
Chelsea	4-4	Peter Rhodes-Brown, Dean Saunders (2), Martin Foyle
Charlton	0-0
Arsenal	0-0
Coventry	0-1
Southampton	0-0
Watford	0-3
Sheffield Wednesday	0-3
Everton	1-1	Dean Saunders
Newcastle United	1-3	Les Phillips
Manchester United	0-2
Nottingham Forest	3-5	Trevor Hebberd, Martin Foyle (2)

2022/23 – Karlpitulation

Here we are, history, one point in thirty. The worst sequence in 43 years. Probably longer, but I didn’t go back further because I wanted to do something more enjoyable; like stick rusty nails in my scrotum. The only reassurance is that we simply have to be closer to the end than the beginning. Or maybe you’re fascinated to see how bad it can get. No? Oh no, me neither, it hadn’t even crossed my mind, not for a second.

Wycombe Wanderers (A)	0-2
Burton Albion (A)	0-2
Barnsley (H)	1-2	Elliott Moore
Shrewsbury Town (H)	0-1
MK Dons (A)	1-1	Lewis Bate
Plymouth Argyle (H)	1-3	Cameron Brannagan
Cambridge United (A)	0-1
Bristol Rovers (H)	0-3
Lincoln City (A)	0-1
Derby County (H)	2-3	Sam Long, Kyle Joseph